If you went to a Christian church this weekend, how did your pastor discuss SCOTUS's
- Thread starter Al A Bama
- Start date
it was and is still being celebrated at my church.
from an interfaith service at my church this past friday night
[video]https://video-atl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xpf1/v/t42.1790-2/11681696_10206019492465090_869033835_n.mp4?efg=eyJ ybHIiOjQ3NSwicmxhIjo1MTJ9&rl=475&vabr=264&oh=15c2349735fe218f9b5c4fa2e957e47c&oe=559055DF[/video]
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Our church actually spoke about recent events like what just happened in Charleston, SC. As for the SCOTUS.........Just look and see what the Bible says.
He mentioned that it gave an introit into discussion on it and then preached on some same gender relationships between characters in the Bible which were extremely "close," and loving. However, he'd made it clear in the weekly bulletin he favored it. The UMC still disallows same-sex marriage. Many expect that to change at the next General Conference. When he was talking to my daughter at my house, and invited her to church, she made it plain that she was not only married and gay, but that she tended towards being agnostic. He just said that it was OK he had Buddhists who also attended...
We had a guest speaker, and he didn't even mention it. He did make an awkward passing reference to Jenner (his point was about opposites as he was speaking on Leviticus 4 and the concept of an innocent taking the atonement and the guilty becoming identified with the substitute - so it wasn't totally out of place).
But dig this - I've been going to church almost non-stop for 35 years and you want to know how many SERMONS I've heard on that subject? Zero. I know the verses obviously and the positions, but this is why I keep telling folks that the world you see that the media creates is not real. MOST Christians ARE NOT consumed with this issue even when they oppose it. I can at least understand why gay people would be, but "Will and Grace" is hardly an accurate portrayal back in the day any more than "CSI" is an accurate portrayal of that (we accept certain fictional liberties since everyone with a brain knows it takes weeks to get both tox and DNA results back in the real world - that's because of the cost, they batch test tox and it costs the same to run ONE as an ENTIRE SET in terms of instrument expense).
But in light of the fact gay marriage was already law in 36 states, I mean.......not to say Friday wasn't a big day for that but that kind of thing makes it already happening in 2/3 of the country anyway.
I've said it's only an issue for me when you come into the churches and start demanding the religious ceremony. Plenty of churches already do it - go there. Keep in mind I'm consistent and don't marry the divorced, either. It is an issue of personal conviction.
But not one word and nobody said anything about it in the fellowship talks, either.
But dig this - I've been going to church almost non-stop for 35 years and you want to know how many SERMONS I've heard on that subject? Zero. I know the verses obviously and the positions, but this is why I keep telling folks that the world you see that the media creates is not real. MOST Christians ARE NOT consumed with this issue even when they oppose it. I can at least understand why gay people would be, but "Will and Grace" is hardly an accurate portrayal back in the day any more than "CSI" is an accurate portrayal of that (we accept certain fictional liberties since everyone with a brain knows it takes weeks to get both tox and DNA results back in the real world - that's because of the cost, they batch test tox and it costs the same to run ONE as an ENTIRE SET in terms of instrument expense).
But in light of the fact gay marriage was already law in 36 states, I mean.......not to say Friday wasn't a big day for that but that kind of thing makes it already happening in 2/3 of the country anyway.
I've said it's only an issue for me when you come into the churches and start demanding the religious ceremony. Plenty of churches already do it - go there. Keep in mind I'm consistent and don't marry the divorced, either. It is an issue of personal conviction.
But not one word and nobody said anything about it in the fellowship talks, either.
Our pastor spoke about it at the beginning of the service. He was not complementary about it. It wasn't brought up afterwards; it was not the subject of the sermon.
Our pastor spoke of it, it wasn't a big deal he said that we would be there for anyone when problems arrive.
It's largely a denominational issue. In the UMC, at the last General Conference, clergy was in favor; laity was not. (The vote is split 50-50.) This Conference may have a different result...
for anyone interested, here is a link to my rector's sermon from friday night (about 15 mins long). st. lukes has been pushing for the recognition of gay marriage for a long time so this was a very joyous occasion for our church. so if you want to see where the episcopal church (at least ours) is coming from, this will give a glimpse into that. i saw today where the diocese of atlanta ok'd marriages to be performed in the churches of the diocese.
sermon link
sermon link
Robert E. Lee is reported to have said, "There are many ways for a man to reach heaven, but a gentleman will surely chose the Episcopalian way."
Guest pastor that didn't not focus on the gay issue but instead mentioned all the issues of the last week or so and he reminded us that there is One that is still in control and He was not surprised by any of these decisions. The Day of Judgment is coming and the due date didn't change because of this week.
On a related note...
....on April 6, 2014, I attended my niece's baptism at a Free Will Baptist Church in MS. I'd never been to a FWB church but know they believe in losing one's salvation (not that this is a huge deal to me but it is to the SBC folks). A few months before then the town finally voted "yes" on alcohol. It had been dry forever. My wife, in fact, thought the place was so backwards it would STILL not pass in 2013, but it did.
So that particular morning in the sermon, the pastor hauls off and blames "some" of the congregation for gay marriage and legalizing alcohol and supporting the ideas and how wrong it was. I'm sitting there thinking, "We're taking corporate salvation and damnation WAY too far here..."
....on April 6, 2014, I attended my niece's baptism at a Free Will Baptist Church in MS. I'd never been to a FWB church but know they believe in losing one's salvation (not that this is a huge deal to me but it is to the SBC folks). A few months before then the town finally voted "yes" on alcohol. It had been dry forever. My wife, in fact, thought the place was so backwards it would STILL not pass in 2013, but it did.
So that particular morning in the sermon, the pastor hauls off and blames "some" of the congregation for gay marriage and legalizing alcohol and supporting the ideas and how wrong it was. I'm sitting there thinking, "We're taking corporate salvation and damnation WAY too far here..."
Brought back an incident from childhood. I wasn't there, but friends were. It happened at the largest Baptist church in Decatur and the congregation was widely divided over the pastor. He asked everyone to stand up and face the rear. When all had complied, he said something to the effect for those who opposed him to turn around and face their enemy. Sounds similar to this guy. Good luck to him and his congregation...
Amen.
If people believe that legalization via man's laws makes it right in the name of the Lord, they couldn't be more wrong.
Selma, I am sorry to hear that about a FWB pastor blaming some of the congregation. I was born and raised FWB, graduated from our denominational college in Nashville and hold our doctrine dear. There are some issues that we can agree to disagree on and still maintain fellowship. This particular issue with the statement made at your nieces' baptism we both can agree on as absurd.
I do believe a person can reach a point in their life that they can lose their salvation. Hebrews 6, King Saul and Judas for examples. I do not believe for a second that it can or will cause a division between us.
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"Yep!" i.e. in Texas lingo. Now, this is in a non-denominational Christian Church. However, I feel comfortable in almost all Christian Churches: Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and especially non-denominational Christian churches: very large (20,000+ members on down). I've attended the 50,000+ member church in Houston one time, just to see a positive everybody can be a rich person MESSAGE. I'm still trying to determine whether it was a Biblically based message. I just don't recall any scriptural verses stated or with some senility, maybe they sailed over my head.
The pastor this weekend talked about current events then got into the next segment of the study of the book of Mark chapter 4 (The Gospel of Peter) and the sower and how some are more fruitful than others based on the kind of soil that exists or something to that effect.
I do believe in living and letting live. I do believe in the two Great Commandments. I do believe that there is such a thing as SIN and that Satan is really in temporary control of this current Earth/Universe. The sermon did make me wonder about fruitfulness. The pastor did not tie those two things/concepts together. However, it did make me wonder how a gay marriage can be fruitful. Maybe, you can help me in this area by explaining to me how.
Now a man and woman can be fruitful by creating new fruit and that fruit can be fruitful by producing even more fruit. You and I are some of the fruit of Abraham, I guess or should I say I think.
seebell (seems every time I type see bell my computer wants to separate it into two words and I always have to go back and combine those two words in defiance of my iMac), What does the Holy Bible say about homosexuality: Old Testament as well as New Testament?
I do have a literal interpretation of that holy book: The Holy Bible and a Strict Constructionist interpretation of the U. S. Constitution. I guess one of those is Holy and the other is full of HOLES.
Help! Just seeking a perfect explanation of why things are the way they are and how we should deal with it as a person seeking to be Christ-like in a decaying society.
I'm not going to go into a long dissertation, but I'll just say that there are fewer references to homosexuality in the Bible than one may think. And they're a lot less clear than one may think. I don't really believe a literal reading can be done, JMO...
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