Your Mountain is Waiting
This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church , Bemus Point, NY. The gospel text is Matthew 10:24-39. When perusing portions of the Bible, it is a natural tendency for us to simply focus on the particular passage we have read. If we do that in Matthew's gospel, it looks like Jesus talks to the disciples many times about many things. However, we are still in the section where he is preparing his disciples for their work of spreading the gospel in his absence. Jesus here connects love of God, which results in following Christ, giving us life abundant. Every family has secrets, don’t they? There is the long-perpetuated family narrative of a situation. Then, much later, you find out what really happened. I’ve found this in my own family. The teenage children tell you they are doing such and such with their friends that evening. It’s late. It’s past their curfew. Where are they? Then there’s a phone call. Everything is fine. No need to worry, you’re told. But y