Messy Spirituality || A Love That Won't Go Away

Here is the 5th and final part of my sermon series inspired by the book of the same name, "Messy Spirituality" by Mike Yaconelli. As always, I enjoy your feedback.


Check out part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. For this final sermon in the series, we are going to take a look at 3 different passages and see what they have to say about God's seemingly annoying love for us.

Matthew 20:1-16
-notice the master went himself
-he made multiple trips throughout the day
-the first workers were paid an “agreed term”
-the remaining workers got paid “whatever is right”
-at the end of the day, the last shall be first
-vs. 10: grace that can be calculated and “expected” is no longer grace
-the early ones were frustrated by the late ones being made “equal”
-the early ones received the agreed upon wage and yet…
-who are we to question God’s generous love?

Luke 26:26-43
-Jesus tears down the fences
-the perceived “unfairness” of God’s grace makes us uncomfortable, especially when we’re expected to extend it to others
-“All the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.” ~Eugene Peterson

Romans 8:37-39
-you cannot escape God’s love
-there is nothing you have done or will do that can keep God from loving you
-“He loves us when we don’t want him to love us. He loves us when we don’t act like Christians. He loves us when our lives are a mess. His love is sticky, resistant to rejection, aggressive, and persistent.” (Yaconelli 124)