Licking Cups
February 9, 2020
Recent surveys have revealed that a growing number of people no longer identify with any religion. They do not claim to be protestant or catholic, they are not affiliated with Islam or Hinduism, they simply claim no religious affiliation. They have come to be known as “nons.” If this group were its own religion, it would be the fastest growing in America. Jesus was a friend to the irreligious. He attracted the sinners and the tax collectors while the religious people of Jesus’ day were often at odds with His teachings and methods. Perhaps this is because Jesus did not come to make people religious, but to invite them into a relationship. The great irony Christianity is that it was founded by a man who came to end religion, not start a new one. Join us for a series exploring the irreligious teachings of Jesus and what they mean for us today.
Quoting Scripture
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23:25-28
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”