Breaking Radio Silence

I haven't posted here in almost 3 months (in fact, just 4 days shy of 3 months). What that means is that I've had to deflect subtle hints from mom that sermons haven't been appearing here for her to watch. Indeed - I have fallen down on the job. But, preaching, teaching 5th grade, being a seminary student, and trying to be a good father and husband have consumed my time more than I could have ever imagined.

But I'm tired of being quiet.

I'm a resident of MS - the famous, back-woods state that still hates black people and doesn't have the capability of maintaining a functioning air conditioning (this all according to the Hollywood movies that are set here...). In 3 days, people in my state will vote for state-wide elections. Additionally, they'll be voting on an eminent-domain issue and the now-infamous Initiative 26.

Initiative 26 is an initiative to define a human being as a person at the time of conception. I have remained blissfully ignorant of all of the negativity surrounding this idea; a pleasure that I chalk up to the fact that I have not used Facebook since August 15, where the issue is plastered all OVER the statuses of those whom my wife has "friended." Some people that I know have an opinion that agrees with the initiative, some that I know have an opinion that disagrees. Like noses and backsides... everyone has one.

I want to share my opinion now. I haven't, up unto this point, for personal reasons. I feel like my opinion might carry weight that it shouldn't (even typing that makes me feel self-conscious and foolish). Because I always wear a suit and stand in front of a congregation each Sunday, some might consider my words to carry more weight. I certainly do not believe that they do, but in respect for others I have kept my thoughts to myself.

No more.

I am ashamed to approach God. I am ashamed of what His church has allowed to happen, here, in His creation. I am so very saddened by the state of things and the way in which we got here. As a representative of His church, I blush at what the Church has wrought here on Earth. I feel a great weight of responsibility pressing upon each and every believer... and yet we chose to look away and act as though it isn't there.
We have, for too long, placed faith in "politicians" to somehow legislate the morality that we are too weak to enforce in our daily lives. We have prayed that "they" would lead us out of the mess that we, smiling, walked into on our own. We have done this all while telling ourselves that we were seeking the "will of God," but were we to be honest with ourselves - His will is the furthest from what most of us desire.
Because God needs to be defined. See, the Creator isn't allowed to tell the creation what to do, what to believe, how to behave. No... the creation should be allowed to define the meaning of the Creator.

Perhaps you think this is not so - but look around. Look at the world we live in. The world that "we" created. Here, in this world, God's existence is questioned because evil and malice and greed run so rampant that there is no possible way that a loving Creator could really be up there above the clouds - all the while we ignore the agents of the Creator who gather together each week to "worship" Him and who were DEMANDED to see to it that no evil was allowed to gain footholds here. Who is the most inactive... God? Or us?

Initiative 26 saddens me, not because of what it's trying to do, but because it's mere existence calls to attention our failure to do what we were called to do.

Are we really so foolish to believe that murder, in any way, is permissible? Do we really believe that it's a person's "choice" to allow life or to take it? If so - why not set every murder free... they were simply exercising their choice. They just waited a little longer to implement their desire.

Initiative 26 isn't about person-hood, that's just the sheet hung over the issue. The issue is abortion. Please make no mistake about it. But, because we were too weak and foolish to prevent murder from ever becoming  legal in the first place, we now have to dance to the tune that the winners play. And since they have convinced the world that it's a "woman's right to chose," then our weak attempts at reclaiming victory have been reduced to legal wrangling over the idea of a "person." The worst part? This attitude didn't stop at a woman's reproductive ability... it grew tendrils that extended towards those who were clinically "brain dead," to those who might have quality of life that "we" defined as less that acceptable.

It is, though you believe otherwise, NOT a woman's right to choose - because the "right" to choose is not ours in the first place. Consider it this way; how many of us "chose" to live? The answer, no matter how philosophical you choose to be, is none. Life, by the very nature of what it is and where it originates from, is a gift that none of us are able to replicate or claim as our own. Ah - but this can not be! God must be defined! Because an action "can" be taken, surely the action must be definable as correct, given the right sort of circumstances. Killing is wrong, until it's my choice. Let no one starve, until it takes food out of my mouth! Everyone should be allowed to be free, until their freedom encroaches upon my comfort... and we go on and on.

All while God looks down. How dare we look back at Him... How dare we claim to "believe" in Him and then pervert His greatest desires for us in whatever way fits our personal philosophy the best. How do we, with a straight face, claim to belong to Him and then live in total and utter rebellion to Him and His command upon each and every one of us? How? As a parent, I demand more respect from my own children than I see us giving to the Almighty. Day after day - as though there is nothing wrong with it. And when we do, for even a moment, consider our weak attempts to justify ourselves, the taste is so bitter, the hypocrisy so blatant, that we recoil back into ourselves and pretend as though nothing came to mind and that nothing is wrong.
We are such a simple people.

Initiative 26... is it wrong or right? I do not know. I am not a politician. I am not looking for the backdoors, the loopholes, the ways in which the intent of a thing can be so bent as to make the thing something it never meant to be. I leave that to those much better suited to their task.
But, I do know what is Right. I also have but one Initiative. It has no number, it has no clever signage to be placed in your yard. My Initiative is written on the hearts of men and women. it was not penned by clever politicians, nor was it "voted" on - it simply was... since the very beginning of time, it always has been.

Should you chose to vote - consider this; who is really telling the truth? Some say it will outlaw birth-control, others say it won't. They can't both be telling the truth. But, before you go arguing your political case, dig deeper. Look closer at life itself. How precious is it to you, really? How vital is it that life be protected and preserved?

How thankful are you that you weren't a "choice"?

The blood is on my hands. It is on yours too. We have allowed ourselves to be convinced that Truth is a vapor, too illusive to be obtained, all while holding in our very hands the Book which contains only Truth. We sing to Truth, we pray to Truth, we worship Truth. And yet... we betray Truth.

God, life, and who we are as His creation is not a vote. It is not a debate. It is not given to us by the voice with the most time on television. It was spoken to us by the Prophets long ago and revealed to us in a manger in Bethlehem. In the "House of Bread" came the Bread of Life. If this does not have the right to dictate to me how I should live my life, then nothing ever will - and the world is indeed lost.

How long do your children remain silent, Lord? How much ground do we give to those seeking their own way before we turn and take back that which was given to us to protect.
How ashamed you must be of us. We are stubborn and foolish and set our eyes upon the scraps of the world when you have given us the inheritance of Eternity. We cower and run at even the mention of difficulty, and yet You overcame the greatest of all difficulty... why? Was it so we could have the freedom to "choose" what to do with Your great gift of life? Forgive us for our foolish abuse of Your grace. Set us upon the right path, the righteous path, the only path.

Oh that we would one day again rise and be counted among those foolish enough to believe that the Creator really does have the right to choose.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:3-5


If you made it this far, thanks. Perhaps you'd like something else to think about:

Busy, busy, busy

Things have been going a mile a minute around here and now I turn around and see that Summer is officially OVER for the Joy house. Say what?! How can that be? It's almost September...!

I suppose the good thing about that is that the weather might cool off eventually :-)


This is the morning sermon for August 7, 2011. I enjoyed this message because it challenged me personally. God is really busy at East Louisville and this Sunday was no different. Lots of hearts being touched...


This was the evening sermon. I don't know that it came out as well as it should have because I wasn't getting the words from Mind to Mouth. I was starting to feel a little exhausted by this time too - so that might explain it as well.

Really happy to have been a part of a fantastic retirement party recently for my High School Choir Director. Becky and some other High School folks worked very hard to put together a great party for a great man. The surprise was worth all the late nights trying to get things prepared. Wanna see it? Look:



Neat, huh? There's other stuff loaded on my Vimeo site as well (Choral music and speeches), so if you're interested in that - feel free to head over to
http://www.vimeo.com/speakingjoy/videos to check them out!

Stuff to watch

I had to interrupt Tanner and Momma's internet schedule to get these 5 videos uploaded, so I hope all of you enjoy. I am no longer the heaviest internet user in the house, and that's an extremely scary thought. However, when I upload - I consume all the internet... so I have to hear... complaints. Lucky for me, they were light : )

How about some videos? That's why you came, right?


Morning sermon for July 24, 2011. We looked at the promise of the Holy Spirit and what He gives us.


Evening sermon for July 24, 2011. Continue to look at respectable sins - this time the sin of Self-Control. I have no idea why the preview screen for this one is black, but I checked and it still loaded for me. If you have trouble, then I'll have to upload it again.


A great day for ELBC!! Baptism on the morning of July 31, 2011 for Chelsea, Kyle, and Lizzie Holdiness. A very special time for all involved.


Morning sermon for July 31, 2011. Looked at the importance of staying faithful and keeping faith in the King of Kings.


Evening sermon for July 31, 2011. Looked at the sin of anger and what it means to a Christian. I had longed to get to this part - so I hope the message was effective and direct to the point.

So, there you go. Great things happening at ELBC - so whoever you are, if you're in the area, stop by and worship with us. Still not charging admission!

A year later

Though it is VERY hard for me to believe, it was one year ago today that God put me before a little church in Louisville, MS and asked me to shepherd them - all while asking them to trust a young man with little ministry experience. The road that my family and I took to get to that fateful day was filled with twists and turns, some exciting and some that seemed, at the time, defeating. And yet - there was God, all the time, leading and directing, encouraging and protecting.

I look back at the days that led up to August 1, 2010 and smile now. Isn't that how faith always works? In the midst of it, you struggle and waver - you wonder if God really is doing and saying the things you see and hear Him saying and doing. In the storm, you strain to see the mighty hand of He who guides you... and yet, in hindsight it is almost overwhelming to realize how present He was in all things. It's humbling. It's miraculous.

Today is the one year anniversary of one of the most powerful, most profound, and most encouraging days of my entire life. It's the day that my church and I said "Yes" to the plans of God. It's the day that I was affirmed in the eyes of a church family that I hardly knew and the day that they were joined with me in walking the beautiful path that the Almighty had laid before us. And as I look back over those 365 days, I can't help but, again, stand in awe of the leadership of God.

Thank you East Louisville! I look forward to the coming years with great anticipation. Just imagine all the wonderful things that God has in store for us!! Here's to 40 more anniversaries, just like this one.

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Jeremiah 33:3

Remembered, but forgot again

I felt so responsible when I remembered to upload last Sunday's sermons early Monday morning before I left for my class workshop... but a failing mind coupled with a VERY unreliable internet connection at NOBTS finds me adding them here almost one week later.

In fairness though - they've been at my Vimeo page all week. Here they are, embedded for ease:


Morning Sermon for July 17, 2011. Great day! Had three come forward for membership - two of them by profession of faith and a desire to be baptized. Needless to say, I was on a great high as I left to study the Doctrines of Perseverance and Assurance.


Evening sermon for July 17, 2011

Hope these are both worth your time. Look for more after tomorrow.
I am really excited about the things that God continues to reveal to me about His word. Class was a rare blessing and I am fortunate to have been given the ability to go. A preaching series on the Book of Hebrews is in the near future!!

Success!!

YES! I did it! I've got two more sermons here for your viewing pleasure...





A round of applause for the kept promise of sermons posted on time :)

Double up week

Went to a Joy family reunion on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Good time seeing family and surprising my Mom and Dad. But, I had to explain myself since I really didn't post last weeks sermons to the internet for her.
Ever feel like you spend a lot of time saying sorry for the same thing? Yeah... me too. Mom didn't let me forget that I hadn't posted anything in a while... again... for the third or fourth time.

These sermon are from last Sunday - the 19th. I PROMISE that I'll put those up from today within the next few days. I'm getting them off the camera as I type this!!

Here's the Father's Day/Morning Message:



And here's the evening sermon - a look at Unthankfulnes:




Stay tuned for more!

Sermons

You, my faithful audience (ie - my MOM) pointed out that I hadn't posted any sermons from last Sunday. Oops. Sorry about that. Spent the week reading and studying on the Doctrine of Eternal Security. The blog slipped my mind.





There you go. On the bright side, if I can get the sermons from tomorrow uploaded on Monday - you'll have a sermon overload!!

First Communion...

Here's the sermon from this past Sunday. It was my first time officiating the Lord's Supper (not recorded) and I was nervous as to how to do it.
Everyone at the church was so supportive and encouraging! I felt like the whole service was meaningful and I hope that the message was fitting for such an occasion.
Take a look...



I really do appreciate all of you who come here and participate in our services by watching the message. I don't ever know who you are - but I cherish you.

By popular request*

*or - My wife pointed out that I had failed to post these and politely reminded me that I needed to put these videos up so that people could see them. :)

Without further ado, I present Ms. Macy Joy and her brother, Mr. Braden Joy.






Cute and talented... just like their mom.

A difficult truth

Being wrong is hard. Of course, the "being" of wrong is different in different situations.

That's oddly put - let me explain.

When you answer incorrectly on a test, you're wrong - but that's not really a difficult position to be in. All you really care about is the final grade. If that grade is what you expected, or better, then you really couldn't care less about being wrong on that question. Let's call this type of wrong Type One.

Maybe you make a judgement call on something and later realize that you were wrong. That's a little more difficult. There's no test to pass, other than the moral test that is within all mankind. Normally, this test doesn't "average out" - though we pretend that it does. So, we make a wrong judgement on something, learn we're wrong, and then attempt to explain (to ourselves and others) our judgement as some sort of "right, but not right" issue that provides a salve to our wounded sense of understanding. We're more familiar with this type of "wrong" than we might realize. For example - we judge harshly the mistakes of others until we find ourselves at the incorrect end of the same sort of mistake. That's when it's hard. That's when we have difficulty adapting our previous judgement to our current situation. This is Type Two.

But then there's another sort of "wrong." Type Three.
This is the wrong that you believe with all your heart as right. You think you know it, you think it's right beyond a shadow of a doubt, and you're willing to lose everything and to be persecuted endlessly over it because it's right! You know it in your very core!! In fact, you begin to build your very identity and purpose on the foundation of this truth. You see God in it - it can't possibly be wrong!!
And suddenly, it becomes obvious that it is wrong. That, folks, is a hard that not many of us will ever experience, much less understand.

I want you to watch this video - it's 10 minutes long, so if you don't have that kind of time, let the video buffer up and then skip to about 5:45 - that's where I want you to really watch:



His name, if you didn't already know, is Robert Fitzpatrick. Harold Camping is the man who runs Family Radio International and who is now infamous for running an expensive campaign to inform people of the (now false) prophecy that the world would end on May 21, 2011. The man in the video is not Harold Camping.

Instead, Mr. Fitzpatrick is the author of "The Doomsday Code," a book that was printed to spread the message of Camping's prophecy. Well - more like a mathematical calculation than a prophecy I suppose. I digress...

Do you hear his hurt? Maybe not - because there's always a little monster in us that wants to cackle at those who are in a difficult position and secretly revel in the fact that it is not us... but can you see this man's confusion? Can you hear his faith shaking?

Do you feel sorry for him or the thousands like him?

Because, aside from the obvious blunder of trying to speak with certainty on a topic that even Christ Himself said no man could be certain of, I believe that the greater lesson in this is what it teaches us about our LACK OF COMPASSION. All we can do is laugh, scoff, and scorn people who make mistakes. What happened to feeling sorry? What happened to compassionate understanding that could say, "wow - that was a mess-up, but we can move on past it and be better for what we're going to learn." What happened to the fellow sinner who beat his chest before God and begged for forgiveness?

No... we're all too often the Pharisee who thanked God that he was not like that foolish sinner. We're too busy celebrating that we're not "him" that we fail to see that we really are. We blind our eyes with worldly things and convince ourselves that we look like the rest of the world and that God will have to judge us on the average, even on the curve, and we'll be okay then... We even begin to preach this and write books about it. Just like Mr. Fitzpatrick. "Hell is not real," we say, "Everyone goes to heaven." We start to believe it. We start to build our very foundations upon the truths that we have created and we being to know, in our very core, that we have a hold on something true!

Maybe we too will learn just how wrong we really are about a whole host of things.

And being wrong is hard.

Well, since there was no rapture...

We had church :)

Here's the sermon for Sunday morning, May 22. the topic was interesting to me, but little did I know how much I was preparing a sermon for my own family. God certainly is faithful to speak to us in our times of need. I hope that this sermon speaks to you as well.



There was no evening service because we had our "Summer Kick-off" celebration with hot dogs and sundaes and games. We had such a good time!! I don't know who played harder, the kids or the adults! It was a blessing and I know that God is going to use that celebration to accomplish great things in the life of our church. How amazing that He would care so much for us...

Long time since

It's been a little minute since I last posted something here for you to watch. But, in fairness - I did try to sit down and post some things up the other day and Blogger was down (the dashboard part, anyway).
Things are going at a fast pace around here with school ending, summer plans beginning, and God perhaps opening a door for our family. I hope to be able to say more about it very, very soon - but until then, please know that my family and I appreciate the prayers that are being said on our behalf. Pray for Becky!! You don't have to know why, or what for - you never really do for anyone. Just pray that God gives her focus, peace, and ability to do what she hopes to do!

How about some videos? I've got three for your viewing pleasure this afternoon.

Starting with: Mother's Day...



I've long wanted to preach from Proverbs 31 - so I was glad to have the chance on this beautiful day.

Next - we've got both the morning and evening sermons from last Sunday.





The evening sermon was especially powerful for me.I was not only challenged as I prepared it, but i was awed by the movement of the Spirit as I preached. As we start this series together and take a good, hard look at what we've become "ok" with - I hope and pray that God will break us apart and put us back together - better than ever before.

Not because we deserve it - but because He's good like that.

For Real?

Are we seriously to the point in this country where we are actually, no joke, having a conversation about whether or not the First Amendment protects a person's right to go into a public library and view internet pornography via the computers there that are designated for public use?

For Real?

I could not BELIEVE that the story I was hearing on the radio yesterday was actually true until I was able to get home and check it out for myself. And, yep - much to my disbelief, they really are having this conversation in New York. I laugh a little even typing this... I mean, seriously. THIS is a First Amendment issue?

I've got to believe that, were they still alive, the founding fathers and all those involved with penning our nation's documents would be very ashamed at what we've done with the wisdom and words that they left us. We live in a country where the rights of debase individuals are put above those of innocent children and patrons who might just want to use the library for, oh I don't know... READING BOOKS.

Consider this... I remember watching TV with my parents on the weekdays, after dinner, where we would see things like "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "Who's the Boss," and those other shows that now get played on Nick @ Night. I even remember the episode of "Murphy Brown" that caused such a stink because she was a single mother being portrayed on TV in a positive way... but that's NOTHING compared to what was on TV just last night. My family didn't have cable TV for the past 5 years, so we still watch a lot of CBS out of habit. Last night, every single show that was on made some reference, had some suggestion, or specifically dealt with sexual activity.

Some of the wiser among you might say, "Well, preacher boy, just change the channel if you're worried about it." Yeah - you try that. Unless I want to watch non-stop CSPAN or QVC, the non-stop sexual barrage of TV is impossible to escape. And now, we get to add to that the fact that we're going to ALLOW people to publicly watch pornography in libraries?!

This isn't where the bad stuff ends, folks - this is where it starts.

The normal response to this is "Well, I just won't go to the library anymore..." But - have we stopped to consider that this response simply doesn't work? Giving in and walking away doesn't help your cause - it destroys it! In a battle, you don't give ground, you take ground. And make no mistake at all - this is a battle. It's a battle for the minds and morals of all those who come behind us.

I don't know that I have anything profound to say about this - just that the shock of the state of things is still sinking in. I can't believe that we're actually, as a nation, having this conversation. We have walked so far away from good and right and righteous that we wouldn't recognize it if it were shoved down our throat. You know this is true because every week, in good churches all over the world, the Righteous is shown to us through the Bible and we, sitting like stones, all too often let it bounce off of us like so much garbage.

What will it take to stir the good people of this nation into action? When will looking at something like this and shaking our head in disgust cease to be the average response? When will we act?

Or will we? Maybe that's what bothers me the most. We've allowed the world to breed all desire of fight out of us to the point that, as long as you're famous enough when you say it, we'll believe and accept anything dished out by those who seek to harm us. "But Mason," you say, "Jesus was a hippie who loved everyone and said turn the other cheek and all that..."

Read Matthew 21. You'll eventually stumble over verses 12ff. Jesus didn't see the people taking advantage of worship and profaning the temple and simply shake his head and say "Man that's terrible..."

He drove them out - he turned over tables - he kicked over chairs. He reclaimed his ground.

Shouldn't we?

Happy Easter!!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful time in worship yesterday! I was blessed to be with my church family and more blessed by their attitude of worship and the WONDERFUL breakfast that was prepared for us all. Our schedule was a lot different than normal; starting at 7am and being home by 10:45. It was nice! Different is good for a little while, normally... but we'll be back to normal in no time. :)

How about a sermon? This was during our Sunrise Service, from 7-7:30. I got really excited and had to slow myself down... correctly use the word resurrection, not rapture... and bust myself for saying "things" - but I really enjoyed being with folks this early in the morning.



Next up, the Adult Easter Cantata. My apologies for singing too loud! I didn't realize I was sticking out that much until I listened to this recording... the phrase "like a sore thumb" comes to mind. But - that one thing aside, Melanie certainly does a super job with us and really makes us sound good! I though this went great and really closed our Easter Worship in a wonderful way.





So, there you have it. I hope you spent the day with a church family, or reflecting on the beauty and wonderment of an empty tomb. Jesus did all of that for each and every one of us. How awesome!

A glitch in the matrix

So, for those of you actually keeping up - I haven't made a post to this thing in a month or more. I know, I know... where's the love, right?

No real excuse, other than the same ole' story of Seminary kicking my rear-end. I took a seminar class during Spring Break and that always gets me. Cramming that much stuff into such a short time knocks everything else out of whack. Plus, it's just goofy to take an additional class on the week that you're supposed to be taking a break. Clearly I'm lots of things, but smart ain't one - I suppose.

So, without further ado - I present A VIDEO. Please keep your public displays of excitement down so that those near you aren't startled or offended.



Cute, huh?

AAAaAaaaaaannd, just for you - I've decided that it's "watch one video - get two more free" day, so have some sermons:






Hey Mom - you're welcome.

:)

Survive This!

This video has been pretty popular on the various web and radio outlets that I'm commonly checking out. I don't watch Survivor, specifically because I hate a show that glorifies the human condition and our ability to take advantage of any given situation that might give us a personal benefit. (/end sermon)

However, it seems that a bit of Christianity crept into the show recently in this new season. Check out this video:



The video is long, so if you're thinking "Ehh... no thanks, tl/dr." (That's "too long/didn't read" for you folks playing at home), let me summarize; Two contestants on the show were open about their faith and one of them had a Bible. She lost the competition and gave the Bible to the other guy who was also a Christian.

Most people are talking about the amazing fact that CBS didn't cut the religious portions out of the episode. Everyone's like "Wow - I can't believe they left that in there!"

As my youngest son would say... "Why come?"

Please don't get me wrong - I watched the whole video and really appreciated seeing two people who were willing to speak out about their faith, even in a situation where that faith would be wildly unpopular. I was Especially touched by the loser giving her Bible away and the appreciation that you could see on the guy's whole body. That's good stuff.

But what happened to us as a people that makes this issue so surprising? I could, perhaps, be seeing an issue where there isn't really one in the first place, but it just seems so heartbreaking to me that a TV show that actually showed Christians openly would be considered a "wow" type thing.

I'd like to submit the following as a reason why; Because we (the Church) let it happen.

God's been on my case a great deal, recently, on the importance of being a disciple and the cost that comes along with that. In fact, in my preaching class Monday I preached on discipleship, and so did the other 3 guys that preached. We could have preached ANYTHING from any of the four Gospels, yet we all preached discipleship? Tell me that's random... you can't.

What has bothered me the most is a reference Paul made to the Corinthian believers. Look:

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

I think things like this Survivor deal highlight the fact that we, the Church, have failed to imitate Christ. And, in turn, the world imitated what they saw - a limp-wristed faith that would rather shrug and say "oh well," than actually getting dirty and taking care of business. So, you then might say - "Hold up preacher boy... the world doesn't even pay attention to the Christian Church, so they didn't imitate us - they are just nasty, dirty sinners!"

We need to realize that the Devil never took any ground that we did not first surrender to him.

In a survivor sort of mood - I wonder how the church survives with any sort of relevance as we go into the future. Christianity, if it hasn't been already, is about to be "voted off the island" in the hearts and minds of a lot of people... and that's my fault. That's your fault Sister Christian. You too, Brother - we did this.

But, we can undo it too. We can reclaim the beauty of the Gospel and start living like the disciples we have been called to be. We can really live the life we've been called to live and take back what we so foolishly turned over to the Devil.

Cause even the gates of Hell can't prevail against us.

No wonder they did it naked!

Scouring the internet, as I am wont to do, I came across a most interesting story on one movie star giving another movie star advice on the art of movie-nudity. Not that it matters, but specifically it was Kate Winslet (of Titanic fame) giving the advice to Evan Rachel Wood (of I have no clue who she is fame). It seems Ms. Wood is/was required to do a full-frontal nude scene in some HBO thing that she's a part of called Mildred Pierce.

She was nervous. She perhaps didn't want to do it, I don't really know. But - Kate came to the rescue - to comfort and encourage Ms. Wood to expose herself to the entire world on television. What were her words of wisdom, you ask? What could possibly shore up a person's uncertainty at the thought of being totally nude and captured for all time through TV and Internet media? Well - let me share a direct quote from the article:

"You've got to do it. Trust me, it's so brave. Put a merkin on and you'll be fine."

Seriously... it's SO brave? Talk about enlightening. I had no idea.

I know history records that some groups, like the Ancient Celts and the Hyksos, used to fight battles in the nude and the Ancient Greeks participated in sporting events sans pants... but never had I realized that all these women taking nude pictures of themselves and flashing it all on the big/little screen was bravery. This is life-altering information here folks!

I'm a married man. I have children. One of them is a daughter. I now know that I have been a terrible father to her these past 5, almost 6 years. While I was busy teaching her to honor herself, to realize how precious she was in the eyes of God and of her Daddy... I was really supposed to be teaching her that exploitation and a disregard for anything private were the real traits to be admired. How awful can I possibly be?

I shouldn't tell my little girl that she needs to be respected as a person. I shouldn't tell her that a man needs to love HER and ask nothing FROM her physically. I shouldn't even teach her that she is completely beautiful and not just physically beautiful. Nope... those are old school and foolish.

Instead, bravery won't come from holding herself in a high regard, it'll come from her getting naked in front of people and then letting EVERYONE on the planet see that nakedness. Don't fight for the right to be loved completely and honored as a Woman - just get naked! Don't expect a man to forsake all else and cherish you as a gift from the Almighty - just get naked! Be BRAVE!

We could be talking about the solution to World Peace here people!

I hope my sarcasm is clear here. I hope I've been able to make this a humorous little aside that forces you to consider the larger issue. Because - let me be clear here - this is NOT brave. The only way you might convince me to consider showing yourself like this for a POINTLESS TV program is to mention the fact that she had to overcome her embarrassment. Maybe, maybe that could be viewed, in some loose way, as bravery. But that "bravery" would be so watered down, so diluted in the stupidity of the situation, that it would be akin to more like "gullible stupidity" than it would bravery.

The truth is this - Bravery walked out the door a long time ago. Bravery asked us to stand up for what was right and just and, after being ignored for so long, decided to retire and live a life of seclusion - only coming out for brief moments to remind the world that there is another way; a better way.

Ladies - this isn't brave. Ladies, living with him before marriage isn't brave. Ladies, giving yourself to him outside of a marital commitment isn't brave. It's just a sign that you weren't taught how precious you really are. It's a sign that you aren't being loved the way you deserve to be loved. It's a sign that too many people failed to tell you these things. On their behalf, I apologize. I'm sorry that we didn't let you know - didn't share with you the absolute gift that you were made to be - didn't share with you how you are supposed to be cherished and protected.

Stepping on toes? Yes. Telling the truth? Yes.

You ask how I know? You suggest that I'm a narrow-minded fool who wants to ignore "woman's rights" and chain women back to the stove - never letting them leave the home?  Oh please....

We've been force-fed that mess for so long we think it's a valid way of looking at things. I'm not selling some idea that's a veiled attempt to make you less of a person - what I'm trying to show you is that you're living life SO MUCH LESS than what you were made to be. You are a treasure and you live like trash. And you let these "friends" and these "respected people" teach you to think that this exploitation isn't exploitation - it's Women's Rights!

Whatever.

How about we settle the argument that this isn't about respect or bravery? How about I provide my summation:

When's the last time you saw someone tell a DUDE that getting naked on screen was brave?

I rest my case.


"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature that then the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans 1:24-25

Back from the Brink

I live! I made it back from Marietta, GA just a little worse for wear. Those week long classes are a close kin to torture, but only because of how much they try to cram into those few short days. I'm always amazed how a chair can start out feeling so comfortable, but after 7 hours feel like it's lined with spikes. I suppose we're not supposed to sit in one spot for that long...

How about some sermons? Now - I confess to you that I noticed Tanner moving the camera back and forth a little (he's trying to "do good for Mimi"), so if it's a little too all-over-the-place, just leave a comment and I'll tell him to tone it down.

It was interesting to feel driven to another place in the Bible that I wasn't originally thinking to go, but the morning sermon didn't belong to me one bit. I've never prepared a sermon and then felt God tell me that I needed to say something else... but that's what happened. And then, when I stood before the church, I found myself questioning what I was about to do. But, I know all too well what happens when you deny the boss... so I "girded my loins" and just said what I was supposed to. Hope it's worth the listen.



This evening sermon wasn't so much a sermon as it was just some thoughts that occurred to me as I was attending class. Of course - who can take some "thoughts" and end up talking for 26 minutes? Me.

Short and sweet

I'm getting ready to head to Marietta, GA for a week-long workshop class on Missions. So, I don't have my usual amount of time to think up something witty to say...

That may be a positive thing, I don't really know.

Anyway - here are the sermons from yesterday:






I hope that there's a positive message there for you and that you hear God speaking to you. I really appreciate the comments that I've been getting recently and want you to know that its encouraging to know that you're listening and thinking on the things that I have the honor to preach about.

Ok - gotta go... GA awaits me. As my Dad used to say: Remember who you are.

Jesus and the Judicial System

I saw this totally hilarious picture today while scouring CNN and reading about these hearing that are taking place to examine the radicalization of the American Muslim community. It seems that a Representative from New York is holding these hearings and - of course - is receiving death threats and threats of other violence because of his involvement in the process. Do folks ever consider the stupidity of professing to represent a peaceful point of view and then threatening to kill those who disagree? Notice I didn't say they were Muslim, those who have made the threats, just that they're stupid. It could be Mr. White America for all I know. I just think it's funny that they're upset when someone seeks to investigate a known-violent group, and their response to that is to threaten violence! Surely we are a stupid people...

Looking at that man, I assume he's either a Catholic, Anglican, or Episcopalian priest based on his white collar and black coat. Of course, anyone can purchase that sort of clothing, so it could be "Joe Blow the garbage man" for all I know, but the total package is presented to us as a religious representative who is pointing out that Jesus wouldn't persecute Islam or anyone... but is that correct? Would Jesus persecute anyone? Did He already? As Isaiah 1:18 says... "Let us reason together..."

Read Matthew 10:34. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Don't have a Bible with you right now... ok, let me post it here for you:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."


Hmm. That's not very "nice" is it? That's not at all what Jesus is supposed to sound like. Jesus is flowers and butterflies and uses Pantene Pro-V to keep His hair looking unnaturally shiny as He gives all those peaceful sermons on the top of hills with little bunnies and squirrels and children running around. Right? Isn't that the Jesus that the mainstream media wants to remind us of? I mean, Jesus wouldn't be upset if ABC wanted to run a show called "Good Christian B**ches" - cause He's nice and understanding.

You might not believe that, you might even be able to see my sarcasm, but trust me when I say to you that we are much more like what I've mentioned above that what Jesus proclaimed that He was.

My buddy up there with his sign is asking a good question; Who will Jesus persecute? Hippie Jesus won't persecute anyone because He'll be too busy petting puppies and drawing rainbows in the sky, but the Jesus of the Bible? Well... that's different.

Persecution of anyone is bad - in fact, the meaning of the word contains a reference to treating someone "unfairly." Please understand that I'm not using the word like that. I'm not talking about Jesus picking on the new kid because he doesn't know how to get to the playground or the new person at work who can't close out the register at night.

Jesus will persecute EVIL, and He will do so judiciously.

When things like this happen I'm always amazed at the "expected" Christian response. We always have situation A that has some group doing something that people think is wrong (remember the Koran burning guy?) and then this large, vocal group jumps up and points out that Jesus  wouldn't do that because that's not "nice." It's almost as though they want to see just how far they can push the issue until Christianity just gives up, folds its tents, and walks away forever.

You know, there's a reason that the Bible is called the "Sword of the Spirit." Now, certainly a Christian is called to wear the shoes of peace (boy, that's a strange paraphrase!) - but when Paul mentions putting on the whole armor of God, has it ever struck you that NO ONE puts on armor of ANY kind simply to go shopping? You wear armor so that you can be protected IN BATTLE. The church has forgotten this point for too long... and look at what we have been rewarded with.

"$#*! My Dad Says" - seriously? At this point, why even pretend that you're trying to have some decency? We could have called it "stuff" my dad says, or "things" my dad says - but noooooo... we go for the low hanging fruit. "But Mason," you say, "it was the title of the book!" WHO CARES?! That's the same thing with this Good Christian "blah blahs" that's coming out soon. Oh, they'll change the name to GCB - VICTORY! Now we can watch the show and not feel guilty about the PERSECUTION that the show is portraying.

Khrushchev famously said that America would be conquered without a single shot being fired. He was right. When Rhett told Scarlett that he really didn't give a care, did we stop to think where this would all end? Did we consider that it would go too far? Not in a week, or a year, or even ten years from that moment - but after our grandchildren started having children... what would it look like?

Turn on the TV and see - the revolution is here. We can say what we want, do what we want, and indulge in what we want as long as we sacrifice our gifts on the altar of Tolerance. This is the new world order. This is the end.

And so we ask, who exactly would Jesus persecute? He will persecute evil; whether that be among you, or in you, or all of you. And no matter what sign you wear, no matter what group you join with - He will be justified and right when He comes, because He is God and we are not.

"Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to STAND firm."  Ephesians 6:13

Forgiving Unforgivably

There is a news story making the rounds today that is a terrible and sad story in multiple ways. The story is difficult to read as a parent and I regret that it ever had to come to be. But man is capable of terrible things, and so we grow accustomed to seeing things like this - little reminders of the world we really live in.


It seems that a few years before I was born, a man decided that he would take a 5 year old boy into his home and murder him with some sort of knife. The bones of this little boy wouldn't be found until 7 years after the fact, when they were discovered shackled inside the murderer's house. That murderer was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but received a provision for "good behavior" and may be released from jail in the near future.

This is a terrible and all too common story - and none of these details are why the story is in the news today.

This story is in the news today because the father of that 5 year old boy has stated publicly that, should this man be released from prison, he will kill him if he can find him. In fact, his actual quote is: "I do intend, if this man is released anywhere in my vicinity, or if I can find him after the fact, I do intend to kill this man." 
Let it be said that I have not lost a child in any way; not by disease, not by age, and certainly not by the hand of someone else. I speak no ill towards this man and have absolutely no right to tell him how to feel. I do not know how it is to walk in his shoes and, God willing, never will. But, I feel sorry for him. In fact, when I read his story - my heart breaks for him.

Because he doesn't know forgiveness. 


You ask how I know that? Because he tells us so in his desire to kill the man that took such a precious thing away from him. For all these 30+ years, this poor father has carried his hatred with him and hasn't been able to put it down. He has every right to be mad - but I wonder if he's realized that he's had to sacrifice himself to that anger... Does he know that forgiveness isn't for the murderer - it's for him? 


I find it interesting that this issue will make some people violently mad, and others moderately so - but all will have some reaction to a total stranger pointing out a grieving father's need to forgive, but if I may be so bold:


"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15

I don't want to proceed to tell this father how to feel anymore than I want him to just throw away the memory of a son that he only briefly was allowed to raise into a young man. Instead, I wish I could sit with him, become his friend, listen to him cry, and walk with him through a difficult time. I wish we all had someone who would do that for us. 
I think the reason we have such an aversion to people mentioning forgiveness is because we DON'T want to forgive. Think about all the relationship problems you currently have in your life and think about all the justifications you've given yourself as to why you are allowed to feel that way. "Yeah, forgiveness might be good... but he betrayed me!" "Forgiveness is something I deserve, but SHE went too far and is worse than a snake!" 

See, we justify our deeds because that helps US. But, imagine the shoe being on the other foot. When you mess up, when you fall down, do YOU want to be forgiven. Of course you do. We all do. And when we get that forgiveness? AHHHhhh! Like a breath of fresh air! We're released from that prison in our minds which has no door and no key, other than the forgiveness that others give to us. And though we enjoy that freedom, we insist on holding others in bondage because they simply don't deserve it. 


None of us did.


I mentioned this in our morning sermon last Sunday. The idea that hate (the inability to forgive) is like acid that damages not only what it's poured on, but the cup that holds it. That's what our lack of forgiveness is doing to us - eating us up from the inside. 

I can't say it enough - my heart BREAKS for this father. I wish it could be taken away from him and that he could have his son back. I wish too that the man who has spent 30+ years in prison could go back and be given a second chance to make a good decision. I wish he could be connected with help and never commit that which he has been punished for.


But I wish most of all that we could all be released from the sin of unforgiveness. I wish we would quit pretending that we had a handle on this and would actually live out what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6, or what He said to Peter in Matthew 18, or what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:32 or Colossians  3:13. 


Forgiveness is the only weapon we have against things that are evil. Doing anything else causes us, in some way, to become evil ourselves. We call it being a sissy, or getting taken advantage of, or being an easy mark. It might be all that and more - but the one thing it is that we forget to call it is the Word of God. 

Last thought - look at the cross and consider what took place there. A murder of a son by the hands of evil men. What if God looked at that event, then looked at you, and said; "I do intend, if this man is released anywhere in my vicinity, or if I can find him after the fact, I do intend to kill this man."

Sermon Time

Here are ELBC's sermons for the morning and evening services on March 6, 2011. Tanner has been officially inaugurated as the camera man, so if there's some interesting movements - bear with it. He's learning!

You might also notice something a little different about me in these videos, if you can see it... I debuted my glasses! I actually got them this past Friday, so I had a day and a half to try and get used to them. Singing from a hymnal was a little different, but everything else was about normal.






Both sermons spoke directly to me, personally. I hope they speak to everyone else as well.

Things that can't be bought

The other day we stopped at the gas station so Dad could get out and fill up Mom's car with gas. Sort of a normal thing, right?

Once I was finished, I closed up the gas tank, got my receipt, and proceeded to get back in the car. Through the window in the door I could see Becky smiling at me with this great big smile. It was one of those "you're going to really like this" sort of smiles. Like the kind of smile when you get a present, or someone brings you breakfast in bed.
As I entered the car, I heard my twins in the back, running their mouths - which is a normal, everyday thing. But, as my ears adjusted themselves to the interior of the car I began to understand what they were saying... the most beautiful thing I've almost ever heard. We came home and I asked them if I could record it - and here it is.




Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

Blessings are never hard to find - and sometimes you just luck up and trip on one. These two blessed Daddy more than they'll ever understand... or at least until they have a little one who does the same for them.

The best thing? They are telling the truth! God will renew those who wait upon Him and put their trust in Him alone. I hope you find yourself in that position - resting in His faithfulness.

Who really gets to pay?

Look at all the people. Am I the only one who looks at all these people and wonders... "Do they have actual jobs right now, or are these all unemployed union workers who can spend 17 days standing around with signs?" Also - am I alone in thinking that an 8% pay cut is better than no pay at all?
I understand how sensitive this issue is for so many people, but do all these protesting folks consider what their protest looks like to the man or woman who hasn't been able to find employment for 12, 13, or even 24 months? That same man or woman who lost their car, lost their home, and lost their families because of the job situation in this country right now... do these union folks consider any of that?

How about those elected officials? Do those missing legislators consider the message they're actually sending to all of us? I'm sure they want us to assume that the lesson is a heroic one of how they were willing to leave happy home to avoid doing something difficult. Well - to bad for them because the real message looks more like this:

"When something difficult has to be done, the best thing to do is to run away and blame someone else for the problem."

See, the way Mason sees this, this story isn't a new one. The same story is told in the history of a people we call the Hebrews. There was this difficult thing they had to do when they finally got to the promised land - but instead of being willing to actually do it they complained, whined, and said they weren't going to. Does anyone remember to what happened to them?

Look,  understand the plight that these folks feel they're in. I really do. The government mishandles all our tax money, spends itself into a huge hole, and then asks of US to take pay cuts so that we can get ourselves free from the debt-bondage that we're currently in. But guess what, it's gotta start somewhere! When you're family budget busts - you gotta start making tough choices. Can't afford all the bills, then you gotta start cutting things off. Lose the satellite TV, lose the Netflix, lose the (and this one would really hurt!) Internet.

Do I know all the details of this issue, no. And some might say that I shouldn't comment without all the facts, but come on... you think everyone in that photograph actually knows what they're really protesting? They're just repeating the process that someone has laid out for them. Maybe I am too - but it seems to me that, all too often, we're willing to be TOLD what to think about a subject without taking the time to think the actual issue through. This issue is a perfect example. Most people who know about this don't "know" - they just got internet-wise by checking CNN or Fox or whatever news website is the flavor of the moment. Just like me... but do we stop and look past the words to what's actually being said?

God doesn't want this for us, not for any of us. We were meant for so much more. We were meant to support each other, to have relationship with each other, and to show love above all things - yet we bicker and squabble over the scraps of the world and try to fill ourselves on the emptiness therein. Oh, that we would even attempt to live the way that the Bible calls us to live!! But no - we've looked into that promised land, we've even viewed the power of surrender through the eyes of Scripture... but we always say "no." We look at the difficulty of doing right and we say "No way - did you see how hard that looks!?" - and we hear others say the same thing. We think, since there's more people saying it, that we must be right and we encourage each other to be cowards and live a life less than what we were created for.

And God, the whole time, begs of us to look in His word and to see how this already played out in a desert near Egypt.

"I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die." (Numbers 14:35)


They saw the way, they turned away, and they died in the desert. 
How I wish we wouldn't busy ourselves with repeating history, but changing the future. How I wish we would put down signs and recapture the hope that we could make things better, though that might be born on the back of hard work. 


How I wish that we would dare to live the way Jesus taught us. 

Raising Hate

I wonder if these kids have any understanding of what their signs actually say. Take little "Johnny" on the left; Does he honestly believe that God caused the Columbia shuttle to have a heat-shield failure and burst into flames during reentry?
How about little "Sally" on the right? I won't ask if she knows what a "fag" is, because I'm quite sure that Mom and Dad have taught her exactly what that word means. I'm more interested in her understanding of the word "hate." In fact, I wonder if anyone associated with Westboro Baptist Church really considers what they mean when they claim that God "hates" anything.
God does hate. Let's get that out of the way. Proverbs 6:16-19 shows seven things that God hates. A lying tongue, murder, wicked hearts that devise wicked plans, people who spread strife... and others. God hates idolatry (Jeremiah 44:2-4). But, you know what God doesn't hate? You.

God does not hate "fags," nor does He hate any sinner. He hates what we do, but not us as His precious creation. How do I know this? Romans... specifically Romans 5:8 -

But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I've had the pleasure (or perhaps displeasure!) of translating that verse from the original Greek. You know what's interesting. The while we were yet part. That's a present active particle (BOOM with the Greek grammar!) that denotes something we're currently doing. So, it's not really while we were yet sinners, it's better to say while we are being  sinners. See the difference? We change it to make more sense in the English language, but the meaning isn't that we were once something, it's that we currently ARE something - and STILL Jesus came to die for us.

Maybe I'm the stupid one here, but it seems to me that we hate much more than God does. You're black and I'm white - HATE! You're gay and I'm not - HATE! You're fat and I'm skinny - HATE! You're rich and I'm poor - HATE!

Folks - Westboro Baptist Church gets it wrong and they use the Bible to try and justify their skewed ideas. They protest and celebrate at funerals, all while speaking about hate and God's good pleasure to kill people, and all the while they seem to forget that Jesus equated hate with murder... and then those same sign-holding folks become the very thing they're protesting.

There are so many issues wrapped up in this one - it's hard to stay on a single point. So, I probably should stop there. Let me close with this:

All these problems are OUR fault... not God's. We've become so much an "entitled" society that we've even moved that entitlement towards salvation and God's perceived "requirement" to save us from the mess we've made. This is simply not true. There was no "have to" with God - He chose to. He saved you and me because  HE WANTED TO - we bring Him nothing. And what do we do with that salvation? Look back at that picture...

We bend and mold His words to fit our desires. We make Him appear to be the originator of all our evil thoughts, desires, and schemes. All the while, we forget Jesus' teaching on that last night that He would sit with His disciples. On that final night,... what did He think was most important? What did He think to say to them the eve before He would suffer on their behalf?

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)

If you can mix that picture with Jesus' words - then you're a much wiser person than I am. Because, try as I might, I can't picture Jesus holding one of those signs.

Breaking in the new guy

The church member that usually takes care of the sound and the video for me each week was out sick yesterday. So, of course, that meant my Music Minister and I were trying to figure out who could run things for us. Not only was the primary person out, but the backup person was too!! Various illnesses are making their way through Louisville and ELBC was missing some vital folks because of it. What were we going to do?!

Enter Tanner - the day-saver! I brought him over, let him listen to what needed to be done and *presto* - everything went like clockwork.




Now, I will say that I had some difficulty concentration on this evening sermon, so if it's a little rocky - you have my apologies. I looked up during the hymns and saw the same day-saver turning the camera back and forth like a TV news crew and was terrified at what the video was going to look like.
What's that? Did I watch it to see? Heck no! But, you can...



Hope you enjoy. As always - feel free to comment about anything. Agree, disagree, like, don't like... whatever. I'm still playing with the captions and things on here. I like the scripture reference, but not sure about the "title" part. Maybe I'll play around some more.

When do we say "enough"?

Read an article today on the FoxNews website that says British doctors have been advised to tell women seeking an abortion that it's "safer than continuing a pregnancy to term" and that most women who go on to have an abortion DO NOT suffer any psychological harm.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/27/advise-women-abortion-safer-giving-birth-british-doctors-told/?test=latestnews

Will we ever get tired of this? Will we ever say that this is too much? Will we ever tire of glorifying sin and calling it freedom?

My children will become adults in this world. I will grow old and die, but they will live in the tatters of society that WE chose to leave them... God may not be ashamed, but we certainly should be. And it isn't enough to throw our hands in the air and say "But what can we do?!" - because, for too long, we have known exactly what to do. But it costs us; physically and mentally.

And we have decided that our personal comfort is more important than this work. We have decided that it is better to cherish our own lives than those most innocent and precious. We have fed our "self image," we have become gluttons on the inward focus of mankind. And what have we gotten in return? A bankrupt world where the obvious is ignored and things like honor, integrity, and Truth have been sacrificed to the gods of Tolerance and Understanding.


My hands are not without blood, but I grow ever more tired of not washing them clean.
When will it be "enough"? How much will we sit through before we are driven to stand?

New and Improved!!

I have been blessed today.

Uploading the videos of my sermons, while not a huge difficulty, were hindered by YouTube's 15 minute limit on any given movie file. Because I don't have the ability to preach a short sermon, I was having to cut up the videos into two or three pieces - taking time on my end and making it a chopped up process for anyone wishing to watch a sermon.

Well, friends... no longer!! I was given a membership to the video hosting website Vimeo in honor of my late grandmother, Anne Williams. Now I'll be able to upload a single file and you'll be able to watch an entire sermon without having to make any page changes or extra clicks. All two of you!! (Just kidding, I meant all three of you)

So - many, MANY thanks for this wonderful gift to the ministry of ELBC! You know who you are and you can not be thanked enough!

Without further contemplations, I give you both the morning and the evening sermon from February 20th.





PS - I've been playing around with adding titles and Scripture references to the videos. Comment and let me know what you think!

Look what the dog brought in

An interesting and heart-breaking day today.

A neighborhood puppy seemed to have broken out of his backyard today and  then proceeded to mosey over to my back yard. Lucky for him, Macy and Braden were in love with the new stranger and stayed outside with him from 11am until some time around 5pm. They fed him the cat food, gave him water, and even laid in the driveway with him when he wanted to take a nap.

The whole family even got into the game as we took the dog for a walk with us around the neighborhood. Try as I might, even Daddy enjoyed the thought that this dog might stick around for a little while... Macy and I talked about naming him during our walk, all the while he just walked along side us without a care in the world. "Ace?" "Jack?" "Buck?"

We finally settled on "Boomer" about halfway back to the house. If Macy called his name once, she called it 15,000 times in those 1000ft back to the house. She was in love.

Alas, it was not meant to be... "Boomer" was actually "Little Bear" and lived about 5 houses over from us around the corner. The family was driving around looking for him and were excited to see that he was being cared for by some strangers. Little Bear had an owner, and a child of his own. Macy took it like... well, like a little girl. She cried. A lot. For a long time.

It was sure fun while it lasted. I was in love with the easy going attitude of Little Bear and thought he was a good fit for my crew. I confess I wanted him to hang around for a while. But, like Mommy said, at least we got to spend the day with him.

See ya' later Little Bear. Come back when you can stay a while.

Race Relations Sunday

Here's a new sermon, for your viewing pleasure. This was Sunday morning, February 13 and was set aside to be "Race Relations" Sunday. I hoped to allow God to speak through me and tell us ALL what we needed to hear about this subject. I don't know if I said it all, or said it all "right," but Becky liked it. :)







I apologize if it's hard to hear. I forgot to put the external mic on the camera and didn't realize it until it was much too late to do anything about it. I hope it's worth hearing, even if you have to strain a little.

BTW - I really appreciate your comments on here. I love hearing other opinions and the uplifting things you say are a great support to me. Make sure you let everyone know about this blog and that they're free to comment on anything at any time!

A proud moment.

Here's a little video of this morning's special music. I sang a simple song called "Give Me Jesus," but it had a long part in the middle that needed something extra. Tanner really impressed me by being so willing to help me out and read from Philippians. We practiced earlier in them morning and he got a little nervous. When I asked him why, he said "Because it's a big honor to be up here with you and get to read from your Bible."




That's my boy... :)

These words live forever...

Facebook is an interesting animal.

For whatever reason, be it an assumption that people want to know or a complete lack of sense, we go on there and often post the most personal and private things that we would never think of speaking out loud in a public forum. And if, by some chance of fate, we don't post information like that, we certainly can see others doing it.
Why is this? Is it the anonymity that Facebook provides us that makes us think we can say most anything without suffering the repercussions of what's been said that, in turn, makes us so bold to say things best left unsaid? Do we forget that, along with our rant or public faux-pas, there is a cute little picture next to our words that clearly defines who we are in this online world?

Or worse... is this faux-pas becoming something that, in a few years, or perhaps even now, is no longer considered out of place or improper...?

Either way, like the Field of Dreams, if you post it - it will be read. And by read I mean scrutinized, and by scrutinized, I mean I'm going to talk about it here.
It seems to me that if we were to take the sum total of all the comments made on Facebook and filter them through the rules of "positive" comment and "negative" comment, then we would be left with one pile that looked something like a mound of raked leaves after a Delta windstorm and another pile that mirrored something like, oh I don't know... Mount Everest. Can you guess which pile would be which?
I understand having a bad day, or even a bad week. Heck - some people might shake their heads in agreement if we even discussed the finer points of having a bad few years... but consistently perpetuating that "badness" by posting it all over the internet is just bad taste. And if it's not bad taste, it's at least poor decision making.

Here's why: That statement lives forever!
I realize that by the nature of putting it on the internet you're making the proclamation that you don't care if anyone sees what you've said, but what about 1 day from now when you're not as angry... or maybe 1 month from now when you've reconciled with the issue you were once dealing with... or maybe 1 year from now when an employer asks if you have any sort of online presence. Does any of this go through the mind of the younger generation? Granted, by even asking that question I have A) disassociated myself with the generation and B) called myself old (Dang Mason, how can you call me that?!) - but my life was impacted immensely by the lives of young people not too long ago and I simply hate to see them live this way.

I can't mention anything specific here without risking the fact that someone I mention might actually be reading this and be offended that I talked about them - but even that judgement would be made in error. I'm only mentioning this BECAUSE I care, not because I don't.
You know, we call a thing "normal" because that's what happens most often in a given circumstance. It's "normal" to be upset when you lose a game. It's "normal" to speak your mind offensively when someone disrespects you. It's "normal"... But that's not right. What we've done is call a common thing "normal." We've imparted acceptance onto commonality. In other words - if enough people do a thing, it's okay for me to do it too... WRONG.
Don't be "normal" - be good! Be willing to be "abnormal" and swim upstream. Be willing to hang onto that which makes you kind and positive even when it's no longer "cool" to be happy. The world is making a mold around you of negativity and sorrow. Break that mold!!

Think on this - if Jesus had a Facebook page, and I believe he would, would he post any of the things you've posted in the past? Would he take time and effort to say some of the things you've said to THE WHOLE WORLD? Would he? In all the times that Jesus had a conversation with another person - did he ever come close to spewing vile words? Nope... but we do. And we claim to be remade in his image. His actions and our actions often look nothing alike. What's that say about us?

Listen... I know this is a rant. I apologize if you came looking for deep Spiritual insights and found this instead. But I am burdened over and over again by reading negative things. Could I not read them - sure. But I don't read them for entertainment, I read them to be involved in a person's life. Like Jesus sitting over Jerusalem, I look at "my" family and cry over them because I know the way for everything to be better - but they, too often, seem happy wallowing in their unhappy and unfulfilled lives.
We have to wake up from this sleep - we have to change the "norm" and that starts with something as simple as deciding not to waste time speaking negative.

Don't let life happen to you - instead, happen to life.

Super Bowl Sermon

Yes, it was Super Bowl Sunday and, no, we did not cancel church for it! However, I did make the statement that I was going to let everyone out early so that they could go see most of the game if they wanted to... you'll have to watch to see how that played out.






But seriously, how does a 60 minute game take 4 hours on TV? I think 45 minute sermons should be allowed to take at least that long.

Blamin' the Devil

Here's this morning's sermon on the incorrect practice we have of blaming the Devil for all our bad choices. I hope it's worth listening to. It was a long, yet wonderful week leading up to this sermon.

You blink your eyes

And they're gone.

My alarm goes off each morning at 5:45. Maybe 5 seconds after I had silenced it, the phone rang. A phone call at 5:45 in the morning is either A) a wrong number or B) bad news. There in the darkness of the bedroom I looked at the phone and saw the name "Dad" on the caller ID. Now I knew...
I said an audible, "uh oh..." and picked up the phone.

"Just a few minutes ago..." he said. "We got here just after..." he said. "I just wanted to tell you that Nanny passed away."

Make sure you take each chance you have to tell people you love them. Because, though you have all the warning in the world and though you see the cloud of death lowly approaching on the horizon - that 5:45am call still seems to be too soon.

But I do not mourn for her. I know Christ because of my grandmother - and I know exactly where she is.

And one day... I'll be there too.




“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:1-3

One more thing

My grandmother is in the final stages of life right at the moment that I'm writing this. Now, I know it could be argued that we are ALL at the final stages of life and just don't know it, but talk like that often pales in comparison to the real thing staring you in the face - as it is with my "Nanny" and my mother. She has terminal cancer pretty much all over her body and my family has entered that uncomfortable "waiting" stage where every phone call could potentially be "the" phone call that brings terrible and wonderful news.

So, if you read this - and have a moment - please pray for my family. Nanny is going to be alright, but the hole left behind will be something else.

Mom - remember... I know what happens next. And it's wonderful.

Moms are never satisfied...

This is the Sunday evening service from January 23rd. I noticed that I hadn't put it up here and caught a little flak from someone who will remain nameless... wink,wink.
Anyway, the book I mention is a really good look at the ways Jesus interacted with people and how that should inform how we interact with people also. This sermon/study was on the 2nd principle: Love like Jesus loves. To me, it's really the hardest one of them all. See what you think.