A Christianity without the Cross - Selling the next generation short

 

 

This is my sermon that I gave as a pre-record for the second Sunday in Lent. My text is Romans chapter 4 and Mark chapter 8 verses 31 onwards. 

Monotheistic Therapeutic Deism is everywhere. It is beginning to colour many aspects of the Anglican Church, including even evangelical circles. Like the algorithms on social media it’s premise is to provide people what they think they need. It contrasts with the spiritual truths of most of the great religions. We presume ourselves to be the consumers.Freedom is then defined as the liberty to have whatever we so desire without hindrance or barrier. This contrasts with the mediaeval view of freedom as a freedom from desires. You can see the problem. A church which defines itself by the modern sense of freedom will be forever at the mercy of a consumer market place. It will live in perpetual anxiety that it is underperforming, underselling, and not competing in spiritual marketplace as it could do. It will be tempted to lop off doctrines or continually rebrand itself. 

Therefore my sermon is a little exploration into Jesus’ alternative view, the upsidedown Kingdom of God where to gain the whole world is to lose, and to be a student is to take up your cross. It is to take to heart the baptismal liturgy which asks “do you submit to Christ?”