Saturday, July 28, 2018

Why I'm Not a Christian

In his book, Why I am not a Christian, skeptic Bertrand Russell admitted that the primary reason he could not be a Christian was that Jesus believed in hell and taught about it in one verse after another again and again. Russell called Christ belief in the wrath of God the one serious defect in Christ's moral character. 

I cannot tell you how many people I have read about who have said they could not be Christians because of the doctrine of God's Wrath.

But let me give you the other side of the story. 

Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf wrote in his book Free of Charge:

I used to think that wrath was unworthy of God. Isn't God love? Shouldn't divine love be beyond wrath? God is love, and God loves every person and every creature. That's exactly why God is wrathful against some of them. My last resistance to the idea of God's wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry. Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandparently fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators' basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them? Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God's wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn't wrathful at the sight of the world's evil. God isn't wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.

He went on to say that when you watch families and Friends murdered in front of you the only way to keep from going insane his to know there is a God who is angry and he will one day restore justice.  If your God doesn't possess the ability to feel wrath you will seek with insatiable desire to seek Vengeance yourself. Only when you believe that God has a sword in his hand can you lay it down from your hand.

That is what Paul was saying when he wrote to the Romans beloved do not avenge yourselves but give place to God for it is written vengeance is mine I will repay.
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Sunday, July 22, 2018

First Presbyterian Church of Far Rockaway

Rest A While
Pastor Rev. Aqueelah Ligonde 
The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught. There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest for a while."  When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:30‭-‬31‭, ‬34 GNBDC

Jesus said let's rest. Before you do more. Chill out. 
Martha is busy. Mary keeps asking Jesus to tell another story. Martha you are distracted. Chill out girl. It's better to rest. 
Are you frazzled? Rest. Take care of yourself. Resting and doing needs balance. Do and Are. Chill out. Time away with Jesus. Be. Be with your spouse. 
Take a nap. Did it the next day. Woke up refreshed. Things went well after that. Jesus took a nap. Just be. 
Our devices tell us to slow down. Quiet doesn't mean silent. Take a walk on the board walk. Take out the jump rope. Jump. 
Breathe once in a while. 

When Peace Like A River
It is well with my soul

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Sunday, July 15, 2018

There is power in the Name of Jesus

2 Samuel 6
Aqueelah Ligonde Far Rockaway Presbyterian
The Ark of the Covenant had been at Abinadab's house for 20 years. David decided it needed to be in Jerusalem. 
Uzzah had died. 
He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.  Now King David was told, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
2 Samuel 6:10‭-‬12 NIV
The power of the presence of God was there. Dangerous. We love joy and dancing. 2 years ago Sandra died in a jail cell. Thousands of children have been separated from their parents. So much injustice. 
Saw the presence of God all week at Vacation Bible School. 
We saw God's presence in the celebration of homegoing. Joy comes in the morning. We get tired in life but there is hope and rejoicing on the other side. 
David had to recalculate his next move but he danced for God. 
Don't be the miserable person. Dance a little. Even when it hurts. Joy comes in the morning. Don't stop dancing. The presence of the Lord is here. 
Here my cry oh Lord song the rock  that is higher than I 
Hear My Cry Oh Lord https://g.co/kgs/oT3Bv4

There is power in the name of Jesus

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Sunday, July 08, 2018

Far Rockaway Namaste


Mark 6:1-13 Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. 
Pastor Rev Aqueelah Ligonde
 Namaste is said to respect each other. I bow to the light in you. 
In Jesus's home town they did not see the light in him. 
Some folks refuse to recognize the light in you. It really hurts when your family turns their back on you. We want our family to be our cheer leaders. 
Jesus kept serving even when they didn't like him. 
He sent his boys into the community. If they don't see the light in you SHAKE IT OFF! 
We've got work to do. This community needs some Namaste moments. There is a reason you are here today. God saw this moment. 
I'm preaching at myself today. When you pour light into somebody it pours back into you. 
What we have is the answer to Far Rockaway. To change the world. Recognize the light in somebody today. 

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Sunday, July 01, 2018

Sunder Krishnan prayer


Gesalt story
Amusement is the opposite of muse to think
Moses felt called to rescue his the. He had lots of vision passion and purpose. Not the right kind. 
He fled. 
Became a shepherd. 
Saw a burning bush that was not consumed. The fire did not need the bush for fuel. 
Rexdale Alliance was to become a beacon to the world. The excellence of the human soul
The horrifying prospect of success without God. 
The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Larry had a growing church but failed miserably.

The LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants. You are going to a rich and fertile land. But I will not go with you myself, because you are a stubborn people, and I might destroy you on the way."  When the people heard this, they began to mourn and did not wear jewellery any more. So after they left Mount Sinai, the people of Israel no longer wore jewellery.
Exodus 33:1‭, ‬3‭-‬4‭, ‬6 GNB

When Moses went into the tent the Israelites stood and worshipped. 

Moses said to the LORD , "It is true that you have told me to lead these people to that land, but you did not tell me whom you would send with me. You have said that you know me well and are pleased with me. Now if you are, tell me your plans, so that I may serve you and continue to please you. Remember also that you have chosen this nation to be your own."  The LORD said, "I will go with you, and I will give you victory."  Moses replied, "If you do not go with us, don't make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you are pleased with your people and with me if you do not go with us? Your presence with us will distinguish us from any other people on earth."
Exodus 33:12‭-‬16 GNB

Egypt knew how to build pyramids on the bodies of slaves. Moses was trained in that wisdom. 

We need to get deeper and deeper in debt to God. Apart from me you can do nothing. Teach me your ways so I may know you more. 

36 years of preaching has changed me. Still learning. God is more concerned with how we do, not what. 

God you started this and now you finish it. These are your people. 
3 words 
Teach me
We want your presence to go with us. Everybody needs to know who you are. Unique.
Any time of prayer can be an adventure. 
Show me your glory. This is the foundational prayer. Revelation mission accomplished. It's the fuel that keeps us going.  
 The joy is complete when others see it too. 
God says v23 you can see my hind quarter
We are not like Moses. We don't need the veil. 
You will be touched and transformed. 
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