"To God be the glory!" was the very 1st thing the Packers (via Greg Jennings) said after winning the SuperBowl.
Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings both pointed to the sky after throwing TDs.
"Really, Greg? Are you giving God the glory? Seriously, Ben? You really think you can fool us?"
It's amazing how quick we are to doubt their faith.
I'm 100% guilty of this.
Jon Acuff put it this way:
"The number of people who can analyze and reject the depth of an NFL player's faith from their couch via the TV is staggering"
We are a people who are quick to judge and slow to love...
Lord, replace our judgement with love.
2/07/2011
1/20/2011
The Power To Change: Stubborn Cords
We just started a new series of messages at Pathways called "The Power To Change".
When we were planning out the 2011 year, we thought "what do we need to hear". We talk a lot about changing your life and living radically for God yet, I often find that I'm trying to change myself. I have good intentions, but I can never quite muster up enough power to change my life.
It's like I'm a cord, laying on the ground, trying to hop up and plug myself into a socket. It's just plain stupid. We don't walk around expecting our lamps or TVs to somehow plug themselves in, and in the same way, God isn't expecting us to change ourselves on our own.
Jesus started his first sermon with these words:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit..." (Matt 5:3a)
Why would he start like this?
Jesus knows that we're not poor in spirit. We think we don't need God. We are stubborn cords, trying to plug ourselves in, trying to change ourselves. It's when we realize this tendency that we can stop and bow before God, poor in spirit, humbled and meek, and let Him pick us up and plug us in. It is then, that God can change us.
That is why Jesus started with this verse, because if we don't get to the point where we're poor in spirit, we cannot never muster up enough power to change.
God change us.
When we were planning out the 2011 year, we thought "what do we need to hear". We talk a lot about changing your life and living radically for God yet, I often find that I'm trying to change myself. I have good intentions, but I can never quite muster up enough power to change my life.
It's like I'm a cord, laying on the ground, trying to hop up and plug myself into a socket. It's just plain stupid. We don't walk around expecting our lamps or TVs to somehow plug themselves in, and in the same way, God isn't expecting us to change ourselves on our own.
Jesus started his first sermon with these words:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit..." (Matt 5:3a)
Why would he start like this?
Jesus knows that we're not poor in spirit. We think we don't need God. We are stubborn cords, trying to plug ourselves in, trying to change ourselves. It's when we realize this tendency that we can stop and bow before God, poor in spirit, humbled and meek, and let Him pick us up and plug us in. It is then, that God can change us.
That is why Jesus started with this verse, because if we don't get to the point where we're poor in spirit, we cannot never muster up enough power to change.
God change us.
11/10/2010
Prayer Barrier: Chaff
"John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” - Luke 3:16-17
This Sunday night we're playing a song called Fire Fall Down. If you haven't heard the song you should do yourself a favor and listen to it now.
This song is clearly another "Hillsong Epic". You know what I mean - a song that ranges from 8-30 minutes and leaves you feeling like you got punched in the face by the Holy Spirit.
However, I think this song is often misunderstood, if understood at all; the bridge's lyrics are kind of cryptic:
"Fire fall down on us, we pray"
As I was planning the set for this coming Sunday night, I wanted to focus on songs of prayer as that is our series' focus. Naturally, this song came to mind because in the bridge we sing the words "we pray". What are we praying, though? For fire to fall down on us? Dang. Sounds brutal.
Matt Crocker, the writer of this song, explains what he intended the bridge to mean:
If we leave the chaff in our life, our communion with God and prayers to God are hindered. This song asks God to purify us and make us clean so that we can worship without hindrance.
"...Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:1b-2
This Sunday night we're playing a song called Fire Fall Down. If you haven't heard the song you should do yourself a favor and listen to it now.
This song is clearly another "Hillsong Epic". You know what I mean - a song that ranges from 8-30 minutes and leaves you feeling like you got punched in the face by the Holy Spirit.
However, I think this song is often misunderstood, if understood at all; the bridge's lyrics are kind of cryptic:
"Fire fall down on us, we pray"
As I was planning the set for this coming Sunday night, I wanted to focus on songs of prayer as that is our series' focus. Naturally, this song came to mind because in the bridge we sing the words "we pray". What are we praying, though? For fire to fall down on us? Dang. Sounds brutal.
Matt Crocker, the writer of this song, explains what he intended the bridge to mean:
"See, Luke chapter 3 is where John the baptist is telling people that "One will come who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire...He will separate the chaff from the wheat and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire...". This made perfect sense to me as the conclusion to a worship song. As worshippers, we should long for that fire to purify us and refine our expression of worship so that it would be acceptable to the Father. Chaff is defined as "any excess, unwanted, or worthless thing". I don't know about you, but I don't want my adoration for God to be tainted with "worthless" things. He deserves my best. And, it's only because of the work that Christ did and still does through the Holy Spirit that our offerings can be made acceptable to God the Father."
If we leave the chaff in our life, our communion with God and prayers to God are hindered. This song asks God to purify us and make us clean so that we can worship without hindrance.
"...Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:1b-2
11/03/2010
Pray
GT, Haro, Dyno, Mongoose.
Those words might not mean anything to you now. But as a 10 year-old kid, atleast one of those words were in each and every one of my prayers.
I was convinced that if I prayed enough, one Christmas after all of the presents were opened my dad would say, "Wait one minute, we have one last gift for you Luke". Minutes later, I would hear a rhythmic "click" coming from the other room; then I would know. A pristine GT would role out, seemingly floating 2 inches of the ground because of it's holiness.
I would hop on it and what is the first thing I would do? Pedal backwards. The satisfaction of having a bike that didn't brake when you pedaled backwards was beyond any other satisfaction I could have experienced at the age of 10. It wasn't over, though. My dad would then come up to me and hand me the helmet. Not "a" helmet - "the" helmet. This wasn't some ordinary helmet. This helmet automatically launched you out of the nerdy category into the bmx champion category.
I would have had an amazing bike AND a cool helmet - Heaven. Unless it didn't have pegs. Then it would have been the worst Christmas ever...
Praying is a vital part of a Christian's life.
I think that most non-churched people (and even a lot of churched people) think of prayer as a results based petition to a pick-and-choose, Santa-esque God. It becomes this lifeless part of our spiritual lives.
Instead we should...
Pray with confidence and pray with reverence.
Pray discretely and pray purposefully.
Pray loudly and pray quietly.
Pray with people and for people.
JUST PRAY
I like the question that we're asking this series: Does it work?
That's the question everyone wants answered.
We're not going to try to spell out some formula. We're not going to talk about results as much we talk about our hearts.
Just because I didn't get my pristine GT when I was 10 doesn't mean that prayer is broken.
When we pray, God hears us... Sounds like it works to me.
Those words might not mean anything to you now. But as a 10 year-old kid, atleast one of those words were in each and every one of my prayers.
I would hop on it and what is the first thing I would do? Pedal backwards. The satisfaction of having a bike that didn't brake when you pedaled backwards was beyond any other satisfaction I could have experienced at the age of 10. It wasn't over, though. My dad would then come up to me and hand me the helmet. Not "a" helmet - "the" helmet. This wasn't some ordinary helmet. This helmet automatically launched you out of the nerdy category into the bmx champion category.
It wasn't some nerdy helmet like this:
It was pure helmet beauty as seen below:
Praying is a vital part of a Christian's life.
I think that most non-churched people (and even a lot of churched people) think of prayer as a results based petition to a pick-and-choose, Santa-esque God. It becomes this lifeless part of our spiritual lives.
Instead we should...
Pray with confidence and pray with reverence.
Pray discretely and pray purposefully.
Pray loudly and pray quietly.
Pray with people and for people.
JUST PRAY
I like the question that we're asking this series: Does it work?
That's the question everyone wants answered.
We're not going to try to spell out some formula. We're not going to talk about results as much we talk about our hearts.
Just because I didn't get my pristine GT when I was 10 doesn't mean that prayer is broken.
When we pray, God hears us... Sounds like it works to me.
 |
| Here is the graphic for this series. |
9/21/2010
One Month To Live
If you had one month to live, how would you spend it? That's a daunting question if you ask me. Well we're asking it...
This new series will hopefully challenge us to live our lives fully. The Bible says that Jesus came so that we can have life to the fullest, life in abundance. In my opinion, the only way this life can be considered full or abundant is if it is spent investing in eternity.
No matter what you believe about eternity you have to agree that when we die, we can't bring anything with us. We can't bring our guitars, T.V.'s, laptops, clothes...
Stuff. Items. Things.
They all become meaningless in our last hours.
People. Character. Hearts. Souls.
These last forever.
As a side note - We filmed an awesome video to go with this series. It will be showing on this Sunday! See a behind the scenes look at Heather Pepin's blog.
This new series will hopefully challenge us to live our lives fully. The Bible says that Jesus came so that we can have life to the fullest, life in abundance. In my opinion, the only way this life can be considered full or abundant is if it is spent investing in eternity.
No matter what you believe about eternity you have to agree that when we die, we can't bring anything with us. We can't bring our guitars, T.V.'s, laptops, clothes...
Stuff. Items. Things.
They all become meaningless in our last hours.
People. Character. Hearts. Souls.
These last forever.
As a side note - We filmed an awesome video to go with this series. It will be showing on this Sunday! See a behind the scenes look at Heather Pepin's blog.
9/18/2010
8/19/2010
Beautiful Song
I love when you can just let the music do the talking.
Sigur Rós does that very well.
This song, though not it's intention, causes me to worship God.
Sigur Rós does that very well.
This song, though not it's intention, causes me to worship God.
8/03/2010
Roadtrip: San Francisco
8/01/2010
7/31/2010
Road trip: Solvang
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