Now is the Time — Sermon for July 14, 2024

The Sermon is based off of 1 John 4:7–21

Christianity in America has had a unique history. There haven’t been persecutions like many other parts of the world — not that I’m complaining about that. We haven’t had martyrs for the faith here — again, not complaining. In fact, for a good portion of America’s history, Christianity has had a favored and a privileged position in this country. You might remember the Blue Laws in which everything was closed on Sundays. Many of the movements of the past, like Temperance, Abolition of Slavery, Civil Rights, and other movements all found a home in the church.

Christianity in this country has taken on many different forms. We’ve done the whole Christendom thing, or some variation of it. Christendom is this weird twisting of Christianity with state power.

We’ve tried cultural Christianity, which is more about family background, the social pressure of being Christian in order to do business or to fit into social circles rather than actually believing and practicing the faith.

We’ve tried a version of Christianity that focused on scaring people, using fear and force. The Puritans were really good at that.

We’re tried a compartmentalized Christianity — where some thought we only need to practice the supposed niceness of Jesus on Sunday mornings, and then set it aside and practice the ways of the world the other 6 1/2 days.