SRS Religion Turns People Away from God

 

{This sermon is a part of the Shaw Ranch Sermons collection. The book will be published at the end of the summer.}

 

Sermon By Kevin Shaw

(edited and published by co-author Jared Shaw)

 

My Story

I was thirty‑two, a husband and father of two beautiful young girls and twin two‑year‑old boys. I ran a cattle‑care business, and if anyone knows that line of work, it’s a 24/7 job. You’re always on call. When people asked me to describe my job, I would say, “I ride ferocious dragons chasing ungrateful creatures.”

I protected them from disease and cared for them when they were sick. I fed them and kept them from harm’s way. And yes — I’m talking about horses and cattle, not my wife and kids. However, being a husband and father is very much the same.

My biggest fear was my children going without. So much so that, at this time in my life, my family and the animals I cared for were, more often than not, put before God. I know what you’re thinking:

Hebrews 10:25, NCV

“You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.”

 

Unfortunately, I was not in church like I should have been — not for myself, not for my wife, not for my children, and not for the congregation. My wife was very diligent in getting the children to Sunday school every week. I was so concerned with keeping feed in the barn and a roof over their heads that I was not tending to their spiritual needs.

The church I attended was a typical place of worship, except there were, in my opinion, a lot of “better‑than‑thou” Christians — people who were one way on Sunday morning and another way the rest of the week. My horrible excuse was, “I may have to spend eternity with those hypocrites, but I’m not sitting in church with them.”

 

To say I had a bad taste in my mouth was an understatement.

They didn’t let me down either. One day, one of my customer’s wives said to me, “You need to go to church and help your wife with those kids.” It bothered me deeply. Yet, she was a really nice lady, so I held my tongue.

A short time later, while getting diesel, a deacon from the church pulled up. The first thing out of his mouth was, “You really need to go to church to help your wife with those kids so she can stay for worship after Sunday school.” Granted, the twins were a little feral — but it hit me wrong. I looked him dead in the eye and said, “Why don’t you fine people up there at the church help my wife?”

That was the end of the conversation.

 

I was raised in the church and knew my feelings were wrong, but that congregation had pushed me away from what I knew to be right. This lead to us not going to church for a while. She was hurt, and I was mad.

Then one of my customers — a lady my wife taught with — asked us to join them for worship in the next town over. (I’ll come back to that first service.)

We had been attending there just a few weeks when I came home one day to find my wife crying. I asked what was wrong, and she handed me a letter from our old church. After I finished reading it, she asked, “What are they saying?”

I told her, “The fact that our children are heathens is no reason not to come to church.” I summarized the gist of the letter. She said, “Now you know why I’m crying.” She asked, “Are our kids really that bad?” I told her no, they were not, and I told her what the other members had said to me earlier, hoping to give her some comfort and clarity.

 

(Back to our first day at the new church.)

I got up extra early so I could make worship in case something went wrong. Yes, something did — but I left anyway because I wanted to be there for my wife and children. I rushed to get there. I had a change of clothes but didn’t have time to change. They were already singing when I opened the door.

I kicked my mud covered boots and spurs off just inside the door and threw my old dirty hat in the corner. (Note: this would have been looked down on in the previous congregation.) I walked in and found my wife and girls — but no boys. I thought, Oh no, where are they?

I asked their mom, and she pointed across the building where a lady was sitting with them. I asked what was going on. She said that before class, that lady gathered them up, and they were still with her.

To my surprise, they were absolute angels that day.

I was hooked on those people, and on their version of the church. They didn’t know our story, but they could not have made a more meaningful gesture to my family. We were home. These people were there to help raise my kids, and the love and support after our youngest was born with health issues was amazing.

 

 

Religion Has Hurt Many People

Religious people have done horrific things in the name of religion.
Muslims invaded Christian homelands.
Christians retaliated with the Crusades.
Men enslaved other men because they justified it with religion.
Millions have been killed in the name of “religious cleansing.”

 

That is not what Christ teaches.

1 John 4:7-10 NCV

1. “Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.”

 

   John 3:16 NCV

2. ““God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.”

 

Colossians 3:13 NCV

3. “Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you.”

 

Jesus also had a bad taste in his mouth for the religious leaders of his time.

Luke 11:39 NCV

1. “The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil.

 

Luke 11:43-44 NCV

2. “How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves, which people walk on without knowing.””

 

 

Don’t Let Religion Keep You From God

Don’t let religion — or religious people — keep you from seeking a relationship with God. Do not trust in a denomination, a preacher, or any one person other than Jesus Christ. Read the Gospels. They will tell you who Jesus is, what He taught, and the amazing way He lived and treated people.

Rely only on Jesus. No church or priest can take away your sins. Only Christ can.

 

Acts 2:38-39 NCV

“Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.””

John 14:6-7 NCV

“Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. But now you do know him, and you have seen him.””