Sensitive Subject
The beauty and challenge of going verse by verse through a book of the Bible is that there are subjects that we might not have otherwise addressed but that Jesus does. This last weekend we dove into Mark 10:1-11 and heard some challenging and controversial words from Jesus about marriage and divorce. (For reference: other passages that we looked at were Matthew 19, 1 Corinthians 7, and Romans 3)
I won’t reiterate the entire message here, but I did promise to put some resources on the blog. The best practical guide I’ve run into was put together by Mars Hill church in Seattle. I won’t say that I agree with every word, but for the majors I think this is a good resource. You can find it here.
A reminder from Sunday’s teaching, don’t lose sight that the reason God takes marriage so seriously is that it is one of the primary metaphor’s He uses to describe His relationship to us. And if we are honest, not one of us can say that we have been faithful to Him. That is what makes his permanent, (Ahava) love for us so amazing.
Also, remember the two ways that the church has erred in it’s teaching on this matter. 1) to focus so much on the do’s and do not’s that the primary message of grace through Jesus is left out. 2) to worry so much about offending people that Biblical teaching of what is right and wrong is ignored or distorted.
And above all else please catch this. Romans 3 boils down the entire teaching of the Bible so well. 1) God has set a standard 2) we can not meet it (we can’t) 3) that is why Jesus came, died and rose (He did it for us) He was faithful even though were not. Because on our own we could not.
Beauty
Check out this commercial’s message about real beauty.
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30
Strawberry Festival
What a fun weekend. Here’s a peak at some of the fun we had at the Strawberry Festival. We helped to man the info booth. We walked, biked and strollered the parade route and enjoyed some community connection.
Thanks to John and Modernistic for the sign!
Thanks to our committed booth team!
Thanks to our awesome parade team! (including those who fell prey to the exploding icees!)
The Top 5 Things Dads need to hear from their Kids
1- “I’m proud of you.”
2- “I’m better because of you.”
3- “I want to be like you.”
4- “I forgive you.”
5- “I’m sorry.”
Don’t just tell him, show him you love him. Help him be the man God has created him to be.
The Top 5 things Kids need to hear from their Fathers
1- “I’m proud.”
2- “I’m here.”
3 – “No, because I love you.”
4- “Yes, because I trust you.”
5- “I’m sorry.”
Not one of these will be heard, if they are not also seen.
Be the man God created you to be.
Churches: Good or Bad… how to know
One of the things we talked about during Sunday’s ONE PRAYER message was Jesus prayer for his believers to be ONE. (John 17)
That is a real challenge today. A lot of Christian energy has been expended on an internal Civil War and distracted us from the primary command of Jesus. That is to “Go and make disciples.” (Matthew 28 )
So, how do we differentiate between “friendly fire” and “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15)?
Having been asked recently my thoughts about a few specific preachers and churches I thought it would be good to share some ways for us all to be discerning.
There is a saying…
“In the majors… unity, in the minors… liberty”
THE MINORS:
We used an apple pie as a metaphor for this on Sunday. There is a lot of liberty in how an apple pie is prepared, how it is presented, what kind of crust is used, and even what ingredients and measurements are used. Those are all the minors. You could take out the cinnamon, use a store bought crust, change the preparation procedure and in the end it would still be… Apple pie.
THE MAJORS:
But, if you take out the apples… No matter what else you do, no matter how much it looks like an apple pie on the outside, it is not an apple pie. The major, what makes it an apple pie or not are the apples. The apples are the majors. No substitute will suffice.
So, what are the Apples in the church world?
THE APPLE TEST:
1) Jesus is THE Savior:
fully God and fully man, sinless one, died on the cross, raised from the dead victorious over sin, death and the devil. He is the one and only way to salvation.
2) God is the focus and not man:
God, the three in one: a) our creator, God the Father, b) our redeemer, God the Son and c) our helper, God the Holy Spirit is THE focus of worship regardless of style.
3) the Bible is the truth:
The Bible is THE inspired word of God. It is NOT a collection of fables and fairy-tale like stories, but rather the true, active and living word of God. It is followed, studied and by it do all other practices, teachings and confessions stand or fall.
4) Repentance is taught:
Repentance is the confession of sin and seeking of God’s forgiveness as found only in the grace of Jesus sacrifice on the cross and victory over the grave
I contend, that the more that we recognize those who stand together with us on the foundational and eternal MAJORS the less we will fight amongst ourselves and the more we will work toward the calling for which Christ has called us heavenward.
May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:23
What if…
“What if” video and and song from Sunday. Makes you wonder… what if we really did see that Jesus, our savior, was all and all and sought him with all we are.
Kung Fu Panda :: Movie Review
Kung Fu Panda’s story revolves around a soup peddling Panda (voiced by Jack Black) who dreams of nothing else but Kung Fu. Through a series of entertaining events Po, the Panda is given a chance to learn what it means not only to be a Kung Fu warrior but the Dragon Warrior.
Other characters of note are Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) Po’s reluctant trainer, and the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan).
The villain, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), is a menacing snow leopard who has escaped his maximum-security prison consumed with rage and hungry for power.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. With Jack Black as the lead and some familiarity with the Shrek movies (originating from the same studio) I expected that we would be contending with inuendo and a steady dose of ”made for adults” humor. I’m pleased to say that wasn’t the case. The movie was funny without being vulgar and it told a story with a lesson that most everyone can relate to.
Please note the parental notice below for both spiritual and action content. With that said, I give it a kicking 3.5 bricks out of 5.
A note to parents: There are plenty of fighting scenes that had my 3 and 4 year old children with hands over their eyes. The villain is a menacing character and I believe a big part of why the movie is rated PG. There is also some use of the word, “suck” and some insulting terms like the word “stupid.”
Everyone should also be aware of some of the underlying teachings of the movie. It includes many new age concepts about good, evil and truth that can be misleading. It’s good practice to talk to your kids, of any age, about what is true and what isn’t after watching a movie like this.
Prince Caspian :: Movie Review
Prince Caspian is the second movie in the screen adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis. The main characters Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy find themselves pulled back to Narnia one year after their first adventure (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) only to find that time in Narnia has progressed 1,000 years. And in that time everything has changed.
Having just read the book version I was concerned that the movie would not do it justice. What I found was just the opposite. The character development and casting were perfect. Caspian, the true heir to the throne, is both believable as a boy and as a king. Miraz, his uncle, is played well as both smart and prideful. And the new animals, dwarves and other characters are equally engaging
One of my favorite components in C.S. Lewis’s writing is his ability to weave depth and Biblical truth underneath the story. I was pleased to see that not only did those pieces remain in the storyline, but many of the changes made on the big screen served to emphasize the deeper truths. Including a captivating encounter with temptation in Aslan’s How.
Having liked but not loved the first movie, I was impressed with this one. I would gladly recommend it, keeping in mind the following word to parents. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian gets a resounding 4.5 out of 5 bricks from me.
A word to parents: As much as I enjoyed this movie, it’s PG-13 rating is for a reason. The setting of the movie is war and though it is not gory, nor over the top, it is filled with battle scenes, fighting, and death. I would not recommend this movie for young children and I would use discretion with children under 13.
Indiana Jones :: Movie Review
This is the fourth movie in the saga of Indiana Jones. A rugged archaeologist (Harrison Ford) whose previous adventures have involved the Ark of the Covenant, the Temple of Doom and Jesus cup from the Last Supper. This movie introduces us to a much older Indiana and a new enemy, the Russians.
Fans of the previous movies will find a lot of inside Indiana jokes and typical Indiana action sequences. Harrison Ford gets around pretty well for a 65 year old!
All that said, I was disappointed in the plot development and overall story line of the movie. Don’t go expecting to be “wowed” by the story. In fact, expect a very simple and lackluster story line. It appeared to me that more creativity was put into CG groundhogs, vine swinging monkeys and giant red ants than a captivating plot.
If you’re a huge Indy fan, you’ve probably already seen it and probably liked it more than I did. If you’re not, I’d wait until the rental.
A word to parents: I would be wary of bringing children to this movie. Giant killer ants, strange (and scary) skeleton men and a steady dose of guns/fighting would have my children up for nights.
