Are You Grounded?

I am heading to Florida later in July to see family, friends, have fun and to preach. The sermon is titled "Are You Grounded," and it comes from 1 Chronicles 21. Above is how the sermon looks in a word cloud. (Word cloud courtesy of www.wordle.net)

Read the Bible this summer

Here is a reading to plan to get you through the Bible in just 92 days. The plan starts June 1 and runs through Aug. 31. It is an incredible exercise, and I encourage you to try it, you will not be the same. You will come away with a greater understanding of God's love for us and how God can use tragic circumstances to bless us.

Read Bible Over the Summer

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When to remember, when to forget

Here is a sermon I preached this morning at Lighthouse Christian Church outside of Orrville, Ohio. Some of the "code" you see in the sermon are FAS-favorable attention step; CT-central thesis; CS-clarification step; G-goal; ILL-illustration; and TS-transition sentence. I use a modified sermon outline taught to me by R.J. Kidwell at Cincinnati Christian University.

Remember Sermon Outline

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Tell me this is not the future of the Bible

Gospel of John, Chapter 1, sort of

This is something I tried today. I sat at my computer, listened to my audio Bible of the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. I listened with my eyes closed, fingers on the keyboard and began typing away as the narrator or voice actors told the story.

For what it is worth, these are my rough notes of what struck me as I listened to the NIV version of the chapter (typos, errors and all ... funny National is supposed to be Nathaniel):

John 1
worth with God, word was God;

in Him life;

light shines in darkness
dark not understand

John came as a witness to the light
all might believe

John not the light, a witness, the true light

Jesus in world, world with him, but workd did not recognized, his own did not recongize/receive

children not born of natural descent, born of god

word became flesh, dwelled among us, saw his glory

gcame from father

john testifies about him

from fulness of Jesus grace we received one blessing after another

grace and truth came from Jesus

he was at God's side

John not the one, who is he? Voice of one calling in the desert

Phariseesw questioned him. Why baptize?

Baptizes with water.

John saw Jesus: Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one.

Saw Spirit come down from heaven ... else would not have known

Seen and testify this is the son of God.

Two John disciples saw “Lamb of God” and followed him

Jesus said why are you following me?

Andrew one of the two who heard what John said.

Andrew found Simon and said we found Messiah.

Broguht him to Jesus.

Jesus gives him a new name, Cephas Peter

Jesus leaves for Galilea, Saw Phillip says follow me.

Phillips tells National found the one Moses wrote about in the Law

National: Can anything good from Nazareth

Jesus saw Natationaiel: Here is a true Isrealite

How do you know me?

Jesus: I saw you under the fig tree.

Heard it from a friend, who ...

A friend from Florida sent this my way, and it makes a lot of sense.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
– The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005

For more quotes from Rogers, check out The Beacon blog or Ray Fowler's blog.

I should note, this quote is flying around the blogosphere, so I was interested in its origins. Fowler says it is a Rogers quote, and the Beacon points to a similar quote Rogers made in a book. Also, Snopes has nothing on it.

Barack Obama: (I coulda been a) Contender in Chief

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

President Barack H. Obama says in his weekly address that special interest groups and the status quo in Washington will not like the changes he is proposing in his budget. In fact, they are gearing up for a fight. The horror!

Fret not, our fearless leader is preparing for a fight, too! He said it. He is. The same man who never stands up to those in his party and never reached across the aisle to work on any meaningful reform is going to fight for you (as long as you want what he wants).

BHO runs off a list of people who will not like the changes in spending he proposes, but never once does he say any of the leaders of his party will be upset.

BHO promised change, but he is only delivering more of the same. Perhaps he has no understanding of history at all, which is why he can say he is promoting change. Don't see. Not from where I stand. The writer of Ecclesiastes said there is nothing new under the sun. Apparently, Obama begs to differ.

Wise counsel?

My colleague Rachel Jackson of The Daily Record -- staff writer, religion writer and erstwhile copy editor/paginator -- has written an informative and insightful story about how ministers handle weddings and premarital counseling and a column about her family's experience with ministers who took a hard line on wedding ceremonies.

In the column, she presents a case why ministers should not take a hard line when it comes to community.

But, as one who has performed several wedding ceremonies, I arrived at the conclusion that I would not perform any and all weddings. Some couples seek you out because someone in their family a few generations ago used to attend the church. For others, you are merely a matter of convenience. For others still, they are believers who want God to bless their union.

My friend Jim Bird, who serves as a minister at Broadway Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., told me during our days at Cincinnati Christian University that he much preferred performing funeral services than wedding ceremonies and one day I would understand what he meant.

It seems like it is too easy for the minister to become just another piece of furniture during the wedding ceremony -- he needs to stand here, say these words then make the proclamation the two are now husband and wife and then get out of the way.

As was said in Rachel's news story, if a couple just wants to get married, then they can go to a judge, a mayor, a justice of the peace. If they have no intention of allowing God to be a part of their lives, then why have the ceremony in God's house.

In the Bible, God established some very hard lines (look at what happened to Aaron's sons and what happened to Ananias and Sapphira), and those who crossed them suffered the consequences.

Yet, despite all of this, God showed grace. So, how do we balance all of this? Well, each minister will find his way.

No matter what your position on ministers and weddings and premarital counseling, check out Rachel's story and column, they are definitely worth reading.

Yes, I am happy for Mr. Obama

After Barack Obama was elected to serve as president and in the days after his inauguration, it was easy to see how happy he was to be given the opportunity to lead this country by the American people. In interviews, he was just so happy and joyous, and I was happy for him that he gets to be president, his wife, Michelle, gets to be first lady, and his daughters get to grow up in the White House. I am very happy for Obama the person. However, Obama the politician is another matter. Despite both of us having in common a faith in Jesus and being baptized, we just view the world and government's role differently. And, that's OK. God has given us different abilities to serve Him. God never intended for the government to be our savior or benefactor or daddy. Government's role, as outlined in Romans 13, is to protect our rights and enforce the law. In other words, the government is there to administer God's justice. The church, on the other hand, is there to administer God's grace. I view it as my responsibility (and the church's) to help out our fellow man who has fallen on tough times, not the government's. But Mr. Obama and I see differently on this one. Oh, well. I am hoping for him to change.

All conservative, all the time?

Bryan Schaaf, whose signature recipe is for Zesty Chicken Salad, has a link to this blog on his and refers to it as "All Conservative, all the time."

Well, I'd like to think I am all conservative, all the time, but there is one area where I am liberal, very liberal: Charity/giving.

There was a time when my mother was raising four children by herself and the help of extended family. People were very generous with us. Not to mention, my mother is very generous. As a result, I am a giving person by nature.

I don't give because I have to give. I don't give because I am forced to give. I give because my life has been blessed by others who stopped to help me, who gave up something of theirs so that my life would be a little easier, a little better.

I am opposed to income taxes for moral reasons (why should the government collect your money because you are productive and work hard?). I am not opposed to taxes. I like nice roads, safe bridges, beautiful parks and public health. However, I view income taxes as the confiscation of my property. You can't go into your neighbor's house and confiscate his cash, so why should the government be allowed into our paychecks?

For me, if the government took less of my taxes (and my wife's), we would give even more than we do. In recent years, the charitable giving of Al Gore and Joe Biden has come to light.

Conservatives are belittled as not being compassionate, selfish, greedy and uncaring about the plight of their fellow man while liberals are seen as being compassionate, loving, generous and very much concerned about humanity.

What I see is people like Al Gore and Joe Biden are only liberal in giving when it comes at the expense of others, yet they (and those like them) are conservative -- very conservative -- when it comes to giving away their own cash.

Jesus said in Matt. 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is your heart?

Note: Just found this link about Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney's giving.

A tax giveaway?

With news that the U.S. Senate passed a $780 billion economic stimulus bill Friday night, I wanted to see what type of information was available on the Senate's site. So, I started poking around, clicking here and there, and I find a link to this:

H.CON.RES.23
Title: Expressing the sense of the Congress that the tax giveaway since 2001 to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans should be repealed and those monies instead invested in vital programs to relieve the growing burden on the working poor and to alleviate poverty in America.

Let me see if I understand this: U.S. citizens work their tails off to earn money, succeed and prosper -- elements of the American Dream we speak so highly of and cherish -- and government confiscates a portion of our earnings in a variety of taxes and fees. So, when Congress decides we get to keep a larger portion of our income, they call it a "tax giveaway."

The gall of these misguided people to consider a tax cut a tax giveaway. The money was never theirs in the first place, but they lay claim to it as if they worked for it, as if they assumed risk by investing in a business, as if they were entitled to it.

I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes, but giving people a tax cut -- no mater how much they earn -- is not a tax giveaway.

My mother raised four of us by herself. At times, she worked two jobs. We were poor, but she could care less what we didn't have because she made the most out of what we did have. She loved us, and she let us know every day.

As a result, we never coveted what our neighbors possessed. The last of the Ten Commandments instructs us not to covet any of our neighbor's possessions. However, I believe that is what Congress is doing when it refers to a tax cut as a tax giveaway. God forbid we should get to keep what we earn. How unpatriotic (when you consider Joe Biden said paying taxes was the patriotic thing to do).

Barack Obama promised hope and change while he campaigned, and now to twist the words of Cincinnati radio talk show host Bill Cunningham, I hope I still have some change in my pocket when this Congress is done with us.

The stimulate debate

I cannot believe how much money our government is thinking about using in its stimulus package. Can you say $900 billion. A billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking about real money.

If you have been following the Economic Snapshots in The Daily Record, almost to the man (and woman), business owners and leaders want the government to keep its hands off the free market system. But, our politicians are not content to listen to the people. Instead, they feel an urge to do something regardless of whether or not it will work or stimulate the economy.

I believe part of the problem is people, and I include myself in this category, have been spending more than we can afford. Access to credit was oh so easy. In fact, many of the lending institutions that are in trouble and have been looking for money from the government got involved in loans where borrowers could not demonstrate an ability to repay (can you say no-doc and subprime loans?).

Because everyone was willing to loan money, approve credit cards, accept 90 days same as cash and other borrowing programs, people were spending money when they did not have it to spend. Consequently, we fueled the economy as we dug deeper and deeper into debt.

Well, at some point, something had to give. It did, and boy did it. Our economy has been hit and hit hard.

I am not an accountant, a business analyst or a financial adviser, and I will not even attempt to play one on this blog. However, in my simplified view of the world, this is what I see: people bought houses they could not afford or repay. This created a demand for homes, lumber, windows, furniture, furnishings, electrical equipment, shingles, concrete and everything else associated with building a new home and furnishing it.

This cooked up demand caused prices to climb higher than they would have naturally. Everybody was making money, and the economy was rolling along, however, did anyone stop to notice why this was so? We were trying to borrow our way into prosperity.

I'm sorry, but that just does not work. The Bible says the borrower becomes a slave to the lender (check out Proverbs 22:7). The only way to become prosperous is to save your hard-earned money and invest it (which includes starting your own business).

I have a feeling the economy will at some point level off, consumer confidence will rise and jobs will return. But this next time, let's not build our economy on the sand.

For another look at the stimulus plan and President Barack Obama's first two weeks in office, check out SWNID.