Presby-Musings

It's a new year.  As I write this, there are 363 days and fourteen hours or so left until January 1, 2018.  If you are like me, this moment at the onset of a new year feels like a clean slate, a new beginning--a chance to be better than I was in the previous year.  What are you going to do with this incredible gift of a clean slate?   Some of us simply find ourselves frozen in this pregnant moment.  We think back on all of the mistakes we've made, the challenging circumstances, the obstacles placed before us, and we determine that the coming year is just going to bring more of the same.   Some of us can't find the strength to let go of our mistakes, and secretly believe we are defined by the things we've done and left undone.  Poet Dobby Gibson captures this perfectly when he writes, "When you're sorry for what you did, you're usually sorry for what you didn't."  That resonates with me so deeply.   Then there are those of us who kn...

Today we're going to conclude the sermon series that we've been working on for the past few weeks--a sermon series on Grace entitled "New."  For the past couple of weeks we have been focused on one passage of Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.  I know, it seems weird to just preach on one passage of Scripture for three weeks.  Just think of it as one long sermon in three parts.   So what exactly does 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 say?  Well, let's read it again.   16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! In Week 1 of the series we learned that: Who you were is in the past, who you aren't isn't interesting and who you become is a choice.  In Week 2 of the series we learned that: When Jesus loves away your past, he transforms your present.   Today we are goi...

I was watching a reality TV show the other day that really fascinated me.  It's called Bad Ink.   The show is set in Las Vegas and is essentially about two friends--one of whom is a tattoo artist--who comb the Vegas strip looking for people with really bad tattoos.  Since it's Vegas, they don't have to look that hard, to be honest.  Lots of people in Vegas have bad tattoos.   But what these guys do that is so fascinating is they offer these people with really bad tattoos the chance to fix them.  It's kind of their specialty, you see: redeeming the bad choices people made.  According to the artist on Bad Ink , most bad tattoos happen when people are either young and impulsive or drunk, or all three.   Here's a quick sample of some  "bad ink" that artists have been able to fix:  This woman took a very bad infinity/love tattoo and had it turned into a rose firefly with infinity wings.  Okay, this one is just brilliant....

I was looking for some information on New Year's Resolutions on the interwebs and I found one linked to usa.gov.  It touted the top New Year's resolutions that people make--quitting smoking, losing weight, starting a new career, furthering education  and the like.  It also provided links for each one of those resolutions to government websites where you could find help on how to keep those resolutions. Tax payer funded help---to keep your New Year's resolutions... Perhaps a less cynical person would see this as a creative way for the U.S. government to connect people with government services that might help make their lives better. Unfortunately, I am not that less cynical person.  As I read through the site, I was reminded of that old punchline, "Hi, we're from the government and we're here to help you."  How bad have things gotten in our society when you have to go to the government to help you keep your New Year's resolutions? Pretty bad...