Hello Old Friends

Somehow the lyrics of this song seem appropriate to me.  I don’t really have anything new to say per se.  I found myself here at the blog thanks to a new comment on a three year old post that continues to see traffic even as I have failed to write anything new for over seven months.  I thought that since I was around, I would do a little blogkeeping and an update of sorts.

The past year has been interesting and busy.  Every so often, I have thought about sitting down and writing some more, but I seem to always find other things to do that are more pressing.  There was a time, way back when, that I had hoped to try and do three posts a day here.  I have long since become more realistic, although I might try and be so bold as to post something weekly in the coming year.  I had harbored hopes one day of gathering a host of readers who came to interact and contribute to interesting and funny discussions.  I have instead gotten to the point that I don’t even come by here every day myself.  I don’t check my stats to see how many people have been here.  Perhaps my OneWord for last year has sunk in just a little bit.  I don’t have a word for this year.  Maybe one will hit me, or maybe it won’t.  I am quite content either way and if something changes, you who are faithful readers will be among the first to know.

Since there isn’t much new to say, I suppose I will say saying any more for another post.  Until then, see ya around old friends.

Pfunday Pmonday – Volume 3

At some point I suppose I will get back to more serious content on a regular basis.  I have certainly got some ideas for some serious posts in the works.  In the meantime, I still like to unload a few funny bits and pieces along the way.

So I was watching the Masters golf tourney yesterday, and I got a kick out of watching Phil Mickelson play a hole more like me than like a professional enroute to carding a triple bogey 6.  He made up for it by making sure the rest of his round looked nothing like the way I play, except for leaving putts short on a bunch of holes.  I am pretty good at that too.  But that wasn’t the story of the day for me.  I was actually watching from the beginning of CBS’s coverage and got to see Oosthuizen sink his once in a lifetime “albatross” at the second hole (video in the linked story for those who wish to see it or find out what in the world an albatross is in golfing lingo).  I can assure you that it isn’t anything like this.

 

But for the life of me, I couldn’t get this silly sketch out of my head from the moment he hit the shot until much later in the day.  Of course, here it is again to get stuck in your head.  Enjoy!  Of course, I won’t even comment about Bubba, other than to give him props for winning his first major.  Nothing quite like a guy named Bubba winning the ultimate Southern golfing event to bring a smile to the old face.

In stranger news, I ran across a story last week about a 10 story tree house, and all I could think was, “how cool would it be to live in that.”

Image courtesy of UK Daily Mail

It’s got its own little chapel, so we could even have church in there.  I love it.

And then I have the story that I have to include, not so much because it is funny but because I think it would be cool to see how long I could stand to be in absolute silence.  They say that no one has made it more than 45 minutes.  I think I could do it though.  I do know at least one person who would never make it that long.  My very talkative young daughter.  Silence is not golden for her, it really is unbearable.

Stay tuned.  I am working on a post about a recent story from academia regarding the Shroud of Turin.  It is kind of comical in that I don’t think these guys think through the implications of what they say, but I want to give it more than just an off the cuff laugh treatment.

Have a Pfun Pmonday.  (Brought to you by Price Pfister, the pfabulous pfaucet with the pfunny pname.

Sunday Morning Sermon for 1/8/12

We had a great time in the Lord this morning.  The next four sermons (starting this morning) will all focus on the four traits of a disciple.  Today we talked about memorizing the Master’s teachings, as in memorizing the Word of God.  It was a fun service and I hope you are blessed by the sharing of the Word.

Please note that the wireless mic situation is close to being resolved.  I discovered that the old one had completely gone out and a new one is scheduled to arrive this week.  The audio quality for this week may not be perfect, but it should be OK.  One other note, the new blog format seems to have changed my outline style for some reason.

Being a Disciple

Sermon notes 1/8/12

1. Four Jobs of a Disciple

   1. Memorize their teacher’s words – John 2:22; 15:20

   2. Learn the teacher’s traditions and interpretations– Luke 11:1

   3. Imitate their teacher’s actions – Luke 6:40

   4. To raise up disciples – Matthew 28:18-20

2. Memorize the teacher’s words

   1. Psalm 119:11; Psalm 37:30-31

   2. Matthew 10:26-27

   3. Brother Yun and the Gospel

3. Storing Up God’s Word

   1. What verses do you know already?

   2. What verses will you learn this year?

Pastor’s Desk Column from 10/3/11

There is an old saying that tells believers in Christ that we may be the only Bible someone ever reads; or alternately, that we may be the only Jesus that someone ever sees. Every time I hear that, I admit to having just a little shudder as I say a prayer for those to whom that statement applies. There have been plenty of high-profile Christian leaders who have done and said very unbiblical and unChristlike things over the years. So much so that I wouldn’t even have to go back a month to pull out a shining example or two. From Pat Robertson lying about Alzheimer’s patients being in a “kind of death” and therefore OK to divorce, to Rob Bell declaring that “love wins” and no one should have to worry about hell; I would be willing to give a vast swath of unbelieving people a pass if this is all they have to go on when it comes to the Bible or Christ. And I am not even pulling out the biggies like famous pastors who have committed adultery and such.

The problem of course is that it isn’t in my purview to be able to give anyone a pass; and furthermore, this isn’t all a person has available to truly know the Bible or Jesus unless a person willfully chooses to be ignorant of the things of God. There is no excuse when a Bible is readily available to all of those who are reading these words even now. The person of Jesus Christ is easily discovered and knowing who He is and what He is like is open to anyone who would like to sit down and read the gospels for themselves. The Gospel of Mark is probably a quicker read than perusing every word of a given week’s edition of this paper in a single setting.

Should Christians be Christlike examples and people of character? Certainly, that is the goal. But the Bible also is patently clear, and human experience tells us even beyond that, that we humans are a very fallible lot. If you place all of your trust in some prominent Christian, whether they be a national celebrity or a pastor in your local church, it is unfortunately misplaced. We fail too. In fact, I am always dumbfounded to find that there are some people who think that their pastor (and this has happened to me before) is perfect. My greatest hope is that I am following Jesus closely enough that you can see right through me to where He is at work in my life. But by all means, get to know Him for yourself. Follow Him yourself. Don’t depend on Pat or Rob or me or any other Christian to be the perfect Christ for you. It probably won’t end well.

Sunday Morning Sermon for 10/2/11

As I was working to catch up on my sermon posting I suddenly realized that this sermon was cut off in the middle by a battery issue.  The mic went dead on me in mid-sermon and no one seemed to notice.  It may mean that I preach too loud.  🙂

I will go ahead and include the portion of the audio that I have along with the notes, but just be forewarned that the sermon audio ends before the sermon itself actually did.  If you don’t like being left hanging, you might not want to listen.

Notes are available below as well so you can pick up where my audio leaves off if you want.  May God richly bless you through His Word.

Marks of a Disciple

2 Peter 1:3-15

Sermon notes 10/2/11

1. Things that pertain to life and godliness

   1. Called to be like Him – v. 3

   2. Given His promises – v. 4

   3. Escaping from corruption – v. 5

2. Stacking up godly character

   1. Faith

   2. Virtue

   3. Knowledge

   4. Self-Control

   5. Steadfastness (Patience)

   6. Godliness

   7. Brotherly Affection

   8. Love

3. Spiritual nearsightedness

   1. The need to see far – v. 11

   2. Diligence and practice – v. 10

Baptist Boy Imbibes Can of Busch Water

Note: I know that posting has been sparse of late.  I have been busier than normal.  This post was written for SBC Voices and published there today.

I may have forever lost my chance to get a NAMB appointment this past week and I might have to turn in my Baptist credentials or something. I drank every drop of the contents of the can you see on the right here and I enjoyed doing it (I also took this photo in a Lutheran church so who knows what is happening to me). I am writing a little tongue-in-cheek, although some may take me too seriously to be sure. This little can of water got me thinking this past week. I would like to share some of those thoughts with you.

There is often a great deal of discussion about alcohol on this blog and I am not about to open that can of worms again (if someone tries to derail this comment thread with another alcohol argument I will delete the comments myself, unless Dave beats me to it). Suffice it to say that I cannot find a single verse that says something like “thou shalt not make beer.” I don’t drink beer or any other alcohol for that matter as a point of personal preference and conscience, but I have to hand it to the folks at Anheuser-Busch for the work they do getting drinking water into disaster areas.

I spent four days last week serving as a Disaster Relief Chaplain in flood-ravaged Minot, ND. We were asked to come in by the Red Cross in order to provide some care and calm in the shelters they are currently administering for those who have been displaced by flooding in and around the area. By all accounts, our ministry has been of great benefit already in meeting that need and I am looking forward to going back in again during the coming weeks as I have opportunity (most likely this week as well). During my time there, I saw these cans of water at the shelter. I have heard of them before (notably after Katrina), but unless you are in a disaster area where water is needed desperately you may never see one in person. I have to give props to SBC Disaster Relief as well. Since very early in this disaster we have had folks on the ground offering all kinds of help: water, clothing, personal items, food and so forth. The first trip I made to the area almost four weeks ago was with a mission team to deliver a trailer full of bottled water and other supplies in fact.

After seeing the cans, I was reflecting on the words of Matthew 25, so much so that I preached on that passage this past Sunday. It strikes me that the folks who came up with the idea of doing this at Anheuser-Busch are exactly like those who are mentioned in Matthew 25. When told that they saw the King thirsting and gave Him water to drink, these people are befuddled. They never even realized what they had done. Frankly, it probably doesn’t occur to some of us religious folks just how stunning this passage is until we put it in a context like this.

There are lots of believers who take this kind of thing to heart and heed the words of Jesus, but we have to be completely honest. There are also those who claim to be believers who never give a second thought to passing out some water to those in need or meeting the needs of those around them. And that brings me back to the stunning image that Jesus’ words evoke. I imagine these are the folks who will be completely shocked on that day, when Jesus says well done good and faithful servant to a guy or guys from Anheuser-Busch and tells the “believer in their own mind” that He never knew them.

P.S. Just so you know, the water doesn’t really taste great (it is kind of metallic from the can), but I am pretty sure it is less filling. And the Lutheran church referenced above is housing a few of us SBC disaster relief workers in their facility just north of our church where the command post is located.

Sunday Morning Sermon for 7/24/11

We are taking a one-week break from the sermon series covering the 10 Commandments this week.  The primary reason is that I spent part of last week serving as a chaplain in Minot with our Dakota Disaster Relief team.  There wasn’t a formal outline for this sermon in the bulletin so I just offer the audio file for you here.  The main text comes from Matthew 25:31-46.  May God richly bless you through His Word.

Sunday Morning 7/17/11

I plugged in the recorder to download the audio from yesterday and suddenly realized that I never hit record.  So there is no audio at all from yesterday.  I will try and keep my mind working next Sunday and get the recording made.  I will blame this week on the hotter conditions in the sanctuary this past week.  If you think about it, please pray for me later in this coming week as I will be heading to Minot to help as a Disaster Relief Chaplain for several days.

Camptown Races

Editor’s note: I thought I published this a couple of days ago, but it is still sitting here as a draft so I am publishing it now.  Also, look for a new installment of Fun Stuff for Friday later today.

I went to youth camp for the first time in four years last week.  It was a shortened camp because of the 4th of July, but I took along my oldest son and another young man from our church and drove 10 1/2 hours one way to have a couple of days retreat away from it all.  In doing this, I was reminded of a couple of reasons why I still love youth and working with young people.

1.  They can be really frustrating one minute and really amazing the next.  Funny things happen with teens.  Between the ever-unpredictable changes in mood and topic, you get the occasional real nugget of inspiration from those guys.  I started to question my own sanity a couple of times near the beginning of the trip and the first day of camp too; but by the end of camp, I was not only glad I had done it, I am making mental plans to do it again next year.

2.  It is good for all of us to get away once in a while.  This camp is somewhat remote, so cell phone service is basically nonexistent.  While there is some wireless internet signal in the camp, it isn’t much to speak of either.  For the better part of two days, I was mostly cut off from the phone, internet and a lot of distractions.  This was a good thing for me.  I have been getting into the habit of taking a weekly Sabbath from my electronics each Saturday and I have certainly enjoyed it.  But the temptation is always there to pick up the netbook or phone and just make a “quick check” of emails and such.  We all need away time.  Teenagers need this time more than most.  They have grown up in a world that is so hyperconnected it is startling.  Before we were even two hours away from camp, the older teen in my van (the one who isn’t my son) was already involved in 4 or 5 text conversations with people he had just said goodbye to at the camp.  If you are a young person, I would encourage you to slow down and unplug from time to time.  It is a healthy thing.

Moving on from camp, I have just been made aware that there has been a request for disaster relief chaplains in Minot as the situation in human terms gets more difficult.  Battling floodwaters is far easier than dealing with the human condition (especially under pressure from stress).  Please pray for me and others who will deploy to help in Minot in the coming weeks.

Funny Friday Kind of Stuff

This collection has it all: irony, sad-humor, and more.  Let’s start with the ironic stuff.  I almost hate to call it funny because someone did die, but it is hard not to note the irony of the story of an advocate of “freedom from helmets” who dies precisely because he isn’t wearing one when he has a wreck.

State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.

From the morbidly ironic, let us move to the seriously mentally challenged.  I have spoken about the insanity of the global warming hype before.  This week I have a trio of stories to highlight the absolute nuttiness these people espouse.  You might have caught stories of people snow skiing in the Sierras and elsewhere on the Fourth of July.  Granted they do get to wear shorts and bathing suits because of the “global warming.”  Oh wait, if there was global warming for real, we shouldn’t even have snow at all.

There are also problems with those claims for rising sea levels too.

Taylor’s takeaway: Be wary of sea level rise estimates.

“When Al Gore talks about Manhattan flooding this century, and 20 feet of sea level rise, that’s simply not going to happen. If it were going to happen, he wouldn’t have bought his multi-million dollar mansion along the coast in California.”

And fittingly with all of this environmental idiocy comes the story from Maryland about “environmental literacy.”  Based on the previous two shining examples, I am hopeful that it is a course in recognizing complete balderdash, but it appears to be worse than that.  This is a requirement for kids to graduate from high school in Maryland, but even its advocates can’t define what it is.

Sarah Bodor of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation supports the initiative and says there is no mandate.

 “People express concern about the content but what is important to know is that this new requirement doesn’t actually mandate any content at all.”

Actually, I suppose that is fitting indeed, since it pretty much sums up the nature of the entire global warming position: no content at all!

In a separate vein of scientific madness, those folks in Sweden have gone completely bonkers as well.  Apparently, it is now in vogue to completely ignore observable facts and even the on Time cover story, wherein their authors made the astonishing realization that men and women are different (and may even be born that way).  Now Sweden is setting the whole scientific discovery of gender difference back 30 years or so.

At the “Egalia” preschool, staff avoid using words like “him” or “her” and address the 33 kids as “friends” rather than girls and boys.From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don’t fall into gender stereotypes.

Never let it be said that these folks did anything that makes good sense.  Boys can pick up a stick and turn it into a gun inside of 5 seconds and a girl could pick of the same stick and turn it into a doll in the same amount of time.  Don’t let that stop them though.  It is too much fun to mock such senseless nonsense.

Finally, in the realm of bizarre, funny and touching all at once, I give you the story of the man who found out he had cancer after being hit by a golf ball.

When being checked out by emergency technicians, a doctor asked Logan about a lump below his throat and urged him to get it checked out. The lump turned out to be a malignant tumor on his thyroid — and the errant golf shot ended up saving his life.

That does it, I definitely need to play more golf.