The Idle Eisegete

Marshmallow Murder

2010-10-13T16:57:00.001-05:00

Ok, reviving the sad little blog with a tribute to my children, who love murdering marshmallows.

Testimonies on the Poverty Simulation

2010-02-25T10:54:00.003-06:00

Here are some of the folks who went on the poverty simulation at Mission Waco, giving their impressions. Our trip for April is fully booked but we've had enough interest to form another trip in the fall. Let me know if you're interested.

Simulated Poverty

2010-02-08T11:35:00.005-06:00

I and seventeen others from Lifepath returned yesterday from what's called a poverty simulation led by the folks at Mission Waco. People come from all over the nation (believe it or not) to spend a weekend learning a little bit of what it's like to be poor.

So what did we do during the weekend? Well, we aren't supposed to talk about the details of what happened. I will say that it's a little like being on a reality television show: You are confronted with decisions and circumstances which challenge you. You always have a choice in how you cope with situations - you just have fewer options than you normally do. There were times during the weekend when we were uncomfortable and moments when I wondered why I was there. There were also times of great learning and insight. One of our elders attended and, at the end of the weekend, said that the poverty sim should be mandatory for all our elders, staff, and congregational leaders. I don't think we'll make it mandatory, but it's a great testimony to the power of the experience.

Why bother learning about poverty? Well, the Bible is pretty clear that God wants his people to care deeply about the poor. Deuteronomy 15, Isaiah 58, Matthew 25: 31-46, Luke 3: 7-11, James 2 and a host of other passages in the Bible indicate that a care for the poor is a marker for telling who God's people actually are. To be one of God's family is to care about those who are suffering.

And it's hard to care about people you don't understand.

Zombie Blog

2010-01-07T18:07:00.003-06:00

Ok, my blog has joined the sad ranks of those things which may look alive but are actually dead, like local newspapers or Ben Affleck's career. This past fall things with the church have gotten busy with the Inside-Out Vision and we keep something vaguely blog-like here.

But I either need to officially bury the Idle Eisegete or breathe some new life into it. What to do?

A Necessary Church

2009-10-13T14:17:00.003-05:00

Some of you know that the church I serve is seeking to become something kind of special. We want to structure the whole thing around making a huge, practical, recognizable difference in our community. Our goal is that several years down the road we want to hear people in our community saying, "We need that church in our community."

We've started a new blog to keep folks in the loop about how we are progressing. Give it a look.

Kinda Scary

2009-10-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

The Most Important Sermon I've Given at Lifepath

2009-09-11T15:29:00.005-05:00

Really.

Read a transcript.

Listen to the audio.

Great Western Trek, Finale

2009-09-05T07:40:00.041-05:00

After the beauty of Wyoming, we drove down through Idaho and into Utah. Near Salt Lake City at Antelope State Park we decided to visit the Salt Lake. There is only one word to describe it: ew. Do you see that brown film on the water? Those are salt flies. Millions and millions of salt flies. It was like something out of Dante. We stayed in a hotel that night to wash off the salt, sand, and ewwyness.

But Zion National Park in southern Utah was amazing. This is the view from our campsite.

There was a beautiful little creek just a few yards away from the campsite where the kids swam. Can you see those two little heads floating away? Click on the picture. There go my two sons.

It was all fun and games until their shoes floated away. After that there was a lot of shrieking.

We left Zion and drove through the canyons to Bryce. The hiking there was hard but rewarding. These geological features are called hoodoos.

Desert hiking isn't for wimps. We had to take lots of stops whenever we found some shade.

Allie admires the view. Maryallie looks uncomfortable. Can you see Jake hiding in the shadiest spot he can find?

But it was worth it.

Southern Utah is worth the trouble.

After the heat of Bryce we were surprised to discover the little oasis at Capitol Reef National Park. Lots of trees and deer. Allie's hurricane tarp has held up pretty well.

The campsite also had another little creek where there was much clowning about.

After all the desert hiking we were content to laze about for a couple days reading.....

....and roasting marshmallows!

Maryallie is something of a marshmallow gourmet.

The twins show their modeling skills.

We left Capitol Reef and were winding our way through the canyons on a two lane highway when a deer jumped out of the gully and creamed us. I never saw it until it was helicoptering off the grill. The front end was pretty torn up but still drivable. You can see the blood but if you look closely you can also see hair. No, I didn't go back to see if the deer was dead.

We made it to Dead Horse State Park where the views were stark but amazing.

Desert camping presents its own challenges. Dead Horse has some great covered campsites.

But we arrived in the middle of the day. It was too hot to do anything but sit in whatever shade we could find, read, and play with our army men.

As evening came on we felt more like getting out and seeing our surroundings.

The reason it looks so much like the Grand Canyon is that we're just up the Colorado River from it.

I love this picture. Nice job, Allie.

Keeping Dead Horse as our base camp we also visited Arches where we did more hiking.

Can you see Maryallie sitting at the base of the arch?

Kids love to climb.

Myown little flock of mountain goats.

Dead Horse is near Moab where we booked a raft ride down the Colorado River. The guide is telling us what to do if we fall out....

Maryallie and Hannah are ready to go.

Jake gets into the spirit of things.

Sam and I decided not to ride in the raft with the guide.

The kids took turns riding with me. Maryallie looks like she's concentrating.

Judith likes to be up front.

The view from the river.

Jake fell out of the raft early in the trip. After a moment of panic it turned out to be fun.

After a couple of hours of floating and paddling we stopped for lunch. The guides prepared sandwiches while we tried to find shade.

After lunch we had another hour on the river and then we beached the rafts and waited for the bus to take us back to Moab. One of the guides played with the kids. Judith is about to get dunked.

After the river ride we spent another night at Dead Horse. There are no showers so we spent the next day still covered in river silt. We drove the next day into Colorado where we stayed with our good friends Charis, Mike, Erin, and Anika. After a month of constant camping it was good to be indoors. We ate pizza, had adult conversation (yay!) and laughed alot. Mike and Charis are good company.

But I'm not sure our kids were a good influence.

After two days with Mike and Charis, we drove across the mountains to Denver to visit Allie's sister Amy, her husband Stephen, and many cousins. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures. The final two days we spent driving across Texas to get back to Houston.

After 5500 miles we looked a little ragged with our hurricane tarp, the front end of the minivan falling off and covered with the dust of seven states. But what a great trip!

Great Western Trek, Part 2

2009-09-04T06:40:00.022-05:00

After leaving the Black Hills, we drove across Wyoming toward Cody. We stopped at the Devil's Tower for a picnic lunch. This is your cue to hum those five notes from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

After nearly a week of camping it was time to wash clothes, buy supplies, and swim in a pool. While we were in Cody we visited the Buffalo Bill Museum. It's an amazing place and well worth the visit. The natural history portion of the museum kept us entertained for hours. Here we are out in front of the museum breaking several laws.

After one night in a hotel it was off to the Mother of All National Parks - Yellowstone. No, this is not Old Faithful. It was an overcast day and gray geyser steam against gray sky didn't make for good pictures. But here is a pic of another geyeser that shows up a little better.

Here we are waiting for Old Faithful to do its thing. See how bundled up everyone is? Hard for Texans to believe its July....

Goofing off around the campsite in Yellowstone. What would we do without brothers and sisters?

We spent a lot of time driving around Yellowstone, which is just enormous. We visited many geysers and other geological features, which were the original reason for creating the park, but honestly they didn't make for great photography. So here's a shot of us hiking in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Doesn't Judith look quite the explorer in her Hello Kitty backpack?

Looking over the edge of a waterfall in the canyon.

Stopped to rest along the trail. What a cool hat.

One of our favorite activities in the National Parks is to participate in the Junior Ranger programs. You pick up an activity sheet with all the required activities, follow the instructions, and then go talk to a Ranger. He looks over the work and then gives the child a handshake and a badge. Congratulations, Judith!

We eat a lot of picnics while camping. Here we are, still in Yellowstone, at Sheepeaters Hill.

After the picnic the kids climbed to the top. Can you see them up there? You might have to click on the picture.

Yellowstone was wonderful but crowded. The Grand Tetons just to the south were just as beautiful with far fewer people. This picture was taken on our hike near Two Oceans Lake during our first day in the Tetons. We're deep in bear country and it's early in the evening. We are completely alone. I think it was my favorite day of the entire trip. Walking through the alpine meadows while clapping and singing to scare off bears was fun.

And the views from the trail were stunning. Unlike other mountains in North America, the Tetons have no foothills. They just shoot straight up.

We spent the next few days taking lots of hikes. Usually we would walk up to a lake and have a picnic. I think I'm looking at a bird but I can't remember now what it was.

Summertime in the mountains. Yeah.

Lake Taggart. The kids had fun feeding the minnows. A chipmunk kept stealing our food.

Pretty Allie in her camping hat.

Skipping rocks at String Lake. At one of the lakes leeches attached themselves to several of the kids. Nature is fun!

Yellowstone was nice but I could live in the Tetons.

The Great Western Trek, Part 1

2009-08-10T12:13:00.023-05:00

On July 6 we set off on our grand migration West for a month of camping with occasional whining. The kids were ready, wedged into the minivan with little tv monitors and a box of dvd's to keep them docile for the long voyage ahead.

The pop-up and the minivan were loaded with coolers of food and supplies as we head into the wilderness. Take a good look at them. They aren't going to look this good for very long.

We drove all the way into the middle of Oklahoma the first day. If you look closely you can see the suspcious look Sam is giving to the giant prairie dog.

When setting up or tearing down camp, everyone has a job to do. Mine is management.

It was a pleasant little place next to a lake. Who knew Oklahoma was so pretty?

And there really were prairie dogs. The really cool thing to me was that there were burrowing owls all over the the prairie dog town, but we didn't get any pictures of them.

We spent the next day driving all the way across Kansas. On the third day, while in western Nebraska, we had our first bit of drama. Allie looked in the rearview mirror and started making those noises that a chimp makes when he sees a lion. The laminate on the roof of the camper (which had been repaired from earlier trips) had come loose and was blowing like a sail. We stopped and began to make emergency repairs.

You have to keep a sense of humor, which is one of Allie's many talents.

It isn't pretty but it kept the roof on. I'm pretty sure that 90% of the world's problems can be fixed with duct tape.

Later that afternoon we rolled into Custer, South Dakota and the sky looked like this......

Pioneer Allie decided that we needed more emergency repairs to keep the roof from leaking and prematurely wrecking our vacation. So we pulled into a parking lot and bought a tarp. The camper now looks like any other Houston dwelling after going through Hurricane Ike.

To the kids it was all part of the fun. The good news is that Allie's repair job held up. We got both rain and hail but the tarp and duct tape kept us dry.

And the Black Hills were definitely worth seeing. Wow.

We took lots of hikes through the hills.

It looks a little like one of the scenes from the "Lord of the Rings" movies, doesn't it?

The weather was cool and the kids enjoyed the hikes in the Black Hills. Like my hat?

These things were all over the place.

They even stopped traffic a couple of times.

....which allowed us to get a very close look at them.

We'd seen pronghorns before but never so many or from so near.

We made the almost obligatory pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore. Jake wasn't impressed. After the Black Hills we made ready to travel across Wyoming and head to Yellowstone. I'll post those pictures soon.

Junior High Mission Trip

2009-07-05T15:06:00.003-05:00

Last week nine kids and five adults went on the first annual Lifepath Junior High Mission Trip. We went to Waco, Texas and worked at Caritas of Waco as well as the Salvation Army. We spent our time in their warehouses sorting and processing things. It was hot work but the kids were troopers. We also worked in some fun things like a snowball fight and a trip to the Waco zoo.

It was a great opportunity to begin building in them the value of serving others as well as a chance to form some great friendships. Plus, I now know how to play "Duck, Duck, Freak."

The triplets and I also used the time to meet Jimmy Dorrell who runs Mission Waco and pastors The Church Under the Bridge. We had a nice lunch together at The World Cup Cafe which was created by Mission Waco. Jimmy shared with us some ideas about community development which will inform our Inside-Out concept.

It was a fun trip!

The Most Beautiful Woman I Know

2009-06-25T12:07:00.006-05:00

Last weekend the kids came back from summer camp with hidden passengers. All five of them had head lice. This is not meant to be a criticism of the camp, which we have attended for four summers without incident. We love the camp and the kids, as ususual, had a wonderful time.

But head lice are a real pain. Special shampoos can kill the bugs but nothing can kill the eggs, which are called nits. Nits are laid near the scalp and are attached - glued really - to the hair shafts. They are tiny and you have to go through each strand of hair and pull them out one by one. If you miss a single nit, the infestation erupts all over again. In addition, you have to wash all the bedding and clothing, and put anything like stuffed animals or decorative pillows into bags and store them for weeks. All the furniture must be sprayed. All the carpets must be vacuumed.

Now imagine five cases of head lice, five sets of clothes, five little beds to keep lice free, scores of stuffed animals and pillows and things to take care of. We spent all day on Monday washing things, bagging things, and going through each child's hair strand by strand. Poor little 7-year-old Judith had the worst case and we cut her hair three times that day in an effort to make the task manageable. Her hair got shorter and shorter until finally she had nothing but a bit of fuzz on top. And each time the little lamb was shorn she wept bitterly.

On Tuesday I had to go back to work, leaving Allie to manage everything. She spent all day, re-vacuming, re-cleaning, re-spraying, running to the store for supplies, and trying to keep the boys from doing silly things like putting on each others' hats. In addition, she did something like 50 loads of laundry that day alone.

Early that morning she found more nits in the two older girls' hair and even some live bugs. This was after using the special shampoo which is supposed to kill the bugs. It was too much. Allie decided everyone's hair had to go. The boys are self-conscious about having their hair radically shorter, but to the girls it felt like a disaster. To be an 11-years-old girl and have to get what amounts to a buzz cut is pretty horrible.

So Allie got one too. In solidarity with her children she had one of the girls cut her hair until only about a half inch remained on top. She hasn't had it professionally cut yet, so it's still a bit uneven. After all, it was cut by an 11-year-old.

And yet Allie is still beautiful. The short hair highlights her femininity. Her face is so pretty that she really doesn't even need hair. And the fact that she is willing to go through some public embarrassment in order to stand by her children shows something even more important: she is a person of compassion, bravery, and self-sacrifice.

She is the most beautiful woman I know.

A Really Big Piano

2009-06-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

This has nothing to do with church or God or even my life. I just thought it was cool.

A Walk in the Park

2009-05-25T12:01:00.006-05:00

This morning we decided to take a little hike in Cullen Park before it got too hot. We wore our day packs, but there's nothing in them except some bottled water.

It's a nice walk with some wooded areas. Plenty of red shouldered hawks, crows, and song birds. The kids also saw a red fox.

It started to get a little hot as the morning wore on.

It isn't Rocky Mountain National Park, but hey, it's better than sitting inside all day.

Easter at Lifepath

2009-05-16T15:19:00.014-05:00

Colter Jones took some pictures on Easter morning of what it was like at our 11:09 worship service. I know the lighting was a bit tricky. Thanks, Colter!

Don't these look like a friendly bunch of greeters?

As people begin to gather, they hit the coffee and donuts first.

Our little cafe was filled with folks socializing before the worship service started.

The room starts to fill.....

Here I am with a couple of our elders, David Crews and Stan Stevenson. We're wondering if we need more chairs.

Worship begins!

Our Director of Worship, Stan Armor, does a wonderful job. He's the one in the blue shirt. My wife, Allie, is in the dress with the blue and brown flowers.

We are thankful for Labay Middle School. They are so easy to work with and their cafeteria makes a great worship sanctuary.

One of the fun things I got to do that morning was announce the engagement of our Director of Student Ministry. Congratulations Nicholas and Lianne!

Me reading the Bible.

It's a bit hard to see but this is me praying with baby Cooper and his parents. It was Coop's first visit back to church after being in the hospital for a month. He is our very own resurrection story.

It's time to take down the chairs and put everything back the way we found it. I hope everyone had as blessed an Easter as we did.

Lifepath Helps Build a House

2009-05-13T16:51:00.005-05:00

I love my church. Here are some of them participating in a Habitat for Humanity build out.

Benjamin Linus and Little Boy Blue

2009-04-30T11:29:00.004-05:00

The fifth season of LOST is winding down. Michael Emerson plays Benjamin Linus, one of the creepiest guys ever to grace a television show. Thanks to Ashley, who sent me this.

What I Have Been Reading - And Confirmation that Pastors are Nerds

2009-04-27T08:29:00.011-05:00

Does God predetermine who is saved? Are human beings free to choose or does God's will determine everything? This book presents five views on what is called the doctrine of election.

I read this book about a month ago and found it helpful but a bit narrow. Of the five theologians, two were Calvinists (of slightly different stripes), one was an Arminian, one a Universalist, and one an Open Theologian. I could have done without one of the Calvinists and the Universalist.

Instead, it would have been helpful to have an Eastern Orthodox and a Roman Catholic for some wider perspectives. Protestants tend to go round and round a few verses of Romans. They are also locked into supporting or rejecting the Augustine/Luther/Calvin protestant hegemony over this subject. There are vast areas of Christianity that don't take Augustine as the starting point on this discussion.

I need to read more Patristics.

So next I read this. Meh. Not quite what I was looking for, but it is a great intro to the first couple of centuries of Christian thinking.

And for those of you who believe that the Church fell into apostasy right after the New Testament was written until Martin Luther came along, well, no. Calvin, Luther, and the Reformers loved the Church Fathers and used them extensively in their theological battles against medieval Roman Catholicism.

The foundation of all Christian theology, inclucing Protestant theology, was laid by these guys.

I missed the whole Nicholas Sparks phenomenon so I picked this up. I loved the way he wove the story together, even if I kind of wanted to throw up a couple of times when the hero would start crying.

I wonder if it sets women up to have unrealistic expectations of men. Who can measure up to Noah? But I suppose it might inspire us men to try a bit harder.

Who knew there were so many nice hikes in the Houston area? Allie and I have already used this book and found it very helpful

Back to the theology. I'm very fond of N.T. Wright but I'm enjoying this critique of his doctrine of justification by John Piper.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend" - Proverbs 17: 27

A book on church leadership that I keep starting and stopping. If I can get through it, it will probably have a big impact on me and the congregation.

This is sitting on my nightstand and I'm still thinking about it. It's a big commitment. But I love Goodbye to All of That by Graves and he and Lawrence were friends. Besides, they made a movie out of this, so it's got to be good, right?

Men, Women, and Proper Etiquette

2009-04-07T10:08:00.002-05:00

I thought you would all like to see some of the material we've used in our Men's Bible Study as we've studied the difference between men and women. The men found it very helpful.

Best Church Name EVER

2009-03-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

Frantic Family Workshop

2009-03-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

A Little Trip to the Woods

2009-03-19T20:48:00.011-05:00

We spent the first part of the week of Spring Break camping with Allie's brother, Robert and his family. Robert's wife, Katherine, did a great job with the pictures. My five had a great time with their three kids - Henry, Richard, and Sophie.

Richard is four. Doesn't he look innocent?

Atlanta State Park, which up near Texarkana, is wonderful. A huge lake, nice wooded campsites, and plenty of places for cousins to run around.

Sam spent a lot of time taking care of little Sophie.

Hannah Elizabeth

Maryallie

Judith

Old Jake

What a great trip!

Our First Billboard.

2009-03-14T14:25:00.006-05:00

I lifted this off the church website. It's almost what our new billboard on FM 529 looks like. On the actual sign it has the church's name and web address along the bottom white strip.

Thanks to Mindy Kineaster, Linda Wise, and Teresa Gibson who designed it . Very nice work!

What Is This Lent Stuff All About?

2009-03-03T09:09:00.001-06:00

Here's the Ash Wednesday message I gave last week:

A Meditation on Ash Wednesday
Read Mark 1: 16-20

It is a well worn phrase to say that God loves us. Most of us have probably heard that before. We’ve also probably heard that God loves us just the way we are. These things are true. He not only loves us the way we are, he loves us the way we were – at our worst moments, our lowest moments. God loved us at that moment when made our greatest failures, our worst decisions, committed our most selfish actions. How do I know that? Because Colossians 1: 21-22 says while we were God’s enemies, in other words when we opposed to everything he loved, it was then that his Son died for us. God not only loves us the way we are, he loves us the way we were. This is true. But the Christian life is not a call to stay the way we are. The call of Jesus is a call to travel. It’s a voyage, a journey of transformation. When Jesus speaks to those fishermen by the sea he makes an offer to them to be something more than what they were. I will show you how to become fishers of men. I will take you on adventure and equip you to be something special in God’s scheme of things.

That is really what the church season of Lent is about. There is nothing mandatory about celebrating church seasons. Some churches use them and others don’t. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we must celebrate Christmas or Easter or Pentecost. And, in our better moments, we know that we should be mindful of the truths of the Incarnation and the Resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit all year long. But setting aside a day or a season to spend time celebrating Jesus’ birthday, or his Resurrection from the dead is a good tool. The same is true of the season of Lent. Lent is the church season leading up to Easter. It is roughly 40 days long, a length of time that is highly significant in the Bible. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days. These were periods of time in which faith was tested and refined. And we are reminded that if we wish to follow Jesus, he beckons us forward, wishing us to change us.

So we use the Lenten season as a time to reflect on our walk with God. Are we being transformed? Are we walking with the Lord? Lent is a time to do something a little special in our walk with God. That often takes the form of some sort of food fast. Some people give up some kind of food – coffee or chocolate for Lent. These things can be helpful to teach us discipline, to show that God, rather than some trivial pleasure is the most important thing in our life. Another idea is to do something that is going to make more room for God in your life. For many of us, the thing that keeps us from growing closer to God and knowing him better is that our lives are too full of other things – we work, we watch TV, we surf the internet. We are constantly doing something. And then we say we would like to pray or read our Bibles or whatever but we can’t find time to do it. I was working out at the gym this morning and there’s a sign posted up in the wellness center that says something like, “You will never find time to do anything. You must make time.” Perhaps during Lent you could fast from some of your television programming, or internet surfing, and set aside a half hour to read your bible.
Another suggestion for Lent is think of one bad habit you have and give it up for Lent. I heard that one woman decided that she was saying too many negative things about people. She was always being critical. So she decided, one Lenten season that she would give up saying critical things. She said that for the first week she was stunned at how little she had to say. She was rendered almost silent. And yet by the end of the Lenten season God had really changed the way she talked and the way she thought. I know another person who decided to fast from cursing during Lent. She felt that it was not a habit a daughter of God should have. She struggled a bit, a slipped up But at the end of the season, Lo and behold, God used her commitment to change her habits of speech.

You could use Lent for all sorts of things – to work on a relationship that needs mending – what would happen if you made a vow to give a compliment once a day to someone you normally quarrel with? Or you could decide to go out of your way to do something kind for a complete stranger once a day.

Lent is about the journey of becoming something new. It is about being transformed into the Image of Jesus Christ. Why do we think that is going to happen without any intentionality on our part? Life is a journey. We are going to be reminded of that in a few minutes, with the little ritual that is called the Imposition of Ashes. If you desire, you may come forward and either Greg or I will make the sign of the cross with ashes on your forehead. This has many meanings. The ashes represent our humility before God, our desire to be changed, our need for forgiveness and our desire to be different. The sign of the cross is the reminder that it is by the Death of Jesus that we are set free from slavery to all self-destructive habits. The cross is our victory. The cross says that change is now possible for us. And we wear its mark on our foreheads to show that we are the People of the Cross. And as the sign of the cross is made, Greg and I will say words from the Scripture – “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” This reminds us that we are all on a journey. We may think we can stay where we are, but that’s an illusion. All life belongs to God, and sooner or later we must give it back to him. All of life is moving toward a meeting with God when all accounts will be settled and all things given their true value.

So, while you are waiting to have the ashes placed upon your head, use the time to think about what you will do with Lent. Jesus has called to you. Will you journey with him?
Amen

The Day is Coming

2009-03-02T20:15:00.000-06:00

Unsinkable

2009-02-20T08:33:00.002-06:00

So Allie and I are planning our vacation this summer. Our vacations usually involve camping. It’s a fun and economical way to see the world; and the kids love it. That may be because they don’t have to bathe for days at a time. I know that there are a few of you who really love to take cruises for your vacations. That’s always sounded very glamorous and exciting to me. But tell me something - aren’t you afraid you’ll wake up in the middle of the night and find out water coming under your cabin door because you’ve hit a coral reef or an iceberg or something? No? Why not? “Those big ships can’t possibly sink!” Yeah, do you remember the last ship that was billed as ‘unsinkable’? Go on to Google and type the word “unsinkable.” Do you know what the first few entries will be about? That’s right, the RMS Titanic. While it is a myth that the Titanic was advertised as being unsinkable, the Irish Times newspaper and Shipbuilder magazine both described her as “practically unsinkable” and that was the perception in the mind of the public. Until of course it sank with the loss of 1800 people. Would you like to hear the story of the only truly unsinkable ship? Listen now to the Word of God as it is found in Luke 8: 22-25. (Read passage)

There’s a story about a truly unsinkable ship. And we could talk about a number of aspects of the story but let me ask you a question: Why does Jesus correct the disciples? What exactly did they do wrong? They’re in a small boat. There is a violent storm. At least some of them are fishermen who have made their living out on the water in small boats. They know a truly dangerous storm from normal weather. This translation of the Bible even makes that clear saying, “. . . they were in real danger” (v. 23). But when they wake up the Lord who is sleeping in the boat, he gives them a rebuke: “Where is your faith?” (v. 25). What exactly did they do wrong? Now, it’s not that they should have remained quiet and stoic in the middle of their danger. It’s not that Jesus is annoyed at being awoken: “Why are you bothering me?!” If you have kids, have they ever woken you up for some dumb reason while you were desperately trying to catch up on your rest? “Daddy, can I watch a movie?” Aargh! Some people don’t pray to God because they don’t want to bother him with the trivial details of their lives – as if they were afraid of waking God up from his nap. “I really don’t want to bother God with that.” But that’s not why Jesus gets upset with the disciples. One of my favorite verses, which I quote with some regularity, says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5: 7). We are clearly told that the Lord wants us to bring him our doubts and fears. He delights when his children bring him their worries. So it can’t be the case that Jesus is upset with them because they need him. He is not chastising them because they voiced their concerns. They were in danger. It was appropriate for them to go to him.

So why does he find fault with them? Well, what exactly does he say? “Where is your faith?” (v. 25). There is something about the way they are bringing their concerns to him that is not faithful. We already know it can’t be that they were coming to him with their fear of the storm because we’re told that the Lord cares about our fears and asks us to bring them to him. The thing about faith is that it has expectations. Psalm 55 gives the age old prayer: “But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.” There’s an expectation there. I call on the Lord because I think he can save me. When the disciples go to Jesus, they don’t have faith that he can actually do anything about their situation. How do we know? Because when Jesus shows he can help, they are, the Bible says, “terrified and amazed” (v. 25). They had no expectation that Jesus was going to be any use at all to them in that boat.

What do we mean when we say we have faith in God? For too many people it simply means that we believe the right things so that they can go to the right place when we die. Now, it is a good thing that we have the expectation that God can help us with our little death problem. But is God limited to what happens after life? How involved is God? That’s a question that usually gets answered one of two ways. And they are very very old ways. When the message about Jesus Christ was first proclaimed in the Roman Empire 2000 years ago there were two main options for how the citizens of the Empire viewed God. One was the philosophy of the Stoics. This philosophy held that everything was God. The universe is God. I’m god. You’re god. Sometimes this kind of thinking is called pantheism, which comes from two words -pan which means all and theos which means God. Pan thesim – God is all. It sounds good at first but the problem with Stoicism and all forms of pantheism is that if everything is god, then even the bad things are god. If god is everything – then sickness is god. Crime is god. War is god. Death is god. It’s all god. So as a Stoic, your job is to just kind learn to accept everything. It’s not going to change. It’s all a part of God.

The other option for how to perceive God in the ancient Roman Empire was something called Epicureanism. Epicureans were kind of the opposite of the Stoics in how they viewed God. Instead of seeing God in everything, the Epicureans said that we can’t know anything about god or the Gods. He or they may exist. But they’re out there and we’re down here. Instead of seeing God in everything – being pantheists – they saw God in nothing. God is completely removed from our lives. So the Epicureans said our best shot at happiness is just to do our best to enjoy life. Make the best of it. Don’t hope for too much. Try to maximize your pleasure and minimize your pain. Being an Epicurean really wasn’t any more hopeful than being a Stoic. If the Stoics believed all our problems were just a part of God, the Epicureans saw God as too remote and so uninvolved that he couldn’t help us with our problems. Either way you had to just deal with it.

The first Christian missionaries came out of Jerusalem with a different message – the message about a Creator God who made the world and was yet was distinct from it. And these first Christian missionaries could say to the Stoics, “Yes, you’re right that God is very present and very involved in the world but he’s not the same as the Creation. He’s not contained by it. Just like you can tell something about the artist by looking at his painting, but the artist is more than his painting. And the first Christians could say to the Epicureans, “Yes, you’re right that God is distinct from the world but he’s not remote and uninvolved. He loves this world and is very involved in it. Yes it often seems like we are separated from God. But Go has a plan to change that – and this plan was brought to fullness through his Son Jesus Christ who has defeated death and human selfishness which separation from God.

All this was very good news because people for the first time could have expectations that God actually could do something for them. The Christian message about God is distinct from the world and yet not disconnected from it. God has the power and God has the love to save you and to make a real difference in your life.

And I know some of you must be thinking, why are we talking about 2000 year old philosophies? Because our situation today is very close to the one that existed way back in the Roman Empire two millennia ago. Up until a few hundred years ago most people believed in the Biblical idea that God is distinct from the world and yet intimately involved in it. But then a shift occurred. Science, which is a wonderful tool for understanding the world and at least partially shaping it, began to make great strides in explaining how things worked. And the more people understood about the processes of how the universe worked, the less they began to talk about God being involved in the world. For instance, do you remember that beautiful passage from the Psalms that Greg read to us last Sunday? Psalm 147 says of God, “He sends his orders to the world – how swiftly his word flies! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then, at his command, it all melts. He sends his winds, and the ice thaws” (Psalm 147: 15-18). There we have a picture of the Biblical worldview. God is not the same as creation. He is distinct from it. But he’s closely and intimately involved in it. But if you turn on the Weather Channel is the meteorologist going to look into the camera and say, “All right folks, this weekend God is going to send a big icy blast across the Midwest , while in the Northeast, he’ll be hurling down some hail on New York City. And, on the West coast, he will send orders for things to be dry and warm”? No, they use very different language, don’t they? It’s not that they shouldn’t talk about the jet stream and barometric pressure. It’s not that understanding the processes of how the world works is wrong. But because we understand more of the processes for how things work, it is assumed that we don’t need the concept of God to explain things. And soon we push God a bit farther outside the normal realm of things. The first step in pushing out God is we relegate his activities to miracles. By miracles we mean rare and extraordinary events in which God interacts with the world. And then the next step is that many of us say we really don’t believe in miracles. And we push God’s activity all the way out of the world. And today so many people today say they believe there is a God but they don’t really know too much about him. He may exist, but he really doesn’t have much to do with our lives. And who do they sound like? Exactly! Just like the ancient Epicureans. And just like the ancient Epicureans these new Epicureans tend to think that we can’t really hope for too much in this life. And so we try to minimize the pain and maximize our pleasure, whatever our pleasure might look like. But ultimately it’s a very hopeless way to live because the world in its current shape is a mess. No matter how well things go on for a while, ultimately there is pain and suffering and ugliness. And if we don’t believe that God is really involved, if he either doesn’t exist or he’s so remote that he doesn’t care, then there’s no hope for this world or us personally. We have no expectations of God to have any real part in this world. We have no faith.

A world completely separated from the divine is a cold and sterile place. And so many people in the last few years have trying to put God back into the world. The New Age movements in all its forms says that everything is God. Everything is a miracle. I’m god. You’re god. We’re all a part of the divine. And trying to put the wonder and magic back into the universe, they sound like who? The ancient Stoics! They are pantheists who believe that God is in everything. And it sounds much more appealing and hopeful but really just like the ancient stoics, the modern pantheists can’t have much hope either. Because if God is everything, then everything, even the bad stuff, is God. And who is going to save you from the bad stuff if God is the bad stuff? And so most New Age teachings don’t hold out much hope for things to get much better either. Expectations are low. There is no faith.

When the storms of life and death and tragedy come upon us most people are either Stoics or Epicureans. And they don’t have a very great expectation that God can be of any use. And in the end, they don’t have much hope. It’s much better to be in the boat with Jesus. The God of the Bible is distinct from this world; he is the Creator who transcends the world. And yet he is also this world’s Redeemer; He is intimately involved in the world’s destiny and in yours’.

Listen to what the Bible says: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8: 28-29). And for that reason you can have some expectations for him. You can put your faith in him. You can call on him and know there is no situation, there is no problem, there is no aspect of life that he does not have power to help and sustain you. God is working through all things to bring about his purpose of shaping you into something wonderful – of shaping this world into something wonderful. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. Go to him with your expectations in every situation.

And just like the disciples in that boat on the stormy Sea of Galilee you will learn something: You are unsinkable.

Amen

Rude Animals

2009-02-20T08:28:00.003-06:00

No, there is no underlying reason, point, or didactic purpose to this post.

A Prayer Request

2009-02-19T09:32:00.003-06:00

I have a prayer request for you.

Lifepath Church has an idea for a vision to be an Inside-Out church, which God will use to help transform our community. It's an exciting idea - but without a concrete measurable plan, we'll drift along as we are.

So this Saturday the elders, deacons, and staff of lifepath are gathering to discern the next steps. Please pray that God will show us the following things:

1. What does God want lifepath to look like in three year's time?

2. What are the five or six ministry objectives that God wishes us to begin to work on to reach this vision?

3. What are the next steps to reaching these goals?

4. Pray for unity around God's vision.

5. Pray that we in the leadership provide clear ways for the congregation to participate in this vision.

Thanks for your prayers!

What Happens When We Die?

2009-02-14T18:05:00.001-06:00

Bishop N. T. Wright gives a Biblical answer in 90 seconds.

Happy 200th

2009-02-12T16:54:00.002-06:00

In honor of Lincoln's birthday, I'll post one of the great speeches in the English language. It's so short that it took him about two minutes to give it. Here it is in its entirety:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Tithing Rap - Word up.

2009-02-11T09:54:00.000-06:00

Rest in Peace, Tom

2009-02-07T14:17:00.004-06:00

"The idea that Keith Richards could survive me in death is so ironic.......humor me with this one - it's really funny."

- from the journal of Tom Lawrence, read at his funeral this morning.

"The Contest"

2009-02-04T13:27:00.002-06:00

I like the show “Lost.” It’s creatively written. It’s got lots of surprises. And most of all, it’s just a good story. There’s really nothing better than a good story. Today’s Word from God is a story. But the thing about stories is we can only tell a little portion of them at a time. And if you come into the middle of a good story you’re going to have a hard time figuring out exactly what’s going on. If you try to watch the show Lost without going back and watching some previous episodes you’re going to be, well, completely lost. So before I read you the story for this morning, let’s do a little background.

At the moment our story opens a struggle for the soul of Israel is taking place. You remember that the Israelites first became a nation when the Lord God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. The Lord brought this motley bunch of slaves out from under Pharaoh’s thumb and into the Wilderness. There the Lord made a covenant, an agreement with them. They would be his people and worship only him. The Lord then led this new people into Canaan, the Promised Land, where they settled down and lived.

But they didn’t live happily ever after. You see, there were already people living there and these people worshipped different gods. Now we, as good and open minded Americans, might not think that this would be a problem. We live in a society where people worship all kinds of things and we agree to live and let live. But the people who lived in Canaan worshiped a god called Baal. They worshiped him by celebrating, um, “fertility rites” with priestesses in his temple and by giving him their firstborn children to be burned to death. And from the moment the Israelites first entered the land they had trouble refraining from worshiping Baal and turning their backs on the Lord who had done so much for them.

As we read the stories we might be tempted to say to ourselves, “How could they have been so unfaithful to God? Look at all the things the Lord had done for them! I would never have done what those Israelites did.” But that’s easy to say. When everyone else lives and thinks in a certain way, is it easy for you to be the only one who is different? When you went to that new school and everybody believed that you could not be cool unless you were sleeping with your girlfriend, was it easy for you to be different? When you transferred to that new company was it easy for you to criticize management policies you felt to be wrong? It’s easier to do what everyone else is doing, isn’t it? Well, Baal was the god you worshipped if you wanted to be a farmer in Canaan. If you wanted rain on your crops and your livestock to multiply you “worshipped” with the priestesses in the fertility temple. If you wanted lots of children to help you on the farm and to ensure you were taken care of when you were old, you gave the first one back to Baal to show you trusted him to give you lots more. It’s just what everyone did.

To make matters worse, the Israelites were not getting good leadership. Good King David, who had worshipped only the Lord, was long since dead. Semi-good King Solomon who had built the Temple in Jerusalem was dead. The later kings began to worship Baal. In our story the present king is a man named Ahab and he’s not worth much. His wife is named Jezebel and she is a devout Baal worshipper. The prophets of Baal are her favorite subjects. They eat at her table which is a mark of privilege. In fact, Jezebel is so devoted to Baal that she has begun killing off the people who worship the Lord. She has murdered most of the Lord’s prophets. The only one left of any consequence is a man named Elijah.

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel are not very happy with Elijah as our story opens because for the past three years there has been no rain in Israel. Through Elijah, the Lord has said there would be a drought. God’s thinking was that a drought should prove to people that it’s not Baal who gives the rain that provides their food – it’s the Lord. But after three years it hasn’t worked. The people continue to worship Baal and King Ahab is put out with Elijah who he thinks is a rabble-rouser and an all around pain in the neck. Now, as our story begins God tells Elijah to meet with Ahab and tell him that even though nothing has changed, the Lord is going to send rain. But Elijah is less patient than God and decides to make King Ahab and the Israelites choose once and for all between Baal and the Lord. Listen now to the Word of God.

(Read 1 Kings 18: 17-40)

My favorite part of that story is when the prophets of Baal are jumping around the altar, trying to get Baal to light the fire and Elijah is making fun of them. “Woo! Shout a little louder, guys! I don’t think Baal can hear you! Maybe he fell asleep or maybe he had to go to the bathroom! Maybe he wandered off and got lost! I hear that happens to him sometimes! Ha ha!” I guess Elijah could be a little obnoxious from time to time but the taunting reminds us of something very important. This is not a contest between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. It is a contest between Baal and the Lord God of Israel. Which god sends the rain? Which god controls this world? Which god really has the power to help and protect us? Which god has the right to our loyalty and our worship? The contest, Elijah thought, would settle things once and for all.

Now you might say that while this has been a very interesting lesson in ancient history, what does it have to do with you? Obviously, you are not going to start worshipping an ancient Canaanite god, right? Well, actually very little has changed. It would be a difficult thing to prove by looking around us that the Lord won that contest. There is still a struggle going on for the souls of God’s people and the Baals of our world often seem to have the upper hand. The ancient god Baal was a prosperity god that demanded his followers demean themselves if they wanted to survive and get ahead. We are constantly pressured to demean ourselves and others – to see ourselves as less than what we were created to be: You are a productive worker to be used and discarded when you are no longer needed. Ever felt like that? You are a consumer to be manipulated and squeezed dry. How about that one? And what about other people? If you want to get ahead and survive, how are we pressured to treat other people? They are competitors, markets, labor pools. What god do we worship?

Baal was a god who demanded the deaths of his worshippers’ children. The average child in this nation sees something like 100,000 acts of murder on television before she is eight years old. Girls are conditioned to value themselves only if they fit a certain scrawny hollow-cheeked beauty. Who cares about their souls, their spirits, their hearts? Which god do we worship?
And just like in ancient Israel, our leaders are not much good. I’m not even going to talk about our politicians. They often seem to belong to whoever gives them the most money. What about television executives? What about the people who are responsible for the fact that children’s shows average more acts of violence in any given half-hour than any other kind of program? When questioned about the content of the shows and asked if they thought it had an effect on kids, television executives regularly say that watching things on television does not affect people’s behavior. Who really believes that? Then why do advertisers spend billions of dollars every year in commercials which are designed to do one thing – change your behavior. Buy my product. The leaders in our society seem to worship the great Baal of I’ve-got-mine-who-cares-how-many-children-I’ve-got-to-throw-on-the-fire-to-get-it. Who won that contest on Mount Carmel 3000 years ago? It’s hard to tell.

We can go on and on about how this culture does not worship the God of Scripture but let’s get down to brass tacks. Worshipping Baal meant people no longer gave their full allegiance to the Lord. Their loyalty was divided. Elijah said that the people hobbled between two different opinions. What keeps you from fully committing yourself to the Lord, wholly and fully? Whatever it is, that is your Baal. Each and every day there is a struggle for your soul. Who is God of your life?

What does it take for God to finally prove himself to us so that we will full accept and commit ourselves to him? “Well,” we say, “it would be nice if God would do what he did for Elijah and work some nice obvious miracles on demand. If God would make fire fall from the sky or just appear and speak in plain English to us rather than make us operate on faith, then we could accept him and do whatever he wanted. Give us a clear proof – a miracle captured on camera – then we would believe.” Well, maybe. But then again maybe not. God worked a miracle in this story in front of King Ahab and all the people of Israel. Did that work? Did Ahab suddenly become a good king and follow the Lord? Nope. The people of Israel, having seen once and for all that the Lord had the power to save them and Baal did not, did they stop worshipping Baal. Nope. As the story continues, Ahab goes right on being a rat most of the time and the people go back to their idols. The miracle didn’t bring faith.

Have you ever noticed that in the New Testament Jesus always refuses to show forth the power of God for those who have no faith? Those he heals and helps always believe in him first. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “if you don’t believe, no supernatural sound and light show is going to change things.” If you were healed after someone prayed for you, you would say it was coincidence. If you asked God to avert a great tragedy, later you would say it probably wouldn’t have happened anyway. If you don’t want to believe then it probably wouldn’t matter if Jesus in all his glory were to meet with you face to face and tell you all the secrets of the universe. You could just say you had hallucinated the whole thing.

Elijah tried to force people to believe and worship by getting God to prove himself to them. It didn’t work and Elijah should have known better. The people should have needed any proof. The great long story of their lives and all their history was full of God’s loving care – as they were rescued from Egypt, as they were brought to the Promised Land, as again and again they were rescued and taken care of and led. They should have known who to give their hearts to. No further proof should have been necessary for them. Or for us. God has loved us and provided for each of us since before we were born, shown us forgiveness and love through his Son Jesus.

It really was no contest at all, that duel on Mount Carmel. We are not called to choose between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It wasn’t even a choice between the Lord God of Israel and the god Baal. Baal wasn’t a real god. Neither are all the little Baals in our hearts. The choice for us is between worshipping the Lord God and emptiness in this life. Choose the God who loves you.

Amen

Undead Cause Traffic Jams in Austin

2009-01-29T07:13:00.005-06:00

Fox News reports that some hackers have had some fun with the road signs in Austin. Or maybe they really have risen and now we know where.

via The Reformed Pastor

The Power of Prayer....to Burn Stuff Down

2009-01-28T09:46:00.003-06:00

Here's a story that's floating around the internet. I don't know if it's true or not but it's in keeping with the current theme of prayer.

In a small Texas town, (Mt. Vernon) Drummond’s bar began construction on a new building to increase their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up till the week before opening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building’s demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing he commented, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not.'

A Step by Step Guide to Praying using the Lord's Prayer as a Format

2009-01-27T10:47:00.003-06:00

Here is something I put together and handed out on Sunday morning as a part of the sermon. The sermon posted below explains it (sort of). The format isn't pretty but it still might be helpful. Questions are always welcome.

Daily Prayer Using the Lord’s Prayer as a Model

1. “Our Father Who Art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name……..”
Praising and Thanking God

a. Name or write down some things you are thankful for – be specific
b. Sing a hymn or a praise song
c. Do something special for God to say “thank you.”

2. “Thy Kingdom Come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Intercession – Praying for others and our world

a. Keep a list of people and situations you are praying for
b. Date when you begin praying for each need
c. Date when you receive an answer to the prayer
d. Several lists may be used : – family, business colleagues, friends, community issues, church, wider world issues

3. “Give us this day our daily bread….”
Petition – Prayers for ourselves

a. Keep a dated list
b. Several lists might be used – finances, relationships, tasks for the coming day
c. Date when you receive the answer to your prayer

4. “ And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors…..”
Forgiveness - of others and ourselves

a. Name people who have wronged you and ask for God to bless them – be specific and concrete in your blessing (pray for their marriage, their health, their family, their faith)
b. Ask for the healing of the wounds that have been caused
c. Keep at it over time until you feel a sense of release – forgiveness is a process
d. Ask for God’s forgiveness for your sins and help to turn away from them.

5. “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”
Prayers for Protection -

a. Name some of the things that threaten your faith and ask for God’s help
b. Lift up any worries or anxieties you have

Teach Us to Pray

2009-01-27T10:39:00.003-06:00

“Teach Us to Pray”
Based on Matthew 6: 9-13
Preached at lifepath church on January 25, 2009

You can see by the title in your bulletin that this sermon is going to have something to do with prayer. Perhaps that interests you greatly and you are sitting on the edge of your seat. Perhaps the thought of a message on prayer makes you sigh and grit your teeth, steeling yourself to endure a half hour of boredom. The subject of prayer produces a lot of mixed feelings in us. That’s because prayer is full of paradoxes. It is the easiest thing in the world to do – prayer is simply talking to the God who is all around us - but it is also seems strangely complicated and we often feel like we’re not doing it right. And very few of us would admit to being much good at it. Prayer taps into the most powerful Force there is and sometimes when we pray mountains are moved; and yet our prayers often feel weak and ineffective. Prayer can be the most uplifting of experiences, filling us with a peace that passes understanding and a sense of fulfillment and yet our mind often wanders while we’re doing it, don’t they? Prayer is at the heart of our most important relationship but we often find ourselves making excuses to avoid it. When you stop to think about it, prayer is simple and complicated, easy and difficult, powerful yet expressed in weakness, deeply fulfilling yet often a labor. Prayer is full of paradox.
And while we know we should pray, we really feel like we need a bit of help if we’re going to do it. Many of us struggle to set aside time to pray. When we pray it feels shapeless and unfocused. We’re not really sure what we’re supposed to do. What are my prayers supposed to look like? We’re not sure how to begin and we’re not sure when we’re done. Often we’re not sure if we’re praying the right way. Am I supposed to do it this way? Am I missing something? The first disciples of Jesus were just like us. The Gospel of Luke tells the story in chapter 11, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’” (Luke 11: 1). Hey, Jesus, we really could use some practical instructions when it comes to prayer. Jesus then proceeded to teach them what Protestants call “the Lord’s Prayer.” If you grew up Catholic, you know it as the “Our Father.” It’s the prayer we recite each week in church, “Our Father, who art in heaven…...” And while it is a good exercise to say it together as a fellowship, another way to use it is as a structure – an outline – for all our prayers. And if we want to know better how to pray, it’s worth looking at.

So what we’re going to do is go through the Lord’s Prayer – we’re going to travel fast and light and get through the prayer in its entirety. We could devote a whole sermon to each little portion of the prayer. But this morning we are going to focus on doing something very simple and very practical: we’re going to use the Lord’s Prayer to create an outline for how you do your prayers each day. So if it feels like I’ve rushed through a section of the prayer that you’d like to have spent more time discussing, shoot me an email and send me your question. But by the end of the sermon you should have a practical step by step process to structure your daily prayer time.

I’m going to ask the ushers to pass out something that you can take home with you to use as a step by step guide.I *(I'm posting this on the blog as well)

Let’s turn to Matthew. There are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer, one in Luke and one in Matthew. We’ll look at Matthew because it’s closer to the one we recite each Sunday. Also, I’m going to read from a different translation than I normally do. The New Revised Standard Version uses language that is a bit closer to what we recite while still being modern English. I’ll read the whole thing and then we’ll go back and look at it verse by verse. Listen now to the word of God. (Read Matthew 6: 9-13 NRSV)

“Our Father in heaven…..” (verse 9). Knowing what to call God and how he wishes to be addressed is both important and controversial. Calling God “Father” is natural to some people and very difficult to others. Our view of God is often shaped by how good a father our dad was. Some people had earthly fathers who were harsh or uncaring or weren’t there at all and so the image of a father may be more emotionally tricky for them. A couple of quick words. Don’t measure God’s fatherhood by the frailties of earthly fathers. There is an interesting line in the prophecy of Malachi which talks about a coming prophet of God whose mission will be to “turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children” (Malachi 4: 6 NLT). Why would such a mission be necessary? Because as earthly fathers, our hearts naturally incline away from our children to other things. God’s desire is to turn our hearts back to our children. Why? Why is that his desire? Because his heart is always turned toward his children. He is constantly bending his love toward his children. And who is a child of God? What does the Bible say? “But to all who believed (Jesus) and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1: 12 NLT). The reason why we can approach God in prayer is because our faith and acceptance of his Son makes us brothers and sisters of Jesus. When Jesus instructs us to pray to God as “Father,” he’s saying to his followers, “Because you have placed your faith in me, you are now full members of my family. God is not abstract and unknown to me. He is my Father. My Heavenly Father is now your Father as well. You are accepted and welcome. My Father’s heart is always turned toward his children.” When you pray you don’t have to call God “Father” every time but it’s a great reminder that now we are a part of the family. And God loves his kids.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6: 9 NRSV). Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed is an old word for holy. If we were to put this line into simple language it might sound something like, “God, may you be treated according to your true worth. May you be honored and loved and respected and thanked because of who you are and what you do.” Before we know God very well our prayers usually consist of asking for things. Asking for things is good and we’ll talk about it in a moment, but as we begin to know God better we sense that prayer should be more than me asking for things. Jesus says the first component of prayer is to honor God - to praise him and thank him for who he is and what he has done. Starting off your prayer by saying thank you is a spiritually healthy thing. Whether you are thanking him for the beauty of the day or perhaps thanking him for answering a prayer you said yesterday. Saying thank you lifts us up and out of ourselves. Saying thank you takes our focus off our own problems and helps to focus on the Solution. There’s a promise in the Bible that says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand…..” (Philippians 4: 6-7 NLT). Do you hear the promise there? Make praising and giving thanks a part of your prayer time and you will experience the peace of God. Praise is the first element of prayer. I’ve given you some suggestions for how to do that in the little handout. I find singing to be the best way for me. I sing quietly – off key – sometimes I use a song I learned in church. Sometimes I just kind of make up the words. You may not be that dorky. There really are a million ways to praise him.

We’re traveling fast and light. Let’s move to the next line of the Lord’s Prayer. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6: 10 NRSV). God has a plan for this world. He is bringing his kingdom into it. That’s why Jesus came. His death and resurrection began to establish the kingdom of God. The Bible says the future the kingdom is consummated and fully realized. But the present time is a time of already and not yet. The kingdom has begun to arrive but it’s not fully here. The Lord is King but not everyone recognizes his authority. In the meantime those who are loyal to the king serve him and carry out his orders and his work. We are the King’s people. And one of the things he has told us to do is pray. We pray for others. We pray for the sick. We pray for peace. We pray for God’s purposes to be carried out – his will to be done. We wonder what good prayer does. Doesn’t God already know what needs to happen? Wouldn’t he do it anyway? Why does he need to talk to him about stuff that he needs to be doing? Think about it this way. Why does God ask us to do anything? He could do everything himself. Yet he tells us to care for each other and help each other. And we do. We feed the hungry. We buy school supplies for disadvantaged kids. We help people in need. And when we do something good, we realize God did it those things through us. Yes, God could do all things alone, but a part of God’s love for us is that he gives us the dignity of sharing in his good work. Prayer is not much different. We are not just physical creatures. We are spiritual creatures. Prayer is sharing in the spiritual work of God’s kingdom. When we pray for others God works through those prayers just as much as when we take someone a hot meal, God uses that action.

There’s a ton of other stuff I could say about the nature of prayer but we’re moving quickly and I want to convey to you how important our prayers for others are. You see in the little outline I gave you some suggestions for how to pray. I keep a prayer journal. It’s nothing elaborate. It’s just a three ring binder with a section for each part of the Lord’s Prayer. There’s a section where I write down things I’m thankful for. Maybe you don’t need to do that. But I would encourage you to keep a prayer list. You can keep the list in your daily planner, or on your laptop, whatever works. Have it handy so that when you pray you have the list. What goes on the list? I just write the date, the name of the person and a word or two about their need. Each day I use it to make sure I haven’t missed anyone. I keep a list for my family, one for church members and issues, and one for the wider world. I usually keep my prayer for each need quite short. And then when the prayer is answered, I put the date on which it was answered and draw a line through it. There’s nothing that gives encouragement like seeing a list of answered prayers.

What’s next in the Lord’s Prayer. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6: 11 NRSV). Ah, finally we get to what we normally think of when we think of prayer: God I need some help! You could keep a list of these things too - or several lists for several areas of your life. Or if you’re someone who has your day planned out, you could go through your day and ask for God’s blessing on each component of your day. The point is that there is nothing wrong with asking God for very practical help. God help me deal with this client. God help me get my kids out to the bus stop without losing my mind. Don’t be afraid to ask God to help you with little things. Daily bread isn’t a big thing. But it’s a pretty important thing. We learn to trust him by walking with him through our day. And our days are filled mostly with little things. By helping us with little things, God helps grow our faith so that we can trust him with big things. Give us this day our daily bread.

Moving fast and traveling light: “And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6: 12 NRSV). This is one part of the Lord’s Prayer that people memorize differently depending on which church they go to. Some churches say “forgive us our trespasses…” Both are fine because both are using slightly different language to say, “ask God’s forgiveness for the things we do wrong and forgive others for the wrong they’ve done to us. In the Matthew version of the Lord’s Prayer the Greek word really is best translated as debt. The idea is that when someone sins against us, they incur a debt, which is why we talk about “getting even.” But be that as it may. The main point is that Jesus says a huge component of our prayer should be asking for and offering forgiveness. I used to wonder why God made our forgiving others so important. Right after he gives the Lord’s Prayer he says, “If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6: 15 NLT). But the Kingdom of God is all about forgiveness. God is reconciling the world to himself. If we want to participate in the kingdom we have to participate in what the kingdom is all about – forgiveness. You can’t bring your hate and bitterness into heaven with you. It wouldn’t be much of a heaven if you could, would it? But enough of the why of it. Let’s have a little how. I have a section in my prayer journal where I write down the people who have wronged me or wounded me. And pray for those people. I try to make the prayers specific if I know of specific needs. Bless their marriage. Give relief them from their arthritis. Things like that. I don’t always enjoy that part of it. I don’t always “feel” forgiving. But I tell God that I release the debt. I forgive the debt that person owes me. I also spend some time asking for forgiveness for the wrongs I’ve done. I don’t always like listing those either. But putting the two together sometimes makes it easier for me to forgive others. Because I’m not so perfect myself.

And finally we see, “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one” (Matthew 6: 13 NRSV). This is the only part of the NRSV that really sounds different from the one we recite – “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” But the basic point is this. There are a lot of things in this universe which are bigger and more powerful than we are and many of them threaten us spiritually or emotionally or physically. If you get to the end of your prayers and there is still something you are anxious about. Lift it up and ask for God’s protection. I love the line in the Bible that says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5: 7)

So there you have a simple structure for how you can have a rich and full prayer life. If you go quickly through this you can do it in 15 or 20 minutes. Of course you can spend quite a while with it too. I realize that there are lots of paradoxes and mysteries about prayer we didn’t talk about. And I’d be happy to get a few emails with questions. But the best way to learn about prayer is not to talk about it. It’s to do it.

Amen

What Does God Want from Us?

2009-01-21T10:21:00.002-06:00

I'm going to begin posting the sermon each week. Normally I'll try to have it up by Monday. Here is what I preached last Sunday.

“What Does God Want from Us?”
Micah 6: 1-8
Lifepath Church
January 18, 2009

What does God want from us? I’m going to take a gamble this morning and assume that all of you are here this morning because you really do want to know the answer to this question. I’m going to make the assumption, take a chance, go out on a limb and believe that you are not simply here because your parents made you come, or you thought it would be good for the kids, or somebody nagged you into it, or it was the only way to see your grandkids, or you work here and wouldn’t get paid if you didn’t show up (my church attendance is very regular these days). While these things might have been minor factors in your decision to be here this morning, I am going to take a gamble and assume that deep down inside we all want to know the answer to the question, what does God expect from us?

How does God want us to live? What is pleasing to him? Who does he want us to be? What does he want us to do? These questions have been answered in 100 million ways down through the centuries. Monks take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience because they believe that is the way of life God demands of them. Missionaries spend their lives sweating in third world countries because they think that is what God wants them to do. One person starts a hospital while another blows up a clinic and both believe they are doing something to please God. Some people take four wives while others never get married at all. Some people teach the illiterate to read while others burn books. Some people are pacifists while others declare holy wars and it’s all done in the name of serving God. It’s done because we want to do what is pleasing in his sight. The cynic looks at all the confusion and the contradiction and concludes that we can never really know what God wants us to do, so why try?

What does the Lord want from us? This is not a new question. People were asking this question two thousand and seven hundred years ago, right about the time of the prophet Micah. This is kind of a strange passage. It begins, “Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints” (Micah 6: 1). That’s kind of weird. What we have here is a court case between God and his people. “He has a case against his people,” it says in verse two. And every court case needs witnesses and a jury and what-not. Who else is going to hear a court case between God and his people? “And now, O mountains, listen to the LORD’s complaint (verse 2).” The natural elements are being asked to listen to this controversy and decide the case. Perhaps that sounds a bit whimsical but the conflict between God and the people is not. The relationship between them is not working; the covenant agreement between them is frayed to the breaking point. God begins the trial by saying, “O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me!” (v. 3). He sounds like an exasperated parent, doesn’t he? Or a spouse that is at the end of his rope. “What have I done to deserve this? Is it me? In what way have I let you down? I work and work at this relationship and what do I get?” Does that sound familiar? Then God reminds the people of the past. “For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery” (v 4). God is saying, “Look at what I’ve done for you. You were slaves. I freed you. You didn’t have a place to live. I spent 40 years leading you people through the desert. I fed, clothed, and protected you. And all you did was complain, complain, complain. I get you safely into the Promised Land. And as soon as I had established you there, what do you do? You disobey me. You don’t follow my rules. You worship other gods. What am I supposed to think?”

I want you to notice something. When I asked the question at the beginning of the sermon, “What does God want from us?” probably some of you sat back and thought, “Well, doesn’t this preacher know that we are justified by faith alone? I have faith that Jesus Christ died for my sins. That is the basis for my relationship with God. My relationship is founded not on what I do for God, but on what God has done for me. He saves me. I don’t save myself.” True. But this passage is not for people who are ignorant of God. It’s for the people he already has a relationship with. He doesn’t say, “I’m going to free you from slavery. I’m going to lead you through the desert to the place of salvation.” He doesn’t say, “I’m going to save you so therefore why don’t you act a little more nicely.” No, he says in effect, “I’ve already saved you. I’ve established this relationship with you. Why are you not living your lives based on this relationship?” God might as well be saying, “Look, I sent my son to die for you. He suffocated to death on a cross for you. I sent out missionaries to the four corners of the world who were tortured and martyred to bring the Good News. I led people into your life to tell you personally about the faith. For some of you it was your parents. For some of you it was a Sunday school teacher. For some of you it was a friend. But to all of you I brought the good news of salvation and helped you to believe it. I gave you forgiveness. I have you a fresh start. And what have you done with everything that I’ve given you? How have you acted in this relationship? I saved you. Why are you not acting like saved people?” You see, the conflict God has is not with them out there – the unsaved. It’s with us!

“Well…..what do you mean, God? I thought I was doing pretty well. I may not be perfect but I haven’t committed any crimes or anything. I’m no different from everybody else.” Exactly. The biggest reason why the Church is no longer seen by our society as being a particularly worthwhile institution is because they can’t see any difference between people who go to church and everybody else. Who do you see standing around the water cooler trading trashy stories? Is it only the non-Christians? Who is it that hollers profanity at the Little League umpires? Is it only the people who don’t go to church? Who is it that steps on people at the office? Who tells racist jokes? Who shoots the finger in traffic? Who? Is it only the atheists, the pagans, and the agnostics? In the day-to-day grind of living is there any real difference between those who are saved and those who aren’t?

At the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that those who follow him will be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. In other words our actions are to have an impact on the whole world. Four out of five people in this nation call themselves Christians. That’s a whole lot of light and salt. We should have a very well-seasoned and very light-filled society. What happened? Is it someone else’s fault? It’s so easy to blame everyone and everything else, isn’t it? According to a recent poll 89% of us believe our society is impolite. 73% believe mean-spirited political campaigns are to blame. 67% thought rock music is to blame. 52% think talk radio is to blame. 1% said their own behavior is to blame. 1%. That’s a busy 1%! We will blame anybody but ourselves, won’t we? That’s what the false prophets recorded in Micah say, “Don’t say such things….don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way” (Micah 2: 6). That’s what false prophets always say: “Don’t worry. Be happy. God is just pleased as punch with you. It’s somebody else who is to blame.” Four fifths of our society claims to be Christian, but it’s not our fault the world looks like it does. Well, when you live the service and shake my hand you don’t want to say, “I enjoyed your sermon. I just wish So-And-So had been to hear it.” If you do I’ll know you weren’t listening. I like it when you enjoy sermons and many of them are to be enjoyed but not this one. And it’s not for somebody else. It’s for you and me. It is with us that God has his quarrel. “O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me?” (Micah 6: 3) God is saying, “I have saved you. Are you acting like someone who is saved?”

Well, what does God want from us? What does it take? Or, as the people respond to God in Micah: “What can we bring to the LORD? What kind of offering should we give him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?” (Micah 6: 6-7) What do I have to do? Put in $100 a week into the offering plate? Should I volunteer 20 hours a week at church? What’s it going to take to keep God happy? $10,000 a week and 168 volunteer hours? Sell all my possessions and give them to the poor? My firstborn child? What’s enough? It’s very natural when wondering what God wants from us to think in terms of money and works of service. Things. External things. But God doesn’t want external things, does he? What does he want? He wants us.

Listen to the prophet. “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good….” (Micah 6: 8). You see, this word is not for people who don’t know God or have no history with him. It’s for those of us he already has a relationship with. He says we already know what he wants. “…The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6: 8). He wants us to be a certain kind of person. But what kind?

The Bible says a lot about the kinds of people we are supposed to be. Let’s see if we can boil it all down. A father tells a story about his daughter. When she was a little girl she had a doll. It started off a new doll, bright, clean and well-made but his daughter took it with her everywhere. She played with it. She slept with it. And after a while the doll began to look pretty frayed. The eyes fell out. She lost most of her hair. Her dress was stained and ripped. But the little girl still loved it. And whenever she had to put it down to take a bath or eat a meal she would ask her mother or her father to hold her doll. And she would say, “Be careful, Daddy. Hold her very carefully. Watch her head.” And the father would look at that ragged, dirty little doll and think, “This thing is not worth the thread it takes to keep it together. It has no value. It’s worthless.” But he still held it very carefully and watched its head to make sure it was supported. He didn’t treat the doll according to its value to him. He treated it according to its value to his little girl. And to his little girl that doll was absolutely precious.

The basis for all the instructions in the Bible is that each person is absolutely precious in the eyes of God. That person you are gossiping about, that person you had to fire because she was incompetent, that person who cut you off in traffic – they may all seem pretty worthless to you. They may seem ragged, stained, worn out and beat up. But each one of them is more valuable than all the money ever made, more valuable than all the art in all the museums in all the world, more special than 100 million sunsets. In the eyes of God that person is absolutely precious.

And we are to treat them not according to their value to us but according to their value to God.
And when we do that, when we begin to treat each person with the value that God places on them, then we are living as God’s people. Then we are living saved lives. Then we are being the salt of the earth and the light of the world and all those unsaved folks out there will look at us and wonder, “Why are they different from others I meet?” But then, you already knew this. You know what the Lord requires of us. He’s been telling us all along. Do what is right. Love mercy. And walk humbly with your God.

Amen

A Dangerous Message

2009-01-15T15:13:00.004-06:00

Lifepath Church supports several missionaries in places where Christianity is severely persecuted. Here is a portion of a Christmas update from one of them. It makes you realize how dangerous the message of Jesus is perceived to be by many nations.

Did Christians and Churches in the Middle East Celebrate Christmas publicly?

North Africa: 26 churches have been forced to shut down in North Africa, though more then half have reopened, allowing churches to celebrate a quiet, public Christmas.

Egypt: more than 8 churches have been rioted, vandalized, and many forced to close. In spite of these tragedies churches across the country celebrated a vibrant Christmas January 6th , Eastern Orthodox calendar (i.e. the 12th day of Christmas)

The Turkish area: an Anglican church was forced to move locations, but they were open in time of Christmas.

Turkey: despite legislative amendments to harmonize with European Union law there has still been strong discrimination against all minority communities, but disproportionately toward the Protestant church. No churches have been able to legally register as a place of worship, and a 1600 year old Monastery is under threat of losing its property and being razed. So the Armenian, Greek and Catholic Churches had a public Christmas, but the Protestant churches had to be more careful.

Iran: Public Christmas was illegal for all Christians. Including legally recognized churches (historical church communities), but especially for converts from Islam. Until today tens of Christians are being arrested for choosing to gather for Christmas.

Palestine: Prior to the problems in Gaza only a handful of Christians were given permission to travel to churches in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas, because of the current situation Christians in Palestine and Jordan chose only to observe silent services.

Regurgical Dance

2008-12-30T15:17:00.001-06:00

The staff of Lifepath Church worked very hard on this Holiday Dance which was featured on a recent Sunday morning. We've had many requests to see the video, so here it is.

Christmas Pageants Rock

2008-12-23T19:30:00.008-06:00

Lifepath's first Christmas pageant was a lot of fun. The church members did a great job creating all the costumes and the sets. This first picture is from the opening number which involved lots of dancing and pink hats.

There were also spies in this version of the Christmas story. That's Jane Blonde in the middle.

Here is the Angel Jazz Band. That's Gabe on the horn.

Here are my three fifth graders. It's a little sad to think this may be their last Christmas pageant.

Judith was in the angel chorus.

And here is Jake. Is this a mild form of child abuse?

What Is the Pastor Reading?

2008-12-10T10:30:00.009-06:00

I tend to pick at half a dozen things at once. Here are the main things I'm currently working through.

It was time to read some R. C. Sproul.

I've read plenty of Calvin and studied quite a few theologians that come from the Reformed tradition. I've also spent a fair share of time reading the classic Reformed creeds. But I've never read someone modern who holds so closely to a 17th century scholastic version of the Reformed faith in its famous TULIP form.

Sproul is an engaging writer and a good teacher. If I can get some uninterrupted time, I should finish it in the next week or so.

This is a fine look at how to share one's faith. There are no gimmicks or fads. It's all about loving people and listening to God's guidance. I'm really enjoying it.

This book by Joseph Canfield is an unflattering biography of the editor of the Scofield Bible, which popularized Dispensational theology in the United States.

With so many faiths represented in the city of Houston, a pastor is well served to have a decent understanding of the major world religions. Huston Smith's book is considered a classic.

And finally, just for fun I'm reading a fictional account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Normally I prefer history to historical fiction but this is pretty good.

The Ultimate Anti-Zombie Weapon

2008-12-09T14:31:00.001-06:00

You know you want one.

My Buddy, the Pirate

2008-12-02T10:03:00.004-06:00

Michael Wurl is my buddy. He and his parents, Gary and Jennifer Wurl, are member of Lifepath and very involved in the life of the church. He's now about 23 or 24 and I guess I've known him about 11 years.

Michael has always been a bit of a character. He recently graduated from chef school and he must be pretty good at it. He has just gotten a job to be an executive chef in Nigeria at a five star hotel. He'll be leaving in January and gone for the next year. I'll miss getting together with him and playing video games.

But if you ask Michael what he really wants to do, he'll tell you he wants to be a pirate. He just called me from Ireland where he has been doing a cooking internship. He announced that he had made the national television news and the national paper.

You can read the story on the Irish Times website found here. But I'll go ahead an post the text:

Student's sea paddle prompts rescue operation

An American student sparked a full-scale rescue today after paddling a mile-and-half out to sea in a tiny boat to photograph a lighthouse.

The man in his 20s, who is taking classes at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co Cork, set off in rough conditions from nearby Ballyandreen, using a stick as an oar.
The RNLI lifeboat crew at Ballycotton said the Texan would have lost his life in the choppy waters if he hadn’t been spotted by a local fisherman.

“A major tragedy was definitely on the cards,” said eagle-eyed Redmond Lane Walsh who saw the 10-foot punt, a half mile off Ballycotton Island, in the Atlantic.
“If he hadn’t been rescued when he was, there would definitely have been a bad outcome. No-one knew where this guy was and they wouldn’t have known if he was missing.”

Lane Walsh, a fisherman and RNLI volunteer, noticed the boat as he walked along the Ballycotton pier and quickly alerted his RNLI crewmates.
They launched the Austin Lidbury lifeboat, which took just 15 minutes to reach the frightened sailor, who was being pulled further out to the ocean.

“When we got to him he had no oars, no flares, no mobile phone, lifejacket or safety equipment and nothing to bale out the water,” said Mr Lane Walsh.
“The wind was picking up and the waves were building so the boat would have floundered. There was no way in which he could alert anyone to let them know he was in trouble.”
Apart from some seasickness and shock, the hapless visitor was uninjured and made his way back to his hotel.

“People need to use their heads and not treat the sea lightly,” warned Blathnaid Lane Walsh, RNLI spokeswoman, who is also Redmond’s wife.

She said the rescue highlights the invaluable work done by the Ballycotton RNLI as it celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
PA © 2008 irishtimes.com

Michael, I love you but you need to stick to cooking. No more adventures on the high seas!

Happy Seventh Birthday!

2008-11-29T16:12:00.005-06:00

Today was a big day. Jake and Judith celebrated their seventh b-day at Monkey Business with 15 of their closest friends.

You can see the combination of cheetos and cupcakes as Jake reveals how old he is.

We were dressed in our most festive tie-dyes.

Best of all were the party favors. Pez is truly nature's gift.

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-27T08:06:00.002-06:00

We're all headed down to Clear Lake to celebrate with my parents. Blessings on your day as well.

Encouraging You to Share Your Faith

2008-11-19T09:02:00.002-06:00

Equipping and encouraging people to share their faith with non-believers is an important and difficult task for every church. At Lifepath we are thinking of hiring a consultant to give us the needed encouragement.

Here is his promotional video. Let me know what you think.

Back from Cleveland

2008-11-18T10:57:00.003-06:00

Allie and I spent most of last week out of town. My parents watched the kids (thanks, Gran and Pop!) and we got to spend a couple days away. What exciting romantic spot did we pick?

Well, we were at the New Wineskins Presbytery meeting in sunny Cleveland, Ohio. And what could be better than attending a presbytery meeting.....in Cleveland.....in November?

Actually, it was fun. We got to meet some new people and forge some new friendships. Presbyterian pastors tend to let their hair down when they're away from home and there were some late night sessions involving the smoking of cigars. I did my best to not look like too big a geek around all the cool kids.

Plus, we got to spend some time with our former worship director Melissa Curtis and her husband Jason who actually seem to like the weather up there. Melissa has written about our day with them on her blog found here.

We miss you too, Jason and Melissa!

Dogs, Heaven, and You

2008-11-06T16:24:00.003-06:00

So last week I posted a debate between two church signs - a Catholic church sign which lightheartedly maintained that all dogs go to heaven and a Presbyterian sign which argued (not so lightheartedly) that because dogs have no souls, they can't go to heaven.

Which sign was right?

Actually they both miss the point - in a big way. The underlying assumption of both signs is that the ultimate destiny of human beings is that “our souls go to heaven.” People who have gone to church all their lives have this idea that God's ultimate goal is to get us out of the world to float around as disembodied “souls” in a non-physical heaven. But that's not a Biblical idea. It actually springs more from the (pagan!) Greek philosophy of Plato than it does to the Bible.

The hope given to us in the Bible is that God's ultimate goal is to renew all of nature. The end of Revelation puts it this way: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . .” (Revelation 21: 1) The end of the Bible doesn't have us going up to the “sky” to live in the New Jerusalem. It has the New Jerusalem coming down to earth. (Revelation 21: 2)

What's the point?

God intends to restore, renew and perfect this physical universe he has made.
That's why the bible doesn't talk to much about “the immortality of the soul.” Instead it promises the resurrection of the dead. When Jesus was raised to life on Easter morning, he wasn't a disembodied ghost or spirit. He was a transformed human being, fully physical and capable of eating, drinking, being touched and touching. Yes, he was renewed and had transcended death but he was still physical. That's why the tomb was empty. His old body was transformed - but it was still his body.

What God did on Easter morning resurrection of Jesus, he intends to do for the universe itself – Renew, Restore, Make it the way he originally intended! Look at Romans 8, paying special attention to verse 11 and 19. You can see the process:

1. Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. This same Spirit is currently at work in us renewing us our character and transforming us into God's people.

3. Just as the Holy Spirit is renewing our character, one day he will renew our bodies.

4. When that happens all of Nature will be set free from death and renewed.

This isn't just in the New Testament. Isaiah 11: 6- 9 says,

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

There you have it. God's big project is not to get us out of the world but to get himself into it.

If I have just shocked you and you are wondering what kind of weird cult I belong to, you might look at two books by authors from two very different streams in the Christian faith - Heaven, by Randy Alcorn and Surprised by Hope, by N.T. Wright. They both do a great job of explaining our ultimate destiny as the Bible describes it.

So what about dogs? Well, if God is going to renew all of creation, I imagine dogs will get included.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure about cats.

So Who Is Right?

2008-10-30T10:12:00.002-05:00

At the risk of spoiling a perfectly hilarious post by bringing theology into it, who was right, the Presbyterian or the Catholic? Do dogs go to heaven?

There really is a pretty good answer found in the Bible. What do you think?

2008-10-29T16:15:00.010-05:00

Working in San Leon, Texas

2008-10-21T13:04:00.005-05:00

Earlier this month 40 members of Lifepath Church went to San Leon, which is on the coast, to volunteer at a church serving as a Point of Distribution (POD) for the area. You can see that it's going to take a long time to rebuild after Hurricane Ike. We returned last Saturday with a similar number of folks. A third trip is scheduled soon.

This video of the first trip is also posted on the church website, but I wanted to post it here because I'm so proud to be a part of this church. This is who we want to be.

If you want to be a part of the next trip, keep checking the church website and we should have some info up soon.

This Year's Award For Best Line in a Movie Goes to.....

2008-10-18T06:09:00.004-05:00

Viggo Mortensen - "That was over quick."

Ed Harris -"Well, everybody could shoot."

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

2008-10-17T11:49:00.002-05:00

Lifepath Church was six months old on October 13. Woohoo! Here's a video from our family worship service.

The Life with God Conference

2008-10-07T14:03:00.006-05:00

Last Friday some of the staff of Lifepath and I went to the Life with God conference here in Houston to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

Celebration of Discipline helps Protestants to rediscover classic spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, solitude, and other practices which are often neglected in our tradtions. Christianity Today has named it as one of the 20 most influential books of the 20th century.

At the conference we heard speakers such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, and Lauren Winner, which is a pretty potent line-up.

As a bonus I reconnected with Dr Robert Sloan who is currently serving as the president of HBU. About a hundred years ago he served as my academic adviser at Baylor and was instrumental in my becoming a pastor. Sitting in his Introduction to the New Testament class was where I first realized that I was called to preach. It was fun talking to him after all these years and I was reminded of why I enjoyed his classes so much.

It was a great day.

Windwood Presbyterian Church

2008-10-02T13:55:00.002-05:00

Please keep our friends over at Windwood Presbyterian Church in your prayers. The trustees at Windwood have filed a suit against the PCUSA and the presbytery to get clear claim on their property.

Pray for peace and protection over Windwood and for the situation to be resolved in such a way that the gospel of Jesus Christ is advanced.

A New Edition to the Family

2008-09-30T18:52:00.005-05:00

For her eleventh birthday Maryallie got a Guinea pig. He's black and white with cowlicks all over his little rodent body. He lives in a cage beneath the aquarium containing Shelly, the ornate box turtle that the kids found in the back yard a year ago.

She had a hard time deciding what to name him and we were all asked for our opinions. Since I'm almost certain that Guinea pigs were originally bred to be eaten, I suggested "Snack." This idea was rejected, as was the suggestion that we put the turtle and the pig in the same cage and watch them fight. What could be better than Reptile vs Rodent cage fighting?

Instead she named him Pippin, after her favorite hobbit in the Lord of the Rings.

Happy Eleventh to the Triplets

2008-09-27T10:04:00.006-05:00

I'm a couple of days late but I've been catching up on work after Ike. The triplets turned 11 on the 25th. No big parties this year, just a couple of sleepovers and some cake and icecream. Here's a recent pic of the Big Three, plus various siblings and neighbors on the first day of school.

And now we're off to three soccer games, two volleyball games, and a makeup lesson for piano - a typical Saturday.

Update on the Aftermath

2008-09-19T10:04:00.003-05:00

All the members of the church are being contacted and needs are being met. Only a few families had major damage done to their houses and no one was injured during the storm. Special kudos to Sally and Bob Mitchell's small group who showed up to clean after their home took on water. If we have missed a need, please let us know!

Due to the school being closed, we are worshipping this Sunday in room 300 of Copperfield Church at 9:30am. We will be having our own service led by both choir and band. Special thanks to Pastor Larry Womack and the members of Copperfield Church, who continue to bless our young church.

Our Men's Ministry has also been postponed another week because our hosts, Calvary Community Church, took on water after their steeple blew off and put a hole in their roof! They are hopeful that things will get cleaned up quickly as soon as they have power.

If you are interested in making a financial contribution to aid the hurricane relief, my suggestion is Somebody Cares America. http://www.somebodycares.org/ They are amazing.

Paging Michael Compton.....

2008-09-15T14:37:00.002-05:00

Michael,

You left me a message on our office voicemail......with no call back number. I don't have your number or a current email and you seem to be unlisted. So, since you mentioned that you are reading the blog on a regular basis, I'll use it to say: send me an email escott@lifepathHouston.com

Elliott

After Ike

2008-09-15T13:37:00.003-05:00

There is still no power at our house but the office is already up and running, which allows me to make this post.

Our home suffered no damage save the loss of two fences and some downed limbs. But if you know my wife Allie, then you know that by now the fence debris has been removed, our yard is cleaned up and actually looks better than before the storm hit.

Worship with the Copperfield Church was good. Larry preached a great sermon on forgiveness and asked me to give a prayer during the service. I was pleased to see so many of the Lifepath people were in attendance but I worry, of course, about everyone who wasn't there. The lack of phones and email access really gives one a helpless feeling.

Greg has begun calling people, trying to find out if anyone needs help. So far everyone has been OK. We will be setting up a system to get people the help they need. I believe there is already something up on the website. I look forward to us helping people in the community as well as the people of Lifepath Church. It is a great opportunity to begin living the "Inside-Out" vision.

God has been good and we continue to pray for the rapid recovery for all affected by Hurricane Ike.

Getting Ready

2008-09-12T14:30:00.006-05:00

Like many of you, we spent this morning getting ready for the storm.

My parents, grandmother, and their dog and four cats have arrived from Clear Lake to escape Ike's storm surge.

The kids helped get ready too.

Sam is either pointing to the source of danger or about to turn into Super Boy.

Well, we've done what we can. The windows are boarded, the supplies are ready, the family is gathered and the prayers have been said. I'm not looking forward to tonight.

Blessings on all of you.

Worship at Copperfield Church

2008-09-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

The school called us and told us that they are shutting down and we won't be able to worship there this Sunday. So instead we'll be worshiping with Copperfield Church at their 11:00 service. If you need a map, their website is http://www.copperfieldchurch.org/

They have a nice huge atrium with lots of light so it will be possible to hold a service even if there is no power.

Blessings to all of you in your preparations for the storm.

An Unwelcome Guest

2008-09-10T16:09:00.003-05:00

Here are the current computer models for Ike. They are predicting it to be a cat 4 and to make landfall at 8:00 am Saturday morning.

Now is the time to make sure you are ready:

1. gas in your car.
2. food
3. water - fill up the bathtubs before the storm hits.
4. medical needs
5. things picked up outside
6. materials for boarding up the house
7. batteries/generators for flashlights, radios etc.
8. pet needs
9. rain gear

That's not a comprehensive list but just what comes to my mind from a lifetime of living on the Gulf coast. For more and better resources, check out the following websites:

Weather Underground at http://www.wunderground.com/ provides resources for tracking.

The National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ provides all kinds of information including some steps to being prepared at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/action.shtml

At the moment we are definitely planning on church for Sunday, but if that changes we will be sending folks an email and posting on the church's website.

The Shack

2008-09-03T19:19:00.005-05:00

The Shack, by William P. Young is a bit of a phenomenon.

Until recently its only publicity was an enthusiastic word-of-mouth campaign as devoted readers said the magic words to their friends: "You have to read this book." I first heard about it last spring from a pastor friend who couldn't stop talking about how great it was.

I don't know how many copies it has sold but it was recently reviewed in both Time Magazine and Christianity Today. I'm bumping into people right and left who are reading it.

It's being compared with Pilgrim's Progress which was an enormously influential book in its time and shaped several generations of readers. I figured I'd better give it a look so I read it while I was on vacation.

My reaction was a bit more qualified than some of my friends.

I thought it was extraordinarily creative in its approach and very courageous in many ways. The writer takes all of his pain and tries to work through it in print. He largely succeeds in what he tries to do. He addresses the issues of human evil and the providence of God and answers some big questions in a tender, open-eyed, and biblical fashion.

I love the things The Shack says about forgiveness - what forgiveness is and what it is not and why it is vital if you want to overcome the evil that has been done to you. For that reason alone it is probably worth reading.

But there are several things I see as weaknesses.

The major plot device in the book is that the main character is summoned to meet with God in the shack where his daughter was murdered. God appears in three human forms representing the three Persons of the Trinity. While this enables the writer to break some typical Western stereotypes (God is a Grumpy Old White Man With a Beard), it guarantees he's going to replace them with brand new stereotypes (God is an Old Black Woman Who Likes to Hug).

I suppose if you have to choose between the stereotypes, Young's is better than what we're used to, but there is probably a good reason why the Bible forbids us to portray God visually. If nothing else God loses some of his transcendence. In the Scriptures no one, not even Moses, gets to look God straight in the face. Even the angels in God's presence cover their faces with their wings. Young's main character sits down at the table with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while they swap jokes. While I understand that the writer was trying to make God seem more approachable, I can't help but think he sacrifices too much of God's majesty and holiness.

Still, I realize why he did it. He is writing out of his pain and wanting to reconnect with a God who has seemed distant, cold and uncaring. The fact that he goes a bit too far in the other direction is understandable.

A bit more distasteful is the writer putting words in God's mouth which dismiss religion, politics, economics, and the church. He says these are all "institutions" and God doesn't like them and didn't invent them. Instead we are supposed to focus on relationships - with God and each other.

Of course the problem is that when people get together and have relationships they look like.....politics, economics, and religion. Politics is simply people getting together to get things done. Ecomics is people cooperating to make a living. Religion is people of faith cooperating to serve God. These things aren't bad. They are a part of the way God set up the world. But each of these things gets twisted by human selfishness and used to abuse others.

Instead of avoiding them (and how can one avoid them really unless one hides in a cave?) or cynically dismissing them, a true Christian calling is to participate in God's redemption of them. There are honest politicians who put the good of the public first. There are compassionate businessmen who use their wealth to bless others. And, as for the church, yes people in positions of authority within it often abuse their power to hurt others, but it is still God's means for extending redemption to a fallen world.

In sum, the book's strengths are its weaknesses. The writer's pain enables him to address some of the mysteries of faith with great authority and depth and humaness. In other places his pain seems to short circuit his capacity for hope, causing him to dismiss aspects of human life which God intends to redeem.

I don't know if The Shack is the Second Coming of Pilgrim's Progress, but many people have already found it helpful as they wrestle with the sadness and pain of life in a broken world.

Why Eating Organic Food Is Vital to Your Family

2008-08-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

Student Ministry

2008-08-29T13:08:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday at their regular evening meeting the Student Ministry had over 50 kids attend. That's more than we've ever had before and something to celebrate. Many of these kids are new. Their parents don't (yet) attend Lifepath. They've been brought by word of mouth and the enthusiasm of other kids.

Of course, numbers don't necessarily mean that God is present and at work but anytime kids are excited enough to bring their friends it means that something good is going on.

On Thursday I had lunch with our Director of Student Ministries, Nicholas Jones, and we talked about how it was going and I was really impressed with the direction he wants to take the ministry. They have a weekly Bible study on Tuesday nights that is successful enough that he's thinking of adding another one. He has plans for two and possibly three mission trips for next summer, including one for the Junior High kids. That's important to me, not only as pastor, but also because my older three will be rising 6th-graders and eligible to go.

I may even go with them.

End of the Vacation

2008-08-25T09:56:00.011-05:00

At the end of the week we drove over Trail Ridge Road which is the highest paved road in the Continental U.S. It rises above the treeline into the alpine tundra. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of that because it's beautiful, but it's a narrow road with abrupt drop offs and I was driving a minivan full of kids. In the rain. Towing a camper. Allie only screamed once or twice.

My parents rented a cabin at the YMCA camp in Estes Park. It's a good thing the cabin has a big table.

Honestly we didn't do much while we were there but laze about the cabin. Allie and I did take one long hike. Here is a view from the trail.

I didn't shave for the entire vacation. I was starting to look like a cross between Grizzly Adams and Gandalf.

Finally we started back home. We camped for the last time in Clayton Lake State Park in northeast New Mexico. Bleak but beautiful.

Clayton Lake has a large number of dinosaur footprint so we took a hike to find them. The dinosaur prints didn't look like much to our untrained eyes but on the hike we saw these prints on the trail.

I'm no tracker but even I can see there are no claw prints, which makes these feline. And they were between an inch and a half and two inches in diameter which is waaaay too big for a domestic cat. I guess it's a bobcat print.

While driving on I45 north of Centerville, Texas I looked up and saw something I've wanted to see my entire life - a Swallow-tailed kite. No, I didn't take this picture. It's one I found on the internet.

It was a wonderful vacation and the person who made it possible was Allie. She is cook, nurse, quartermaster, planner, navigator, artist, adventurer, drier of tears and wiper of noses, can find any lost object by closing her eyes and concentrating, and yes, she tie-dyed this shirt. Without her Clan Scott falls apart very quickly. Plus she laughs at my jokes.

I love you, Allie!

Mountain Man Rendezvous

2008-08-21T18:11:00.017-05:00

A day or two after we arrived at Snow Mountain we noticed tipis being erected just down the hill from our campsite. When we went down to see what was going on, it turned out to be a Mountain Man Rendezvous.

The famous mountain man Jim Bridger (played by Rich) and Captain Eduard Berthoud (played by Joe), who explored and surveyed the area in the 1860's, welcomed us with open arms. They acted out many scenes from the early West to the great delight of the children.

We were invited into Mr. Bridger's tipi where he told us Native American legends. Maryallie is not smoking a peace pipe. She's fanning the fire.

There were skins and pelts hanging about the tipi and Mr. Bridger let the girls of all ages try them on. Allie is one glamorous Indian.

He even let us wear his hat.....

We spent lots of time over the next couple of days in their camp. One of the things we liked most was throwing the "hawks."

Joe was a very patient man. Thanks, Joe!

Even the target looked authentic. Judith is throwing something called a "mouse hawk."

By far the best hawk thrower in the family was Allie. On one hand I feel safe. On the other, I'm kind of afraid to go to sleep at night.

Later in the week more people began to show up, including some who made jewelry and clothing.

The highlight of our time with the mountain men was a ceremony in which Joe received his Indian name.

Rich and Joe both made us feel a part of their family. The Mountain Man Rendezvous was definitely one of the best things about our vacation.

Snow Mountain Ranch, Colorado

2008-08-20T19:26:00.021-05:00

Finally we reach our destination: The YMCA of Snow Mountain Ranch in Colorado. At less than $30 a day it's hard to beat the view.

And, because it's a YMCA camp, there are tons of activities for the family to do. One of the first we tried was archery. My elbow is too high.

Allie's elbow is also too high. But she looks better than I do while she does it.

The coolest thing was that the target was a big foam velociraptor. And what's more fun than shooting arrows into a dinosaur?

Sam's form is better than mine.

Maryallie takes her turn.

Judith is the most independent of all our children but she allowed Mom to help her pull the bow back.

Jake wasn't sure he wanted to give it a try so I helped out. Die, Dinosaur.

Head shot! Woot!

The boys finished him off with sticks.

Then it was off to do some canoeing.

These jerks kept ramming us.

To finish off the day we went to the zip line.

Which basically means climbing up a telephone pole......

......and jumping off. Or in my case, leaning off backwards.

Maryallie is an impressive person.

She looks so little up there clinging to the pole. The guy next to her is the person who hooks you to the zip line.

Unfortunately I'm not much of a photographer and the picture of Maryallie's jump is blurred. However, Hannah B went up next and off she jumped. She had her own particular style.

This picture is blurred as well but I submit it as evidence that Allie Baldwin Scott (who is mildly terrified of heights) climbed to the top, jumped, and screamed for 100 yards down the mountain.

It was one of the all time most funnest days ever.

Sugarite State Park

2008-08-19T15:55:00.009-05:00

The next day we reached Sugarite Canyon State Park in New Mexico. It's on the border of Colorado and the elevation is high enough that it is about 20 degrees cooler than West Texas. Now we're talking.

Sugarite used to be a little mining town and there are lots of ruins and fun places to explore.

Hannah Beth looks a little unsure about hiking in her crocs.

Maryallie and Hannah Beth - BFF.

After hiking it was time to make supper. Allie is the greatest camp cook of all time.

Hannah Beth helps out. If you look closely right behind her, you can see the boys running amuck through the woods.

Meanwhile, Maryallie does one of the things she likes best.

After supper it's time for s'mores.

These two signs were posted on the park wash house. The next morning it was time to get back in the car and head for Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. But we found signs just like these on the wash house there too. I love camping out West!

Our Journey Begins

2008-08-18T17:43:00.005-05:00

We spent the last two weeks camping in Colorado. Yes, you can fit five kids, plus supplies in a minivan. Sam is refusing to smile for (most) pictures these days. He calls this look "keeping it hardcore." Who really knows.

We didn't get started Sunday afternoon as planned due to trouble with the trailer hitch. Consequently we had to drive 11 hours on Monday to make up for lost time. After they settle in, the kids are good travelers.

We economize by making sandwiches out of the back of the minivan and eating at rest stops. Here we are, somewhere in East Texas. I think it's about 173 degrees.

Caprock Canyon was our first stop. It's just south of Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas. It's an interesting place with a buffalo herd somewhere about. We didn't see them but a coyote did run right in front of us and that's always fun.

The next morning after breakfast the older three and I took a hike along the canyon. Allie and the twins stayed in camp to do some chores. I think they were washed out from the long drive the previous day and the heat.

Everyone has different jobs in camp. One of Jake's favorites is cranking down the camper. We got out of Caprock early the next morning before it got too hot. Next stop - Raton, New Mexico.

We're Back

2008-08-18T15:52:00.002-05:00

We rolled in this afternoon after driving through the rain most of the day. As earlier threatened, I will now (and for the next several days) inflict upon the internet pictures from the family vacation.

After we unpack I'll put up the first installment.

Getting Ready to Go Camping

2008-08-02T16:24:00.002-05:00

After church tomorrow we're rolling out to do some camping. I'll tackle the rest of your questions when I get back.

See you tomorrow!

Why Are Catholic and Protestant Bibles Different?

2008-08-02T12:21:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week I got this question via email:

Why does the version of the Bible we use exclude some books that are in the Catholic Bible? I have read online that there are different timeframes for when this happened, but no real answers for why it happened. What are your thoughts/opinions?

The Protestant and Catholic bibles both contain the same books of the Old and New Testaments. Where they differ is in what is called the "Intertestamental writings," a section of books written during the time between when the Old and New Testaments were created. These books include such works as "The Wisdom of Solomon," "Tobit," and "1 and 2 Macabees." Sometimes these books are referred to as the Apocrypha, which is Greek for "hidden away" or "withdrawn."

Unlike the works of the Old Testament which were written in Hebrew, the Apocryphal books were written in either Aramaic or Greek. They reflect a later time period and some feel they stand outside the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament. While they were used by many first century Jews as Scripture, in A.D. 70 a prominent council of rabbis met and permanently excluded them from the Jewish scriptures.

The Apocrypha influenced the thought of early Christians and was usually included in their copies of the Old Testament. However one of the most influential churchmen of the early Western church was Jerome, who translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin about 400 A.D. His translation, called the Vulgate, was the standard Bible of the Western church until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's. Jerome followed the Jewish rabbis and held the Apocrypha to be inferior to the Old Testament. In his translation he set the Apocrypha in a separate section. He believed that it was helpful but should not be seen as having the same authority as the Old and New Testaments. However the official position of the Roman Catholic church held that the Apocrypha had the same authority as the Old and New Testaments.

During the Protestant Reformation the two most influential shapers of the Protestant thought were Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Geneva. They agreed with the ancient rabbis and Jerome that the Apocrypha was not Scripture and they did so for the same reasons: the works were written later, they often could not have been written by those they were ascribed to (for instance there is no way Solomon wrote "The Wisdom of Solomon") and they stood outside the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament. Since then Protestant Bibles have either put the Aporcrypha in its own section or left it out altogether. Catholics continue to see these books as Holy Scripture.

Personally speaking, I find some of the Apocryphal books interesting reading. The 1 and 2 Books of Macabees tell the story of the Jewish wars against the pagan Greek empire about 150 years before the time of Jesus. It's much easier to understand what the first century Jews expected Jesus to do after having read about the Macabees revolt.

But, like the rabbis, Jerome, Luther, and Calvin as I read them I just don't get the sense that they are Scripture. It just doesn't feel the same. There is something missing. They seem outside the redemptive stream of what God is doing through Israel and his Messiah. So I'll stay a good Protestant and read the Apocrypha as helpful rather than holy literature.

I hope that answers a few questions. Follow up questions are always welcome!

Where Did the Devil Come From?

2008-07-31T17:19:00.002-05:00

James has asked, "Where did the devil come from?"

The surprising answer is that the Bible doesn't tell us explicitly. But there are hints in the Scripture that the Devil is a fallen angel, a good spirit who rebelled against God.

Isaiah 14: 12-15 says,

How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."

But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit."

Like much Biblical poetry, this has more than one layer of meaning, but one layer very well may apply to Satan and his motive for rebelling against God.

Likewise, Ezekiel 28: 13-14 says,

You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.

And finally Revelation 12: 7-12 reads,

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."

In Paradise Lost, the poet Milton portrayed the devil as an angel who declared that it was "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." That is consistent with the hints we have in Scripture.

What If Church Was Like the NBA?

2008-07-31T09:34:00.001-05:00

Later today I'll be working on some of the questions you guys have posted and emailed. In the meantime, here is something someone sent me....

Questions and Suggestions for Upcoming Sermons

2008-07-22T14:13:00.002-05:00

As I said on Sunday morning, I love getting questions and suggestions about upcoming sermons. It enables me to shape the sermons around your questions and ensure they are relevant. Since the sermons are posted on the church's website, I don't mind questions from people who don't attend Lifepath.

The sermons in the coming weeks deal with basic fundamental Christian beliefs and why we hold them.

Why do Christians worship Jesus? Why should we believe the Bible? How does Jesus dying on a cross enable God to forgive us? What the heck is up with this Trinity business?

No question is too basic. If there is a question about what Christians are "supposed to believe," and you've always wanted to ask it, now is a great time!

Feel free to post your questions and suggestions in the comment section, or if you'd prefer, email your questions directly to me at escott@lifepathHouston.com

Thanks!

New Praise Band Member?

2008-07-21T06:58:00.003-05:00

Well, it's Monday again. But how many times have you said to yourself, "What would happen if a 60-year-old Italian Capuchin monk went to a Metallica concert and decided he wanted to be the lead singer of his own band?"

Yes, he is a real monk. Yes, his band tours in Europe with Slayer and Judas Priest.

Thanks to David Fischler over at the Reformed Pastor blog for finding this one.

Simply Great Stuff

2008-07-18T11:34:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try to write this review without once screaming like an eleven-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

N.T. Wright is the most engaging Christian writer on the planet. A bishop of the Church of England and a New Testament scholar, he is able to write academic tomes such as The Resurrection of the Son of God, which won the Book of the Year and Best Academic Book by the Association of Theological Booksellers in 2003. He is also able to communicate effectively for the masses. His The Gospel of Judas deals with extra "Gospels" not included in the Bible (remember all The Da Vinci Code conspiracy stuff?). In Evil and the Justice of God, he tackles the Why-Do-Bad-Things-Happen-To-Good-People questions.

He is popular enough that his latest book Surprised by Hope, Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church got him invited onto Comedy Central's Colbert Report: http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=174352 Granted, getting interviewed by Stephen Colbert is not a particularly good way to have a deep discussion about God but I'm impressed when a reputable orthodox scholar can use pop culture to get his message across.

Any of Wright's books are worth reading but a great place to start is Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense. Whether you are someone who has never been to church or you've been a church-goer all your life, this an excellent book. If you read it, you will understand God's overall plan and how he is working it out in the world better than 90% of the people who call themselves believers.

The good bishop divides his book into three sections. In the first he asks a series of questions. Why do human beings expect things to be fair? Why are human beings universally concerned with spiritual things? Why are we so defined by our relationships? Why is beauty so powerfully haunting? Wright argues that these things - which make us human - all have answers in the Christian faith.

In the second section he walks the reader through the overall story of the Bible, much in the same way that John Eldredge does in his book Epic. Wright's version is richer and more demanding than Eldredge's and yet he still manages to go from Creation to Revelation in about 80 pages. Incidentally, if any of you remember my last Easter sermon where I covered the history of the universe in 5 acts - Creation - Fall - Israel - Jesus - Church - and managed to tie it all in to the Resurrection, well, the basic structure of the ideas came from this section of Wright's book.

In the final section he summarizes in about 70 pages the purpose of human life and how the church engages us in that purpose. It is all very rich, very originally expressed, thoroughly based on the Scriptures.

Honestly, if I was 20 years old again and just beginning to study theology I'd go hang out wherever N.T Wright was and take whatever class he was teaching. Even if it was a class in auto repair.

There, I'm done. I did kind of sound like an eleven-year-old girl at times, didn't I?

Lest We Take Ourselves Too Seriously

2008-07-17T12:46:00.000-05:00

My Hero, Sarah Howes

2008-07-15T16:33:00.014-05:00

Sarah Howes is my hero. Back in April or May when we were forming the new church, it didn't look like we were going to be able to put together a Vacation Bible School this summer. Sarah decided to do something about it. She came up with a plan for Splash, a water-themed VBS, which she organized for the kids of Lifepath Church at Bear Creek Park. At 13 years of age she is already an amazing person.

39 kids from age 4 and up have registered. They come in bathing suits for water games and Bible stories. Here is Rhonda Armor telling the kids a Bible story. I didn't know Rhonda was actually a professional story teller back in Louisiana.

Sarah recruited lots of help. Here she is with Jenny Snyder. They are either doing sign language to a song with the word Lord in it or or possibly telling the kids they're losers. No, I'm sure they're signing....

Sarah got a lot of help from other youth in the church. Here are three of them with the biggest water gun I have ever seen.

Josh Holl is prepared to learn the Bible and commit some water-based violence.

Here are a couple of people we know getting into the spirit of things.

Two of my favorite kids. I wonder what happened to Jake's glasses?

Our Director of Student Ministries, Nicholas Jones, looks like he lost the water gun duel.

It's all about the kids. And the early reports are they are having a blast. Thanks to all who are helping and especially to Sarah. I'm so proud to be a part of a church with a person like her in it!

I Think Someone is Confused

2008-07-11T08:35:00.002-05:00

The Pew Forum recently did a massive survey of religious life in the United States. It made headlines a couple of weeks ago so you may have noticed. Many of the findings were interesting and I've had several requests to preach on the results which I will no doubt do in one form or another.

But in the meantime I've noticed one little quirky result:

9% of all atheists surveyed are absolutely certain that there is a God.

source: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-belief-in-god-or-universal-spirit-by-religious-tradition.pdf

Do you think someone is confused about the concept of atheism?

Response to Questions about Fenelon's The Seeking Heart

2008-07-09T16:54:00.006-05:00

Before reviewing N.T. Wright's book, Simply Christian, I want to try to answer some of the great questions Bud Reed left in the comment section about Francois Fenelon's writing, The Seeking Heart.

Bud, bear in mind that I'm not an expert on Francois Fenelon or on 17th century Catholic theolgy, but I'll do my best. If anyone has any wise words for us, they are very welcome to leave a comment.

You ask what Fenelon means when he says we should separate ourselves from restless thoughts that grow out of self-love.

My understanding is that Fenelon is talking about the stress we feel when things happen to us that we can't control. The negative feelings you mention - anger, envy, and worry - are exactly what Fenelon means. Fenelon believes that these feelings are a sign that our faith still needs to grow. Our fear and worry when we can't see how things are going to work out exposes our lack of trust; our anger when our will is blocked shows how we desire our will to be done rather than God's; our envy of others shows our lack of contentment in what God has given.

Fenelon believed that we should see God at work in our daily circumstances, especially those that force us to confront our self-love in painful ways. Allow God to kill this self-love and learn to love God instead. This is what he means by receiving our cross.

Here's an example. Let's say you are publically maligned. People say unfair and incorrect things about you. You make an effort to tell them the truth with patience and gentleness but the attacks continue. People not only attack your actions but your character and your motivations. They lie about you. Does it hurt? Why? Because we human beings want others to like us. We want people to respect us. We want people to look up to us.

According to the Bible this is a form of self-love. The Bible makes it very clear that you should care much more about what God thinks about you and not worry to much when people hate you for doing what is right (Luke 6: 22, 26, Matthew 22: 16, Galatians 1: 10 etc.) Fenelon would say that you should do what you can to set the record straight but beyond that, it is out of your control. If their hate causes you pain or anger, see that as God teaching you not to depend on the love of people but rather on his love for your happiness. Let your need to please people die.

Make sure to spend time in prayer, asking God to teach you to care more about serving him than you do about your reputation with men and women. Fenelon's constant advice is to sit quietly in prayer with God.

Accept the lesson with gratitude. Once God has set you free of your need to be respected an enormous burden is lifted. People no longer have power over you to make you miserable. You no longer have to defend yourself from every attack like a defendent on trial. You can endure the scorn of others and it no longer affects your joy. Remember that God's purpose is that you have freedom and joy. Any pain along the way will be worth it.

Accepting the cross of daily circumstances doesn't mean doing nothing. You mention working hard to find a job when you were out of work. Fenelon would approve of working hard to find a job. But he would also say this is a great opportunity to learn to trust God while you are without one. Do what you can. Then be at peace and trust in God to do what he can. If you are not at peace in the midst of the struggle, see that as a sign that you need to put your worries before God in prayer.

Fenelon also counsels repeatedly that we should be patient with our failures. Dying to our self-love is a life-long process. Being patient with yourself is just as much an act of love and humility as being patient with someone else. Be able to laugh at yourself.

As another Christian once wrote, angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly.

The Best Worst Movie of All Time

2008-07-07T07:13:00.004-05:00

Okay, it's Monday, which is my day off but probably your least favorite day of the week. I thought I'd brighten your day with some moments from the Best Worst Movie of All Time.

There are bad movies and then there are movies that are so bad that they're fun to watch and then there's "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

It has it all - a plot involving aliens who use zombies to stop humanity from accidentally blowing up sunlight and thereby destroying the universe; a dead leading actor (Bela Lugosi died after filming his first scene and the rest of his scenes are played by another actor); constant production mistakes such as flying saucers that are described as "cigar shaped" which are actually shaped like.....saucers; and some of the most amazing dialogue ever written.

Here is a 5 minute clip of some of the best lines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRq80QNnJM

Happy Independence Day

2008-07-04T10:31:00.002-05:00

I don't have many customs when it comes to secular holidays, but every July 4 I sit with the Chronicle and read the Declaration of Independence, which it reprints every year. Enjoy:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Review of Epic: The Story God is Telling

2008-07-03T07:28:00.001-05:00

In recent years academics and popular writers alike have come to a conclusion which any child knows instinctively: Stories are important. We don't just tell them for entertainment. We use stories to make sense of the world. Ask someone to tell you who they are and it's very likely that you'll get it in story form. "I was born in Dallas in 1964......"

And we don't just have individual stories. We tend to fit all of life into one overarching story. All the facts of life, our daily experiences, our way of looking at the world are all shaped by what we think "life is all about."
The crucial question is, What is the Big Story All About? If the story of the universe was a book, what would the chapters be called?

John Eldredge thinks that many Christians don't know what story we are living in. And because we don't understand the story, we miss out on what's important. Imagine Frodo telling Gandalf, "I don't really care about a silly Ring. Sauron Shmauron. Let's go to the Prancing Pony for a pint." Imagine Luke telling Obi-won, "Save the Princess? Restore the Republic? That's so old fashioned. I'm going back to my uncle's farm." But Eldredge argues that is precisely the attitude of many Christians who settle for much less than being a part of God's Epic Story.

Using the Scriptures, Eldredge lays out the chapters of the Big Story and where we fit into it. I could quibble at the way he structures some of his chapters. (For instance he gives the angels a much bigger part in the story than I think the Bible gives them.) But overall, he does a wonderful job of helping us understand our world by understanding our story - or rather, God's Story.

The book is quite short, simple, easy to read, and worth your time.

My Big Debut in Family Worship

2008-07-01T13:39:00.003-05:00

With Greg gone on the youth mission trip, I filled in during the Family Worship Service last Sunday. That service is normally high energy but as you might imagine, the level of chaos went up a bit with me doing Greg's part. At one point I had to tell the story of Naaman from 2 Kings 5, using Mike Brentari, Jack Schloz and Dalmo Barros as human puppets. Someone with an Iphone grabbed a few pics.

Above, you can see me putting Brentari in the position I wanted him in. For some reason I had to grab his ears to do it.

This scene evidently called for Brentari to wear an apron and carry a feather duster. I'm sure that's in the Bible.

Dalmo was the king of Israel and he really got into his part. He's the one wearing a crown and rolling all over the floor. The kids were howling with laughter most of the way through our story. The adults in the service had fun too.

The guys were good sports and I think they have a great future on the human puppet circuit.

The Amy Winehouse of American Denominations

2008-06-30T17:57:00.010-05:00

Just this once I'm going to break my vow and comment on denominational politics.

The PCUSA's General Assembly met last week and I can't help myself. It was like watching Amy Winehouse loose in a pharmaceutical warehouse. You don't want to watch someone talented and beautiful self-destruct, and yet it's almost impossible to turn away.

Here are the highlights:

1. They voted once again to ask the presbyteries to remove the ordination standards from the Book of Order.
2. They passed two Authoritative Interpretations designed to gut the ordination standards, no matter what the presbyteries do.
3. They voted to change the historic Heidelberg Catechism to match their theology.
4. They voted to create a legal fund to raise money to pursue legal proceedings against congregations who wish to leave the PCUSA with their property.
5. They voted to create a commission to pursue the insane idea that the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is somehow to blame for congregations wanting to leave the PCUSA.

If you really want more info, go to http://www.layman.org/ or http://www.pcusa.org/ or to some of the political bloggers http://reformedpastor.wordpress.com/ or http://www.classicalpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

We should pray for the folks we left behind in the PCUSA. There are many congregations who would leave but are afraid they'll lose their property. There are others who will continue to battle against the theological slide into the abyss.

Personally, I think I'll delete the bookmarked websites that discuss these issues. It's so emotionally and spiritually draining to watch. And God has called us out of the PCUSA so that we can build something new for him. It's time to get to work.

There is much that is still beautiful about the PCUSA but watching its slow suicide is profoundly sad. Goodbye, Amy.

Review of "The Seeking Heart"

2008-06-27T15:12:00.005-05:00

Francois Fenelon was a French Catholic archbishop who lived in the late 17th century. Why would you read something from such a person? Because he lived a life of profound intimacy with God and his writings glow with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

This simple little book should be read as a daily devotional. More than once, his words have leapt off the page to hit me between the eyes. I found him especially helpful last fall, when we were going through all of the controversies and pains of a divided congregation and our battles with the presbytery. All the anger, hostility and falsehoods aimed at me (even if it was from a small number of people) could have been debilitating. Instead, Fenelon helped me to see God at work through the pain to kill off in me everything that is not God.

When I read him, I only read in very small amounts and very slowly. It is just too rich to take in large bites. Perhaps the best thing to do is simply give you the first day's reading:

Embracing the Cross

You need to learn to separate yourself from unnecessary and restless thoughts which grow out of self-love. When your own thoughts are set aside you will be completely in the middle of the straight and narrow path. You will experience the freedom and peace that is meant for you as a child of God.

I try to follow the same advice that I give others. I know that I must seek peace in the same way. Often, when you suffer, it is the life of your self-nature that causes you pain. When you are dead you do not suffer. If you were completely dead to your old nature you would no longer feel many of the pains that now bother you.

Endure the aches and pains of your body with patience. Do the same thing with your spiritual afflictions (that is, trouble sent to you that you cannot control). Do not add to the cross in your life by becoming so busy that you have no time to sit quietly before God. Do not resist what God brings into your life. Be willing to suffer if that is what is needed. Overactivity and stubbornness will only increase your anguish.

God prepares a cross for you that you must embrace without thought of self-preservation. The cross is painful. Accept the cross and you will find peace even in the midst of turmoil. Let me warn you that if you push the cross away, your circumstances will become twice as hard to bear. In the long run, the pain of resisting the cross is harder to live with than the cross itself.

See God's hand in the circumstances of your life. Do you want to experience true happiness? Submit yourself peacefully and simply to the will of God, and bear your sufferings without struggle. Nothing so shortens and soothes your pain as the spirit of non-resistance to your Lord.

As wonderful as this sounds, it still may not stop you from bargaining with God. The hardest thing about suffering is not knowing how great it will be or how long it will last. You will be tempted to want to impose some limits to your suffering. No doubt you will want to control the intensity of the pain.

Do you see the stubborn and hidden hold you have over your life? This control makes the cross necessasry in the first place. Do not reject the full work that the power of the cross could accomplish in you. Unfortunately, you will be forced to go over the same ground again and again. Worse yet, you will suffer much, but your suffering will be for no purpose.

May the Lord deliver you from falling into an inner state in which the cross is not at work in you! God loves a cheerful giver. (II Corinthians 9: 7) Imagine how much He must love those who abandon themselves to His will cheerfully and completely - even if it results in crucifixion!

Another Important Book Review

2008-06-26T14:20:00.005-05:00

I thought I'd keep my reviews balanced and fair. You can't just read deep works of theology this summer. I won't say much about this book except you really can find it in book stores and Amazon. And it just might save your life.

Actual product description from the Amazon website:

The Zombie Survival Guide is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now. Fully illustrated and exhaustively comprehensive, this book covers everything you need to know, including how to understand zombie physiology and behavior, the most effective defense tactics and weaponry, ways to outfit your home for a long siege, and how to survive and adapt in any territory or terrain.

Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack

1. Organize before they rise!

2. They feel no fear, why should you?

3. Use your head: cut off theirs.

4. Blades don’t need reloading.

5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.

6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.

7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.

8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!

9. No place is safe, only safer.

10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

Don’t be carefree and foolish with your most precious asset—life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without your even knowing it. The Zombie Survival Guide offers complete protection through trusted, proven tips for safeguarding yourself and your loved ones against the living dead. It is a book that can save your life.

Review of "Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God"

2008-06-26T10:39:00.003-05:00

Dallas Willard has written some amazing stuff. He's best known for his book, The Divine Conspiracy, which won Christianity Today's Best Book of the Year award back in 1998. He's a professor of philosophy at USC with a dry sense of humor and a nice conversational style of writing.

Hearing God is not a book full of gimmicks. What Willard does is help you understand the sort of life necessary to hear God. God is interested in speaking with you. The problem is, most of us have our ears and hearts tightly shut.

Professor Willard gives good, biblical, practical steps in learning how to open our ears and hearts and recognize all the ways God is constantly speaking to us.

He covers how God speaks through impressions of the Spirit, circumstances, the still small voice and many other ways. He is thoroughly orthodox in his use of Scriptures and how the Bible should always be a benchmark for measuring if we have, in fact, heard from God.

There is a fun section in which he shares his knowledge in learning how to discern the tone and quality of God's voice. Here's a quote from page 190:

"The voice of God speaking in our souls also bears in it a characteristic spirit. It is a spirit of exalted peacefulness and confidence, of joy, of sweet reasonableness, and of will for the good. It is, in short, 'the spirit of Jesus.' By that we refer to the overall tone and internal dynamics of his personal life.

Those who saw him truly saw the Father, who shared the same 'Spirit.' And it is this Spirit that marks the voice of God in our hearts. Because his voice bears authority within itself, it does not need to be loud or hysterical."

In other words, if the voice in your head is shrill and nagging, or loud and overbearing, or desperate and whiney....it ain't God. And just like dogs learn to recognize their master's voice, we can, with practice, learn to recognize our Master's as well.

It's been ten years since I read this book and it's probably time for me to reread it.

Review of the New Living Translation

2008-06-24T14:08:00.012-05:00

I already have a Bible. Why would I need another one? Here are three reasons:

1. If you don't read the bible because you find it too difficult, the chances are you need a translation that will work better for you. Some translations really are easier to read than others. The NLT is extremely easy to read without dumbing down the translation.

2. If you don't read the bible because it no longer feels fresh, a new translation can liven things up for you. For my devotional reading I like to change translations every two or three years or so. It helps to keep me engaged. Plus, a different translation will make me think about a familiar passage in new ways.

3. You lied about having a copy of the Bible and you haven't seen your old one since you moved out of your mom's house.

Why the New Living Translation (NLT) 2nd Edition?

1. It's a new translation, taking into account the latest scholarship. It can be used for both devotional reading and bible study.

2. The language is modern without being too trendy.

3. It uses more of a meaning-for-meaning rather than a word-for-word philosophy. This means it is easier to read the more difficult passages of Paul or Isaiah than in some other translations.

Occasionally the NLT flubs something but no translation is perfect. For serious study one should always have a couple of different English translations on hand (or go to seminary and learn Greek...)

There is nothing wrong with the NIV or the NRSV but over all this is the translation I would recommend. I prefer the 2nd edition of the NLT, mostly because the 1st edition puts the poetry of the prophets in prose form and that drives me crazy.

Some Summer Reading Ideas....

2008-06-20T09:41:00.005-05:00

In the past we had a Pastor's Book Table out in our foyer. On it would be four or five books for sale that people could pick up. They tended to be books that I had found helpful in cultivating my relationship with God.

In the near future we may reinstitute the Pastor's Book Table on Sunday mornings. In the meantime here are some things that would be on the table right now.

1. In Search of Guidance: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, by Dallas Willard

2. The Seeking Heart, by Francis Fenelon

3. Epic: The Story God is Telling by John Eldredge

4. Simply Christian, by N. T. Wright

5. New Living Translation of the Bible, 2nd Edition

Next week I'll write a brief review of each book and tell you why they are worth your trouble.

*Edit - I just checked Amazon and apparently later editions of Dallas Willard's book are entitled Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. You'll have more luck finding it under that title.

Exploding Whale

2008-06-16T09:18:00.002-05:00

Here is an example of an idea so bad that it falls into a special category:

A dead whale measuring 45 feet and weighing eight tons has washed ashore. The nearby residents complain of the smell to the local authorties. What do they do? Bury it? Tow it out to sea? Cut it up and haul it away? No, they call in the State Highway Division to fill it with dynamite and blow it up.......

Here is the News Report of the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_t44siFyb4

Favorite quotes:

State Highway Division worker - "I'm confident it will work. I'm just not exactly sure how much explosives it will take....."

News Reporter - "The humor of the entire situation suddently gave way to a run for survival."

News Reporter - "Everyone on the scene was covered with small particles of dead whale."

Things to Note:

The sound of the whale blubber as it falls from the sky and hits the ground.

The crushed car that was a quarter of a mile away from the blast.

Moral of the Story:

You know that little voice in your head that says, "This is a really bad idea"? Some people don't have that little voice.

Camping Trip to Queen Wilhelmina State Park

2008-06-13T11:53:00.013-05:00

We spent most of the week up in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. The long drive was worth it as we escaped the Houston heat. Half the time the park was enveloped in a cloud with the temperature in the 60's and 70's. Queen Wilhelmina State Park is named for a Dutch Queen who changed her travel plans at the last minute and never showed up.

Here are the kids in the pop-up camper. It doesn't look like it but there's actually a lot of room inside.

There was a cool train to play on right across from our campsite.

There was also a little train that tourists rode around the park, passing our campsite several times a day. Once, Jake's mother stopped him as he approached the oncoming train with two fists full of rocks. It is not known whether robbery or simple assault was intended.

Of course we roasted marshmallows.

At the time this photo was taken no water had t0uched the boy for 3 days.

We did a lot of hiking.

A friend we met on the trail. Judith said it wasn't poisonous because it didn't have a triangle for a head.

Here we are atop Lovers Leap. The kids pronounced the hike a failure when no dead lovers were found.

We played several games of touch football. Sam and I are hatching a plan against the girls.

It was a fun trip. At the end of each day we were pretty tired.

Pray for Hannah Beth

2008-06-06T07:58:00.002-05:00

Hannah Beth is having minor out-patient surgery today at Texas Children's Hospital. She's having a cyst removed from her head, just behind her ear. The doctors say it's nothing to worry about but she is going under general anesthetic so parents will worry anyway. Besides there's no such thing as minor surgery when it's happening to you.....

Hannah B is just about the sweetest kid on the planet. She takes care of the rest of the kids and they all adore her for it. Here she is with her brother during Field Day.

Say a prayer for her today! Thanks!

Raising Readers

2008-06-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

Recently my daughter Maryallie came to me and said, "I've run out of things to read. Can you help me find something?" I looked at our shelves and pulled down Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. She read the first page and gave me an I'm-not-sure-this-is-for-me look. "Well, read the first chapter and then decide," I suggested. She sat down and soon devoured the whole thing. I was a bit amazed: a ten-year-old reading Mark Twain. I don't think I knew who Mark Twain was until I was in high school.

Maryallie is not the only one. The other two triplets, Sam and Hannah Beth, constantly have books in their hands. Hannah-B loves Laura Engels Wilder while Sam tends to favor epic fantasy on the order of Eragon and JRR Tolkien. At six years of age Judith can be found on the couch reading One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish out loud to herself. Her twin Jake is the only one who, so far, doesn't pick up books without some prompting. But increasingly he brings me books to read to him, so perhaps there is still hope for him.

How did Allie and I luck into raising a bunch of kids who like to read? I'm not sure but I think there are several factors:

1. The TV is not the center of our house.

We have one TV and it's not in the living room. It's upstairs, a bit out of the way. We let them watch it some but they have to ask permission to turn it on. The same goes for the computer/computer games. They have to ask us before they can play at them. If they have been watching or playing for an hour or two it's time to turn it off. On the other hand, they never have to ask if they can read.

2. Allie and I read out loud to the kids.

Allie's been reading to them since they were tiny. I started a ritual of reading a chapter of a longer book to them before bed. We started at about age seven. I think the first thing we read was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It became something to do with daddy, a time to snuggle, a way to wind down the day. I make sure that I enjoy what we're reading too. If it isn't fun for me, I'll be less likely to read to them. Currently we're reading The Shadowmancer. Next year, I'll start reading the six-year-olds. I can't think of a better way to show them that reading is fun.

3. Create a culture of reading.

Our house is filled with books. The kids have shelves dedicated to their books in the living room. They see Allie and me reading all the time. We make sure they take things to read when we go on trips. We talk about what we are reading at the dinner table. Reading is "normal" in our house.

I'm sure we've made lots of mistakes in raising the kids but I'm proud we have given them the gift of reading.

5000 Years of Religion in 90 Seconds

2008-06-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

A cool little video: http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf

Church in a Box

2008-05-31T17:28:00.000-05:00

The stuff arrived today and between 30 and 40 people got in some practice in setting up at Labay. Here is one of the three trailers with the logo on the side.

Ydalith is happy! Dailene was happy too. I just think she doesn't like my photography very much....

Listening to the Portable Church Industries consultants......

The musicians showed up and demanded a backstage buffet.

You can see the back of the trailer folded down to become a ramp for the cases to roll on.

There goes Jim with something valuable.

And Peyton....

One more!

Going into the hallway at Labay we received a word from the Lord....

All the cases, lined up and ready to be opened!

Chris and Mike, looking confused.

The Swearingen boys were there.

What you learn from this pic is that I'm a really terrible photographer. But if you look closely you can see the empty cafetorium before we started setting up. It has a nice deep stage.

Putting up signs in the hallway.

One of the signs.....

Putting together the screens for the stage.

Happy, happy sound guy. Chris says the stuff we have is going to sound great.

More bad photography. You see one of the two screens which will frame the stage.

One of the Sunday School rooms.

Another Sunday School room. The girls did a great job of setting up.

Actually everyone did! I can't wait for tomorrow!