We’re about to send six high school graduates off as they begin the next phase of life. Their lives will change significantly as they experience the world without being watched as closely by their parents. So I planned this sermon with them in mind.
As the sermon developed, though, I became more convicted that it is a message that everyone in our congregation needs to hear. The temptation that affected Israel in Samuel’s day–to allow the spirit of the age to become their own–is the same that affects people in our time.
The movement afloat in America that is gaining traction in many demographics–particularly Gen Z and Millennials–is to embrace Christianity as little more than a way to engage in social justice issues. It is a form of progressivism that turns its back on the historic teachings of the Church regarding the deity of Christ, his virgin birth and bodily resurrection, the inspiration of Scripture, sex as God’s gift to a husband and wife only, the sanctity of life, etc. So many people are embracing a different form of Christianity–one that is defined more by its commitment to social and political agendas than it is to the inspired teachings of Scripture . . . one that encourages tolerance and acceptance over any kind of commitment to Truth and one that redefines love in terms of sentimentalism (“just love and accept everyone regardless of lifestyle”).
So in this sermon I plan to talk briefly about 1 Samuel 8 and its context, but then we’ll use the principle embedded in it to speak to our time. I hope to point to some of the trends in our country that can draw us away from Christ if we’re not vigilant.
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