LET ME COUNT THE WAYS
by Bob Wickizer
Scripture: NUMBERS 21:4-9, PSALM 107:1-3, PSALM 107:17-22, EPHESIANS 2:1-10, JOHN 3:14-21
Let Me Count the Ways
Bob Wickizer
Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to the end that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life."
According to Martin Luther I could stop my sermon right there because this declaration is according to Luther "the Gospel in a nutshell." Maybe some of you would like me to stop here too but wait, there's more.
What kind of world have we given God to love? This is Lent after all and we need to stay focused on the pervasiveness of sin in the world. How have we sinned? Let me count just a few of the ways.
Television – When television was first introduced in the 1950s, educators hailed the invention as a very promising low cost way to educate the masses. TV was initially thought of as a technological means to true public education. Today's reality? Five hundred channels of insipid programming with little more than sex, violence and advertising. The Internet is not much better since as much as half by some accounts of today's Internet traffic and storage is used for pornography. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Business ethics – We like to complain about business scandals and CEO pay. The images of greedy millionaire CEOs in court are to us today what food riots were to French peasants during the days of Marie Antoinette. How did we get to this situation? In the 20th century the mainline Christian denominations lost their missionary thrust and settled back into complacency. During that same period of time corporations made the transition from being chartered by the public for public service (the original concept of a corporation) to a stage of accountability to shareholders, employees and customers and finally to today's situation where senior executives of many corporations are accountable only to themselves. Could there be a connection between the decline of Christian commu ...
Bob Wickizer
Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to the end that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life."
According to Martin Luther I could stop my sermon right there because this declaration is according to Luther "the Gospel in a nutshell." Maybe some of you would like me to stop here too but wait, there's more.
What kind of world have we given God to love? This is Lent after all and we need to stay focused on the pervasiveness of sin in the world. How have we sinned? Let me count just a few of the ways.
Television – When television was first introduced in the 1950s, educators hailed the invention as a very promising low cost way to educate the masses. TV was initially thought of as a technological means to true public education. Today's reality? Five hundred channels of insipid programming with little more than sex, violence and advertising. The Internet is not much better since as much as half by some accounts of today's Internet traffic and storage is used for pornography. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Business ethics – We like to complain about business scandals and CEO pay. The images of greedy millionaire CEOs in court are to us today what food riots were to French peasants during the days of Marie Antoinette. How did we get to this situation? In the 20th century the mainline Christian denominations lost their missionary thrust and settled back into complacency. During that same period of time corporations made the transition from being chartered by the public for public service (the original concept of a corporation) to a stage of accountability to shareholders, employees and customers and finally to today's situation where senior executives of many corporations are accountable only to themselves. Could there be a connection between the decline of Christian commu ...
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