When I was in college, I was regularly invited by well-intended friends to listen to some guest preacher/speaker/lecturer defend the Christian faith from its so-called "cultured despisers."
The lectures usually offered self-referential arguments about the "Sovereignty of God" or the putative "Infallibility of Scripture." These topics seemed boring at best, vapid at worst. Since then, I've never really cared for books/lectures/sermons that serve as an apologetic for Christian doctrine.
And yet, as I look at our world's entropy, I have become even more convinced that Christian faith offers fundamental claims about the nature and value of human life, human purpose, and essential organizing principles for society. These principles and values have sometimes been taken to their harmful extremes, but when applied with wisdom and care, they offer much to the quality of our lives, relationships, and society.
That's why we'll launch a sermon series this week entitled "Why I'm Christian: Thoughts on the Life Abundant." This week, Katherine Kerr will lead us as we explore essential ideas of identity and belonging. You can prepare by reading this passage.
In coming weeks, we'll explore additional fundamentals like forgiveness, generosity, service and worship. We trust this will be a robust series that you will find helpful.
And, just to prove that God has a way of humbling me over time, I'll go ahead and admit it: I hope you'll consider inviting a friend who deals with serious questions about Christian faith!
A few other important notes:
- We'll launch a newly designed 11 a.m. Fellowship Hall service this week. It will be acoustic and intimate, with spoken word poetry by award-winning guest Kia Flow.
- We have rented a theater Thursday at 7 p.m. at Regal Phillips Place for a special screening of Just Mercy, based on the best-selling book by Bryan Stevenson. We'll be joined by friends from The Park Church and other congregations. We expect this to sell out quickly and encourage you to buy tickets using this link. You'll be glad you did.
- I try hard not to mention money/budget/finances in this weekly message, but I'm afraid the resounding success of our capital campaign may have unintentionally fostered a touch of malaise about our annual budget. Our commitments to the 2020 budget are lagging significantly and we are still $364,000 short of our goal. The Session sets a budget in just a few days. Unless we rally, some difficult decisions will have to be made. Now is the time. Click here.
With gratitude and hope!
