During the day I try to listen to 91.7 the word as much as I can. The programs are food for my soul and help me through my daily walk as a Christian. I like the practicality of it all and the messages really hit home. My favorite is Pastor Paul sheppard. The man has a wonderful gift of pointing out our sinful nature in funny but staight to the point way and always teaches unabashedly of what Jesus has to say on the matter. He brings humor to our struggle. Today his sermon was about God is neither legalistic or liberal; he is righteous. With all the Gay rights in the news, as a Christian I've been struggling with the matter of how to be loving but not condoning the lifestyle either. He told a story of a Gay man coming to him in earnest seeking of redemption, but was afraid that he would mess up the pastors church and the people in it. Pastor then replied he was too late, and that the congregation was already messed up... it was full of sinners. He also sited the scripture where the village drug an adulteress out in front of Jesus and wanted to stone her, and he replied, "let he who has never sinned cast the first stone". Of course as he wrote on the ground all the her accusuers left. He asked her . "where are your accusers", and she relied that there are none left to condemn her, and he replied "then I will not condemn you either go and sin no more". Jesus showed her compassion, but at the same time he didn't condone her sin. The point that Paul made was that the Church needed to be a soft cushion for those who have fallen to fall on, take them as they are, Love on them, and allow them an environment where they feel accepted (not tolerant of their lifestyle) and allow the word of God may begin the transformation of their hearts. Its easy to judge people for their sins, but I see now that you can't reach out to someone in genuiness that you think less of, and am also reminded of how I was before I accepted Christ, and how I acted the first few years of being a Christian.
He did pose another intersting question though... what was it that Jesus wrote in the sand? Because alot of people left after that.....
John
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