The following is an excerpt from a sermon by Russ Ramsey. To hear the context, you can download the free podcast called "The Rabbit Room Podcast." I transcribed this from Episode 12, so any typos or grammatical mistakes are mine. I pick up around the 24:08 mark, where Mr. Ramsey is discussing Luke 19:28-44, particularly verse 38.
--begin transcription
"Blessed is the King!" - those are strong words in the ears of Caesar. And everyone knows they mean Jesus. Some of the Pharisees who are present, they go up to Jesus, and they say, "Hey! Stop this! Make them shhhh! Because You know what could happen if this gets back to somebody in the higher ups."
...
See, Israel had struck a compromise with Rome and it is insidious when you look at it. The compromise was this: they (Israel) could continue their worship practices so long as they obeyed Roman rule, paid their taxes and kept the peace. But any hint of insurgency was going to be dealt with, make no mistake, swiftly and without mercy. And this, for Rome, was just brilliant. Because, think of it, Rome had persuaded Israel that their right to worship the God that their national identity was built upon was a privilege that was granted to them by Caesar. That is just politically brilliant. If you want to be an oppressor, and you don't want to constantly have to be bullying people to keep them in line, and their national identity is built upon their worship of one God in stead of many, let them. But make sure that they understand that you can take that privilege away in a heartbeat. And then they will worship with the knowledge that their privilege of worship is granted to them by Caesar. What this does, is it takes the religious leaders and it divides their loyalty between the God of their Bible and the ruler of their occupying force.
--end transcription
There is much more that Mr. Ramsey has to say, but this knocked me down with its available application to today's American Christians.
It is a brilliant political plot, indeed, to make sure that all religious Americans are constantly reminded that their religious freedom hinges on America's existence and domination. With an unspoken hint of "the ends justify the means," it's a quick jump to a holy war.
I do believe that God has blessed America. I balk at attempting to assign a reason for that blessing (or a reason for that blessing's apparent waning).
If America ends (and I have NO idea what that means), I will still be able to praise my Lord and Savior: Jesus, the Christ. Nor will I be beyond the reach of His Love.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Showing posts with label scripture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scripture. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, November 2, 2009
Community
Yesterday was honestly one of the best Sunday's I've had at Otter Creek in a while (I guess since Dr. Camp's last sermon). I thought Philip Duncan did a GREAT job - like, really good - at song selection and just helping to mold the service. I couldn't even sing all of "Blessed Be Your Name" because I was so choked up. The thing that got me the most was seeing Doug Sanders sing those words on the front row with his glasses off and his eyes closed. And then seeing that guy (I can't remember his name, but he's a doctor that sits front-and-center every Sunday) limp over to put his hands on Doug. Sheesh, I'm even tearing up just thinking about it right now.
Josh's message was terrific. And Danielle's testimony was incredibly powerful too.
The message made me think of this past week's episode of Community - have you been watching that show?
There is a scene between a middle-aged African-American lady (Shirley) and a late-20s blonde white girl (Britta: the pervasive love-interest character). Shirley had been doing crazy stuff all episode - she was way too passionate about Joel McHale's character doing something she perceived as offensive - though in the universe of the ethics of that show, it was completely within bounds. Turns out that she was just projecting her anger about what was going on in her life.
Shirley: "My ex-husband came by this morning and he asked for his ring back. It was his mother's and he wants to give it to his new girlfriend."
Britta: "Shirley, that sucks."
Shirley: [Talks about her feelings on the issue for a bit]
Britta: "I totally get that."
Shirley: "I feel better now."
Britta: "Let's go check on Annie."
The scene I'm talking about starts a little after the 13 minute mark. (It may get taken down at some point - if so, sorry)
This formula gets screwed up from the start SO often. In stead of saying "Shirley, that sucks," the response is often, "You're better off without him!" or "It's time to move on - let's find you a man!" or some other form of "Stop feeling sad!"
As we saw yesterday at Otter Creek, sad feelings are valid. In stead of, "It was God's Will" or something like that, it seemed like Danielle would've appreciated a "Danielle, that sucks" mixed in there. It seems like even in trying to "comfort" someone in grief, the confidante still tries to turn the attention on themselves sometimes - wanting to be remembered as the one who gave the great advice or something like that in stead of letting Shirley/Danielle just talk through the crap that they're feeling. Like most things in life, real issue that are messy probably won't get wrapped up as quickly or neatly as the TV conversation mentioned above, but it's a good framework for starting to walk with someone through their suffering.
What's more, the final piece of the "Community" equation was "Let's go check on Annie." Annie was another character who was upset about something (comparatively trivial). Perhaps an important step in overcoming grief in her own life, Shirley needed to then go "check on" another member of their community.
Britta completely exemplifies a Christian example in this scene.
I'm not even going to apologize for using this cheesy cultural reference. There.
"One another" hits:
John 13:34 - "'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.'"
Romans 12:10 - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Romans 15:7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
Ephesians 4:2 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Peter 3:8 - "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."
Josh's message was terrific. And Danielle's testimony was incredibly powerful too.
The message made me think of this past week's episode of Community - have you been watching that show?
There is a scene between a middle-aged African-American lady (Shirley) and a late-20s blonde white girl (Britta: the pervasive love-interest character). Shirley had been doing crazy stuff all episode - she was way too passionate about Joel McHale's character doing something she perceived as offensive - though in the universe of the ethics of that show, it was completely within bounds. Turns out that she was just projecting her anger about what was going on in her life.
Shirley: "My ex-husband came by this morning and he asked for his ring back. It was his mother's and he wants to give it to his new girlfriend."
Britta: "Shirley, that sucks."
Shirley: [Talks about her feelings on the issue for a bit]
Britta: "I totally get that."
Shirley: "I feel better now."
Britta: "Let's go check on Annie."
The scene I'm talking about starts a little after the 13 minute mark. (It may get taken down at some point - if so, sorry)
This formula gets screwed up from the start SO often. In stead of saying "Shirley, that sucks," the response is often, "You're better off without him!" or "It's time to move on - let's find you a man!" or some other form of "Stop feeling sad!"
As we saw yesterday at Otter Creek, sad feelings are valid. In stead of, "It was God's Will" or something like that, it seemed like Danielle would've appreciated a "Danielle, that sucks" mixed in there. It seems like even in trying to "comfort" someone in grief, the confidante still tries to turn the attention on themselves sometimes - wanting to be remembered as the one who gave the great advice or something like that in stead of letting Shirley/Danielle just talk through the crap that they're feeling. Like most things in life, real issue that are messy probably won't get wrapped up as quickly or neatly as the TV conversation mentioned above, but it's a good framework for starting to walk with someone through their suffering.
What's more, the final piece of the "Community" equation was "Let's go check on Annie." Annie was another character who was upset about something (comparatively trivial). Perhaps an important step in overcoming grief in her own life, Shirley needed to then go "check on" another member of their community.
Britta completely exemplifies a Christian example in this scene.
I'm not even going to apologize for using this cheesy cultural reference. There.
"One another" hits:
John 13:34 - "'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.'"
Romans 12:10 - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Romans 15:7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
Ephesians 4:2 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Peter 3:8 - "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Money
...it's a gas.
Quote from one of my superiors in a meeting last week: "There's no downside, in my mind, if you make more money." Clearly, this is the model for capitalism, but really? After what we've seen in the housing market over the past few months, how can you possibly utter such a phrase? If there's one thing we've learned as a nation (and I'm sure there's not), I hope it would be that there should be higher aspirations than the bottom line. That line has had me a little down over the past week.
Another depressing thought that's been running through my head is that all this bailout talk seems to be rewarding people who've endangered (literally) humanity.
Stephen Colbert: "I believe these guys should be able to speculate and do anything they want to make as much money as they want in any WAY that they want in the good times. And in the bad times, we should help them out so they can do it again later."
With no hyperbole, I believe the men and women in charge of these corporations were participating in evil practices. These practices were the center of their lives which makes them evil people. A few scriptures are running through my head. The most obvious, of course, is that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Tim 6:10) Here are some others to ponder...
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." (Ecc 5:10)
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Heb 13:5)
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim 3:1-5)
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matt 6:24-27)
In this last one, Jesus is juxtaposing the desire for money and worry. These two and inherently tied, as we have seen over the past few weeks. Everyone is WORRIED about the FINANCIAL systems' seemingly imminent collapse. We're also worried about the people who've caused this mess being treated fairly. I'll end this blog with one more scripture.
Psalm 37 (I added some emphasis)
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
...
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
...
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
...
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
...
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Quote from one of my superiors in a meeting last week: "There's no downside, in my mind, if you make more money." Clearly, this is the model for capitalism, but really? After what we've seen in the housing market over the past few months, how can you possibly utter such a phrase? If there's one thing we've learned as a nation (and I'm sure there's not), I hope it would be that there should be higher aspirations than the bottom line. That line has had me a little down over the past week.
Another depressing thought that's been running through my head is that all this bailout talk seems to be rewarding people who've endangered (literally) humanity.
Stephen Colbert: "I believe these guys should be able to speculate and do anything they want to make as much money as they want in any WAY that they want in the good times. And in the bad times, we should help them out so they can do it again later."
With no hyperbole, I believe the men and women in charge of these corporations were participating in evil practices. These practices were the center of their lives which makes them evil people. A few scriptures are running through my head. The most obvious, of course, is that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Tim 6:10) Here are some others to ponder...
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." (Ecc 5:10)
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Heb 13:5)
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim 3:1-5)
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matt 6:24-27)
In this last one, Jesus is juxtaposing the desire for money and worry. These two and inherently tied, as we have seen over the past few weeks. Everyone is WORRIED about the FINANCIAL systems' seemingly imminent collapse. We're also worried about the people who've caused this mess being treated fairly. I'll end this blog with one more scripture.
Psalm 37 (I added some emphasis)
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
...
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
...
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
...
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
...
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
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