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Published: 22 January 2021

Once upon a time, there was a Jamaican bob-sled team.  Seriously.  Disney made a movie about the story in 1993 titled, “Cool Runnings.”  It’s a humorous account of what happened to those underdogs of winter sports.  In one of their early practices, they have a bad crash and one of the characters says, “Sanka, ya dead mon?” Sanka answers, “Ya mon.”  Of course, if he could answer, he wasn’t really dead.  Or, was he?  I’m not sure about Sanka’s spiritual state, but it is possible to be a “dead mon walkin’” According to Ephesians 2, if we are outside of Christ, we are in fact, dead.  Dead in trespasses and sins.  By nature, and by choice we follow the course of this world led by the prince of the power of the air—Satan.  This makes us children of wrath, the enemies of God.  BUT GOD!  What marvelous words.  Because of the wealth of God’s mercy rooted in His deep love, He made a way to live.  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead raises those who believe from death to life.  The day you say yes to Christ is the day you are born again, given a new nature, a new citizenship, a new future, a new capacity and a new family.  God’s raising of believers from death to life should result in ongoing gratitude and faithful service.  We were dead and He made us alive!   Your redemption may not be historic from a media perspective, but it sure made news in Heaven; and, changed the eternal course of your life.  More about that this coming Sunday.      

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Published: 15 January 2021

In one of my high school classes back in the 1970’s, a teacher told our class “you can’t legislate morality.”  Sadly, I believed him for a long time.  Teachers have a lot of influence and we should be very careful who we listen to for perspective.  Of course we can legislate morality!  We have many rules on the books right now that draw lines between moral and immoral behavior.  It’s still wrong to murder someone or to steal their stuff.  Perhaps my teacher should have said that we cannot legislate behavior.  That would have been more accurate.  Having a law does not guarantee it will be followed.  A nationwide mask mandate may or may not help the spread of COVID but the mandate won’t cause everyone to wear a mask…moral or immoral.  The same is true with abortion.  There were abortions before Roe vs. Wade and there will be abortions if it is ever overturned.  The only way to stop abortions is to so saturate our communities with the message and actions of God’s love that people will happily choose life over termination.  I’m all for making abortions illegal.  However, I know human nature well enough to know that our job will not be over if Roe vs. Wade ever gets flipped.  We, the church, are still going to have to meet people in their crises and help them see life-giving alternatives.  It’s going to take more than laws to see the Sanctity of Human Life take a stronger foothold.  It’s going to take a church committed to becoming life-giving people willing to enter the mess.  You in?