Renewal efforts that are limited to local churches or specific denominations will always be short-sighted and inadequate to the needs of Christ’s church.
Over the years I have converted many of my preaching sermon series on various books of the Bible into books. But following some church difficulties at St. Paul’s I didn’t have a clear idea about what to preach. So I decided to follow the Lectionary, which has provided timely, appropriate, and interesting messages. I pray that they will speak to you as they have spoken to me.
As I was contemplating this message and considering the text from Isaiah, it seemed to me that it is important for us to hear today what the Lord says about unfaithfulness through Isaiah. It’s not pleasant because it is convicting, which is why it is important to hear what the Lord says. I am making a point to bring this message because it is my understanding, my observation, that people in general don’t know Scripture very well. That is the fault of churches and pastors, and it is the responsibility of churches and pastors to correct. People need to become more familiar with the Bible; we need to hear it often. This is one of the things I do in my preaching and writing.
In this second reading from Galatians Paul says that Christ has not abrogated the law, which means is that the law still stands. It was a guardian for God’s people, to protect us. And the law still stands as a testimony to the righteousness of the Lord and of His law. Christ did not come to destroy the law, but came to fulfill the law. So while the law still stands, it stands in a different kind of relationship for people in Christ than it does for people not in Christ.
