Watch Rev. Mark Sandlin, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant on his November 13, 2022, sermon on Happiness via Compassion and Connectedness.

This collection of prayers comes from a decidedly progressive Christian point of view. They are more about changing us and changing the world than about changing God’s mind and getting a particular set of actions from God.

Join Rev. Mark Sandlin, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant for his June 26, 2022 sermon on Abortion Rights.

I was brought up to understand that we meet God in church. What is it supposed to mean when people say that God is within me? I don’t think I’ve found that to be true.

Sermon by: Rev. Mark Sandlin
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant

A lot of Christianity
has it wrong. 
We are not broken. 

Sermon: Rev. Mark Sandlin
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant – www.athinkingchurch.org
Music: Bruce Piephoff

My oldest child has recently come out as transgender. Not surprisingly, many Christian friends are now pointing to the bible saying that she is a sinner and that God ‘condemns’ her. Does the Bible and God really say that?

July 11, 2021 Sermon by Rev. Mark Sandlin
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant
Greensboro, NC
 

Sermon by Rev. Mark Sandlin, on June 13, 2021

What is the grace referred to in the 5th point of Progressive Christianity, which says that Progressive Christians “Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning with an open mind and open heart, than in absolutes or dogma.

Rev. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Mark also serves as the President and Co-executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org.

“I stopped going to church because it just seems to be the same thing all the time. Same sermons, same actions, same results. I’m not sure we were actually changing anything. We helped the poor, but they always came back still needing help. Why don’t churches do more to change things?”

I’m a politically blue kind of guy living in a very red state. My religious convictions tell me that I have to try to work at getting laws that treat everyone with love. I’ve always tried, but the last few years it’s been crazy hard and I’m wearing out. Any suggestions?

When we are mindful, we will not only see the true outcomes and impact of behavior that is not kind compared to behavior that is kind, but that knowledge will be present with us in each moment guiding our every action.

It is unnecessary for anybody to throw stones because of anybody’s race or ethnicity. It repulses me and is plain not Jesus-like. It is prideful and hateful.

I have to deduce that even though it all started with the big bang, expanded, and distributed its matter across the universe, it also exists as a single unified and inseparable whole. We are all star-stuff. We are all inextricably connected. The Divine in me can see the Divine in you. When I see you, I see me.

Finding peace through social justice.

It is easy to get so caught upin the business and troublesof our own lives,

Mark, I’ve been following you for awhile and I do appreciate some of the things you say, but what’s the deal with this new agey movement for “simplicity”?

Ignorance will never be defeated with judgment.

Jesus saw him in his lostness – alone in that tree. He looked past all the judgements and self-imposed values the people of Jericho were heaping on Zaccheus and he saw him as a lost human being, fully deserving of love. And in that he saw that Zaccheus, just as each one of us, possessed uncommon value.

When it comes to matters of social justice, there should never be such thing as a silent Christian. For that matter, when it comes to matters of social justice, there should never be such thing as a silent spiritualist or humanist.

I’m just saying that if a politician decides to utilize Christianity for their own good, they need to be called out when they forget or misconstrue what Christianity is all about.

Several years ago, I was interviewed at a pro-choice event for Republicans. Being well past any likelihood of pregnancy, I linked my concern about my right to die with my right to decide about my fertility.

Despite the fact that 1 in 5 American adults experienced a mental health issue; despite the fact that 1 in 10 young people experienced a period of major depression; despite the fact that 1 in 25 Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression; we are either afraid of or reluctant to or maybe just indifferent about talking about mental health.

There was a time when neither Jesus nor his followers thought of or described him as God. Why is it that so many Christians are now required to confess that Jesus was always God?

For Jesus, for Gandhi, for Dr. King, for the 3.4 billion people who participated in non-violent resistance in the 20th century, pacifism isn’t… well, passive. It is active and creative and frequently uses systems of domination against themselves. Those of us who wish to follow the teachings of Jesus should look to the early church and their non-violent practices and then spend more time understanding how this works and then, ultimately, replicate it in our lives.

Finding peace through social justice.

Sermon Video with Rev. Mark Sandlin, Church of the Covenant (PCUSA), Greensboro, NC.

Why do you think so many churches mostly practice charity rather than justice?

I’m puzzled about prayer in the context of Progressive Christianity which has replaced the interventionist God “up-there” or “out-there” with the God-within. The typical (conventional) church service liturgy invariably includes an “Intercessions” segment. What meaning does this (segment) have in the context of “progressive” thinking? Should it be abandoned?

Can Christian liturgies be made to reflect reality rather than nostalgia?

“in all things God works for the good.”

  Question & Answer   Ginny from Reno, Nevada asks: Question: Why is it so important to you to view the Gospels as “midrash” rather than as history? Answer: Rev. Mark Sandlin   Dear Ginny, It’s not …

With the #TakeAKnee movement growing, what do you think the Church’s role in racism in the US is?