Monday Morning Music Ministry

9-21-26

There is an old joke I used to tell in which my grandparents were the players. But it is even older than they were: that’s how old the joke is. Anyway, the wife is ill and can’t attend church on a Sunday morning. She tells Granpaw to go on his own, “but don’t doze off like you always do! I want to know what the sermon is about.”

When he returns home she asks about the service, and what the pastor preached about.

“Um…” her husband stammers. “Uh, it was about sin.”

“Well? What was the message? What did he say?” she demands.

Gradpaw stammers some more and finally says, “He was against it!”

Well, the old joke is not much of a joke, but it is old. But it is also new. Not only that people snooze during church services or sermons, but it makes me realize that sin actually seems to be a rare subject for sermons these days. In most churches I visit — mainstream, Evangelical, traditional, post-modern, “seeker,” charismatic, orthodox, whatever.

If someone unfamiliar with our society dropped in to American churches over the course of a year of Sundays, he might conclude that humans have solved the problem of sin, because few pastors and priests address the problem of sin.

That is probably because people don’t think sin is a problem. Why else? Or, they don’t think it exists in the lives of their own congregations, or in society at large. Or, they think it might exist, but its effects are not as bad as people used to think. Or that earlier religious views exaggerated its negative aspects. Or that denominations were scare-mongers.

… or that God really didn’t know what He was talking about. Or that the lessons of people and events in the Bible were nonsense. Or that Jesus, Who came to “save us from our sins,” was a deluded fool. What else?

Instead, uncountable preachers in what used to be called Christendom preach on citizenship, prejudice, racism, LGBTQ “rights,” environmental responsibility, pending legislation. Important issues, perhaps, but more proper subjects for a Rotary Club lecture, not a little hour on a Sunday morning. More worthwhile, or appropriate in worship settings, is preaching on Biblical history, foreign missions, concern for the oppressed, charity, perseverance, the Gifts of the Spirit. And maybe salvation, the Lordship of Christ, personal holiness, discipleship, even Jesus, certainly at holiday times. All good, too, of course.

But these days, scarce mention of… sin. Even, as that old man in the joke assumed, if people say they are against it.

Is sin obsolete? Are contemporary Christians too sophisticated to talk about it, or worry about it? Are they immune, as from diseases that now exist only in history books? Is the concept of sin really something on a par with mere mistakes, faulty upbringing, insufficient knowledge? If “no one is hurt,” for instance in the category of “victimless crimes,” is something a sin after all?

… and so forth it goes. Now, some pastors – and teachers and political leaders too – avoid addressing sin and related moral topics, wanting to avoid offending people. You know, potential members, “giving units,” voters. But I believe such motivations are less frequent than society’s general unease with the essential problem of sin. That is, the challenge of sin that affects our lives, that threatens our souls, that sends us to hell. Yes, there is a hell; yes, sin exists; yes, our choice to sin interferes with our relationships with God as His children. Not our temptation to sin nor our occasional lapses; but the vital question of making a commitment to the Lord to renounce sin.

Remember what Jesus said when Jewish leaders wanted an adulteress stoned to death and wanted His approval: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). He did not say that she needed to support foreign missions or tithe her possessions or join a committee. Be determined to stop sinning is what he said.

Yes, for those of us who fall and “miss the mark” (a definition of sin) as we all will, unfortunately, He died for those sins of ours. That pathway to forgiveness and eternal life offered by God required that we renounce sin, and accept that His Son became flesh and dwelt among us for the purpose of redeeming us from those sins. We, as redeemed sinners, are not perfect; just forgiven when accepting Christ.

Does the church need a return to “fire and brimstone” preaching? Merely “being against sin” is not working: Look at the headlines, at the social woes, at the depressing statistics in the world. Scaring people out of hell might be a Number Two motivator after Loving people into Heaven, but our job – as well as our goal! – is to make Heaven crowded.

Is this our choice, sinning or salvation? Technically, yes. These days when churches, denominations, and religious “leaders” avoid addressing the reality and dangers of sin, they send people to hell no less than the devil does.

Sin is not an endangered species, but preaching against it growing obsolete. That is, in itself, a sin.

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Click: Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners (Hymn 206) | Grace Community Church Congregation & Orchestra

9-11-26, never to forget

Anniversaries. Some people think it means “celebration,” but the root is Annus, Latin for Year (think of Annual); also it stems from Vertere, Latin root of words like Convert and Reverse. So Anniversary actually means “returning annually,” so we celebrate birthdays and yearly holidays.

To call the remembrances of 9-11 an anniversary is correct despite some people regarding it as cold to call commemorations “anniversaries,” assuming it means “celebration.” Whatever it is called, it is touching that people pause and reflect. “Where were you when the planes hit?” “Let us lower the flags to half-staff.” “I watch the reading of the names.” “Have you visited the 9-11 Memorial?” “Never forget!”

We cannot ever forget. Of course. I cannot forget Pearl Harbor, even though I was not born yet: consequential events and disasters sear our souls. It is more than having known a victim, or think about the consequences on our history. We imagine; we identify; we experience fear in spite of any brave responses or faith in our defenders. We all were affected, and continue to be.

I have asked many audiences through the years, “How many victims of terrorism were there on 9-11?” Hands go up, people remember numbers from the World Trade Center, the field in Pennsylvania, the Pentagon. Or they estimate — roughly 3000? Double that with the resulting health aftermath?

“Wrong,” I reply. I point out that 3000+ people died on 9-11 as a result of murder. How many victims of terrorism? Approximately 330-million people. In other words… we, the living, are terrorized to varying degrees.

Because of that monstrous attack – and I am not going to veer into a discussion of conspiracy theories and rumors of behind-the-scenes actors, discussions that are more rife now than 25 years ago – we are all victims of terrorism. Uncountable inconveniences like airport checks, screening, banned substances, delays, multiple crazy passwords, and such annoyances. They add up, and make daily life aggravating. At the other end of the spectrum, the country has, plausibly, over-reacted, imposed intrusive governmental regulations; the world’s sympathy has turned to hostility, and everyone among us has become paranoiac.

The terrorists have won.

9-11 was not the final battle. It was not even the first in this generations-long twilight war of civilizations. Or barbarity versus civilization, if you want to see it that way. Happy anniversary?

This discussion will revert to the most relevant battlefield: not a detour but the essential focus we can have. America and the West are being attacked by more than ethnic groups or sects; more than by countries jealous of our land and resources. The virtual wars we fight surely are more than economic, because we are already bankrupting ourselves without anyone’s arms in our faces. Invasions? We have laid down the welcome mat for unvetted aliens for a generation now, despite the posturing of politicians.

Are we fighting it the best way? And by “it” I mean terrorism and the disintegration of our society, our culture, our nations.

We are not. We are, rather, virtually dedicated to self-destruction. By all the metrics, the statistics about literacy, student test scores, violence, obesity; as well as crime, drugs, alcoholism, abuse, family breakdowns, perversion, and so forth, are traditional markers of doomed cultures. More dispositive perhaps is the historical fact that every powerful country that chooses to become an empire sooner or later rots. First at the extremities of its reach; then from the inside, by populations that lose their way, and their values.

Values and standards that originally inspire strong societies decline in empires – first in the physical and material sense (as they transform into false gods), and then – fatally – decline also in the realms of spiritual values and standards. The only answer to a spiritual crisis is… a spiritual solution.

There is a verse that echoes in Evangelical circles these days that, I am afraid, is a distortion of Scripture that imparts a false sense of security. If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. You have heard this verse from II Chronicles many times. But the verses immediately following are seldom quoted, and should shake believers to their core:

But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot you from My land… I will make your temple a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled.

America, and European nations for centuries before, eventually established themselves as virtual temples, cultures built on Christian principles, ruled by Christian leaders, under laws based on Biblical precepts. We have not only compromised such values and standards – we have mocked them, perverted them, abandoned them. We have invited destruction, yet our responses range between excusing our rebelliousness, re-branding sin, and hoping that history, and God, will somehow give our offenses a pass. “9-11? Oh, that was 25 years ago…”

Some Christians pray for Revival. But as I wrote in a chapter of Marlene Bagnull’s new book Write and Live His Answer Now, that is the laziest sort of self-delusion. It is not in God’s nature to send spiritual revival to a people determined to rebel and reject Him and continue in their sins. The “forgotten” verses in II Chronicles state that, clearly.

During these commemorations of 9-11 we hear bells rung for the dead. Wake up, America. The alarm bells are ringing, too.

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Click: THE GREAT JUDGMENT MORNING – T. Marshall Kelly

9-7-26

There is a phrase you hear in the Christian community these days – every generation seems to have its holy clichés – “It’s a God thing.” More than not, the trope is employed when something unfortunate is explained or excused as if to look for a silver lining. Or it is said on the other hand to describe a fortunate outcome, a happy coincidence.

It’s a God thing.

I have always pushed back against this saying, especially when it is used as a meme: a sloppy catch-phrase that masquerades as an intentional thought. Oh, I realize that many things in life are “God things,” but… not everything. Good things/God things. But some things are the devil’s things. Satan adopts the disguise of an “angel of light,” we are told in Scripture. Especially in the End Times, the devil will “deceive the saints”; that is, even believers will be fooled.

Insurance companies call disasters “Acts of God.”

It is not only insurers who call floods and hurricanes “acts of God.” Many folks employ that label and, applying an illogical extension, analyze life’s challenges and ask “Why do bad things happen to good people?” If they are the same people who say “It’s a God thing” it actually suggests that they want to be God’s boss – in the sense of defining His job description and deciding what is a “bad” thing and even judging who are “good” people.

(Forgive the tangent: why don’t people call good things “Acts of God”? Like, when a hurricane doesn’t hit; when you arrive somewhere without an accident? When you have not caught a virus? Scripture does tell us that God is a jealous God…)

God is sovereign – part of His actual job description after all – and we must be careful when we assign what is, and what is not, a “God thing.” And we should be even more careful not to call something His plan, His “thing,” only when it fulfills our own wish-list. We know what we want… but God knows what we need.

Lincoln said, It is not as important that God be on our side as that we be on God’s side.

The Lord Who counts every hair on the heads of His children also knows the thoughts that emanate below that hair, so to speak. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). The Bible overflows with nearly uncountable examples of trials, as men and women regard them… that were transformed into blessings. Of crises… that eventually led to triumphs. Of challenges… whose resolutions resulted in salvation.

The thief on the cross turns to his side and acknowledges Jesus Who hangs next to him… and is told that “today you will be with me in Paradise.” Three men resisted bowing down to King Nebuchadnezzar… and survived the fiery furnace. The Book of Job is an account of his misery and hard luck (to put it mildly). The core of the book however is, especially in Chapter 38, a reminder of God’s overarching wisdom and care for Job… and us.

Even Jesus’s Disciples, who lived with the Savior for more than three years and witnessed supernal teaching and miracles, did not understand everything He said. “And they understood none of these things… neither knew they the things which were spoken”(Luke 18:34). Yet it was a “God thing” that Jesus asked them to accept: His torture and death would not have been on their natural wish-list. Nor, likely, ours.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata that was one of his most poignant. In the face of contemplation of death (it was a funeral piece) it was a profound musical sermon about trust in God. Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit – God’s Timing Is Always the Best Timing. That is, we trust not only God’s timing but the circumstances, the context, our expectations even in the face of prayer and earnest appeals. He acts; we do not dictate to Him.

All “God things” are His to decide, and our duty is to trust.

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Click: ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus