"Where Have My Sins Gone?" 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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  • Posted by Danny
  • Friday, March 16, 2012

    • Three life-transforming words; liberation from the burden of my past in one simple statement.

    "Such were…but…"

    King David, a man a whole lot more like us than we are comfortable confessing, wrote it this way: "Remember not the sins of my youth or my acts of willful rebellion." Psalm 25:7

    The downward pull of past failures continually haunted his memory. "For I know my transgression, and my sin is ever before me."  Psalm 51:3

    So many are stymied in their desire to grow deeper in Jesus because of the unshakeable, unavoidable nagging regrets of sins past. The shameful images frequently appear in our rearview mirrors and effectively rob us of the joy and freedom of salvation; in fact, almost like those small letters across the bottom of the mirror, "Objects may be closer than they appear." (Why does a classic Farside flash into my mind right now? J)

    With the continual downward tug of sins past eroding resistance to temptation and convincing many of their impotence for future Christian service, Paul writes words of both warning and encouragement. "The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God." Sobering wake up! Then three life-transforming words: "Such were…but…" The hilarious joy of sins completely forgotten!

    So, where HAVE my sins gone?

    See you Sunday, Church!

    Pastor Tom

    Dagon Has Fallen

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  • Posted by Danny
  • Friday, March 9, 2012

    • Hilarious idol stories. May I say, RIDICULOUS god narratives? If they were not true, they would be virtually impossible to believe. For instance…

    Jacob's father-in-law is tweaked because his daughters, grandkids, and cheap-labor son-in-law are relocating without the common courtesy of saying "good-bye." He tracks them down and commands a thorough search of their properties because someone has "stolen his gods." How big is his god? His daughter successfully hid it under her skirt! Genesis 31

    With an ancient John Deere (a pulling team of oxen), Gideon demolishes the community gods in one short night. When the perpetrator of the blasphemous assault is identified, the people rise up to avenge their gods. His father insightfully declares, "If he (Baal) is a god, let him contend for himself." Judges 6:31 Hmmm…novel thought there.

    The bookmakers had the odds at 450 to 1, but after hours of desperate pleading and humiliating failure, Elijah taunts them. "Either he (Baal) is occupied (not multi-tasking well), or gone aside (time-out in the little boys room), or is on a journey (and left you behind), or perhaps he is asleep (exhausted from taking care of losers) and needs to be awakened (failure of internal clock)." 1 Kings 18:27
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    Living a G-rated Life in a ‘Mature-audiences-only’ World

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  • Posted by Danny
  • Friday, March 2, 2012

    • 1 Corinthians 5:9-13


    They pointed out her sin.  He pointed to her Savior.

    Isn’t it painfully true that the sins in the lives of those around us appear to be so much viler and so much more visible?  The pride of our hearts assures us that such decadence is far beneath our failures.  What they are doing, I would NEVER do!

    They had set their trap, made their move, and drug her--in judgmental self-righteousness--into the glaring morning sun.  They exposed the overexposed adulterous to the light of the Holy One. They would hear Him render a guilty verdict that would place Him in an inescapable corner…the conflict of the Law of Moses and the laws of Rome. The perfect snare.  How proud they were of their excellent plan!

    “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  John 8:7

    A little doodling in the dust and a pregnant season of silence, then the Holy One of God was alone with the fallen daughter of Eve.

    “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?  Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”  John 8:10-11

    How pious and self-righteous we become when we arrogantly draw attention to the despicable behaviors of those in the world that surrounds us.  The minor “mis-steps” of the members of the church seem so insignificant when contrasted to the unspeakable behaviors of outsiders.  It is easy to rise in judgment of the world while standing indifferently to our own sins.

    “For what do I have to do with judging outsiders?  Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?  God judges those outside.  Purge the evil person from among you.”  (emphasis added)

    The mission of the Church is not to point out the sins of the world.  The mission of the Church is to point the world to the forgiving grace of the Savior!

    See you Sunday, Church!

    Pastor Tom
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