There were close to 250 people in attendance at this service. 16 members made up the choir and it was probably one of the better choirs I've heard in my visits. Last Sunday was Father's Day, so the preacher asked all of the fathers to stand for a prayer. It was an eloquent prayer, but I did note that the preacher prayed for all of the first generation of believing dads so that they may "end the cycle of disobedience." It is usually subtle the way non-belief is associated with disobedience, as if I am more disobedient than your average Christian. The idea is so pervasive that he probably didn't realize that it would bother anyone. Within the same prayer, he encouraged dads to be good givers, both in the nurturing parenting context and in the monetary context: the collection plate was being passed around immediately after the prayer.
The preacher began his lesson by directing everyone to 1st Kings 1:5. I found myself engaged in his lesson. I'm suppose to be critical of these sermons and this lesson was good. The story was of King David, a man after God's own heart who was also one of the most sexually deviant men of the Bible. His lesson focused on all of David's sexual sins and how this reflected poorly on him as a father. According to the Bible, David's children would commit some of these same sins. Everything he said he backed up with scripture perfectly. He wanted the men of the congregation to look to David as an example of what not to do. This preacher advocated responsible parenting, and I had to agree with every word of it. While many preachers want to fix society's ills by influencing legislation that effects everyone, this preacher was calling for parents to be more involved with their kids.
At the end, I thought this preacher did a perfect job with his lesson. He concluded his lesson with a prayer, and in that prayer, he goofed. He mentioned that although David was not a responsible parent, he still maintained the linage of Christ through his son Nathan. In the Book of Luke, the writer records the linage of Christ all the way back to Adam. There, the writer records Nathan in that linage. The Book of Matthew also records the linage of Christ all the way back to Abraham, but in that book, David's son Solomon carries the linage of Christ. Clearly, the Bible is in dispute with itself. Apologists have responded by saying that one linage represents Mary's family and one represents Joseph's family, but each gospel clearly says that its linage contains Joseph. Because one gospel (or both) has the facts wrong on this point it does throw the validity of the Jesus story into question. The only reason why I mention this is because the preacher used David, Nathan, and Christ as the focal point of his lesson without giving a word to the controversy surrounding his point.
The service concluded with a few songs (all of which I thought were performed well) and a few announcements. I was out the door in time to walk into a different church less than a block away. To date, I've revisited the Episcopalian church, the Presbyterian church, and the Church of Christ at least once just to make sure I'm not visiting a church on an overly good or bad Sunday. Soon everyone in this town will know me.
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