Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide SA SUN 14-MAR-2021 - 11.00 AM Sermon Rev Dr Ian Price Lent 4 – There is a lot of discussion nowadays about opting into or opting out of various movements, to become either a winner or a loser depending on your point of view. From the scriptures, John Chapter 3 is often used as a proof text for determining whether someone is saved or unsaved – but in the sermon it is pointed out that the only possible response is to opt out, because with God's encompassing love and grace we are already 'in'. God already accepts and loves us. Let us be people of love, let us act with love, think with love, and have compassion in our hearts for all people. When John's gospel was put together, the Romans had destroyed the temple and Christians were being persecuted and kicked out of the synagogues because of a belief that their heretical claims had brought down God's punishment. The Christian community was being torn apart, and John was asking them to understand the centrality of who Jesus was. Our preacher told us two stories of interactions with people who were in serious trouble, one of the malefactors being a criminal on death row, and the other a young hooligan who had ruined a beautiful Black Lives Matter mural. Each encounter showed the transforming power of sharing God's love. There is more in us than the worst thing we have ever done; and the values that we hold are much more important than the things we do, or the goals that we achieve. John 3: 14-21 Playing Time   –   18:06