Matthew 1:18-25 (New International Version)
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Let us gaze upon the Holy Babe of Bethlehem today. In faith, let us adore Him. But how do we view the events of Christmas? How do we interpret the great happenings that began at Nazareth with Gabriel's message to Mary, and culminating in a manger in Bethlehem? The holy Gospel writers, including Saint Matthew, wrote historical events, not fables. These are not myths and legends. They are part of reality, not fantasy. Yet we should not view these matters as merely human events. Natural goings-on have limitations on what can and cannot happen. But in the Christmas story, we have events that far exceed what is possible. We have the incredible and the fantastic taking place within history.
Before he heard the angel's message, Joseph tried to view these events as merely human. When he learned that Mary was pregnant, he naturally jumped to the perfectly human conclusion - that Mary had been unfaithful to him. Joseph was not some poor, superstitious, ignorant country bumpkin who either did not know where babies come from, or else naturally assumed that virgin births happen all the time. Old Testament Law indicated that a woman found not to be a virgin before her wedding would be subject to stoning. At the very least, even if the death penalty was not carried out, public disgrace would follow public divorce.
So when Joseph decided to divorce his espoused wife, he was being merciful by not seeking maximum punishment or disgrace. Yet he was also a just man, and would not be joined with a loose woman. For so he assumed Mary to be. Joseph correctly knew that union with unrighteousness is to be avoided. Joseph could not simply forgive Mary and go on with the marriage. That was not an option, because she was clearly not repentant of the sin that everyone assumed she had committed. We are not sure what she said, if anything, in her defense. Presumably, she was either silent (after all, who would believe her anyway?) or else she claimed innocence. To those who view these events as merely human history, Mary cannot be innocent.
So the only other option is that Mary must have been an unrepentant sinner. To such as will not repent, we are supposed to retain their sin. How could anyone know that these were more than human events, and that God Himself was responsible? How could they know that Mary was actually innocent, a Virgin Mother, oxymoron of all oxymorons.
In spite of what seemed to be clear evidence against her, Mary was the faithful handmaiden of God. As it often turns out, those who seem most unrighteous in the world's eyes are actually the most righteous. The world makes up many rules to follow. They accuse us of being sinners because we break their man-made laws. We are accused of immorality and lovelessness. To all appearances, we are unclean sinners, worthy of (and often receiving) disgrace. But these lowly people are the saints of God and the temple of God, the inhabitation of the Holy One Himself.
For the saints also are more than merely human. We have received the works of God, and the Son of God. The impossible becomes possible in us. For what is inside us Christians is from the Holy Ghost, as Christ was in Mary. Every time this Scripture is read, the Angel of the Lord is bearing witness against all the cynics who believe only in natural, human events. The holy messenger strongly affirms the fact of the Virgin Birth. Christ is from the Holy Spirit, not from the sinfulness of Mary. If Christ were not born of the Virgin, then Christ would be merely human, and unable to save us.
Those who deny the Virgin Birth have abandoned the historic Christian faith, rejecting the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. The Athanasian Creed does not use the word "virgin," although it is clearly implied by the words, "He is God, begotten before the ages of the substance of the Father, and He is man, born in the world of the substance of His mother." Therefore, the condemnation of that Creed also applies to those who reject the Virgin Birth: "This is the true Christian faith. Unless a man believes this firmly and faithfully, he cannot be saved."
Therefore, be most sternly and seriously warned: The Virgin Birth is a necessary and nonnegotiable article of the One True Faith. Today in our hearing, both the Mighty Prophet Isaiah and the Holy Evangelist Matthew have attested to the Virginity of Mary. If we will not believe the testimony of these saintly witnesses, then we should believe God Himself, whose Word it is. Or if not, and we refuse to believe that God Himself can take flesh in human history, then we ought to be honest and abandon the Christian faith altogether.

For a Jesus who is not the Virgin's Son is not worth worshiping, not worth following, not worth believing in. For such a false cannot save with His Blood, nor His suffering and death, nor by His Resurrection (not that He could ever rise, if He were not the Virgin's Son). But He is conceived in the Virgin's womb. He is the true Son of God, not merely a Man.
Therefore, what a great Mystery is here! That He who had no beginning as the Son of God, had a "genesis" - a beginning and a birth in a woman's womb! That the Godhead who fills all things should contain Himself in a one-celled organism! That He who never changes should grow and develop! That the Omnipotent should adopt our human weakness! No mind can fathom, no thoughts can grasp the fullness of the miracle of the Incarnation. God in our flesh is impossible to our human reason.
Yet it is true, since what is impossible for man is possible with God. This wondrous promise given through Isaiah in 734 B.C. is indeed fulfilled by God Himself - as Isaiah wrote, "The Lord will provide the sign." That is, not by human will or decision, nor even by a husband's participation, is the Seed of Woman brought forth. Salvation is by God alone, from start to finish.
In our present culture that looks for emotional quick-fixes, Christmas is demoted into a holiday of warm emotions. It is a pick-me-up season, when those who are low are made to feel good. Happiness, joy, love - but not the love of God, only the love of man. This is again the view of those who reduce history to merely human events. They pass by the awesome mystery of God becoming a Baby, and instead they wallow in the lowliness of emotions, not realizing that even the best of emotions are tainted by the ugliness of sin. Again, those who stick to what is merely human sometimes latch on to the idea of the comforting presence of Immanuel, "God with us," as if Jesus came in order to be our close friend who always hangs out with us. This is a way to disregard the fleshly presence of the incarnate Christ, and instead reduce Him to a disembodied spiritual presence to help us feel good. "God with us" means far more than that.
Jesus is God with us, in our human flesh, living a human life, and dying for our sins. These things are ultimately of eternal comfort, not just a brief emotional band-aid for daily life. Jesus Christ entered our flesh so that He could rescue us from everything that is merely human: from hollow emotionalism, from sinfulness, from death. Such things we also would run after, and sometimes do. But the Blood of Christ defends us even from these things in ourselves. So He is truly named "Jesus," which means "the Lord saves." This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Joshua."
Yet Jesus does not receive this name as Joshua did, in a limited sense. Jesus is the Savior in the fullest sense. He has saved us from sin, He has bestowed eternal life and salvation from hell and satan. Although many names were specially given in the Bible to illustrate special meaning with regard to certain persons, "Jesus" is more appropriately named than any other figure in history. His Name is who He is. Like Him, His Name is above all the rest. He is highest, most holy, most gracious Savior.
All this happened according to God's preset plan and under His control. More than that, as we look back at the history of the world, particularly as recorded in Old Testament Scripture, Christ Himself is the proper fulfillment of everything, and the Key to the Bible's interpretation. He is the center and heart of the Old Testament as well as the New. He is what God intended all along.
This is especially important because the plan of God is for you. His working throughout Old and New Testaments was in preparation and fulfillment of your salvation. He prepared centuries and millennia before Bethlehem, back to Isaiah's prophecy seven centuries before, to King David, to the Israelites in Egypt, and even back to the Garden of Eden, when a Seed of Woman was promised some four thousand years before Christ was born. All this grand, perfect plan was for you - so that God could save you through the Blood of this perfect Baby, who would be sacrificed in your place.
So it is the same for you as it is in the pages of Scripture: Christ is the center and heart of your life. The proper interpretation of your life is Christ. Who you are is not seen in your external actions, but in Him. You do not have to make your lives right. You are already perfect in the eyes of God, the only Judge who matters. You life is not a series of merely human events. Your life is transformed by the work of God in Christ Jesus your Lord. He has done mighty things for you. Your life is a shining example of His glory. Your righteousness is perfect because of the work of God's Son, the Firstborn of the Virgin. Eternal life is the reward you receive for the work Jesus has done for you. Eternal happiness in God's presence is the wage He has earned by His incarnation, nativity, death, and resurrection.
So look upon the Baby, and view Him rightly: He is everything to you. He is your life and your salvation. Without Him, you are a miserable sinner only waiting for death. But because of what He has done, He is your crown and your great reward. Rest safely with Him, who will never abandon or fail you.
In His Name, the only Name worthy of worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

John 19 (Amplified Bible)

1SO THEN Pilate took Jesus and scourged (flogged, whipped) Him.
2And the soldiers, having twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple cloak around Him.
3And they kept coming to Him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews! [Good health to you! Peace to you! Long life to you, King of the Jews!] And they struck Him with the palms of their hands.
4Then Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I bring Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no fault (crime, cause for accusation) in Him.
5So Jesus came out wearing the thorny crown and purple cloak, and Pilate said to them, See, [here is] the [a] Man!
6When the chief priests and attendants (guards) saw Him, they cried out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no fault (crime) in Him.
7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law He should die, because He has claimed and made Himself out to be the Son of God.
8So, when Pilate heard this said, he was more alarmed and awestricken and afraid than before.
9He went into the judgment hall again and said to Jesus, Where are You from? [To what world do You belong?] But Jesus did not answer him.
10So Pilate said to Him, Will You not speak [even] to me? Do You not know that I have power (authority) to release You and I have power to crucify You?
11Jesus answered, You would not have any power or authority whatsoever against (over) Me if it were not given you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who delivered Me over to you is greater.
12Upon this, Pilate wanted (sought, was anxious) to release Him, but the Jews kept shrieking, If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anybody who makes himself [out to be] a king sets himself up against Caesar [is a rebel against the emperor]!
13Hearing this, Pilate brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement [the Mosaic Pavement, the Stone Platform]--in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover, and it was about the sixth hour (about twelve o'clock noon). He said to the Jews, See, [here is] your King!
15But they shouted, Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar!
16Then he delivered Him over to them to be crucified.
17And they took Jesus and led [Him] away; so He went out, bearing His own cross, to the spot called The Place of the Skull--in Hebrew it is called Golgotha.
18There they crucified Him, and with Him two others--one on either side and Jesus between them.(B)
19And Pilate also wrote a title (an inscription on a placard) and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.
20And many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, [and] in Greek.
21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am King of the Jews.
22Pilate replied, What I have written, I have written.
23Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, one share for each soldier, and also the tunic (the long shirtlike undergarment). But the tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout.
24So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots to decide whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the Scripture, They parted My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things.(C)
25But by the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the [wife] of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26So Jesus, seeing His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, said to His mother, [[b]Dear] woman, See, [here is] your son!
27Then He said to the disciple, See, [here is] your mother! And from that hour, the disciple took her into his own [keeping, own home].
28After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (ended), said in fulfillment of the Scripture, I thirst.(D)
29A vessel (jar) full of sour wine (vinegar) was placed there, so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a stalk, reed of] hyssop, and held it to [His] mouth.
30When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
31Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath--for that Sabbath was a very solemn and important one--the Jews requested Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.
32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.
33But when they came to Jesus and they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came (flowed) out.
35And he who saw it (the eyewitness) gives this evidence, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe also.
36For these things took place, that the Scripture might be fulfilled (verified, carried out), Not one of His bones shall be broken;(E)
37And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced.(F)
38And after this, Joseph of Arimathea--a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews--asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate granted him permission. So he came and took away His body.
39And Nicodemus also, who first had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred pounds.
40So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (aromatics), as is the Jews' customary way to prepare for burial.
41Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever [yet] been laid.
42So there, because of the Jewish day of Preparation [and] since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus.


Christ condemned and crucified.

Little did Pilate think with what holy regard the sufferings of Christ. In after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men.
All men, unbelievers included have heard of the sufferings of our Lord.
Throughout the ages, the sufferings of Christ have been remembered.
Our Lord Jesus came forth, willing to be exposed to their scorn.
It is good for every one with faith, to behold Christ Jesus in his sufferings.
Behold him, and love him; be still and looking unto Jesus.
Did their hatred sharpen their endeavors against him? And shall not our love for him quicken or make alive our endeavors for him and his kingdom?
Pilate seems to have thought that Jesus might be some person above the common order.
Even the natural conscience makes men afraid of being found fighting against God.
As our Lord suffered for the sins both of Jews and Gentiles, it was a special part of the counsel of Divine Wisdom, that the Jews should first purpose his death, and the Gentiles carry that purpose into effect.
Had not Christ been thus rejected of men, we had been for ever rejected of God.
Now was the Son of man delivered into the hands of wicked and unreasonable men.
He was led forth for us that we might escape. He was nailed to the cross, as a Sacrifice bound to the altar.
The Scripture was fulfilled; he did not die at the altar among the sacrifices, but among criminals sacrificed to public justice.
And now let us pause, and with faith look upon Jesus. Was there ever sorrow like unto his sorrow?
See him bleeding, see him dying, see him and love him! Love him, and live for him! (Jn 19:19-30)

Christ on the cross.

Here are some remarkable circumstances of Jesus' death, more fully related than before.
Pilate would not gratify the chief priests by allowing the writing to be altered; which was doubtless owing to a secret power of God upon his heart that this statement of our Lord's character and authority might continue.
Many things done by the Roman soldiers were fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. All things therein written shall be fulfilled.
Christ tenderly provided for his mother at his death.
Sometimes, when God removes one comfort from us, he raises up another for us, where we looked not for it.
Christ's example teaches all men to honor their parents in life and death; to provide for their wants, and to promote their comfort by every means in their power.
Especially observe the dying word wherewith Jesus breathed out his soul.
It is finished; that is, the counsels of the Father concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled.
It is finished; all the types and prophecies of the Old Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the Messiah, were accomplished.
It is finished; the ceremonial law is abolished; the substance is now come, and all the shadows are done away.
It is finished; an end is made of transgression by bringing in an everlasting righteousness.
His sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul, and those of his body.
It is finished; the work of man's redemption and salvation is now completed.

His life was not taken from him by force, but freely given up. (Jn 19:31-37)

His side pierced.

A contention was made whether or not Jesus was dead.
He died in less time than persons crucified commonly did.
It showed that he had laid down his life of himself.
The spear broke up the very fountains of life; no human body could survive such a wound.
But his death being so solemnly attested, shows there was something peculiar in it.
The blood and water that flowed out and signified those two great benefits which all believers partake of through Christ, justification and sanctification; blood for atonement, water for purification.
They both flow from the pierced side of our Redeemer.
To Christ crucified we owe merit for our justification, and Spirit and grace for our sanctification.
Let this silence the fears of weak Christians, and encourage their hopes; there came both water and blood out of Jesus' pierced side, both to justify and sanctify them. The Scripture was fulfilled, in Pilate's not allowing his legs to be broken, Ps 34:20.
There was a type of this in the paschal lamb, Ex 12:46.
May we ever look to Him, whom, by our sins, we have ignorantly and heedlessly pierced.Him who shed from his wounded side both water and blood, that we might be justified and sanctified in his name. (Jn 19:38-42)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

The Marxiat Roots of Black Liberation Theology

The Marxist Roots of Black Liberation Theology

What is Black Liberation Theology anyway? Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright catapulted black liberation theology onto a national stage, when America discovered Trinity United Church of Christ. Understanding the background of the movement might give better clarity into Wright's recent vitriolic preaching. A clear definition of black theology was first given formulation in 1969 by the National Committee of Black Church Men in the midst of the civil-rights movement:
Black theology is a theology of black liberation. It seeks to plumb the black condition in the light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ; so that the black community can see that the gospel is commensurate with the achievements of black humanity. Black theology is a theology of 'blackness.' It is the affirmation of black humanity that emancipates black people from White racism, thus providing authentic freedom for both white and black people. It affirms the humanity of white people in that it says 'No' to the encroachment of white oppression.
In the 1960s, black churches began to focus their attention beyond helping blacks cope with national racial discrimination particularly in urban areas.
The notion of "blackness" is not merely a reference to skin color, but rather is a symbol of oppression that can be applied to all persons of color who have a history of oppression (except whites, of course). So in this sense, as Wright notes, "Jesus was a poor black man" because he lived in oppression at the hands of "rich white people." The overall emphasis of Black Liberation Theology is the black struggle for liberation from various forms of "white racism" and oppression.
James Cone, the chief architect of Black Liberation Theology in his book A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), develops black theology as a system. In this new formulation, Christian theology is a theology of liberation -- "a rational study of the being of God in the world in light of the existential situation of an oppressed community, relating the forces of liberation to the essence of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ," writes Cone. Black consciousness and the black experience of oppression orient black liberation theology -- i.e., one of victimization from white oppression.
One of the tasks of black theology, says Cone, is to analyze the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ in light of the experience of oppressed blacks. For Cone, no theology is Christian theology unless it arises from oppressed communities and interprets Jesus' work as that of liberation. Christian theology is understood in terms of systemic and structural relationships between two main groups: victims (the oppressed) and victimizers (oppressors). In Cone's context, writing in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the great event of Christ's liberation was freeing African Americans from the centuries-old tyranny of white racism and white oppression.
American white theology, which Cone never clearly defines, is charged with having failed to help blacks in the struggle for liberation. Black theology exists because "white religionists" failed to relate the gospel of Jesus to the pain of being black in a white racist society.
For black theologians, white Americans do not have the ability to recognize the humanity in persons of color, blacks need their own theology to affirm their identity in terms of a reality that is anti-black -- “blackness” stands for all victims of white oppression. "White theology," when formed in isolation from the black experience, becomes a theology of white oppressors, serving as divine sanction from criminal acts committed against blacks. Cone argues that even those white theologians who try to connect theology to black suffering rarely utter a word that is relevant to the black experience in America. White theology is not Christian theology at all. There is but one guiding principle of black theology: an unqualified commitment to the black community as that community seeks to define its existence in the light of God's liberating work in the world.
As such, black theology is a survival theology because it helps blacks navigate white dominance in American culture. In Cone's view, whites consider blacks animals, outside of the realm of humanity, and attempted to destroy black identity through racial assimilation and integration programs--as if blacks have no legitimate existence apart from whiteness. Black theology is the theological expression of a people deprived of social and political power. God is not the God of white religion but the God of black existence. In Cone's understanding, truth is not objective but subjective -- a personal experience of the Ultimate in the midst of degradation.
The echoes of Cone's theology bleed through the now infamous, anti-Hilary excerpt by Rev. Wright. Clinton is among the oppressing class ("rich white people") and is incapable of understanding oppression ("ain't never been called a n-gg-r") but Jesus knows what it was like because he was "a poor black man" oppressed by "rich white people." While Black Liberation Theology is not main stream in most black churches, many pastors in Wright's generation are burdened by Cone's categories which laid the foundation for many to embrace Marxism and a distorted self-image of the perpetual "victim."
Black Liberation Theology as Marxist Victimology
Black Liberation Theology actually encourages a victim mentality among blacks. John McWhorters' book Losing the Race will be helpful here. Victimology, says McWhorter, is the adoption of victimhood as the core of one's identity -- for example, like one who suffers through living in "a country and who lived in a culture controlled by rich white people." It is a subconscious, culturally inherited affirmation that life for blacks in America has been in the past and will be in the future a life of being victimized by the oppression of whites. In today's terms, it is the conviction that, 40 years after the Civil Rights Act, conditions for blacks have not substantially changed. As Wright intimates, for example, scores of black men regularly get passed over by cab drivers.
Reducing black identity to "victimhood" distorts the reality of true progress. For example, was Obama a victim of widespread racial oppression at the hand of "rich white people" before graduating from Columbia University, Harvard Law School magna cum laude, or after he acquired his estimated net worth of $1.3 million? How did "rich white people" keep Obama from succeeding? If Obama is the model of an oppressed black man, I want to be oppressed next! With my graduate school debt my net worth is literally negative $52,659.
The overall result, says McWhorter, is that "the remnants of discrimination hold an obsessive indignant fascination that allows only passing acknowledgement of any signs of progress." Jeremiah Wright infused with victimology, wielded self-righteous indignation in the service of exposing the inadequacies Hilary Clinton's world of "rich white people." The perpetual creation of a racial identity born out of self-loathing and anxiety often spends more time inventing reasons to cry racism than working toward changing social mores, and often inhibits movement toward reconciliation and positive mobility.
McWhorter articulates three main objections to victimology: First, victimology condones weakness in failure. Victimology tacitly stamps approval on failure, lack of effort, and criminality. Behaviors and patterns that are self-destructive are often approved of as cultural or presented as unpreventable consequences from previous systemic patterns. Black Liberation theologians are clear on this point: "People are poor because they are victims of others," says Dr. Dwight Hopkins, a Black Liberation theologian teaching at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Second, victimology hampers progress because, from the outset, it focuses attention on obstacles. For example, in Black liberation Theology, the focus is on the impediment of black freedom in light of the Goliath of white racism.
Third, victimology keeps racism alive because many whites are constantly painted as racist with no evidence provided. Racism charges create a context for backlash and resentment fueling new attitudes among whites not previously held or articulated, and creates "separatism" -- a suspension of moral judgment in the name of racial solidarity. Does Jeremiah Wright foster separatism or racial unity and reconciliation?
For Black Liberation theologians, Sunday is uniquely tied to redefining their sense of being human within a context of marginalization. "Black people who have been humiliated and oppressed by the structures of White society six days of the week gather together each Sunday morning in order to experience another definition of their humanity," says James Cone in his book Speaking the Truth (1999).
Many black theologians believe that both racism and socio-economic oppression continue to augment the fragmentation between whites and blacks. Historically speaking, it makes sense that black theologians would struggle with conceptualizing social justice and the problem of evil as it relates to the history of colonialism and slavery in the Americas.
Is Black Liberation Theology helping? Wright's liberation theology has stirred up resentment, backlash, Obama defections, separatism, white guilt, caricature, and offense. Preaching to a congregation of middle-class blacks about their victim identity invites a distorted view of reality, fosters nihilism, and divides rather than unites.
Black Liberation Is Marxist Liberation
One of the pillars of Obama's home church, Trinity United Church of Christ, is "economic parity." On the website, Trinity claims that God is not pleased with "America's economic mal-distribution." Among all of controversial comments by Jeremiah Wright, the idea of massive wealth redistribution is the most alarming. The code language "economic parity" and references to "mal-distribution" is nothing more than channeling the twisted economic views of Karl Marx. Black Liberation theologians have explicitly stated a preference for Marxism as an ethical framework for the black church because Marxist thought is predicated on a system of oppressor class (whites) versus victim class (blacks).
Black Liberation theologians James Cone and Cornel West have worked diligently to embed Marxist thought into the black church since the 1970s. For Cone, Marxism best addressed remedies to the condition of blacks as victims of white oppression. In For My People, Cone explains that "the Christian faith does not possess in its nature the means for analyzing the structure of capitalism. Marxism as a tool of social analysis can disclose the gap between appearance and reality, and thereby help Christians to see how things really are."
In God of the Oppressed, Cone said that Marx's chief contribution is "his disclosure of the ideological character of bourgeois thought, indicating the connections between the 'ruling material force of society' and the 'ruling intellectual' force." Marx's thought is useful and attractive to Cone because it allows black theologians to critique racism in America on the basis of power and revolution.
For Cone, integrating Marx into black theology helps theologians see just how much social perceptions determine theological questions and conclusions. Moreover, these questions and answers are "largely a reflection of the material condition of a given society."
In 1979, Cornel West offered a critical integration of Marxism and black theology in his essay, "Black Theology and Marxist Thought" because of the shared human experience of oppressed peoples as victims. West sees a strong correlation between black theology and Marxist thought because "both focus on the plight of the exploited, oppressed and degraded peoples of the world, their relative powerlessness and possible empowerment." This common focus prompts West to call for "a serious dialogue between Black theologians and Marxist thinkers" -- a dialogue that centers on the possibility of "mutually arrived-at political action."
In his book Prophesy Deliverance, West believes that by working together, Marxists and black theologians can spearhead much-needed social change for those who are victims of oppression. He appreciates Marxism for its "notions of class struggle, social contradictions, historical specificity, and dialectical developments in history" that explain the role of power and wealth in bourgeois capitalist societies. A common perspective among Marxist thinkers is that bourgeois capitalism creates and perpetuates ruling-class domination -- which, for black theologians in America, means the domination and victimization of blacks by whites. America has been overrun by "White racism within mainstream establishment churches and religious agencies," writes West.
Perhaps it is the Marxism imbedded in Obama's attendance at Trinity Church that should raise red flags. "Economic parity" and "distribution" language implies things like government-coerced wealth redistribution, perpetual minimum wage increases, government subsidized health care for all, and the like. One of the priorities listed on Obama's campaign website reads, "Obama will protect tax cuts for poor and middle class families, but he will reverse most of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers."
Black Liberation Theology, originally intended to help the black community, may have actually hurt many blacks by promoting racial tension, victimology, and Marxism which ultimately leads to more oppression. As the failed "War on Poverty" has exposed, the best way to keep the blacks perpetually enslaved to government as "daddy" is to preach victimology, Marxism, and to seduce blacks into thinking that upward mobility is someone else's responsibility in a free society.

Matthew 10:32-42

"Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward."

"Radical to the Extreme"

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Now and then someone will picture the faith for us. There are pictures we like better than others. It all seems to depend on what one is trying to communicate. If you want to talk about the peace of believing, well, that is a comforting picture. If you want to talk about our security in Christ, then that is easy to listen to. If you want to hear about the joy of believing, oh my! That is a wonderful and comforting thing! But if you want to talk about the cost of discipleship, or look at the difference between believing and not believing — then you get a pretty hard and fast and radical picture. In fact, as our theme this morning suggests, it is Radical in the extreme.
Jesus starts our text with familiar words about confessing Him before men. The demand seems reasonable to us -- even if the tone seems just a little strident. But it gets sharper and far more exacting with each sentence. Finally, we have to admit that Jesus paints the picture in black and white. There is not a lot of wiggle room and compromise there.
Jesus is demanding. This is a no-holds barred look at the Christian faith, not the warm-and-fuzzy sort of Christianity we have grown used to in our society — perhaps even in our church. Jesus talks about war, about setting us against one another, about crosses and how if we love someone more that Him we are "not worthy" of Him. This doesn't sound like that Christianity we hear about so often, where it seems harder to miss out on going to heaven than it is to get there.
When Jesus talks about the faith, He describes it as something which seems totally absorbing. This is not the religion that you fulfill by showing up for a Sunday Service two or three times a month. This is a religion that can cost you your life. There are great potential benefits, but the dangers are just as great. Try to find the easy way in this faith, and t sounds like you will miss out entirely. This religion Jesus describes is not something else in your life, something on the side, but something central — something that will consume your life.
In fact, it sounds almost revolutionary. He came not to bring peace but a sword. He came to set a man against his father and a woman against her mother, and so forth. These are not words of peace and comfort and the status quo, these are words of revolution and change. If we knew nothing else about Jesus, we would have to conclude that He is speaking about something revolutionary. From this perspective, it is easy to see why political leaders throughout history have found Jesus and His church so threatening.
Jesus was telling the truth. He always does. Even when it doesn't fit into our preconceptions, Jesus is always telling the truth. This, not the comfortable pews and convenient services you are used to, is what the Christian faith is and what it is about. There is nothing "pretend" about the Faith. It is a "pedal to the metal", full-tilt, all or nothing, life consuming faith, or it is not the saving faith of Jesus Christ.
First thing our text tells us is that nothing can be more important. If parent or child is more important, you are not a true Christian. If getting along with others is more important, you are not a true Christian. If personal comfort, or well-being, or even your own life is more important to you that the Christian faith, then you are not a true Christian.
By this point, you should have recognized that this is not a "gospel" passage. This is Law and Judgment. Here Jesus says "Measure yourself against this standard." The Law is true. When it accuses us of sin, it has no power to condemn under the Gospel, but it is true. When Jesus tells us that we cannot cling to anything in preference to Him, that is the truth. When Jesus says that you must take up your cross, that is His judgment, not merely an opinion or an over-zealous thought.
The Christian faith is a faith that requires everything. It is not casual. It is not easy. It is not something you can successfully play at or toy with — it is not a hobby or an avocation. It must be your life, for the price is the CROSS. You can expect to pay a price in pain and personal sacrifice if you are one of Jesus' people. If it is easy and natural and causes no problems in your life, it isn't the Christian faith - at least not the one Jesus was speaking of.
With those demands and expectations, you might well ask, Is it worth it? Do I want to be a part of something that guarantees pain and difficulty. Do I want a part of a religion that promises to set children against their parents and parents against their children? Do I want to be a part of something that claims to be more important than anything else in my life and even more important than myself? You gotta ask yourself, sometime . . . somewhere. Is it worth it?
And that is a question that only you can answer. Only you can make that judgment for yourself. Many people say no. The price is too high. They want their things, or their pleasures, or their family. They aren't about to lose their child over this or that. They will not deny themselves anything, or take up their cross — after all, crosses are such dirty and nasty things — and they have blood and pain on them! Many people say that it is just not worth it to them.
That doesn't stop them from coming to church. That doesn't mean that they don't try to make the church be what they want, and try to prevent it from being what it is, in fact. They still call themselves "Christians," and they expect us to call them Christians too. But the real question is, does Jesus call them "Christians?" And judging by the words of our text, I would have to guess that the answer to that is "NO." So, is it worth it to you?
To come to an intelligent decision, you have to look at the gift. What is it that Jesus offers for all of this pain and sword and self-denial and setting Christ first? The answer is 'the forgiveness of sins.' He offers a resurrection from the grave unto everlasting life in glory with Him. He offers peace and joy and — well what He offers is so much better than anything we experience on this earth that we have to take it by faith. We cannot even imagine, really.
He who has found his life shall lose it, — that is what Jesus says about those who decide that it is not worth the price. The will be paying another price — actually a far steeper price. And he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it. That is what Jesus offers as a gift. Your life will be given back to you, never to be lost again. You won't lose it to sorrow or sickness or pain. It will be fully yours, and without end.
That is one way of answering the question, Is it worth it? Another way is to look at the price paid for you. Jesus went to the cross for you. This faith not only requires that you take up your cross, but Jesus also took up the cross — a real, wooden one, for you. He can demand so much because He gave so much. He took the guilt of your sins, and endured the punishment you deserve. He bore the wrath of God against sin for you, and died the death your sins required, so that you could enjoy that life without end in His presence. He died for all, the Bible says, so that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
The simple truth that you can debate the question means that God has counted you among His own and has given you the power to live for Him. He has counted you worth the price. That is the reason you are here, the only reason that you can even contemplate the demands. For you, the door is open. Now you can consider the cost of discipleship, and ask yourself if it is worth it.
Of course, none of this is done to earn our way. Jesus has cone that. Whether we do this or that, or count ourselves as living up to it doesn't make us Christian, and it certainly doesn't make us fit or deserving of salvation. All that Jesus has told us is to give us a way to look at ourselves and see if we are truly Christians, or just hypocrites, just fooling ourselves.
People often do that, you know. Especially when it comes to religion. They name it and claim it, as the saying goes. They call themselves Christians and simply assume that whatever a Christian is, is what they are, and that whatever a Christian does is what they do. If you are a Christian, that is true. But first you have to be able to assess correctly if you are a Christian.
And our text tells us that Christianity is Radical to the extreme. There is clearly nothing half baked or temporary about this faith. It is a full-time, full-throttle, everything else comes second to Jesus and His Word kind of thing. When you look at it, it has to make you wonder. It has to make you aware that you do not measure up. It has to make you repent and call on God and throw yourself on His mercy and hope in His grace.
If you don't find this text challenging you, you aren't paying attention. When you consider this you have to cry out with the father of that possessed young boy from the gospel lesson a couple of weeks ago, Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief. This is not easy listening Christianity, or doing what comes just natural Christianity. There is nothing fuzzy and warm about the picture Jesus pains of the faith. This faith, described by our Lord Himself, is radical to the extreme.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
(Let the people say "Amen".)

Socialist jihad.......

Socialists have declared jihad on our economic prosperity, US dollar, Constitution, Sovereignty

This isn’t Change, its Treason!

There used to be a time in this country, not that long ago, when, despite our religious, cultural and societal differences, there were at least a few basic tenets upon which we, as Americans, could all agree. We could locate our borders; we spoke a common language and shared a common understanding of our Founders and constitutionalism.

There was no confusion over what constituted acts of heroism and patriotism. Conversely, we also understood and clearly recognized evil, greed, treason and hypocrisy.

But, alas, the beloved country that was so united in my youth has become a cesspool of unabated and accelerating filth, selfishness, decadence and immorality. The scoundrels that supposedly represent us don’t even have the decency to tell us the truth, read the laws they use to enslave us or listen to our objections.

Some, including myself, have described what Obama and his Socialists are up to as a bloodless coup. But, after further evaluation of what’s really going on behind the scenes in Washington, I have come to an even more alarming conclusion: What they are doing is committing legislative jihad.

Socialists have declared jihad on our economic prosperity
The stinkulus was a failure: The jobs it did create came at astronomical cost or simply grew the bureaucracy. Government now controls major players in several sectors of the economy with no signs of easing that control. Government spending now comprises alarming percentages of our Gross Domestic Product. We’ve ran out of money, we’ve essentially accumulated over 100 trillion dollars in unfunded future entitlements, foreclosures have accelerated and we continue to bleed jobs. Add to the mix, health care, one sixth of the entire US economy, and it doesn’t take an economist to see where Democrats are taking us.

Socialists have declared jihad on the US dollar
They have printed or borrowed their way into such a deep hole, and have devalued our currency to such an extent, that other countries are now worried about our economic sustainability and have quietly called for oil to be traded in other currencies. Obama’s redistributionist policies increase the danger. The more dollars we simply pump into circulation out of thin air to give to the less fortunate in the form of subsidies, $250.00 stimulus checks, credits for homes, vehicles or appliances, the further our purchasing power erodes. And, the further they drive us into insolvency, the louder they carp for additional spending. If Barack Obama doesn’t stop spending, the dollars in your wallets, purses and bank accounts will be worth less than the ink used to print them.

Socialists have declared jihad on the Constitution and attack on several fronts
Barack Obama still fights the release of any personal information, despite increasing questions over a possible foreign birth and his media lackeys continue to bury the controversy and scrub references to it from websites. The TARP program was unconstitutional, as was directing TARP funds to auto companies, allowing both Congress and their union lapdogs to bail out their pension funds, while the Supreme Court took a nap. I also question the constitutionality of compulsory health care. This would be the first time in US history, that Americans would be forced to purchase something.

In a Nixonian twist, Socialists have declared jihad on the First Amendment rights of Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and many other Americans in feeble attempts to silence them. They illegally collected the email addresses and illegally accessed the records of private citizens in an attempt to intimidate them. Like impudent little children, they’ve blurred the distinction between hard news and opinion. They refuse to engage skeptics on Fox, which only deepens resentment, wastes an opportunity and hurts their cause. Silencing the opposition is Stalinist. It is un-American. It won’t work, it could result in civil rights litigation and will only rally support for the opposition.

The Socialists have declared jihad on our sovereignty
They’ve declared their intent at Amnesty for a deluge of illegal aliens as soon as the other dozen or so manufactured crises ease a bit. Obama also narcissistically accepted what is now an irrelevant piece of European attic trash, the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his own admission he didn’t deserve it. Obama has also continued to denigrate us internationally, apologizing and capitulating to Russia, China, the UN and other European snobocracies. At the same time, he has openly snubbed some of our most steadfast allies, Canada, Israel, Czechoslovakia and Poland.

The Socialists have declared jihad on the CIA
They continue to weaken, hamper and demoralize our clandestine services through power grabs, investigations and threats of public disclosure, which would actually put covert agents in danger.

The Socialists have declared jihad on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and state’s rights by trying to strip him of his power to enforce the law within his own jurisdiction because they don’t like his no nonsense style.

The Socialists have declared jihad on insurance companies
Despite the mountain of BS they’ve built over the practical effects of their “reforms”, an objective observer can only conclude that the private insurance market will be destroyed and government will then step in and take control. Claims of the Baucus’ Bill’s “deficit neutrality”, which used only one year’s worth of calculations, were complete lies, yet paved the way for a vote that ultimately advanced this garbage.

The Socialists have declared jihad on the Middle Class
Health care reform won’t cover “everyone”, deficit neutrality is a smokescreen and your premiums and taxes must skyrocket to pay for it. Why would government need to subsidize health care for those earning over $50,000.00 per annum? Because those people are going to need it. Cap and Trade is a tax on your very existence and will further kill jobs, raise taxes, destroy small businesses and hike the production costs of virtually everything in existence.

The Socialists have declared jihad on the truth
They’ve promised sunlight. They’ve promised ethics. They’ve promised transparency. They’ve promised to post legislative text and give us time to review it. They’ve delivered squat. Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin for allegedly getting too close to the truth and then his minions painted Walpin as senile. His lapdogs in government, media and academia bury everything negative, scrub websites of damaging info, put impostors in lab coats for press conferences, indoctrinate children and they’ve openly admitted they don’t even read the legislation they oppress us with. They draft 1,000 page bills they themselves can’t even understand. And, sadly, Barack Obama isn’t even man enough to take responsibility for his own actions, still blaming the previous administration for his job-killing agenda and every other problem he faces. Perhaps we should begin reversing every one of Obama’s Executive Orders, scrutinize his every decision and investigate his Attorney General and his three dozen Czars the moment he leaves office? That seems to be the precedent he wants to set with this chicanery.

The Socialists have declared jihad on the US. Military
They tried but failed to force a premature withdrawal in Iraq and they’re attempting, and may succeed in doing the same thing in Afghanistan. While they dither, US combat forces continue to die in unacceptable numbers and treasonous snakes in Congress divert money meant for ammunition and spare parts to a library for one of the nation’s most divisive dead senators and other pet pork projects. Eventually, if allowed, Democrats will force open homosexuality on the military, affecting readiness, destroying unit cohesion and morale and causing a mass exodus.

The Socialists have declared jihad on race relations
Who can forget Obama’s ignorant, irresponsible and utterly wrong comments about the infamous Gates/Crowley affair? Criticizing this Socialist muckraker for anything, even policy, has now been equated to racism. Who, in their right mind, will ever vote for another black president, if even their policies are above criticism?

What is presented above is a damning indictment of the tyrannical power structure and Chicago mob-mentality that is destroying this nation from within. And, this only scratches the surface. What Obama and liberal Democrats are doing isn’t change. He doesn’t love this country and he isn’t interested in equal opportunity, only equal outcome. He is a closet Marxist who hates this country and must transform it into something else. If he was being honest and open about his beliefs, that would be one thing. But, he ran as a moderate. What he’s doing is dishonest. It’s hypocritical. It’s criminal. It’s treason. It’s sedition.

So, the question then becomes what do you do about it? Do you, as an American, roll over and allow them to destroy your country or do you stand and resist?

Every living veteran who served to preserve our way of life; all 26 million of you must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every active duty military officer, who objects to his social experimentation and battlefield indecision, must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every single police officer ordered to profile domestic terror suspects based on possession of a political bumper sticker or concealed carry permit must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every single American asked to tank business deals or destroy someone’s livelihood through litigation, intimidation or invasions of privacy, like so many have done to Americans like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Carrie Prejean, Joe Wuzelbacher, Hannah Giles, must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every single God-Fearing Christian, tired of the attacks on your religion, tired of the suppression of your freedom to assemble, tired of the silencing of your prayers and destruction of your monuments must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every single politician and other government official throughout local, state, and federal governments, who believes that the constitution and the Rule of law trumps the Cult of Personality must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.
Every single voter who put their trust in this man and now feels betrayed must resist Barack Obama’s agenda.

There is still time to save this great nation, but the clock is ticking. The pace of the socialist takeover is accelerating. The time for complacency and standing on the sidelines is gone. Richard Nixon resigned and Bill Clinton was impeached for far less.

"Pray for our Country - for true justice, true peace and true freedom".

(copied and not prepared by this blogger)

WHAT GOD HAS DONE THAT WE MAY BE HIS
________________________________________

God himself came into this world for us in the person of His Son,
Jesus Christ. Jesus, the eternal Son of God entered human history (about 2000 years ago) and became man in addition to being God. Jesus lived a holy life for us. He kept the law of God for us--and so gained for us complete righteousness in the sight of God. Jesus suffered and died for us. On the cross he took all our sins upon himself -- and suffered everything we should have suffered because of them through all eternity. In this way he paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus rose from the dead for us. His resurrection proves the truth of his teachings. It shows that he completed the work of redemption. It has made possible a new life for us, one that will go on forever.

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can be sure of forgiveness and eternal life.
We are called to serve with the power of God and to love with the love of God. This cannot happen without the supernatural. This will happen as we wait for our thoughts, plans and actions to be 'conceived by the Holy Spirit'. What an adventure awaits us, forgiven sinners saved by grace!
I Corinthians 15:58


Grace Chapel Church
Kingsport, Tennessee