Sermon starter Perhaps you’ve been part of a tug-of-war game when, instead of the expected resistance provided by the other team, they let go of the rope. Your team can’t help itself; it just falls down. This is accompanied by some laughter, some embarrassment, and perhaps some anger. Your complaint...

With the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah, we give thanks for God’s goodness and trust in God to save us, as Jesus did. Jesus’ mindset of servanthood led to a ride down into Jerusalem, toward scorn and suffering, an authentic sign of God’s steadfast love. Even when we break the covenant, its initiator is willing to pay the price to keep it.

God promises to write a new covenant with us, and the Spirit has chosen our hearts as the parchment on which to sign God’s name. Like Jesus, we can surrender ourselves so that our lives might be signs pointing to God through the fruit that we bear.

Sermon starter from http://www.leaderonline.org/ The Old Testament reading, the epistle, and the Gospel all offer opportunities to think about God’s desire for our wholeness; to God’s way of thinking, healing and salvation are part of the same reality. One of the most striking things about the Numbers passage is that...