Gems from Christ
We are focusing on Christ's ministry and in so doing we are preparing for the Lenten season which will soon follow. This series of five sermons will select well-known teachings from the ministry of Christ that capture succinctly the life of discipleship to which he calls his followers. These “gems” are aphorisms that Christ spoke. An aphorism is a short, pithy statement that arises out of a certain conversation or experience, but captures and expresses a universal truth. Aphorisms are easily memorized and usually become popular statements. Yet their brevity often masks the depth of truth they contain unless we examine them carefully.

Good preparation for this series of sermons would be the reading of the gospels with a pen or highlighter on hand, marking each aphorism as it is encountered in the teaching ministry of Jesus. One could make quite a lengthy list of them. We have selected five, so that this series of messages will be concluded when it is time to enter the season of Lent and begin a new series of messages.

#1 Radical Surgery Matthew 18:8-9
#2 Puffed Up to Pop Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
#3 Planks and Specs Luke 6:42
#4 Split Kingdoms Matthew 12:25
#5 Losers and Finders Matthew 16:25