What is the Deal-Breaker for You?

This past Sunday, the sermon focused on Jesus calling Herod a fox and well as Paul's concern over the enemies of the Cross of Christ. In the sermon, we looked at what an enemy of the cross might look like as well as discerning the ways in which we might be like that enemy, if we use the same criteria to judge ourselves that we are so often tempted to do when examining others.

We also looked at the latest hoopla concerning the recent discoveries of the stone coffins reported to contain the actual bodies of Jesus, Mary, and their son Judah. And, I asked some thought-provoking questions (some of the members of the congregation called it that) when I said,

Discerning our motivations and inner life leads me to ask you: How important is the resurrection to you? How important is it to our faith tradition? Perhaps what I am getting at can better be asked in this way: What is the deal-breaker in your belief system? What belief, if found to be untrue, would make you leave or discard it? Or, are they, in light of the stone tomb discovery, an enemy of the cross?

What are your deal-breakers when it comes to faith and religion? When we explore the tenuous relationship between faith/religion and science, we are often forced to choose one over the other. Few times are we able to integrate the two. How much trust do you put in your senses and intellect? Conversely, how much trust do you put in faith and God?

During this Lenten season, we are exploring questions such as these as well as examining the nature of why we believe what we believe. To accomplish this, we will be studying the Nicene Creed and better understand what this almost two millenia old document tells us. In the end, I hope we can come to a place that honors our faith tradition while remaining open to the new traditions that we encounter.

I invite you to join us at our Lenten study every Wednesday night in March at 7:30pm.