An audio file of the sermon from February 26 is available for listening or download at this link.
A downloadable PDF file of the worship bulletin is at this link.
An excerpt from the sermon:
“Here is a thought, though: suppose Paul isn’t so much commanding an emotion, as encouraging a new way of thinking and responding. Suppose he’s assuming that the feelings that come naturally in a situation like that, the feeling of anger or disappointment in someone you’re at first inclined to believe has let you down — suppose he’s suggesting that we give ourselves a moment to reframe those situations “in the Lord.” He says, “Rejoice, in the Lord.”
“Dietrich Bonhoeffer talks about this in his little book on the common life of the church, Life Together, which some of us read and discussed together on Wednesday evenings a few months ago. For us who are Christians, God intends for Jesus Christ to be in the middle of our relationships. He says, “God will not permit us to live even for a moment in a dream world,” where we just naturally get along as a matter of course. “God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams.” And he says, “God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth.” And truth is first of all a person: our relationships as Christians are “through and in Jesus Christ.” And that gives us a chance to avoid being thrown around by our emotions.”
