Matthew 22: 15-22 Jesus tells the Pharisees to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to give to God what belongs to God! Paul tells the Thessalonians to exhort in Presence, Power, Passion by giving our best to God— then we find happiness in the way of God’s holiness in our lives!!

Matthew 22:1-14; Philippians 4: 1-9 Jesus tells the parable of the Kings Invitation to the Banquet— Paul tells us how to live rejoicing!— receive Christ’s invitation.

Matthew 21:33-46 tells the story of the “ wicked tenants” and how they showed greed and worked some evil to try and get what they wanted. Jesus was trying to show that we are to be good stewards of all that God has given and do God’s good works on earth!

Matthew 21: 28-32 is known as “ The Parable of the Two Sons.” Jesus taught us to be faithful and honest! We look to the scriptures for guidance in fulfilling life’s demands. * Special thanks to President Jimmy Carter for “Sources of Strength.”

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the “Laborers in the Vineyard.” Jesus gives the controversial and shocking notion that those who are late in being hired receive the same wages as those who came early. Essentially, Jesus is telling us it is never too late to come to God! I think it’s better to make it to the last dance than not to have danced at all! God is truly gracious!

Jesus tells the parable of forgiveness and reconciliation. The message is clear if we expect to be forgiven, we must forgive! ( Special thanks to President Jimmy Carter for his

“ Sources of Strength” devotional stories).

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us to forgive ( as is a common theme). What should we do in a church situation, family situation, societal situations, etc. We should strive to reconcile when possible!

The Apostle Paul tells us how we should treat each other in all situations. Jesus taught us the same. Special thanks to President Jimmy Carter for passages from his book,

“ Sources of Strength!” Let’s out do each other in doing good works and treating people as we would like to be treated!

Jesus asks his Disciples who do people say that I am? They give the usual responses of being John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or some other prophet. Simon the son of Jonah declares that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God! Jesus calls Simon, Peter ( which means rock), and proceeds to tell him that upon this rock, “ I will build my church!”

Traditionally Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Christian Church; however, some commentators say this moment was actually when Jesus declared the birth of His Church. We will take a look at what is this new “ Community of Faith and Love” Jesus proclaimed and its relevance to the entire world.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is confronted by a Canaanite woman pleading for her daughter’s healing. Jesus is 50 from Galilee, which he walked on foot with his disciples. Canaanites as considered of the worse of Gentiles by the Jews. Jesus hears the pleas for help from the woman and commends her for her great faith and heals her daughter!

Desperate faith at work!

Known as the story of Jesus walking on the water and calls Peter out to join him on the stormy waters. Many have degraded Peter because he was walking and began to sink. The inference is Peter began to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus and lost faith. I give Peter kudos because he faced a fear and went out on faith to meet Jesus. How many of us have actually walked on water— if only a few steps? I think the idea of facing our fears comes to mind. Many of us have unreasonable fears— phobias if you will. Some have fears because of previous experiences or being told we can do certain things. Facing our fears with the power of the One who tell us not to be afraid because he has overcome the world is a great comfort and motivator! Clearly, we all have doubts and fears. There can be a “ healthy amount of fear” especially in the times of a pandemic. We have been given brains and expected to use good judgment in making decisions. God is with us always is the take away and God will see us through our most fearful of times!

Commonly known as the “Feeding of the Five Thousand“ in the Gospels, we find that there is more to the story. First, the text says there were 5,000 plus the women and children. Most theologians estimate 15,000 to 20,000 persons were present. Much to their surprise and objection,  Jesus tells his disciples to have the crowd to sit down and they will be fed! The disciples told Jesus they had only five loaves of bread and two fish; it was impossible to feed them. 

Jesus tells of parable of someone finding a great treasure and burying in a field. The person then sells everything else and comes back to buy the whole field. The parable reveals that what is most important is the Kingdom of Heaven. Our treasure should be greater than things; rather, we should value all that God has given us particularly family, friends, health, and all the joys of a Spirit filled life!

Jesus tell the parable of dealing with weeds after planting to good seeds. The story reveals an enemy brought in the seeds. The worker’s reaction was to pull up the weeds, but Jesus warns that one can pull up the good plants with the good weeds. Jesus says let them grow together and the weeds can be separated later. Haste can be unwise in the growth process. In God’s time, disciples are made. God is a Master designer. Through discipleship, scripture, prayer, and leading of the Holy Spirit, believers become clearly recognizable. In the end, God makes the decision about weeds—thank God for Grace!

The Parable of Jesus of sowing seeds on and in various kinds of soil. Jesus reminds us that rocky, stony soil doesn’t offer good returns. Possibly, the hard- hearted is not the good soil. Then, Jesus talks about better soil that may produce fast growing plants, which may wither too quickly. Even well-rooted plants can be compared to distracted disciples. The goal is to be “Good Dirt—Blessed by God’s Grace!” A seed in the gracious strength of God that produces strong disciples of Jesus!

It’s the third Sunday after Pentecost! This is Reverend Sid Chapman's sermon for Sunday, June 21st, 2020. While this marks the fifteenth week that the congregation of Faith United Methodist in Riverdale, Georgia, have not held physical services due to the COVID-19 pandemic we currently plan to reopen NEXT SUNDAY – June 28th. We will be following strict social distancing rules. Please bring a mask if you plan to attend our service.