Preaching
with
Power
main page

Christ’s blood redeems believers
from the tragic trap of tradition, Taylor says

Pastor Jerome Taylor told his workshop audience that lay leaders at Good Shepherd Church trained him for some kinds of ministry in the congregation. He also discussed how ministry with the church’s youth could be a recipe for their continuing involvement in the congregation. He told his audience of the energy Good Shepherd derives from being part of a diverse metropolitan New York community where 25 languages are spoken.

PHILADELPHIA (March 21, 2003) -- Why can’t we all just get along?

Because whether our differences are along religious, racial, political or national lines "we are locked in the tragic trap of tradition," the Rev. Jerome D. Taylor told a "Lutheran Night" Preaching with Power congregation at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Taylor, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Roosevelt, NY, was the eighth presenter in this year’s 21^st annual preaching series sponsored by local congregations and the Urban Theological Institute of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

Being locked in the "tragic trap of tradition" means we just go about "business as usual."

"God in Christ frees us from business as usual," Taylor said, "and offers the ministry of reconciliation. God wants us to be reconciled in Christ. Jesus didn’t take a wrong turn that led him to the cross. He went to the cross on purpose. No surprise, no hesitation, no faltering. Jesus had come to earth for our redemption and reconciliation. The pathway to the cross didn’t start kin Jerusalem. It started in the heart of God, and out of the heart of God started flowing the red river of redemption.

"The red river of blood that resulted in redemption started in the heart of God…One Sunday morning the same blood that saved Adam and Eve wrapped itself around me. The red river of blood heals us from our sin and sickness. And when you are healed from your sin and sickness the way you relate to people changes. The blood washes, purifies and makes us whole."