Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church

It was a rare occasion, but I had a Sunday morning off and could go to a local Presbyterian Church. Being in Temple Terrace, FL, a suburb of Tampa and St. Petersburg, I went to the closest PC(USA) location I could find.

A relatively small congregation were blessed with a baptism, which was the center of much of the morning's affair.

The sermon, delivered by the Reverend J. Frederick Fife, as a strong one titled "Jesus Loves Me, But He Can't Stand You."

Citing Mark 2:1-17 as an example of faith "overcoming obstacles" as well as "healing and expectation". "God," the pastor said, "expects the world to be a better place than it is."

"Many of us are certain of how things are and how things will be. We are paralyzed, stagnant. What will it take to get us off our pallet?"

He described faith as a power that helps us overcome obstacles, rather than serving as a list of rules that keep things the way they are.

In the story in the Mark passage, a paralyzed man is healed by Jesus without him doing anything, and Fife takes that as proof that we are first loved by God before we act.

He brings up an interesting point for those people of faith, we do not need to worry about salvation as Christians who have faith in Jesus Christ, "but now what?"

His answer, "God screams for a church that says "you are welcome here." Unfortunately, many people have heard from church people that "Jesus loves me but he does not love you." This attitude is one of people who forget their own faults, failings, and sins.

The pastors point: we as Christians should be saying to the world "Jesus loves me, so he can stand you too."

Great sermon.