Luke 20:34–40

Luke 20:34-40

English Standard Version 

  What will marriage look like in heaven?  Will I see the friends I have loved along the way?  Will we recognize one another?  Will I be able to enjoy the beauty of a sunset?  Will every car have a 6-speed transmission, or will some have automatics?  Will it be possible to eat too much ice cream?  Will the Reds still be mediocre then?

  All vital questions to answer.  Many of these, we don't have answers to -- we will only find out when we pass through the veil.  The character and words of God set clues for us, though.  We know that God has compassionate love for us, and that God made us to be in relationship with one another.  It seems likely that the God who forms us for community will not have an aspect of community, of relationship, with one another.  What does that look like exactly?  Hopefully I won't find out for another 60+ years.  

Will relationships in heaven be less loving than the ones here on earth?  I doubt it.  It seems like they would be more.  Again... I don't know exactly how it will work, but I trust in the God who has been crafting and guiding relationships for millennia to continue to do so for eternity to come.  

  What's vital here is that Jesus speaks of the dead as though they are alive.  God does not allow death to have the final word over God's beloved, which includes you.

  So trust in God, and lean into the Savior who came and conquered death so that you might live.

Luke 20:27–33

Luke 20:27-33

English Standard Version 

  This is likely not the burning question that many people have about the resurrection.  Well, at least it's not mine.  You may wonder what the Sadduccees are doing.

  One thing to note is that the Sadduccees didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead.  (Which made them Sad. You See?  Preacher jokes...)  So they're constructing this absurd scenario to make the resurrection look like just an extension of this world, only with comical scenarios caused by the forward projection of some laws.

  But that's what the resurrection is like.  It's not simply this world, only with a few things changed.  God isn't simply trying to tweak this world.  God is transforming us, at work in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The resurrection is something new, something different, and the focus isn't on us and what our living quarters will be like.  It's about a new relationship with God, one with unlimited worship and joy.  

  So let's not get caught up in debates about what exactly dancing on clouds will be like.  Instead think about the dynamic relationship with your Creator, who is awesome in power and might, filled with love and mercy forever and ever.

Sermon on Philippians 3 for October 4, 2026

Luke 20:20–26

Luke 20:20-26 

English Standard Version 

  The Pharisees set up a trap for Jesus -- they're always working to catch him in his own words.  If Jesus says that they should pay tribute to Caesar, then he's acknowledging and perhaps approving of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, which would upset some people.  If he says that it's not lawful, then the Romans might want to arrest him for sedition.  There's no right answer.  

  So Jesus doesn't directly answer the question.  Instead, he acknowledges the reality -- that some things belong to Caesar, but much more belongs to God.  Who are we to limit what God has a claim on?  Are the Pharisees going to define this?  

  We often try and offer God some meager corner, or believe that if we do one thing over here, then we've taken care of our offerings to God for the week.  We'd be wise to think seriously on what Jesus has to say here, and recognize God's claim on all of us.  How do we think about giving everything over to God, since God has created all?