English Congregation
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
I’m in the process of organizing my preaching schedule for this year. If I were to do a 5 part sermon series entitled, “Things I wish Jesus never said (but I’m glad he did)”***, which sayings of Jesus would you choose? Leave a comment below and I’ll consider it. BTW, all comments are moderated, so if you leave a comment, it may take some time before it appears.
***borrowed from the Crowded House
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
We had our first leadership meeting last Sunday which has prompted some thoughts especially as we’ve been reading through 1 Thessalonians. Paul remembers the church in his prayers, specifically in these areas in Chapter 1:2-3
I hope at the end of the year, when all is said and done, we would be remembered not necessarily for the goals we met or didn’t meet, but for these attributes mentioned above. Faith, love, and hope is the truest measure of genuine growth.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
I know this is late, but this shot was too good not to share.
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
One of Justin’s great features since he was born was how easy it was to get him to sleep. When he was younger, he never needed a bedtime story or song. We would put him down, and walked out of the room. Simple as that. Now that he’s 2 and a half, our bedtimes have been quite a battle. Recently he learned how to climb out of his crib which has made the bed time routine more drawn out and frustrating. The past couple of nights he has stayed up way past his bedtime. Seeing a need for change, I brought out Matthew’s old toddler bed and set up his room. For his nap, I told him he could either sleep or play quietly in this room. Surprisingly, he didn’t put up a fuss and he stayed in his room for most of the afternoon. After two hours, my wife discovered that the door was open with him sleeping in our hallway with his head on a board game as a pillow. It’s not what I had in mind, but at this point, we’ll take anything.
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
I was at Safeway with my son to pick up a few things. Usually we pick out these kiddie shopping carts in the shape of a fire truck, but now they have these truck/shopping carts outfitted with a TV screen. If that wasn’t enough, there was a TV screen for the parents. At first I thought it was pretty cool, but when commercials started to roll, I got really angry. I thought about how many hours people typically spend in front of screens: computer, TV, now phones, etc. For many, sitting in front of a screen is part of our livelihood. I understand we can’t completely escape it, but for some reason, I got really annoyed that a screen had to be thrust in front of my face. I know I could have chosen an ordinary cart, which I will do from now on, but it underscores the reality that we can’t seem to function without a screen in front of us. Just the other day, I was behind some SUV with a 15″ screen suspended from the ceiling. I could see in vivid detail the video games the kids were playing. Once again, there’s this mesmerizing glow in front of me while I’m driving!
All this reminds me of the movie Wall-E, ironically watched on a TV screen. On the mothership, the whole society is built around the computer screen which caters to their every need. Everyone seemed very content with status quo until they were unplugged and realized there was a life greater than pursuing their own comfort and pleasure. I wonder if the trajectory of our society is headed towards life on the mothership. I hope not.
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
I’m not sure how many of you have been trying to keep up with the Bible Reading Plan, but I’d like to share some thoughts. There are times where things get a bit dry and boring, especially if you hit upon the middle chapters of Joshua when they are distributing the land. But occasionally you hit upon some spiritual treasures hidden in there when you least expect it, which makes the habit of reading scripture worthwhile. (more…)
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
I mentioned on Sunday that we are created to love people and use things, but somehow we have a distortion in our priorties. Instead, we love things and use people. We depersonalize people, but personalize things. This week, I stumbled across this website called iamhumannow.com. The tagline is hard to see, but this is what it says:
“Human Individuality for non-human objects”
I confess I probably love my mac a little too much, but to dress them up ? Shoot me if you ever see my powerbook dressed up for church.
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback of the University of Florida (Elias’ alma mater). Florida will be playing for the National Championship against Oklahoma tomorrow night. There’s an article about his life in the Washington Post entitled: “Gator’s Tebow has a Twofold Mission”. He spent a lot of time in the Philippines serving orphans which is obviously a unique upbringing for Heisman Trophy winner. Here’s what he had to say about facing pressure:
“Pressure is not having to win a football game; pressure is having to find your next meal,” Tebow said this weekend. “Even though we love it so much, football is still just a game. A lot of people bleed over it and love it, and I’m one of those people. But at the end of the day, I know what’s more important, and pressure is definitely not football.”
I don’t really care who wins tomorrow, but I’ll root for this guy.
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