Sermons from October 2023
Tough Questions: How Can a Loving God Allow So Much Suffering?
James 1:2-4 — A dam failure in Derna, Libya, on September 11 of this year killed an estimated 18,000-20,000 people. In August of this year, estimated deaths and injuries caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached 500,000. Cancer resulted in more than 600,000 deaths in the US alone in 2022. Suffering and death amplify when we move from large perspectives to personal ones; it becomes raw and heartbreaking when it moves from statistics into the lives of people we know.…
Tough Questions: Doesn’t Christianity Denigrate Women?
1 Timothy 2:8-15 — “Patriarchy” – contemporary Westerners consider that word synonymous with oppressive, misogynistic attitudes. Increasingly, people associate it with the Bible, whose contents build on an extensive narrative featuring patriarchs. That connection strengthens when one considers comments made by the apostle Paul, a figure whose influence in shaping the church is exceeded only by Jesus. Consider: “Women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law…
Tough Questions: Isn’t Christianity homophobic?
Corinthians 6:9-11–We live in a society filled with marketing, entertainment, and legislation promoting tolerance. However, that tolerance demands that we accept (and support) others’ values and lifestyles regardless of our convictions. The positive portrayal of tolerant people and the negative depictions of those who reject that tolerance creates interpersonal, public, and even legal risk for us. So, the tough question, “Isn’t Christianity homophobic?” presents a challenge we must consider, especially given our culture’s escalating advocacy for same-sex relationships.
How Can You Take the Bible Literally?
2 Timothy 3:16-17– A 2022 Gallup Poll assessed Americans’ views of the Bible that reported: • 20% believe the Bible is the “actual word of God, to be taken literally.” • 49% believe the Bible is “inspired by God, not all to be taken literally.” • 29% believe the Bible contains “fables, history, and moral precepts recorded by man.” At first glance, one might lament that only 20% believe the Bible is the “actual word of God, to be taken literally.” Reports that…
A Firm Foundation
Luke 1:1-4 — Two contradictory things coexist in our culture. A 2017 Barna report found that 93% of Americans believe Jesus was real, while a different Barna survey reported that 52% of Americans believe “Jesus was human and committed sins like other people.” A strange scenario presents itself to us – people believe enough evidence exists to prove Jesus’ existence, yet they reject the implicit and explicit claims that evidence makes about his identity. The tension between our society’s beliefs about…