Michael S. Piazza - "A Kingdom without Borders" (July 11, 1999)

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 2:31. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 20:30.

Offering a fresh take on the parable of the sower, this sermon considers the abundant and profligate techniques of the sower as a reflection of the profligate and surprising grace of God; it calls those who hear to live in line with God's kingdom of openness and inclusion. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Key quotation: "Perhaps from God’s lofty perspective, it’s tough to tell what soil will be productive and what will be full of rocks and weeds. But we’re close enough to tell. We can spot an unproductive patch of ground in a minute. Yet Jesus keeps on revealing this creator who tenderly forms each snowflake so that they are all unique. Who individually shapes every plant to make it special. Who creates every creature on the planet distinctive from every other…it’s almost wasteful, this extravagant God we worship. There is no farmer like God. No wonder the church tried to explain this parable. Who could ever believe that God would act like that?...It’s not an easy thing to live in a kingdom without borders, but then, it’s not an easy thing to live in the kingdom of god." (17:38)