this sermon is rated PG-13

Posted by Josh Howerton on Mar 23, 2010 | Comments Off

As most of you know, we’ve hit a section of 1 Corinthians that is a preacher’s nightmare.  Here are the issues we’ll address in this section for the next few weeks…

• Church discipline
• Christian sexuality
• Marriage/Divorce
• Gender Roles
• Tongues/Miraculous gifts
• Navigating morally grey-areas such as alcohol consumption, media we should/shouldn’t intake, etc.

Basically every one of the most divisive and controversial issues in The Bible. A quick reminder about this week’s sermon on Christian sexuality; it will be rated PG-13.  I’m approaching it very sensitively, but just know that the subject matter will dictate that you may want to make a decision about whether young students are ready for it.  See you Sunday, preaching helmet on.

a followup thought on the healthcare bill…

Posted by Josh Howerton on Mar 23, 2010 | Comments Off

This, from Dr. Moore at Southern Seminary, really resonated with me after watching the fallout from many Christians in the wake of the Healthcare Reform Bill last night…

Is it a problem that some of us who are tranquil as still water about biblical doctrine and missions are red-faced about Nancy Pelosi and the talking heads on MSNBC? Is it a problem that some who haven’t shared the gospel with their neighbors in months are years are motivated to vent to strangers on the street about how scary national health care will be?

The answer: Yes.

A sign of a big problem.  This may bother some people, but it’s where I am and I’m willing to admit that it may be because I’m young and naive: I don’t care a lot about politics outside of a few issues to which the Bible directly speaks such as abortion, about which I am very passionate.  This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be involved, but Jesus doesn’t talk a lot about politics in Scripture.  Honestly, I think the healthcare reform is probably something that looks great on paper for the short term (my wife Jana will be able to get coverage after being denied for years as a result of a past minor melanoma) but will probably be very bad for the country’s economy in the longterm.  Am I informed? Definitely not.  I don’t support the bill, but I’ll say this – the bill got passed in part because many non-Christian people have a heart for the poor who can’t afford healthcare while many Christians do little or nothing about this.  I don’t think this was the right way to address that issue, but that’s saddening to me.

A few thoughts about our…

• Hearts.  God is sovereign over healthcare reform just like he is over little birds dying that no human ever saw (Matt 7).  If you believe that this bill is morally wrong, you should work against it.  You should not, however, “let your heart be troubled” and live in fear.  Have the heart of a son or daughter of God – untroubled and safe in God’s arms.

• Words. It’s cause for serious reflection if we see that we’ll talk til’ we’re blue in the face about healthcare reform to anyone who will listen but are content to have closed mouths as people that we love dearly head to hell.

• Emotions.  Dr. Moore’s point is right on.  Many of us will spew impassioned words in our conversations, on our facebook pages, and blogs about healthcare reform – for it or against it.  But we don’t care about at all about good doctrine or engaging the lost people around us with the gospel.  This is another cause for inward reflection.

If you have any comments or questions of disagreement, please email me instead of posting them in the comments section.  Praying for you today and hoping that God uses this trial to sanctify us and bring things in us previously unseen to light.

Email: josh.howerton@bridgesh.com