Christianity and the Church are Necessary for the world. There is a lot of room in for variety and diversity within Christian life, faith and practice. At the same time there are some things that are necessary for all followers of Jesus. These things are not necessary because of arbitrary or capricious rules, but because the world needs the church to be and do things in a certain way - the way of Jesus.
This Season is inspired in part by the book Necessary Christianity by Bishop Claude R. Alexander (available here). This is a wonderful and needful book. While I learned a lot from Bishop Alexander's book, I do not duplicate his teachings in this season. I hope you will listen to the podcast and read his book.
This content is substantially similar to "We Must Grow - Sermon - Rock Springs UMC" and "We Must Grow - Sermon - New Beginnings UMC."
Scott O. Blevins preached this sermon on 7/23/23 at Chester UMC.
