Amos 4:2
December 11, 2008 – 7:21 amThe Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness:
"The time will come when you will be led away with hooks in your noses. Every last one of you will be dragged away like a fish on a hook!"
Joel 3:4
December 10, 2008 – 11:19 amDoes a lion ever roar in a thicket without first finding a victim? Does a young lion growl in its den without first catching its prey?
Santa Claus: A Biography
December 10, 2008 – 7:14 amI love the way we can communicate today. I love that Santa Claus tweets on Twitter.com and has a website. I love that I can email him my Christmas list, especially this year because I have been very, very good! (Santa, don’t forget it is the 2010 GLK with the pearl finish.)
So, because it is the Christmas season and I am feeling in the spirit of the holidays, I decided to do a reading group on my favorite Christmas read – Santa Claus: A Biography , by Gerry Bowler. I was online searching from some hidden presents that might get me started, like a stocking stuffer or something. So I email Dr. Bowler and asked if he might have some questions in his big, red bag. And up on the email quick, quick, quick he replied with these questions! Thanks, Gerry.
For anyone else who might be looking for Gerry Bowler’s study questions for Santa Claus: A Biography, here they are (with permission of course)
Study Questions for Santa Claus: A Biography
Chapter 1.
How has the act of giving gifts at Christmas changed over the centuries?
What part did religion play in the development of magical Christmas gift-bringers?
Chapter 2.
What were the effects of Saint Nicholas turning into Santa Claus?
Why was the Santa myth so explosively popular in the nineteenth century?
Chapter 3.
Why was Santa Claus so eagerly sought as a front man for various causes?
What does this have to say about what people think of Christmas?
Chapter 4
Are there products that Santa Claus has not endorsed or should not be associated with?
Chapter 5.
What are the different roles that Santa Claus serves for a nation at war? Should Santa be involved in this sort of thing at all?
Chapter 6
What is the your favourite/least favourite Santa Claus song or movie? Why?
Will movies or songs ever add anything to the standard Santa Claus myth (unchanged since the addition of Rudolph)?
Chapter 7.
Should children be encouraged to believe in Santa Claus? What are your own experiences in learning the “truth” about Santa? Should Santa be replaced by a more religious Gift-Bringer like St. Nicholas or the Christ Child?
Psalm 128:1
December 9, 2008 – 11:15 amHow joyful are those who fear the Lord-all who follow his ways.
The Craziest Facebook Advertisement I Have Ever Seen
December 9, 2008 – 5:52 amGet Fit To Preach
Even with the busy schedule of a pastor, you can get in great shape without the gym or lifting weights. I’ll show you how I did it.
Hosea 10:12
December 8, 2008 – 4:42 pmI said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord ,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’
Hosea 6:3
December 7, 2008 – 3:43 pmOh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of the rains in early spring.
Proverbs 29:11
December 6, 2008 – 1:41 pmFools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.
1 John 4:10,18
December 4, 2008 – 9:15 amThis is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
-
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda
1 John 3:21-22
December 3, 2008 – 9:05 amDear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
Daniel 9:19
December 2, 2008 – 10:10 amO Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.
Proverbs 28:25
December 1, 2008 – 10:09 amGreed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.
My Advent Verses.
November 30, 2008 – 10:06 amDuring Advent I am committing to memorizing a verse a day. I will list the verses here. The verses come from one of the four daily readings I do from the One Year Bible (NLT).
A Covenant Prayer.
October 31, 2008 – 8:24 pmIn John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer we pray:
- I am no longer my own, but thine.
- Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
- Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
- Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
- exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
- Let me be full, let me be empty.
- Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
- I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
- And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
- thou art mine, and I am thine.
- So be it.
- And the covenant which I have made on earth,
- let it be ratified in heaven.
- Amen.
I love the "So be it."
Have a great and bless day!
Forgiveness: Part 2: When Does God Forgive Too Much?
October 31, 2008 – 6:13 amHow do you find support for yourself to move forward through life in your sinful state? What are the things you do to keep moving forward?
How do you offer support to others in their sinful state without becoming judgmental?
How do you suppose the father in the prodigal son parable continued to help both of his sons through their own issues and sins day after day without becoming cynical, judgmental, gossipy, hopeless, or co-dependent?
When Does God Forgive Too Much?
October 30, 2008 – 7:52 amWhen I was at seminary there were several discussions about cheap grace. Throughout history Christians debated how far God will go to forgive an individual, but the conversations and debates always seemed to leave me feeling a little unresolved. Cheap grace can be defined as the expectation that regardless of the sin or amount of repeat sins, God’s grace is enough to cover it. While I believe that, as one continues to repeat the same sin(s) day in and day out with prayers forgiveness, one begins to wonder does God continue to forgive the sin. In the case of a life long alcoholic, how does God handle the bondage that continues to hold the person captive to sin(s).
When one prays for forgiveness and change that doesn’t come expediently or at all, who is to blame? God, society, family, the individual. I feel that blame (or diagnosing the cause) is important because recognition of the core issue is necessary to address in regards to reconciliation. What are your thoughts on perennial sin? What is the extent of God’s grace?
Personally, I like the parental nurture and rearing model of God’s love, but I realize that everyone concept of parenting is a little skewed towards their own experience. The problem for me, in regards to growing spiritually and sin is the prodigal son story once the prodigal comes home (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus tells this parable only to the point of the celebration.
I had a seminary professor that asked his class the question about what the breakfast table looked like the next morning, and the morning after that, and the morning after that… I think his point begin that the prodigal might come home and stay home and change, but the prodigal is still the prodigal – just safe under the auspices of the father’s house. Was there anything that changed in him? what was it? was it his status from being dead to the family to being restored to life? was it his personality? was it his loyalty? was it his spirit? was it a combination of many things? was it nothing?
So, what if we continue in sinful behavior wanting to change, repenting, yet continuing? Some would say that you really don’t want the change enough or to stop enough, so God honor’s your will, knows where you are and the causes behind your lack of desire and continues offering grace. Others might argue that we are just inextricably stuck in sin both socially and personally. And others, well -
what do you think about the striving for perfection (righteousness) with a lifetime of sins behind and the probability of sins in front? How many times can the prodigal leave home and still be welcomed back? How many times can the same sheep take off into the wilderness before it becomes dinner? How deep is God’s grace?
Text Message Devotions.
October 29, 2008 – 6:36 amI have recently found out that I could have devotional reminders and even scripture sent to me via text message on my phone. With the added convenience, I find it helping me to stop what I am doing to pray and engage with more than a glance. Just about everyone I know receives texts and will casually pause from a conversation (or whatever they are engaged in) to glance at the scores or market update or a note from a friend – why not set-up an account that zips a scripture to your phone 4 or 5 times a day to offer an opportunity to refocus or pause and reflect.
Devotions in a word – Time.
October 21, 2008 – 8:09 amI was thinking this morning about devotions and the meaning that they have in my life. When I think about stopping what I am doing to just sit or read or pray or something that will deepen my relationship with God, I often find myself saying why can’t the devotion just be a word that I can consume and meditate on for the day that speaks to my soul because I don’t have time for much more.
But as I reflected on my thoughts I realized that my intent might not seem to be right in regards to relationships. Relationships, for the most part, have centered on a common goal, thus making them practical in the sense of accomplishing something.
Yet, what is a relationship for the intent of relationship? Does knowing someone deeply mean there needs to be a purpose or a goal? When I go to God in devotion, am I searching for something that just isn’t because I am looking for a purpose or goal? How about my wife and children? (I find it easier for me to be goal driven with my children because I have to raise them to be successful, but with my wife… I love my wife.) She is all that I could hope for, but what does it mean to grow with her in relationship after 11 years of marriage and three children? Taking time to listen to her; or just being with her; or something else. There is no purpose to be seen – like when I was dating the purpose was to find the right person to be married to, and once married it was to set up a household for children, and now that the children have come it seems to be making ends meat. What happened to growing in relationship with her? What does that mean anyway?
Relationship I would like to surmise is spending time with someone to know them and love them for who they are. Not to change them or meet any specific goals because that in and of itself is driven by a task at hand. Goals are important, but as I grow I am noticing that goals for accomplishing things are not about growing relationships. In light of a goal, purpose, or intent a relationship is the glue that holds a couple or a team together because there is a genuine love for the other person that you are partnering with to achieve a specific goal.
So, for me as I think about devotions in a word, I find myself mediating on “time.” Time to get to know God deeper, as well as, those people around me (like my wife) without any goals other than knowing the other. As I walk through life, I know that God knows me perfectly, but find the challenge in myself. Am I willing to carve out time in my agenda driven life to take the time I need to know God for who God is? or my wife? How about you? What is relationship with God for you? or spouse?
