An audio file of the sermon from December 11 is available at this link.
The Scripture readings are Isaiah 49:1-13 and Matthew 5:12-17.
“Isaiah has a message from God: Those who have faith in the God of Israel should leave the place of their exile and return to the Land of Promise, the land God had given Israel when he brought them up out of Egypt. God was calling them home.
“But God’s message wasn’t what they wanted to hear, it turns out. They didn’t want to go home. They were fat and happy in Babylon. When their parents and grandparents first went into exile in Babylon, they grieved. But that was seventy years ago. Now their lives were in Babylon. Many of them had prospered there. Why should they leave their homes and businesses and friends, when what awaited them back home in Zion was a massive rebuilding project? They could stay in Babylon and be comfortable. Not everyone is cut out to be a pioneer, you know.”
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