New Sermon Series – January to March 2013

There is a lot of “noise” out in the world today about the worst things that people have done and said in the name of Jesus Christ. People who should no better have threatened to burn the Qur’an, have described the massacre of children in a Connecticut Elementary School as God’s judgment and have spouted words of condemnation and hatred against all sorts of minority groups in society. The media and other critics are quick to jump on the words of these extremists and quote them as if they represented the views of the Christian church, as if Christianity was the backwards, head-in-the-sand faith of bigots and fools.

A look at the history of the Christian church shows us that this has never been the case, that, in fact, Christians have made incredibly positive contributions to the advancement of our culture. Yes, there have been abuses, both of power and of our book, the Bible, but these actually represent a very small sampling of the contributions that followers of Jesus have made throughout the centuries since He walked this earth. Christians have consistently led the way in care for the poor and oppressed, in establishing care for the sick and the aging, in reaching around the globe to provide aid for the starving and dispossessed and in the fields of education, science, art and music. For a historical and contemporary perspective on the difference that Jesus-followers have made, are making and will make on this earth, join us for the next three months as we explore these themes together.