This week, Donald Trump posted a video promoting a patriotic Bible with the Bill of Rights, constitution, and Declaration of Independence added in. Recently, Joe Biden used the scriptures to justify abortion. In Brazil, Bolsonaro used God to convince the population that he was a holy man. In Russia, Putin has used the Orthodox Church to control the narrative about Ukraine and its justification of war. 

This may surprise some of you, but there is a significant movement of young people moving away from contemporary worship-style services to churches that emphasize liturgy in their services.

For centuries, the process of growing in Christ has been thought of as a communal activity. As seen in the book of Acts, they shared everything with each other. Their entire lives were enveloped in the life-giving community of the church. To them, their spiritual lives weren’t their own, it was everyone’s.

The Western idea of individualism has seeped into our Churches. While there is validity for individuals to take responsibility for their own faith, this has indirectly allowed the church to become consumer-oriented, not community-oriented.

At times, it can be difficult to really grasp the ideas and the implications that Jesus set in His speech. You may be tempted to read and interpret the sermon on the mount through a Pauline lens, noting that “Jesus has already done it all for us, so all we must do is believe in Him and His grace is sufficient.”