Using Facebook Biblically [Wise Wednesday]

Theology moves so fast these days. I was interested to find this article with some helpful thoughts about thinking biblically about Facebook.

Nine things we should avoid:

1. The trend of using status updates to complain

2. Measuring your worth/identity by number of Facebook friends/Facebook interactions

3. Greater concern over forming Facebook (virtual) friends rather than real friends

4. Diminishment of face-to-face time with people/enjoying and working on real relationships

5. Dual identities (saying/doing things online you'd never do in person)

6. Hurting and excluding others (intentionally or unintentionally)

7. Facebook and online life can make you more distracted

8. Can tempt you away from your calling/work (celebrating the insignificant)

9. Thinking about yourself more than you already do.

I can think of a few other things that need to be avoided:

1. Judging others by the groups they join.

2. Feeling hurt by not being invited to 'this party' or 'that event.'

3. Checking people out to see if I am doing 'better' than them.

6 ways we can use facebook for Jesus:

1. Get back in touch with old, far-away friends in an easy way, showing them how you’ve been changed by Jesus

2. As an extension of face-to-face relationships/can be used to enhance time with people

3. To think about yourself less and others more (pray for people!)

4. To sharpen/discipline what you do with your time

5. To quickly announce/make great things happen

6. To influence other people for Jesus. Create a new culture with your status updates..

Paul instructs us to make the most of our time, because the days are evil. We're called to be redeemers, using what God has given us for Jesus. What other ways can you think of using new technologies for Jesus?

John 6 [Text Tuesday]

Here's the text I'll be preaching from this Sunday, November 30th, 2008.

[Note #1: If you are reading this post on facebook, you can comment here or preserve your comments at keithmyer.blogspot.com.]

[Note #2: If you are one of my non-Christian, non-churchy, non-Jesus following friends, I like you! I respect your thoughts and opinions even if I don't agree with you, let me know what you think!]

Here's the text:

6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

Empty CD Cases [Music Monday]

[Note: Facebookers - you'll need to look at the original post if you want to click the links.]

So the wife and I went on a cleaning spree Saturday. Actually, she was cleaning and I went on an organizing rampage. My cd collection has been destroyed, manhandled, scratched and mutilated since kids came along.

I'm pretty sad about the empty cd cases. Does anyone have any of these cds? I'll give them back, I promise.

- Audio Adrenaline, Worldwide

- Bryan Duncan, The Last Time I Was Here.

- Cedarmont Worship For Kids, Volume 1

- Steven Curtis Chapman, The Great Adventure

- Steven Curtis Chapman, Signs of Life

- Michael W. Smith, This Was Your Time

- Michael W. Smith, i 2 (Eye)

- Michael Card, The Life, Disc 2

- Third Day, Offerings, A Worship Album

Sadder than a caseless cd, or a cd-less case, is the thought that there are cds I have purchased and lost case and all, and fail to remember. Oh well. We live here for a time, and we do not take anything with us when we go. Why cry over that which is lost and cannot be brought to mind or reclaimed?

Instead, we ought to enjoy what God has given us in the now, delight in it for His Glory and our joy. I got to listen to Tormato by Yes yesterday for the first time in a long time. Brilliant, in a 'care for the creation' kind of way, and also the 'what were they thinking' kind of way. The boldly beautiful and piercingly painful keyboarding of Rick Wakemen is my favorite.

Just a sample for your listening delight:

Repost due to grammatical neglect and total lack of an obvious youtube video for email subscribers

I reposted my thursday post. Click here. please.

Oh, to Change the Anthems in Our Hearts [Thinkin' Thursday]

I'll admit it.

Sometimes I feel like this guy. And if I'm honest, I like feeling like this guy. It feels good.



And then I think of this. Especially verse 10. It breaks my heart, and I pray God continues to give me the grace to repent and put my trust in Him as I continue to submit to His will.
Ever feel like that?

Internal Rot [Wise Wednesday]

Reading the Bible to my squirmy kids at dinner tonight we came across this passage:

Where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily.

But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability.

- Proverbs 28:2

So... is it we the people who need to take a long hard look at ourselves? Or do we blame our leaders? Or... is it both?

Confident in the Face of Evil [Wise Wednesday]

Dr. Charles Young, while preaching in the chapel at CIU recently,  made this point about possible 'antichrists.'

Now... I don't think Barack Obama is the Antichrist. But there are some who do. And the some who do seem to be worried. They are worried and angry about the coming of the Antichrist.

Dr. Young's text was Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein...

He said that he's not worried about this president being the antichrist, "because I believe in the Bible. I am not disturbed by the antichrist. I'm looking for him. His arrival does not negate God's investment in this world." W

That's wisdom. Stop digging your bunker. Don't worry about the end of the world.

The earth is the Lord's. Honor the king, love your neighbor, preach the gospel.

Relax. God is in control.

Text Tuesday: John 5:1-47

This is the text I'll preach on this Sunday. Will you help me think through it? I've written a primer on thinking through the text which I think you might find helpful. Consider some of the questions included in the primer and reflect on the meaning and application of the text with me.

John 5:1-47

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Music Monday: What If His People Prayed?

What if? What if we trusted Him? What if we did what He calls us to do?

A pastor friend (actually, a brother in Christ I've never met) posted this quote:
“Faith is transferring your trust from your own efforts to the efforts of Christ. You were relying on other things to make you acceptable, but now you consciously begin relying on what Jesus did for your acceptance with God. All you need is nothing. If you think, ‘God owes me something for all my efforts,’ you are still on the outside.”
- Timothy Keller, How Can I Know God?

That applies to salvation, and the life of faith, but it also applies to ministry and the Church. We can try to perfect the music, sharpen the preaching, focus on programs, curriculum... and still fail if we fail to ask God to stir the hearts of His people, to call His elect to Himself, to call upon the Spirit to move hearts to repentance.

If true faith is to engage the heart of God as He has revealed Himself in His word, then we should pray more, and pray in continuity with His word. What would happen if we prayed?

PS - don't give up on serving, and doing. Be strong in the strength of the Lord and His might (Eph 6:10-12). Pray and Do.

Words to Anthony on the Day of His Ordination to the Gospel Ministry

To Anthony, my brother in the faith and co-laborer for the Kingdom of our God and Savior Jesus Christ,

            It has only been a few hours since we sat and grilled you for answers at your ordination council, and those hours have given me time for reflection on the years that we have known one another. I thank God for your willingness to learn, for your openness to be challenged, and for the boldness to leave what you know and be trained for ministry. Your years in the ministry are ahead of you, and yet you have already come so far. As Mike has already expressed, the fruit which you will harvest in ministry is in a sense our fruit, for you are the fruit of my ministry, and the fruit of his. You cannot know what great pleasure it gives me to know that First Baptist Church of Union will set its seal upon you and declare you a minister of the gospel.

            We have celebrated each step of the way. As is your way, your celebrations have been different others I have known. We studied the joy of redemption over open bibles, and you had the greek word for redemption tattooed across your back. We discussed being yielded to the Lord for His use in the world for the gospel, and you left your home and your church to be trained as a minister. We discussed how purity and holiness and marriage were symbols of our relationship with Christ, and you found the girl of your dreams and we celebrated your wedding in a graveyard in Petersburg, Virginia. Each step has been burned in my mind, and rehearsing the steps brings joy to my heart. You are a joy to me.

You have done well, and on this day of solemn celebration and joyful seriousness I would like to encourage you as we delight and celebrate this day.

Four recommendations I would encourage you to focus on as you begin your ministry.

1) Find your Home in the Cross: Pastors can find a million things to do with their time, and there are endless things that can be said in the pulpit. Current Events and Hot Topics ensure that you will never be without something to say, but Paul shows us a better way. He says in 1 Cor 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Anthony, make the cross of Jesus your home. There is no greater subject to focus on, no more worthwhile object of attention. If there is no salvation except through Jesus, why would you preach anything other than Jesus? Find him in every text. Point to His work in every sermon. Be sure you appeal to his death as the solution for sin, his resurrection as the source of new life, and his coming as our greatest and only hope. Anthony, make the cross your home.

2) Apply yourself to Diligent Study of the Word: As one of the wise professors at CIU once said, we call it ‘commencement’ because it is the beginning, not the end. Ordination is not an end in itself, it is another beginning. You have left the hallowed halls of learning and are now out on your mission field. You will find a great deal of time on your hands which can be put to many uses. Be sure to apply yourself to the Word. Wherever you go, people will look to you as a trained expert. Be sure that they receive from you the only thing of value you have to offer: the truth of the word. Paul assures us that this is why God gave us the scripture, in 2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. Anthony, Apply yourself to Diligent Study of the Word.

3) Preach and Teach with Conviction: You do not have years and experience to appeal to, but do not let that get in the way of declaring the word with authority. You will be tempted to take shortcuts. You will be encouraged to buy into programs and fads. You may be disregarded at times because of your age. Be mindful of the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Be sure that all of the words which come out of your mouth can be trusted. Continue to develop your teaching and preaching skills. You have come far, but I urge you to continue to devote yourself to growth. Remember that the same Word which brings the cure of the Gospel should also bring the cuts of correction. Warn people of the dangers of disregarding the call of God. Plead with them to be made right with Him through the cross of Christ. Urge them to lay aside their sinful ways and to embrace Jesus as Lord and King. If you, the messenger of the gospel, do not warn them, no one will. Anthony, preach and teach with conviction.

4) Finally, Seek to Imitate Christ in All that you Do: Listen again to the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Your integrity is bond of trust that will bind you to your people and give you an ability to minister in a profound way. There are many who know the wisdom of the Word, and many who are willing to apply the word to the lives of others. Fewer and more precious are those who delight in the Law of the Lord and seek to honor him in all they do. Seek to love those who fight with you. Live in a way that inspires both young and old. When the Word seems at odds with conventional wisdom and all within you cries out that God demands foolishness from you, be a fool who honors Him. Study the life of our Lord and the words of His servants, and apply their character to yours. He makes no promise that following Him will be easy, but calls us to join Him in glorifying the Father. Anthony, Seek to Imitate Christ in All that You Do.

I am honored to know you and to call you my friend. I am delighted that you have found a jewel in Monica. Treasure her, and love her as Christ loves the Church. I am unable to be with you today, but I look forward to days of celebration to come, as I hear what God is doing through you in ministry. And I look forward to that day, the day when with tears in our eyes we will cast down our crowns, abandon our preaching awards, refuse any compliments and celebrate the one who has redeemed us from our sins. We will delight together in Him in His Kingdom.

God is Good, All the Time. Anthony, take a moment and reflect on where He has taken you from and where you are today. Congratulations. Carlos and Lydia, Your son is a delight, and I know you are proud of Him. Celebrate this day and this achievement.

             Now pack up your treasures and achievements and forget them. We are beggars. We deserve nothing but punishment, yet we rejoice to receive His grace. We have the honor of laboring for Him in His field, and the joy of celebrating the ingathering of His Harvest. Be hard at work and labor to spread the gospel of Christ. I will see you in the field.

For His Glory and Your Joy, 

Your Brother,

Keith

Thinking on Thursday: How to Think for Preaching

I love to teach the Bible. One of the things I love about interactive Bible teaching is when I get to say, "Hmmm... I never thought of that before." I love to be challenged in my thinking. Often in preaching you don't get a whole lot of reaction from the people you are speaking to... My mentor once told me not to judge people's attention by their faces. "The look of confusion and the look of conviction can often be the same," he said. I've found that to be true. The person who looks lost often chimes in with a perceptive at-the-door comment. The guy who looks asleep asks, "what did you mean when you said ___________?"

I love that. It means that people are thinking about the text. I'm hoping that folks from Harvest, and my pals from the web (facebook friends and random readers) will help me think through the Bible text on a weekly basis... assisting me to find applications, observations, even challenging the assumptions of the text. The Word is strong enough to withstand any scrutiny.

So here are some Questions to ask from the Text to pursue its meaning for preaching and Bible study. I've used a personally challenging sermon from another pastor to frame the questions (all the explanation is mine, the headings are his, though of course there is overlap):

Framing Questions, From Pastor Mark Driscoll's Sermon, "Preaching Jesus"
1. The Biblical Question: What does the Scripture say? What is the meaning of this particular section of text? Why is this section of Scripture in the Scripture (or, what unique idea or truth do we gain from it?)
2. The Theological Question: What are the implications of the text? This is not to ask the postmodern what-does-this-mean-to-me question, but to ask "What did it mean to the original audience?" "What does God want us to know?" How can we apply this?
3. The Homiletical Question: How do I communicate this text? (Honestly... skip this one in discussion on this blog... instead, write your own sermon, and share it in a youth, sunday school, or pulpit situation.) Ask how does this text communicate with our culture? What common elements are there? What major ideas?
4. The Apologetical Question: Preaching is a kind of war. We resist the truth as it is proclaimed to us. So we need to ask, "How will people fight the truth of this text?" "What questions will people have? What objections?" Paul did this often in his writing (Rom 6:1, 15), which makes me think he did it in his preaching.
5. The Missional Question: Most of us know that the Bible applies to our lives. Go one step further and ask "How does this apply to God's community? To marriages? Families? Cities? How does this change and challenge the community? What are the implications for the community if we don't live this text out? What if we fail to apply this?
6. The Christological Question: How does this text teach that Jesus is the answer? How does it exalt his character or point to his cross, his resurrection and second coming? How does it point to his present work and his future reign?

These aren't all the questions we could ask, but they are sufficient to pry the meaning out of a text and to start conversations about its meaning.
Comments?

Working Wisely - Email

Helpful tips on writing emails.

How to Write Better Emails, from What's Best Next. I appreciate his comments on better subject lines, writing the main point early, and not forwarding without summarizing what you expect someone to do with what you've written to them. I've sent out dozens (hundreds?) of emails with useless titles like 'please read' or 'interesting.' Not helpful.

I really appreciate his focus in writing the posts on his blog. His purpose is not only to help himself be more productive, but to enable others to be more productive as well. That's humble and servant-oriented. I think God smiles at that.

And I really like the EOM idea I picked up from Lifehacker. Why make someone click open an email if you can make the subject the whole message? "Meet you at La Tolteca @ 12 Tuesday - EOM"

Brilliant.

Text Tuesday: John 4:46-54

John 4:46-54

46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

This is the text I will preach on this Sunday. I've already done some initial research, but I'm wondering if you might help me think through this passage.

What do you see as the main point? What does it tell us about Jesus? What does it tell us about ourselves? What good things about people does it affirm? How does it confront our sinfulness? What does it exalt about our God? How does it encourage us to persevere?

Music Monday: Graverobber

It's Monday, and I'm off. But I thought I might try an automated post to celebrate some of the great music written by believers to communicate their hope and faith.

When we lost our little girl in 1998, I bitterly realized the reality that we will all expire, one day. Like milk in the fridge, we have a date stamped on us that no one can revoke. This week I spoke to a friend about her dying father, I prayed with a woman who has cancer and is one chemo, and I heard about the death of Michael Crichton, an author whose works challenge me intellectually while being compelling and readable.

I heard this song a few years ago... and it expresses the futility and hopelessness we all feel in the face of our loved one's coming death, and in the inevitability of our own. I can respect this artist's grappling with his own sense of tragedy and struggle with the reality of accidents, wrongful death, and the knowledge that we all have our time. (Mild content warning: some scenes may be mildly disturbing. Nothing more violent or tragic than you would see on TV after 8. Still... be warned.) Gravedigger, by Dave Matthews Band.

But the hope which the Christian has in the face of death is not in supernatural healing, or the prolonging of life beyond 'our time.' The bible tells us we are flowers quickly fading, grass in the sun, fog being burned away by the dawn (James 4:14). The hope (Titus 2:13) that we have is in the coming of our great God and King, the Lord Jesus Christ to collect us from our graves and take us to be with Him (1 Thess 4:13-18). In one of the darkest hours of my life, this song by the band Petra reminded me of that hope. It's a treasure.



I'd welcome you to reflect on this with me in the comments. Where is your hope? What hope do you have in the face of death?

Sunday Six: Things I am Thankful For

1. Indoor Pools (and friends who own condo units with Indoor Pools)
2. Corned Beef, Soup, and Quiche
3. Gayla Parker, the women's retreat speaker, who encouraged my wife and the women of Harvest.
4. Matt Drudge, from www.drudgereport.com who links to the best news, left or right, but mostly right.
5. All the pastors and thinkers who blogged and encouraged me not to be a stick in the mud about the election, but to thank God and pray for our President-elect. Thanks especially to Josh Harris.
6. My Wife, who laughed a lot, telling me about having fun this weekend @ her retreat.
Bonus: Earl Grey Tea, Hot. Nancy just fixed me a cup.

Pastoral Prayer for the President Elect

King of the universe,

We come before you this morning both with concern and elation. In this past week, we elected a new president, and our nation has spoken decisively.

Lord, we understand that our elections are usually not decided by a wide margin, but by a narrow one, with a few million on one side or the other. While this reveals the winner, it also reveals that we are bitterly divided. Many of us are polar opposites on the issues, and we understand that the job of loving one another and agreeing to disagree becomes harder when the differences are so stark, but it also becomes more important.

Lord, for our president elect, we want to come before you in the spirit of Romans 13:7 and 1 Tim 2:1-2. We know that we are called to honor, respect, thank and submit to this man as your appointed agent over us. We also know that your law is higher than the law of any king or official or president, and that he is called to submit to you, to thank you, to give you respect, and to honor you as God.

We pray that you would preserve this man, that you would keep him from the pressure of compromise with regard to your law, that you would help him to be a champion of all that is right. We pray that he would display wisdom and justice, and that he would surround himself with those who are wise.

Lord we pray that as he deals with moral, fiscal, domestic and international problems that he would not shy away from commitments of the past, that he would stand up to evil, that he would be wise with regard to our nations resources and would protect the weak and vulnerable from tyranny and oppression.

We pray that as a husband, he would have time for his wife. We pray you would help her to love him, to honor him, to support him. We thank you for her commitment to her family, to motherhood, and for her concern to protect and nurture her family.

We pray that as a father, he would have time for his daughters. We pray you would shield them from the criticism and abuse and pressure which will be heaped on them from all sides. Protect them.

Lord, we believe that the election of this man says something about the state of our nation. For hundreds of years we have lived with the stigma of black slavery, a legacy of inequality, abuse and hate. We have been divided by our vision which shows us black and white. We pray that in some way that we can see through your color-blind eyes, your eyes which delight in the diversity of our skin as we celebrate unity as the children of Adam and Noah.

Lord, we know that a president is not a king. A president cannot save from sin. We need a king, and we thank you for your son. He is the only leader who can save us from our deepest need, salvation from our own sins and the sin of Adam. We confess our need before you this morning. We thank you for your loving gracious guidance, we pray for your merciful protection int he years to come.

We thank you for the grace you have given to this country. We pray that as you have blessed us, we may be a blessing to you. May you delight in our ways, and may we be great as we do works of goodness which reflect your will.

In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous we pray. Amen.

Feminine Awareness: First Mom

One of the things I have been grappling with since Tuesday is spending time trying to think of ways to thank God for our president-elect. In this election the American people have demonstrated that racism is not as alive and well as some might think. This alone gives me cause for joy.

I am also deeply impressed with our president-elect's family life. I know his values are different in certain life issues, and that will be an area in which I cannot agree with our president-elect. Our future first lady has also made some comments which give me pause and demonstrate that there is a divide in thinking between she and I as well. But, politics and policies aside (if you detect them, be charitable and ignore them)... this is a delightful little article which demonstrates what Michelle Obama sees as her first and highest calling.

I believe the best and highest form of 'liberation' and 'equality' for women comes in embracing the values which are intrinsic to them (given by God): beauty, motherhood, femininity. This is a strong woman, one who knows who she is and what is important.

Thank you, Michelle, for loving your family more than politics.

Article from the Times