Sunday Sermon with Rev. Robert

 

Here is Rev. Robert's Sunday Sermon video for February 4, 2024, about which he writes:

"Have you ever wondered what Paul was talking about when he said that he had become all things to all people, or that he made himself a slave to all? Well, that is my subject of this sermon. I suggest that Paul is being very reasonable in 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, even though we might not immediately appreciate it.

"Paul is simply expressing both his commitment to sharing the Gospel and how he does it. He exercises what is called in informal logic the acceptability principle. That means: One who presents a position should attempt to use reasons that are likely to be accepted by those with whom one is speaking. That's what Paul is saying when he says he had become all things to all people. He is simply adapting the Gospel to what people know so that it makes better sense to them.

"I also discuss that it is no doubt because we live in an age of dwindling common sense that we doubt or even fear reasonable discussion can ever happen. In order to counter that somewhat justified position, I offer a part of the code of conduct of reasonable discussion from T. Edward Damer's _Attacking Faulty Reasoning_. I offer five of his principles to sketch what a reasonable person might believe and act like."

Readings for Sunday, February 4, 2024 

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147:1-12, 21

1 Corinthians 9:16-23 

The Gospel of Mark 1:29-39