10:00 am Sunday Worship
This Sunday, Pr. Kristin-Luana is the presiding minister, and Pr. Olaf is the preacher. Here is Sunday’s Sermon News:
For God so loved the world . . . John 3:14-21
I am sure you have seen countless cars with the sticker “John 3:16,” one of the best-known verses of the bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
In Lutheran eyes, this verse describes exactly the love we receive from God. God so loved–and continues to love–the world; this is the very definition of God’s relationship to all of creation. God loves us, and because we experience God’s love for us, we respond with love. We pour the love we first received from God back into the world again. For many people of faith, this verse is the epitome of beauty and promise.
Unfortunately, many people see this verse as a threat. Too many Christians use this verse to coerce unbelievers, and those who they think believe wrong, to their particular flavor of Christianity. “Everyone who believes in him will not perish, while everyone who does not believe, or believes wrongly, will perish.” They are not shy to proclaim that you either believe in their Christ, or you go to hell. And while you roast, they sing the old Christian hymn, we told you so.
This hammer and coercion approach to the great commission–go and make disciples– is one of the prime reasons that people run from the gospel as if it were the proverbial devil with his pitchfork. But no one in the history of religion has ever been scared into faith. No one has ever been saved at gunpoint. How are we saved? And how do we make disciples with love, not fear?
Find out this Sunday at 10 a.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 745 Front St S, Issaquah, WA 98027 and on YouTube.
– Pr. Olaf Baumann
Masks are welcome but not required. Please continue to stay home if feeling sick and receive Holy Communion in a safe manner. Click the link above to worship online with us, and click the button below to view the bulletin and follow along. If you try the link prior to 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, you may see the message “video unavailable.”
