At the beginning of Luke 16, Jesus tells a parable that typically leaves people scratching their heads. It’s not that we don’t understand that there are corrupt money managers out there; it’s that Jesus seems to praise him. Even the rich man who fires him offers admiration. What’s the deal with that? Why is Jesus telling this story?
— Pastor Anne
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This sermon focuses on how public discussion of religion and politics might be different from the way we interact with individuals in more private settings. To do that, we’re going to consider an example from northwest Idaho, where unrelenting harassment and intimidation has led to the resignation of the Boundary County Library director, effective Sept. 10, 2022.
This is by no means a unique case, but it clearly mentions the role of some religious communities in the area. Since public libraries are part of local government, it seemed like a good case to examine as we look at the public clash of government and religion. If this were our library in Winchester, how might we respond? What might be appropriate and what might be out of bounds? Is there anything we could or should do from a distance? Most importantly, can you spot the idol?
For more information about the situation in Boundary County, an article from the Idaho Statesman can be found here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article264781169.html.
— Pastor Anne
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Last week’s sermon focused on the necessity of keeping religion and government separate. But if “separate” means each kept in its own bubble, we lose the key function of the separation: to keep each other free from the abuse of power inherent in idolatry. To serve that function, religion and politics can’t be enemies lobbing grenades at each other; they must be in dialogue.
The bridge between religion and politics is those of us who inhabit both spheres. We are citizens of a nation and also adherents of a religion. Yet we have been told for many decades that it is impolite (or worse) to talk about either religion or politics. Which means we have developed no skills for doing so. And it shows. This sermon proposes ways we might change that.
— Pastor Anne
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In this continuation of our look at idolatry, we acknowledge that it would be disingenuous to only point our fingers outward. As I indicated in the first sermon in this series, the most insidious idols are things that, in their proper place, are beautiful, good, and holy. Last week we saw how the bronze snake God told Moses to make to serve as a channel of God’s healing in the wilderness eventually came to displace God and became an idol. Centuries after Moses, King Hezekiah had to destroy it for that reason.
Across the millennia, the Christian church has been battered and bruised by idols allowed to run rampant in our midst. We are on the precipice of repeating one of the most harmful mistakes in the history of the church: making God’s altar synonymous with the government of a nation. Sunday we’ll look at why this is such a problem and how we can be on our guard.
— Pastor Anne
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Last week was focused on learning that idolatry isn’t about what a thing is but about how it functions in our lives. This week we’re going to zoom in closer to see how idols behave so that we can identify them before they get out of hand. Of course the easiest way to spot an idol is if you have a little black terrier named Toto who can run up and pull back the curtain. But, if Toto is unavailable, there are some definite signs that something other than God has elbowed its way into the top spot. Join me Sunday to learn to spot them.
— Pastor Anne
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This sermon begins a series on the initial few commandments that are meant to guard against idolatry. Why? Because life in the United States in 2022 is beset with idols, and it is killing us in both our private and public lives…we’re going to begin with a broad look of what idolatry is and isn’t, with some contemporary examples. Across the weeks we’ll move into why we create them, how to recognize them, and, most importantly, how to strip them of their power.
— Pastor Anne
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After you’ve watched, be sure to subscribe to our channel!