As with all expository (non-topical) studies and messages, you look upon a passage of Scripture and you end up scratching the surface of a lot of topics, potentially opening up many cans of proverbial worms. Even just a single passage of Scripture can't be confined into one "moral of the story." Such is the way with it being of God and it being the also the voice of human experience.
This was certainly the case with Pastor Dr. Gary Hylander's recent message "The Critical Question," based on Mark 8:27-9:1. It's a very remarkable point in the life of Jesus and the story of the disciples' development. One could easily use this passage, as Dr. Hylander did, to at least give a nod to:
-the Church's relationship with culture
-the deity of Christ
-the social and political climate of the time
-the Messianic expectations
-philosophy of evangelism
and . . .
-the personal nature of one's faith and relationship to Jesus
It's the most recent I've been thinking about, because I recently read this article in Christianity Today. Certainly, there has been a strong push for individualism in pop culture, and it's somewhat reflected in the contemporary worship scene.
I've been thinking about how there's a balance between how God's love is extended to the individual, but we still need community. We need to be personal and individual, but not selfish. Thoughts?
1 comment:
If you found the Christianity Today article thought provoking, I would recommend reading, "The Relational Way" by Scott Boren. There is a pervasive 'spirituality ala carte' mentality today. You need to find the church that fits you personally. I wouldn't be surprised if e-Harmony has a future site that matches you with a church based on your spiritual compatibility profile. Loyalty and devotion to a local fellowship is conditional. Until the individual grasps the idea of interdependance, the struggle to feel part of the larger group will continue. This is futher evident with the contemporary interpretation of 'personal rights'. It's the antithesis of the Vulcan philosophy, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one...". You knew I would weave Star Trek into this topic somehow...hehe! The culture has no way to distinguish 'individual' from 'individualism'. The world war II generation was the last generation to truly understand how the individual contributes to the health of the society. A society based on Individualism could never achieve the greatness of the WWII generation, because the personal sacrifice is too costly – it goes to identiy. Anyway...a little something to chew on...
Later...
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