Church in the Park

Matthew 7:12–14 (ESV): 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

22:34–40 (ESV): 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love this Country

· Never thought I would see the hatred that many Americans have for their fellow countrymen

· Tragedy: We’ve put our party affiliation before our identity as Americans.

o For us, it should be we are Christians, then we are Americans, then we are a particular political party.

The 2nd Horseman: Revelation 6:3–4 (ESV): 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

· The judgements of the four horseman—I believe—are played over and over in the last days.

o The “last days” constitutes the time between Jesus resurrection and His second coming.

· The first horse and rider represent conquest, which is likely war. But Scholars believe that the wording used here “slaying one another” lends itself towards civil war, or generally, people slaying people.

o Right now, we see Americans slaying fellow Americans (mainly with the words)

· Baffling: So much hatred, that when Trump was in office, many democrats wanted him to fail

o Now, many republicans want Biden to fail.

o Why? “Being Right” has become more important than being at peace.

People are angry today. They’re impulsive. Hate is ubiquitous.

· Last week, a man shot a subway employee because he received too much mayonnaise on his sandwich.

· A couple of weeks ago a man shot a Chick-Fil-A employee because he claimed he was supposed to get two milkshakes when he only received one.

Our Country Needs Healing

· It is the Gospel that heals.

· Healing will only come when the church begins acting differently than the world. Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

· But our salt seems to have lost its saltiness

The heart-breaking thing for me to watch over the last few years, is that many Christians have become just as hateful as non-Christians.

· I’ve heard Christians suggest democrats hate this country

· I’ve seen social media posts that insist that people who are angry by the overturning of Roe V. Wade are demonic.

· I think these are over generalizations. And these comments and jabs are not helpful. All they do is harden peoples’ hearts more towards the things of God.

· When you treat someone like that its like, you have lost any hope of them listening to your presentation of the Gospel.

· This doesn’t mean that we don’t speak the truth. I am staunchly pro-choice. But we need to speak the truth in love.

· And we can’t expect unsaved people to think and act like saved people.

· The starting point is to point people to Jesus.

Let’s Consider the Golden Rule

Matthew 7:12–14 (ESV): 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Many other religions and philosophies hold to a similar injunction, the closest of which comes from the Chinese Philosopher Confucius: He is famous for saying “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.” Though Confucius’ words sound close to Jesus’ Golden Rule, there is a fundamental difference: His saying forbids malevolence towards another human being (which is good), but it allows for a certain passiveness. The Christian standard, however, does not allow us to just “leave people alone,” but instead requires us to actively do good towards others.

Peterson: The Golden Rule Doesn’t Mean that We are Nice All of the Time

We should be, generally, nice people. But that is NOT the essence of the Golden Rule. Jesus wasn’t always nice. He was pretty tough on the Pharisees. He told the crowds of people that they needed to repent, because they were not living in ways that are pleasing to the Lord.

We rarely think about how we would want others to treat us. So, I want to give you some practical questions to think through.

1. How do you want your friends to treat you? Treat your friends that way. 2. If you are a parent, how do you want your parents to treat you? Treat your children in that way. 3. If you are a child, how would you want your children to treat you? Treat your parents in that way. 4. If you are a student, imagine you were a teacher or professor. Treat your teachers or professors in that way. 5. If you are an employer, how would you want your boss to treat you? Treat your employees that same way. 6. If you are an employee, imagine you were a boss; how would want your employees to treat you. 7. How do you want other people of the church to treat you? Treat other church members in that same respect.

So, spend some time thinking about how you want to be treated. Treat others in the same way (assuming the way you want to be treated, aligns with the values of the Kingdom of God).

Closing: How Do We Treat Other Americans during this time of Political and Social Tension? How can we be salt and light?

· (1) We listen more than we speak (James 1:19)

· (2) We have compassion on people, even those with those whom we disagree with.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

· (3) We speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)

· (4) We treat others as if they are made in the Image of God

· (5) Sympathize with people with whom we disagree

· (6) Have Conversations… not protests. (Matthew 18:15)