This Sunday, July 9, is the
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost.
Verse of the Trinity Season:
145:1 I will
extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
This week’s sermon is: Come To Me, And I Will Give You
Rest
This week's readings are :
Things You Didn’t Learn in Sunday School About … Samson
We spent the month of June looking at Abraham and his family. We’re going to jump about 1000 years later to the time of the Judges – specifically a judge named Samson. (Judges 13-16).
What do
you remember about Samson?
His birth?
Manoah and his
un-named wife.
Angel of the Lord
His strength?
Killed a lion with
his bare hands
Fighting Philistines
with the jawbone of an ass
Taking the gates
of Philistine city and carrying them away.
His hair?
Samson and Delilah
Loses his strength
Gouged
out eyes
Pillars in the temple – revenge
Is Samson a ... Hero? Meathead? Hot mess?
One part
of Samson’s story that is usually overlooked in Sunday School – because it’s
not age appropriate – is how sex was a big problem for Samson.
Jewish hero should be looking for
a Jewish bride.
In Judges 14 – Samson sees a
Philistine woman – apparently, she’s hot. “Get her for me. She’s the right one
for me.”
She betrays him – and his wife of
about 4 days is given to another man.
He goes back to get her in
Chapter 15 – “I want to got to my wife in her room.” “I will go to my wife in
the bridal chamber.”
Chapter 16 starts with a visit to
a prostitute. (I’m sure he was only interested int the conversations – like the
guys who “read” Playboy for the articles.)
Then we get to Delilah – who pretends
to love him at the request of the Philistine leaders in order to find out the
secret of Samson’s strength
And it wasn’t
actually his hair – his strength was from the LORD
We should
not underestimate the power of sexual sin.
“If Paul feared the lusts of the flesh, are we safe?” – St.
Jerome.
Sexual Revolution of the 60’s to today.
Erasing
boundaries – first “love the one you’re with” and now the incredibly easy
access to pornography
Confusion
Acceptance of pretty much everything that the Bible calls sin in the realm of sex.
I also
think that it’s important to see that Samson was a mess. Not because, “That’s
okay, and God will forgive anyway.” This is not permissiveness. I think it is important
to see that Samson was a mess because – so often our lives are messy.
Different ways and degrees!
Important was we deal with the
fallout of some of the transgender movement.
Christ comes for sinners.
There is tension when we acknowledge sin, call people to repentance, and truly extend Jesus’ love and grace.
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