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Christmas Specials

I recently watched two very different Christmas specials. The first one, I am not even sure of the title. It is something like "A Shrek Christmas". I caught it about half way through, but I don't think that will make much difference to the ending. Shrek (a large green ogre with a big green ogre family) has apparently never celebrated Christmas before. So he buys a book, something like "Christmas for Dummies". He creates a feast, gets a tree and decorates it, buys tons of gifts. But his Christmas if far from perfect. There is too much chaos and commotion. Finally Shrek has to learn the real meaning of Christmas: family and chaos. What?! That's right, the point of Christmas, according to Shrek, is to have lots of family and lots of chaos. Let us compare this to another Christmas program from another era. Charlie Brown wanted to know what Christmas was all about. Was it about pageants and plays? Was it about cards and presents, Santa Claus and

Being a man "after" God's heart.

We need to put to rest a little bit of confusion that seems to exist in the minds of Christian men. In First Samuel 13:14 Yahweh rejects the kingship of Saul and, through Samuel, announces that "the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart." The prophecy is thought to point to David, the next king in line. As we read this in English we can get confused. To "be after" something, after all, means that we are seeking it, pursuing it. This, however, is not what the Hebrew text communicates. A more accurate, or at least less confusing, translation might read "the LORD has sought out a man like his own heart." Who is like the heart of God? Is it David, the adulterous, murderous, neglectful father? That seems rather unlikely. Rather, this serves as a case in point of how the purpose of the Old Testament is to point us to Jesus Christ FIRST. Samuel probably did not know it at the time, but he was prophesying the Incarnation. Jesus is the man who i

Ancient bone box might point to biblical home of Caiaphas

Ancient bone box might point to biblical home of Caiaphas Good old fashioned archeology always backs up the New Testament witness to Jesus Christ!

Open Letter

To those called to be shepherds of Christ’s flock, Illinois has passed a law making it possible for men and women to enter into “civil unions” with any other person they choose, be they male or female. This means, of course, that a man may enter a civil union with another man. A woman may have a civil union with another woman. There are many implications for such a law. Those implications could be ethical and moral, political, social, and spiritual. While it is tempting for pastors to address the social and political aspects of such a law, I wish to issue a call for pastors everywhere to address this as the spiritual issue that it is. Women and men are going to come to you asking for civil unions. In the face of this request you have a responsibility as those called by God to spread His Word. To neglect that responsibility is to ignore the call of God. As homosexuals enter your office asking for civil unions in a religious setting you have a God-give

Baptizing, Teaching, Loving

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-22) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love .” (Galatians 5:6) Friends in Christ, These two verse shoot straight to the heart of the Christian message and mission. Jesus Christ has suffered, died, and risen. He has conquered death and the grave. He has set us free from the fear of sin and death. And this is not mere philosophy. This is not book knowledge for a select few seminary professors. It is life changing, reality creating good news for each and every one of us. You are a new creation in Je

The Eigth Commandment

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way. Friends in Christ, “[Love] does not rejoice with wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.” (I Corinthians 13:6) The Eighth Commandment is about the truth. It is about the way we are to treat our neighbors, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, when it comes to t