experiment one

click here to watch experiment one

i haven't had a chance to vlog in a while but here are some experiments i have been doing with a demo version of istopmotion the first section is out my window looking up the hill the middle section is me working on my sermon last sunday (the road to emmaus it is coming soon) and the last section is just straight out my window. the car is lilly (named by the kids) the ford we bought back in 95 while still in abilene texas. she is a blessing.

the sound track is something i put together in garageband it is a cut down of a longer song i call "08 techno"

A Dinner for Jesus

A Dinner for Jesus
Matthew 26.6 – 16; Mark 14.1 – 11 and John 12.1 – 11

In the town of Bethany lived some people Jesus loved deeply. I would venture to say that these 3 siblings were Jesus’ best friends. You will remember the sisters from an earlier meal but the brother has a fame all his own. Martha invited Jesus to her house for a meal earlier and her sister Mary was there too (Luke 10.38 – 42). Martha busied herself with the meal, while Mary just sat and listened to Jesus. You know the rest of the story but Lazarus has an even more amazing story. He was dead for at least 4 days when Jesus arrived and raised Lazarus from his sleep (John 11.1 – 44).

Now sometime later a dinner is being held in honor of Jesus at Simon the Leper’s house. If you read the accounts in Matthew and Mark you do not learn the name of the women who anoints Jesus but John gives us her name. She is Mary! This is the very same Mary who sat at the Masters feet to learn and whose brother was raised from the grave. We again find Martha serving but this time she does not complain, while Mary worships Jesus. Lazarus and the rest of the guest enjoy the meal.

When Mary pours half a liter of expensive perfume on Jesus feet the entire house if filled with the fragrance (John 12.3). I feel that she does this in appreciation for Jesus raising her brother from the dead and because she like her sister believes that he is the Christ, the Son of God. This is an act of worship on her behalf. She had been saving it for his funeral but feels compelled to anoint him with it now.

One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, watches this and comments, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” (John 12.5) John tells is that Judas’ motivations were not pure because he kept the moneybag and would help himself to its contents (John 12.6). Jesus not only defends Mary but also rebukes Judas. “Leave her alone! She was saving this for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Essentially he is saying, she is giving me a wonderful gift and I will not let you diminish it! He is also telling Judas that he is a hypocrite. There are poor all around you should be helping instead of complaining about what Mary is doing.

Matthew and Mark tell us that following this rebuke Judas goes to the chief priest (Matthew 26.14 – 16 & Mark 14.10 &11). He agrees to betray Jesus. The chief priests are delighted to hear this.

You and I need to fill our houses with the fragrance of our worship. People in our lives need to smell worship when we are near by. They can smell it thru our actions, thru our words and thru our attitudes. Our lives will not be perfect of easy but like many of the Psalmists we can worship the LORD in the midst of our pain.

Judas is rebuked by Jesus and instead of deciding that Jesus is right and he needs to make some changes in his life. He decides to turn his back on the LORD. When we read the Bible or another believer challenges us we need to listen to what we read and what they are saying. Instead of shutting Jesus out of our lives like Judas, we need to open ourselves up to be changed into something better than we are. It won’t be easy but it will save us!

sabbath supper at the pharisee's house

click here to listen to "sabbath supper at the pharisee's house"
I gave this sermon the evening of Sunday, August 21st 2005 at the Church of Christ in Falls Church, Va.

a prayer for the gulf coast

A Prayer for the Gulf Coast

My Lord, My God
Holy is your name.
As I watch the suffering and hardship in the wake of hurricane Katrina I know that I am helpless to do anything.
I ask that you, my God, will bring comfort and grieving.
I ask you to feed the hungry.
I ask you to clothe the naked.
I as you to shelter the homeless.
I ask that you protect and care for the orphan and widow
Lord,
There are many who are dong their best to help the victims of the Gulf Coast.
Give them mercy
Give them strenght
Give them patients
Give them wisdom
Give them home
They need these so much in this difficult time.
I can only imagine how hopeless they feel. You are the only hope. I pray that you will show them your hope and glory thru Your people.
Open our hearts
Open our eyes
Open our hands
To show Your hope, love, grace and mercy to those who need it so badly.
Lord,
Move Your Holy Spirit in Your people to contenue Your Son's ministry here and now. Make us to humbly serve.
Show me the best way I can help.
I pray this in the awesome and powerful name of Your Son Jesus Christ
Amen

click here to watch a prayer for the gulf coast

austin draws

click here to see austin draw

a prayer in memory of imogene byrd

this is the prayer that i gave as the grave side service, at the bethel united methodist church in dawsonville, ga., for my memaw's funeral. she passed away a week ago monday and her funeral was last friday at tillman united methodist church. i will be posting my comments from the funeral service soon.

Heavenly Father
We gather here mourning the lose of our Memaw
our sister
our mother
our cousin
and our friend
we do not mourn as those without hope but because of your Son we mourn and grieve with hope.

As we share our memories of Memaw's life and our time with her we are filled with hapiness and sorrow
we are filled with saddness and joy.

Sorrow and saddness because of the dark times we shared.
Saddness and sorrow because our time with Memaw has come to an end for now.

Happiness and joy because of the good times we all shared together.
Joy and happiness because of the hope that we will all be together again in the resurection.

We know that this is not the end of Memaw life with you. But it is only the end of the beginning of her eternal life with You.
She started her eternal life with You long ago when she became one of your children and she has been a shining example of your great and steadfast love in this dark world.

She has been a light to all of us quietly living a life that glorifies you.
Encouraging us by actions and words to live a life that glorifies you.

As she leaves us now to join that great cloud of witnesses. Help us to folloe in her godly footsteps and live as shining examples ofyour great love in this dark world.

Contenue to fill us with your grace, mercy, hope and love.
We pray this in the wonderful and beautiful name of your resurrected Son.
Jesus Christ
AMEN

sad news

my memaw passed away last night at the age of 90. she had been in a coma since saturday and had not been keeping food down for a while.

as much as i will miss my memaw i am happy that she had a great life and was a great spiritual example to me as to how to live a christian life.

i will be leaving for atlanta on thursday.

i missed my 2 year anniversary!

i missed my 2 yr anniversary as a blogger. i know i should have something deep and profound to say about that but i don't right now accept thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoy the blog.

the worst dinner guest ever part two

The Meals of Jesus: The Worst Diner Guest Ever
Part Two Luke 11.37 – 54

As Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees for tithing but forgettin justice and
the love of God (Luke 11.42); seeking honor from people and not God
(11.43); and finally for being unmarked graves that look good on the
outside but on the inside are dead and decaying (Luke 11.44). In the
middle of this an “expert of the law” spoke up and said “Teacher,
when you say these things, you insult us as well.” (Luke 11.45)

So the “expert of the law” steps into the line of fire and Jesus lets him
and his collegues know what is wrong with them. First Jesus rebukes
them for loading people down with burdens and doing nothing to help
them (Luke 11.46). Their teachings are hard to follow and it is
difficult to live out what the experts are teaching. To make matters
worse the teachers are unwilling to help people live out what they
are teaching. They have forgotten that we, as teachers, are called to
challenge people to live a life that glorifies God. We can not forget
that it is not easy. We need to help those who are new to Christ or
are struggleing to live a life pleaseing to God. We need to show
them forgiveness. We need to show them that we also struggle to live
a God pleasing life. We need to bare each others burdens.

Then he rebukes them for honoring the prophets with fancy tombs
but not honoring the teaching or life of the prophet. Their “fathers”
killed these prophets and didn't follow the teachings of the prophets.
Now the “children”, the teachers of the law are not honoring the
prophets teaching or life but are simply paying lip service to the
prophets lives. The teachers of the law are just as guilty as their
fathers. This is a warning to us as well. As Christians we get caught
up in the birth of Jesus and his crucifiction but we forget about his
life. When Jesus is born he is a small and safe little baby that makes
us all feel good. With the crucifiction Jesus dies, forgives us, raises
from the dead and then ascends into heaven. His life on the other
hand is full of uncomfortable teaching and activity that we need to
honor with our lives.

Finaly Jesus wraps up with the teachers of the law and puts the two
woes together, jut like he did with the pharisees. The teachers of the
law have taken the “key to knowledge” away from the people. Not
only that but they don't use it themselves. The teachers lived in a
time when very few people had access to the written word of God.
The teachers were keeping it to themselves and not sharing it with
the people. They were also not using the key themselves in allowing
the Word to work in their own lives. Unlike the teachers we live in a
time when anyone can buy a copy of the Bible and read it. Many
people will not understand what they read. We need to help them to
understand the messages found in the Bible. The story of God's
wonderful love for us. The story of Jesus' life with us. The teachings
that Jesus, Peter, Paul and others leave for us to help us live in a way
that pleases God.

In conclusion, the woes against the Pharisees and teachers of the
law can apply to us as well. Like the Pharisees we are trying our best
to live a holy, righteous and pure life that pleases the LORD. Like the
teachers of the law, we have access to the Word and are struggling to
understand the Word and its teachings. Like the Pharisee and
teachers we can sometimes be guilty of pride and hypocrasy that lead
us to drift away from God and lead others astray as well. Our
challenge like theirs is to be aware of these pitfalls and to rely on
God's power to stay out of them.

oreo night

click here to watch oreo night

the worst dinner guest ever parts one

The Meals of Jesus: The Worst Diner Guest Ever Part One
Luke 11.37 – 54

Imagine you have invited a very important person to diner. This person comes to your house and begins to eat but he never washes his hands. Now you may think this is pretty disgusting there is no telling where his hands have been or what they have touched. You don’t say anything but he knows what you are thinking and confronts you about it! With a lecture about your own hypocrisy! How would you feel?

Now you know how the Pharisee in Luke 11.37 - .54 felt. He has invited Jesus to eat after of day of teaching and healing. They all recline at the table when the Pharisee notices that Jesus has not washed his hands! (Luke 11.37 - .38) With Jesus we have a good idea that he has touches sick people to heal them. All those germs and all that dirt were on his hands. This washing was not just for hygene but also to be ceremonially clean before you ate. His hands were unclean literally and religiously. Now if you read the text carefully you will notice that the Pharisee never says anything but Jesus knows what he is thinking and responds to that with a strong rebuke!

First he confronts them with a general rebuke (Luke 11.39 - .41). The Pharisees are so careful to make sure they look righteous and clean that they have forgotten to clean the insides. Jesus uses the anlogy of a cup or dish. If you have cup that is dirty all over you wash all of it so you can use it but the Pharisees were only cleaning the outside of the cup so that they looked clean but were really dirty on the inside. He tells them they need to clean both the inside of their lives and the outside. You need to care for you wicked and greedy inside like you would take care of a poor person.

Then Jesus gets specific with three “woes” against the Pharisees (Luke 11.42 - .44) and then three against the teachers of the law (Luke 11.46 - .52). All 6 woes are important for us to listen to because they can apply to us today as well. We are going to explore the first three today and then finish out the last three tomorrow.

First He rebukes them for getting the tithe right but forgetting to show justice and the love of God (Luke 11.42). He is accusing them of being hypocrites. They should have done them all! They got tithing down perfect but they forgot to get justice and the love of God right. We face the same danger. We may have baptism, communion and worship down perfectly but do we forget to show justice. Are we neglecting the love of God?

Secondly he rebukes them for loving recognition and honor from people (Luke 11.43). The Pharisees love to sit in the important seat at the synagogue and to be greeted in the market. They sought honor and recognition from men and not from God. They suffered from the oldest sin, pride! We face this danger too. Who are seeking approval from? Do we seek the approval of other people? Do we want to be seen with important people? Or Do we seek to be humble and be satisfied with the status we have? Do we seek approval from God by living the life he calls us to live?

The third woe deals with the consequence of the first two rebukes (Luke 11.45). Pride plus Hypocrisy in a religious leader leads to them being unmarked graves! Instead of showing people how to be holy and live a life that pleases God, the Pharisees, unknown to their followers, were actually making people unclean! Are we leading people astray as we try to live a holy life? If we only get our actions right and not our heart and attitudes we are hypocrites. If we seek the approval of other people rather than living a life that pleases God our pride has gotten in the way. The result is that we make people unclean instead of helping them to be holy.

Part Two Tomorrow!

driving the rest of the way home

click here to watch

driving home

sound track is "vanity" by glenn phillips

click here to watch driving home

be or do

Be or Do

Of all the famous siblings one finds in the Bible as far as I can tell there are only two sisters who make that list Martha and Mary. These two sisters seem to be very important to Jesus. They first show up in Luke 10 where Martha opens her home to him. Then in John 11 where Jesus raises their brother Lazarus from the dead. Mary may show up again but since there are so many Marys in the Gospels and Romans it is hard to tell if it is her or another Mary.

When we first meet these sisters when Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 10.38 – 42). He has only recently revealed to his disciples that he is going there to be put to death. They arrive in Bethany where Martha has opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. She is so busy with all that has to be done Luke tells us she is “distracted” with all the preparations (Luke 10.40). On the other hand Mary is quietly sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to everything he has to say (Luke 10.39).

Martha knows this and goes to Jesus and says “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10.40) She is expecting a positive answer instead Jesus has a gentle rebuke. “Martha, Martha you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be take away from her.” (Luke 10.41 - .42) The story ends there.

There are many lessons that have been taken from this story. Some say that it is better to be like Mary and just listen to Jesus’ teachings and not get distracted by doing a lot of things. Some have said that this is and example of how worldly concerns can crowd out spiritual concerns. They try to make a big point or teaching from a small thing.

Here is one thing I think Jesus is saying. Martha is making an offering to the Lord Jesus Christ. She is offering her home and hospitality. Her sister is also making an offering to the Lord. She is offering her mind and heart as open vessels to be taught. Both of these are worthy offerings and the Lord wants both services and devotion. Where Martha goes wrong is that she is worrying not about her offering but about her sister. She feels that the Lord doesn’t care that she is working hard to make things right while her sister is just sitting there doing nothing. At that time one thing needed be done and that was for Mary and Martha to sit at his feet and learn. At another time Mary should have been helping but not at that time.

It is a timing issue. We need to have a better since of timing. We need to know when it is time to “doing” or to be serving and when it is time to be “being” or spending time in devotion. Martha was doing, she was serving, when it was a time of devotion a time to just be! This is a challenge. We live in a world that doesn’t value taking time to stop. We live in a society that values “doers” more than “be-ers.” The challenge is to know when to be and when to do. The only way to know is to listen to the LORD just like he told Martha He will also let us know as well.

forgotten bread

click here to listen to "forgotten bread"

richmond braves game

richmond braves game click here

emily is found

our good friend donna and her husband rich are in china right now adopted a baby named emily. they have a blog called finding emily and they found emily. click here you can read all about emily being found.

this is a prayer answered for our friends. thank you God for blessing them.

Caleb's London Summer '05 Blog: Explosions in London

this is a blog entry from my friend caleb. he is also a volunteer in our youth ministry who took a break for the summer to work in london for parlament.

Caleb's London Summer '05 Blog: Explosions in London

fire works on the national mall july 4th 2005

Happy 4th of July from the Washington DC Metro Area!
Photos from tonight's fireworks on the National Mall coming soon.