Category Archives: Christianity

Are Christians Different?

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Are Christians Different?  Are believers different than non-believers?  Are Christians different than followers of other faiths?  Let’s go the scriptures.

Jesus was different. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 5 – 7.  Jesus spoke to a Jewish audience familiar with the traditions and laws he spoke of.  He turned those well established conventions upside down, often repeating “You have heard it said… But I tell you” something different.  Hating your brother is the same as murder.  Lustful thoughts are committing adultery in the heart.  We are told to love our enemies.  These are just examples.  And the Sermon on the Mount was just the beginning. Continue reading →

Atheists Don’t Have No Songs

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Steve Martin on Austin City Limits

“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Capitol of Texas Public Telecommunications Council.”

Apparently “public” television isn’t as public as we all thought it was. Public television is paid for the members who support it, rather than by the sell of commercial airtime.  It is available for free to the public.  Copyright holders own certain intellectual property and do not give it away in order to make a profit.  It it’s public why is there a copyright claim to be made?

This is one of the best videos of any kind I’ve seen on the internet in a long time.  Unfortunately I can’t see it again nor show it to anybody else.  Thank you Texas, and the good people of Not-So-Public After All Television.

A Lesson in Humility: God is in the Manger Part II

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When the wise men came from the east seeking Jesus, they went to Jerusalem.  They were looking for a newborn king, so they naturally went to the palace located in the capital city.  King Herod knew nothing of a king being born, because the birth of Jesus was not one fit for a king. Continue reading →

God is in the Manger

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UPDATE: This is part 1.  Part 2 here.

The nature of all sin is that we are so easily willing to settle.  We could have the very best of all that God has in store for us, but all too often we take the easy way, the short cut, the path of least resistance or instant gratification.  Instant gratification may the biggest temptation our culture offers today.  A functional relationship with an actual human being takes time and effort, whereas “hooking up” for a one-night stand requires no long-term commitment.  I contend that the long-term benefits make the commitment a worthwhile endeavor.  A thief – or simply someone who is lazy – is thinking hard work pays off eventually, stealing pays off right now.  But there are also consequences for cheating to get ahead.  Sin is almost always an attempt to skip to the good part.  Satan tempted Jesus three times with shortcuts; turn this bread to stone, prove yourself by jumping from a high place, bow down and worship me. (1) Any of those would have brought more immediate although less rewarding gratification than by taking the slow, painful path to the cross.  Sometimes God’s will is the slow, tough path.  The problem is that we are willing to settle for less.

The same is true with Christmas. Continue reading →

Yes, I Have a Pastor

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Every now and then I make a reference to something my pastor said or did, and each time I expect someone to ask about that.  Yes I have a church pastor, no that’s not really him in the picture.

In 2003 I was working a full time job, and doing ministry on the side.  I was a church deacon, directed Vacation Bible School, taught youth on Wednesday nights, was one of several leaders on mission trips, volunteered at our local Baptist Center, and preached from time to time. Continue reading →

From the Archives: Christmas

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Here are a few articles on Christmas from years past that might be worth another look:

Rethinking the Angelic Choir examines the words of scripture carefully and challenges our notion of the angels that announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.  The first thing angels always say when they appear in full glory to human beings is “Do not be afraid.”  If they were beautiful women in choir robes, why would people tremble in fear?

Santa Claus Has Not Sold Out suggests that Santa has not become commercialized, but rather our American image of Santa is the product of commercialism.  He wears a red and white suit because of those early 20th century Coca-Cola ads, and comes down the chimney because of department store Santas standing on the roof.

Christmas Card Theology is from last year, and begs the question what do we learn from the pictures on the Christmas cards we send? There are several things besides the fact that angels are beautiful women with long blonde hair.

All of the posts for Christmas and Advent are listed under the tag in the categories list, but these are a few of my favorites.

Celebrating Advent

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I sort of imagine there are two kinds of people out there: those who understand Advent well and continue to observe time honored traditions, and then those who don’t know/don’t care what it is.  If you are from a rich tradition of keeping Advent, then I should probably be reading your thoughts on the subject.  If you’re in the don’t know/don’t care camp… well, I guess you didn’t even read this far, huh?  But perhaps there is a third sort of person.  If you have heard about Advent and are curious, then just maybe I can help you. Continue reading →

Enter his Gates with Thanksgiving

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Christimas is the celebration of Jesus’s birth, but there is no biblical command to observe it.  There are however feasts, songs and prayers of thanksgiving are all over the Bible.  I’m not saying there is anything wrong with Christmas; during his lifetime Jesus was an observant Jew, and every indication is that he ovserved all the Jewish festivals, including the historical ones not just the religious festivals commanded in scripture.  The arrival of “God with us” is a major turning point in all of history.  But we are commanded to praise God and give thanks.  Moses sang songs of thanksgiving, David composed them.  James reminds us that “every good gift and perfect gift is from above.”  The United States was the first country to observe a national holiday for giving thanks.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! -Psalm 100:4

The word thanksgiving appears 9 times in the Psalms.  It appears a total of 42 times in the ESV Bible.  Click here to see them all.  If you look up variants, such as “give thanks,” you will find many more.  Whatever you read, however you celebrate, do not forget to thank God.  No matter what this year has been like, there is much to be thankful for.

The Church Year

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Chaplain Mike is doing a series on the liturgical church year at Internet Monk.  I’m not going to link each post, but this is the introduction.  The first follow-up has already been posted.  We are about to enter the season of Advent, and this would be a great time to start.  I grew up in the Baptist tradition which tends to do little with liturgy, but even the SBC churches I’ve been in light the candles of the Advent wreath each week.  If the concept of the Christian calendar is new to you, I highly recommend following Chaplain Mike’s series.

My Jesus is Bigger Than Your Jesus

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Swiebodzin, Poland is now home to the largest statue of Jesus in the world. At 167 feet, it is more than 40 feet taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.  Swiebedzin is a town of 22,000.  One hope of the community is that this will put them on the map and bring tourism – and tourist dollars.  Full story on Economic Stimulus Jesus here. Please share thoughts/ideas/opinions on what this means.

On a related note, remember what happened to the King of Kings?