I was joined again by Pastor Kevin Baird who offered his thoughts in support of a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which generally prohibits (or so pastors believe) political engagement by those involved in 501(c)(3) organizations. Pastor Baird argues it limits free speech and pastors have a role to connect issues of conscience with policies and candidates. I then look at the way the devil tempts us and ask if it is only in the way of the temptations of the flesh? Can we also be tempted to apathy or meaninglessness?
Why the name “Sin Boldly”? Martin Luther wrote to his friend Philip Melanchthon in 1521: “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong [sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” To sin boldly, therefore, is not to seek unholy living, but to follow the course we believe the Bible demands even if the world is against us. And if and when we sin, trust in an even greater savior.
First Lutheran also publishes a daily podcast called The Scarlet Thread (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-scarlet-thread/id1110938468?mt=2). This podcast is a reading of the appointed texts for the Two-Year Daily Lectionary. After two years, listeners will have heard most of the Old Testament once and most of the New Testament twice. If you are liturgically-minded and want a little more Bible in your life, this is a great podcast for you.
