A little Christmas treat

Christmas is simple right?  We celebrate Jesus being born in a stable, we can read the whole thing in Luke chapter 2, nothing too theologically deep there right?  Take a listen to this little goody that i found while out surfing the internets.  David Bowden is a spoken word poet who has taken the message of Christmas and incorporated the rest of the gospel into it.  I have always loved poetry so this is like gold to me.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of his message, is it understandable, is it theologically correct, is this the way that the Christmas story should be shared by Christians this time of year?  If it is, be sure to give this page, or his video, a share before the big day.

Time to set the mood

Rub-a-dub-dub thanks for the grub
- Amen

Ok i know that Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, and I know that it is the only time of the year when we are actually required to be thankful, but I figured I would do my best to get you in the mood a little early this year.  And since I don't know too many thanksgiving songs, I will just spit out a few bible verses for you.  That way when it comes time to say grace before your thanksgiving feast you can impress your whole family with a loquacious bequeathal of gratitude unto an amicable God. (translation - you can speak a lot of thankful words to a gracious God)

So often we are so blinded by what we do not have that we can not see everything that we do have.  I am certain that someone reading this is thinking, "what do I have to be thankful for, my life sucks", well the seemingly simple act of reading this post puts you near the top of the chart when it comes to blessed people.  I say that for two reasons, 1. you have an internet connection, that is something that most of the world does not have.  2. You are able to read at all, that puts you ahead of 1 billion people on this earth.  So trust me when I say, you have plenty to be thankful for.

It's easy for us to be thankful when we have what we want, when we are healthy, when things are going our way.  But when life throws us a curve ball, when we are face down in the ditch, when things are not the way we would like them to be, that's when giving thanks gets difficult.  We have all been through those times, everything is going so poorly that we forget about all of the blessings that we do have.

Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon

Were all written by Paul in prison

A good example for us to live by goes by the name of Paul, The Apostle Paul that is.  Paul wrote several letters to several different churches, many of these letters were penned while he was behind bars for proclaiming his faith.  The first 14 verses of the book of Colossians are all about being thankful, these verses were written while Paul was in prison.  Paul had it tough, he was doing what God told him to do and now he was in prison for it, yet Paul was still thankful to God.

I encourage you to be thankful even when it seems as though there is nothing to be thankful for, as long as you have breath in your lungs you can be thankful.  I know life may be tough right now, tougher than I may be able to imagine.  Remember this though, God has a deep love for you, a love that is unquenchable, rest in that love, know that He is with you, and be thankful for that.

I leave you with this quote:  "A blessed man who never takes the time to count his blessings is not nearly as blessed as the man who has little but thanks God daily for that which he has"

If you want to be blessed, be thankful for what you already have.

Deal Lord,

Thank you for your blessings in our lives

We know that we are not worthy of anything that we have

yet you decide to bless us with so much.

Help us to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving

help us to see all of the blessings in our lives

and help us to remember to thank you for them daily.

In the holy name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

Let the arrows fly

Take any happy group of people today, put them in a room together, then try to make them hate each other in 10 minutes or less by asking them one question; what would that question be?

What is your opinion on homosexuality?

Yeah, i bring a trident to all my debates

Immediately you see tensions rise, fists ball up, and shanks being pulled from back pockets.  It is almost impossible to find any group of people who agree on this subject.  Even many of my closest friends have different opinions than I do.  

As a pastor I am sure you can all guess what my stance on the subject is, and if I had to guess I would say 50% of you disagree with me.  Yes I think homosexuality is wrong, but before you hit the back button or click over to your Facebook page to share with everyone how hateful I am, you should know that I am in no way bashing or hating homosexuals, quite the opposite really.  

I have noticed lately that as debates and disagreements rise the hatred between the two sides rises with them.  Neither side of the isle is excused from this.  Rather than fan the flames and cause hatred to grow I would like to offer a loving opinion on the subject, one that I believe the bible supports, and one that I think all Christians should learn from.  

I do not hate gay people, I do not dislike them, and I would love to see gay people attend my church.  As a student of the bible I know that a righteous person has never walked through the doors of my church.  We are all liars, we are all thieves, we are all immoral, and homosexuality falls into the category of immoral (Romans 1:26-27).  I believe that homosexuals are in the same boat as the rest of the world, we all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  So in all honesty, I am not sure why this is such a big deal in the first place, why doesn't Westboro Baptist go and picket the funerals of lawyers since they tend to be such big bad liars (sorry lawyers, your just the easiest to pick on).   If I hated sinners I would have to hate myself first because I am the worst sinner I know (1 Timothy 1:15).

At this point I would have to imagine that the opposing side here is asking, "what right do you have to say that homosexuality is a sin, why do you get to decide who some one should love and who they shouldn't".  In reply to this question I say this, I do not have that right, I do not get to decide. God does. He says that homosexuality is bad so I am just agreeing with Him.  So let me ask you a question, again I do not want this to come across in a hateful manner but I think it will prove my point.  

What would you think of a middle aged man who says that he is naturally attracted to pre-pubescent girls, he says he was born that way, and it is natural for him.  If you are like most of the population you would say that he is disgusting and that he can not do that because its wrong.  If we apply the thinking of the homosexual movement we would say that he should be allowed to love whoever he wants to love.  I am sure you can see where I am going with this, its a very slippery slope.

Sin is sin, it does not matter what form it comes in.  Our society has told us that some is worse than others, but the bible makes it clear, we all sin, and God hates it all.  The only way that we can avoid the wrath that God has stored up for sinners is to allow the atoning work of Jesus to cover that sin.  Whether your sin is lying or homosexuality, God wants to see you repent, turn to Jesus, and live the life that He has called you to live.  

In conclusion I want to make myself very clear.  I have a deep love for homosexual people, do I agree with them, no, do I want to see them repent from homosexuality, yes, but most importantly I want them to know that God loves them more than anyone else does.  The moment that we put our trust in Jesus, and repent from our sin, God will give us new desires, he will cause us to love things we never thought possible, and be people that we never thought we could be.

So bring on the negative comments below, tell me how wrong I am, but know this; I'm just telling you what the bible says, so your issue is not with me, but with God, so let Him know how you feel.

Dear Lord,

I pray that your message of love will begin to permeate this nation,

I pray that we will see that we are all in the same boat,

Sinners, in need of love and grace.

I pray that you will do a great work in the lives of your people,

helping us to spread love and peace, not hate and war.  

I pray that the message above would cause us to think,

To think about who we are, and who you are, and realize how much we need you.

We love you God, and we pray this in Jesus name,

Amen  

Why do we walk the walk?

this guy is definitely saved

Christians are weird right?  Some may be weirder than others but we all have this.... peculiarness about us.  Why is that, what drives Christians to be different from the rest of the world.  Life would be so much easier if we were just like everyone else.

God has told us to be in this world but not of it (Romans 12:2), meaning that we are always going to live here, but we should not act like the rest of the world acts.  God calls us to live a life that has been "set apart" or "holy".  The question now becomes, why?  Why does God want us to be different?

Most people think that we live differently so that we can go to heaven; we don't drink, or cuss, or lie so that God will love us more, so that we can go to heaven.  The better we act the better our chance of going to heaven will be.  Well that's a bunch of CRAP!  Being a good person, doing your best, obeying the law will not get you saved, so you might as well stop trying now (Romans 3:23).

None of us will ever be good enough for God to let us into heaven, only God is good enough for heaven.  It's only because of Gods grace that we can ever get there.  What is grace you ask?  Grace is unmerited favor, its getting something that you don't deserve.  None of us deserve heaven because we have broken God's laws, we have all lied, and cheated, and stolen, and lusted (Exodus 20), and none of us deserve heaven.

If we are willing to admit that we are undeserving of heaven, and count on the sacrifice of Jesus to get us there, then we will have His grace (Ephesians 2:8).  So what is it that makes us weird then, if we don't have to do all of this "stuff" to be saved whats the point of living differently than the rest of the world?

Get your pencil out and write this down "We don't do good works to be saved, we do good works because we are saved".  Rather than trying to be good to earn heaven, we should be good out of appreciation of the grace that we have been given by God.

1 bajillion dollars

Imagine that you were given a bajillion dollars from a good friend, this friend didn't want anything for the money, he just wanted to give it to you because he loved you.  Even though he did not want anything from you, you should be compelled to repay him somehow.  God has given you something worth more than money, and out of gratefulness for this gift we devote our lives to Him.

This is why Christians should be weird, we should be set apart, different, striving for holiness, not because we have to, but because we want to.

Dear Lord,

Help us to strive for holiness

help us to remember that we can not earn your love,

but you give it freely to those that will put their trust in you.

Help us to live a life that is pleasing to you, that our lives would be a sacrifice,

out of pure thankfulness for the gift that you have offered to us.  

In the precious name of Jesus

Amen

If this intrigues you check out this book by Chuck Smith, and be praying for his family as today was the day when he met Jesus.  http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Changes-Everything

Here is a sermon on grace from Francis Chan that you might enjoy as well.

Whats the point?

Whats the point?

James Orr - Theologian

Theology, it's a scary word right?  We hear it and tune out everything that comes next because it is probably above our heads and it most likely wont effect our lives anyway.  Theology, let's just leave it to guys that look like this. →

What if i told you that  theology is not scary, it does not have to be above your head, and most importantly, it will effect your life.  When put plainly, theology is simply the study of God, that doesn't  sound so scary now does it?

Not what God looks like
(John 4:24)

If you continue reading this blog you will learn how theology effects us "down here", those of us who are not super brains, those of us who want practical biblical teaching, those of us who desire to know God but are afraid of words like "anthropomorphism" (attributing human characteristics to God).

If you are looking for a place to learn about God without the teacher making you feel dumber, a place where the teacher uses words like dumber, then go ahead and bookmark this page now.  Some posts may be text only, some may include video or audio clips, but rest assured that however the information is conveyed it will effect you, and you will be able to understand it.

Dear Lord,

Use this ministry as You see fit, use it to glorify yourself.

May the authors and readers have supernatural understanding given by You,

help us to grow in our knowledge, understanding, and love of you.  

 Give us the boldness to proclaim Your truths into the darkness;

the darkness of our communities, our social circles, and the internet.

Give us opportunities to be ambassadors for the Kingdom,

laying aside our own selfish desires so that we may pick up our crosses

and follow You alone.

We love you Lord,

Amen.