fbpx
0

Robb Sutherland

Home of Robb Sutherland

Apr222008

Radical Prayer

I was handed an email by a colleague with a prayer given by the Rev. Joe Wright to a Kansas legislative session.  My first reaction was that must be an urban legend but having looked it up, it is apparently true. 

Heavenly Father,

We come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good’
But that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbour’s Possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and Pornography and called it freedom of speech and expression.

We have ridiculed the time Honoured values of our Forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, And know our hearts today;

Cleanse us from every sin And set us free…Amen!’

How many times have we heard asinine intercessions that have no impact upon our past, present or future?  I think if you are going to use this as a worship idea however, it needs to be well thought out.  It is an abuse of prayer to use it as a personal vehicle in which you preach at those who you are intercessing on behalf of.  However, it can be a really powerful vehicle to raise the major issues of the times we are living and our own part within them to God.

Mar192008

Jesus Heals!

So as we wandered  around Borders contemplating how none of the sections had quite the book we were looking for we came across this – a perfect metaphor!

Jan152008

Christian Unity

I have regularly mentioned the Catholic/Protestant bickering that seems still to be tearing at the body of Christ.  A recent article from ekklesia seems to have taken a rather eclectic approach to name game.

Catholic” and “Roman Catholic” are not the only complexities these days. More urgent, most urgent, is the task of dealing in a fair way with the many, many brands of Christians who get lumped together as “Evangelicals,” especially in political discourse, where they get miscast simply as “the Christian right.”

…”Mainline Protestants” didn’t and don’t like their name, which is usually used pejoratively by non-Protestants, most of whom never liked and few ever use the accidentally applied term “Protestant” itself.

I think this sums the attitude some Christians have towards their brothers and sisters.  The times I have heard those who chose to label themselves people accuse the ‘others’ of indoctrination without examining where their own opinion was learned.  We seem to be in a situation where ever decreasing battle lines are being drawn.  ‘He’s an evangelical?  But is he a good evangelical?‘  Well it depends on which evangelical you want me to be like?  Do you want me to be a right wing fire and brimstone spitting good evangelical?  Sorry, I’ll get my coat.

It is time we moved from a situation where people feel inclined to appologise when asked by another christian about their roots.  We shouldn’t be in a situation here people feel thy have to say ‘I’m an Anglican (sorry)’ or ‘I’m a Catholic, I’ll get me coat’.  So what happens when people start pointing out that by referring to themselves as “Christian, I follow Christ but I worship at X” use this to increase their sense of superiority?  Who can say?