Monthly Archives: January 2024
2403 – The Source of Power
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Romans 7:14-25 New International Version
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a]For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[b] a slave to the law of sin.
Friday’s Word
The Book of Revelation
The final decision at the Council of Hippo in 397 was to include the Book of Revelation in the canon of the Bible.
It was a mistake.
After that, it has been hard to get Christians to listen to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.
Our natural inclination is toward revenge, and the Book of Revelation is a book of vengeance. In it, both God and his Son are rough customers.
God pours out bowls of wrath on the earth and sends fire and earthquakes.
And Jesus rides in on a white horse with a sword in his mouth and cuts off the heads of his enemies.
And that’s it.
That’s the undoing of the image of God we have in the Gospels.
That wipes out the essential teaching of Jesus—that God loves us, even if we are the worst of sinners. For God loves God’s enemies.
Jesus says God is “kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked.”
So, Christians face a choice: They must choose bowls of wrath or grace.
They must choose a Jesus who cuts off heads or dies for us on the cross.
They can’t have both.
And many Christians, particularly evangelicals, choose the image of God from Revelation.
That tells us why a political figure who is all about vengeance has the support of so many people who claim to follow Jesus Christ.
That politician was once asked to name his favorite verse of scripture.
He said, “An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Yes, the very verse Jesus quoted to say that it was wrong.
And so is that “book of vengeance” in the Bible.
It is wrong about God.
Max’s Corner
What a Good—COLD—Sunday!
Well—I lied—inadvertently—in last week’s newsletter. I said—jokingly–the heat would be working on the cold upcoming Sunday. Of course, it
would. It always has been.
But not last Sunday. It wasn’t working properly. It got up to 55 degrees in the sanctuary. Everybody kept their coats on and we had a great time.
The heat is being fixed this week.
(Fortunately, the rest of the church was warm.)
This Sunday
I always wind my old grandfather clock in my living room every Sunday. I was doing so last Sunday evening and was suddenly fascinated by the thing that provides the power that keeps it running. And I decided what I want to preach on this Sunday. My scripture is the story of Jesus casting out an “unclean spirit” (Luke 4:31-37). My sermon title is “The Source of Power.”
Mary is gone one more Sunday.
Kristi will be back.
The heat WILL be on.
Expect a time of joyful worship.
God bless—MB
Do NOT forget the great breakfast Winston prepares for us every week—10:30 before worship. It has become a great time f fellowship.
See you at breakfast.
Mary’s Corner
Hello from Marsh Harbor!! I pray that you are all warm and safe. I watched you shiver Sunday morning during the service and I am grateful to the many of you who showed up AND stayed for the service. Please, please reach out to me or to Max if you need anything during this inclement weather. We do not want anyone to suffer needlessly if the church can help. I won’t trouble you with the weather details from here. I do not want you to experience the cold and being jealous.
I submitted everything to the Board of Ordained ministry on Saturday about 3pm. I’m sure you heard me shouting with joy. Twelve thousand words, 42 pages, and most of my heart and mind went into that document. I also realized that by answering those 16 questions, I now have the framework for 16 sermons. I will interview in March and have my results very quickly after the interviews. I cannot tell you how very much I appreciate your prayers and support. I would not have completed all of this without you. Love to all, Mary