Words are important.
Southwestern Seminary professor Malcolm Yarnell says, “Christians ought to have a leavening influence on their society.” “But when we forget our primary allegiance to Jesus Christ [in favor of] political parties, movements or leaders, we begin to run into trouble.”
An average of Gallup polls in 2023 found that 68 percent of Americans identified with the Christian religion. However, that reflected a consistent drop from the high point of 96 percent in 1956.
Christians are being educated by something, he added. That can be the culture, social media, mainstream media or the church. All have a way of affecting our worldview to some degree.
Yarnell spoke of C. Gardner Taylor, a preacher and contemporary of Martin Luther King Jr. Very concerned with social issues, Taylor’s wife would at times comment on her husband’s sermon “thickness.”
“Sometimes she would tell him that his sermon was a bit ‘thin’ to let him know he was getting too much into political and social issues,” Yarnell said. “Those issues need to be addressed, but if it was his primary proclamation, it was robbing from the emphasis on the Gospel.”
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Feeling overwhelmed? Tennessee pastor Abraham Creemens encourages you to look to Jesus.
“The first step on this journey of hope is to recognize that there is only one Savior, and it is not you. It is not me, or your pastor or the most spiritual person in the world. It is Jesus. We turned the world upside down and Jesus turned it right-side-up. Paul explained this in 2 Corinthians 5:21: He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. “
Creemens says when life is too much, you can look to the empty tomb where Jesus overcame the grave.
“See the beauty of the resurrection. Jesus died a real death. But the grave was not strong enough. The invitation is to lean into the person, purpose and promises of God every day and lay your concerns at the entrance of the empty tomb.”
Read the full piece at Baptist Press.
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