07/27/2023
The Jesus Guilt Cure
When I was in seminary, I remember reading a psychologist who said that guilt is healthy if it lasts no more than five minutes or results in a change of behavior. I put the book down and thought: “Lord, my life is nothing but an onion with layer upon layer of unhealthy guilt.” Later on, I read a theologian who said that guilt is destructive to the soul unless it is first openly and completely confessed to God and then taken to the one we have offended to confess again and ask for their forgiveness. Again, I despaired when thinking of all the people in my past I would have to seek out and make amends to.
Guilt that lingers, regret that nibbles around the edges of our thoughts are termites to the soul. It is to be chained to the past when Jesus tells us to do all we can to focus on the here and now. There isn't anything Jesus can’t forgive. His grace is always greater than our sin and brokenness. Asking for his forgiveness, listening to his response, carrying out a dialogue which allows us to 'let it go and trust it into his hands' is not an easy thing to do. Not by a long shot. But it is a prayer that he is eager to hear and ready to say Yes to. It is the only way I know of to rebuild the bridges we have damaged and strengthen the relationships we need to become the women and men God has created us to be.
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).
The Gifts of Those Who Need Our Hope
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...
Blessed People Bless People
But that Blessing Can Come with a Cost as Well
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:
Back and Forth with Chat GPT
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...