Psalm 8-9, Psalm 16, Psalm 19, Psalm 21, Psalm 24
Ryan: The atheist humanist movement that is quickly grabbing the industrialized societies by the throat is very appealing on the outside. The theory goes, as long as you’re nice to people, and you’re generally a “good person,” then that’s all that really matters. As long as you’re not hurting someone else, what does it really matter what you’re “in to”? In other words, there’s no such thing as absolute sin, only relative sin. The problem with that is what about the things that go on while no one’s watching? What about what goes on in your head that no one else can see? Do you think it really doesn’t matter if a married man indulges with pornography while his wife is absent? Of course it matters. Do you think it really doesn’t matter that inside you harbor angry, vengeful thoughts against someone, as long as you’re nice to their face? Of course it matters. Those kinds of sins are a cancer. They start out small, indetectable. They grow, and slowly begin to affect how you act on the outside. Paul writes, “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). There is One who sees all, though. David writes in Psalm 19, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” You can try to tell yourself that that’s simply a “slippery slope” argument, and that you won’t fall into it. Ya, good luck with that.
Samantha: Christians are charged with spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and somehow (“Oh, I just don’t know who it could be”), we’ve been distracted by “morality issues,” materialism, and politics. Today’s reading was very comforting to me, because it talks about how the heavens and skies speak of God and how every language can understand that message. So even if the very people charged with spreading the Gospel fail, God will still shine through.
“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBJUd5zI9OY
Tags: Discipleship, Sin
