It seems that as I think about this series more and more, I keep circling back to the question asked in the Luke 10 version of the greatest commandment story: “Who is my neighbor?” It’s a reasonable question. If we are to love our neighbor, surely we should know who that is. The answer, presented in the parable of the …
Undone by Love (Program and Sermon)
Program Sermon Every so often, someone comes forward with proclamations of doom for America. Whether it’s Carle Zimmerman in 1947, Francis Schaeffer in 1975, or William Bennett in 2003, they see themselves as prophets pointing us back to an ideal time that has passed us by, an ideal place we seem unable to still find. We have lost our way, …
John’s Church, Our Church: Love (Program and Sermon)
Program Sermon Opening In Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe, John Boswell explains the problem with translation: “Only a naïve and ill-informed optimism assumes that any word or expression in one language can be accurately rendered in another.” This is the prelude to Boswell’s discussion of love. He makes the profound point that it’s not just the language that is confusing. …
John’s Church, Our Church: Love
We began this series by looking at John’s overall purpose of revelation. By reading the Gospel of John, and considering the character of Jesus within, we can know God. Over the next three weeks, we will look at the Farewell Discourse in chapters 14-17 to see what John’s Jesus has to say about what it means to be church. Specifically, …