Barack Obama was in Chicago this past Sunday and he was invited to speak from the pulpit of the Apostolic Church of God. Here below are excerpts from his sermon.
His sermon started good:
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus closes by saying, "Whoever hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." [Matthew 7: 24-25]
This is a logical application of the text, I'm following him:
Here at Apostolic, you are blessed to worship in a house that has been founded on the rock of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Okay, I guess I can see your logic, but I don't know that it is biblical... but I am following you:
...it is also built on another rock, another foundation - and that rock is Bishop Arthur Brazier. In forty-eight years, he has built this congregation from just a few hundred to more than 20,000 strong...
Alright, so much for staying with the text. Let's exalt man for a while yeah?
Because of his work and his ministry, there are more graduates and fewer gang members in the neighborhoods surrounding this church. There are more homes and fewer homeless. There is more community and less chaos because Bishop Brazier continued the march for justice that he began by Dr. King's side all those years ago. He is the reason this house has stood tall for half a century. And on this Father's Day, it must make him proud to know that the man now charged with keeping its foundation strong is his son and your new pastor, Reverend Byron Brazier.
What? How can you make the leap from what Christ is saying to what Barack speaks on below? I'll help; you can't.
Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important.
He then moves into social injustices and the importance of a father and he touches on the Iraq war and concludes with how he used to think life was all about him but now it revolves around his little girls.
You can read more here.
Some questions:
-What constitutes God-honoring preaching?
-Should politicians who are not ministers be allowed to preach to a pastor's congregation?
-Should the gospel be included in sermons?
-Should those who speak from the pulpit be faithful to the text they are speaking on or just talk about whatever they wish?
-Who do you think was exalted in this sermon? Was it God? Family? Fathers? Obama? The former pastor?
3 comments:
Answers:
1) God honoring preaching is exactly that. Worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Not focusing on man. You could mention it as an aside, but was a bit much.
2)No one should preach if they have not received the proper training.
3) The gospel should be included in every sermon to make sure people hear the message of salvation.
4) One should know the text that they are preaching on.
5)man was exhaulted.
6)Obama and the former pastor.
I hope I am not the only one concerened about the mass of people following Obama blindly and the references that are made to him such as "messiah". I am not going as far as to label him the anti-Christ, but I am concerned.
It really saddens me that the church has come out of Catholicism by means of the reformation to what it is today in America (and Europe). I think the reformers would be thoroughly dissappointed (I can't even imagine the thoughts of God concerning His bride's current state).
j razz
Should politicians who are not ministers be allowed to preach to a pastor's congregation?
Allowed? Interesting phrasing. I would imagine this is the choice of the pastor, and if that choice is abused the congregation will most likely educate him/her about it.
But more generally, I'm curious if pastors should be allowed to engage in public/pulpit discourse about politics when they are not politicians. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
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