K.O.G. Activism
May 28, 2008 Blogs No Comments
Activism. Lisa from the Simpsons. She’s always got some project or issue she is concerned about and frustrated that no one else is. Wikipedia defines activism as “intentional action to bring about social or political change.”
In San Diego, maybe because it’s a big city, maybe because it’s a city that lives much of its life outdoors, or maybe it’s because we are one of the biggest melting pot places for eveything…but there’s a ton of passionate activism grassroots action in this city. Lisa Simpson is loud in SD always saying we should do this and be a part of these things. But rarely it ever grabs. What’s the reason for our pessimism or better yet, our apathy? Maybe it has something to do with the possibility of real change? Maybe Jesus has something to do with it? Think about the activism of Jesus…
This sermon is week 2 of The God of Gospel section of our “The God(ness) of God” sermon series. It is an exegetical treatment of Romans 10:5-13, addressing the themes of the law from Moses, the gospel from Moses, and how religion is not the gospel. This sermon was originally preached May 25th, 2008 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
A sermon is an interesting thing. It’s a speech of course, but it’s always a persuasive speech. In Ephesians 4:16 the Bible calls the church a body of people who each have different gifts that work together. My gift is my mouth. As the pastor of a young, small church plant I do a lot of things, from counseling, to pre-marital sessions, to administration, to leadership development and oversight, but most importantly I preach. This entry is devoted to sharing with you all how I prepare for a sermon.
So last Sunday’s sermon was probably the gnarliest sermon, subject matter wise, I have ever preached. No matter how you put it, “vessels of wrath, prepared for destruction (Romans 9:22),” just doesn’t sit well in your stomach. When it comes to this subject, hell, either preachers tend to seize it like its candy and they yell and scream and treat it like it gives them some sort of right to be jerks to people…or preachers tend to totally avoid it and reason it away with things like universalism, annhilationism, or arminianism. What is the proper biblical view of the use of fear and hell in preaching the gospel? To that question I offer the following answers.