The First Church of Utopia

[NotforSale]

Originally Posted by scotty

Wow, ok so I can be a drunk saturday nights and be heaven bound with an embracing congregation sunday morning !!!!

Where do I sign up ??

Yeah, you can even be Heaven bound after you stuffed your face with processed and fattening foods, gossiped about the "Other" Churches in town, and broke the speed limit while driving to work.

Oh, and let's not forget the little "White LIES" you told. You know the ones, where you fudged on your Tax Return or inflated a story with BIGGER than life facts (the fish I caught was HUGE).

Woops, one more thing. God will even look past the fact that you don't love your neighbor as yourself, even though this is one of the greatest commandments.

Some of us need to pull our head out of the sand. The illusion that God hovers over people with a “Check List” is just that; an illusion. People are weak, people will fail, people will struggle, and people are what we all are. It doesn’t matter how well you dress, how long your hair is, and how HOLY you think you are, we are all ROTTEN!

Goodness, Scotty, the first family on Earth couldn’t even get it strait.

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by NotforSale

Yeah, you can even be Heaven bound after you stuffed your face with processed and fattening foods, gossiped about the "Other" Churches in town, and broke the speed limit while driving to work.

Oh, and let's not forget the little "White LIES" you told. You know the ones, where you fudged on your Tax Return or inflated a story with BIGGER than life facts (the fish I caught was HUGE).

Woops, one more thing. God will even look past the fact that you don't love your neighbor as yourself, even though this is one of the greatest commandments.

Some of us need to pull our head out of the sand. The illusion that God hovers over people with a “Check List” is just that; an illusion. People are weak, people will fail, people will struggle, and people are what we all are. It doesn’t matter how well you dress, how long your hair is, and how HOLY you think you are, we are all ROTTEN!

Goodness, Scotty, the first family on Earth couldn’t even get it strait.

WOW!!!! I'm actually going to use pieces of this thread in church tomorrow and I'll, for sure, read this. That's amazing!

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by NotforSale

Yeah, you can even be Heaven bound after you stuffed your face with processed and fattening foods, gossiped about the "Other" Churches in town, and broke the speed limit while driving to work.

Oh, and let's not forget the little "White LIES" you told. You know the ones, where you fudged on your Tax Return or inflated a story with BIGGER than life facts (the fish I caught was HUGE).

Woops, one more thing. God will even look past the fact that you don't love your neighbor as yourself, even though this is one of the greatest commandments.

Some of us need to pull our head out of the sand. The illusion that God hovers over people with a “Check List” is just that; an illusion. People are weak, people will fail, people will struggle, and people are what we all are. It doesn’t matter how well you dress, how long your hair is, and how HOLY you think you are, we are all ROTTEN!

Goodness, Scotty, the first family on Earth couldn’t even get it strait.

Scotty is a good guy but his view of sin represents that of the vast majority. Most apply binary logic to sin in that anything you can possibly do is either a sin or is not. If on the other hand you look at sin as anything less than perfection, it throws a wrench into that was of thinking and we see that we are all sinners -because we're less then perfect, or sinless. Are you perfect? No? Then your a sinner. Other than Jesus Christ and Mary Poppins I do not know of anyone who fits that description.

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

Scotty is a good guy but his view of sin represents that of the vast majority. Most apply binary logic to sin in that anything you can possibly do is either a sin or is not. If on the other hand you look at sin as anything less than perfection, it throws a wrench into that was of thinking and we see that we are all sinners -because we're less then perfect, or sinless. Are you perfect? No? Then your a sinner. Other than Jesus Christ and Mary Poppins I do not know of anyone who fits that description.

One of the definitions of the words used to translate into "Sin", is, "To miss the mark." That can cover a LOT of ground.

[Jack Shephard]

Originally Posted by notofworks

Socialite, I know you know this, but it's not just the cons that wag their fingers at the broken, it's all of us. The liberals are just as guilty. It's a human-nature, sin-nature problem, that causes so many in the Christian world to crow with the Pharisee, "I thank my God that I am not like other men...". Paul wrote about his own tendencies in Romans 7 and then said to the CORINTHIAN church, no less, "If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin." (10:12)

Sin doesn't ask us first if we're liberal or conservative, it just shows up at our door. And when it does, I want to do everything in my power to have created an environment where that person is smothered with love and care and never looked down upon.

WOW!

[Jack Shephard]

Originally Posted by notofworks

Maybe it's because I've been crying all morning. I've heard Bill Hybels say several times a simple statement...."There's nothing like the local church, when the local church is working right." I've had, seemingly, more than my share of setbacks, defeats, disappointments, and frustrations, but today, more than ever before, knowing fully well how much grace is both missing from "The Church" and needed in, "The Church", I'm re-energized to fight for it more than ever before.

My pastor this Sunday read this from one of his books. What a thought!

[Jack Shephard]

Originally Posted by notofworks

Indeed, it could be temptation. Or......the voice of God!

I have been threatening moving there for some time. Some time I may.