July / August

Dear Friends,

The Fourth of July is near and we will be celebrating with fireworks, picnics, and parades. The Fourth is a great day! We are blessed and glad to live in a free land.


In the back of our minds, though, may lurk doubts about the future. We are in a truly unique political season. The presumptive nominees for both major political parties have historically high negative poll numbers when it comes to trust and like-ability. It seems we are about to choose between two of the must unpopular candidates in memory. The choice brings the deep divides in our nation into high relief, and casts a shadow of uncertainty on the future.


I recently read an article aimed at the church’s response to the changes in sexual mores in our culture. Dr. Moore wrote, “The danger for Christians is that we buy into the Sexual Revolution’s narrative. ... that we assume that the Sexual Revolution will always be triumphant, ...that the Sexual Revolution will be able to keep its promises. It can’t.”


Dr. Moore’s statement made me think about the other “revolutions” our culture has experienced. The view that God is dead, or irrelevant, that a Christian world view has no place in public policy, that Christian practice must be restricted to private expressions, that Christian faith is not relevant. To all these views Dr. Moore might say, the danger is that Christians start to believe the secular narrative, that unbelief will always be triumphant, and that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer life-changing.


But what did Jesus teach us about the world we live in? Remember the parable of the wheat and weeds (or tares)? (Mt 13:24-30) A farmer planted good seed in his wheat field, but during the night an enemy came and planted weeds.


When the weeds began to show themselves, his servants wanted to pull them out. The farmer said, “If you pull the weeds now, you will trample the wheat and pull some of it out. Let them grow together. At the harvest, we will separate them.” (Mt 13:24-30)


This is a picture of the Kingdom. It reminds us that the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness both occupy our world at the present. The presence of darkness shouldn’t surprise Christians. We lived in darkness once (Eph 2:1,2). Moreover, it should not dishearten us. We know darkness cannot overcome the light.


So what do Christians do? We don’t condemn. And we don’t surrender the truth. To quote Dr. Moore, “We need churches that can keep the light lit to the old paths, that can keep the waters of baptism ready.”


The good news still works. Believe it!


   Pastor Byron 

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