I confess that I messed up daylight savings time yesterday. This isn’t the first time for me. This twice-yearly one hour shift always has just a little bit more at stake when you are in ministry, because Sunday is a work day. I don’t remember ever having a problem with it until about four years ago when my wife bought me a new alarm clock. This clock was nothing special, but it came with a daylight savings feature that I... Read more
I have become convinced that the most compelling rationale for the veracity of the gospel is a transformed life. A life which exhibits the freedom, peacefulness, and healing found in Christ is the most meaningful witness anyone could ever have … or you could do this. Happy Friday everyone. Read more
This is the sermon I preached last week at my church Redemption Church. If you are a pastor feel free to copy & steal everything. I must acknowledge that I stole the Harlow idea & some of the intro wording from John Ortberg’s sermon on Living beyond anxiety. Epiphany 8A – Matthew 6:24-34 Do Not Worry The text for today starts & ends with the same statement: do not worry. Now we know that generally in his teaching style, Jesus... Read more
“What good is it to live long when we improve so little? A long life does not always improve us; in fact, it often adds to our problems. Would that we could spend even one day well in this world. Many people count the years of their lives in Christ, but often not much comes of their attempts to change their lives. If it is frightful to die, perhaps it is more dangerous still to live a long life. Blessed... Read more
I confess that my mom and dad have now been married for 50 years. I can’t begin to express what a gift it is to be raised by parents who know what it means to love. What I learned from mom and dad, among many other things, was that love equals fidelity over time. I confess I am disappointed that the recent winter storm didn’t produce the ten inches of snow I was promised. I am grateful for the snow... Read more
To an achiever (enneagram 3) like myself, a passage like this one calls into question so much of the basic programming of my life, and the way I have chosen to pursue happiness since I was very young. I’m grateful to Frederick Buechner for many reasons, but perhaps the most important is for the way he approaches life … so differently than I, so focused on essential elements of reality, so aware of consequential and ordinary things. We could not... Read more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRIgmKGDqFM In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explicitly forbids taking any kind of revenge, or escalating a conflict toward violence or lawsuits. Instead he recommends that we use our imagination to win over our critics/haters, to make our enemies into friends. Last year NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon filmed a Pepsi-MAX commercial where he took an unsuspecting car salesman on the test-drive of a lifetime – all with hidden cameras inside the car and along the course capturing the ride... Read more
This is the sermon I preached last week at my church Redemption Church. If you are a pastor feel free to copy & steal everything. 2014.02.23 – Light Will Shine 08 Matthew 5:38-48 – Love Your Enemies. Matthew 5:38-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;... Read more
“It is sometimes discouraging to see how small the Christian peace movement is, and especially here in America where it is most necessary. But we have to remember that this is the usual pattern, and the Bible has led us to expect it. Spiritual work is done with disproportionately small and feeble instruments. And now above all when everything is so utterly complex, and when people collapse under the burden of confusions and cease to think at all, it is... Read more
I confess that I have received a newly edited version of Shrink. We’re at the point in the editing process where everything switches to paper. So, this is my first go-round at edits w/a red pen in hand. I have less than a month to get it done. I confess that the manuscript is currently sitting on my desk at home poking fun at me, and verbally taunting me whenever I walk by. I confess that I am not the least bit... Read more
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