Bishop Michael Curry preaching at the Royal wedding. (Reuters)
The 'sermon' given at the Royal wedding has got tongues waging.
Given by the Reverend Michael Curry, an American Episcopalian Archbishop from Chicago and invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to give the sermon – he gave a 14 minute, what I call - a Black American regular preaching style of passion and vigour. No surprise there.
In my view, his content consisted of three points -
First, the solemn occasion required a message that would be remembered
Second, it was
Third, God is Love (Biblical), Love is essential (Biblical), Christ's Cross was Love (Biblical) - yes he mentioned this.
Evangelical / Pentecostal Responses - social media
Some evangelicals delighted, singing from the same hymn sheet
Some evangelicals said he failed the Salvation test (no alter call)
Some evangelicals said he was over the top (enthusiasm)
Some Evangelicals gave a sentence by sentence debunking!
High Church Christians
What ! Isn't this the Church of England (High Church)
Who invited him?
You're not serious are you? (Astonished)
Way too long …. (sought a 3-4 min sermon)
Atheist /Agnostic commentators
Who gave him 14 minutes to rattle on
Ridiculous
Message of love covers all religions
Totally unsuitable for a Royal wedding
Secular Commentators and Christians
A sound message
The unbelievers got a reality check
Political correctness got a kick in the shins
The Christian message was front and centre
What does it means
This did not happen in a vacuum. People of influence attended. He spoke directly into their hearts. He was addressing a hedonistic age. The older generation, bewildered how the changes came about, but the preacher knew, and addressed it.
Got back to basics.
His sermon will be remembered. Don't let anyone think that the bride and groom were previously unaware of the preacher's strength of message – and such a word in season. My wife of 41 years Delma (known as Mrs Common Sense), mentioned to me, the bride and groom looked totally at ease.
The world has been awoken with a jolt. Billions watched it. Christ, front and centre. Christ is love. The Cross is love. Nothing else comes near it.
Dr Mark Tronson
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at
http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children