Sermon Video: The defeat of Death by Jesus - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

We love stories that end with, "and they lived happily ever after", but real life isn't like that, is it? We know that evil doesn't stay vanquished and that death will end even the best of love stories eventually. But this won't always be the case. When Christ returns, the dead in Christ will be raised to new life, immortal and transformed into Christ-likeness. Death will cease to exist once Jesus has established fully and completely God's reign, putting an end to rebellion and sin. For now, death itself is not a cause of fear for those who are in Christ, for we know that it is but a doorway to another life, and a better one. That confidence is available to everyone who is willing to put hope and faith in Jesus Christ.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Looking at my own FB activity since COVID-19 started

Given how much of our communication of late has been online, I thought it worthwhile to examine my own posts/shares to Facebook since March 12th, the first day that COVID-19 was a part of one of my posts.  The results were enlightening, at least to me.  I'd be happy to respond to your thoughts on this as well, and perhaps you too should scroll back and see how this pandemic has affected your online persona.

In just over two months, I have posted to Facebook 114 times.  Here are the categories (which I created, of course) to differentiate them {the numbers won't add up to 114, some posts go into two categories}:

1.  Local announcements regarding the Church, Venango County Christian Ministerium, etc. many of which revolved around COVID-19 cancellations: 26 times

2. Covid-19 related Hoax/misinformation correction, including regarding the End Times and Mark of the Beast: 24 times

3. Sermon Videos and Bible Study podcasts (this number doubles when considering that I provide this information to Church FB page as well): 22 times

4. Inspirational messages, encouraging news: 22 times

5. Theology on a variety of topics: 16 times

6. Family news, most numerous for this period are walks in the woods with my girls: 11 times

7. Humor, I'm not big on sharing these, only the geekiest typically: 8 times

What are the sources of my posts?  The vast majority are from material I've created, whether that involves writing announcements, creating the content for sermons and Bible Study podcasts, or writing my own blog posts.

1. My own sermons and Bible study podcasts: 22 times

2. This blog, my own original material, even when commenting on things written by others: 15 times

3. CNN.com : 5 times

4. Christianity Today: 4 times

5. The New York Times: 4 times

6. The Detroit Free Press (an excellent newspaper): 3 times

7. Things written by local pastors: 2 times

8. The rest of these, only once per: Fox News, Vox, The Gospel Coalition, NPR, Snopes, 538.com, Politifact, Science Magazine.org, and Academic Logos.

How then has the COVID pandemic affected my online persona?

1. The primary source of what I share online remains my own mind, for better or for worse.

2. The primary focus of my blog and my FB feed remains ministry related (about 2/3 of all posts)

3. I've shared more news articles since the pandemic began than is normal for me.

4. I've made the choice to attempt counter the misinformation about COVID (vaccines, Bill Gates, Plandemic, etc.) that has flooded my FB feed.

5. Responding to End Times / Mark of the Beast misinterpretation was necessary.

Well, there's some honesty and transparency, the first time I've ever gone back and actually counted and examined my own FB posts.    

Friendly Fire? Why examination and censure by Christians belongs primarily on us, not them

I have been asked variations of this question, "Why all the focus on Christians?"  (Or conservatives, evangelicals, Republicans).  And while for some people, there tends to be a blind spot or rose colored glasses regarding those like themselves, that is a flaw that Christians cannot afford to indulge.  So then, if I interact more with the words and actions, including criticizing them, of pastors than lay people, that's purposeful.  When I focus more upon baptists, evangelicals, or conservatives, that's in part because of familiarity and the ability to understand where they're coming from and 'speak the language', but also partly an intentional choice.  The same holds true on the larger categories, with more focus upon Americans than the rest of the world, and more focus upon Protestants than Catholic or Orthodox Christians.  From time to time an idea put forth by, for example, a British liberal atheist may be significant enough (for better or for worse) to merit a response, but those on the outside of Christianity, while remaining the focus of evangelistic efforts, are purposefully not the primary audience of my preaching or teaching (nor by extension, of this blog).  Why?

1 Timothy 4:6 New International Version (NIV)
If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 New International Version (NIV)

24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jude 3 New International Version (NIV)
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

1. The example of Scripture.
The book of Jonah is a prime example.  While the purpose of the book is ostensibly the journey of one of God's prophets to condemn the wanton immorality of the people of Nineveh, as the story unfolds it becomes evident that the real problem is not with the godless Ninevites, but with the prophet himself, who does not want God to show mercy to the enemy of his people.  Likewise, when reading the Gospel accounts one discovers that while Jesus certainly called all people to repentance, it was only the self-righteous Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-36),corrupt Sanhedrin (Matthew 21:12-13), and the people from near his hometown who had witnessed his many miracles but rejected him (Matthew 11:20-24) to whom he responded with anger or scorn.  When examining the Hebrew Scriptures, it is certainly possible to find God's anger directed at Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, or the Canaanites (whom he commanded Joshua to wipe out), but the vast majority of the prophetic utterances are issued against the failure of God's own Covenant people to obey the Law of Moses.  God does not forget the immorality of those who have not seen his wonders or heard his Word, but the focus of Scripture remains squarely upon God's chosen people, whether in the Old Covenant or the New.

2. Am I not my brother's keeper?
In Genesis 3:9, Cain famously asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?"  The answer to that question is, yes.  The Church of Jesus Christ is one body (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30), and while we have individual congregations and separate denominations, what is going on in other parts of the body of Christ affects us all.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon those called to shepherd the various flocks in God's pasture, that we be on the lookout for wolves, even if they are not targeting our flock directly.  Likewise, the integrity and reputation of the Church as a whole, and all those who make up its many parts, is of concern to all of us.   Dangerous ideas within the body of Christ are a cancer, if left unchecked they will spread.  The great Ecumenical Councils of the Early Church offer us an example as they brought together leading Church authorities from across the Roman Empire (and beyond) to by consensus condemn with one voice the heresies denying the deity and humanity of Jesus.  In our much more divided global Church, it would be impossible to duplicate their unanimity (316 out of 318 bishops voted in favor of the Council of Nicaea's decree), but the example of contending together for the sake of the purity of the Gospel and the health of the Church remains for us to emulate. 

3. The Gospel I preach is affected by the Gospel preached by others.
When the true Gospel is preached from any pulpit, we all benefit, and when a false gospel is spread, we all suffer.  It is not the duty of the Lost to make a distinction between Steven Anderson's Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix, AZ and that of Pastor Randy Powell's First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA.  It would make my life easier if nobody gave credence to ministers who spread heresy or who are in this profession to seek wealth and fame, let alone those who will eventually be caught in a sex scandal, but it is certainly not a realistic expectation.  I have been asked, "What's the connection between your church and Westboro Baptist?" (Topeka, KS)  Fortunately, there is no direct connection, but the prominent use of the name Baptist in every story about that church's protests at the funerals of fallen American soldiers is a stain that all of us who share the name must bear.  {A similar burden falls upon our Catholic brothers and sisters following the child sex abuse scandal, although that shame has since spread to other denominations too.}
Like it or not, the world connects us to the charlatans, whether they be fake faith healers, those telling their audience that God wants them to have a private jet (naturally connected to the request for $), the outright heretics, and those simply consumed with hatred (wrongly) in God's name.  Thus, for the sake of the Gospel mission, a "Christian" minister preaching death to homosexuals or a holy war against Islam is far more dangerous than a secular humanist praising abortion or a Muslim Jihadist preaching "Death to America!".

4. I hold us to a higher standard (as does God).
Those who are Lost, who are enmeshed in the world's false promises can be expected to live their lives by a moral code that falls short of the Law of God.  This is not unexpected, nor is it even correctable as those who live outside of the Covenant do not have the Spirit of God to empower them.  The best of those living apart from God seek to follow a noble morality while falling short as all people do, while the worst embrace the rebellion of hedonism and narcissism.  The people of God, however, are called to a higher standard.  The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) being a monumental way to live, and one certainly only within our grasp through both God's power and his grace, nevertheless it is this very standard of Christ-like behavior by which we must judge both ourselves and the rest of our fellow Christians.
What about, "Judge not lest ye be judged?"  This oft misunderstood passage (Matthew 7:1-5) ends with this key thought, "and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  It is not the suspension of all judgment, as if each individual Christian is an island unto him/herself, which would not fit well at all with Paul's vision of the members of the Church as part of the same body, but rather a strong warning against judgment that is not self-aware and thus hypocritical.  As I was told many years ago, before you preach a sermon, preach it to yourself first.  I certainly do not claim to be entirely free of the faults that infect the body of Christ, nor even of the ones that I have pointed out over the years when refuting the actions/words of others, but imperfect vessels are the only type of preacher that Christ has to work with, and we must hold ourselves, our congregations, and the Church as a whole to a higher standard.

5. There is ample criticism, already, of the immorality of the world from a variety of Christian sources.
One of the additional reasons why I spend less time railing against the 'godless abortion providers' or the 'Hollywood heathens' (to pick two random ones among the many potential targets) is that those topics are already being covered many times over by voices that represent, rightly or wrongly, Christianity .  At some point, this criticism becomes counter-productive, sounding in the ears of the Lost like the condescension of the Pharisees toward the "tax collectors and 'sinners'", rather than Jesus' compassionate "Go now, and leave your life of sin."  In the end, those who need Jesus will more often be swayed by Christians living morally upright lives who build personal bonds with them out of genuine compassion, than they will by fiery denouncements from the pulpit.  There is a time and a place for pronouncements from God's Word against the World, but for many Christians it has become to central a focus.

6. A common worldview is the ground upon which my reasoning stands.
The vast majority of my appeals are based upon the assumption that those reading my words hold the Word of God as authoritative over their lives.  I am capable of arguing from the perspective of moral philosophy, i.e. aiming at the common good necessary for a civil society to function, but that is not the heart of either my own reasoning nor my exhortations.  When I appeal to fellow Christians it is on the basis of a shared history, a common bond in Christ, and a fundamental willingness (hopefully) to accept that God's Word is the final arbiter when we disagree.  If I say, "The Word of God says", what is that to one who does not believe in God?  There is thus a presupposition in all of my thinking that is built upon Martin Luther's "Sola Scriptura", and where that presupposition is not shared my potential for persuasiveness will be inherently less.  It is certainly possible, and frequently a reality, that those who likewise value the Word of God as the final authority will disagree with a position that I hold, and vice versa.  This does not negate the commonality of our shared worldview, and isn't even necessarily a negative provided that neither of us are adhering to an immoral position, as it does still offer us the ability to stand upon the same foundation, share the same motivations, and ultimately seek the same goal of advancing the Gospel and glorifying our Father in Heaven. 

7. The doer of the thing does not affect the morality of the thing.
Motivation aside, evil is still evil, truth is still truth, and compassion is still compassion, no matter who the person is that is responsible for it.  When Christians commit acts of evil or distorts the truth, the consequences are real.  The fact that we're forgiven because of God's grace has an obvious impact upon our eternal disposition regarding these acts, but it doesn't mitigate the impact of that immorality upon the world around us here and now.
In the end, that which is morally upright for a Christian is morally upright for a non-Christian, and that which is sinful/evil when done by a Christian is sinful/evil when done by a non-Christian as well.  How these actions are judged by God in eternity will certainly be affected by the relationship (or lack) that each person has with God, for those who are redeemed will be clothed with the righteousness of Christ and those who are not cannot please God with their own righteousness.  That being said, in our world here and now, the morality of an action is not materially affected by whether or not the hero or villain of the tale is a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or atheist.  To use an example from recent history: It is equally dangerous for the sake of our republic when President Trump is called Hitler by liberals as it is when Speaker Pelosi is called Hitler by conservatives.  However, for the sake of the Gospel, and the integrity of the Church, if either of those speakers, whether liberal or conservative, is claiming to be a Christian, there is an additional concern, and one that concerns me even more as an ordained minister than the negative impact of such behavior on America, namely the negative impact upon Christ's Church.

Sermon Video: At the Last Trumpet: We will all be changed

When Christ returns, we will all be changed. All those who have faith in Jesus Christ, whether then living or already dead, will be resurrected or gathered (as needed) by Christ and will receive the transformation to Christ-likeness that has been promised. But when will these things occur? There is not on single interpretation of the totality of prophetic literature, some view the Rapture as the next event (Pre-tribution, pre-millenial), others see the millenial kingdom being established first (amillenial or post-millenial). However one interprets the Scriptures, this much is certain, Christ WILL return, and we won't know about it ahead of time. God has not given us the time, lest we look at the world with excessive optimism or pessimism, only the knowledge that these things will one day occur; and that's all we need. We can safely ignore those who claim to see signs of the impending End, and those who offer advice based on those supposed insights. Instead, let us continue to serve the Kingdom of God, and continue to live as though today may be our last day (as it may be for any of us) and plan as if God has many things left for us to accomplish here on earth.

* In addition, the message touches explains the flaws in the notion that COVID-19 is a sign of the End Times as well as the error in equating a potential vaccine with the Mark of the Beast.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

The Absurdity and Danger of analogies to the Holocaust

The proliferation of memes suggesting a connection to current events with the Holocaust ought to give us pause as citizens of a Republic who have the right to Free Speech, and it ought to trouble us further as Christians called to be light in a world of darkness.

1. Every analogy is by definition a minimization of the true horror of the Holocaust.
In theology it is difficult to convey accurate analogies about God because God is unique, nothing truly compares.  Fortunately, the Scriptures contain a number of analogies offered by God, such as that of Father or Shepherd, which we can use without fear that we're straying too far from reality.
When the Holocaust is used as part of an analogy, whichever thing is being compared to it must be of a lesser degree because no event in history can match the Holocaust in terms of the totality of the evil involved, its depth and breadth, its purposefulness {See: The Final Solution}, how many people willingly assisted it {See: Hitler's Willing Executioners}, as well as the danger of those working to deny its reality {See: Holocaust Denial}.  There may be no minimization intended by the creator or the one sharing a meme that uses the Holocaust as its point of comparison, but by drawing a connection between two unequal things, minimization will often be the result.  In the end, the Nazis and their willing accomplices purposefully and systematically murdered six million Jews, eight million Soviet citizens (including civilians and POW's), nearly two million Poles, hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Roma, and the disabled.  Nothing of this magnitude has every happened in human history, whatever thing is upsetting you, it is no Holocaust.

* Exceptions to the rule: Other acts of genocide like that which took place in Rwanda in 1994, against the Armenians during WWI, or those perpetuated against American Indians after 1492.  A sober minded and fact conscious comparison of acts of genocide to each other (sadly, the three examples only scratch the surface in human history) can help us understand how and why this inhumanity has occurred and perhaps even work to stop (or mitigate) such evil in the future.  Let's be honest, comparisons between the Holocaust and the Cultural Revolution seeking to understand their similarities and differences are not what are flooding social media.

2. No American political leader (past or present) has anything like the vision or will of Hitler's embrace of pure evil.
I get it, you don't like (fill in the blank) politician and you're convinced he/she is plotting to destroy our Republic.  Even if that were true (and it isn't) he/she would be a far cry from the next Hitler/Stalin/Mao.  Along the same lines, you may despise this or that creator of news/propaganda, but he/she/they are not remotely in the same league as Joseph Goebbels.  The truth is, for all our failures as a nation, America has rarely produced people as vile as those who propelled the Third Reich, and even more rarely have such evil would-be villains gained true power here.  For example, while there is little positive to say about Senator Joseph McCarthy today, in the end his obsession with finding Communist subversives was defeated through the normal political process and the application of public opinion.  For the most part, America has rejected demagogues, leaving men like KKK founder Nathan Bedford Forrest as a cautionary tale, not a hero.  When we jump to the comparison of the person(s) we don't like as Hitler or Nazis, we once again minimize how truly evil they were, and we wrongly associate that evil with fellow Americans with whom we disagree.

3. America is not a few steps away from Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia.
One of the things that these memes and analogies assume is that we are but a few steps away from either a fascist dictatorship or a communist totalitarian state.  In other words, they view our Republic as an extremely fragile thing, discount those who would refuse to be led in that direction, and assume that millions of brave men and women that wear the uniform as soldiers, police, and other government agents would go along with the nefarious plans of the liberal or conservative threat that you're afraid of.  Those two countries, and others who have fallen prey to authoritarianism, had significant historical and societal differences from the United States, differences that matter.
In addition, if the analogies to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia were anything close to the truth, the Church in America would need to be an entirely ineffective force, brittle and ripe for takeover.  These comparisons are not only a sign of a deep pessimism about our country, but about the Church here as well.  Thankfully, pessimism about both America and the Church here is overblown.

4. Holocaust, Hitler, and Nazi memes/analogies shut down dialogue, deepen already existing divisions, and make violence and civil disorder more likely.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is a dangerous thing.  The more we declare that our political adversaries in America are evil enemies who must be stopped at all cost before they enslave and murder us all, the more likely it is that somebody will hear that rhetoric and follow through with violence.  After all, what is the point of attempting to peacefully coexist with genocidal maniacs?  In addition, it is now well known that foreign countries, those who consider themselves to be our geopolitical rivals, are actively using social media to inflame the passions of Americans against each other utilizing fake stories.  The sad thing is, they hardly need bother at times as Americans themselves seem all too eager to proclaim that fellow citizens of this nation are so evil they should be incarcerated, if not lynched.

This trajectory is unsustainable.  Either we will, as a nation, pull back from this destructive path as we have in the past or we will continue to lurch forward toward making our own fears a reality.