Cross Training - Week Three "Apples & Oranges"
This week is the Third Sunday of the Season of Lent, and I am continuing the sermon series, "Cross Training," a study of some of the challenging teachings of Jesus . The passage I'll be focusing on this week is very short---only three verses... 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit , nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. - Luke 6:43-45 What is Jesus trying to say here? It seems sort of straightforward if you simply stay on the surface---which I'm not entirely content to do, as you might imagine. First, Jesus uses language that everyone who is listening to him would understand easily. This little nugget of awesomeness is sandwiched in between lessons on not bei...