They're just words
November 26, 2008
My wife talks more than I do. It’s a fact. And before you think I am being chauvinistic, she agrees with me and celebrates that fact. So, you can imagine how relieved I was when I read in Matthew 12 that Jesus says,
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
If women speak more words, they have a statistically greater chance of getting judged by God. This means that God will be a little sidetracked trying to figure out what in the world ... read more
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We're expecting!
October 08, 2008
What a spectacle John the Baptist must have been. He dressed like a freak and spoke like a prophet. He must have made quite an impact as the scriptures tell us that people came from all over to hear him.
In Matthew 11 verse 7 Jesus is asking them, “When you went out to see John the Baptist what were your expectations?”
It’s a great question and we touched on it last week. When you do anything in relation to the Kingdom of God, what are your expectations? When you go to church is it the same old thing? Worship music, boring sermon, back in the car and home to watch football.
What if God was ... read more
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Can I Get A Witness?
September 10, 2008
Imagine if God told you to share Christ with someone. I mean He literally showed up in a dream and gave you a person and said, “Tomorrow at 5:00pm you will cross paths with a guy in a blue shirt, wire rimmed glasses, cargo shorts and a Nike hat . I want you to tell him about Jesus.” Then at 5:00, just like magic, the guy shows up. Would you do it? I bet you would. I bet you would step out in faith and say to the guy, “I know this sounds crazy but God told me in a dream to talk to you about Jesus.”
Of course you’d do it. You’d be blown away. God told you specifically to do something and ... read more
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Thrust Into The Harvest
September 04, 2008
Today was the first day of school for my kids. Literally. The first time they have ever gone to school. We have home schooled our kids for eight years. Audrey started the 9th grade today, Emily started the 7th and our son Jesse began the 3rd. It was interesting to see the different approaches to their first day. Audrey knew exactly where she was going and when she needed to be there. Emily went straight to some friends.
Then there was Jesse.
I watched him as he entered the playground before school started. He didn’t know a soul. His hands were thrust in his pockets and he wandered aimlessly. ... read more
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You've Finally Arrived...Now Go.
August 27, 2008
I’m really excited about this week’s sermon. Not only because I’m back from vacation but because the text we are studying is so cool. Anytime we can learn from Jesus it’s awesome. When I read the Bible I like to ask a lot of questions. Why did Jesus say that? Where are they? Why didn’t Jesus just…(insert my brilliant idea here)? So when we get to the text in Matthew 9 where Jesus goes out into all the towns and villages I have to ask myself, “Why is He doing that? Why is He going?"He’s already insanely popular. When he healed the paralytic Luke says that there were leaders from every village i ... read more
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ESP - Extra Spiritual Perception
July 24, 2008
The text we are in this week is Matthew 9:1-8. It’s the story of the paralytic who gets lowered down through the roof. Great story. There are so many cool things about it: 4 buddies go the extra mile for a friend, Jesus tells the guy that “his sins are forgiven” and then is like, “Oh, and I’ll heal you too.” Great stuff. As I was going through the text this week I was struck by something different. In all three accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke) it says that Jesus read their minds. Is that freaky or what!? He read their minds! Here’s the thing. If somebody read your mind wouldn’t you be c ... read more
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Pigs on Embankment
July 17, 2008
O.K. so the title of the blog is lame. It’s a play on “Pig in a…” Never mind. Anyway, last week we talked about 6 purposes of a storm. Jesus has just calmed the storm for the disciples and now we see him landing on shore in what Matthew calls "the region of the Gadarenes." Do you know what he does? He creates a storm. A big one. He kills 2,000 pigs. Technically the demons killed the pigs but unless you are Jesus' lawyer you're going to have a hard time making that argument.Now before you get all sentimental, realize that in 2006 America ate pretty close to 20 million pounds of pork. (Mmm ... read more
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"He's So Cute When He's Sleeping"
July 10, 2008
What is your view of Jesus? We have been talking a lot about Jesus and how knowing Him is a relationship not a religion. I often like to think of Jesus as my friend. He's my best buddy, my old chum...just me and Jesus in line at Starbucks. Then the storm hits. When that happens I want God. I want power and authority. I don't want Him just hanging with me, I want Him in control. Can we have both?When the disciples get in the boat to take Jesus away from the crowds they are only doing what they were told to do. All of a sudden they are in a fight for their very lives. Aren’t we supposed to be sa ... read more
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Living the Kingdom
June 26, 2008
In the beginning of Matthew Chapter 8 Jesus has just finished a killer sermon about the Kingdom of God. This can be summed up as the greatest sermon ever given. At least until we got smart and started using PowerPoint and YouTube videos.So here’s the thing. After I preach a sermon I usually take a nap. I am what pastors refer to as a preaching “light weight.” I mean, seriously, we only have one service. How difficult can preaching one sermon be? What is the first thing Jesus does? A red carpet grand opening of “The Kingdom?”. A book signing tour? Sabbatical? No, the first thing He does is actu ... read more
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I Never Knew You
June 18, 2008
This week we are studying Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus makes a pretty horrible statement. Essentially there are going to be a bunch of people who call Jesus “Lord” but they end up in hell. If you’re like me you look at a verse like that and think, “Yup, and I can pretty much tell you who they are!” I have been reading many commentaries on this verse and every one of the writers is so confident. “It’s the Charasmatic Movement because they cast out demons” or “It’s the people who just attend church and judge everyone else.” It’s never them. It’s never us. You wouldn’t sell very many commentaries if yo ... read more
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Brewed Awakenings
May 19, 2008
Today is Sunday. Most pastors are probably real calm on Sunday morning. This particular Sunday morning they most likely had a 4 hour quiet time and led 3 morning joggers to Christ on the way to church. Not so much with me. I’m usually kind of amped on Sunday. Not stressed. Not irritable. It’s just that everything is kicked up a notch. I’m excited get to church. Maybe I’m a little nervous but I’ve never really figured it out. This morning I got to my neighborhood Starbucks in kind of a rush. I act like there’s only one Starbucks in the neighborhood when really there are six. Anyway, you have to ... read more
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"A Leader For Your Past, Present and Future"
February 06, 2008
I admit it. I love politics. I get all giddy when I see them fighting. I know it’s not very pastoral of me but I love to see one politician absolutely indignant about practices of another politician that they themselves indulged in just a few weeks ago. Filibusters, personal attacks and pet projects. It warms my heart to see the hypocrisy. It’s kind of like professional wrestling. When the cameras are rolling just pump your fist and yell into the microphone. Works every time. Everyone knows it’s fake but it makes great television.One of the things that we see in this year’s election (and ... read more
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"Infratonic 8000"
December 13, 2007
A couple of days ago our church was helping someone get back on their feet. It’s part of our program called the “Good Samaritan” fund. It is a great way for our church to obtain money, food and other items and make them available to help people in need in our community. We were using some of those funds to pay for a couple of nights in a motel for a guy named Michael who had taken a bad fall and had several broken ribs. I’m using a different name for him to protect his anonymity. I don’t know why I’m doing that but it seems like that’s what you’re supposed to do when writing stuff like this. A ... read more
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Dispensationalist Housewives
November 08, 2007
There’s a writer’s strike! Do you realize what this means? We may be forced to watch less television. This is totally unacceptable and I, for one, am not going to stand idly by and watch the institution of wholesome family entertainment go down the tubes. The strike has only been going on for about three days and already they are canceling a bunch of episodes. Do they write them that fast? That’s amazing. Well, in the interest of doing my part to keep things moving, I’ve decided to write an episode for a show. It’s free of charge and I’ve waived all my DVD rights. It’s just my way ... read more
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iPoor
October 31, 2007
I just lost one month of my life. I’ll never get it back. It’s like I was in a coma from August 9th to September 7th of this year. I didn’t exist. At least that’s what my computer tells me. Somehow those weeks got deleted off my calendar. I had no soccer practice, I didn’t meet with anyone, didn’t have any staff meetings and didn’t get my car fixed. That vacation? Never happened. There was a movie with Steven Seagal where he got put in a coma by some bad guys (they thought he was dead.) When he awoke, although very weak, he was able to go back and kill all the people that took his life away. T ... read more
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Game Plan
September 12, 2007
Ahhhh. Soccer season. To me there is nothing like it. Smelling the freshly mowed, dew kissed grass as I sip a steaming cup of Starbucks Ethiopian Harrar. The sound of the whistle. Parents screaming at the top of their lungs with mouths full of Doritos telling their little kid to “get the baaaaalllll...get the ball...no...run...no...over there...ruuuuuuunnnnnn...kick it...kiiiick it...ki....ru...no...over...ruuuuun!” It’s truly magical.
I have been around this sport for about 18 years and it hasn’t changed at all. I played back when Americans used to have those “Soccer Sucks” bumper st ... read more
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News for the dogs
August 29, 2007
If you know anything about me you know I absolutely LOVE dogs. I’ll save that for another blog. I also absolutely HATE the news. It doesn’t matter if it’s liberal or conservative. I’ll save that for another blog as well. So this month has been a real struggle for me since dogs are all over the news.
I am just now getting over putting our dog “Tico” down. I loved that dog but it isn’t cool to bite little girls in the face. Boys maybe, girls no. Anyway, that was almost a year ago and I’m just now able to deal with it. I’m so desperate I’ve even gotten our church administrator’s dog to like m ... read more
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"Vacation"
August 08, 2007
Right now I’m sitting in the parking lot of an A&W root beer restaurant about 50 miles south of the Portland, OR on Interstate 5. My family is eating inside and I just couldn’t bring myself to eat another hamburger. We started 3 days ago from Orange County and 23 fights over who gets to use the video iPod later, this is all we have to show for it.
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"All"
July 26, 2007
“A-L-L the stain lifter”
Remember that commercial? You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhtlbSOYOFw .It’s a total waste of time but an argument could be made that this blog is as well. Anyway, this is the word that has been haunting (is a pastor allowed to say “haunting?”) me all week. All. It’s so final. So encompassing. Kind of scary.
If you read the New American Standard Bible , “all” is used 4,531 times. NIV clocks in at a mere 4,086. It’s used to describe facts like “God saw all that He had made and it was very good” or “And he put them all in custody for th ... read more
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“The Good Liberal” (or Conservative)
July 12, 2007
Last week we talked about the “Good Samaritan” in church. There are all sorts of good feelings associated with that name. If someone were to describe you as a “Samaritan” today you would most likely hang your head in humility, shrug your shoulders and say “awww shucks”. We have Good Samaritan hospitals, organizations and our church even has a Good Samaritan ministry. We call it “Good Sam” which I’m fairly certain is an RV club but that is besides the point. The point is that the label “Samaritan” has changed.
Let’s rewind, oh, about 2,000 years. Jesus told a story that would have bee ... read more
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“Fishers with men”
June 26, 2007
I hate fishing. First of all, I'm scared to death of water and second I'm fairly certain there is always something large following the boat at all times. A species yet to be discovered. My floating leg will be the first clue of its existence. I mention this because a few weeks ago the superintendent of our denomination, Steve Fitch, (Super Steve) had asked our Next Level Group (NLG) to go on a father-son fishing trip in the waters of Mexico. The last thing I'm going to do is feed my seven-year-old son to that thing following the boat so I chose to go it alone.
The NLG is a group of ... read more
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Proud as a peacock
June 15, 2007
Our men’s group met last night in my office. It was such a great time. We went over Philippians chapter 2 verses 1-8. We are reading the book Stand Against the Wind by Erwin McManus. In the book Pastor Erwin says,
“Had Jesus come with power and royalty, wealth and prestige, it would have approved all the things we lust after. Had He chosen the path that pointed to the highest treasures of men, it would have led us away from the treasures of God. Instead, Jesus was most honored because He was most humble. He has ben exalted to the highest place for He alone was willing to go to the l ... read more
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In memory of Tom Atkins
May 26, 2007
A dear friend mine passed away a few days ago. His name is Tom Atkins and he was 58 years old.
When Lisa and I started a Bible study on our street in Lakewood we had it at his house. He had extraordinary gifts of hospitality and encouragement. He was a giver and had a very soft heart. A big heart. A sweet heart. A humble heart. All the terms you would use to describe him would have the word “heart” in them.
It was his heart that failed him. Tom had a pacemaker that would fire (much like a defibrillator) when his heartbeat became irregular. It would basically shock his he ... read more
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Identity theft is not all that bad
May 08, 2007
So, there is a new trick in the identity theft business. Someone calls and says they are a jury coordinator with the local jury system. They say you are in big trouble for not responding to the jury duty notice. You say, “I never got the notice.” They say they don’t believe you but if you give them your social security number and date of birth and they’ll “look it up for you.” Guess what? You just got worked. Better get a second job. You can read about this scam at the FBI web site http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm
Identity theft is big business. The way it typic ... read more
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Small group ministry?
May 03, 2007
I have a confession to make. I work on my sermons at the Crystal Cathedral. It’s by my house, has free internet access and they have a cafeteria that has a killer pastrami sandwich. Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, the acoustics in the cafe I work at are horrible. If I so much as have my stomach growl it reverberates through that place like a T-Rex looking for a meal. So, needless to say, I hear everyone’s conversations. Today was no exception.
It was four elderly people and the conversation bounced around like this:
“Did you see the Britney Spears special last ... read more
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Happy-headed? No.
April 16, 2007
"No description needed..."
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