In August of 2020, I guest-preached at Evergreen Church about the difficult historical moment the American church finds itself in. There are, of course, many and varied aspects to this unusually challenging period in American history, and by no means do I understand all that’s going on, not by a longshot. But one aspect had been getting clearer – the centrality of the human heart – and since that theme had been building in me for quite some time, that is what I talked about. (A Vimeo of that message – The Refiner’s Fire in a Time of Crisis – is here: https://wagingwisdom.com/2020/08/27/the-refiners-fire-in-a-time-of-crisis/ .)

Recently (Nov. 14, 2021), I guest-preached again at the church and spoke about another aspect of our still difficult period that seems pretty clear: the theme of “Our Citizenship in Heaven.” You may listen to it on the Vimeo, linked just below here. (If you prefer an mp3 file of the talk (vocal only), send me an email and I’ll send you the link.)

A brief word: although the word “heaven” turns our thoughts to the next life, the talk focused on our citizenship “on earth as it is in heaven” – to adapt a phrase from how our Lord taught us to pray. As I understand it, a challenging moment must be met with an even more challenging redemptive response. So in this message I introduce the much needed conversation that needs to begin among American Christians: the difference between the duties Jesus calls us to fulfill in the Sermon on the Mount v. our rallying around the protection of our individual rights.

I want to thank Pastor Wes White for the invitation to speak and worship leader Brennon Carpenter for making it available here.

PS: this talk starts immediately after clicking the white arrow, so if you miss the opening words, I’m just saying that Philippians is one of the apostle Paul’s prison letters.

Charles Strohmer is a Christian minister and writer. He blogs at http://www.wagingwisdom.com.

©2021 by Charles Strohmer