It started with a rock. No, that the Rock of salvation, but a simple rock. Last weekend someone threw a rock through our window. They broke a window in the sanctuary, but because of the double-pane, it didn’t completely break. That didn’t stop the assailant, they used that same rock and threw it into our mother’s room. The only damage was our two windows.

I don’t know the motive behind the vandalism, but one thing I foresee is that churches will not be safe from attack. There has been a change in society, maybe you have even missed it. Love and Hate do not mean the same things that we used to understand them. When the world says Love, it really says, let people be what they want to be. To accept any action, as long as there is no judgment, we are Loving people. Hate also has a different meaning. Intolerance in any form has become Hate. These two changes have huge ramifications for us Christians, and things are going to get hard.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18

The Bible says the greatest love is to give your life for others. God is love. Love has always meant to be about giving, outside of yourself. Love is not self-seeking, but Love is patient and kind. Not what we can get, but rather what we can give. Love is the greatest idea in the world, but it has been reduced to a catchphrase. Christians are being looked at as no longer ideology of love, we are now being marginalized, even demonized as a group of Hate. What do we Hate? Hate is a powerful word, I don’t like to use it in my personal vernacular. God hates sin. Sin destroys everything it touches, there is no such thing as a small sin, just ask Eve. We Christians believe in the highest ideals, we take the Bible as our standard for life. This my friends is a non-starter for our sinful world. There is a reason the world crucified our Lord. His whole life represented a life that was a direct affront to their own sinful lives. Standing up for truth, will not be a show of Love, but the world will interpret it as Hate. Get ready friends, it’s coming. The change has already happened, and many more rocks are on the way.

Connected to the Vine,
Pastor Danny

Sermon Title: Posture Shift (Part 7, Commandment #3)