Friday’s Word

Good News All Around

You know—I talk about the dangers of biblical inerrancy.

Yes, many good people are biblical inerrantists. But many good people are very selective about the neighbors they will be good to.

And they support their unkindness to gay people and other minorities with scripture.

For the inerrantist, all scripture is of equal value and authority. No priority is given to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

His message of God’s unconditional love for all people is overruled.

Scripture itself is used to silence Jesus.

But I see signs of hope in the church. Yes, the church is in decline; but conservative, inerrantist Christianity is declining at the fastest rate of all.

“Evangelicals” are down to 14% of the population from a high of 25%.

And they are the oldest group–average age, 56.

That’s what makes the future of the churches who recently broke from United Methodism look uncertain.

They have joined a doomed group. Doomed—because their opposition to gay people and love for Mr. Trump leads to a moral dead end.

It has no future.

And that’s good.

Unkindness needs to die.

The worst thing that could happen is for the far-right church to flourish.

A. W. Tozer said of the racist white church in the 60s, “We do not want revival of this. A revival of the kind of Christianity we know today in America might prove to be a moral tragedy from which we would not recover.”

So, the good news is that hatred and ignorance are becoming harder to sell.

We do need revival.

But only if Jesus is at the heart of it. +++

Join us for worship.

Max’s Corner

This Sunday

Sermon: A Bigger Barn Won’t Help
Scripture: Luke 12:16-21

About the Concert

We would like to have had a few more people; but it was an “off” week, with lower attendance on Sunday, also. But that’s the way it works in church. The nice thing is that the concert seems to have gone as I hoped it would and I believe people found it meaningful.

You know, the “concerts” that I put together are a bit like revival services. They are intended to be worship experiences—starting somewhere and leading to the cross—which is where all worship leads.

And our other concerts are great because on those we have great singers doing wonderful music.

I think you should always make a point of attending all of our monthly concerts. The next one is on October 14. It will be me and Blake.

I know!—I know!—if Blake is singing, I am hardly necessary. But I don’t want to drop the whole thing on him. Still, the concert will be exciting because “the voice” will be in it.

By the way—thanks to Jason Hardy, Mel Creason, Linda Parker, Veta McCulloch and everyone else who worked to make the concert and dinner possible.

GOD BLESS—-MB

Mary’s Corner

Lists. Making lists is a special talent of mine; completing my lists is another matter entirely. But I “press on toward the mark” as Paul would say, always hoping to experience the feeling of accomplishment. The author of Peter wrote a list for the persecuted Christians living in areas of Asia Minor. I learned today that Asia Minor, now Anatolia, is the part of Western Asia that touches Europe. Peter’s letters, and lists, were important to the new church. Keep these things in mind this week as you move forward in your relationship with God: Onto your faith, add virtue. And to your virtue add knowledge. To knowledge, self-control (good luck with this one). To self-control, add steadfastness or perseverance (NIV translation). To perseverance, godliness; to Godliness, mutual affection for each other. And finally, church, add love. I am grateful to be on this journey with you. Faithfully and as virtuously as I am able, Mary

Kids’ News

We were all ready for Sunday School, but today we had no kids! What a disappointment. We were ready to talk about God creating living things. It was the fifth and sixth days of creation when God created living things.

The swarming of living things is a description of how all creatures inhabit the earth. God divided the animals into three categories—- sea animals, sky animals, and land animals. Each area of the earth that God created needed different living things.

Fish, sea animals, and water plants needed the nourishment of water. Creatures that lived on land and flew in the sky needed plants and they needed areas to find food and to nest.

God made all living things diverse in color, shape, and size. God knew that each creature would serve a purpose and be a contributing part of creation. God saw all that was created as good and beautiful.

Children can use their imagination to create. Children delight in the beauty around them. Maybe we should start looking at the world through the eyes of a child—slowing our pace, looking at the ground below us, and stopping to give thanks for God’s world of wonder and beauty. See you in church.