Discipling Life

This is a sermon I preach at Ebenezer and Black Creek on June 7, 2026. 1. Introduction: The Physician and the Sick Today we find ourselves standing before a table that is more than a piece of furniture—it is a battleground for the heart of the Gospel. In the cultural landscape of first-century Judea, the table was the ultimate site of radical inclusion or cold exclusion. Consider the scene in Matthew 9. Jesus is walking down the road when he sees a man named Matthew sitting at a tax booth. To the crowd, Matthew was a traitor, a collaborator with Rome, a moral leper. Yet Jesus looks at him and says, “Come, follow me.” Matthew doesn’t just follow; he opens his home. That night, the clinking of cups and the smell of roasted meat filled the air as Jesus sat as a dinner guest alongside a crowd of “notorious sinners.” Some Pharisees, watching from a distance with narrowed eyes, were indignant. They didn’t just question the etiquette; they questioned the holiness of the mission. “Why does ...

Have you ever wondered whether God could really use someone with a complicated past? Many people carry the weight of mistakes, regrets, or labels that seem impossible to escape. In Matthew 9:9-13 , Jesus walks past the tax booth of Matthew, a man many in his community would have considered a traitor and a sinner, and simply says, “Follow me” (v. 9). Matthew responds immediately, leaving behind his old life to follow Christ. This brief encounter reminds us that Jesus sees more in us than our failures. He sees who we can become through the transforming power of grace. The religious leaders were troubled when Jesus shared a meal with tax collectors and sinners. Yet Jesus responded, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” and “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (vv. 12-13). Christ’s ministry was not centered on preserving appearances but on restoring people. God’s grace reaches toward those who know their need, inviting them into a new way of life. Grace not o...

John begins his first letter with a joyful and deeply personal witness to Jesus Christ. He emphasizes that Jesus was not merely an idea, a spiritual vision, or a distant teacher, but the living “word of life” whom the disciples personally heard, saw, and touched. Christ entered fully into human life so that people could truly know God. John’s testimony reminds us that the gospel is rooted in real relationship and lived experience. The eternal life of God was revealed in Jesus, and through him we are invited into fellowship not only with other believers, but with the Father and the Son themselves. This passage reflects the gracious heart of God, who reaches out to humanity and invites all people into a restored and life-giving relationship through Christ. John proclaims that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all,” (v. 5) revealing God’s pure and holy nature. This truth invites a response: those who claim fellowship with God are called to walk in the light, living w...

My early years were in Ferguson Valley in central Pennsylvania and attending the Spring Run Church of the Brethren. We had worship first, followed by Sunday School. During the worship service we would all fill up a couple of pews. Grandma and Grandpap, my parents and siblings, Uncle Gary and his family and Aunt Rhoda and her family. Yes, about eight cousins all together. After worship, most of us would go to Sunday School, but my Grandma would go home to finish cooking the Sunday Dinner. (Dinner is the midday meal and supper is the evening meal.) After Sunday School the rest of us would make our way to my grandparents’ home and we would all cram together around the table for dinner. Grandma would often have roast beef and/or fried chicken and/or ham, etc. Uncle Gary always made sure he got one of the breasts. Personally, I went for a thigh. Fried chicken and mashed potatoes were a weekly highlight for me. Now, we had even larger gatherings at her house for Thanksgiving and Christma...