Sermon Video: "the power of the Most High" - Luke 1:34-35

The basic elements of the Christmas story are well known, but what of the deeper questions of purpose and meaning?  To know that Jesus, the Christ, was born of Mary is of course important, but our understanding needs to be more than that, we need to know why Jesus came, and why he had to be who he was, and nothing less, in order to fulfill that purpose.  The conversation between the angel Gabriel and Mary that informed her of her impending pregnancy contains the answers to those two questions.  Gabriel tells Mary that her pregnancy will not be the result of any normal biological process, her betrothed Joseph will have nothing to do with it, but instead the power of God himself, the Holy Spirit, will "come upon" her and "overshadow" her.  This unique conception will eliminate the stain of original sin, Adam's curse, from the child, and also be the key to his all important dual nature, both man and God, for as Gabriel further explains, the child to be born of Mary will not only be holy, but also be the Son of God.  These details are crucial to the Christian understanding of who Jesus was, and is, and what he would later accomplish through the Cross and Resurrection.  He had to be sinless to escape the penalty of death hanging over us all, and he had to be God in the flesh in order to accept our penalty for sin upon his shoulders and share his righteousness with us.  The sorrow of Good Friday and the celebration of Easter are not possible without the Virgin Birth, the conception by the Holy Spirit, and the pre-incarnate Word of God made flesh as Jesus, the Son of God.

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Sermon Video: "On the day the Son of Man is revealed" Luke 17:20-35

During Jesus' public ministry there was much speculation that he was the one who would usher in the Kingdom of God by driving out the Romans and re-establishing the Kingdom of Israel.  Jesus did indeed bring the Kingdom of God into our midst, but it was a very different kingdom than the physical/political kingdom that many longed for.  The kingdom that John the Baptist prepared the way for, and Jesus inaugurated, was a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom built upon repentance and reconciliation, a kingdom without borders or barriers, one open to any and all who were willing to accept it.  So, while the Pharisees, the Zealots, and the disciples, scanned the horizon looking for signs that a revolt was about to happen, Jesus went out spreading the Good News that God was already offering forgiveness from sins.
After his death, resurrection, and ascension, that kingdom grew rapidly from its core of dedicated followers, helped along by the Holy Spirit's power at Pentecost, until it spread throughout the known world within two generations, a remarkable feat unprecedented in history.  But when would he return, when would Jesus sit upon the throne that he had secured through suffering and receive the glory due him?  Beginning with that first generation, Christians have speculated about when the Son of Man would return, and while a natural urge drives that desire, it has remained unfulfilled thus far, for that day awaits the decision of the Father, and only he knows when the trumpet will sound.
What do we do in response?  We know that Jesus will return, but we don't know when, so what do we do?  Our task, our obligation, is to live our lives, here and now, for the betterment of the kingdom of God, i.e. his Church, by living out the Gospel's teaching and spreading the Good News to the ends of the earth.  We may have personally, days, years, or decades left on this earth, and it may be days, years, centuries, or even millennia, until Christ returns.  Our task remains the same: do our part by making the love and mercy of Jesus known, through us, to all we meet.

To watch the video, click on the link below;

Why Christians cannot claim all Muslims are the same

On a recent podcast, James White, author and debater on a variety of Christian topics, explained why it is not only dangerous, but ultimately sinful for a Christian to paint all Muslims with a broad stroke as terrorists.  It has been popular in some circles to claim that all Muslim are interested in Jihad, that a global caliphate achieved by violence is inherent to all Muslims.  Rather than argue about the nature of Islam, let us instead focus upon our responsibility as Christians to witness to the Gospel.  Why can't Christians dismiss all Muslims as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers?  The answer is simple: It destroys any hope you may have of sharing the Gospel with a Muslim.  Maybe you don't care, maybe you're so afraid of Islam, or so angry about terrorism that you simply don't care if there are Muslims who are non-militant (which there are).  Well, that's too bad, you don't have the choice to act that way because you have been commanded by Jesus Christ to share the Gospel with the whole world.  We must care for all of the Lost, even those who dislike us or hate us.  We have been called to show compassion to the Lost, we have been called to bear witness to the trans formative power of the Gospel.  This is not optional, to dismiss a type of person or group of people as being beyond the scope of the Gospel is a sin on our part.  It is not acceptable.  The "throw them all out of the country" attitude is not acceptable.  The "kill them all before they kill us" attitude is reprehensible.  We must reject, without reservation, the temptation to make the world an "us" vs. "them" fight; why, because the Gospel requires us to.  Our response as Christians must be that of our Savior, that is our only option.  It is easier to hate, but it is not Christian, not even a little bit.

The video by James White, pertaining to this topic, begins about 44 minutes into the video and runs for the next 5 minutes or so, and then also picks back up about 1:13:30 until around 1:15

James White on the Dividing Line

And this video from James White as well, beginning at about 38:30, with the most clear explanation coming toward the end of the video

James White on the Dividing Line - video #2

** Disclaimer, I don't agree with James White on everything, primarily we would disagree about Ecumenism (esp. regarding Catholicism), but his work on textual issues (i.e KJV only debate and history of the Bible stuff) is top notch, and his views on Islam are both informed and Biblical. **

Sermon Video: Only the foreigner praised God - Luke 17:11-19

On his way to Jerusalem with his Passion drawing nigh, Jesus is confronted by ten men suffering from leprosy who cry out to him for pity.  In response, Jesus sends the men to the priest to be certified as being cleansed, before they are healed.  When they act in faith and begin the journey, all ten of them are healed.  Only one of the ten, however, takes the time to return to Jesus to praise God, and that one was a foreigner, a Samaritan.  This episode is one of many in which Jesus finds greater faith among foreigner than among his own Covenant people.  This phenomenon reinforces his teaching that Paul will later make explicit that with God there are no racial, geographic, or class distinctions.  There is one Lord, he is Lord of all, and all who would approach him must do so alike through grace by faith.
There is thus no room, whatsoever, in the Christian faith for prejudice or racism of any kind.  It is incumbent upon us, as followers of Jesus, to be on the side of the refugees, the aliens, and generally all those who are treated like "them" by "us".  In Christ, distinctions of "us" and "them" become meaningless, for there are only two types of people in the kingdom of God: sinners and redeemed sinners.

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The non-Christian militancy of Jerry Falwell Jr.

It has often been said that moderate Muslim clerics and imams need to denounce terrorism and the philosophy of jihad that lies behind it.  This is of course true, but it carries with it the same obligation for Christian pastors and apologists to denounce hatred and other attitudes that are contrary to the Gospel when they come from those claiming to be leaders in the Christian community.  During recent comments to the student body of Liberty University, the president of that institution, Jerry Falwell Jr. said this, "I always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walk in and kill".  His statement was applauded by many of the students in the audience, and he went on to explain, playfully it seemed, that he was carrying a gun at that time, almost as if he was hoping to find an armed Muslim that he could shoot first.  It should go without saying, but sadly it probably doesn't, that such inflammatory rhetoric is beneath the role of the president of an university, and certainly inappropriate as a topic to the student body of an university, but it also points to a larger issue where Mr. Falwell is misrepresenting the Gospel of Christ.
It is the obligation and right of law enforcement, the military, and government in general to protect its citizens (and by the way the non-citizens aliens in their midst) from danger, which may include of necessity at times preemptive measures when that threat is indeed imminent.  That is the role of duly constituted authority, from a Christian Biblical perspective, but that is not the role of the average citizen.  For the Christian, violence against even one's enemies should be contemplated with sadness, necessary to protect one's life or the lives of the innocent, but never gleefully laughed about, and never wrapped up in fear, anger, or prejudice.  It was, after all, Jesus who taught that we MUST "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".  It was this attitude, adopted by Martin Luther King Jr. that helped transform the racial attitudes of the American people, not the militant self-protection ideology of the Black Panthers.  What do Falwell and others who share his ideas envision?  An America where walking through a shopping mall or into a school you pass a half dozen people brandishing weapons, self-appointed security and vigilantes looking to shoot first and ask questions later, especially if the person in question looks like a Muslim?  This is not America, and it most certainly is not the way shown to us by Jesus who prayed while they nailed him to the Cross, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".  When Christianity has walked down the road toward violence and militancy, in particular when that those attitudes are mixed up with nationalism, we have known our darkest hours as a Church, we cannot allow the name of Christ to be associated with such things, for the Muslim among us is not an enemy to be slain, but a lost soul to be saved by grace, just as you once were before Christ saved you.