http://www.cfan.net Living Our Faith Out Loud! Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:02:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Lord’s Prayer is something that we say often.  We say it every time we gather for worship; it is part of the liturgy.  Those who follow a Daily Office our some other directed spiritual discipline say it everyday.  It is an important part of our spiritual life and discipleship.  ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/the-lord%e2%80%99s-prayer-luke-111-13.html We find the Lord in our text passing on the mission.  Up until this point he has been traveling around calling people to follow him and teaching them about the kingdom of God.  His followers up until this time have been spectators.  They have watched from the sidelines as Jesus ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/abundant-harvest-few-workers-luke-101-20.html The question I want to pose this morning is what does it mean to follow Jesus?  What is the cost?  Is salvation free?  A related concern is who owns my life and what does that mean?   We are use to thinking of salvation as the free gift of God that costs ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/the-cost-of-discipleship-luke-951-62.html We live in a dysfunctional world.  Our world is plagued by sin.  Certainly we see the effects of it all around us.  We are used to the dysfunction.  It is so obvious that it often goes unnoticed.  We throw away food while much of the world suffers from hunger.  We ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/the-move-of-god-disrupts-the-status-quo-luke-826-39.html Law and gospel are the foundation of how we understand our relationship to God.  The law condemns us because on our own there is no way we can ever live up to God’s standard.  Before the law we are always guilty.  If the law could save, if the law could ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/for-she-loved-much-luke-736-83.html We met Jesus in our text this morning entering the town of Nain.  As usual his disciples are with him and they are surrounded by a great crowd.  People wanted to be near Jesus.  As the get close to the town gate they are met by a funeral procession.   The ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/the-lord-of-life-luke-711-17.html Our text in Acts takes us to Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and they headed into the streets to declare the word of God with power.  Peter, who a short time before, denied knowing Jesus now stood up with boldness to ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/god%e2%80%99s-plan-our-responsibility-acts-214a-22-36.html   We read two very interesting text this morning; the Tower of Babel and the Day of Pentecost.  In many ways they are opposite experiences and I will look at that in a moment.  But first there are some similarities.  On one level they are stories of the human experience.  They ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/filled-with-the-spirit-acts-21-21.html The last thing Jesus told his disciples to do before ascending to the Father was to stay in Jerusalem and prayer.  He had given them the task of witnessing to the ends of the earth.  They were told to make disciples, as they went through their lives, of every nation.  ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/devoted-to-prayer-acts-112-14.html I sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to depart for this week from the texts of the lectionary.  I want to look at the very popular minor prophet Habakkuk.  I believe he has a very relevant word for us this morning.   I have been listening to people lately and what ... http://www.cfan.net/pastors-blog/yet-i-will-rejoice-in-the-lord-habakkuk-317-19.html