From the Pastor...

In April of 1966, Time magazine’s cover asked, “Is God Dead?” That cover and its provocative question were much criticized by clergy and theologians alike. The content of the article focused on the trend of theologians across the board to write God out of theology, and bring into question where we see God active in the world in an increasingly secular society.

I am not here to argue about how sports and extra-curricular activities are encroaching more and more on our Wednesday evenings and Sundays. I not here to open the debate about prayer, the Ten Commandments, or the Pledge of Allegiance in school.

I am here to ask you if you believe God is dead.
 
Do you believe that God is alive, moving through the world, filling hearts with the Holy Spirit, healing the ill, raising the dead? Do you believe God is out there in the world breathing life into that which did not exist?
 
As Christians, we do not believe in deism – where God was like a clock maker who put all the parts together in the beginning and set the world into perpetual motion. A deist does not believe that God is, in fact, part of our daily lives or active in the world.
 
Do we go to our churches for therapy, to hear a good word, or present ourselves in our Sunday best to maintain our status in the community? Or do we truly believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins?
 
Do we believe that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell, in a system in which our ideals, and our moral compass are judge and jury to the neighbor? Believing in Jesus is believing that God is active in the world – alive, healing our every ill, breathing life into that which did not exist, forgiving all our sins, and resurrecting the dead.
 
Say a prayer.
Saying a prayer is an outward act of faithfulness to our God. A true and humble act of faithfulness, recognizing that God is alive, God is listening, and God is active in our world.
 
I pray your light might shine before others – that they might see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
 
Peace.
 
Pastor Dave