Children’s Sunday school stories have portrayed Jesus as a soft-spoken, kindly man who would never raise his voice or offend a person, no matter what. It may be an appealing image to little children, but it is not at all an accurate description of the Lord. It doesn’t take long when reading the Gospels to see that Jesus offended a lot of people on many different occasions. Does that mean he isn’t kind and caring and loving the way we present Jesus to our children? Absolutely not, but to not take action when confronted with evil is not being caring and compassionate! When Jesus stood toe to toe with evil, he didn’t back down, even if it offended people.
This Sunday we begin our Lenten sermon series “When God Turned Human Life Upside Down”. And that is exactly what happened when God entered this world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. And, the truth be told, Jesus still turns peoples’ lives upside down. Why? Because what we think is so vital to our lives Jesus gives little value or condemns, while those things which he told us are of the greatest worth, we disregard as irrelevant and unimportant.
There is no more “upside down” portion of Jesus’ life than the days leading up to his crucifixion. Nothing he did seems to make sense to the human mind. And yet, what he did in those few short days changed eternity.
Have you experienced being offended by Jesus? If not, join us for one of our services this weekend. It may be the best thing you can do for Lent!
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.