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A Response from Pastor Jamie

Dear Scottsdale Bible family,

As many of you know, I am back in the midwest for a few weeks, spending time with family/friends and doing a bit of study. Being back here where I have roots, it reminds me of the world I grew up in, a world in which the values of a biblical worldview were somewhat mirrored in the culture around us. Call them “family values” or “traditional values” or whatever, they were “hometown values” that had a high regard for God (within a Judeo-Christian understanding), church, family, work and personal morality.

Needless to say, the announced decision by the Supreme Court makes it clear that the world I grew up in is a fond memory at best. I am deeply saddened that our country is now on a road in which an agreed upon definition of marriage, which has sustained us for over 200 years, is drastically altered. I fear that this decision will further fragment our nation and lead to increased confusion concerning God’s design for marriage as between one man and one woman. I’m concerned not just for our current generation but for what this will mean for generations to come (our children and grandchildren).

Our church has a strong history of standing firm and being loving amidst a changing culture. We have historically demonstrated an abiding commitment to biblical truth, while simultaneously loving and embracing all people – whether they agree with us on truth or not. This has not changed with the current court decision. Scottsdale Bible Church will continue to live out our vision of encouraging people to strive for an unwavering faith in the God of the Bible (including all He says about truth and life), while also calling each of us to show unconditional love for those around us (even as we share truth with them). As the Bible says so well, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15)

So what should we do? How should we, as a church, respond to the recent decision of the highest human court in our nation? Let me suggest a few things:

  1. Pray. Let’s pray for our nation, our leaders, and our churches. Pray for God’s conviction to be upon us. Pray that the light of Jesus will shine in the darkness of our culture – and that darkness will not overcome it. Pray that others might see Jesus in our very lives and be drawn to Him as a result.
  2. Unite. Let’s stay unified in our commitment to biblical truth and Christ-like love. It’s a hard road to walk. But we must walk it nonetheless. Jesus called it the “narrow road.” Let’s all stay committed to walking the narrow road of grace and truth as we band together as one body in Jesus Christ.
  3. Act. I don’t believe that God is finished with us yet – either as a church or as a nation. We still get to vote leaders into office (and we have a big vote coming up next year). We still have a right to free assembly and free speech. As long as we have these rights, we should use them. And through our loving action, united together as God’s people, we can still influence the tenor and tone of our culture.

I want you to know that as saddened as I am by the court’s decision, this does not ruin my day – nor my week, my month, my year or my life. My faith is bound up in Jesus’ Kingdom and His Kingdom is not of this world. If there is anything that the history of Western civilization has shown us, it’s that when culture gets dark, it’s the Church’s chance to shine! We get this chance now. So I will pray with you. I will unite with you. And I will act with you.

Your friend and pastor,
Jamie-signature
Jamie Rasmussen