Throwing Jesus Under The Bus

Hmm. Will that title keep younger Christians at my church at home? Oh, what the heck. They're not coming to the mid-week small group anyway. A study was released last summer which claims that over the past 25 years, 40 million Christians have walked away from the Church. I don't know if the numbers are accurate, but I'm sure everyone sees the trend. And no doubt the reasons why are numerous.

Possibly, the #1 reason is that many have given in to the culture, going along to get along. They compromise on a single cultural issue, which makes the next compromise easier to make, to the point where they end up with a weak, watered-down Biblical worldview, and drift away from their faith. Cultural pressure to conform to secular tenets has been increasing in a serious way for years. Not many are ready to sacrifice their friends, their community standing, their family, and their job. I get it. It's getting vicious out there. And we're only at the beginning of persecution by our own government, which will get worse. I, for one, am concerned at seeing Christians drift away.

I'm putting together material for my 6-week small group. There will be a different topic each week:
- Hurting Couples
- Hurting Children
- Hurting Church
- Hurting Community
- Hurting Country
- Hurting Creation

Each night will start with an examination of a "past" OT/NT event, and how it turned out. I will then use the same verses to show how a "present" and "future" related event should be responded to. For example, in the area of Hurting Children:
- Past: Child sacrifice existed in the Promised Land before the Hebrews moved in; I'll also use Jesus' "millstone" verse.
- Present: The whole sexual grooming/transgender movement and mess.
- Future: Given that we're already able to correct some genetic problems before a baby is born, how long will it be before some demand the birth of gender-neutral babies? Some parents are already doing it, if not biologically, then psychologically.

I've got a lot of work to do. The one thing that scares me is that the Future events might actually happen before I have a chance to warn of them. Earth is quickly going to Hell. Help us, Lord.