Sermons from January 2019

The Bible Jesus Read

A few months ago a famous, extremely influential megachurch pastor preached a sermon in which he said Christians needed to “unhitch from the Old Testament.” He’s been roundly criticized by people all over the world, including quite a few in the Church of Christ. Though most of us wouldn’t say what he said out loud, we might’ve thought it. The Old Testament, to put it bluntly, makes us uncomfortable. Bad things happen, sometimes with God’s approval, it seems, and at…

But as for You . . .

Timothy was probably discouraged by the demands of his ministry and needed a pick-me-up from his mentor, Paul. The apostle wanted him to do effective work, of course, so he wrote him a short letter to lift his spirits. It’s pretty amazing how much of this letter is good advice for all of us. Near the end of the letter, Paul gives some quick hitters. It’s almost like Timothy needed his older mentor to sum it all up for him.…

Can Genesis 9 be used to justify slavery?

During the slave-holding past, pro-slavery proponents used Genesis 9:26-27 to justify slavery by saying that slaves were the descendants of Ham who were cursed to serve. The overall teaching of scripture supports the dignity of all humanity, and we can all agree that slavery is reprehensible, but . . . Noah seems to be at fault for drunkenness and nakedness, so why is Ham in trouble for seeing him? Is the problem one of disrespect because Ham told his brothers?…
  • 1
  • 2