James 2: 1-13

Fourth Sermon in Series on the Black Experience.  Focus here is on tolerance.  

You might think of this as the Sermon of The Three Martyrs:  Bonhoeffer, Romero, and King.  

The text is from Matthew 10: 20 to 42.  

Domestication of Jesus, and perhaps Dr. King.  

Frankly, this Sunday was as much about the Spirituals -- Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child is hinted at here with Camille Cole -- and the Chancel Choir (not presented this week) with Plenty Good Room and the Praise Band with Wade in the Water.  

The Big Idea was that Spirituals sustained the slaves in their place of abandonment before the Civil War.  The tunes returned to help them in a "freer" but still troubled time.  

Community (with a hint of this being Boy Scout Sunday), trusting in God, and the idea that God has plenty of space in which we can grow are the key take aways.  

The Men's quartet and the Summer Singers.  Rehearsals of Thursday night

We are going to use Black Music to provide us a lens into the theology of the Black Experience.  

Today we use South African Freedom Songs to frame the conversation a little about Nelson Mandela.  

The scripture is from Exodus 9: 1 and Galatians 5: 1.  Both having to do with freedom.  

The Hilltop Chancel Choir provides a little of the musical context of the sermon and a post sermon benediction.