There’s just something odd about the human heart. We just can’t seem to get it together. Throughout the centuries we’ve been at war with each other, struggled through famine, drought and disease yet we never seem to learn from our mistakes. It’s almost as if we can’t help ourselves. We fight to have more of […]
There was an interesting experiment done in the 1920 that examined our inability to walk in a straight line while blindfolded. It seems that we all are curiously unable to walk in a straight line without some sort of external reference to know when we’re off course. As a result, we continue to walk […]
I had a conversation this week about the purpose of the church, it’s mission and even about its ability to help us make sense of our lives in the confusing, chaotic world in which we live. It seems that we’re all a bit confused, perhaps even conflicted, by the relevance of our faith […]
The Cross enforces three truths: about ourselves, about God, and about Jesus Christ. 1. Our Sin must be extremely horrible. Nothing reveals the gravity of sin like the Cross. For ultimately what sent Christ there was neither the greed of Judas, nor the envy of the priests, nor the vacillating cowardice […]
Week of September 11, 2011 On September 11, 2001 we experienced evil on a scale never imagined. Thousands died, 10s of thousands more were left to grieve over the loss of a parent, child, spouse or friend. This Sunday we remember the 9/11 Tragedy and rededicate ourselves to confront evil in our world with truth, […]
July 17, 2011 We drastically underestimate the power of sin. Sin, by its nature, hides itself. It crouches at your door; it always looks smaller than it is. Your sins are not done with you when you think you are done with them. But there is hope in the gospel. Why do we […]
Week of July 10, 2011 Sin is more than just an action to be avoided, it is a power that is released in our lives that continues to enslave and choke the life out of us. In this passage from Number, God’s people are addicted to the pleasures of Egypt even though they hate the […]
I am Absolutely NOT in Denial! When we are in our addiction, we are blind to it. Alcoholism and all other addictions come with built in denial. The patient does not know that they are ill. They have no real concept of how severe the situation is and they are frequently not willing to talk […]
What follows is a collection of quotes on the subject of Sin, Addiction, and God’s reaction through the work of Jesus Christ. These quote and ideas were used in a sermon Series “Breaking Free” presented at First United Methodist Church on July 10 & 17, 2011 and are currently available on line for listening and […]
Week of June 26, 2011 We drastically underestimate the power of sin. Sin, by its nature, hides itself. It crouches at your door; it always looks smaller than it is. Your sins are not done with you when you think you are done with them. But there is hope in the gospel. Scripture Verse Genesis […]
Week of June 19, 201 We drastically underestimate the power of sin. Sin, by its nature, hides itself. It crouches at your door; it always looks smaller than it is. Your sins are not done with you when you think you are done with them. But there is hope in the gospel. Scripture Verse Genesis […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqGq-z9msAw&feature=player_embedded] “Sin is the missing of a target, a wandering from the path, a straying from the fold. Sin is a hard heart and stiff neck. Sin is blindness and deafness. It is both the overstepping of a line and the failure to reach it – both transgression and shortcoming. Sin is a beast crouching […]
This is an excellent quality video to share with people about what it means to be trapped by our insatiable desires. Animation by Rodrigo Blaas that is hugely compelling. And chilling. A visual metaphor of entrapment. A real discussion starter – it would be useful to show, for example, to a youth group. There is […]