Alētheia

The text we are going to be using as the basis of the lesson is taken from the Old Testament book of 2 Kings 7 and in particular verse 9. To set the scene of this story, the Israelites are holed up in the city of Samaria, under siege by the Syrians. For our purposes our story begins in verse 3 with four lepers.5 There are moments in Scripture when a single sentence carries enormous weight. This (verse 9) is one of them. Four lepers—outcasts, starving, and desperate. They rationalize that if they, being lepers, stay at the city gates they will die of starvation, and if they go into the city of Samaria there is no food to be found there either so they will die there. BUT, if they go to the Syrian camp there is a slight possibility they may get food and the worst that can happen is they will be killed there as well, at least there might be a chance they will live. So they approach the Syrian camp only to discover that the enemy army has fled. The Syrian camp is abandoned. Food, clothing, ...

  This morning, I would like to speak about a group of folks in the church which are sometimes honored in words but overlooked in practice. This group we often call the elderly; the senior citizens or we just plainly say the old folks.   In our society aging is often treated as a problem to manage rather than a blessing we should value. People are praised for being young, fast, innovative and energetic – all qualities of life none of us want to lose but which we will all lose if we are lucky enough to reach advanced years.  The Bible though, does not present old age as a season of uselessness – but as a season of fruitfulness.  Listen to the words of Psalm 92 and beginning with verse 12: “ 12  The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  13  They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.  14  They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15  to d...

   We live in an age where tolerance is praised as the highest virtue and intolerance is treated as the worst sin. Yet the Bible presents a more careful and challenging balance. Scripture never commands us to tolerate sin, but it repeatedly commands us to love sinners. The confusion comes when the world defines love as approval and kindness as silence. Jehovah does not. Jesus was called a friend of sinners (Luke 7:34), yet He never once excused sin. He forgave, but He also commanded repentance. If we follow Christ, we must learn to hold truth without cruelty and love without compromise. This morning, we are going to look a bit closer at just what God’s word says about tolerance and intolerance. I. God Is Intolerant of Sin Jehovah is intolerant of sin. The Bible is unambiguous and clear on this point. “ 10a  O you who love the Lord, hate evil!” Psalm 97:10   “ 4b  …the soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4  ...