A few years ago I planted my garden and it rained, and it rained, and it rained. The corn kinda sorta came up. The weeds grew too. Way too late, between rain showers, I weeded the garden. I got to the corn. Some of the weeds sort of looked like corn (I convinced myself). I really did not want to replant the corn, so I crossed my fingers, and left the entire rows of corn with weeds in-between, hoping some of the weeds were really corn. I really knew that I had four, sometimes five feet of bare spots between corn seedlings. As the days and weeks went on and the sun came up, the corn and the weeds grew. I did not have much corn that year, but I had some very healthy weeds.
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Today is the first of three messages from Romans ch. 1. I made a decision this week. Romans is a giant of a book. I have often thought about preaching through Romans, but there is so much and the book is overwhelming to me. 1-2-3 times a year, I am going to take a chapter at a time between other series.
In our culture it is popular to believe the claims of Christianity are too exclusive, “many ways to salvation after all.” “What’s right for me may not be right for you,” we are told. What stuck in my head many years ago is the person that observed that it is true that according to the Bible, the road to salvation is narrow, but anyone can walk that road. The road is narrow, but the pathway is open to all. Call me narrow-minded if you must, in terms of the way to salvation, but complete the picture and call me broad-minded in terms of who is invited to walk that road.
Back in my days of seminary, I did an internship as a hospital chaplain. It was a life changing experience. I was there once a week for ten weeks. In the afternoon I was given a list of people to visit not know a thing about them. Although we were unashamedly Christian, we had to respect different traditions and religions. Chaplain Manley taught me to approach people in a number of ways, one of them, “How is your faith.” The question was open ended enough that people could answer from different perspectives, but narrow enough that they knew I was there to talk about more than issues of health.
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Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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June 2021
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