Interactive Sermon

The Grand Weaver pt. 4

Continuing my review of Ravi Zacharias' book The Grand Weaver.  All entries can be found under the category 'Books'.  If you're interested, you can order the book right here in the left panel.   If you do, thanks for the business!

The third chapter of this book is entitled 'Your Calling Matters'.  He begins the chapter with a great little superstition from the East: When a child is still a toddler the parent can predict their child's future.  The place on a table within the child's reach a bottle of wine, a stack of money and a bible.  If the child reaches for the bible, he will follow a spiritual vocation.  If the child grabs the wine, a life of hedonism awaits.  If the child grabs the money, success in business is assured.  A story is told of a parent who puts this superstition to the test.  He laid out the items on a table and watched as his son surveyed it all.  He reached and picked up the bible.  He tucked it under his arm and reached to grab the money.  Then, with the other hand he reached over and grabbed the bottle of wine.  He had all three!  The little boys grandfather stood nearby.  When he saw the dismay on his son's face he said, "Looks like the boy is destined to become a politician!"

Zacharias goes on to talk about our callings examining a number of stories from the beginning.  Dwight Gooden is given as an example of a calling that began with tremendous promise and then crashed and burned - so there is a manner in which we need to discover the threads of our calling and follow them with excellence.

He delves into the manner in which the bible often evaluates a life - phrases like "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" and "He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord", and so on.  Very thought provoking.  What will be said of me?  You?

Ravi spends considerable time on the matter of our first calling - who we are in God and how important that 'thread' is to the overall picture God is crafting. 

There's more to this chapter.  I''ll probably post one more segment on it before I move on.  Thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon, Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver

What Does He Believe?

A number of us are reading the book 'The Secret Message of Jesus' by Brian McLaren (having read 'Generous Orthodoxy by McLaren together a couple years ago) and have been talking about his latest book 'Everything Must Change'.  Many and varied are the opinions of Brian and his writing in Christendom today.  Most of us reading his stuff at CCA appreciate very much the thought provocation and conversation fodder he provides.  I read a great article/interview.  Check it out.  If you don't have time now to read the entire piece, here's a slice of the Q&A I found most meaningful:

Q. But some Christians may see the title of your book and worry that you're saying that what also needs changing is some basic doctrine. For example: Jesus' divinity. Is that negotiable?

A. I affirm in the book that I am completely orthodox in all of my beliefs about Christ. I affirm all the ancient creeds.

But here's where we have to face some deeper issues. The creeds teach us to affirm the deity of Christ. But then we have to say: What does it mean to live out the belief that Jesus was really the word of God incarnate? If we really believe that, then we'll take very seriously what he said about how we treat our enemies. Instead, we often affirm the doctrine in our words -- we can say "Lord, Lord" -- but then we don't actually do what he said.

The change I'm interested in is helping us flesh out what it means to affirm the ancient creeds and historic faith.

I don't know if I could have said that any better!  What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Emerging Church, Emergent, Brian McLaren, Orthodoxy

A (Cute) Chip Off The Ole' Blog

My youngest daughter Emily has stepped into the blogosphere with her very own 'Inside Emily's World' blog.  I am proud of her.  I added her RSS feed to my reader... she's right there next to TallSkinnyKiwi and BigDadGib.  Lookout big world!

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon, Blog, Blogging

Teddy's Endorsement

Yesterday Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama for president.  Am I the only one who finds it funny that a year ago Senator Teddy had trouble getting the man's name right?  Was it a Freudian Slip?  Well, let's not forget, the man's name is Barack Hussein Obama.  The only thing folks in the south will love more than his name is a picture of him locked arm in arm with Ted Kennedy.

"Uh, I endorse, eh... that... er... Osama bin... Obama Osama... er... somebody pour me a drink."

The Story of God

We considered the next segment of our study through the beginnings of God's Story - Creation.  We considered Acts 17:16-33, and noted especially the words of the Apostle Paul as he proclaimed that it is God who determined the specific times and places of our habitation.  We considered Jeremiah's call (recorded in Jeremiah 1:4-5) and Paul's account of his own calling (recorded in Galatians 1:11f) as a couple more evidences that people don't wind up on God's stage, in His story, indiscriminately or by chance.  Rather, he has placed us.  That gives our lives, and the situations and settings we find ourselves in, significance and meaning.

We also took notice of the way Paul set out to tell God's story to the people of Athens.  He didn't begin with a stinging rebuke, 'You people are a bunch of polytheistic pagans!'  Instead, he commended them for the fact that they appeared very religious.  He gently suggested that their devotion was uninformed.  His method allowed some of his hearers (as evidenced in v. 32-33) to locate themselves within God's story.

Paul's cultural delivery of God's story, including a quotation of a Cretan poet Epimenedes, should give our own story telling endeavors food for thought.  What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon, Story of God, Creation, Meaning, Acts 17

King of the Jungle

During our 2006 Namibia trip we ran across a couple of lions... doing what married lions do.  Kevin tossed this video at me.  It's not too late for you to get an application to join this year's team going to Namibia!

Technorati Tags: Etosha, Namibia, Lion Porn

Preparing Our Hearts

We've been considering the beginnings of God's Story these last few weeks on Sunday mornings - the episode of 'Creation' in the story we find ourselves in.  Tomorrow we will turn our attention to some of the meaning behind God's work, and particularly in His giving meaning to our lives.  If you are one of those folks who likes and advanced look at the text we will consider, give Acts 17:16-34 a read.

Peter and members of the music team are preparing a great set of music for tomorrow's services.  I see a couple great hymns of the faith and songs from Chris Tomlin, Vineyard, and others on the list.  I hope that you'll come prepared to lend your voice to the praise and adoration of our God.

Whether you choose the 9am or 11am service tomorrow, I look forward to gathering to worship with you!

My Blogging World

The beginning of 2008 seemed like a good time for me to spell out some personal goals for my writing and blogging endeavors.  I won't bore you with the specifics.  In an endeavor to grow in some areas, I've discovered a couple of new tools that I am really pleased with and would recommend to you.  I've also re-evaluated a couple things that will be changed here on my Interactive Sermon blog, and other places.  I feel it would be a good thing for me to share some of the particulars with you here, for your thought provocation.

Google Reader - One of the downfalls of being a blogger is the time that it takes - not to write and post, but to read other blogs.  If you're serious about it, and I am, then you need to spend time in the blogosphere.  Google Reader is a great tool to help with the time constraints.  There are many readers, some free (like Google) and some that cost.  What they do, for those who don't know, is allow you to grab the RSS feeds of the blogs that you regularly view, and organizes them in a reader so you can see who has recently posted and who has not.  Think of it like screening calls on an answering machine... you can ask yourself, "Do I have the time to enter that conversation now?"  RSS feeds and readers - in the words of the prophet Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing!"

Blog Rush - One of the big crazes of the last six months or so to hit blogging was the advent of Blog Rush, a 'tool' that advertised upping your traffic.  I waded in.  I tried it not once, not twice, but three times.  I watched as friends of mine like BigDadGib tried it (I see he's back in the laboratory with it right now, actually).  I have seen no benefit.  Truth be told, I think their little widget on my blog is ugly, takes up space and distracts people like YOU who I care about.  So, as soon as this post is done, Blog Rush is flushed.  It's little widget is gone by end of business today.  What of the huge upturn in visits they promised?  Well, I'm not sure I ever saw that in the first place, but even if people arrived here from there... oh well.

Technorati - I added technorati tags a year ago and have seen a benefit there in people coming to my blog through technorati searches.  However, shortly after I jumped on board with that 'tool', they restructured their service where ratings and authority are concerned, had serious issues with mapping (as my friend TallSkinnyKiwi discovered), and made it all very confusing for a technology-challenged-preacher like me.  But, I have decided that the problem here is that I need to grow in my techno-acumen.  Resolved!  Become more of a nerdy-geek!  Check!

On traffic in general - I would like more people to come by Interactive Sermon and join the conversations.  I am truly thankful for each of the roughly 100 page views I average a day, and the additional 30 or so folks who have my RSS in their readers - did I already say I love you guys.  If it's going to increase, I'll expect it will be because I put up better content, and we - you and me - bring people into the conversation.  (Maybe google will help, too!)

Because you love me, you're asking 'How can I help, Darin?'  Thanks for asking.  Here are a few ways:

1) Help Interactive Sermon grow.  Tell folks about our conversation.  Link to this blog.  Drop it in your feed reader.  Have 'interactivesermon.com' tattooed on your... well, actually, someplace people would see it.

2) If you're a Blog Rush believer, don't tell me about it.  I'm over that craze.  Passed thru that fad.

3) If you're the kind of geeky-nerd who thoroughly understands Technorati, then let's talk.  We might need a long weekend locked in a basement somewhere for you to crack through my techno-blinders.  You need to be a patient nerd, is what I'm getting at.

4) I have two more requests, relative to the name of this blog and the logo (hip looking little guy in the upper right hand corner).  I'll save these two requests for an upcoming post.   But be looking for it!

Once more, in case you missed it earlier: I love you guys!  Thanks for making Interactive Sermon part of your web-world!

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon, Google Reader, RSS, Blog-Rush, Technorati, Nerds

The Grand Weaver pt. 3

Continuing my review of Ravi Zacharias' book The Grand Weaver.  All entries can be found under the category 'Books'.  If you're interested, you can order the book right here in the left panel.   If you do, thanks for the business!

Zacharias titles the second chapter of this book 'Your Disappointments Matter'.  He begins by recounting a tragic day in 1999 - I won't give it away for those who will go on to read the book on their own, but suffice to say that once the story is unveiled you will recall the incident.  The events of that day are among those things that would cause people to ask 'Why do so many destructive people live to ripe old age while so many who live admirable lives seem to get snuffed out?'  Ravi points out that questions like this are not simply about the 'why' of tragedy, but rather the 'why' of unequal justice.  He further reminds us that the problem of pain and suffering is not simply a matter for the skeptic, but also for genuine believers.

An old adage for preachers is "If you talk about pain, you'll never lack listeners."  Ravi echoes that point - pain is no respecter of persons.  He employs a great illustration (one that I will soon utilize on a Sunday morning... thanks Ravi!) to demonstrate that often while the 'grass may look greener' in someone else's yard, it rarely is.  We all, he concludes, suffer similar agonies of the soul - no matter what neighborhood you live in. 

In this chapter he outlines for us a three step plan to help us begin to see the work of God in all things in our lives.  The first involves the heart.  Not the organ that pumps blood, but the center of our being.  He reminds us of King David and how he was called 'a man after God's own heart'.  It wasn't that David was a perfect man.  His human failures are everywhere recorded in Scripture.  Zacharias suggests that it was because, no matter what sin encumbered him, David's heart was always tender to the Lord's correction - his heart could be affected by God.  "The Grand Weaver seeks those with tender hearts so that He can put His imprint upon them", he concludes. 

A second step involves the mind.  Zacharias suggests, "What the brain is to the body, the mind is to the soul."  That's a phrase worthy of some consideration, I think.  "Faith is a thing of the mind", he says.  "If you do not believe that God is in control and has formed you for a purpose, then you will flounder on the high seas of purposelessness, drowning in the currents and drifting into nothingness."

The third step involves the cross.  With the balance of this chapter he does a magnificent job demonstrating the relevance of the cross of Christ - no cross, no good news.  He asserts that once we take these three steps - allow God to speak into our tender hearts; strengthen our minds through faith; and embrace the cross - then we will sense God's work within us in a deeper way, and find consolation.

Chapter three is next.  It is entitled: Your Calling Matters.  Any thoughts or comments?  Struggles?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon, Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver

3 Chords & A Cup of Coffee?

Interactive Sermon Exclusive!

3 Chords & A Cloud of Dust is planning to play JBeaners Open Mic Night this Friday evening.  Because the Open Mic runs a pattern of 15 minute slots for artists, the band has signed up for three solo slots and one group slot.  The schedule as it stands now is Jesse at 7:45; Jimmy at 8:15; Darin at 8:30 and 3 Chords at 8:45pm.  You might be wondering about that 8:00 slot.  So are we!  Somehow some girl edged in there between us, so we're figuring to adopt her into the fold and cheer wildly for her... whoever she is.  I would love to tell you what Jesse, Jimmy and I will play in our solo sets.  Fact is, we'd love to know ourselves.

As always when we play JBeaners, the set is an acoustic set (sort of), and provides us with a great opportunity to see if Dan can do drum rolls on congas.  Oh yeah, and they ask us not to do anything religious... so we won't be playing Friends in Low Places.  Let The Praise Ring is probably okay, though.  Jimmy was thinking about playing a new song Amanda L wrote about Jesus.  I told him to pronounce it Hey-suus and tell the crowd that it's about this Latino guy...  we'll see.  I promise you this, it will be fun.

JBeaners is located at 25 Rte. 101-A in Amherst.  Open Mic Night runs from 6pm to 9pm.  Our plan for after the Open Mic is to move down the road to one of the nearby restaurants, perhaps Uno or Chilis, to have some dessert or something with anyone who can hang out a bit.

Check your calendar.  We'd love to share the evening with you Friday.  Whipped cream with that Latte?   

Technorati Tags: 3 Chords & A Cloud of Dust, JBeaners, Open Mic, Jesus