First Church of Winthrop Sermon Podcast

Jesus contends with a problem that has perplexed human beings since the dawn of time: if God loves us, and God is all-powerful, why do bad things happen? While we may never settle this debate with theological language, Jesus points us to what we can do: let our hearts be transformed by God's love so that we can faithfully respond to any suffering and evil in our world, and ultimately, put our hope in Jesus's solution to the problem of evil, which comes not in words but in actions...

As we begin our Lenten journey we hear the story of Jesus's journey into the wilderness, where he experienced temptation. Like Jesus, it seems that the second we take a moment to pray or practice spiritual disciplines, the distractions and questions and temptations are soon to follow. But by following Jesus's example, maybe we can start to see temptations as a good thing--a sign that we are being prepared for the truly important work of sharing God's love with our world.