'In God we trust' is everywhere in the USA, but it is more sentiment than substance, a civil religious icon. Jeremiah and Jesus help us to understand what trust in God means in God's eyes.
It's on money, the seal of Florida, and after much debate, retained on the City of Ocala's seal. But the sad truth is that 'In God we trust' is an empty, token nod to pseudo-spirituality or civil religion. Our society would be much different if it was actually a guiding principle instead of a favorite slogan.
The prophet Jeremiah is given God's Word to confront and condemn God's people about their preference for trusting in human promises rather than God and God's promises. God knows like no other, reading heart and mind instead of being impressed by nice sayings and other outward displays that don't really mean much of anything good for God's people. God promises unpleasant consequences for their failure in trust.
Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, that other sermon that isn't the Sermon on the Mount. Despite some broad similarities, they're quite different. However, both have Jesus teaching his disciples about the Kingdom and Kingdom values.
For Luke, the Kingdom is simply understood as a reversal or over-turning of worldly values. Therefore, Blessed are the poor, followed by Woe to the rich. At its root, Jesus is teaching trust in the ways of the Kingdom, in the way which God has been announcing for centuries, as can be seen in most of the prophets, for example. But God's people - then and now - are really most trusting of the ways of the world. Wealth, power, and technology are trusted to bring salvation and new life in today's society. The Kingdom of God? In God we trust? Seriously? Barely a blip on the radar of God's people.
The Word may make you squirm a bit, but it is supposed to do that, you know. Check out the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel.
It's on money, the seal of Florida, and after much debate, retained on the City of Ocala's seal. But the sad truth is that 'In God we trust' is an empty, token nod to pseudo-spirituality or civil religion. Our society would be much different if it was actually a guiding principle instead of a favorite slogan.
The prophet Jeremiah is given God's Word to confront and condemn God's people about their preference for trusting in human promises rather than God and God's promises. God knows like no other, reading heart and mind instead of being impressed by nice sayings and other outward displays that don't really mean much of anything good for God's people. God promises unpleasant consequences for their failure in trust.
Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, that other sermon that isn't the Sermon on the Mount. Despite some broad similarities, they're quite different. However, both have Jesus teaching his disciples about the Kingdom and Kingdom values.
For Luke, the Kingdom is simply understood as a reversal or over-turning of worldly values. Therefore, Blessed are the poor, followed by Woe to the rich. At its root, Jesus is teaching trust in the ways of the Kingdom, in the way which God has been announcing for centuries, as can be seen in most of the prophets, for example. But God's people - then and now - are really most trusting of the ways of the world. Wealth, power, and technology are trusted to bring salvation and new life in today's society. The Kingdom of God? In God we trust? Seriously? Barely a blip on the radar of God's people.
The Word may make you squirm a bit, but it is supposed to do that, you know. Check out the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel.
| 02-17-19-sermon.mp3 |
| 02-17-19-ff-answers.pdf |
| 02-17-19-in_what_we_trust.pdf |