Podcasts about Barmen Declaration

In this episode of Thinking Christian, I’m joined by Dr. Greg Quiggle for a deep dive into one of the most important yet often overlooked documents of the 20th century—the Barmen Declaration. Against the backdrop of Germany’s post-World War I collapse, the rise of Hitler, and the church’s alarming compromise with Nazi ideology, we explore how a handful of theologians like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer fought to preserve the true identity of the church. Together, we unpack how civil religion, political loyalty, and theological drift threatened the witness of German Christians—and what Barmen still has to teach us today as Christians navigating nationalism, politics, and cultural pressure. We don’t shy away from controversy. Drawing connections between the German church’s failures and modern American challenges, we wrestle with uncomfortable questions about allegiance, national identity, and the dangers of putting our faith in human institutions. If you’ve ever wondered how the church can stand faithfully in turbulent times—or how subtle compromises can erode Christian witness—this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Rob Duncan about the Barmen Declaration of May 1934, a confession of faith declared by pastors, theologians and lay leaders during the “German Church Struggle” in Nazi Germany. Reviewing the Declaration's context and the involvement of theologians Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rob explores its meaning and lessons for church and society in our own moment of geopolitical volatility. While Barmen is now an historical artifact, its fidelity to Christian witness has renewed significance now as multiple ideologies struggle to redefine the nature of democracy. Its insistence on confession and repentance as critical Christian responses to our own unravelling remains a prophetic challenge to the church.Rob Duncan served for years as a Baptist pastor in the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec convention, having been ordained in Toronto in 1984. He has for more than a dozen years been an Anglican, in an official position in the Diocese of Niagara since 2019. Ordained a priest in 2023, he is now retired from parish ministry. His wider ministry focus remains spiritual formation at the local parish level. While deepening his own personal practice of spiritual disciplines, Rob continues to explore the intersection of spirituality and theology and provides training in spiritual formation to groups of lay people. Since February of this year, he has been working behind the scenes as a volunteer for Leaving Egypt from his home in Niagara Falls.- Links -For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkJoining God in the Great Unraveling https://www.amazon.ca/Joining-God-Great-Unraveling-Learned/dp/1725288508/ref=sr_1_Leadership, God's Agency and Disruptions https://www.amazon.ca/Leadership-Gods-Agency-Disruptions-Confronting/dp/1725271745/refJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our Time https://www.amazon.ca/Joining-Remaking-Church-Changing-World/dp/0819232114/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NHGW8KB7L0SQ&keywords=Alan+J+Roxburgh&qid=1687098960&s=books&sprefix=alan+j+roxburgh%2Cstripbooks%2C130&sr=1-3For Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/For Rob Duncan:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rob-duncan-b7815414bSubstack: Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

“Living Our Faith in Our Word – Part 1” – “What Bonhoeffer's Life Illustrates” - May 1934 – “The Barmen Declaration” 1.UNITE THE LUTHERAN & REFORMED CHURCHES 2.TAKE A STAND - “CONFESSIONS OF FAITH” And STAND AGAINST THE REICH CHURCH THE “CONFESSING CHURCH” – 6,000 OF 18,000 - Faith without Action is dead * James 2:14-17 “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? …In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - The Call to Justice * Isaiah 1:17 NIV84 “…learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” - Bonhoeffer's Life Illustrates That: * FAITH CANNOT EXIST IN A VACUUM. * THE CHURCH MUST BE THE VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS AND … * TRUE FAITH IS ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY ACTION

Join us this week as we dive into the pressing issues surrounding the upcoming election and explore how Christians can navigate this pivotal season with grace and purpose. We'll discuss practical steps for engaging with the political landscape while staying true to our faith. Plus, we'll unpack an insightful article titled "5 Lessons Christians Can Learn from the Barmen Declaration," drawing parallels between historical context and today's challenges. Tune in for thoughtful conversations that inspire and empower you to live out your beliefs in a complex world. Don't miss this enlightening episode!

Pastors Greg, Damen, and Bill(!) join in to discuss the interplay between the church and systems of power and authority. Enjoy!

When a young man gets bored during the sermon in a starched Presbyterian Church on a Sunday morning, he pages through the Hymnal. That was Scott barely twelve years old who found, of all things, a Swastika at the top of the page at the end of the book he found in the church pew. The Swastika was crossed out. A cross appeared beneath it, indicating a clear Christian protest against the symbol that has lived in infamy ever since. The heading spelled out the historic Barmen Declaration of 1934. It was written then by German Clergy (led by theologian Karl Barth) who protested the State Church's endorsement and embrace of Nazi ideology. It was a potent and risky rejection of the “Furher's” influence in the Church. Years later, 2018, now Dr. McClelland, a student of The Living School (founded by Fr. Richard Rohr) sat in a discussion group with his fellow students as they considered the political turmoil two years into the Trump Presidency. He brought a copy of the Barmen Declaration to the group. Together they determined that this document to be surprisingly relevant. They all agreed, it must be updated and reintroduced to all Americans. From a broad spectrum of faith traditions, it's a call to all of us who share a commitment to contemplative action for “love and compassion, healing of division, promotion, and protection of human dignity, and the stewardship of creation.” The new version is called BARMEN TODAY: A CONTEMPORARY CONTEMPLATIVE DECLARATION. Father Richard Rohr gave his hearty endorsement, calling it a summary of the Living School's reason for being. While some 18,000 signed the original declaration in the 1930s, over 31,000 have signed Barmen Today. Ken and Scott unpack the history and application of the declaration - and prepare to encourage many more to sign.READ AND SIGN the BARMAN TODAY document by clicking here.Become a Patron | Ken's Substack PageSupport the Show.

Remembering a simple confession of faith in a dangerous time to be faithful. __________ Support the next year of Breakpoint production by giving at colsoncenter.org/may. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a famous twentieth century Christian, was a dynamic and occasionally controversial theologian who became a household name because of his character and courage. When it mattered the most, in a time when many of his fellow Germans—including pastors and priests—embraced Hitler and the Nationalist ideas of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer stood with conviction.   After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, the bulk of German Protestant groups submitted to the oversight of pro-Nazi leaders. These so-called “German Christians” compromised the eternal truths of God to a racist, statist, and eugenicist totalitarian regime. Because of their compromise, they were left free to practice their faith, as long they did not transgress Nazi doctrine.  Bonhoeffer, with others such as Martin Niemöller and Karl Barth, did transgress. They also stood against compromising churchmen. Bonhoeffer helped found the dissident Confessing Church and underground seminaries and was among those who published the defiant Barmen Declaration. Rejecting his earlier pacifism, he took on an active role in resistance to Hitler's tyranny, eventually joining the plot to assassinate the madman.  Though Bonhoeffer has been rightly praised for his faithfulness and courage in each of these activities, his most courageous act may have been simply going home. In the early years of the Nazi terror, Bonhoeffer went first to the United Kingdom and then the United States, taking up teaching positions in a free, safe part of the world.   His conscience, however, did not let him remain in safety while his nation was facing and committing such evil. In 1939, just weeks before the war began, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany. Writing to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, he explained, “I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.”  Despite his courage, Bonhoeffer wasn't perfect. His theology, at times, strays and is puzzling. In fact, one of his most important co-laborers, Karl Barth, had his own theological complications and moral failings. This is a theme that frequently emerges in Christian history. Figures as prominent as Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr., though used by God in incredible ways, were flawed in behavior and belief.   This fits well with the heroes described in Holy Scripture. The author of Hebrews, in chapter 11, offers a list of champions for God that is rightly described as the Bible's Hall of Faith. Even the best of the list, men like Abraham and Moses, are as famous for their flaws as their victories. In the cases of some who are included, like Samson, Gideon, and Jephthah, it's difficult to understand how they are even heroes. Yet there they are included among the others.  The danger in refusing to honor the imperfect isn't just the temptation to whitewash others' sins while excusing our own. It's also the temptation to wait for an imaginary tomorrow when everything is just right rather than working today to oppose what's wrong. And it is here that we can learn another lesson from Bonhoeffer. In his book Ethics, he called on Christians to be faithful in the here and now, writing,  Do and dare what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment. Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying now with what might be. Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom. Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of living.  For Bonhoeffer, the Christian faith must be lived in the time and place in which God places us. In that sense, courage and faith are inseparable. We must do the right thing, even if the cost is great and even if we feel inadequate for the task.  God has called you and me into this tempest of the living. As James instructs, Christianity is not merely believing the right things but doing them, empowered by the Spirit given to us in Christ Jesus. This will mean risk. It may mean failure. But it's through the imperfect faith of His people that God is at work renewing His world.  This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org. 

Episode 175 In response to Hitler's "cancelling" of Jewish people from full participation in German life, Deitrich Bonhoeffer helped to draft the Barmen Declaration. This document served to draw a clear line in the sand between the National Reich Church that was subservient to Hitler, and the Confessing Church which was fully submitted to Jesus Christ as its Head. What was shocking was that most pastors refused to sign the document! They suffered from either a lack of theological clarity or a lack of moral courage, or both! They chose to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Only 3,000 pastors had the courage to stand against the Nazi regime. Twelve thousand pastors decided to stay out of "politics" and go on with business as usual. The result was the Nazi holocaust. What lessons are there to be learned for the Church in America today? That is the focus of this podcast. Find out more at https://ron-johnson-discipleship-podca.pinecast.co

Martin Niemoller coined the phrase “God is my Fuhrer” in opposition to the rise of the Third Reich. Let's examine some of his sermons, and other writings, to see what lead him to defy rising Nationalism, and ultimately landed him in a concentration camp. AnarchoChristian Resources: Episode 55, The Barmen Declaration - https://www.anarchochristian.com/the-barmen-declaration-ac055/ Episode 78, Christianity and Atomic Bombs - https://www.anarchochristian.com/christianity-and-atomic-bombs-ac078/ Episode 24, Obey God Rather Than Men - https://www.anarchochristian.com/obey-god-rather-than-men-ac024/ Resources mentioned in the show: Religion: German Martyrs, Time Magazine 1940 - http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,765103-1,00.html First they came for.. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists Sweet AnarchoChristian gear! Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A7141123011%2Cp_4%3AAnarchoChristian&ref=bl_sl_s_ap_web_7141123011 Proud Libertarian - https://proudlibertarian.com/collections/anarchochristian Get your Tuttle Twins books through our affiliate link! https://tuttletwins.com/?ap_id=AnXP1  Support the show! Support the show on Patreon & PayPal Find us on the web! AnarchoChristian.com Twitter Facebook YouTube Subscribe today, and don't miss an episode! iTunes Google Play Stitcher Android YouTube Credits: Tune by Owen-Glass Beats by Semiotician

It's the end of the Merkel era in Germany. We take a look at the faith and politics of this remarkable leader who has been at the helm of Europe's largest economy for almost 16 years. Then, we step a little further back in German history to explore the life and work of Karl Barth, a prolific theologian who was one of the main authors of the Barmen Declaration – a document resisting the Nazification of the church.

Ken introduces his long-time friend, Dr. Scott McClelland. They talk about awakenings. Scott is a New Testament scholar who has been a professor, a pastor a dean, and now director of the Doctor of Divinity program at South University. After graduating from Wheaton College, Scott was accepted at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he pursued and completed his doctoral work. For five years, Scott directed Westmont College's campus in San Francisco's historic Haight-Ashbury District. They review the work of musician Carrie Newcomer and author Brian McLaren. St. Gregory's Episcopal Church triggered another awakening for Dr. Scott. Scott is also a graduate of the Living School founded by Fr. Richard Rohr. In response to evangelical support for Donald Trump, Scott authored the Barmen Today Declaration (over 30,000 signatures to date - read and sign here) which is based on the historic declaration written in 1934 as Adolf Hitler consolidated absolute power in Germany. Ken and Scott discuss the contemplative spirit. SHOW NOTES | BECOME A PATRON of the BWM PodcastSupport the show (http://thebeachedwhitemale.com)

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston in our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Good morning. Welcome to Mosaic Church. My name is Jan, I'm one of the pastors here at Mosaic along Pastor Shane and Pastor Andy. If you're new or visiting, we'd love to connect with you. We do that through the connection card you can get in the back of the worship center, if you fill it out, and then just leave it there on the way out, we'll get in touch with you over the course of the week. With that said, would you please pray with me over the preaching of God's Holy Word?Heavenly Father, we thank you for the start of a new sermon series through this incredible book of 2 Corinthians. We thank you, Lord, that you called your servant, Paul, to yourself. Is by your will that he became an Apostle, and you're the one who inspired him with the Holy Spirit to write these holy words. We pray right now Holy Spirit, come take these words and apply them to us individually as Christians, apply them to us as a church. St. Paul wasn't just writing to the church in Corinth, he was writing to the church in Boston. He knew the same problems that they had there, we will encounter and do encounter. And it's only by your spirit that we can make our way through.I pray Holy Spirit, focus our attention on Jesus Christ, who truly unites us. We're in Christ, we're one body in Christ, and we have one mission from Christ, to go and make disciples of all nations and all nations are here. They're all around us. They are our neighbors. And I pray during the sermon series, that you ignite our hearts for sharing the gospel, proclaiming the gospel, speaking it, each one of us to get a vision of each one of us speaking to our friends and our neighbors. There is only one hope, There is only one way to be saved, to be reconciled with God, to be forgiven of sin. I pray Lord during the series, save many, draw them to yourself. I pray that you send awakening, a great awaken, use George Whitfield right here in the Boston Common, he preached to 30,000 people. Lord why not? Why not? Why not now and why not us? I pray that you bless our time with the Holy Scriptures and I pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.We today are beginning a sermon series through 2 Corinthians, we're calling it prodigal church season two, we did season one a few years ago. It's online if you want to listen. And season two, we're going through 2 Corinthians. Why are we calling it prodigal church? Because the church has always been in a sense prodigal, because the church is full of saints who are still sinners. You're saved, but you're still in the flesh. There's still temptation of the flesh of the world of Satan all around us. So it's a tug of war for each one of us and it's a tug of war for the faithfulness of the church.I remember a few years back, I was taking my daughters to school, and right here off of Babcock Street on the sidewalk, I saw a little plant growing through a crack, just from a crack, a little plant. And I just kept watching it every day as I'm taking my girls to school and little by little by little, I realized there was a tomato plant. And then finally I'm walking to school and there's a little tiny tomato hanging off the plant. For me, that was a sign from God, an illustration, an image of what it means to be a Christian in Boston, Massachusetts, and what it means to be a church in Boston, Massachusetts. And we've been at this for ... we're going to be celebrating a decade come October, and it's just a decade of God's faithfulness.I was at a convenience store in Austin this week, and the owner of the store's a guy named Pete. And I met Pete when he just opened the store right before the pandemic. And anytime I go in there and I asked him how he's doing, he says the same thing. I'm still here. And he asked me how I'm doing and I'm like, I'm still here. We're still here. We're still at it. And he told me, he said, I'm from India. I'm from India. And we have a saying in India that if you start something, you need to know that you are not quitting that thing for three years. Whatever it is that you start, do not quit that thing for three years. And I said, why three years? He said, 1,000 days. And I don't know why, but that just connected. 1,000 days.I bring that in to say this is how St. Paul viewed his church planting work. He started a church in Corinth. He spent 18 months, a year and a half in Corinthians, he started the church with his disciples Timothy and Silas and the godly couple Aquila and Priscilla, and they went to Corinth because Corinth was strategic. It was the number three city in the Roman Empire after Alexandria and Rome. It was situated in the Isthmus of Greece. So it was a master of harbors, they call, it was the crossroads of the Roman Empire. They call that passage of all mankind. It was economically bustling.So people would go to Corinth to make a new life for themselves, a name for themselves, to create wealth for themselves and their family. It was a city filled with materialism and pride and self-confidence. There was sports, entertainment, the isthmian games were held there, they had a theater for 18,000 people, a concert hall for 3,000 people. People went there to make a life for themselves and people went there to sin. Those are their goals. I'm going to get away from my family and get away from my traditions, I'm going to go where no one knows me and I can be whoever I want to be. I'm going to recreate an identity. I'm going to indulge. And St. Paul knew that if we plant a church here in this strategic place where people are coming and going, very transient, very expensive, we plant the church here. We're going to reach the Roman Empire. He spends 18 months there, then he leaves and then he starts hearing about problems. He sends a first letter to the Corinthian church by the hand of Titus. We learned about this the 1 Corinthians. That letter preceded 1 Corinthians.So there's actually three letters that St. Paul sent this church, the first one we don't have, it didn't enter the canon. The second one we do have in 1 Corinthians. And in 1 Corinthians, we see St. Paul writing a letter as a father to his children who are in sin, and he understands if they continue in sin, they are going to die eternally. It's a very difficult letter, 1 Corinthians, he dealt with a number of serious problems, divisions that marred the Brotherhood, a toleration of scandalous behavior, even incest. There were certain men consorting with prostitutes and they were asserting a Christian right to do so, they're free in the Lord, brothers taking one another court, lovelessness of relationships express in the practice of the Lord's Supper where people weren't waiting for the poor people who worked all day. This agreement about eating of meat offered to idols participation and banquets, held in pagan temples. They misuse the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, confusion about the resurrection of the dead. It must have been a hard letter to write, it must have been even harder for them to read and to apply.No one likes being rebuked, not even by your dad. No one likes being rebuked. No one likes being taken to the woodshed. And that's what 1 Corinthians was. And Paul must have wondered, what do they think? How do they feel about him, and 1 Corinthians makes it clear that someone in the Corinthian church already had a negative opinion about him. So what we learn in this letter in 2 Corinthians that Paul planned to meet Titus to get an update, how's it going in Corinth, and he finally meets Titus, after missing him in Troas, meets him in Philippi, and Titus reports and he says, look, the people who were insane, they are repenting furiously, things are on the mend, the church is doing better, in many ways, but it wasn't all good news. There were still a group of people in the church that refused to submit to St. Paul's authority. There are also false teachers that arrived seeking to advance their own claims, doing their best to discredit Paul, impugn, malign his character, which explains why Paul shares so much of his personal character and story in 2 Corinthians.So with that context, Paul writes another letter. He relentlessly loves this church. He realized my 1,000 days are not up yet. I'm going to keep pursuing, and that's what 2 Corinthians is all about. Today we're in 2 Corinthians 1, 1 through 11. Would you please look at the text with me? Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God and Timothy, our brother, to the Church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ, we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted it's for your comfort and salvation, if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken. For we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.We do not want you to be ignorant brothers, the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength and weak that we despaired of life itself, indeed we felt that we had received a sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks in our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. This is the reading of God's holy infallible, authoritative word, may you write these eternal truths upon our hearts.Three points to frame up our time. First, love like a sibling, parent the children. Second love like a sinner saint. And third, love number one, anxious less about the rest, and I'll explain what that means. First, love like a sibling, parent the children. Paul begins the letter by explaining that he is a fellow sibling in the church, with the brothers and sisters, the Adelphi, with the other Christians, we are a family. Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother. So Paul here at the same time that he is pointing to his authority saying, I'm a brother just like you, we are siblings, God is our father, Timothy, our brother, Timothy is with Paul as he writes. Paul calls him a brother later on the text. He addresses the Corinthian church as Adelphi, as brothers and sisters.On the one hand, St. Paul views Timothy as a brother, but if you read first and second Timothy, what does he call Timothy? My precious child. My child. And now this is getting trippy. How are you brothers and your brother's your child? Well, he's talking about spiritual family, and as spiritual family, yes, we are siblings. But my friends, as you grow in the faith, you cannot always remain a sibling, especially as your parents age. In your family, in your family, I have four siblings, and in my family, I am the older brother, and then I have three sisters and a younger brother. And as my parents age, I see just a deeper desire to care for my own siblings in a way that my dad does. My dad has his own relationship with my siblings, with each one of them just like I have my own relationship with each one of the siblings. I have a group chat with each single one of them, and then we have group chat where there's three of us, excluding the other two. And then we did a group chat of the four of us excluding one. And then there's a group chat of the five of us, but my dad can't do that. My dad's got a group chat of the whole family because he cares for the whole family.This is St. Paul group chat letter to the whole family. I'm your brother, but I'm also your dad. And he calls himself an Apostle, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, he's an Apostle. He's an Apostle ... a capital A, I don't know why in the ESV they may have small A, is capital A, he's one of the 12. He's one of the 12 called by Jesus Christ and you had to see the resurrected Christ I witnessed and Jesus called you and Jesus allowed you to see the resurrected of Christ. St. Paul wasn't initially part of the 12, he became the 12th after Judas betrayed Jesus, and Jesus shows up and meets Paul on the road to Damascus. Why does St. Paul start with this? By the will of God. He didn't choose this. God chose me to do this by the will of God. And he's bringing his apostolic credentials because they were under attack. And the opening salvo here in the beginning is a defense of his divine authority as a messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrected Christ himself called Paul to follow him and to reject the authority of Paul the Apostle is to reject the authority of Christ. God chose Paul, God filled him with a spirit, and to reject the writings of Paul is to reject God.I say that because this is still relevant. This is all relevant. So many in the church today say I love the writings of Jesus. I don't like the writings of Paul. Well, here's something, is like fun fact Bible trivia. Jesus never wrote anything. The only time Jesus wrote anything was with his finger when the woman caught in adultery was brought to Him, the Pharisees are like, alright, what are we going to do? And Jesus is writing on the ground. I don't know what He wrote. No one knows what he wrote. That was the only thing Jesus Christ ever wrote. So every single book that we have in the New Testament is a book written by either an Apostle, or someone who had a close relation with the Apostle, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. So we do not have the right as Christians to pick and choose. This isn't a buffet. You take it or leave it. And that's why St. Paul starts with this.And also, he says, Paul, by the will of God, Paul belongs to Christ, the authority that God gives to Paul belongs to Christ. And Paul doesn't own the church. In the same way that Paul belongs to Christ, and Paul's authority belongs to Christ. The church belongs to Christ. Who does the right to? To the church of Paul, although Paul started the church. No, he says to the Church of God, it's not my church. This church isn't my church. It's not your church. This is God's church, and we are God's people assembled under God's word, to worship God, and we're filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He says, grace to you and peace from God, our Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ, we're all under God's grace, and the only way to peace is with God.2 Corinthians is the most personal of all Paul's letters. He shares details, autobiographical details that he doesn't share in other places. The book is full of references to people, places, events, only shared here in the New Testament. Why? Because Paul is defending himself against the attacks of people who are vying for authority. So Paul rises to his own defense, because his character and credentials as an Apostle are under attack. And he knows if you attack my credentials as an Apostle, you are actually questioning the authority of the Holy Spirit. The false teachers accused Paul of being ... and I find this hilarious because they couldn't find anything wrong with this guy's character. So the only thing they could find was the fact that he didn't keep his appointments.So later on in this book, this is what they talk about, is Paul, you promised that you are going to come visit us as a church and you did not. And Paul couldn't make it. And then they said, because he couldn't make it, he couldn't be trusted. Paul originally had planned two visits to Corinth, and that changed in Acts 20, he changed to one longer visit. But they didn't understand that they were unforeseen circumstances and reasonable people understand the plans change. But not all people are reasonable. And these false teachers seize on innocent harmless things and they make issues of them. And on the basis of this change [inaudible] of his likeness, of his flip flopping, and this is 2 Corinthians 1:7. He says," was I vacillating when I wanted to do this", meaning come visit? "Do I make my plans according to the flesh ready to say yes, yes, and no, no at the same time?"And this is what's challenging, I don't even remotely come close to St. Paul. But there is this challenge of when you are called by God to proclaim God's [inaudible] mouthpiece for God that's absolutely flawless. And St. Paul's like, I'm not God. I'm not Jesus. Yes, I wanted to come visit you guys, but I was caught in a shipwreck, I was beaten, I was stoned ... and not the Austin kind of stone, like literally stoned 40 lashes, this happened five times. I'm not God. And this is balance of like, yes, this person is called by God and filled with the Spirit, but I'm not God. Yes, sometimes I wake up and I'm in a bad mood and I don't even know why, and then I realize is because I haven't had coffee. I know. And I say that because I'm just a dude. That's what Paul's saying, I'm the Apostle, but I'm just a dude. I'm just a guy. I'm just trying to love Jesus as much as I possibly can, fight sin with everything I got. Love my wife, love my girls, but I'm just a dude.Every once in a while I just want to sit back and watch the Sox, watch the Pats, every once in a while I just want to talk about ... whatever, whatever. You know what saying. You know what I'm saying. I have people in my life who I just hang out with, because they don't expect anything out of me. You're a dude, I'm a dude, you know what I'm saying. So that's part of what Paul is doing here, is your expectations of me are unrealistic. I'm just a dude. That's his response. And this is what these people are saying, the false teachers are claiming that Paul isn't to be trusted.Later on they say, hey, Paul, where's your letters of recommendation? So they accuse him of not having the credentials that he himself had given to Timothy. He had sent letters of recommendation about Timothy to the Corinthians, and then Corinthians are like, where's your letters of recommendation? And St. Paul's like, letters of recommendation? I'm the guy that writes the letters of recommendation. I'm the Apostle. What are you talking about? And then they begin to question his authority. And he's like, you're questioning my authority? You're only Christians because of me. You exist the church in Corinth, you want to authenticate my authority, the fact that you are a Christian. It would be like my daughter Milana who looks the most like me. I take that as a compliment, because she's very beautiful. She looks the most like me. That would be like her coming up to me, would be like, Dad, show me a DNA test that you're my dad. Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. That's exactly what's going on, is Paul's spiritual children are coming to him and they're like you're not our dad. He's like, what are you talking about?And this group of false teachers also undermine Paul's authority. Why? To increase their own authority. That's what's happening. So Paul writes this letter and he addresses the issues one after another, in the final four chapters, what he does is he exposes the false teachers, answers insinuations that they spread about his character. Here's what I've been wrestling with this whole week. Paul poured his life into this church, into these people, and then he sees it just unravel a little here, he's going to write a letter and then it unravels again, he's going to write 1 Corinthians, unravels again, he's going to write 2 Corinthians, and after 2 Corinthians, he goes, he spends three more months with them. But what he sees is it just unravels, it's one thing after another, bad theology, bad morale, turf wars, petty jealousies, empire building. I'm sure he he was wounded, injured, emotionally, because these people whom he loved so much quickly go from loving him to deep suspicion, from seeing the best in him to believing the worst about this man that God used to save them. And he could have just thrown up his hands and said, you know what, fine, fine. Good luck. Have a nice life. I am done. I'm doneski. I'm going to a different church. I'm going to a different city. I am out of here. You want to follow false teachers, go ahead. But he doesn't.And this is really ... for some of you, this might be hard to understand, why doesn't he? Why doesn't he just quit? And I'll tell you why. Because dads, good dads do not disown their kids. Good dads do not give up on their kids. You keep loving, you keep pursuing. And this St. Paul, he viewed himself as a spiritual father. He took responsibility for this church. It's not my church, it's God's Church. Ultimately, I want them to know God, that's the best thing for my kids, for them to know God. So here's the practical application, dear friends. Do you view yourself only as a brother or a sister, as a sibling in the church? If so, I want to give you a vision for being a spiritual father or mother, where you come into this church and you're like, oh, we need older people, and I hear this all the time, we need older people and I'm only like 20, I'm only like 25.Let me tell you something. When Jesus called his disciples, how old were they? How old were the other Apostles when Jesus called them to himself? Only one of them was over the age of 19. And that was Peter. Because Peter and Jesus were the only ones who had to pay the temple tax. And the temple tax was, if you're 19, now you are responsible for the finances of this temple. All of the other guys were teenagers. In the Hebrew culture in Israel, you become a man at 13. So Jesus Christ, He picked up these guys who were 14, 15, 16, 17, they were all under 19, except for one, and then Jesus gets resurrected and then He sends in the Holy Spirit. Now Peter gets up, he's probably in his early 20s, preaches a sermon, and 3,000 people get saved. Now, these young people, early 20s, are spiritual fathers and mothers in the church. Do you view yourself as a spiritual father or mother? And here's what I mean. You take responsibility for the health of everyone else.For some of you, that's hard to understand, Because the only human life that you are responsible for is your own and you might have another life that you care for, that's your pet. For some of you, your only fatherhood or motherhood is being a dog mom or a dog dad. That's the only ... So this concept is ... This is weird. But this is a true reality that yes, you become a child of God. When you regenerate, you become a child of God. Now you're an infant, now you're a toddler, now you're growing, you're a sibling in the family, but you got to get to a point where you are actually responsible for the church. And this is my prayer that over the course of this series, that you catch this vision that I am responsible. So in your community, I'm responsible for the spiritual health of these people. So I got to care for them. I got to love them. I got to know them. And if we get a vision for that, it's going to change everything. And that explains why St. Paul is willing to deal with the suffering. A lot of people think the Christian life is like a marathon. You just keep running and keep running and keep ... and it's not a marathon, it's not a ... I don't like that analogy.The Christian life is like a 12 round boxing match, where every single round for three minutes you're going full tilt and then you get a water break and a breather for 30 seconds, 45 seconds as you sit on the stool and coach Jesus massaging your traps, and then you get back in. It's a slugfest. Here's the thing about fighting and I love fighting movies, I love combat sports in general. Here's the thing. The best guys always have something to fight for. And those are the stories that really capture our imagination, that captivate us. You have something to fight for, and that something can't just be money. It's always the family. It's Adrian, that's who it is. It's the boxers who are like, I just had a baby. Now I'm going to go kill a man in a ring. It's that. But it's like, even if I'm not good, I'm going to get pummeled and whatever, I'm going to get check at the end of this whole ... that's what I'm ... So St. Paul is that. He deals with that suffering because he's doing what's best for the family. He's willing to suffer because he wants the best for the family. So that's point one.Point two is love like a sinner saint. So these people have caused him a lot of pain. They've injured him emotionally, and then Paul writes and he's like, yes, I'm an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother to the Church of God, that is in Corinth of God has a church. And the universal church is localized. It's in Corinth, all the saints were in the whole of Achaia, what does he call them? What does he call them? He calls them saints. You're saints. They've sinned. One guy was sleeping with his mother in law, or step mom or something, that's 1 Corinthians 5, just scandalous. And he writes, some guys were sleeping with prostitutes, and they're like, we're doing evangelism, and St. Paul, what? Are you nuts? And he writes, he calls them saints, he addresses them as saints, no matter all the trouble they had cause them, he calls them saints, you're set apart, you're the holy people of God.And what St. Paul understands is that even the saints, the holy ones can behave badly from time to time, and they weren't saints because of their behavior. They weren't saints because they were perfect. They weren't saints because of their righteous. There's a lot of people who aren't familiar with the teachings of Christianity, they don't understand this and they come in, they're like, a lot of Christians are hypocrites. A lot of Christians are hypocrites. Some of you have unbelieving friends, who would be better Christians than you are. I've got friends like that. The reason why we're saints isn't because of our behavior, the reason why we're saints is because we're in Christ. It's our position in Christ. The way you become a Christian is you repent of your sin and you trust in Jesus Christ, was saved by grace through faith. Not because of any works, nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing that you do makes you a Christian. The only thing that you add to your justification is your sin. That's the only thing that you added. You're only a Christian because Jesus, you're only a Christian because Jesus chose you and set you apart.1 Corinthians 1:30 through 31. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord, grace to you and peace ... No, not grace, but yes, grace to you, that only comes from Jesus. The point is, the sanctification from Jesus, the righteous ... everything is from Jesus. So St. Paul was so effective as a minister in the church because he understood that he himself was a sinner saint. No matter what sin he saw in the church, he never lost sight of the fact that I used to murder Christians and God saved me. So when I see sin in the church ... This is a life hack. This is a life hack. Let me just share this with you. You want to learn to love people well? Never lose sight of the fact that you're a sinner. And then when they sin against you, you're not shocked. I know. I'm whatever, the same.So in the church, when the saints are sinning against him, he's never lost sight of the fact that he's a sinner as well. And he's reminding them that, hey, you're not just sinners, you're also saints. So you need to grow into your full potential of being as a saint. So with Christians, this is why he was so tenacious and relentless in his love. And with unbelievers, understanding the fact that they're sinners and you're a sinner just like them, the only difference between them and you is the fact that Jesus saved you, then you can relate to them. When you look at them and you see their sin, you're like, man, I understand. I'd be living just like you if Jesus didn't save me. So now I can speak your language. I can understand ... We relate, we can connect. Some Christians forget, but still don't forget that you're a saint, even when evangelizing, don't forget you're a saint and don't forget that you're a sinner within the church and St. Paul never forgot even when he was wounded.With evangelism, this is how I view with evangelism, when I see an unbeliever, man, I just look at them like ayah, not only do I relate, but you have so much potential to be a saint. If you Go saved, oh my, we live in a city of St. Paul's. Imagine if the people around us is God saved, we live in the city of CS Lewis's. We live in a city of like, man, if you've God saved, this is how I view every single unbeliever. If you God saved, we would have some crazy awakening. I got a roommate from college that I grew up with, we were roommates for three years. This is how I view. I've told him. I'm like bro ... and he's Jewish. I'm like, you'd be just like Paul. If he's just like Jesus, you need to get saved. If that mind and those talents that you have now get filled with the Holy ... Oh my. So that's with unbelievers.And then with believers, I never lose sight of the fact that you're a sinner and I look at you and when I see you sin, I'm like, you had so much potential to be a sinner. You had tremendous potential. You will be so bad. I can't believe God saved you. So this right here, the sinner saint paradox when it becomes real to you, it changes the way you do ministry in the church and changes the way you do ministry with unbelievers. And that's why St. Paul, he calls them saints and those are sinners. And what does he do? This is incredible. In verse 10, he asked them for help. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us, on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer. Pray for me. Could you pray for me? So that many will give thanks in our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. St. Paul, he's like, could you pray for me? And this is really sneaky. He's asking his spiritual kids to pray for him. This is incredibly sneaky. He's asking the people who are fighting him. Don't trust him, pray for him.It's sneaky because I do this with my kids. Every single Sunday, I walk with one of my daughters to church and today I'm walking with my daughter Ekaterina. She's my third one. She is six and she's going to be seven in December and she wants a pet. She wants a pet so bad. She started off with a dog, I went to fish and now we met at parakeet. I asked her, could you pray for me? Could you pray for me? And she's praying for me. It's just natural. Well, what does that ... all of a sudden, that's becoming part of our life. I'm going to pray. I'm going to pray for ... dad needs prayer. I'm going to help Dad out. That's part of the growth process and this is what it means to grow spiritually. It means to grow from just being a sibling to a spiritual father or a mother, and it's growing from being just a saint, a sinner just barely a saint, to growing as a saint. It's through nutritious food, it's through the Scriptures.Hebrews 5:12-14. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again, the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. The most practical way that you become a spiritual parent, is you begin to feed children. You feed them. Well, what do you feed them with? You feed them with scriptures, the Holy Word of God. Well, in order to feed them, you got to learn how to feed yourself first. And then you have to learn how to take the word and create a meal, and now you're cooking for your children and then you're feeding your kids. This is how you grow into a spiritual parent. A lot of you go to church to get fed. This is what you do, I go to church to ... Oh, I didn't like that church. It didn't feed me. I'm going to a different church to be fed. You need to start cooking. And to start cooking, you got to know your ingredients and you got to know the cookbook, you got to know the Holy Scriptures.And then point three is love number one, and anxious less about the rest. Here's what I mean. St. Paul was a man who was willing to suffer and he was willing to experience physical and spiritual pain. And the reason why he was doing it is because he cared about the primary thing. He cared about God, he cared about God's mission, he cared about God's church, he cared about the Holy Scriptures. Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else shall be added on to you. In that text, he says, don't worry. Don't worry about money. Don't worry about food. Don't worry about clothing. Seek first the kingdom of God. So he's saying, the problem is a lot of you are riddled with anxiety about things that don't really matter. And when you start caring about the thing that really matters, and you begin to endure pain, even despite the fact that there is pain, your pain tolerance goes up. And then when you deal with these problems that actually are eternally consequential, problems of other people's souls, problems in the church, then you go back to the real world, and those problems kind of don't really feel like problems.When you care about a friend's soul and eternal soul, you care about sharing the gospel, and you're fighting, vying with God in prayer, God save this person, you get up and you don't ... you're not really that worried about how you look or your weight, or your bank account, or what you're going to eat that day, you got more important issues. And I get this principle and the reason why I focus on this principle now is because we see this principle all throughout 2 Corinthians, but look at Philippians 4: 4-7, Paul wrote, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Don't be anxious about anything. And a lot of people are like, well, how do I do that? And they're missing the other piece.Do not be anxious about anything, does not mean do not be anxious about anything. Do not be anxious about anything means don't be anxious about secondary stuff. And I get this because Saint Paul was a man who had anxiety, but he had anxiety, but the most important thing ... in 2 Corinthians 11, he gives us a whole list of resume of his suffering, and you can read it on your own. But then at the end, this is the punchline of the resume. He says apart from other things, that's the physical suffering, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for whom, for all the churches, who was weakened, and I'm not weak, who was made to fall and I'm not indignant, because I had anxiety for the churches.I had anxiety for the things that really matter, anxiety for eternal souls. And when you start caring about eternal souls like this, and you're willing to overcome whatever suffering comes in the way of proclaiming the gospel and sharing the gospel to your friends and caring for the church. Well, you go back to your job and you get an inbox of 300 emails. You're not that worried about it because your friend got saved. You know what I'm saying? Eternity of change. So this right here ... and then you can do your work without anxiety. And this is like a life hack. And then you do ... like this isn't the thing. It's like we'll take his stuff, it's just money, it's materialism, and when you care about the primary thing, you're less anxious about everything else. So St. Paul does start with, the God who is blessed, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.2 Corinthians 1:3, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. He starts with the fact that we worship a God that allows his children to be afflicted. We worship a father, a Heavenly Father, allows his children to suffer. We worship a God, who like a good general allows his soldiers to suffer. And he does this so that we are now better equipped to comfort others. He grows us as ministers to make us more useful. He allows us to go through suffering to increase our pain tolerance. This is what St. Paul is saying. He's saying, God allowed this, the word comfort here is in the noun and verb appears 10 times verses three through seven. St. Paul is saying, look, you are worried that in keeping appointment, and he does later on in the book. He's like, let me tell you what I've been through. I almost died time and time and time again. I'm sorry that I didn't come to the appointment.As I said, I suffered, and he says we suffered and we do this to share abundantly, verse five, for as we share abundantly in Christ's suffering, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. In Philippians St. Paul says that he aspires to have a fellowship in Christ sufferings. If you really want to know Christ, you need to know his suffering. And when you know his suffering, when you experience his suffering, you realize that he is closer to you than ever, and he comforts you. And what you realize is that there is true, true comfort, and we have access to true comfort. He's not just talking about physical suffering, he's not just talking about sickness. Christians aren't the only ones who experience sickness. Christians aren't the only ones who suffer loss. Christians aren't the only ones who are persecuted. In general, he's saying for the faith, for the faith.Jesus Christ said in John 5:18 through 20, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master, if they persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they kept my word, they will always keep yours. I used to read texts like this, and I thought that's not in our lifetime. I no longer read texts like that. I do believe we're going to see persecution, Christians will see persecution in our lifetimes, in this country, just for being Christians, just for proclaiming the Word of God and dear Christian, are you ready? Are you ready to stand up and are you ready to say, yes, I am a Christian and yes, I'm not budging, I'm not recanting. Kill me. Kill me. I know exactly where I'm going. Do me a favor. No, don't. But you know what saying? I'm going to heaven. I'm going to heaven. And I'm going to proclaim the gospel until the very last second that my heart is beating. Are you ready?It starts like you before the battle, you need to prepare yourself. And St. Paul says, God does allow the suffering, and you need to know we have an enemy and Satan does attack Christians and he does attack the church. And obviously, the followers of Satan will attack us and will attack the church. But God allows us to suffer and suffer a lot so that after suffering, we begin to be more sympathetic and tender hearted and more helpful and hopeful. When trials mount, the coffee mug that you have at home with like a trite little Christian, saying platitude, it's not helpful, it's not helpful. When trials come, what you need is to sit down with a sage, who's been through it and you sit down with a Gandalf, who's been through it, white beard, I've been through the suffering, I know how much it hurts, but also I know how much stronger you get. And I know that there is access to true deep waters of comfort that God sends. And the more useful you want to be in the church, like if you want to grow as a spiritual a father or a mother, that means you're going to be in positions of leadership where you're leading other people.Well, if you are in a position of leadership, you're calling shots. And you need to know that if you want to be the one calling the shots, you will take shots, is pain tolerance. That's it. It's a key to growth in the Christian faith, it's the key to effectiveness and fruitful ministry. 2 Corinthians 1:6, if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. St. Paul says, you know why I'm willing to deal with this, I'm willing to suffer as much as I do, because I know it's for your good.Last week, my wife was visiting her family in Philadelphia, and she texts me pictures of just their life, and I'm sitting in my basement, I work in my basement, just concrete all around and just Ah back electricity. I have an air quality thing down there just to make sure I'm not going to die of lung cancer anytime soon. So that's where I work. It's kind of like a dungeon. I call it the dungeon and I do it and I write my sermons there and I feel like I read more spiritual sermons because St. Paul was in the dungeon etc., etc.And then I'm sitting in the dungeon and my wife sends me a picture of my youngest daughter at a hibachi place in Philadelphia, like a swanky spot, for some reason, it's half off. And she's sitting in front of this whole massive thing of food with the biggest smile. And I hearted, and I'm like, she's living her best life now. And I was thinking about that. I'm like, if I were there and I had that food, I would not experience nearly the amount of joy of getting that picture and seeing my daughter living and enjoying life. I'm willing to do the suffering. And I learned this from my dad. He's an immigrant dad. He was willing to go through suffering for the betterment of his children. And this spiritually speaking is the principle of usefulness. A. W. Tozer said is doubtful that God can bless a man greatly unless he is hurt him deeply. Because when God does allow pain, a great pain, he also provides a great cure.Verse 7, our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:8, for we do not want you to be unaware, brothers of the affliction we experience in Asia, for we were so utterly burning beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Is he referring to persecution and suffering Ephesus? We don't know. Is he referring to the thorn in the flesh here? We don't know. Was it some deadly illness? We don't know the nature, but we know the fact that he was at the brink of death. Other places, he said, I've suffered the loss of many things. His suffering didn't weaken his faith.A lot of people as soon as they begin to experience a modicum of suffering, there is no God, God doesn't love me. God is love. God is good. And God is all powerful. God doesn't love me. St. Paul suffered. Probably after Christ, He was number two in terms of suffering, and his suffering actually deepen his faith. Why? Because as he's in the depth of his pain, he knows he's with Christ. He knows that God is with him. He didn't turn his back on God and that suffering, because he understands if God allowed the suffering, then this is for my good and if this is for my good, then I can rejoice because God is with me.Verse 9, indeed, he says, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. And this is why suffering is so important. This is why God allows suffering. Because suffering teaches us the greatest lesson that there is. That we are not to rely on ourselves. We are to rely on our God. And when you're in suffering, when you're in pain, and you know you can't save yourself from that moment, there's only one whom you can cry out to and that's God. And this is why St. Paul, he's focused on the number one, and in suffering, the number one is clears. He's in the depth of this well, and the deeper he goes, the brighter number one is the North Star above him and he cries out to God, a God who, present tense, raises the dead.It's a lesson that it takes a long time to learn to rely on God every single day. It takes a long time to learn and takes a second to forget. Because there's so many other things we can rely on. My question here towards the end is, upon whom or what do you rely? Is it money or treasures? Is it other people? Is it your accomplishments, your resume, your job, your boss, your real estate? What are you relying on? St. Paul says, I learned to rely on God. I learned to rely on Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, He was in the same ... To participate in the sufferings of Christ is to remember Christ when He was in the depth of his suffering that began in Gethsemane, and he says, God, if there's any other way, if there's any other way, then he prays the most powerful prayer that anyone can pray, not my will, but yours be done.And then Jesus Christ goes to the cross. Yes he was flogged and yes he carried the cross, he experienced immense physical suffering, but the greatest suffering he experienced was the spiritual suffering, when he went through hell on the cross. God's wrath poured out on him. Jesus went through hell, so that you wouldn't have to. And St. Paul knows because Jesus Christ did that and because Jesus Christ died, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, because Jesus Christ's gospel, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, that gospel when you trust in him, that that right there saves you and St. Paul was saved. He knows that Jesus Christ made all the difference. He completely powerfully alters the meaning and the purpose of our lives, therefore he imbues even the darkest, hardest moments of our lives with hope.St. Paul says, I suffered but I suffered for you. He suffered a lot. But he took his troubles lightly. He's like yes, I did this thing, yes, I was flogged five times, 40 lashes five times, I was shipwreck, I was stoned, yes, I did that thing. Because that stuff doesn't really matter. My life doesn't really matter. I did this because I see the great need for the greatest work and I see great fruit from the Gospel. He couldn't doubt that he led a wholly happy life after this, obviously, in heaven, but he didn't allow all those troubles to outweigh and lose sight of what's most important.He talks about the cycle of comfort, the cycle of comfort. I will suffer so that I can comfort others. I suffer, Jesus comforts me, I comfort those who suffer. And I'll conclude with this. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the handful of German theologians to stand up to the Nazification of the German church. And one of his prominent writings was the Barmen Declaration in which he rejected the infamous Aryan clauses imposed by Nazi theology. He tried to fight the Nazi ideology within the church in the German church, he couldn't, and then he went and start his own seminary, his own church. He founded an underground Seminary in Bavaria, which then was closed by the Gestapo Chief, Himmler himself. And after that, Bonhoeffer was like, you're not going to let me preach the gospel. I'm going to fight the Nazis. And he joined the resistance movement and he was imprisoned by the Gestapo in April 1943.Now he knows he's going to die. And he was engaged to Maria von Wedemeyer, and he knows he's going to die, and before he dies, he writes her a poem about ... she doesn't know he's going to die. He already knows how the story ends. And he wrote her a poem, and stanza three is the famous. The poem was called New Year 1945. And he says, this should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving, even to the dregs of pain. At that command, we will not falter thankfully receiving all that is given by the loving hand. He knows God allowed this suffering, is going to bear the weight of suffering, is going to drink it down until it dries. He wrote this poem, and it comforted his fiancée. Just as the war was ending, Bonhoeffer was hung in prison three months later.18 years later, across the Atlantic in America, another bride to be was grieving the death of her fiancé. Her fiancé died in a freak accident, but he was the son of the author of Joseph Bailey and his wife, Mary Lou. Joseph Bailey, he read this poem, his son's fiancée found it and she read it and then she sent it to Joseph Bailey, the author, and he read it and they found comfort both Joseph Bailey and his wife, Mary Lou. So Joseph Bailey, he is author, he wrote a book of poems, compiled a book of poems called Heaven, and then 12 years after this, so this is 30 years after Bonhoeffer's his death, Joe Bailey receives a letter from a pastor friend in Massachusetts, relating that he was just in a hospital in Boston and he was visiting a terminally ill woman, and he knew that she was at the brink of death. He gave her Joe Bailey's book of poetry called heaven to comfort her soul. And the pastor said that the dying woman had stayed up awake late the previous night, read it and told him the comfort that she had received, a few hours later she died.That woman, the pastor wrote, was Maria von Wedemeyer. Bonhoeffer's fiancée. So Bonhoeffer's words comforted his fiancée twice. And you see that the cycle, God's comfort circulates among his children. Sometimes it comes full circle as in this true story, from Bonhoeffer to Maria von Wedemeyer, in her grief, the Joseph Bailey Junior's grieving fiancée and to Joe and Mary Bailey, they write the book and then back to Bonhoeffer's fiancée to comfort her in her dying hours. The astounding cyclical nature of comfort, and it all starts with Jesus Christ. But let's thank him now.Lord Jesus, we thank you for enduring the greatest suffering that anyone endured, and we thank you that you did that in order to comfort us. To comfort our souls, to forgive us of our sins so that we can have eternal comfort. In the meantime, you send us the great comfort of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, you're with us and we thank you for that. And I pray Holy Spirit that even when we do enter dark times of persecution, that you give us a steel strength to keep proclaiming the gospel, to remain faithful to you. Even if we endure suffering, so what? We know that there's nothing more important than the work of the gospel. And make us a people who like St. Paul, are just focused on what's most important, with our words, with our thoughts, with our time, our talent and treasure. We pray this in Christ's name, amen.

On May 30 the confessing church in German finished its first synod and issued the Barmen Declaration. Bravely denouncing the Nazification of the Evangelical Church. They were inspired by Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller

The events of January 6th prompt a conversation about the duty of progressive Christianity in this time of violent White Christian Nationalism, and the need for a modern Barmen Declaration (which was a document adopted by Christians in Nazi Germany who opposed the German Christian Movement) to publicly decry this brand of blasphemous "Christianity." Here is the link to the sermon mention in this podcast https://youtu.be/bmKGX21U69g

“Blessed are…” The Beatitudes are the first statements Jesus makes in The Sermon on the Mount. Let’s go over this often referenced, but sometimes misunderstood passage.  AnarchoChristian Resources: EP 62 On Pacifism - https://www.anarchochristian.com/on-pacifism-ac062/ EP 61 An Intro to the Sermon on the Mount - https://www.anarchochristian.com/an-introduction-to-the-sermon-on-the-mount-ac061/ EP 55 The Barmen Declaration - https://www.anarchochristian.com/the-barmen-declaration-ac055/ EP 25 Faithful Disobedience  - https://www.anarchochristian.com/faithful-disobedience-ac025/  Additional resources: Read the Declaration of Faithful Disobedience - https://www.anarchochristian.com/my-declaration-of-faithful-disobedience/  Free Audio book for Martyn Lloyd Jones’ Studies in the Sermon on the Mount - https://www.buzzsprout.com/727329  Amazon:Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount by Martyn Lloyd Jones - https://amzn.to/2L5QVXG  Sweet AnarchoChristian gear! Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A7141123011%2Cp_4%3AAnarchoChristian&ref=bl_sl_s_ap_web_7141123011 Proud Libertarian - https://proudlibertarian.com/collections/anarchochristian   Support the show! www.AnarchoChristian.com/supporttheshow   Find us on the web! https://www.AnarchoChristian.com https://www.twitter.com/anarchoxp https://www.facebook.com/anarchochristian https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg   Subscribe today, and don’t miss an episode! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/anarchochristian-evaluating-relationship-between-christian/id1339744391  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Io2icydyrrbqnhliq22xjnhvqpu Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=166143&refid=stpr Android: http://www.subscribeonandroid.com/anarchochristian.libsyn.com/rss  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg Tune by Owen-Glass: https://owen-glass.com Beats by Semiotician https://semiotician.bandcamp.com 

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Don Payne, Associate Professor of Theology and Christian Formation at Denver Seminary, on sanctification, theological method, modernism, fundamentalism, and the Barmen Declaration.

As always open dialogue, Hardin discusses the Barmen Declaration and finally Roundtable discussion

We remember the year 1934 and the publishing of the Barmen Declaration. The reading is from Rachel Held Evans, "Inspired." — We’re a part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. GIVE BACK: Support the work of 1517 today CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter This show was produced by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

Karl Barth authored the Barmen Declaration in Germany just a few years prior to World War 2. Let’s take a moment to rediscover Barth, The Confessing Church, and this bold stand against The State. Books Mentioned: The Epistle to the Romans by Karl Barth – https://amzn.to/2RK0r38 The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer – https://amzn.to/2yq7U0o Additional resources: https://www.1517.org/articles/the-birth-of-the-confessing-church http://clclibrary-org.tripod.com/Barmen.html https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/barmen-declaration/ https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/what-is-the-difference-between-justification-and-sanctification/ https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-156/the-truth-about-hitler-1935-hitler-and-his-choice-1937/ https://time.com/5573720/hitler-world-influence/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-american-papers-that-praised-hitler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asmussen Support the show! http://www.AnarchoChristian.com/support Find us on the web! http://www.AnarchoChristian.com http://www.twitter.com/anarchoxp http://www.facebook.com/anarchochristian http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg http://www.paxlibertas.com Subscribe today, and don’t miss an episode! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/anarchochristian-evaluating-relationship-between-christian/id1339744391 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Io2icydyrrbqnhliq22xjnhvqpu Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=166143&refid=stpr Android: http://www.subscribeonandroid.com/anarchochristian.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg

Karl Barth authored the Barmen Declaration in Germany just a few years prior to World War 2. Let’s take a moment to rediscover Barth, The Confessing Church, and this bold stand against The State. Books Mentioned: The Epistle to the Romans by Karl Barth - https://amzn.to/2RK0r38 The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer - https://amzn.to/2yq7U0o    Additional resources:https://www.1517.org/articles/the-birth-of-the-confessing-church http://clclibrary-org.tripod.com/Barmen.html https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/barmen-declaration/ https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/what-is-the-difference-between-justification-and-sanctification/ https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-156/the-truth-about-hitler-1935-hitler-and-his-choice-1937/ https://time.com/5573720/hitler-world-influence/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-american-papers-that-praised-hitler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asmussen Support the show! www.AnarchoChristian.com/support Find us on the web! www.AnarchoChristian.com www.twitter.com/anarchoxp www.facebook.com/anarchochristian www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg www.paxlibertas.com Subscribe today, and don’t miss an episode! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/anarchochristian-evaluating-relationship-between-christian/id1339744391  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Io2icydyrrbqnhliq22xjnhvqpu Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=166143&refid=stpr Android: http://www.subscribeonandroid.com/anarchochristian.libsyn.com/rss  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCViA1stFYP7bskwVk4uAgg   Tune by Owen-Glass:  https://owen-glass.com

Matthew Arbo joins host Marty Duren on this episode to discuss how a theological document written to repudiate Nazism remains relevant.

In today’s show, Tom introduces listeners to the Barmen Declaration of 1934. He then helps listeners understand what genuine resistance to the Nazis looked like at the time, and how many German churches had been coopted by cultural trends. In our ideological age, cut off from both nature and nature’s God, totalitarianisms emerge to fill […]

In today's show, Tom introduces listeners to the Barmen Declaration of 1934. He then helps listeners understand what genuine resistance to the Nazis looked like at the time, and how many German churches had been coopted by cultural trends. In our ideological age, cut off from both nature and nature's God, totalitarianisms emerge to fill in the empty spaces in our heads and hearts. Classical Christian theism is what we need today, but most evangelicals don't know what that is. Here's the wiki page for the Barmen Declaration--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmen_Declaration Once again, the show is recorded on our new sound equipment! We're getting the hang of it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-theology-pugcast/support

God is not an American. Nor an Italian, German, Brazilian, Australian...nor any other nationality. And yet, many a political state has woven into its cultural mythology the belief that God has set them apart to exercise divine authority on earth. In this episode, Ian looks at the dangers of nationalism and the horrifying example of Nazi Germany. He goes on to find hope in the bravely written Barmen Declaration, a stark reminder to the church that the Kingdom of God belongs to no nation.   Check out the Theological Declaration of Barmen HERE.    Want to support the podcast?  CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

REFLECTION QUOTES “All human relations are inherently power relations. The question of how to use power properly, though paradoxical, is therefore also inescapable.” ~James Hunter, To Change the World “No! With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly! Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused.” ~Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings “Scripture tells us that, in the as yet unredeemed world in which the Church also exists, the State has by divine appointment the task of providing for justice and peace. [It fulfills this task] by means of the threat and exercise of force, according to the measure of human judgment and human ability. The Church acknowledges the benefit of this divine appointment in gratitude and reverence before him. It calls to mind the Kingdom of God, God's commandment and righteousness, and thereby the responsibility both of rulers and of the ruled. It trusts and obeys the power of the Word by which God upholds all things.” “We reject the false doctrine, as though the State, over and beyond its special commission, should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the Church's vocation as well.” “We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.” ~The Barmen Declaration (1934) “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.” ~Isaiah 40:15-17 SERMON PASSAGE 2 Samuel 9:1-13 (ESV) 1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” 9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. 10 And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

In this sermon, Unity is a Gift and an Obligation, delivered on Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend, Dr. Bell gives a Presbyterian review of the movie Hidden Figures before turning to the Barmen Declaration, which was used in South Africa to end legal segregation.

This is the beginning of what will be several ongoing episodes of Voices In My Head dealing with the sermons of Karl Barth. In this episode I share a sermon of Barth from March 4th, 1917. The text is Mark 10:46-52.About Karl Barth - From WikiKarl Barth (/bɑːrt/; German: [baʀt]; May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968) was a Swiss Reformed theologian who is often regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century. Pope Pius XII called him the most important Christian theologian since St. Thomas Aquinas. His influence expanded well beyond the academic realm to mainstream culture, leading him to be featured on the cover of Time on April 20, 1962.Beginning with his experience as a pastor, Barth rejected his training in the predominant liberal theology typical of 19th-century European Protestantism. He also rejected more conservative forms of Christianity. Instead he embarked on a new theological path initially called dialectical theology due to its stress on the paradoxical nature of divine truth (e.g., God's relationship to humanity embodies both grace and judgment). Many critics have referred to Barth as the father of neo-orthodoxy – a term that Barth emphatically rejected. A more charitable description of his work might be "a theology of the Word." Barth's work had a profound impact on twentieth century theology and figures such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer – who like Barth became a leader in the Confessing Church – Thomas F. Torrance, Reinhold Niebuhr, Jacques Ellul, Stanley Hauerwas, Jürgen Moltmann, and novelists such as John Updike and Miklós Szentkuthy.Barth's unease with the dominant theology which characterized Europe led him to become a leader in the Confessing Church in Germany, which actively opposed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. In particular, Barth and other members of the movement vigorously attempted to prevent the Nazis from taking over the existing church and establishing a state church controlled by the regime. This culminated in Barth's authorship of the Barmen Declaration, which fiercely criticized Christians who supported the Nazis.One of the most prolific and influential theologians of the twentieth century, Barth emphasized the sovereignty of God, particularly through his reinterpretation of the Calvinistic doctrine of election, the sinfulness of humanity, and the "infinite qualitative distinction between God and mankind". His most famous works are his The Epistle to the Romans, which marked a clear break from his earlier thinking, and his massive thirteen-volume work Church Dogmatics, one of the largest works of systematic theology ever written. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rickleejames.substack.com/subscribe

This is the beginning of what will be several ongoing episodes of Voices In My Head dealing with the sermons of Karl Barth. In this episode I share a sermon of Barth from March 4th, 1917. The text is Mark 10:46-52.About Karl Barth - From WikiKarl Barth (/bɑːrt/; German: [baʀt]; May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968) was a Swiss Reformed theologian who is often regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century. Pope Pius XII called him the most important Christian theologian since St. Thomas Aquinas. His influence expanded well beyond the academic realm to mainstream culture, leading him to be featured on the cover of Time on April 20, 1962.Beginning with his experience as a pastor, Barth rejected his training in the predominant liberal theology typical of 19th-century European Protestantism. He also rejected more conservative forms of Christianity. Instead he embarked on a new theological path initially called dialectical theology due to its stress on the paradoxical nature of divine truth (e.g., God's relationship to humanity embodies both grace and judgment). Many critics have referred to Barth as the father of neo-orthodoxy – a term that Barth emphatically rejected. A more charitable description of his work might be "a theology of the Word." Barth's work had a profound impact on twentieth century theology and figures such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer – who like Barth became a leader in the Confessing Church – Thomas F. Torrance, Reinhold Niebuhr, Jacques Ellul, Stanley Hauerwas, Jürgen Moltmann, and novelists such as John Updike and Miklós Szentkuthy.Barth's unease with the dominant theology which characterized Europe led him to become a leader in the Confessing Church in Germany, which actively opposed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. In particular, Barth and other members of the movement vigorously attempted to prevent the Nazis from taking over the existing church and establishing a state church controlled by the regime. This culminated in Barth's authorship of the Barmen Declaration, which fiercely criticized Christians who supported the Nazis.One of the most prolific and influential theologians of the twentieth century, Barth emphasized the sovereignty of God, particularly through his reinterpretation of the Calvinistic doctrine of election, the sinfulness of humanity, and the "infinite qualitative distinction between God and mankind". His most famous works are his The Epistle to the Romans, which marked a clear break from his earlier thinking, and his massive thirteen-volume work Church Dogmatics, one of the largest works of systematic theology ever written.

This episode of Pneumatikos will revisit the historic Barmen Declaration.  The Barmen Declaration was a document that opposed the Deutsche Christen movement.  This powerful document set forth the position that Jesus (Iesous) is Lord of all and that his Church is solely under his control without apology.  In our post-modern age the Barman Declaration represents a theological wake up call to believing ones who know very little about the classic doctrines upon which our Faith rests.

Between discussing candy bars and playing a game of Famous Christians for 100, Jeff, Mona and Allen have a serious conversation about the curious relationship between Christianity and militarism.  What should be a Christian response to war?  In attempt to answer this question they explore visions for just religious responses to violence.   Host Check In (00:22) Conversation on a Christian Response to War (10:29) Famous Christian for 100 (56:41)   RELEVANT LINKS American Progress, John Gast (painting) Talking About War, American Mass Media and Christian Theology by Allen (An Irenicon Blog post) Barmen Declaration (historical text)   THANK YOU A big thank you to Mike Golin for our intro and outro music.  Check out his band Soulwise.   WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Thank you for supporting the podcast!  Your ratings, reviews and feedback are not only encouraging to us personally, but they help others find the show.  If you appreciate the content we provide please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.   Join our conversations on faith and culture by interacting with us through the following links: Read Us on our blog An Irenicon Email Us at podcast@irenicast.com Follow Us on Twitter or on Google+ Like Us on Facebook Love Us   You can also send us a Voice Message at irenicast.com/feedback

In this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols takes us to Germany in the year 1934 and introduces us to The Barmen Declaration.

This episode of Pneumatikos explores those times in life when it becomes a burden to worship when the necessity of worship presses upon the conscience.  How does one address this spiritual impasse?  

This lecture by Terriel Byrd was part of our 2011 series on the Barmen Declaration.

This lecture by Terriel Byrd was part of our 2011 series on the Barmen Declaration.

2011-Winter

A sermon inspired by Matthew 22:15-22 ...the fifth thesis of "The Barmen Declaration" and the 2008 Presidential Election Delivered at John Knox Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 16, 2008 Download in_god_we_trust__the_politics_of_jesus.mp3

A sermon inspired by Mark 10:35-44 ...the fourth thesis of "The Barmen Declaration" and a song by Foy Vance called "Gabriel and the Vagabond" Delivered at John Knox Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 9, 2008 Download getting_from_heil_to_hallelujah.m4a

A sermon inspired by Luke 6:42-49 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ...the second thesis of "The Barmen Declaration" and a song by Depeche Mode called "Personal Jesus" Delivered at John Knox Presbyterian Church on Sunday, February 24, 2008 Download you_cant_say_yes_unless_you_say_no.mp3