tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8215116066445385512.post4679136912364047432..comments2008-05-31T11:54:59.486-04:00Broadneck Baptist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17576684109417307580noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8215116066445385512.post-36404024210962338142008-05-31T11:54:00.000-04:002008-05-31T11:54:00.000-04:00I love the images in this weeks sermon and in Jeremy's response. When all the problems in the world/our lives seem daunting, "sending out a bird" seems a fairly simple yet encouraging tasks. And just naming our efforts as such seem to give them credence. Maybe a perceived failed attempt is just a bird that has yet to return with that sign of life. <BR/><BR/>And I also love Jeremy's image of a "parade of small things"; we don't have to be perfect all at once - we can make changes and contributions in increments. <BR/><BR/>I'm going to take a stab at the hint for Sunday. The first thing Jesus does after his sermon is he heals a leaper and tells him to go make an offering to the temple. He sent out his own bird and told the man to basically send one out too. So perhaps he's saying that the way to build your house on a rock is to help others and make offerings in faith/as a witness.Karanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8215116066445385512.post-65729441415046286102008-05-29T12:17:00.000-04:002008-05-29T12:17:00.000-04:00After reading the scripture from Matthew, I'm reminded of a question that comes up every now and then in my mind - why is the road narrow? Or, put another way, why don't more people follow the ideas Jesus suggests here? The answer(s) may be similar to why we are sometimes inconsiderate and why we are sometimes so altruistic as seen in our large and small behaviors/choices. I was talking with one of my brothers about this the other day, and it was easy to find things we both did to others and to each other in the past 24 hours that fell into these categories. But we couldn't really figure out why we chose to behave as we did. Instead, we had to accept the fact that small things (like Stephen points out here) can have tremendous impact and control (!) over others, whether we like it or not, intentional or not. Maybe the road is narrow because it is a parade of small things/behaviors/ideas that ultimately are of greater importance to how we interact and live with one another.Jeremynoreply@blogger.com