04/17/2023
The theme of this week’s sermon on Acts 10 was the Spirit’s desire to reach beyond ‘people like us’ to include outsiders—such as Samaritans, Ethiopian Eunuchs, Romans and Gentiles of all types—as full members of God’s family. As I was sifting through possible ways to highlight that theme, I came across the following illustration. I found it inspiring and important, it just didn’t quite fit the direction the sermon was taking. I thought you might enjoy thinking it over anyway.
‘Some people think that the claim that human equality comes from Jesus is just biased. But when the British historian Tom Holland set out to write his book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, he was not a Christian. He'd always been far more attracted by the Greek and Roman gods than by the crucified hero of Christianity. But through years of research, he concluded that he, agnostic as he was, held many specifically Christian beliefs. For example, his belief in universal human equality and the need to care for the poor and oppressed.’
Holland writes:
“That every human being possessed an equal dignity was not remotely a self-evident truth. A Roman would have laughed at it. To campaign against discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexuality, however, was to depend on large numbers of people sharing in a common assumption: that everyone possessed an inherent worth. The origins of this principle—as the philosopher Frederick Nietzsche had contemptuously pointed out—lay not in the French Revolution, nor in the Declaration of Independence, nor in the Enlightenment, but in the Bible.”
We Christians don’t appreciate how much the life and ministry of one man could and did so radically change the world he was born into. Jesus has saved in ways that are only now beginning to sink in.
Archived Posts
Matthew 24: One More Thing...
I sometimes stumble on old documents I’ve created but have completely forgotten about. I cannot remember why I created them or what purpose they were originally supposed to serve....
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.
What Was the Crowd Celebrating on Palm Sunday?
I came across this list which feels a little like a "Greatest Hits of Jesus' Ministry". I share it with you today for your inspiration and edification. Enjoy!
The Best Kind of Trouble-maker
While working on this last week’s sermon I was looking through Phillip Yancey’s excellent book—The Jesus I Never Knew—when I came across a section that I found profound. It didn’t quite fit my sermon, but it caught my eye enough that I copied it down.
Practical Tips To Avoid Judging Others
When I research a sermon, such as Sunday’s message on judgmentalism, I always try to think through some practical steps or tips in how to implement God’s desire for our lives. I rustled together a herd of ideas this week and I offer them to you.
The Shepherd, the King, and the Rescuer
God has got a long list of names, but some of those names are better than others. There is a small child who thought God’s name was Harold since the Lord’s Prayer includes the phrase “Hallowed be thy name.” When you think of all the scriptures that are most likely to be memorized you would have to include Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, and John 3:16. The danger for us is our tendency to focus on the wrong thing.
Old Jokes Are The Best Jokes
Sunday morning, we took a look at Jesus’ command to make our enemies into neighbors and loving our neighbors as ourselves. One of the obstacles to doing this is our growing sense of tribalism—whether it’s a political, socio-economic, or even theological tribe.