Sharing Your Story - Speaking of Spiritual Things

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, June 19, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar


Click Here to Download the Four Neighbors Activity


Scripture Reference:  Acts 8: 26-38

Sometimes, we Christians get in our own way.  We get our panties in a bunch (that’s a theological term) about our non-believing friends acting like non-believers.  Our culture is full of books and movies that are spiritual in theme, but we get upset when they don’t line up with our Christian belief system.  Last time I checked, a non-Christian, by definition, isn’t going to line up with Christian ideals – hence the ‘non’ in front. 

Books like the Da Vinci Code or the Secret raise ideas that aren’t biblical.  Books on angels skirt the edge of biblical truth, often leaving the realm entirely.  Movies come out such as Eat, Pray, Love, or The Last Temptation of Christ.  Oprah often recommends books with spiritual undertones.  People like Deepak Chopra, Emmet Fox, or Edgar Cayce are read by many.  There are books on lost gospels and prophecy and self improvement through meditation and prayer.

Most of these things are absolute hooey (another theological term).  But, hooey or not, they raise people’s interests in spiritual ideas.  They intrigue our friends, neighbors and coworkers and get them talking about and considering creation and the creator.  They get people thinking about the divine, the sacred, and about the mystical.

And what is our reaction as a Christian community?

Picket, Protest, Boycott, Whine, and Complain.

Now, wait a minute here.  Shouldn’t we be excited for the chance to openly discuss religious topics with our non-believing friends?  Wouldn’t this make a great opportunity to compare ideas and let God’s truth speak for itself?  Don’t you think this could be an opening to share Christ?

I do.

The simple truth is, though most of these books and movies are full of ideas that are ultimately anti-biblical and false, they often include kernels of truth that will allow discussion to take place and ideas to be shared. 

The book of Jude in the Bible contains a quote from a non-biblical source (1Enoch).  Paul quotes from secular poets in Acts 17 and from a Cretan prophet in Titus 1! 

The truth stands up for itself and can endure questions.  So, why do we get all fussy about books and movies that question the Bible or our belief system?

Let’s take the example of Philip in Acts 8.  When we see someone reading something scriptural or spiritual, let’s open up lines of discussion with them.  When our friends, neighbors, family, and coworkers are interested in the divine, let’s take the time to encourage that behavior, but point them to the real truth that’s out there.

Pastor Rodger