Doctrine of Heaven Sermon

I gave this sermon at Rock Bible Church, where I serve as the Youth Pastor, on Sunday 11/25/2012. The primary passage is Revelation 21:1-8.

https://vimeo.com/54377446

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Verse to Reflect On

This verse was shared this weekend at church and I thought I'd pass it on as it is a great verse for reflection this time of year.

Isaiah 9:8 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Christmas vs. Xmas

So I keep having this strong desire to type out and write Xmas. But every time I think about it I am reminded of "The Reason for the Season." I know cheesy. But I want to encourage you all to consider writing Christmas rather than Xmas. For Christ truly is the reason we celebrate all this. And the more we can do to remind ourselves of that the better. With all the hustle and bustle, plus the consumerism. It is often Jesus that is lost in this time of year. So when you are at the store in line and are getting frustrated with how long it is taking take a look around. See if you can find something to remind you that this is about Jesus. And W.W.J.D.? I know cheesy. Or the next time you are searching for a parking spot or have one jacked look at the lights and remember He is the Light of the World. Still cheesy? Basically what I am saying is take a look around and I bet you can find something to remind you of Jesus. Even if it is Santa Clause. Remember he was a Christian. Not this modern Santa Clause but Saint Nicolas. Advertisers all the time use little messages for their purpose. So why not use the true little messages of Christmas to change your perspective. I hope you all have an amazing and wonderful Christmas season.

Random Statement

So a random statement came to mind to night. Not sure where it came from but on some level I know it is from God. So take it with a grain of salt.

"When ever a man doesn't know the choice he should make, he should make the one that will lead him to righteousness." That's the less KJV version.

What was really in my head was this.

"The man that knows not which choice he should make should choose the path that will lead unto righteousness."

So if you would ever like to quote me you are more than welcome to. I don't say that arrogantly but just putting it out there.

The First Week

Amber B. requested that I update you all on my first week back to the disciplines. So I am going to update you all on how it went. Here is what I have been thinking this last week.

Fasting: It really helped to me to remember that I am spirit and body. The two go together; they are not separate. It wasn't that difficult to do. I began to get a little hungry towards the end of the day and really wanted food. But that is to be expected.

Silence: It is going to be more than just not speaking on a day once a month. I am going to eliminate noise from my life. So riding in the car I am going to have no music or radio. I believe it was Henri Nouwen that said Christians should have quiet houses. They should have lack of noise so that it leaves God room to speak. Because it has been said that God is not in the wind, the earthquake or the storm but in the still silence. This will also look like not listening to music or watching a movie while going to sleep.

Frugality: Spending under $3 at Starbucks or Diedrich. Not ordering the best thing on the menu when eating out.

That's about all for now. Next weekend will be my first weekend of Silence and Solitude. I will let you know how it goes.

The Rubber Meets the Road (No this isn't the Motorcycle Story)

So recently I have been reading Dallas Willard's book The Spirit of the Disciplines. And I just finished chapter 3 which is titled Salvation is a Life. The basic premises of the chapter is that we focus to much on the single act of Jesus crucifixion and not on his entire life and/or his resurrection. In so doing we tend to make salvation an instantaneous event which requires nothing of us after the fact. But if we understand it in its proper context salvation is a whole life event. Therefore we continue to have a part after our conversion. So basically what I am saying is I am going to be practicing some of the classic disciplines to help the rubber meet the road and I would like to enlist your help. If you and I are in conversation or hanging out please ask me how they are going. I ask you this so that I might be held accountable. Also I hope by myself doing this and you hearing of my experience you might consider doing this as well. I might share periodically on here if it is of interest, comment and let me know if you want to here updates on the blog. So here is my list of disciplines I am going to be practicing and the stipulations I am setting for them. Fasting: every Thursday I will fast two meals, in so doing I will fast roughly 24 hours the Jewish way. Silence: I am going to practice not speaking for 24 hour periods. Once a month on a weekend. Solitude: Once a month spend 6 hours by myself with God, a journal and my bible; thats it. Scripture Memorization: Kinda self explanatory. And the last is frugality: This will last a month at least, not sure how long, where I will not buy anything for myself except for that which I need. I suppose that last will be the most difficult. So please help me with this if you are with me somewhere. Food obviously doesn't count, nor does gas and such. Basically it is the purchase of products or merchandise will you have it. If there are any questions feel free to comment and ask.

P.S. Yes, Amber, I know it goes over the page rule.

Interesting Results

So have you ever noticed how God tends to work in really weird ways. For example today I read in Luke about the Lost Son (aka Prodigal Son), which by the way I really like the title the TNIV uses which is the Lost Son go read the whole chapter that way and you will understand. So any ways I was sitting at Starbucks tonight and someone came and sat down next to me and she looked like she wanted to talk to me so I took out my ipod head phones and made eye contact with her. And she began to speak to me and soon I realized (after her telling me) that she is the wife of a buddy of mine I used to play hockey with. A man who helped me through sometimes of confusion and learning to be a Christian man. Well they moved away 4 years ago and I thought him to be lost from my life for ever due to random circumstances (aka new phone # and new email, both of which I did not have). Needless to say I am pretty stoked because apparently they are back living in So Cal, which is freaking awesome. So God went and brought something back that I thought I had lost. Maybe he is trying to teach me something. Only time will tell.

P.S. If you want to laugh really really hard go read Jesse's latest blog.

P.S.S. To my future wife, who ever she is, yes I will try this.