Scripture for July 1st: Psalm 33:12-22

Sermon Title: Myth #5, God Loves the USA so We Cannot Lose


Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

“God will always bless America.” Many people believe this because they think that America is God’s special country, a country that was pre-ordained by God to be a blessing to the nations. This theory is often called “Americanism” and it is a widely accept fact in many Christian circles. However, the Bible does not speak about America, nor does it give special status to any nation besides Israel. The Bible does say that God will hold a nation corporately responsible for her actions – if the nation follows God, it will be blessed; if it does not, it will be judged.

Dr. L.J. Ogilive writes the following concerning the passage above: “Not only does the creation exist by the word of God, the nations are also judged by that same word. Thus verses 10–11 contrast the vain “counsel” and “plans” of the nations with God’s own “counsel” and “plans.”In their pride, the “nations” (“Gentiles”) claim a false autonomy. They offer their worldly “counsel” (“advice, wisdom”) and they make their “plans.” They live on the horizontal, employing politics as the “art of the possible.” Their devices are “balance of power,” “the dictatorship of the proletariat,” “pro-choice,” the New Deal, the thousand-year Reich, NATO, the Warsaw Pact, the Alliance for Progress, and so on. Their “counsel” and “plans,” however, are a passing show. Thus God brings the autonomy of the nations, which is their idolatry, “to nothing,” “of no effect.” He breaks their rebellious spirit. On the other hand, “the counsel of the Lord stands forever” and His “plans” last through the “generations,” for this “counsel” and these “plans” come from the eternal God who speaks His word and who does His work in righteousness and truth.”

Nations and their affairs can never dictate to God what is right, holy and true. He will always be above the nations, their circumstances and issues of the day. And He is always prepared to bless and help those who follow Him with all their hearts, no matter what country they live in. I will speak more about how God blesses the nations this coming Sunday as I continue the sermon series, “Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for June 24th: Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon – Myth #4, God Has A Pre-Determined Blueprint for My Life

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“God will always work out His will in our lives.” This is a common misconception that is often communicated by sincere believers. No matter what happens, they say, God will carry out His purposes in our lives. But the parable that Jesus spoke tells us that this is not true. In fact, our decisions do matter and our decisions with the choices that we are confronted with can have a profound impact for all of eternity.

L.J. Ogilvie writes the following concerning this parable: “This parable focuses primarily upon the useless servant. Gifts that are not used are lost. The title “talents” is unfortunate, in that in our language we use the word “talent” to refer to natural aptitudes or abilities that people have. The talent in this story was a weight, and its value depended on whether the object weighed was copper, silver, or gold. In the story, talents were given to the several men according to their “abilities” (v. 15). It would be best to interpret the talents as opportunities. And in the parable each of the men is given opportunity according to ability and is expected to serve faithfully. This is a parable on responsibility.

The men who had received five and two talents respectively took risks; they applied themselves actively in their responsibility. But the unfaithful servant thought only of himself and his security, risked nothing, and achieved nothing.

On the Master’s return there is an accounting from each. The two servants, representing faithful disciples, had transformed privilege into action. The response of the Master carries the note of eschatological joy; the “good and faithful” servants enter the joy of their Master. But as soon as the unfaithful servant opens his mouth, it is evident that he was not interested in his Lord’s cause or advantage but rather in saving his own skin. One who cannot venture his own person cannot take risks for the sake of his Lord! He was judged according to his conduct. What was given was taken away, “For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it… .” The story closes with the language of destruction in outer darkness—the symbol of the anguish of ultimate separation.”

Our decisions do matter; God will not “over-ride” our will – we will be accountable for the decisions we make. On Sunday, we will discuss this parable further and we will see how the role of initiative, faith and faithfulness should play in our decision-making as we continue the sermon series, “Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for June 17th: Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon Title: Myth #3, A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Children

“Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, “Obey your father and your mother, and you will have a long and happy life.” Parents, don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.”

This story is taken from an edition of the daily devotional, “Our Daily Bread”: “A strange dog came to a preacher’s house, and his three sons soon became quite fond of it. It so happened that there were three white hairs in the animal’s tail. One day an advertisement was seen in the newspaper about a lost dog which fitted that description perfectly. “In the presence of my three boys,” said the minister, “we carefully separated the three white hairs and removed them.” The real owner discovered where the straying canine had found a home and came to claim him. The dog showed every sign of recognition, so the man was ready to take him away.

Quickly the minister spoke up, “Didn’t you say the dog would be known by three white hairs in its tail?” The owner, unable to find the identifying feature, was forced to leave. The minister said later, “we kept the dog, but I lost my three boys for Christ.” His sons no longer had confidence in what their father professed. He hadn’t practiced what he preached.”

What we do or don’t do will influence those around us, especially those we love the most. But can we do things to “guarantee” that they will choose to follow God? Many believe we can, because they think that a godly home will always produce godly children. We will share why this is not true and why parents are still response to influence their children in a godly manner this coming Sunday as we continue the sermon series, “Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for June 10th: Psalm 51:1-15

Sermon Title: Myth #2, Forgiving Means Forgetting

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

“But God forgot about my sin, so why shouldn’t I?” This was a response that a woman had about a grievous sin that she had committed which hurt many people. She believed that God had forgiven and forgotten her sin, so she was not going to think about her past at all. It was time to move forward, and to forget her past. Unfortunately, this is the attitude many Christians have about their past sins – because God has forgiven, then we should simply forget them. However, if we choose to never remember our past, then we lose such great opportunities for blessings and to be a blessing to others. For example, when we remember what God has delivered us from, we are reminded that sin never works – it always brings destruction to our lives. This causes us to run from sin and turn to God, living in the ways in which He taught us to live. Sin is like falling off a cliff and getting hurt – when we remember all the pain that we felt when we fell off the cliff, we want to stay away from the edge and remain on safe ground.

Someone once wrote “10 things we cannot do without reaping bad consequences.” Here’s that list:

(1) Sow bad habits and reap a good character.
(2) Sow jealously and hatred and reap love and friendship.
(3) Sow wicked thoughts and reap a clean life.
(4) Sow wrong deeds and live righteously.
(5) Sow crime and get away with it.
(6) Sow dissipation and reap a healthy body.
(7) Sow crooked dealings and succeed indefinitely.
(8) Sow self-indulgence and not show it in your face.
(9) Sow disloyalty and reap loyalty from others.
(10) Sow profane words and reap clean speech.

Galatians 6:7 reminds us that we will “reap what we sow” and whenever we sin, we will reap the consequences. It’s good to remember the past consequences of sin in our life to avoid the same sins. And remembering our past sins also causes us to praise God for the forgiveness that we now have – it should produce a thankful heart. We will talk more about remembering the past as we continue the sermon series, “Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe” this Sunday. Hope to see you then!