Snippet: "Tenacity and Humility"

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

I heard this yesterday, but it would have been good for my weekend sermon. It’s Justin Giboney on The Church Politics Podcast on the May 6 episode (with some editing for clarity).

“And that's why I say the culture war…issues aren't necessarily not worth fighting for. There may be a battle in how we go back and forth, but do we have to go into that battle pretending that we are without sin and that the other side is responsible for everything bad? Or can we go to that battle with tenacity, but also with intellectual honesty, historical context, and fight for what’s right, while still trying to reach the persuadable people who are actually listening and trying to find out what's right or wrong? I think sometimes we just focus on the extreme folks.”

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Sermon Recap: "Redeeming Outrage" (Matthew 21:33-46)

In today’s outrage-saturated culture, it’s easy to dismiss all anger as toxic or manipulative. We often see outrage weaponized for political gain, fundraising, or attention-getting, leaving behind a trail of dehumanization and division. But what if there’s a way to redeem outrage, to use it as God intends?

That’s what we explored in this week’s message from Matthew 21. In Jesus’ parable of the tenants, Jesus’ purpose banks on the listeners’ outrage. In doing so, he teaches us how outrage can serve a redemptive purpose.

The religious leaders listening to Jesus are initially outraged by the tenants’ behavior in the parable. And that’s exactly the point. Jesus is tapping into something real, our instinctive sense of justice. This follows a long biblical pattern. Like Nathan’s parable to David (2 Samuel 12), Jesus tells a story that provokes moral fury, only to turn the mirror on the hearers.

Jesus is using outrage to awaken something deeper.

How to Redeem Outrage

1. Rage

   Don’t suppress outrage at evil and injustice. Feel it. Let it point to what’s broken. Like the tenants in the parable or the rich man in Nathan’s story, injustice should stir our souls. But that’s just the beginning.

2. Break

   Outrage must look inward. “You are the man,” Nathan tells David. Likewise, Jesus directs the parable at the very leaders who react so strongly. The goal isn’t simply moral clarity, it’s personal humility. Outrage should break us before it’s ever aimed at others.

3. Repent

   True repentance follows being broken. Jesus offered even his fiercest critics the path of repentance, reminding them that “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom ahead of you” because they believed and repented. David, confronted with his own sin, said simply, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and he received forgiveness.

4. Produce

   The fruit of redeemed outrage isn’t reactionary outrage, but humble, God-centered transformation. Jesus says the kingdom will go to those who produce its fruit. What kind of fruit? Doing what’s right. Righting what’s wrong. Living reconciled to God through Christ and pursuing justice with grace and humility.

A People Who Produce

Jesus is the cornerstone—the one rejected, broken, and crushed on our behalf. And because of his sacrifice, we can be made new.

Imagine a church community marked not by performative outrage but by gospel-formed action. People who are broken by their own sin, repentant in heart, and pursuing justice and fruitfulness humbly.

Photo by Michael Heise on Unsplash.