Sunday, May 18, 2008
Judgmental sermon part 3
The other issue that we struggle with is this:
Pride
Spiritual pride to be specific. For too long, the church has tolerated a certain sense of spiritual pride where we actually believe that is our job to judge the sins of outsiders. We are intolerant of anyone else’s sin, but tolerant of our pride. How does that work? How is it that we can judge others, but not see that our own lives come dangerous close to those of the Scribes and Pharisees. These were the very people who spirituality Jesus was speaking against.
We have become arrogant, and guess what the research tells us? That Christians are intolerant of outsiders sin and judge them for those sins, Christians are extremely tolerant of our own pride; we do not feel God’s anger at our own arrogance. Even though His word says this, that He:
Opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6 NIV
Living into humility would go a long way to give the outside world a more accurate and Christ centered perception of His followers. I wonder if we adopted a more humble spirit as we approach other people, if the perception that we are judgmental would melt away for many?
I welcome your comments.
Pride
Spiritual pride to be specific. For too long, the church has tolerated a certain sense of spiritual pride where we actually believe that is our job to judge the sins of outsiders. We are intolerant of anyone else’s sin, but tolerant of our pride. How does that work? How is it that we can judge others, but not see that our own lives come dangerous close to those of the Scribes and Pharisees. These were the very people who spirituality Jesus was speaking against.
We have become arrogant, and guess what the research tells us? That Christians are intolerant of outsiders sin and judge them for those sins, Christians are extremely tolerant of our own pride; we do not feel God’s anger at our own arrogance. Even though His word says this, that He:
Opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6 NIV
Living into humility would go a long way to give the outside world a more accurate and Christ centered perception of His followers. I wonder if we adopted a more humble spirit as we approach other people, if the perception that we are judgmental would melt away for many?
I welcome your comments.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Christians are too political
So politics, one of those hot button issues. So let's hear it...what are your thoughts? Do you think that Christians have elevated the power of politics as a Christian "voting bloc" to a level that is unhealthy for us all? do you think that our politics shape our spiritual life OR the other way around? honestly. Would love to hear from you all on this and the message.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
All about conversion
So the last message was about the perception that people outside of Christianity think that all we care about is getting people "saved". This was a tough topic for me, because God has wired me with a passionate desire to see people come to faith in Jesus, it is the lense through which I see much of life. However, I have grown to see that the way I express my faith has as much to do with how I live as it does, what I say. I was challenged with the scriptures we used on Sunday to really think about how I view people: Do I want to see them "converted" to Christianity? OR do I want to see them spiritually transformed by Jesus? How about you? What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you think we are perceived as all about conversion? Do you see people as more than just spiritual notches on your belt? Do you actually have a belt that you notch?
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