OK...if I were to receive a grade for blogging over the last few weeks, it wouldn't be too high. It would probably be better than the Elementary Math Reasoning course I took my sophomore year of college. In high school a "d" means that you fail. In college, "d" means done. But hey, what does a Bible major need math skills for? As ministers, we simply take a number and round up to the nearest hundred.
I'm tired. I think I might be overly committed. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving my life, but I do have a hunger for a greater balance.
Sunday morning was one of the coolest worship experiences I've been a part of. We had a special song sung by the praise team that Kip and Rachel knocked out of the park. It was dynamite. It set me up with 1st and goal at the 1.
Jim Hinkle shared a testimony about a tragedy in the Highland youth group back in January of 2005. Through tears, he told stories of God's faithfulness in the midst of great suffering. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.
Here's what is so cool about Lament--God has a resume full of moments when he has entered into pain and brokenness to love it and redeem it.
Many days, it is simply Immanuel, this idea that "God is with us" that keeps me alive and ticking.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Lament
Ok, blogworld, I'm preaching a sermon this Sunday from Psalm 13, the well-known Lament-Psalm.
I need your help, what voice does "lament" have in your corporate worship services?
I need your help, what voice does "lament" have in your corporate worship services?
The Gospels
Ed Dobson wanted to live one year like Jesus...following every Jewish command, keeping the Sabbath, eating kosher, loving enemies, praying the prayers Jesus prayed and going to the festivals Jesus would attend.
One of his goals was to read all four gospels once a week. At the end of the year, he only made it through them 32 times. Still sounds pretty good to me.
After his year-long-journey, he concluded that living like Jesus is extremely difficult.
A rabbi once said, "If you're a Christian and aren't reading through the Gospels every week, then you're not a very good Christian. How can you claim to take Jesus' teachings seriously when you spend so little time actually reading them?"
Chew on that one for a little while.
One of his goals was to read all four gospels once a week. At the end of the year, he only made it through them 32 times. Still sounds pretty good to me.
After his year-long-journey, he concluded that living like Jesus is extremely difficult.
A rabbi once said, "If you're a Christian and aren't reading through the Gospels every week, then you're not a very good Christian. How can you claim to take Jesus' teachings seriously when you spend so little time actually reading them?"
Chew on that one for a little while.
Friday, October 30, 2009
You Know You're Near an Extrovert...
You know you're near an extrovert when:
-You sit down on a plane and put earphones in even though you can't use electronics yet. It is supposed to be the nonverbal sign that you are not available for any form of dialogue. But then, you notice the person walking down the aisle who is commenting on every ball cap and t-shirt they see on complete strangers, "Hey, are you a Yankees fan? I can't stand them but I respect them. Hey, are you from Colorado? I noticed the Yellowstone shirt. I have a 2nd cousin who is from there." You cross your fingers hoping he doesn't have the assigned seat next to you. Then, he sits and completely ignores the fact that the ear pieces are in the ears and your eyes are down.
-You're at the bank filling out a deposit slip when the person walks in singing about how great the day is even though it is 10:20 in the morning and it has been raining for 3 straight days.
-You're friend calls you at 10:35pm to tell you about something that happened 4 days earlier.
-You're at a restaurant peeing at the urinal and someone walks in and begins smalltalk while standing 2 urinals away--"How was the food? Did it hit the spot? This place is awesome!"
You're________________
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Professional Complainers...and the NBA
Check out this piece by Mike Cope on professional complainers. For all church leaders, these are 3 paragraphs that will bless you.
The NBA begins tonight. My Mavs take on the Wizards. They should get their first of 58 wins for the season. They will enter into the playoffs as the 4th seed and will get knocked out in the 2nd round.
From the book The Tangible Kingdom:
When I walk into Starbucks, I don't think about coffee. I ponder the lives of everyone I see. I wonder about their spiritual journeys, their highs and lows...and where they look for direction in their search. My initial assumption is that in any room full of people, very few know Christ. I ask myself how I could get into their lives or how a conversation might begin. I don't see them as projects--that wouldn't go very far. I see them as souls the Lord loves who simply haven't seen or heard an accurate message about the Kingdom. I always feel confident that I may one day be talking with them about life and God. Oddly enough, this seems to happen all the time.
**********
The NBA begins tonight. My Mavs take on the Wizards. They should get their first of 58 wins for the season. They will enter into the playoffs as the 4th seed and will get knocked out in the 2nd round.
**********
From the book The Tangible Kingdom:
When I walk into Starbucks, I don't think about coffee. I ponder the lives of everyone I see. I wonder about their spiritual journeys, their highs and lows...and where they look for direction in their search. My initial assumption is that in any room full of people, very few know Christ. I ask myself how I could get into their lives or how a conversation might begin. I don't see them as projects--that wouldn't go very far. I see them as souls the Lord loves who simply haven't seen or heard an accurate message about the Kingdom. I always feel confident that I may one day be talking with them about life and God. Oddly enough, this seems to happen all the time.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sabbath
God gave the 10 Commandments for this reason--they are to teach a bunch of slaves how to be human again. They are gifts; not heavy burdens.
The first 3 commands are directed to God:
1) No other gods before God.
2) No idols.
3) Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God.
The last 6 commands focus on human relationships.
5) Honor mom and dad.
6) Don't murder.
7) Don't commit adultery.
8) Don't steal.
9) Don't bear false witness against your neighbor.
10) Don't covet your neighbor's stuff.
Don't miss the significance of the 4th command, "Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy."
The Sabbath Day is the gift from God that holds commands 1-3 and 5-10 together. Sabbath keeps us rooted in God and oriented in relationships. It becomes the bridge...the connection between God and people. It keeps us balanced.
In Ed Dobson's book The Year of Living Like Jesus, he wrote that before Americans lose sleep over having the 10 commandments in courtrooms, they need to take some time to consider how they are doing at keeping the commands. Most of us neglect at least one of the commands regularly, especially Sabbath-keeping.
God gives reminders throughout Exodus concerning Sabbath-keeping. As the people of Israel opened up the instructions for building the tabernacle, #1 was to keep the Sabbath. God knew that these slaves had lived in Egypt for hundreds of years where they spent every day building things with bricks. Even though they were oppressed, they had produced good stuff...buildings, palaces, statutes, etc. Slavery had made them into brick-builders, and they were good at it.
The reminders are found in: Exodus 23:12-13, 31:12-18, 34:21-24, & 35:2-3.
Why so many reminders?
Because God was fearful that His people would take their brick-building-practices to a new land, and if they weren't careful, they would consume themselves with building new stuff and forget where they came from.
And you know how the story goes...they forget!
Could it be that in Genesis 1, God isn't just showing himself as a creative artist, but that he is also teaching people how to live? Seriously, did God really need to rest after 6 days? He didn't even break a sweat. God spoke words and creation happened.
Here's the ultimate question for us, if we take time to rest, do we really trust that God will/can keep things going?
Sabbath is about trust, rhythm, and reminding ourselves of the story we live in.
The first 3 commands are directed to God:
1) No other gods before God.
2) No idols.
3) Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God.
The last 6 commands focus on human relationships.
5) Honor mom and dad.
6) Don't murder.
7) Don't commit adultery.
8) Don't steal.
9) Don't bear false witness against your neighbor.
10) Don't covet your neighbor's stuff.
Don't miss the significance of the 4th command, "Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy."
The Sabbath Day is the gift from God that holds commands 1-3 and 5-10 together. Sabbath keeps us rooted in God and oriented in relationships. It becomes the bridge...the connection between God and people. It keeps us balanced.
In Ed Dobson's book The Year of Living Like Jesus, he wrote that before Americans lose sleep over having the 10 commandments in courtrooms, they need to take some time to consider how they are doing at keeping the commands. Most of us neglect at least one of the commands regularly, especially Sabbath-keeping.
God gives reminders throughout Exodus concerning Sabbath-keeping. As the people of Israel opened up the instructions for building the tabernacle, #1 was to keep the Sabbath. God knew that these slaves had lived in Egypt for hundreds of years where they spent every day building things with bricks. Even though they were oppressed, they had produced good stuff...buildings, palaces, statutes, etc. Slavery had made them into brick-builders, and they were good at it.
The reminders are found in: Exodus 23:12-13, 31:12-18, 34:21-24, & 35:2-3.
Why so many reminders?
Because God was fearful that His people would take their brick-building-practices to a new land, and if they weren't careful, they would consume themselves with building new stuff and forget where they came from.
And you know how the story goes...they forget!
Could it be that in Genesis 1, God isn't just showing himself as a creative artist, but that he is also teaching people how to live? Seriously, did God really need to rest after 6 days? He didn't even break a sweat. God spoke words and creation happened.
Here's the ultimate question for us, if we take time to rest, do we really trust that God will/can keep things going?
Sabbath is about trust, rhythm, and reminding ourselves of the story we live in.
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