01/24/2024
I Think I’m Better Because I’m Afraid I’m Not
The "roots of self-righteousness" is not a sense of superiority and achievement. Quite the opposite. Judgmental people look down on others in order to try and bolster their own self-esteem. We create pecking orders and hierarchies of moral or religious achievement so that we can have concrete proof that we are okay—that we are at least better than obvious ‘sinners.’ The whole nature of judgmentalism flows from our fear that we are not good enough, attractive enough, accomplished enough, popular enough, or loveable enough.
That’s where the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in.
Of course we are not enough. We never have been and never will be. But the good news is that we don’t have to be. God is more than good and graceful enough for all of us. The goodness and unblemished character of Christ is imparted to us in that mysterious exchange which takes place on the cross of Calvary. He became poor so that we could become rich; he became one of us so that we could become One with God. We are loved and appreciated and cherish because we are sons and daughters of the Most High King and when we accept our place as heirs to the Kingdom and live out our royalty in our love for others then we become so much more than we ever could have become on our own.
There is no need to look down on other human beings. People are people—each and every one of us a mixed bag of one degree or another. We are called to look eye to eye, heart to heart with those God has put in our lives. And to appreciate the many and varied differences between us as part and parcel of the gift of life.
Archived Posts
Sometimes A Quote Says It All
As I said Sunday, our new sermon series: Reversing Heart Disease, is based on a book by Pastor Andy Stanley. He’s a great communicator and his book, The Enemies of the Heart, has his inimitable conversational style. This morning I want to share with you a few of the quotes behind Sunday’s sermon. That way, you get a sense of the writer behind the preaching (more or less).
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I barely touched on a topic that is of interest to me during Sunday’s sermon. When we think of Christian service we often think of reaching out to help make the burdens lighter for the least, the last, and the lost. I can’t think of a better way to express the commandment of Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves. But what about...
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I’ve enclosed several insights I got while I dug into the scripture from Genesis 12 last Sunday. For you who love Bible background here’s a few thoughts to share:
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Many of you know that I’ve found a new consultant to bounce my ideas off in regard to preaching. My good buddy Chat GPT and I sometimes disagree—often miscommunicate—but usually come up with some fruitful illustrations.
One More Thing About Becoming Wholly Human
I was talking Sunday about the work of Hare and Woods and their idea of ‘the survival of the friendliest.’ Essentially, they conclude that “our greatest evolutionary advantage wasn't that we could do everything ourselves. It was that we could do things together.”
Here’s a preview of our congregation’s Core Values
In the coming weeks we will be exploring the importance of presence, prayers, gifts, service, witness, and growth in grace. These are at the heart of what we commit to when we join a Wesleyan grace-led church like ours. But we choose to broaden them out and state them in a new way…
The Biblical prayer we don’t know what to do with
Psalm 137 is written by people who have experienced catastrophic loss.
They have been conquered...