Introduction
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise …
INTRODUCTION
As I write this letter, many of you have already cast votes in the 2024 election. I know this because many of you have sent pictures of you and your kids standing in line at the polls. Praise God. This week, I want to exhort you to prayer and preparation for the future. First, prayer.
PRAYER IN TROUBLOUS TIMES
Essentially, the Old Testament book of Habakkuk is the record of one man’s prayers and …
INTRODUCTION
We don’t have time for a deep dive into Christian positions on every political and public policy issue. However, for this week’s letter from the pastor, I’m outlining 5 broad headings that ought to be in your mind as you consider your vote in the upcoming election. But before we dive in, a few reminders:
The Church is inherently political, but we aren’t partisan, up to a point. When I say the church is …
The text for the sermon today is Matthew 5:14. These are the Words of God:
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
During the Colonial era of American history, it was customary for pastors to preach sermons just prior to public elections instructing the church in their civic responsibilities. They were called artillery sermons because the custom began with pastors preaching to …
A famous quote has been (falsely?) attributed to Leon Trotsky: “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” I’m not here to debate the attribution of the quote. Instead, I want to put a spin on it. You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. If you are like me, you wish that everything wasn’t so politicized. Why must everything be dragged into politics and …
Last week, I wrote about the purpose of freedom. Freedom, I argued, is given by God so that we will pursue righteousness. Freedom is not an ultimate or final goal; obedience is. This week, I want to shift our focus towards religious freedom, or religious liberty. What is religious liberty? Are there any limits to religious liberty? Why is religious liberty, which our nation has historically celebrated, under threat today?
UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Our church’s …
INTRODUCTION
Which matters more: planting churches or electing politicians? There is a sense, of course, in which church planting connects with eternity in ways that 21st-century American politics does not. But this is not a zero-sum game whereby political effort equals less church planting. On the contrary, it may be that all the unopposed church planting we’re able to pursue today is the result of a lot of political effort in the past. And, if …
I’ve been expecting a reply to an email I sent a few days ago. Suspecting the reply may have fallen into the black-hole of my “junk” inbox, I went searching. While I didn’t find the reply I was looking for, what I did find gave me the spark for writing this post.
My junk box was full of political newsletters. Over the years as I’ve contributed to candidates or filled out surveys I’ve been added …
Below you’ll find links both to the sermon audio and manuscript I wrote for this sermon. I pray they will encourage you in your walk with Christ and spur you on to godliness.
…No one comes to the political table as a blank slate. Everyone comes to the political table with a set of precommitments. This is what the Lutheran, then Catholic, minister, Richard John Neuhaus told us in 1984 in his book, The Naked Public Square. The central proposition of Neuhaus’ book, now close to 40 years old, was that the Founders of the United States, in drafting the First Amendment, were seeking to prevent the government …
