JANUARY 27 - Is It Still Worth Believing That All People Are Sinners?

To say that all people are sinners means more than just saying that everybody makes mistakes. It is rooted in an important doctrine of Christianity called the doctrine of original sin.

This is the United Methodist doctrine on original sin, found in two separate statements from The Book of Discipline:

• Original sin...is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.

and

• We believe man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. in his own strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.

Key Scripture Verses:

ROMANS 3:22b-23 (nrsv). There is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

1 JOHN 1:8 (nrsv). If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.

ROMANS 7:22-23 (nlt). I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.


To dig deeper, explore these sermons of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism:

ORIGINAL SIN - by John Wesley

ON SIN IN BELIEVERS - by John Wesley


The early church struggled with a teaching called Pelagianism - that denied the doctrine of original sin - it was eventually condemned as a heresy. Pelagianism is defined as "the belief that original sin did not taint human nature (which, being created from God, was divine), and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without divine aid."

Read here for more information about Pelagianism.

JANUARY 20 - Is It Still Worth Believing That the Bible Is God's Word?

This message began with a "pre-test" - Five of the following ten statements come from The United Methodist Book of Discipline. Can you figure out which five?

1. The Bible contains all things necessary to salvation.

2. The biblical authors were illumined by the Holy Spirit.

3. Other writing may have equal authority to the Bible.

4. Our attempt to grasp the meaning of Scripture always involves tradition, experience, and reason.

5. Scripture is “inerrant,” and this applies to the original Hebrew and Greek copies of the Bible.

6. Scripture is received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice.

7. Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine.

8. Scripture is verbally God-given, and without error or fault in all of its teaching about the events of world history.

9. The Bible is just one of many sources of inspiration and reflection.

10. The inspiration of Scripture guarantees true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write.


OKAY...make sure that you have picked the five you think come from Methodist teaching BEFORE you read any further!!
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The five statements that come from The United Methodist Book of Discipline are #1, #2, #4, #6 and #7. Below there is a link that goes into more detail about our core doctrine.

The other five statements come from other traditions:


3. Other writing may have equal authority to the Bible.

This could describe the teaching of the Mormon Church (Bible plus The Book of Mormon) or the Christian Science Church (Bible plus the Christian Science textbook).

5. Scripture is “inerrant,” and this applies to the original Hebrew and Greek copies of the Bible.

This is a description of fundamentalist view that the very first copy of the Bible was perfect and inaccuracies may be due to copying or translation.

8. Scripture is verbally God-given, and without error or fault in all of its teaching about the events of world history.

This is another fundamentalist view that sets up unnecessary conflicts between science and faith because the Bible then becomes the "perfect" source of science, history, geography, etc.

9. The Bible is just one of many sources of inspiration and reflection.

This view reduces the Bible to just one of many helpful sources, and puts it on the same plane as many "inspirational" works of literature.

10. The inspiration of Scripture guarantees true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write.

This is similar to #8.


The key verse from 2 Timothy reminds us that Scripture is not only "inspired" it is also "useful" - it is intended to be applied in our lives!

2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.


Read this page - UNITED METHODISTS AND AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE - for a more detailed explanation.


To be fair, you can read here a more detailed explanation of those who insist upon a position called "biblical inerrancy."

JANUARY 13 - Is It Still Worth Believing That Jesus Is the Son of God?

We live in a world where any belief or thought is liable to be questioned. We are a skeptical generation! This new message series - IS IT STILL WORTH BELIEVING? - will focus on some things you may have learned as a child - things that you wonder whether to continue believing or adopt some other way of thinking!

Message #1 in this series - Is It Still Worth Believing that Jesus is the Son of God?

The question is pretty basic - "Is Jesus really a supernatural being, or just an awesome human being?"

There are many books, articles, films and television programs that lead us to question the truth of who Jesus is.

In addition, there are so many aspects of the life of Jesus - we may tend to identify with one aspect alone:

• Some see Jesus as MIRACLE WORKER - the one who had power that most people don't have.

• Some see Jesus as TEACHER - the one who had insight that most people don't have.

• Some see Jesus as REVOLUTIONARY - the one who had an amazing vision for what society could become.

• Some see Jesus as SOURCE OF MERCY - the one who showed compassion that most people don't have.

All of these are "part of the picture." But any one aspect alone misses the big picture!


One of the best descriptions of basic doctrine about Jesus is found in Colossians 1:13-20. Take time to read the entire passage by clicking here.


Note the important things this passage has to say about who Jesus is:

• He is the "image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15). Unlike any other human being, Jesus is "not created." You and I are God's handiwork. Jesus is not - he is God made visible for us.

• In Jesus "all things were created" (Col. 1:16). Christ was part of creation. The Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - existed before Day One of creation began.

• He is "the head of the body, the church" (Col. 1:18). We are not Christ's fan club. We are his body. Elsewhere in the Bible, the church is described as the "bride of Christ." There is an intimate connection of relationship.

• He is "the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18). As the first to rise from the dead, his resurrection is our promise of victory over death.

Verses 19 and 20 are particularly important:

COLOSSIANS 1:19. In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

Another translation says: "Everything of God finds its proper place in him."

Jesus did not simply have a double helping of goodness. Rather, everything about the nature of who God is becomes visible in the person of Jesus.

We can look at Jesus - read his words - see his actions - walk in relationship to him - and know the heart of God.


COLOSSIANS 1:20. Through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

This tells us that the Christ event is God's initiative to bring people back to himself. The life and death of Jesus is not about setting up some new set of requirements - it is not about making the hurdle higher - it is about demolishing those hurdles. The Jesus event is all about the heart of God coming to us.


Read also this statement of United Methodist doctrine about Jesus. It reaffirms the basic teachings we find in Colossians:

We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man,
in whom the divine and human natures
are perfectly and inseparably united.
He is the eternal Word made flesh,
the only begotten Son of the Father,
born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross.
He was buried, rose from the dead,
and ascended into heaven to be with the Father,
from whence he shall return.
He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us,
and by him all men will be judged.

JANUARY 6 - Tongue Twisters

This message is an adaptation of an original sermon by John Wesley - the founder of the Methodist movement. He titled his message - The Cure of Evil-Speaking. It is worth reading in its entirety, so click on the link and check it out.

Applying this message - and the teaching of Jesus - is very difficult because there is something in each of us that seems to enjoy passing along bad news. The Bible warns us of the danger of the words we speak:


JAMES 3:6,10. The tongue is a fire...from the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be.


Wesley used this verse from Titus as his key verse for the message:

TITUS 3:2. Speak evil of no one.

(Here he refers not to spreading lies - it matters not if it be a truth or an untruth that we are telling about someone.)

Look at Wesley's words about how common this sin is:

How extremely common is this sin, among all orders and degrees of men! How do high and low, rich and poor, wise and foolish, learned and unlearned, run into it continually! Persons who differ from each other in all things else, nevertheless agree in this. How few are there that can testify before God, "I am clear in this matter; I have always set a watch before my mouth, and kept the door of my lips!" What conversation do you hear, of any considerable length, whereof evil-speaking is not one ingredient? And that even among persons who, in the general, have the fear of God before their eyes, and do really desire to have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man.


He suggests this passage from Matthew as an appropriate way to handle issues we might wish to speak about:

MATTHEW 18:15-17. If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.


These words are given by Jesus as a guideline for resolving conflict among believers, and Wesley uses them as a way to handle things we might wish to gossip or "chatter" about. Read the words of his sermon for more assistance in applying this passage.


Wesley adds one additional pice of advice to the verse about "speaking evil of no one." He suggests that we "HEAR EVIL OF NO ONE." "If any begin to speak evil in thy hearing, check it immediately. Resolutely refuse to hear."

Don't just be careful about what you say. Also be careful about what you hear! What a different world it would be if we were to obey this rule!