Reply #2: what a wonderful sermon. [View All]

[RUDUing2]

a couple more that are good reading

http://www.revricky.com/sermons/gaysandreligion.html

also

http://www.trinitymcc.com/worship/sermon_God_gays2.htm (there are actually 3 sermons here..links for the other two are at the bottom of the page)

also this one is good... http://www.memphis-umc.org/Library/Sermons/Emerson_Dean/2004-05-16.htm esp. this paragraph..
hope by now you can see that this is not a simple issue. My goal was not to persuade you to take one side or the other, but to help you understand both sides. To help us see both sides of the issue so we can be more compassionate and more loving toward those with whom we disagree. Paul said is very clearly that love, not agreement, is of the utmost importance within the Body of Christ. Liberals need to get past thinking that all Conservatives are at best selective Biblical literalists, and at worst hypocrites who not only want to send gays and lesbians to Hell, but also anyone who supports gays and lesbians. Conservatives need to get past thinking that all Liberals totally disregard the Bible, have no moral standards whatsoever, and basically believe anything is okay. Both of these views are caricatures that make us more prone to violate Jesus’ commandment which we heard last week that we love one another. My hope for the Church is that as we continue to struggle with this issue, as we genuinely listen to those on the other side and not just label them as fundamentalists or west coast liberals, we will all realize that we see in a mirror dimly. That none of us has all the answers, that for all of us, our salvation is not dependent upon getting any one issue right; rather our salvation, indeed everyone’s salvation, is dependent upon the love and grace of God poured out upon the world through Jesus the Christ. God loves the Conservatives and the Liberals; the gays and the straights. In other words, maybe our debate will remind us of the Good News which we have to proclaim to the whole world. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.