"Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?"

Walking into the sanctuary of a Christian church is familiar to the Christian,
but is a foreign land to outsiders – a foreign land with foreign rituals and
foreign language.

Just think of the mental image that would come to mind if
some well-intentioned believer approached you (a non-believer) and asked: “Are
YOU washed in the blood of the Lamb?”  No,
I’ve never scrubbed myself clean with lamb’s blood, nor do I ever care to.
Thank you and goodbye.

And Christians wonder why new people don’t come in off the street to our Sunday
morning services. If you’re one of them, consider these common church sayings,
then consider them through the eyes, ears, and hearts of a new person walking
through the doors:

- Ancient of Days

- Rod of Jesse

- Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

- Rock of Ages
        
- Son of Man

- Beulah Land

I dare say that many Christians have no idea what some of
these phrases mean. So why are we using them in our church services?

Here’s another fun something to think about: the world
trembles in fear because of religious fanaticism in the Muslim world. All you
have to do is trip off one crazed fanatic and *BOOM*, your hometown is nothing
but a crater. Yes, people worldwide fear the unpredictable reactions of religious
militants.

Now, congregation, turn in your hymnals to page 293, stand with me, and sing “Onward
Christian Soldiers”!

Unfamiliar names for some deity, warlike references, and all this talk of
blood? If I were a non-Christian looking in to a church these days, I, too,
would be rather intimidated!

I fear that we Christians today just don’t get it: we do a severe injustice to
our fellow sinners by talking in code, speaking the truth through cryptic
language, and using lingo that only an “insider” would understand. What is
this? A secret society? Is our “Christianspeak” so sacred that it is worth
completely alienating those who do not speak our language?

In a word - no.

People no longer use the words “thee” and “thou”. The term “blessed
assurance” is not a part of modern English vocabulary or terminology. People
need to hear about Jesus in terms that they understand.

Let’s be sure we are speaking the plain truth to those who need to hear
it in ways the can understand.

“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become
all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” – 1 Corinthians
9:22

"Anywhere But Here" by Safetysuit

Man, does this ever apply lately.

If You Want An Example Of Failure...

... look no further than me.

Adam's Top Video Picks of the Day

"Born This Way" - Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgender Children

Please watch this rather interesting video, then read my response:


Let's follow this logic here. After all, we can LOGICALLY assume that we can determine someone's future from a picture of them as a child:

 
This child will become an award winning film director:

 
This child will become an awful actor.

This child will become a U.S. ambassador to Ghana.

This child will one day grow up to be attractive.

This child one day will grow up to be white.


It's like judging a book by its cover. These children above weren't "innately" born to do what they did.

It's like taking a picture of a kid with a NERF gun and saying that this is proof that he is innately born to be a serial killer. Obviously, the guy in the video hasn't heard of the nature vs. nurture debate. Or, if he has, he is completely neglecting to acknowledge the whole "nuture" part of a child's development.

For example, does he really think the little boy in the dress (in the video) would be in the dress if it wasn't provided to him by his parents? I mean, c'mon. If you blend gender roles and habits for your child when they are children, it's bound to cause some confusion for children in later life. But to just say that kids are or are not gay right from the start, just because of a picture or two from their childhood?

Really?