1. Choose Psalm 139 as your text.
2. Add Proverbs 15:3.
3. Start the sermon by likening God to George Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ who is always watching for mistakes.
This pretty much describes the sermon we had Sunday morning from a guest pastor. The title of the sermon was “WATCH OUT!! SOMBODYS WATCHING YOU!” Yes, that was actually the title, and yes, it was all in caps lock.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not exactly the image of God I get from reading Psalm 139. I’d recommend reading this Psalm, as it’s a song of great comfort that speaks to God’s steadfastness and constant presence to comfort us. I would say that it is certainly is not a warning that God is constantly watching us waiting for us to make a mistake.
It’s discouraging that a Pastor would take such words of comfort and turn them into a threat to obey the rules because God’s watching. The sermon did not touch on the comforting qualities of this passage, or on God’s grace in any way. There was no call to action, or words of encouragement on how to appropriately apply the words to our lives. It was simply a warning that when we sin, God sees it.
Now, if I understand the bible correctly, Jesus’ message was in complete contrast to the rules and laws of the Pharisees. Jesus did not speak of a God constantly watching us, marking every sin we commit. Jesus taught that God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus taught that our sins are as far from God as far as the east is from the west. Jesus showed us, through his own death, that he has taken the entire burden of our sins and cast them into the sea. If this is truly the heart of what we believe, how can a sermon preach something so entirely opposite without giving a single ray of hope?
_______ of the day: Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.
The thankful Ogukuo
21 September 2009
10 September 2009
Yes, I'm trying blogging again, too
Ok, I've been inspired by Andrea's recent blogging efforts to try it myself. Per standard blogging protocol on following up after several months of silence, I will do this in list form.
-I'm married. As of June 28, 2009 (the day after the wedding, when the pastor signed the liscense) Andrea and I are married :). As all newly married couples know, this is particularly special event, as it marks the end of wedding planning!! Life is much less stressful now.
-We honeymooned California. We came into California greeted by 108 degree temperatures in the valley. Thankfully, we spent most of the week either at a cabin in the mountains, or on the coast. Both places were cooler, and quite awesome.
-Upon our return to Lynden, we experienced about 3 weeks of epic busy-ness. I started back to work, Andrea worked at VBS (during the evenings), we were both working on organizing 2 people's worth of stuff into one smallish apartment, Andrea's parents visited, and Andrea made an unexpected trip to Michigan for a cousin's funeral.
-Things have started to settle down since then, and we've had time to try to figure out what living the married life is like.
-While we work on figuring out what the new "normal" is, we are still faced with many challanges. Andrea, as of yet, remains jobless. I am trying to get back into school to earn a teaching degree. We are trying to find a place to call home thats a bit more permanent that what we have now.
-There are quite a few other things I'd love to blog about, but I'll just list them out quickly instead. If anything sounds overly interesting to you, feel free to inquire :).
Other activies have included: 2 camping trips (one on an island where we were almost trapped by an incoming storm). Adopting a cat that we've named Ophelia. Her nicknames include Ophy, Fifi, Oph, Kitty, and Get-out-of-that-cupboard!! Making a tack box for camping equipment from bare plywood using my own design. A fishing trip. Further exploration of the beauty of Northwest Washington. A rekindling of my love for reading! (thanks mostly to Andrea).
-If anyone actually stumbles across this blog and reads it, I'm hoping to post a bit more frequently.
_____ of the day: REI is a freaking awesome store.
The lunch-hour Ogukuo
-I'm married. As of June 28, 2009 (the day after the wedding, when the pastor signed the liscense) Andrea and I are married :). As all newly married couples know, this is particularly special event, as it marks the end of wedding planning!! Life is much less stressful now.
-We honeymooned California. We came into California greeted by 108 degree temperatures in the valley. Thankfully, we spent most of the week either at a cabin in the mountains, or on the coast. Both places were cooler, and quite awesome.
-Upon our return to Lynden, we experienced about 3 weeks of epic busy-ness. I started back to work, Andrea worked at VBS (during the evenings), we were both working on organizing 2 people's worth of stuff into one smallish apartment, Andrea's parents visited, and Andrea made an unexpected trip to Michigan for a cousin's funeral.
-Things have started to settle down since then, and we've had time to try to figure out what living the married life is like.
-While we work on figuring out what the new "normal" is, we are still faced with many challanges. Andrea, as of yet, remains jobless. I am trying to get back into school to earn a teaching degree. We are trying to find a place to call home thats a bit more permanent that what we have now.
-There are quite a few other things I'd love to blog about, but I'll just list them out quickly instead. If anything sounds overly interesting to you, feel free to inquire :).
Other activies have included: 2 camping trips (one on an island where we were almost trapped by an incoming storm). Adopting a cat that we've named Ophelia. Her nicknames include Ophy, Fifi, Oph, Kitty, and Get-out-of-that-cupboard!! Making a tack box for camping equipment from bare plywood using my own design. A fishing trip. Further exploration of the beauty of Northwest Washington. A rekindling of my love for reading! (thanks mostly to Andrea).
-If anyone actually stumbles across this blog and reads it, I'm hoping to post a bit more frequently.
_____ of the day: REI is a freaking awesome store.
The lunch-hour Ogukuo
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