Hello to All,
I have changed my preaching schedule to address a need in our church and in churches in general. There is a controversy in our churches today concerning our involvement in government and concerning civil disobedience.
With more and more legislation and judicial rulings that seemingly oppose our Biblical values, what are we to do? Do we have biblical examples from which God can give us his direction? What should we do if we are brought before the government to answer for our faith? How do we prepare?
Is it ever okay to disobey our government? Can we find acts of civil disobedience in Scripture? And if we do find instances of opposition to the government in the Bible, what is the relevance for us? And do these accounts provide a template that is viable in the twenty-first century?
Out of deference to some who seem to feel that we as a church should address these issues more directly, I have asked God to help me provide clarity from the pulpit of Faith Fellowship Church of Tennessee, IL.
What we need is …
… People do need to see “where we as a church stand” as judges rule in favor of gay legislation and as legislatures cave to the pressures of public sentiment in favor of ungodly lifestyles.
… People do need to see us state our beliefs, and our stated beliefs need to be grounded in solid, biblical instruction.
What we do not need is …
… more knee-jerk reaction and venom and vitriol in the name of God.
… more dishonor to God in the name of honoring God and his word of truth. (See Romans 13).
… more home-cooked Christianity (American style) that has more attachment to the Republican party than to the Bible.
So I began a journey to find the clearest, most compelling examples in the Bible that would provide us with a solid, biblical template from which to pattern our direction. With this in mind for the next few weeks we will be examining several biblical examples of conflicts of faith.
I began by searching for any and every instance of relevant biblical texts. And I admit to being dumbfounded by the resulting study. Powerful, amazing and solid-as-a-Rock on the Bible.
- [Dumbfounded— greatly astonished, amazed, astounded, staggered, surprised, startled, stunned.] “God does things like this.” 🙂
One more thing …
As we move along in our search, there is a question that we must ask: What is my motivation? If I do come to the place where I disobey the government, why did I do it? Was it out of loyalty to God or defiance toward the government?
What stirs my heart?
Loyalty and love to God? Or defiance toward the government?
THIS WEEK …
God answers our questions as only God can.
What is our Shepherd’s course of action in view of a world that grows darker by the day? How does he prepare us? He tells us that he is sending us out as sheep among the wolves.
Amazing message this week as we look at Matthew 10:16-39.
Message: God Versus the Wolves
Message Text: Matthew 10:16-39
- PDF Sent Out as Sheep Among Wolves : Matthew 10-16-39 : ffc : dave scott : 083015 AM STUDY SHEET ONE
- PDF Sent Out as Sheep Among Wolves : Matthew 10-16-39 : ffc : dave scott : 083015 AM STUDY SHEET TWO