Presby-Musings

Today we are going to continue the sermon series that we started last week, a sermon series that is going to take us all the way through the month of August. The title of our sermon series is #struggle: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered world.  The basic overriding idea that will be moving us forward through this series is a simple one:  technology and social media are shaping our culture in ways that are often less than life-giving. Christians need to learn how to live faithfully and fully for Jesus within a culture that is--as we described it--"selfie-centered."   So last week we talked about how technology and social media have influenced our culture's ideas about contentment.  Today we're going to be talking about relationships.   One of the many things that I love about the technology that we use to communicate with is the immediacy that it offers us.  Back in high school when I wanted to talk to my wife when we were dating, I had to use the ...

This week we'll be continuing our sermon series for the season of Easter, a series entitled "Risen."   The question that we've been struggling with over the course of this series is a challenging one.   Easter Sunday came and went.  Now what do we do?  Do we simply celebrate Easter and move on as if nothing happened?   If we believe that Jesus is risen, that he's alive--then what does that mean for us?  For all of Creation?  For our church?  For our culture?   Today we take another step in answering that question.  The passage of scripture that we'll be studying today from the book of Acts is about an unexpected moment of delight and transformation that shocked a bunch of people--who honestly had become used to disappointment.   As I was thinking about the sermon this week, I remembered a story I had read some time ago about some unusual signs that were being used by the English Historical Trust in Great Britain . ...

I have a list of words that I would like to see eradicated from our cultural lexicon.  I don't ask for much--perhaps issuing hefty fines to people who use them until they learn not to would be a good place to start. Honestly, if everyone listened to me on issues like this the world would be a better place. So... to the words: "Bromance" - This is a word that is used to describe the affection that exists between two dudes who want to ensure that no one mistakes their relationship as something other than manly friendship---and so they use a word that combines "brother" and "romance," which honestly just makes the whole thing worse. "Foodie" - This word is used to describe someone who really, really, really likes food.  People will use it in a pretentious sort of way, "Oh, I really don't care to eat at Chipotle--I'm kind of a foodie, you know."  Oh, you like food?  So does everyone.  Find another word. "Irrega...

This week I am continuing the sermon series on the life of David, entitled, "Unlikely Hero."  The passage of scripture we'll be exploring contains an interesting story that teaches us what it means to truly forgive those who have wronged us.  This is a story of how David was being pursued by Saul who wanted to kill him and how David spared Saul's life... Let me begin by asking you a couple of questions... you don't have to answer them right away---at least out loud. "What's the worst thing that has ever been done to you by another human being?"  I know it's not the easiest thing in the world to think about that kind of stuff---especially on a Sunday morning when you're supposed to be feeling all warm and fuzzy in church.  But try to think about it anyway. Then ponder this question... "Did you ever really forgive them?" No... I mean really  forgive them. Read 1 Samuel 24.   It's too long to cut and paste into this ...

I've been thinking about some ways to share what I have been learning lately about personal reflection, Bible study and prayer.  If I had to distill my learnings down to one basic idea it would simply be this:   Without personal reflection, Bible study and prayer my life would be in a shambles. So with this in mind, I thought I would entitle this little series: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.    Intrigued?  You bet you are. Today's installment has to do with Daily Devotions.  When I was a kid growing up in fundamentalist Christian world, the very best Christians were the ones who would pepper their conversations with phrases like: "Today when I was reading my Bible..." or "Can I just share something I learned today from my devotions...?"  or "I was just praying during my quiet time today and God was just in the room man..." These people always ticked me off.  I wanted to thump them with a Bible.  A really... big... Bible....

According to some reports, Adam Lanza, the deranged gunman who took the lives of twenty-seven people in Newtown CT last week, could not feel pain.   The twenty-year old, who executed twenty first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th by spraying them with bullets fired from an assault rifle, was reportedly unable to feel physical pain , and could hold a lighter to his arm or ankle while the flesh burned without flinching.   I don't know if these details have been confirmed.  If they are, in fact, confirmed we have just another set of clues as to the possible twisted and demented motives for this horrific act.   But I also see this as a sign and a symbol of something else...  After the initial shock of the massacre at Sandy Hook began to wear off I started to see some predictable things pop up on my Facebook and Twitter feeds, and then even more predictably on the cable news programs as well.   Some people immediatel...

Sometimes you have to be careful what you preach. Last week I preached the first sermon in an Advent series called "Stuff: Are the Things We Buy Killing Christmas?" I had a lot of people approach me after that sermon and tell me how much it affected them. One of those people was my wife.  She told me on Sunday that she had been really moved by what I said---particularly the part about how when we put our focus on acquiring "Stuff" we participate in idol worship and by extension collude (albeit unwittingly) with the demonic. I also essentially said, "Christmas is in crisis, and Christians aren't helping." So a couple of days later, my wife came to me and said, "I know what we need to do."  Apparently she had been listening to the morning radio show on our local Christian radio station.  I do my best not to listen to morning radio shows--even Christian ones--but my wife is a better Christian than I am.  I am serious when I say th...

I'm working on developing some discipline when it comes to my emotional outpourings through the various social media outlets I frequent.  I say "working on" because I can't make any promises if I'll completely behave, but I'll try. A few days ago the entire world got to see what happens when a pastor does dumb things on the Internet.  Mark Driscoll , the uber-pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle (a mega, multi-site church) posted this unfortunate post on his Facebook page: Blogger Rachel Held Evans, the author Evolving in Monkey Town   (which I reviewed on this blog ), called Driscoll out on her blog and encouraged her readers to contact Mars Hill Church and complain.  They did.  After getting called on the carpet by his church elders,  Driscoll issued this sort-of apology yesterday.  Before I comment on all of this and tie it all together in a lesson for Yours Truly (or any one else for that matter), let me say this: Here's some th...