Rev. Gary Manning on our response to God's grace - this week's Day1

[Peter Wallace]

Greetings!

This week on Day1 Radio, we're pleased to welcome the Rev. Gary
Manning, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wauwatosa, WI and the
recipient of the 2009 John Hines Preaching Award given by Virginia
Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA.

In his award-winning sermon, "Shackles That Won't Shrink," based on
Romans 6, Gary focuses on God's grace, which frees humankind from
sin's stronghold and enables us to pursue God's mission.

Please click on this link to listen to the program or read the
transcript:
http://day1.org/1504-shackles_that_wont_shrink

And PLEASE NOTE: We now have commenting on Day1.org! So rather than
share your responses and thoughts here, please join in the
conversation about this week's message right on our website. Simply
scroll down to the bottom of the sermon transcript. (You must be a
logged-in member to access the commenting feature.)

We hope this will encourage more folks to participate in the
discussion. In light of this, we will soon be phasing out our Day1
Google Group.

We look forward to interacting with you at http://Day1.org!

All best,
Peter

[Ozzie Smith Jr]

Hi Peter:

 

I'm starting over--the other comments were lost in cyberspace.

 

Rev Manning cut both to the chase and to the bone of righteousness and the spot-on analysis of the aptly put ever-shrinking gospel.  The need to be virtually-correct so as not to make anyone angry or offend the sensitively insensitive, can utterly deconstruct a sermon.  A pastor once suggested that the congregational gaze these days seems to say, "Don't you dare preach to me, just make me feel good."  It seems also that when the gospel is truly preached to consumer-driven understanding that people leave the sanctuary fattened by so much Word that they are no longer able to outrun the wolves of the world.   As Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. once told me, "Ozzie, it's the Christ, not the crowd!"

 

The Romans passage gets to the motive behind the artful dodges of grace-dependent sin in a seductive culture.  It is no secret that living the Christian faith is beyond being under fire--it can feel almost wounded and illegal.  Walter Brueggeman speaking at a recent FTE Conference, suggested that we are called to "peculiarity."  He continued that this call to peculiarity is under the relentless pressure of reality such that each waking moment calls for a re-decision to remain peculiar!  (I note that peculiar has been translated to "holy" in the NRSV.)  It is no wonder that Rev Manning's pastor friend confessed to that pressure by describing her message as innocuous--not bothering anyone.  The scene observed by Rev Manning of the poor in Milwaukee paints a picture of strategic hues also--a picture that has prints throughout this country--prints that are not digitally altered but historically honed..  I believe that most institutions eventually through the habits of "human heart" ultimately morph into some kind of meanness that maintains a status-woe.  This message is prophetically on my porch, patio, and parlor--Jesus is still real!!!!  Sin, culture of politics, and politics of culture seems always to pull us out of the gospel orbit such that our homilies are harmless and our sermons become sirens of sweet-sounding nothings.  Thanks Rev Manning for rocking the lectern today with WORD!  Thanks Day1 for the lift and the lesson!

 

Ozzie Smith

---

From: Peter Wallace <ceph...@gmail.com>
To: Day1 <da...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:04:40 AM
Subject: [Day1:1167] Rev. Gary Manning on our response to God's grace - this week's Day1

[Billy Cox]

Great job Ozzie. I like the statement by Dr. Wright, "It's the Christ, not the crowd!" Right on Brother.

 

Billy Cox

---

From: Ozzie Smith Jr <jr4...@sbcglobal.net>
To: da...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:41:44 PM
Subject: [Day1:1168] Re: Rev. Gary Manning on our response to God's grace - this week's Day1

Hi Peter:

 

I'm starting over--the other comments were lost in cyberspace.

 

Rev Manning cut both to the chase and to the bone of righteousness and the spot-on analysis of the aptly put ever-shrinking gospel.  The need to be virtually-correct so as not to make anyone angry or offend the sensitively insensitive, can utterly deconstruct a sermon.  A pastor once suggested that the congregational gaze these days seems to say, "Don't you dare preach to me, just make me feel good."  It seems also that when the gospel is truly preached to consumer-driven understanding that people leave the sanctuary fattened by so much Word that they are no longer able to outrun the wolves of the world.   As Dr.. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. once told me, "Ozzie, it's the Christ, not the crowd!"

[jr4...@sbcglobal.net]

Thanks Billy! That advice from Dr. Wright has ministered to me ever since he said it! It can keep you honest! God bless you!
Peace,
Ozzie

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: Billy Cox <cox_...@bellsouth.net>

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:22:42 -0700 (PDT)

To: <da...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Day1:1169] Re: Rev. Gary Manning on our response to God's grace - this week's Day1