As many of you know, Mrs. Clinton stated that she was under sniper fire when she landed in Bosnia. The media, however, found a video that told a completely different truth: There was a welcoming party and there was no fire.

Here is what I find so absolutely tasteless about Hillary’s comments:

First (and this is from one who served in a combat zone) it is a slap in the face of every military person who has ever served. Our military men and women would bend over backwards and take a bullet to the head to keep the First Lady from harm. To suggest that the military would drop off the First Lady in a combat zone shows a lack of respect for what are brave troops would even do for her.

Second, after making the comment she even goes so far to say that it was a slip of the tongue that came about because she is sleep deprived. Leave it alone that she made the statement many times. Leave it alone that she was using the statement to show that she is ready on day one because of her “combat service.” Does she really think that we are that stupid? Here is the answer to that question, and yes, this is conjecture: Yes. She thinks that the American people are that stupid.

There seems to be a constant theme in this family.  Lie until you get caught (I did not sleep with that woman!) and then justify your lie in such a way that exonerates yourself for any sin (e.g., “it’s a private matter” “I was tired)”.      

I find Obama standing by his pastor more honorable then Mrs. Clinton’s total disrespect for the military that will sacrifice for her if she becomes president and her total lack of respect for the intelligence of the American people.

The following philosophical argument is based on the teachings of Dr. William Lane Craig.

God is the greatest conceivable deity that one can imagine. That is, if one has a conception of god and another has a greater conception of God, then the latter is God.  Why is this true?  If one can perceive a greater God, then the lesser god is imperfect. Both Islam and Christianity hold to this view. In both faiths God is omnipotent. No one can come behind and think of a more powerful God. In both faiths God is omnipresent. No one can think of a God who can be in more places. And, in both faiths, God is omniscient. No one can think of a God who knows more.

IN the Christian faith, however, God is all Loving. The apostle John even goes on to define God as love (not that love is god…as  some wackos hold). The God of the Bible loves unconditionally. We don’t have to do anything.

"...I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge..."

Not so in Islam. God is not all loving. His love requires that one earns it through works and moral upright living. The Koran teaches that “God loves not the unbelievers, God loves not the evil doers, God loves not the proud…” The God of Islam loves conditionally.  Unfortunately, if the God of Islam is perfect, by definition, all who fall from his moral standards would be evil (different argument; different day). 

Therefore, the greater of these Gods is the God of Christianity.

Note:  Picture of my cat chilling is simply an appeal to emotion. 

We will put the last two sermons online soon.  Currently, we have over 50 other messages available free at  farmercitychurch.org

I want to start with where I left off last week. I kind of set myself up for probably one of the hardest questions ever asked: Who is the real Jesus? It’s easy to say what He’s not. He cant just be a good prophet, teacher, or ethicist because of certain claims. He claimed to be the truth…claimed to be equal with God. If He were not who He said He is, then he would be a nut or a liar.

I can say that He’s not this natural man, this historical "Discovery Channel" Jesus that is different from what is taught in the bible. The evidence demands that something supernatural occurred. A new religion started. The first and closest disciples believed they saw Jesus alive after He was crucified, some of Jesus harshest critics were converted because they believed they saw Him alive…

Their belief brought real change to their lives; they were willing to die for their beliefs; they did die for their beliefs. Only one possible event is sufficient enough to answers what we know happened in history: Jesus was crucified and indeed, He was raised from the dead. He’s not the historical Jesus of the Discovery channel. I’m finding it really easy to tell you what He was not.

To tell you who the real Jesus is…different story. I can give you one of His many titles. The Christ of God was the answer that Peter gave to the Jesus’ question: who do you say that I am? Jesus said Bingo Peter! You got it. Blessed are you…I could tell you that Jesus is the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of David, the Christ, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, almighty God, Prince of Peace, the gate, the way, the truth, the light, the good shepherd…and I could go on (alpha/omega), and on (bread/water), and on (life/light) and on.

Insufficient. Those are just titles. Each title needs explaining. Each title needs its own sermon. Each one takes you down a path that never ends. I’m finding it impossible to tell you in words who the real Jesus is. Let me be honest, I don’t want you to just know a sentence, a paragraph, an illustration, or an analogy that explains who Jesus is. I dont want to be the man to try and explain who Jesus is in such a manner.  Any literary box does the real Jesus an injustice. Just words.  And no amount of words can capture who Jesus is.

Do you understand the significance of that statement? There are 800,000 words in the English language, 300,000 are technical terms. The average person knows 10,000 words and uses 5,000 in everyday speech. A journalist knows approximately 15,000 and uses around 10,000. I’m convinced that no combination of these words, used or not used; known or not known could possibly paint an accurate picture of the Real Jesus. Insufficient. Not good enough.

I have failed you as a pastor: I cant answer the question…who is the Real Jesus. I don’t have the vocabulary, the mental capacity, the time, or the stamina. So I will play the role of the politician.  I will answer another question that is similar in nature.  Who is God? Now, unlike the question “Who is Jesus?” I think that I can answer this question, and, I think that I can answer it using only one word.

And the word is just that: Word. In the Greek, it’s pronounced Logos. The gospel of John starts out, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

The "Word" is God's communication, his express divine image of who He is...

One of the accusations I used to lay down against Christianity was that they had created a God to make it easier to go through life. The ex-governor Jessie the body called it a crutch. After years of study, I’ve changed my mind: We didn’t create this God in this bible. His mere presence alone will knock you into the fetal position.

If I were going to create a god that would help me through life, fulfill my deep need for Him, and be a little safer, I’d be more inclined to create the god of our culture: A god that has no absolute truth; one that wont judge you. Everyone would have to memorize the first part of Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge…”

My god will be a tolerant god. And by tolerant I don’t mean what the bible meant: that God will tolerate one’s bad behavior for a time so that they might come to repentance. What I mean by toleration is that god will just accept who I am.

The new and improved god wont send a person to hell. I had met with some Jehovah Witnesses at a bible study. They had said that growing up they were deathly afraid of this idea of hell. The JWs taught them that hell was a fabrication. Tears came from their eyes as they explained how happy they were that they finally found a reason to believe. A good God, after all, would never send a person to hell. So they exchanged the real God for a lesser god. Many would argue a better God.

I’ll be perfectly honest, I don’t like the idea of hell. C.S Lewis said that he hates the doctrine of hell. But he cant change it, remove it, or line item veto it because of his discomfort with it. Why? Let me ask you: Anyone here ever try to build a house of cards? What happens when you take away the bottom card? It all falls down. Anytime you take a piece of who God is away, all of your theology falls down, and the great Jehovah turns into something less.

No judgment; no hell. God’s ability to ultimately judge sin that is infinitely off of His standards is gone. God is no longer just or sovereign and no longer good for He cant stand up for those people who have been wronged. He is also no longer worthy to be worshiped. No hell: no human dignity. Either love God or be physically annihilated. Hell exists to give people who don’t love or want to have anything to do with Him a place to go. Hell makes perfect love possible in that it gives us choice.

Pastor Mike, you make hell sound so good. I’m not saying that. Hell is the absence of God…the absence of all that is good. And ultimately that’s my point. You don’t get to choose what you like about Him and throw away what you don’t like. It’s all or nothing. The bitter irony is that we do need God. God is uncomfortable to be around so we remake Him. Our new god is no longer the real God and wont fulfill our needs....