The following are excerpted from a newsletter shared with me by one of the members of the church I serve as pastor. The article was listed as "Things You'll Probably Never Hear in Church." Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
- Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew this week.
- I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 40 minutes longer.
- I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to the TV evangelists.
- Forget the denominational minimum salary, let's pay our pastor so he can live like a king.
- Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!
In an old spiritual we find these words:
Hallelujah! He is coming!
Hallelujah! He is here!
Hallelujah! He is coming!
Hallelujah! He is here!
This song about the birth, death and resurrection of Christ speaks volumes to those of us who follow Him. He is here. He is here because He is not there—in the tomb that is. He has risen and this gives us reason to rejoice.
Say it with me, say it out loud, “Hallelujah! He is risen!”
Father, make us bold to shout your rising to the world around us.
It’s Good Friday—the day that Jesus was Crucified.
How? You ask. How can it be “good” if it is the day commemorating such a heinous death penalty? As a matter of fact, how can any death be looked upon and seen as good? The answer to this important question is in what happened on that first Good Friday. I’ll not go into detail about how awful the practice of Roman crucifixion was. Plenty of preachers have done that in the past. If you really want to know the cruelty of this form of punishment find a copy of The Passion of the Christ and watch it.
It isn’t that Jesus was crucified that makes today such a good day, but why He died and what He accomplished by going to the cross. Simply put, people are sinners. We are born that way. We can’t avoid it any more than I can avoid having blue eyes and curly hair. It is part of who we are. We defy and disobey God every opportunity that we get. The price of that sin is death, our death. Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross (because He was sinless) paid the price of our sin for us.
Why “Good Friday”? Because on the Good Friday Jesus made the escape from sin punishment possible. So celebrate! Sin is conquered through the crucifixion of Christ. It is Good Friday!
Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to make my sin payment and conquering my sin when He died.
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it." (Luke 22:7-8, ESV)
They did not understand all that happened as Jesus taught them lessons. Lessons about serving one another, lessons about the payment for sin, lessons that would become real to them in a few short days.
The Passover meal was one that was to remind the Israelites how God rescued them from their bondage to slavery in Egypt. What we call “the Lord’s Supper” is a reminder to us that through the death of Jesus (the perfect Passover Lamb) God would rescue us from our bondage to slavery in Sin. During this most holy of remembrances, think about what Jesus did on that night—giving a visual representation of the breaking of His body not one day later.
Toward the end of the meal, Jesus sent His betrayer away to make the final arrangements. Afterwards the rest of the disciples accompanied Jesus to a garden to pray—a time of dedication in preparation for the miracle that was to come. It was here that Jesus was arrested.
Today is a day of remembrance, a day to consider what this season’s payment is for us all.
And the reading level is . . .
Sorry, readers, I'll try to make it easier in the future.
Those who like to read my reviews don't have it as hard: Book 'em Benj-O got this rating:
And even a Junior Higher can understand my "deeper thoughts" at Loom & Wheel Words:
HT: Kevin Bussey
My baby brother just got a promotion. His boss is stepping down from department chair-ship in anticipation of retirement. So, effective at the end of this academic year, Andy will be Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Hardin-Simmons University.
In a related note, his wife just passed the next level of nursing certification (adding alphabet soup--besideds just RN--after her name). Kudos all around.
Don't have enough time on your hands? Justin over at Wordclay has developed this list of sites that people half serious about the literary world should check out. I haven't checked the sites out yet, but if you beat me to it, leave a quick review in the comment section here.
I usually don't rant and rave about things politic and hot-button issues here (my rants are usually along the lines of the grammatically incorrect sort), but this story caught my eye and my ear.
I first read about this and commented on a blog or two, then decided that I need to just sound out here. While I'm not a big proponent of homeschooling, neither am I the big enemy of homeschoolers--there was a time when we thought we might have no other choice than to teach our children at home when we were serving as missionaries. The thought that the state can usurp my parental position by telling me how to educate my children is just wrong on so many levels.
I've heard many homeschool supporters talk about "parental rights" but I think that it goes much deeper than that. I believe that the education of children is the responsibility of the parents. With that in mind, I believe it is the born duty of every person who has children to provide for them the best of educational opportunities at their disposal. For some, this means making sure that your child is enrolled in and in class at the local public school--with parents taking an active role in the day to day routine that is school. Other parents will find it necessary to find a reputable private school to place their children in. Even others may find that the very best education can be found at the knees of Mom and Dad at home. Whatever the case, it is each parent's responsibility to make sure that their child(ren) receives the best possible education.
Whoever said that the state knows better than I do how to do what is best for each of my children has gone daft in the head. And again, it is not my "right" to do what is best for my children but my responsibility. What is happening in California (unless higher courts understand it and reverse it) is nothing less than a bold attempt to remove parental influence altogether from young children.
After having read about this attrocity, I heard on radio a discussion of the same. If you would like to voice your opinion click this link and sign the petition to have the court's decision de-published. You needn't be a member of HSLDA to sign, nor a citizen of California (although Californians might have the biggest impact).
Finally, I would invite others to join in the comment section if you'd like to sound out on this issue--be aware that I try to keep a G-rating on this blog so be nice in your comments (whether you agree or disagree with me).
HT: Kevin Bussey, Marty Duren
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- Benjie
- . . . is a former English teacher, a former youth minister, a former missionary, and a current pastor. He is married with three children.
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