A couple of years ago, during some particularly tough times of racial strife, it was popular to post a sign
in your yard that read “hate has no home here”. That is a wonderful sentiment, isn’t it? I would hope
that, even if there was no sign in your yard, hate doesn’t live at your house. But hate is just one of
several emotions that, when used wrongly, not only causes grief and trouble, but also displeases God.
Note that is said “when used wrongly”.

FROM YOUR PASTOR 10-13-2022
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every
inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5 NIV).
So often, we look around us and see wickedness; absolute wickedness. It seems that everywhere we
look we see depravity in all of its ugly forms.

FROM YOUR PASTOR 10-13-2022
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every
inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5 NIV).
So often, we look around us and see wickedness; absolute wickedness. It seems that everywhere we
look we see depravity in all of its ugly forms.

In the book of Acts, Paul visits Athens and notices that there are altars built for so many different gods.
He then finds an alter to the “unknown god”. He took the occasion to teach about the one, true God.
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way
you are very religious.” Acts 17:22 NIV. In the KJV, however, the word “religious” is translated as
“superstitious”.

I often use a rather simple definition of sin: Anything that violates the character and purpose of God. I
think that sums up sin pretty well. The necessary corollary to that is this: We can only know the
character and purpose of God through His revelation of Himself to us through the Bible. The Bible
shows us that God is higher, nobler, and different than mankind and we are to aspire to grow in grace
and knowledge of Him; to become more like Him.

Is America a Christian nation? That’s an easy question to answer:  yes and no.  Yes, there is no doubt
that the Pilgrims came over to the New World to escape persecution from the state-run religion of
England. If you read the charters of the newly formed states you will find, not only references to God,
but also to Christianity.

I’m feeling so very positive about the direction of the church. I know that the Coronavirus epidemic is
not quite over and we still have a ways to go before we are back to “normal”, but all around me I see
positive attitudes and a willingness to work. The recent Church Council yearly planning meeting and the
Sunshiners organizational meeting both went well and showed me that people want to get some
activities up and running. The Nominating Committee has received very encouraging responses for
workers (though we still need some pre-school workers). All-in-all, things are looking up! Thank you for
your enthusiasm.

In the current political division, where do Christians stand? That’s a tough question. It really depends
on where one stands on certain issues. I’m going to divide issues into two broad categories: Moral and
economic (though these categories do overlap at times). Let’s look at a couple of moral issues first.
Abortion, homosexualism, transgenderism, and racism are a few of the issues that divide us. I would say
that none of those things have a place in a Christian heart. The Bible shows none of them to be a part of
God’s character and purpose. To affirm any or all of them does disservice to the true picture of the God
that the Bible reveals.

I saw a lady on the news berating Christians by saying that they shouldn’t try to “force their
views” on people. She was speaking of politics. What exactly does that mean? Is that a valid
argument in the political arena? Should we, as Christians, separate our Christian beliefs, our
conservative morals brought on by our beliefs, or our desire to live out our Christian lifestyles
from the way we vote?