03/18/2025
Keeping the Church Doors Unencumbered
Sunday, we considered Jesus’ disruptive actions in the Temple in light of his frustration with keeping gentiles from worshipping in their designated courtyard. We then reflected on how we still tend to throw up roadblocks to those who don’t normally attend church. I found the following, but didn’t have space for it in the sermon. It’s provocative and worth chewing on for a while.
In the book, unChristian: What a New Generation really thinks about Christianity and why it matters, research by the Barna group came up with six main reasons why young people who aren’t involved in church, have stayed away.
Hypocritical – Many believe that Christians say one thing but live differently, failing to practice what they preach.
Too focused on getting converts – Non-Christians often feel that churches treat them as projects rather than genuinely caring for them.
Antihomosexual – The perception is that churches are hostile toward LGBTQ+ individuals rather than engaging with them in love.
Sheltered – Christianity is often seen as out of touch with real-world problems, lacking cultural awareness.
Too political – Churches are frequently viewed as being overly involved in political issues, aligning too closely with particular parties or agendas.
Judgmental – Many feel that Christians are quick to judge others rather than being compassionate and understanding.
We don’t live our lives to meet the expectations of others, but we can live our lives with the kind of faithfulness and consideration that make these kinds of obstacles obsolete and false. Go now with the blessings of God, and be the blessing of God to whoever you met and wherever you go this week. Amen.
Archived Posts
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What I wanted to say
but ran out of time this Sunday
Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video.
The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness
I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online. Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week. What follows is an example of those discussions...
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There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.