City Church York - Latest Comments

Re: Sermon from 04/17/2011

Krystalgisiner — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:51:32 -0000

This sermon meant a lot to me.

Re: What has helped you in your troubles?

Bruce Leiter — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:08:19 -0000

In all my troubles, the 3-in-1 God of the Bible has enabled me to go through them with Jesus' victory, including our second son's death from leukemia. After being an English teacher, sales manager, and Christian Reformed pastor for 27 years, God has combined all of my careers into one in retirement, writing Christian books! I detail my testimonies in my first unpublished book, Doubtbusters! God Is My Shrink! which should be published this year or next. It involves the real me befriending two fictional unbelievers, Joe and Holly. It is a model for friendship evangelism and apologetics, decreasing people's doubts and increasing their faith in the 3-in-1 God of the Bible and defending the Reformed faith as well in the last 3 parts. Joe and Holly receive the new birth toward the end. Joe's dramatic conversion actually happened when I visited my 81-year-old friend before he died. Would you like me to contact you when it is published? May God richly bless your ministry in Pennsylvania. (Our son's family is in the process of moving to Erie; we'll be making many trips out that way as a result.)

Re: Who Talks About Idols Among Friends?

M. Joshua Cauller — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:44:19 -0000

A lot of health comes form the times that we take our friendships seriously and ask about each other's priorities with Jesus. "Seriously, how are you doing in your relationship with Jesus?"

Even those of us who aren't the greatest friends appreciate when this is asked authentically and out of love.

It sounds like I need to let some people ask me this, too..

Re: Who Talks About Idols Among Friends?

Jakunk101155 — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 08:21:25 -0000

idols are usually thought of as physical objects that historically, people have worshipped, physically knelt before, etc.(i.e.-graven images). recognizing idols of the art requires self examination which is often neglected because of the emotional pain and guilt it produces. idols of heart are too frequently ignored because recognizing them in us cuts deep and requires honest introspection

Re: The Beauty of Biblical Justice

Roehclay — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:45:10 -0000

Shalom wow i was expecting a big social justice sermon approving of things HaShem speaks of as abominable so many churches say " social Justice " but mean i'm ok you're ok do what you want you know Jeeeezus, or they come out and say it's cool you are a man bedding a man God loves that . so much is taken now as Gospel that is actually lies of the evil one. it was nice to read what i had time to read here.
in my part of the body of Messiah we say it this way we do not follow the Torah as the path to salvation , that only comes through Yeshua Ha Moshiach , instead HE fulfilled the torah so it could be written on our hearts as a living testimony of the love we have for G-d
may you be blessed
Messianic Minister Clayton L Young
Kol Shalom messianic Synagogue &
changing destinies outreach
Dallastown Pa
717-741-1844

Re: Why are we so lonely?

Billswartz — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:04:12 -0000

I think loneliness is simply a symptom of an unfortunate and common blindness to our actual connection to everything. We don't need to develop that connection. It already exists. All we need to do is wipe the mud off our glasses so we can see what's been there all along. Interestingly enough, particle physics is now singing the same tune. The film "Mindwalk" is worth buying from Amazon because it reveals the devastating wrong turn we took when we followed that divisive guy Descartes into the long dark tunnel of reductionism.

Disclaimer: This is not a scientific, religious or geographic post but it does mention Einstein, Descartes, God and Michigan . I don't much care for religion. Too many people have been killed or harmed by those who use it for ill. Spiritualality is pretty cool though. :). And I'm certainly in agreement that the majority of religious folks are wonderful, kind, loving, spiritual people with good hearts. I think religion's great when it joins us rather than divides us.

Here's a provocative quote I came across in a Tom Robbins book. In a paragraph, it kind of sums up what may be a problem with the typical concept of God and sort of points the way to a more useful definition. Also wonderfully points out that divinity is within us all...that divinity is rather "ordinary" and accessible for everyone, something magnificent to be cultivated and felt within....And something to be nurtured, recognized and celebrated in others.... NOT something to be studied from a distance. To borrow a phrase from others, talking about tasting the honey here rather than just knowing ABOUT the honey.

In the novel "Another Roadside Attraction," Tom Robbins main character says this in an attempt to sum up where American religion ran off the rails in some cases: "On a Michigan funny farm, there are three inmates, each of whom believes he is Jesus Christ. They are all correct, of course, but when they learned the secret -- that everyone is divine if only he knows he is divine -- they became confused and behaved in a manner that led them to the looney bin. Their culture hadn't prepared them for divine revelation (that everyone contains divinity within). It hadn't even encouraged them to ask the only important question - "Who am I?" - let alone taught them to give the only logical reply. So when these three lower-middle-class working stiffs stumbled onto self-knowledge, they translated it into the absurd vision of the Sunday-school Superman, then wondered why they got locked up when they each started saying they were Jesus. Tough titty, boys. Most of us Americans prefer our God to be as singular as he is distant."

Not saying that there aren't great ministers and texts at present and from the past that capture the accessible nature of divinity within us all. . But I think an awful lot of us Americans have been led to believe in the God of TV evangelists and southern fire and brimstone churches: "And with lightning coming from his fingertips to fry the sinners!". You can hear that voice booming from the pulpit and can see the negative results of that dualistic mindset in our politics, communities and personal relationships. God as something outside us rather than within each of us...divinity, as many have said, is really within each of us, not in some angry white haired old white man above the clouds who gets involved in the outcome of sporting events and supports a good war now and then. :-)

It appears a lot of us folks in this modern culture have COMPLETELY missed the point and made the exact opposite point. In doing so, we may have gotten ourselves further away from god, more sinful, less prayerful and less happy. . We're probably more boring too. :) A huge wrong turn. Oops. Do you think we'll stop to ask for directions now that we're lost? (I think this is the job of writers, novelists, ministers and professors actually, to stop and say, wait a second this Chinese box is only a box, the world is bigger than this).

By the way...I think part of the problem is Descartes. (the film "Mindwalk" and the book "The Turning Point" wonderfully reveal this). That bastard Descartes taught us that everything can be understood by simply dissecting it and analyzing the parts. In teaching us that, he took us down a very long dark wrong road, a road we now consider to be the whole world. On that road, NOTHING is greater than the sum of its parts. To Descartes Central Market is 480 tons of lumber. Jim Smith is 192 pounds of flesh, etc. Descartes' thinking causes us to miss the animating force, the mystery, the soul of a place or person or movement. He misses the feeling that must have been in the air after one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches. Even after the room was empty, that feeling wqs likely still there. Descartes seemed to never taste the honey. He only learned ABOUT the honey. And it's possible that we human beings, most of us, seem to have followed Descartes down that road thereby developing a certain blindness to the realities of life.

So by believing in Descartes reductionism and following him on that wrong turn for nearly 400 years, we've really lost touch with the reality that things are often greater than the sum of their parts and lost touch with internal divinity, interconnection.....and value of community, the commons, etc. Want to know why people haven't invested more in the future of poor African American children's in the city? It doesn't seem like too big a mystery to me. Most people's current worldview cause them to believe that there is no inextricable link between people. . . That the future of that poor African American child has nothing to do with them. I blame Descartes. I'm not kidding. I also blame the ministers and professors for not adequately revealing how lost Descartes has gotten us. How long are we going to keep following that bastard. The emperor has no clothes. And this mindset of his isn't a clear view of the entire world. It's a view of the inside of a Chinese box. It's up to the great ministers out there, the great writers, the professors and all of us really to lift the lid.

Descartes' reductionism has led us to believe that nothing is greater than the sum of its parts, anything that's not visible isn't real, and there are no connections between people. I'll end with a quote from a guy most of us consider to be pretty smart who clearly thought Descartes was full of crap:

It was Albert Einstein who said:

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Re: Justice for Darisabel

tina — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:01:00 -0000

Aaron Anderson, what a wonderful human being u truly are!! I have no doubt yr efforts are appreciated by many. It is a cowardly act for one to end a childs life, when it was only just beginning. The most disheartening fact is that the perpertrators are still breathing, while little innocent darisabel is not.......... But you are making a difference, and showing that her death was not in vain, and we all know this......and so does darisabel. Thanku for your efforts, my sincere condolences to her grandmother. I praise u and the other people involved for trying to make a difference, u are making darisabels honour a very proud one.

Re: Justice for Darisabel

IJ — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:10:40 -0000

I am sos sorry that this hit you so close... We must fight for this children! Please join us http://www.facebook.com/#!/pag...

Re: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

leonaj — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:29:13 -0000

Lovely!! Thank-you for supporting such a cause.

Re: Justice for Darisabel

shandell — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:58:36 -0000

What a sweet soul. I did not know Darisabel, but just by looking at the pictures I can tell that she was a very loving, sweet child. As a human being, her story sickens me. As a mother, her story makes me weep and my heart literally hurt. At least we can all have comfort knowing that she will never be hurt again and is again her sweet self. Her story has made me even more thankful for my children, and has made my love for them even more. When I check on them tonight, before going to bed, they will be getting extra smooches in Darisabel's honor. Thank you for taking the time to put this site together.

Re: Justice for Darisabel

stacy — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:12:39 -0000

I did not know Darisabel. Ever since I read that article in the paper last year, I have not been able to get this out of my mind. The way this little angel suffered at the hands of someone else while her mother stood there and did NOTHING! I know God has a plan for everyone and everything happens for a reason, but it is hard for me to believe that mother doesnt deserve the death penalty as well. We, as mothers, are supposed to protect our children. If we do not do this, who will? This beautiful little girl deserved better! I have been holding this anger inside of me for a long time. Where is justice for little Darisabel? I cry writing this and I didnt even know her. I do know that she does not have to suffer anymore and is up in heaven with God. Rest in peace little angel...a little soul gone too soon..

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

Benjamin Colon — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:23:33 -0000

I couldn't agree more with this article. As one of those individuals who was written off, I often get amazed when I stumble upon someone who expected me to be in a worst off position. They can't believe I have a College degree in Chemistry of all things. The point is I never gave up. As a result I'm working a professional job and doing well. When I go back into the City I'm often amazed by looking at the youth. You can see their short comings (attitude, lack of self respect etc) from a mile. They are often insecure and ill adviced. They remaind me of myself.

They deserve so much more! Perhaps a mentoring program can help.
If One is ever started, dont' hesitate to contact me. Maybe I can help. After all, Children are very impressionable and need to be molded with Values. One great way of teaching them is leading by example.

I remember One place that helped me immensely, the Marines. Though now I see the world differently than when I was 20; the Marines made me realize the importance of believing in myself.

I think finding confidence in themselves is what most of the Kids in our City Need; along with Guidance and support.

Guitarben2000@yahoo.com

Re: An Honest Prayer about Money and Security

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:17:35 -0000

Thanks Aaron for sharing this prayer with us!

Re: The Importance of Hell

Aaron Anderson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:47:21 -0000

Stimulating discussion. I appreciate the respectful exchange on your part and hope you sense my attempt to reciprocate.

One thing worth noting: Jesus spoke more on the reality of Hell than all the other biblical writers combined. But that doesn't necessarily matter if you don't have the faith presupposition that I do. My faith commitment to Christ and the Bible is what leads me to believe that God does reward good and punish evil. More deeply than that though, I believe that on the cross, Jesus endured evil to ultimately destroy it on the Last Day. So yes, living a good life is based on Jesus' teaching, but not necessarily to earn God 'points' for judgment day. I try to live a good life because I believe Jesus gave His life for my sins to destroy the evil that resides in my own heart.

I guess what I wonder is why altruism would be considered 'good'? I can conceive of numerous scenarios where your version of altruism and someone else's version would be in conflict because of (as you stated) selfish reasons (i.e. self/family/cultural preservation). How would those conflicts be resolved when two parties are acting strongly for what they believe to be best for their tribe?

It seems without universal standards, we are hard-pressed to call slavery, child torture, sex trafficking, the Holocaust wrong. Hitler believed (wrongly) that he was acting in Germany's best interest by wiping out Jews and the 'genetically inferior.' Hitler was wrong, though he believed that he was helping his community. The rest of the world was right to try to stop him. Our version of altruism trumped his and I believe for good reason.

I'm obviously under the assumption that you also believe these types of atrocities are wrong. The question: on what basis do you prove they are wrong?

Thanks again for the stimulating discussion. I too do not offer any form of negative judgment for the spiritual paths people choose. Judgment is not my job. Loving my neighbor is.

Re: The Importance of Hell

dfink817 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:14:59 -0000

I think the answers to 1 and 2 depend on the teachings of your church. I've heard a lot of Christians answer 'yes' to 1 (often forcefully). There's certainly a lot of wisdom in the teachings of Christ and Christianity that I try to be mindful of. Heaven and Hell aren't part of my own belief system. So my answer to 3 would be 'yes.' 4 is a tougher one to answer briefly. I suspect your answer would probably be 'Jesus' or 'God.' But I think there are some things that people can understand to have value without having a 'higher power' - God or the church or whoever - tell us so. I can say living a good life is important to me because it helps my neighbors or my community or my workplace (altruism) and because it makes me feel good (selfish). I think most people do view that as something to aspire to in their lives, and whatever spiritual path people follow to make that happen is ok with me.

Re: The Importance of Hell

Aaron Anderson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:25:03 -0000

Thank you for your comments. What did you think about the article? Your comments raise several good questions:

1) Does God punish evil and reward good?

2) Is the idea of Hell deeper than God arbitrarily and spitefully 'sending' people to Hell for petty sins, or is the idea of Hell more about God allowing people to not pursue Him and in fact walking away from Him, even for all of eternity?

3) Can we simply think the idea of Heaven and Hell away and expect that they just don't exist?

4) Why is the idea of living a good life important? Who says that working for the good of humanity is a sort of universal value that all men must live by?

Again, thanks for taking the time to interact. I look forward to the dialogue.

-Aaron

Re: The Importance of Hell

dfink817 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:41:53 -0000

I don't remember the exact moment, but I always felt disturbed by the idea of this place of eternal punishment. What kind of loving God would impose that kind spiritual punishment? I know there are people who do really bad things, but the vast majority of humanity surely wouldn't come close to eternal damnation. So what was the point? So at some point, I just decided there was no hell. And from that followed, of course, there's no heaven. (I know John Lennon beat me to it by a couple decades.) I found that to be really liberating and empowering. It makes more sense for me to live a good life - helping people, working to make my community better - so that I can make things better here on Earth while I'm alive, not out of some hard to define belief that I will be rewarded after I die.

Re: Justice for Darisabel

justiceforbabydarisabel — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:37:15 -0000

This beautiful angel has finally had justice done. Sweet Darisabel can rest in peace knowing her tormentor never walk free again. My heart goes out to the family of Darisabel, particularly her grandmother. No grandma should ever have her precious grandchild taken from her like this. I pray God heals her hurt and she can get some peace knowing that the animal who took her grandbabies life will pay for what he did, here and in the afterlife. God bless you and your family. And RIP Darisabel, you will live in our hearts forever.

Re: Justice for Darisabel

Chris Fitz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:19:40 -0000

Thanks for your honest expressions Aaron. My heart physically ached after reading the testimony in today's paper. And i didn't even know her... but these stories are messages directly to our hearts. It reminds me of the commonality of what it means to be human, to be alive, to feel. Thank you.

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

Andre Lijoi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:50:37 -0000

Gordy, your discourse is insightful and well articulated. Thank you for your work with the residents and the openess with which you have pursued this.

How to intrude into the vicious cycle that many of our patients face is something I've thought about often. I believe that the system of welfare that exists is demeaning and tends to keep people down and entrenched in the cycle. I believe our society has to engage in this discussion in order to grapple with the justice issue you raise. There will be some risks involved; there always are whenever embarking on a project like this; certitude is not something that can be guaranteed and I believe our faith calls us to accept that.

So, we have to start somewhere. For example, can the community work with the justice system so that at the time of release from prision, some evaluation and preparation occurs, thus positioning both the individual and the community for successful reintegration.

As for being slow to judge, you are absolutely right. Disparitiy clearly contributes to this struggle. A prepoderance of opportunities for bad choice does also. We must also remember that Jesus Christ was always out on the margins of society, gently calling many to conversion. We have to be willing to go out there with Him and remember, at the same time, that we all have our margins and Jesus is out there too calling us all gently to conversion.

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

Gordy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:16:09 -0000

Breaking up the concentration of poverty, kids with broken homes, English language learners and special needs children does seem like a key step to equalizing the playing field.

I keep debating with myself whether poverty should be included in that list of challenges. The Bible's perspective is that there is nothing wrong with being poor. If anything, the danger comes with being rich. Jesus spent the majority of his time with the poor and his sermon in Luke 6:20 begins with, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

Gordy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:06:47 -0000

Thanks Chris. I was really blessed with an experienced group of folks to help frame the issues. For me the process of talking with different people and hearing alot of perspectives was probably more valuable than the final product.

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

Gordy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:04:21 -0000

Microfinance does seem like a good model. It helps people who are facing what seem like insurmountable obstacles. But it does it in a way that doesn't just fix the situation temporarily from someone with money and power, reinforcing the belief that the poor are helpless. It gives the little encouragement needed to empower people to be the ones to find a way forward for themselves.

It's always hard to know that balance--how much to do, how much to cheer on, how much to pray behind the seens.

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

lzubrod — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:16:24 -0000

Gordy - great write-up. I've been struggling with similar questions, more from the financial public policy perspective. We are clearly to have a priority for the poor - to what extent should that priority be reflected in our public policy? One way that it has been reflected has been through low income housing. This priority, though well intentioned, made a healthy contribution to the economic crisis by encouraging low income loans to those that weren't creditworthy, helping to spawn the subprime problems, which toppled AIG, etc. I think the moral of this story is that one must be careful in implementing policy measures to correct the ills of society. To what extent should these ills be the responsibility of the individual and to what extent should they be the responsibility of government? If the government, how do we use smart policy that does not enslave the recipient to handouts. Microfinance in third world countries is a good model because it invites the poor to the dignity that comes with working themselves out of poverty. How can we address this problem with smart public policy?

Also, I suspect that the issue of broken homes plays a significant role in the problems you raised. Parenting and good role models can breathe hope and possibility into kids, or it can set them on a path toward destruction or the status quo. I think strengthening marriages is a good starting place that could have some good ripple affects on issues such as these.

I look forward to hearing more of your ruminations on the path forward.

Luke

Re: Rethinking Race and Opportunity in the City

elainezubrod — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:09:50 -0000

Gordy, this is challenging and covers the disparity of views we often fall back on as "answers". I am looking forward to your ideas on how to deal with it. Thanks for caring and doing what you can to make a difference, for challenging us to do so as well. Mom