Q & A Session

Craig Groeschel, besides having one of the hardest last names to spell, is the pastor at LifeChurch.tv, which is located in Oklahoma.  They have several different campuses, and are a fast-growing church.  He often speaks at conferences for church leaders, and currently has a book out call, It, which is currently on my reading list.  I came across the video below as I was checking out my Google Reader this morning.  It was originally posted by Tripp, which is a blog I recently started following thanks to Jonathan at Stuff Christians Like.  I love it.  This post is now totally linktastic!  Not to mention, it has absolutely nothing to do with baseball!

P.S. - This post officially puts me over last year's number of posts.  I don't know what it is, but I've taken to blogging quite a bit lately.

Swish's Series Review, Braves 5/27-5/29

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (5-0-1 series); 15-7 overall

Cardinals 3, Braves 2

Who is this guy?  Pineiro moves to 4-0 on the season after winning tonight's game.  It was a close game, but the Cards prevailed again.  Franklin shut down the Braves in the 9th for his 6th save in as many chances.  It seems he has solidified his position as the closer on this team.  The offense was rather quiet, but the defense played really well.  Ironically, they did so on a day where the primary concern was the amount of errors that have been made so far this season.  Pineiro coaxed 13 ground ball outs and only 5 flyouts; that's not bad, as long as the defense is playing well behind you.

Player of the game goes to Ankiel for this one.  It's nice to see him get a few key hits, as bad as this season has been so far for him.  He ended up 2-4 with a pair of RBI's.

Braves 2, Cardinals 1

I know I'm not a major league pitcher, but honestly, when it's your job, when it's something you do every single day, how hard is it to throw strikes?  I know that you want to be careful when clinging to a 1-0 lead, but you cannot, absolutely cannot put runners on base.  Make them get a hit in order to get on base, but don't, DON'T, walk them.  This is the second game this season that can be directly attributed to walks being the primary culprit in the blown save.  McClellan has been pitching well this year (even after giving up 2 ER, his ERA is only 3.09, which is pretty good for a reliever), but he couldn't find the strike zone last night, and it cost the Cardinals a hard fought victory.

It's hard to pick a player of the game when the team only reached base 4 times and only scored 1 run; however Molina did go 2-3 with an RBI on the night, so he is the best choice.

Cardinals 5, Braves 3

Sloppy game, but they got the win.  To quote the recap article: Shortstop Brendan Ryan left the game in the fifth inning with a left hamstring injury. Adam Wainwright labored through six imprecise innings, needing 110 pitches to get 18 outs. St. Louis pitchers issued seven walks, the offense struck out 10 times and ran into an out on the bases, and the defense committed another error leading to an unearned run.  That's rough.  But a win is a win.  I guess a sloppy win makes up (in a little way) for giving away a win yesterday.

I'm going with Pujols as the player of the game.  2-4 with an RBI and a run.  The RBI was the tying run, and the run he scored is what put them ahead by 2.  There was no more scoring from either side after he came home.

Up next: Cards travel to Washington for a 3 game set with the Nationals.

A Good Day

I know I've been baseball heavy on here lately.  I'm not really going to apologize though.  I love baseball.  It fascinates me.  It has such a rich history.  Most of the time, I focus on the Cardinals simply because I am a huge Cardinal fan.  However, I was listening to XM radio on my way home this afternoon and heard about an incredible game that took place in Milwaukee today.

In the Brewers/Pirates game today, Milwaukee's pitcher, Yovani Gallardo had the game of a lifetime.  He pitched 8 strong innings, taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning, and only allowing 2 hits total to go alongside one walk.  He also struck out 11 in the 1-0 win.  However, that is not all.  

That one run that was scored in the entire game... yeah, you guessed it, Gallardo.  He homered in the 7th inning to give himself the 1-0 lead.  Oh, and with that HR, his 4th career homer, Gallardo became the all-time HR leader for the Milwaukee Brewers' pitchers.  Not bad.  Not bad at all...

Children of God

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, April 26, 2009.  The text for this week's message is 1 John 3: 1-7.

We have been challenged in some serious ways over the last couple of weeks.  We’ve been faced with the reality that Jesus rose from the dead.  We’ve been challenged to let our lives be different; to allow God to work in our lives and transform us in such a way that we’ll never be the same again.  What we are faced with today is what it means to be a child of God.  We become children of God when we place our trust in Jesus.

The phrase “children of God” is not particularly common as we read through Scripture.  In fact, it only appears 11 times, and 10 of those are in the New Testament.  The Old Testament appearance is found chapter one of Hosea, and it says, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’”  This is an important passage because it marks a significant shift that will take place in how a follower of God will be identified.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are often referred to as “children of Jacob”, or “children of Israel.”  You may or may not know that in the book of Genesis, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, has his name changed to Israel by the Lord.  Jacob had twelve sons, who came to be known as the twelve tribes of Israel.  Every true Israelite would in some way identify himself with one of these tribes.  As a whole, the nation was considered to be children of Jacob, or Israel.  Sometimes, you’ll also come across references calling them children of Zion or Jerusalem.  Zion was the mount on which Jerusalem was built, so the words are used interchangeably in Scripture.  Okay, now that you’ve had your Hebrew name-changing lesson for the year, let’s get back to the point.

Like I was saying, throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are referred to as children of Israel, but here, the prophet Hosea says something significant.  He says that they will be known as children of the living God.  They aren’t going to be identified by their family heritage, but by their relationship to God.  And notice the adjective here as well – “living” God.  This isn’t just some inactive God who doesn’t care or doesn’t do anything.  This is a “living God” who is active and cares deeply about us.  No matter what you are going through in life, don’t ever think that God doesn’t care or that God is absent.

The God that we learn about in Scripture isn’t just some pagan idol that sits on a shelf at home.  No, God is so much more than that.  God is living and active in this world.  There is a view of God that is called Deism.  It was prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it still has some significant remnants in today’s society.  It is basically the belief that there is a God, but it is founded on the basis of reason and observation of the natural world.  Basically, it’s the idea that God has set the world into motion and sits back without ever intervening.  That’s not a living God.  That’s not a God that is active in this world.  That is not a God with whom we can have a relationship.  And ultimately, that’s not the God that is revealed in Scripture.

The picture that we get of God in Scripture is very large, and incomplete.  “Large” because there is a whole lot of God throughout the Bible, and “incomplete” because God is bigger than we could ever imagine.  But there are a few things of which we can be certain.  God is active in this world.  God does work through the events in this world.  God cares about every single one of us.  The God that we read about in the Bible is every bit a living God.  I’m not denying that there are times in our lives when God seems distant, or when it’s difficult to hear His voice in our lives, but that doesn’t mean God is absent.  In those difficult times in our lives, we need to remember Hosea’s words; we are children of the living God.  

We need to find ourselves, to recognize that our identity is bound up in our relationship with God – as part of God’s family.  Our God is a living God, and we are His children, and this is a change from what we read throughout the Old Testament.  Something significant is going to happen as we work through the narrative of Scripture that is going to alter one’s relationship with God.  No longer will we be identified by our physical family, but we will be known by our spiritual family.  And this change is found in the New Testament.

The first time that the phrase “children of God” is mentioned in the New Testament is in the gospel of John, which was written by the same person who wrote today’s Scripture.  In John 1, we find these words, “He (Jesus) came to his own (the Jewish people), and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn 1:11-13).  Those who believe in Jesus have been given the right to become children of God.  That’s it!  The change that Hosea looks forward to has happened in Jesus Christ..  We can be children of the living God because of Jesus.  By placing our trust in Jesus, we have an opportunity to become children of this living, active, and caring God of the entire universe.  But why?  Why has this change taken place?  Why can we be considered children of God?  To find the answer, we turn back to today’s text.

Right away, when we hit chapter 3, we see what it was that has led to this change.  Why are we considered children of God?  Because of the love of the Father.  We are given the opportunity to live as children of God because God loves us.  Perhaps that’s something we don’t hear enough, so I’ll say it again.  We can be children of God because of God’s love for us.  This isn’t the only place in his writings that John tells us what God has done for us because of his love.  John 3:16, probably the most recognizable reference in all Scripture, tells us that He gave His Son for us because of His love.  “For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever would believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  Because of God’s love for each one of us, He gave His Son and He gives us the opportunity to live as His children.

What I find really neat in verse 1 here is that John says, “we should be called children of God; and so we are.”  “And so we are.”  It’s not just a superficial change that has occurred in our lives.  It is the recognition of a significant change that has happened in our lives.  I’m going to get a little goofy here, but, hopefully, it will make sense.  I can’t just go around calling myself a watermelon and expect people to believe that I am a watermelon.  I don’t look like a watermelon.  I don’t act like a watermelon.  I don’t smell like a watermelon.  There is absolutely no reason for anybody to believe that I am a watermelon simply because I start introducing myself by saying, “Hi, I’m Matt, and I’m a watermelon.”  It doesn’t work like that.  Now, if this were some kind of weird, alternate universe, and Katie wakes up tomorrow morning next to a watermelon, then you’ll believe me.  Y’all know the difference between a watermelon and a person.  That is what it is like when we become children of God.

There is a change in us.  And it’s not just a superficial change, it’s a change in the very core of who we are.  We don’t just call ourselves children of God, we ARE children of God.  We may look the same on the outside, but God is working in our hearts in a very real way and changing who we are.  We begin to carry the marks of a child of God.  In our actions, we look like a child of God.  In our interactions with other people, they notice something different about us.  We live out our faith as children of the living God.  And what does it look like to be a child of God?

Well, as John puts it, we aren’t really sure.  We have some idea, but we don’t fully know, and we won’t fully know until Jesus returns.  We have some ideas.  We can read through the gospels and get a sense of who Jesus was.  This is a picture of who we strive to be.  Our goal is to be imitators of Jesus Christ; to live as he lived, to care for others as he cared for others, and to be obedient to the Father, just as he was obedient to the Father.  We have a sketch of who we should be, and don’t expect it to take a day, or a week, or even a month, or even a year.  The process of becoming a disciple and an imitator of Jesus Christ takes a long time.  In theological terms, it’s known as sanctification.  It’s the process of growing more and more Christlike in our personal lives.

In verses 4-6, John talks a lot about sin.  He says that sin is lawlessness.  The life of sin is a life that disregards the will of God.  It either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the laws of God.  We allow sin to control our lives when we constantly make poor decisions, decisions that serve our own self-interests and cause us to disobey God.  Paul addresses this issue in Romans 6:16.  He says, “You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience [to God], which leads to righteousness.”  When we give up our self interests and submit ourselves to the will of God, we are on the right track.

And here’s the kicker, John tells us that Jesus appeared to take away our sins, and that in him there is no sin.  How can we know that we are living in fellowship with God?  What do our lives look like?  Are we living our lives in such a way that sin doesn’t have a hold on us?  I’m not saying that we don’t sin at all, but that sin doesn’t reign in our lives.  Sin is no longer our master; God is our master.  Yes, we occasionally mess up.  We give in to temptation.  But an occasional slip up shows us that we still have room for growth.  That’s the thing about being a child of God.  We are still children, and children make mistakes.  There is room for growth in each one of us.  And the key to our growth is found in verses 6 and 7.

John tells us that those who abide in Christ do not keep sinning.  That’s important – those who abide.  The Greek word here is meno, which means to abide, to remain, to dwell.  Don’t you just love that imagery?  The idea of living in Christ.  We’ve all heard, and even said, that we become a Christian by inviting Jesus to live in our hearts.  And that’s accurate to an extent, but the picture we get here is not Jesus living in our hearts; it’s us living in Jesus.  Do you see the difference?  In one sense, if it’s about inviting Jesus to live in our hearts, it is still a little focused on us.  But if it’s about us living in Jesus, we have a standard.  The focus is no longer us and our needs, but it’s on Jesus, and what it means to be obedient to God.  

This is tough stuff.  I mean, ultimately, we want this life to be about us.  We would really like it if the world revolved around our needs.  But it doesn’t, and that’s a hard reality for some people to accept.  But if we live in Jesus, our perspective changes.  We are changed from the inside out.  So, in some sense of the phrase, we do invite Jesus in our hearts, and it is there that he touches us; he heals our hurts; and he brings us closer to who we are supposed to be.  The key to not sinning is to know Christ and to abide in him.  And then this section closes with a second important part of our growth in verse 7.

John just comes right out and says it.  “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he [Jesus] is righteous.”  Once again, it’s about how we live out our faith.  Are you getting tired of hearing me say this yet?  I know that it is something that comes up every other week, but that’s how important it is.  It’s simple, really.  We know a tree by its fruit.  We can look at how people live their lives, and trust me, people are watching how you live your life,  but we can look at people’s lives and we can see the fruit.  Once we see the fruit, it is a small step in logic to figure out where they stand.

Don’t ever forget that this is what people are doing when they look at you.  For some people, you may be the only person they know that sets the example of what it means to be a Christian.  Is that unfair pressure?  Yes, absolutely.  But live out your faith.  Be a good example.  That’s all you have to do.  You preach the gospel every single day by your actions.  Are people seeing Jesus in you?  Are those who don’t know Jesus in your life seeing him by the type of life that you are living?  If you can’t honestly say “yes” to these two questions, then it’s time to step up.  You don’t have to force Jesus into every conversation to share the gospel.  Live it out.  Remember that you are a child of God, and as a child you are a reflection of the Father.  Be a good reflection.

Quotable Quotes

Came across this one yesterday:

"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." - Ronald Reagan

It's nice to know that even some Presidents have a sense of humor.  I can totally see why Casey has a mancrush on Reagan.

Swish's Series Review, Cubs 5/24-5/26

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (4-0-1, series); 13-6 overall

Cardinals 4, Cubs 3

If the first four games of the Cubs/Cards series are any indication of what the season series is going to be like, we'll be in for a treat every time these two teams meet.  The pitching was solid on both sides, not a run came across the plate until the 5th inning.  Dempster and Wainwright combined for 13 innings, 4 earned runs (3 and 1, respectively) and 12 K's.  Wainwright was hurt by an error in the 7th inning (17th in 17 games by the Cards, yikes!), which allowed 2 unearned runs to come across, and cost him a decision in the game.  Pujols came up in the 8th to hit a soft single up the middle, steal second (3rd steal in as many games), and score on another soft single by Ludwick, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Player of the game for this one goes to Joe Thurston.  Though it was Pujols manufacturing the run in the 8th that won it, Thurston plated 2 and scored another in a 3 run 5th inning for the Cardinals.  If a guy accounts for 75% of your runs, and you win by one, I'm inclined to give him the PoG.

Cardinals 8, Cubs 2

Another great game put together by the Cards, and another series win locked down (regardless of what happens on Sunday, the Cards won this series by taking the first two)!  Boggs started this one, and faired very well, going 5 2/3rds while allowing 1 unearned run.  The Cubbies scored their second run on Boyer in the 9th, but it also was unearned.  I don't believe it's a stat category, but the Cards just racked up an earned run shut out.  I should rally to make it a category.

Pujols is easily the player of the game for this one.  Sure, he only had one hit, but that one was a monster - a 441 foot shot with the bases loaded.  Barden gets an honorable mention for his 3 hit, 2 RBI performance.

Cubs 10, Cardinals 3

As good as yesterday's game was, this one was not.  A day after handing it to the Cubs, the Cards had it handed right back to them.  Wellemeyer was not good - allowing 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings.  Newly acquired Boyer didn't pitch well either, allowing 2 in 2/3rds of an inning.  The Cubs, however, did find a way to neutralize Pujols, by walking him 3 times and hitting him with one pitch.  Brendan Ryan had a pinch hit double to score Thurston who walked and stole second. And the other two runs were via the long ball.

Molina is the best candidate for player of the game.  He is the only Cardinal with 2 hits, and one of those was a solo shot to lead off the second.

Up next: The Cards hit the road for three in Atlanta, beginning with what looks to be the Monday night game on ESPN.

Swish's Series Review, Mets 4/21-4/23

Cardinals record: 3-0 (3-0-1) Series; 11-5 overall

Cardinals 6, Mets 4

This is one that was a little frustrating to follow at the beginning.  It seems like the Mets scored another run each inning (mostly because they did, one in the 1st and 2nd and two in the 4th).  But the Cards battled back to tie it up with four in the fifth.  And it was handed over to the bullpens after that.  If you told me that this game would come down to the bullpen, it would have chalked it up as a Cardinal loss - after all, the Mets acquired two of the AL's top closers in the offseason; however, thanks to a misplayed lead off hit in the 8th, the Cards were able to get to Putz, and Franklin was able to notch his third save in three chances.

Player of the game for this one is Ankiel.  Ankiel hasn't been playing all that well so far this year.  In fact, he's been the worse outfielder that the Cards have thrown out there; however, he had a break-out game. He was 3-5 with 2 runs, and more importantly, the tie-breaking RBI in the 8th.  Good game overall.  I'm excited to watch the Wednesday night game on ESPN.  It'll be my first chance to see them on something other than a computer/cell phone screen this year.

Cardinals 5, Mets 2

This is the first game I was able to watch this season.  It aired on ESPN, and I probably caught about 2/3rds of it.  The Cardinals looked really good.  They got base hits when they needed them, they played solid defense, and Pineiro pitched pretty well.

I'm going to turn to Pineiro as the player of the game.  Not only did he go 8 innings and only allow 2 runs (the second of which came after he left the game with a runner on second), he also set down 13 in a row leading up to a ninth inning lead-off double.  He only walked a pair, and didn't strike out anybody.  But he also did some stuff at the plate, 1-3 with a run scored and a walk.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but the run scored was on some really good baserunning where he slid in just under the tag.  All in all, a solid night.

Cardinals 12, Mets 8

Get out the brooms!  The Cardinals officially have their second series sweep of the season after pounding Mets pitching this afternoon, and barely escaping their own pitching getting pounded late.  And, guess what, at the time of this post, the Cardinals are tied with Toronto and Florida for the most wins in the majors right now.  (Hey, I know it's early, but you have to celebrate what you can when you can.)

Offensive star of the game was El Hombre himself.  Pujols was 3-4 on the day with a walk, 4 runs, 3 RBI's and 2 homers.  Again, at the time of this post, Pujols was leading the NL with 18 runs, 6 HR's, 21 RBI's, and 42 total bases.  Add that to his .315/.435/.611 (BA/OBP/SLG) line, and you're looking at a two-time MVP building a case for a third trophy.  Yes, I know, it's early.  Let me dream.

Up next: The Cubbies come into town for a three game set after dropping 2 of 3 to the Reds.  Should be a good series.

Another Reason to Worry About Hockey...

I just got home from Veedersburg's Thursday afternoon Bible study and pulled up the Cardinal game on ESPN Gamecast.  As I was waiting for it to load, the following headline caught my eye: "Pens turn to Satan for Game 5."  Wow.  I always knew there was something slightly demonic about the NHL...

P.S. - the Cards are pouring it on right now, having scored 4  since I pulled up the game to jump out to an 11-3 lead in the 6th inning.  Nice.

Taking Vegetarianism to a New Level

My wife told me to Google "vegetable orchestra," and this is what I got.  Wow.

The Post Easter Life

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, April 19, 2009.  The text for this week's sermon is 1 John 1:1-2:2.

We have a choice when it comes to living a life of faith.  We can either chose to devote our entire lives to God, or we can choose to live our lives however we want, as though there is no God who will hold us accountable at the end of all things.  We are in a time now of having to deal with the reality of Jesus Christ.  We celebrated Easter last week, but was it just a religious observance that we make part of our annual routine, or was it the beginning of a new approach to life?  Ultimately, you are the one that has to make that decision for your life, but being here this morning is at least a step in the right direction.  The post-Easter life is about being transformed by the message of the gospel in a very real and visible way, and sharing the message with those around us.

As we read the beginning of John’s letter, we see right away that John is reminding his audience of something important that he has shared with them before.  They are not getting this message second-hand.  What they have heard from John is not just rumor and legend.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  It is something that they’ve seen, looked at, touched and heard.  It was a physical reality.  It wasn’t just a vision that only one person saw.  It wasn’t a spiritualization of some event in that occurred Judea.  It was verifiable.  It could be seen, touched and heard.

There have been a lot of different ways to explain away the resurrection over the centuries, but none can adequately explain an empty tomb, Jesus’ appearances that are reported in the New Testament, the post-resurrection preaching and the martyrdom of the first disciples.  The only explanation that can adequately resolve these four realities of early Christianity is that Jesus rose from the dead.  And as much as that conclusion contradicts what we have been raised to believe about the world around us, it’s the only explanation that fits all the evidence.

What we need to come to terms with when it comes to the origins of the Christian faith is that the disciples were not just spreading fanciful stories.  They were telling others of the good news that they received on Easter morning.  They were talking about their experiences of seeing, hearing and touching the risen Jesus Christ.  After the resurrection, Luke tells us that Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples, speaking with them about the kingdom of God.  It was their last chance to take it all in before the ascension, which we’ll talk about some more in a few weeks.

Hopefully, if you are here this morning, you have heard the story before.  Perhaps you’ve been following Jesus for a long time; perhaps you are new to this whole thing.  One way or another, everybody here today is here for a reason.  Now, I’m not naïve enough to assume that everyone that goes to church is a Christian.  In fact, you’ve heard me say, and will hear me say, on several occasions that just showing up to church doesn’t make a person a Christian.  The Christian faith is something that is lived out on a daily basis.  That is what the post-Easter life is all about.  It’s about hearing the story again, and letting it change your life.

One of the complaints that people often have about churches, which we talked about last week, is that they are full of hypocrites.  I have to admit, in my life I’ve been to a lot of different churches, and I’ve seen it a lot.  And, honestly, it breaks my heart.  Sometimes, it is a case of somebody putting on their “church face” on Sunday morning and living as though they don’t go to church during the rest of the week.  Sometimes, it is as simple as miscommunication.  I really believe that most problems can be solved by simply talking them out with one another.  There will always be people who just don’t get along, but one way or another, we need to be willing to set aside some personal differences in favor of the greater good.

The message of the gospel is too important for us to get in our own way.  We need to create an environment where people can feel like they don’t have it all together.  We need to be willing to set aside differences and come together to be transformed by God.  We need to be willing to work together to share the gospel with those in our communities who are hurting and are in need of the hope and redemption that is available in the gospel.

Church is a gathering place for believers, but it also needs to be a safe place for those who don’t believe, or maybe don’t believe as much as everyone assumes.  This sanctuary needs to be a safe zone for those with questions.  In fact, if you do have questions, my email and phone number are in the bulletin nearly every week.  Please, send me an email, give me a phone call.  Sometimes, I’m really bad about returning phone calls.  I’m sorry.  It’s something that I have been working on.  But, y’all know that pastors only working one day a week.  Okay, that’s not true, but I’m not so busy that I can’t make time to meet with people who have questions.

 The point I’m trying to make is that if we ever get to the point that all we have in church are Christians, then we are doing something wrong.  We need to be sharing our faith with others.  We need to be welcoming to those who may come here with questions.  We need to be relevant by not pretending that we are something that we are not, and connecting with people in genuine ways.  We need to combat the perception that churches are full of hypocrites by consciously living out our faith every single day.  We also need to be sharing our faith with others through our actions.

An important component of our faith is the fact that we need to be sharing it with others.  How many here have heard of Stephen Curtis Chapman?  It’s okay to raise your hands, I won’t tell anybody.  He has a song out that’s called “Live Out Loud.”  Here are some of the lyrics to the opening of the song:

 

Imagine this

I get a phone call from Regis –

he says “Do you want to be a millionaire?”

They put me on a show and I win

with two lifelines to spare.

Picture this

I act like nothing ever happened

and bury all the money in a coffee can

Well, I’ve been given more than Regis ever gave away

I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave.

So, some questions we need to consider this morning are: how are we living our lives in light of Jesus’ resurrection?  Are we just going on with our lives as though nothing is different?  Do we realize the depth of what we have been given in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus?  Has it made a significant impact on our lives?  How are we to live out our post-Easter lives?  We need to, as the chorus of this song suggests, live out loud.  People will know our faith by watching us.  We need to live in the light.

John talks about the contrast between the light and the darkness in his gospel and he picks up on it here as well, in verses 5-7.  It cuts right to the heart of hypocrisy.  If we claim to have fellowship with God, but fail to live in the light, we are nothing more than liars.  Harsh words here, but it’s true.  If we say that we are in a relationship with God, but fail to live out this life, what are we doing?  

We are soiling our witness as Christians.  We are giving others an opportunity to look down on our faith because we are poor representatives of it.  It is so important for us to live our faiths because if we don’t, we are only fooling ourselves.  We can’t trick God into believing that He is the priority in our lives if He’s not.  We may be able to fool others for a while, but in the end, ours lies will catch up with us.  

Have you ever felt like people are going to figure you out?  You know that there are things in your life that you shouldn’t be doing.  You know the deep, dark thoughts that run through your head; the thoughts that you allow to take over from time to time.  Sometimes this is just the enemy trying to get us down, but other times it is a reflection of who we really are.  We know that we aren’t living like we are supposed to be, and the Holy Spirit is working in our lives to help us erradicate those areas where we haven’t given over full control.  My advice, if you’ll allow me to give some here, is to give in.

Allow the Holy Spirit to root out those areas in your life that are holding you back; those areas that are ruining your witness with other people.  If we truly live in fellowship with God, then our sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.  This doesn’t mean that our past is erased and that we are totally without sin.  That’s what John is saying at the end of this passage.  We aren’t without sin, but our sin has been cleansed.  If we only confess those areas in our life where sin reigns, then we will be forgiven.  If we never recognize our sin in the first place, we are merely deceiving ourselves.  Paul tells us in Romans 3, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  But he also says that there is justification through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

The post-Easter life is about recognizing that we have all fallen short in our lives.  We all have made mistakes.  We all struggle with doubts.  We have all sinned.  But it is also about recognizing that those sins no longer have a hold on us.  Jesus lived, died and was raised from the dead so that we could see what it looks like to live in full relationship with God.  The fellowship that Jesus had with the Father is a model for us in our faith.

The post-Easter life is also about knowing that we are not without hope.  It’s not like God shows us the problem and doesn’t provide a solution.  He provides the solution in Jesus.  Sin, the gap between God and each one of us here this morning, is overcome by Jesus.  Jesus didn’t just come to teach us how to love one another.  He came so that we can be forgiven of our sins.  So that we no longer have to be trapped by the past; no longer pulled down by our sin.  It gives us the possibility of a transformed life.

So the questions I want to leave you with today are many, but I would focus on just a few.  How has your life been transformed by Jesus?  Maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t, but think about it some this week.  Will you take the opportunity that is before you this morning to begin living the post-Easter life?  Will your life be different because of the resurrection of Jesus?  How will you share this new life with others?  How will you live out loud?

Tuesday Tunes

If you don't know this already, Scrubs is one of my favorite television shows.  I will watch it just about every time it is on, even if I've seen the episode three times (or more) already.  Today's Tuesday Tunes is inspired by last Wednesday's episode.

(*Spoiler alert for those that haven't watched the last few episodes*) The Janitor and Lady got married in the Bahamas, and just about all the regular cast was there for it.  Ted, the hapless lawyer with a decent singing voice, was providing the music.  It sounded familiar at first, but I couldn't quite place the song.  No lyrics today.  Great stuff...

Swish's Series Review, Chicago (NL) 5/16-5/18, 7/12

Cardinals' record: 1-2 (Series 2-0-1), 8-5 (season)

Cardinals 7, Cubs 4

And the rivalry kicks off in what I think will be a year where these two teams battle it out atop the NL Central. Wainwright was on the mound today, and he looked like he still wanted to flirt with disaster a little, but again, managed to pull it out. Most significantly, he set down Milton Bradley (you know, the Monopoly guy...) and Alfonso Soriano with bases loaded to end his afternoon after the sixth inning. His only major mistake was giving up a 3-run bomb to Fukudome in the fifth. McClellan (7th and 8th) and Franklin (9th) put a serious hush on the Cubs fans at Wrigley by striking out 4 in the last 3 innings (2 each), and not allowing a hit or giving up a walk.

Offensive star of this game was Duncan, who has been playing great so far this year. He was 3-4 with 3 RBI's and a run scored, which included his second HR of the season. He is now hitting .389 on the young season and appears to be seeing the ball very well lately (it was his second 3 hit game in a row). Duncan has a hit in every game that he's started so far this season (10 games), and walked in his one pinch-hit appearance back on April 8th against the Pirates.

Cubs 8, Cardinals 7

I caught most of this one on our new XM radio as we were driving home from Terre Haute. First thing I hear is that Perez walked Miles, and I had a bad feeling about how the 8th was going to go. And I was right. Soriano drilled a 2 run shot just a few pitches later. The Cardinal bullpen needs to throw strikes and not let people get on base if they want to avoid a repeat of last season's debacle. That being said, the fill-in starter for the injured Carpenter went today instead of Sunday night, which is when Carp was scheduled to pitch. It was obvious that he had some early jitters, which is to be expected - matched up against your biggest rival's best pitcher on the road is a tough call for anybody to make his MLB debut. It was shaky early, but it seems like he settled down quite a bit.

What is going to be lost is a monster game by Ryan Ludwick, today's player of the game. He was 3-5 with 4 RBI's and a pair of homer's. Unfortunately, he also struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd for the first out of the 9th inning, but he shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. At worst, it should have been a tie game.

Cubs 7, Cardinals 5

Another rough game that could've easily been a Cardinal win. You have to feel a little better about this one compared to the previous game because they battled back to tie it in the 8th. However, with a 4-1 lead after 4 innings, there shouldn't have been a need to battle back. Looks like Lohse was doing well early on, but they got to him in the 5th to score 3 and tie it up.

I'm thinking that Ludwick is the best bet for player of the game. He had 2 of the 6 Cardinal hits on the day, and drove in a pair as well. Not much else to say about this one.

Cardinals, Cubs PPD

Well, this is interesting. I hadn't thought about what to do if the Cardinals had a postponed game. Technically, this series will not be completed until July 12th, as part of a doubleheader. So, officially, I cannot declare this a series loss, even though the Cardinals are down 1-2 in the series. If I'm still doing series recaps by mid-July, I'll be updating the Series record then (it'll either be a tie or a loss).

Up next: The Cards have their first day off of the season on Monday, and then welcome the Mets into town for three games beginning Tuesday. Starting Tuesday, the Cardinals have 20 games in a row before having another day off. It's going to be a rough stretch, but it's one they'll be thankful for at the end of the year.

Obama and Georgetown

There seems to be a lot of controversies surrounding our new President and the Catholic Church lately.  First of all, there is a lot of displeasure that he was invited to speak at Notre Dame, but the university seems to be sticking to its guns on this one.  The controversy stems primarily from Obama's abortion stance, which is completely opposite of the Catholic Church.

However, it got taken to a whole new level when he spoke at Georgetown University recently.  It was released that the White House asked that a religious insignia be covered up behind the President as he addressed the economy.  It is said that the request was made because of a standard backdrop for whenever the President speaks.  At first I thought that people were blowing it out of proportion.  After all, if the backdrop naturally covers up the insignia, then I don't see what the problem is; however, that was not the case.  I got to looking at the pictures, and the insignia is blatantly covered up by something that is not a part of the backdrop.

The IHS insignia that was intentionally covered up is a monogram for the name of Jesus (i=iota, e=eta, s=sigma; the first three letters in the Greek for Jesus; the eta looks like an "h" when it is capitalized).  I have to say that I don't get too riled up about things like this, but it does remind me of how often we are forced to hide the name of Jesus in our own worlds.

We don't face a lot of persecution in America for being Christians; usually nothing more than simply being called "idiots" or "irrational" by those who don't understand the Christian faith.  But for some reason, that social ostracism keeps us from proclaiming the name of Christ in our daily interactions.  Why should we be outraged that the White House asked Georgetown to cover it up (and that Georgetown did cover it up), if we do it in our own lives as well?

BILLY MAYS HERE!!!!!!!

This is freakin' awesome!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!  I have to say though, I'm usually not too happy if my drive through experience takes this long...

Watch Billy Mays Orders Breakfast at the Drive-thru on CollegeHumor

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth: Review and Reflections

I had never heard of this work before this week.  It is apparently the work of Thomas Jefferson, and it is his take on the New Testament, without all of those pesky supernatural things to get in the way.  Yeah....  Here are a few of my thoughts as I read it, followed by my conclusions

• - 1:55-59 - This brief excerpt makes no sense apart from the miracle that is performed by Jesus.  It is found in Mark 3, where Jesus enters a synagogue on the Sabbath and heals a man with a withered hand.  The Pharisees consider it work and that Jesus is breaking the Sabbath; however, in the Jefferson version, it seems like the Pharisees are ticked off because Jesus asked them a simple question.  It wasn't just the question, it was the act of healing a man with a "whithered" hand that set off the Pharisees.
  
• - 2:20-21 - Comes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).  "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."  Now think about this for a minute.  Jesus says that he is there to fulfill the Law and the Prophets - the very ones who talk about his resurrection, which is left out of Jefferson's version because of its supernatural nature.  To conclude, it also says that nothing should be removed from the Law (which is the OT for us), but Jefferson does the equivalent by chopping off large portions of the gospels.
• - 3:48-50 - The discussion of the narrow and the wide gate.  By chopping off the supernatural, Jefferson makes the way much wider, and is, in fact, doing the very thing that this passage warns against in the first place.  And the "beware of false prophets" part?  Sure, the Jefferson edition may make more sense to those who are inexplicably offended by the supernatural, but it is an incomplete and, therefore, false message.
• - 3:63-64 - The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching because he taught as one with authority.  So, why would somebody take away from his teaching?  If Jesus taught with authority that had never been seen before, why would we disregard his teachings?  Jesus himself talked about his resurrection.  Why ignore it if he taught with such authority?
• - 4:26 - Why would we be afraid of one who can throw us into hell is the natural world is all that there is?  If all we see is all there is, then talking about hell is pointless.
• - 4:52-56 - Retells the story of those waiting on their lord to return.  The point of this parable is the need to be prepared when Christ returns.  Again, no supernatural, no return of Christ.  Jefferson is proving to be very inconsistent.
• - 7:57 - "Jesus answered and said to them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel."  "One work"?  What could that possibly mean if not a miracle that Jesus performed?  Jesus admits to doing the miraculous, but Jefferson denies it.
• - 12:61-70 - Story of the Sadducees trying to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection that the Jews believed in.  It would be interesting to hear why this wasn't cut out as well.
• - 13:50-52 - Relates Jesus' telling of the flood story found in Genesis; something that Jefferson certainly wouldn't have believed.
• - 15:49-58 - Leaves out the part about Jesus sweating blood as he prays, which is an actual medical condition called hematidrosis.  It is rare, but happens in circumstances when a subject is under extreme stress.  Da Vinci mentions soldiers sweating blood prior to battle.
• - 16:13 - Mentions that one of the disciples cut off a person's ear, but fails to mention that Jesus heals the person.  If we want to focus on Jesus' teachings and love and forgiveness, perhaps healing an ear that was cut off would show his compassion and love and capacity to forgive.  Of course, such a thing cannot possibly happen, right?
• - 16:37 - Mentions Jesus' saying that if "this temple" is destroyed, he will build another that is made without hands.  John 2 clearly tells us that he is talking about his body and the resurrection when he says this.  The Jefferson Bible makes no mention of John's report of Jesus' words, but he mentions the false witnesses saying it at Jesus' trial.
• - 16:41 - The high priest asks Jesus if he is the Son of God, and in response to Jesus' answer cries out that Jesus has committed blasphemy.  It is only blasphemy if Jesus' answer is something that would have equated himself with God... like saying that he is the Son of God.  Jesus undeniably says that he is the Son of God here; not just a normal man, as the version is trying to show him to be.
• -17:37 - the above two points are again discussed here.
• - Inconsistency in Jefferson's thought that is found throughout: if he wants to get rid of anything that is considered supernatural, then he should take out any reference whatsoever to God, who by His very nature is far beyond anything that is found in the natural world.

I have to say that I am very disappointed in this rendition of the gospels by one of America's most well-known figures.  Now, the content itself, I can't really complain about.  It is straight out of the gospels; however the editing is horrible and inconsistent (as you can see above), as it chops out significant portions of the Gospels (there are 89 chapters in the four gospels; there are only 45 pages and 17 chapters in the edition that I read from the internet).  It may be offensive to some that stories of the miracles fill the verses of the gospels, but these miracles point to Jesus as something more than just a regular guy like ourselves.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that somebody has tried to edit the New Testament in such a way that it is better for their personal beliefs.  It's always easier to change the text than to change one's life, isn't it?  Marcion is one figure in church history who tried to do this.  He wanted to have a Burger King Scripture as well ("have it your way").  But what this ignores is the fact that the Scriptures aren't about our preferences.

Scripture was written and handed down to us by those who were a part of the story.  1 John talks about how they were there, they saw, they touched, they heard the story of Jesus.  I'm going to take their word on what happened over some political figure 1700 years after the events took place.

Jesus is who Scripture tells us he is.  Whether or not we want to believe it, we have been handed down the stories by those who were there.  We can't chalk it up to first century ignorance, because that is nothing more than 21st century ignorance.  People knew the difference between a person who was dead and a person who was alive.  People didn't survive crucifixion in the first century.  They weren't proclaiming that Jesus survived the crucifixion; they didn't say that he lives on in the memory of his teachings.

Jesus is about so much more than love and peace.  He is about redemption and reconciliation as well.  He is the one who came so that we would know what it means to live in full relationship and fellowship with the Almighty Father.  If you are offended by the miracle stories and refuse to believe simply because they sound like fairy tales, then get over it.  

If I told you at the beginning of last season that the Rays would go from a 66 win team to the AL champs, you would have thought that it was impossible; but it happened (okay, it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a post about sports).  There is a medical phenomenon called "spontaneous remission" in which there is no medical reason for a person to heal, but they do anyway.  The unbelieveable still happens, so why would we rule out the idea that it happened back then as well.

When you look at what happened after the resurrection, the only thing that make sense in light of all the evidence is that Jesus rose from the dead.  That's it.  No other explanation takes into account all the other details of what happened after that first Easter.  The question is not "is this true?" but "what are you going to do with the truth?"  We can ignore it and come up with excuses or we can recognize that something extraordinary and unbelieveable happened and allow ourselves to learn more about it.  Don't chop off the parts that don't make sense.  Read them, over and over again if necessary.  Allow your life to be changed by the truth contained in those words.

Swish's Series Review, Arizona 5/13-5/15

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (Series 2-0-1), 7-3 (season)

Cardinals 2, Diamondbacks 1

Wellemeyer pitched a solid game, just one start after his debacle against the Pirates.  He went 7 innings and scattered 7 hits while only allowing 1 ER.  The bullpen pitched the final two innings and only allowed 2 hits.  Offensively, Pujols and Barden both homered.  Usually, in this case, I'd give the offensive standout nod to Pujols, but Barden's HR was in the 8th inning and proved to be the winning run, so he gets the nod.  Pretty quiet game overall, but a good win for the Redbirds.

Diamonbacks 7, Cardinals 6 (10 innings)

Rough night in the desert.  Carpenter was on the mound for the Cards, at least until he strained his ribcage in the 4th.  Given the injuries that he has had over the past couple of years, this is not good news.  The silver lining is that it's not a shoulder or arm injury, but it is still going to keep him out for a little while.  He was cruising right along until his at bat in the 4th, which is when he strained the muscle.  Then the bullpen came in.

The bullpen was not terrible, but they weren't great either.  With a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th, Kinney allowed a 3 run homer that put the D-backs ahead.  To their credit, the offense tied the game up in the 9th, but Thompson, in his second inning of work, gave up the winning run in the 10th.  Usually extra inning loses don't bother me all that much, but when they had the lead going into the bottom of the 8th, it does bother me a little.  They fought back, but the D-backs had too much momentum in the late innings to lose that game.  Offensive hero for this game is a toss up again.  Pujols tied the game in the 9th, which kept the Cards alive.  Molina was 1-3 with 2 RBI's and a run scored.  We'll call it a tie today.

Cardinals 12, Diamondbacks 7

Big offensive output tonight!  The difficult thing about this victory is choosing somebody who really stood out from the rest.  A few players had good games: Duncan, a homer shy of the cycle, scored twice and knocked in two; Ludwick, 2 hits, including a 2-run HR, scored twice and knocked in three; Molina, 3-3, 2 RBI's and 1 run.  I think it's going to go to Ludwick.  Why?  Because who doesn't love the long ball.

Up next: Cards travel to Wrigley in a big (well, as big as anything this early in the season can be) series against the Cubbies for a 4 game set.  I won't be surprised to see the Cards fall in this opening game simply because Phoenix is a long way from Chicago, and that 1:20 start is going to come early, but we'll see how it goes.  With Wainwright on the mound, the Cards have a good shot.

Big Day

Well, today was interesting.  Woke up, caught up on some Tivo, finished a sermon, set up our new XM radio, went to a Donkey Basketball game and closed it out with a Frosty.

I'm slowly moving into the 21st century, and why do I say that?  Two reasons (and one sub-discussion):

1) In the past 6 months, I've hooked up a Tivo, bought an iPod, a Blackberry, started blogging on a regular basis (only 15 posts shy of last year's total), signed up for Twitter, got a DS for my birthday, and now I have moved into the world of satellite radio.

1a) "Why satellite radio?" I imagine you saying.  Well, quite frankly, I was tired of having to scan through faint radio stations coming in from five different cities (Champaign, Danville, Terre Haute, Lafayette and Indianapolis), and not really finding a whole lot that I actually wanted to hear.  I have a long road trip coming up in July (Katie is flying to the ATL for a work trip, and then I'm going to meet her there and drive to Savannah for our anniversary trip).  It was on the clearance shelf at Target (only $35!), and finally, perhaps the most compelling reason: 15 channels of nothing but baseball; one major channel, and play-by-play channels.

2) I did live-Tweets from a Donkey Basketball game.  At first, it was a bit excessive, but, hey, it was my first shot at live-Tweeting an event.  It's a learning experience, but the first one is out of the way.

Exciting times, my friends.  Exciting times...

Tuesday Tunes... on a Wednesday

Yesterday was a little crazy, so I didn't get out my weekly Tuesday Tunes post, and I haven't had much of a chance to get to it today... until now.

As I was finishing up Sunday's sermon, it seemed only appropriate to use this classic as the song for the week.  It's Steven Curtis Chapman's Live Out Loud.

If you want to know why I chose this song, I guess you'll just have to show up on Sunday morning.  Veedersburg worship is at 9:15, Hillsboro at 10:45.

Unfortunately, the YouTube video has disabled the embedding of the video, except for crappy live versions recorded on somebody's phone; so you'll have to click here to see the video.

Live Out Loud by Steven Curtis Chapman

Imagine this 

I get a phone call from Regis - 
he says "Do you want to be a millionaire?" 
They put me on a show and I win
with two lifelines to spare

Picture this 
I act like nothing ever happened 
and bury all the money in a coffee can 
Well, I've been given more than Regis ever gave away 
I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave 
I think it's time for makin' some noise

CHORUS:
Wake the neighbors 
Get the word out 
Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout 
This is life we've been given, made to be lived out 
So, la, la, la, la, live out loud

Think about this 
Try to keep a bird from singing after
it's soared up in the sky 
Give the sun a cloudless day and tell
it not to shine

Think about this 
If we really have been given the gift
of life that will never end 
And if we have been filled with living
hope, we're gonna overflow 
And if God's love is burning in our
hearts, we're gonna glow 
There's just no way to keep it in

CHORUS

So, la, la, la, la, live out loud 
Live out loud 
Everybody 
La, la, la...la, la, la...la, la, la, live out loud 
I wanna hear everybody 
La, la, la...la, la, la...la, la, la, live out loud

Every corner of creation is a living declaration 
Come join the song we were made to sing

CHORUS

Yeah, It Was the Goat...

I've heard the term "scapegoat" before. I know the biblical meaning behind the term. I'm very familiar with the concept. However, I think Cub fans go too far in their scapegoating. Apparently, somebody thought it was a good idea to kill a goat (or at least find a dead goat) and hang it from the Harry Carey statue outside of Wrigley last night. Talk about a scapegoat! Read the article here.

It all goes back to the 1945 World Series when Billy Sianis, a tavern owner in Chicago, brought a goat to World Series Game 4. He was asked to leave. The Cubs lost that game, then the Series, and haven't been back since. Supposedly, Sianis put a curse on the Cubs as he left the field that will prevent them from ever hosting another World Series in Wrigley. So far, the score looks like this: Goat Curse 63, Cubs 0.

Clearly, it is a goat's fault that the Cubs have annually failed to live up to expectations. It has nothing to do with good players playing poorly in the playoffs, or a bad team not making the playoffs in the first place. Hopefully, a similar fate doesn't await, St. Louis hero, Steve Bartman.

It Is Time

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, April 12, 2009.  The text for this week's message is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

Today marks both an end and a beginning.  It marks the end of Holy Week, during which we have relived the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper with his disciples and his crucifixion.  This morning, we remember the resurrection.  Without the resurrection, we wouldn’t be sitting here today.  It is without a doubt the single most important event in Christian history.    It could also be argued that the resurrection is the single most significant event in all of human history.  

First off let’s not get too caught up in all the fanfare of Easter, and forget about it’s significance.  So many of us here this morning probably have all kinds of family lunches or dinners planned today.  We’re wondering where to hide the Easter eggs; hoping that we don’t come across some of last year’s eggs that weren’t found.  We’re thinking about those Easter baskets with all the jelly beans that are sitting on the table at home right now.  Maybe you’re wondering what kind of chocolate you’re going to eat after six weeks without it. Quite possibly, the furthest thing from our minds right now is the amazing fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Easter is about so much more than the things with which we worry ourselves.  Easter is about believing in the unbelievable.  In fact, the Easter story is so unbelievable that some would say Jesus only lives on in his teachings.  It’s totally against everything we have learned from science and our own personal experience that a person could come back to life after dying.  However, Easter is much more than a fanciful story devised by people who didn’t know any better and just spiritualized the senseless death of their friend and teacher.  But the disciples didn’t declare that Jesus lived on in his teachings.  They said that he rose from the dead.  That is a pretty significant difference.

While there may be some things in Scripture that could have a scientific explanation, to argue that the people in the first century were ignorant about the scientific world and just made up myths and legends about Jesus rising from the dead is just plain ridiculous.  People across all ages and cultures have generally known the difference between someone who is dead and someone who is alive.  It’s a little like knowing the difference between the desert and an ocean – you don’t have to be a scientist in the modern era to figure that one out.  So what is it about the events of that morning so long ago that had so profound an impact on the direction of human history?

Christians, in spite of facing intense persecution at times in the first century, continued to spread the message of a risen Savior throughout the entire Roman Empire.  For better or worse, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.  It spread throughout the known world.  Eventually, in the face of religious persecution, the Puritans came across the Atlantic Ocean and settled in a wilderness that would come to be known as America.  And now, there are churches in every small town across the map.  All because of one simple little message that was proclaimed in Jerusalem on that first Easter morning: He has risen.  With those words, an incredible story began.

When we look back at the stories in Genesis, we find out that in the very beginning, God walked alongside humanity.  Adam and Eve had a relationship with God in which they walked and spoke with Him on a daily basis.  Now, whether you see this as a literal story or not, the key point is not that the first person on Earth’s name was Adam.  The point is that at one time in our history, there were no barriers between God and humanity.  The creation walked alongside the Creator.

  

But that relationship was not the priority, and eventually, humanity gave in to its own self-interest.  This shouldn’t surprise us.  We do it every single day.  We show it in our own lives when we put our personal, self-interests ahead of everything else.  It’s a learned behavior.  It has been passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of time.  I’m sure if we all took an honest evaluation of our last seven days, there will be more than one instance when we’ve done it.  It’s called sin.  Sin is when we make anything other than God the priority in our lives.  When we do this, we create a gap between ourselves and God.  This is a gap that cannot be overcome by any of our efforts to do good things.

If you think that all you need to do to get into heaven is lead a “good” life and do a few “good” things, then you’ve been sold some magic beans.  There aren’t enough good things in this life that we can do on our own that will help us fill in the gap that has been created by our sin.  Being a Christian is not just about doing enough of the right things at the right time.  What happened on that first Easter morning was the beginning of something big; something so big that the gap between God and humanity could be bridged.  But there is only one way across.  

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  It’s not the good things we do; it’s not the people we know; and it’s not how we were raised.  The only way to gain access to the Father is by what Jesus did on the cross.  He gave himself for all humanity.  When I say that Easter is a beginning, I mean that Easter was the beginning of a new way of life.  No longer did humanity and God have to be separated.  Through Jesus, the two can be reunited.

There is a story of two boys who grew up together.  They were great friends and did everything together; however, as they got older, they began to grow apart.  One of the boys worked very hard in school to become a lawyer.  As the years passed, he eventually became a judge.  The other boy didn’t work so hard.  He always looked for the easy way out of things, and turned to a life of crime.  One day, the two old friends were reunited – in the judge’s court.  The crime that his friend committed was too great to be let go without some sort of punishment, and so the judge gave him the full measure of the law by hitting him with an incredibly large fine.  Then he stood up, took off his robe, and handed his friend a check for the full amount of the fine.  Justice was served in the giving of the fine.  Mercy was displayed in the paying of the fine.  That is what Jesus has done for us.  Full justice demands atonement for our sins.  God’s mercy is shown when Jesus takes on the full penalty for those sins.

The resurrection is the vindication for Jesus’ life as one who lived without sin and showed that it was possible to live a life in full relationship with God.  It was the beginning of a new era in human history in which people were no longer enslaved by the sin in their lives, but were set free so that they could live a life in full relationship with God.  When I say these things, don’t think that these are just some nice words that are intended for other people.  This is a truth that is relevant to the life of every single person in this room this morning, and even for those who aren’t.  This is a message of the utmost importance.  This is a message so big that it can, and has, changed the direction of human history.  But it is also a message so simple that it applies to your life.  It’s a message of a new beginning that is possible for those who would only lay down their pride and self-importance and turn to Jesus.  So what are we to do now?

If you’re hoping for a four-step process to a better life, then you’re not going to find it here.  If you’re looking for ways to improve your life so that you’ll be happy all the time, then you’re out of luck this morning.  But, if you’re looking for a way to begin or renew your relationship with God, then you’re in the right place.  Have you ever heard the saying, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”?  Well, that’s a good place to start.  Realize that apart from Jesus, you cannot have a relationship with God.  Again, it’s not about what you do or who you know, at least, not who you know around here anyway.  It’s about whether or not you know Jesus.  That’s where it all starts.  

If you can’t honestly say that you have accepted the message of the gospel, that Jesus Christ gave himself as an atonement for your sins and you have placed your trust in him, then that’s where you need to start.  Give up the selfish desires of your heart because they aren’t going to get you anywhere worth going in the first place.  Turn your eyes to Jesus.  Let him guide you.  Trust in him, even though it will be difficult.  When life is caving in all around you, listen for his voice.  You probably won’t hear an audible voice, but if you don’t listen, you won’t hear anything anyway.

I know that I am not even close to being the oldest person in the room this morning, but I imagine that I’ve heard nearly every excuse possible for why some people don’t believe.  I want to take a few minutes this morning and talk about some reasons why people don’t go to church, and really look at those reasons.  Maybe you’re here this morning, and you’ve said these very things.  Maybe you know somebody who thinks this way.  Among other things, people say that churches are full of hypocrites; that they had a bad experience with a previous pastor; that they don’t believe in fairy tales.  And what do you say? 

 

Well, logically, if people don’t go to church because churches are full of hypocrites, then it’s probably best that they avoid all public places because, unfortunately, hypocrisy is a part of the fallen state of humanity.  Christians are simply trying to move past it, or at least they should be.  Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  For those who do claim the name of Christian, not living out your faith is a major problem, but this shouldn’t be an excuse for others to avoid the Christian faith.  If you claim to be a Christian, live out your faith, and don’t give anyone an opportunity to use this excuse.

Had a bad experience with a previous pastor?  As harsh as this may sound, I’m going to say it anyway.  So what?  I’m not trying to trivialize this, so hear me out.  I’m not being heartless here.  Unfortunately, there are some bad pastors out there, but that’s no reason to give up on one’s faith.  First of all, that’s why there are multiple pastors in this world.  Secondly, a bad experience with a teacher doesn’t cause one to give up on the educational system; so why should your faith be ruined because of a bad pastor?  One’s faith cannot be built around the personality of one pastor; nor should one’s lack of faith be built around a bad experience with a pastor.  Ultimately, we are all in this together.  People don’t need to be here because they want to be a follower of Pastor Matt.  People need to be here because they are a follower of Jesus Christ.  The Christian faith is bigger than any single pastor.

Finally, some people will say that they don’t believe in fairy tales.  Good.  I don’t either.  I believe in the story that’s found in Scripture, but that’s no fairy tale.  Does it sound crazy?  Yes, given what we have experienced in this life, it does seem a little crazy.  Is it outrageous and does it go against everything our sixth grade science teacher taught us?  Yes, it does.  But when you look deeper, you begin to realize that there is something to all of this.  We wouldn’t be here today if the story wasn’t true.  Once the disciples started preaching about the resurrection, all their opponents had to do was produce Jesus’ body.  They never did.  They couldn’t.  It wasn’t there.

Realistically, in all these cases it boils down to a simple case of selfishness.  Because the reality is, if what is being proclaimed this morning is true, then it has to significantly alter our approach to life.  If the message of Jesus’ resurrection is true, then life is no longer about us, and too many people don’t want to accept that reality.  So the question facing each one of us this morning is not, “How long does the ham need to be in the oven when we get home?”  That doesn’t matter.  Well, it does if you want to eat lunch this afternoon.  But the real question we have to ask ourselves this morning is this: if this story is true, how does my life need to be different?

Take an honest evaluation of where your life is right now.  Can you honestly say that Jesus is the focus of your life?  Can you honestly say that your life is different because of what Jesus has done?  Falling back on excuses doesn’t do anything for you.  The simple truth is that the Jesus who is discussed in the New Testament lived on this earth.  All that’s left is to decide whether or not you will follow him.  Will you set aside your own selfishness, the same selfishness that has kept all of humanity from experiencing life as it should be?  Will you set it aside and embrace the truth that there was one who came to this earth to give us an opportunity for a new beginning?  Let today be your new beginning.

Swish's Series Review, Houston 5/10-5/12

Cardinals' record: 3-0 (Series, 1-0-1); 5-2 (season)

Cardinals 5, Astros 3

The first game of this series went pretty well for the Cards. It was a little scary at the end, but it all came out smelling like roses. Pinero pitched a solid game. Officially, he was charged with 2 runs, though the last run came in after consecutive walks by Kinney (that's right, a bases loaded walk was the second of the two, eek!). Pinero's final line 6 2/3 IP, 2 runs, 8 hits. Not a bad outing from a guy who was, well, terrible last season. It got interesting in the 9th when Motte came in for the save. It was Motte's first appearance since blowing the save (and the game) by allowing 4 runs in the 9th of Opening Day. He promptly coaxes a flyout and allows two hits, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. McClellan relieved Motte, striking out Matsui, and getting Hunter Pence to ground into a force out to end the game. It was slightly nerve-wracking, but what Cardinals' save opportunity hasn't been in the past several years?

The offensive hero in this game was definitely Ludwick. He went 2-3 with a HR and 2 RBI's. Skip also got into the fun with a 3-hit night. Pujols is starting to come back to earth a little with an 0-3 night, bringing his BA to a skimpy .412, but with a BB tonight, his free pass total is up to 5 after 5 games. One way or another, the guy's going to get on base.

Cardinals 11, Astros 2

If you had told me prior to this game that Wainwright would throw 100+ pitches and only go 5 innings, that LaRue would pinch hit for Pujols and be followed to the plate by reliever Brad Thompson, that the Cards wouldn't get a hit until the third inning, and that the Astros would have seven baserunners in that same timeframe and then told me that the final score was 11-2. I would have been ticked off that the Cardinals played so bad. However, I would be wrong.

All of those things indeed did happen in this Saturday afternoon match-up, pitting Adam Wainwright against Roy Oswalt; however, the outcome was quite the opposite. Wainwright was shaky for most of the game, but was able to get outs when needed. He only pitched 5 innings, and allowed 4 hits and 3 BB's, but Wainwright walked away this afternoon with a win. A couple late, meaningless runs were scored by the Astros, but the game was long out of their hands by the time they broke up the shut out. Motte came in and pitched a solid 6th inning, allowing a single and striking out two.

The obvious offensive hero in this game was Pujols (yes, the same Pujols that LaRue pinch hit for). With the bases loaded in the 5th and a 2-0 lead, Pujols came out gave every one in Big Mac Land a free Big Mac by absolutely crushing the first pitch into the left field seating area. In his next at-bat, he did something less majestic - a three-run homer. All in all, Pujols had a 2-4 day with 2 HR's and 7 RBI's, not bad.

Cardinals 3, Astros 0

Wow. Lohse was amazing in this game. After allowing a lead-off single at the beginning of the game, he set down 24 straight batters. He ended up pitching a complete game, and allowing only 3 hits in the process. Simply amazing.

It's hard to really pick out an offensive hero in this one, so it's going to Khalil Greene who went 3-4 on the day while scoring 1 run and knocking in another. Solid series by the Cardinals. Solid.

Up next: Cardinals travel to Arizona for a 3 game set, Monday through Wednesday.

Who Will Roll Away the Stone?

The following was preached at the Easter Sunrise service at Veedersburg UMC on Sunday, April 12, 2009.  The text for this week's message is Mark 16:1-8.

We’ve walked through a small portion of the history of salvation this morning.  Beginning with Abraham’s prophetic words that God would provide the lamb, walking through the story of the Exodus from Egypt, hearing the promises of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, and learning from Paul’s letter about the need to let our old self die and be raised as a new creation with Jesus.  This all is just a glimpse of what Scripture has to tell us about the history of salvation.  There are literally hundreds of other passages that can be pulled in to help us understand how God has worked to reconcile and redeem humanity.  But it all boils down to today’s gospel lesson.  An empty tomb - that is the crux of the whole situation.  If that tomb was not empty on the third day, then none of this matters.

If that tomb wasn’t empty on the third day, the women would have anointed Jesus body with spices.  After about a year, they would have returned to the tomb, collected the bones, and placed them in an ossuary box with the bones of other members of his family.  The world would have gone on a lot like it did before Jesus’ ministry began.  Things wouldn’t have changed.  The disciples would have gone back to their lives as fishermen, or tax collectors, or whatever it was that they were doing before they were called by Jesus.  That’s what happened when those who declared to be the Messiah were killed.  Their followers gave up, and went back to their regular lives.  That was life in the first century.  But that’s not what happened.

Mark tells us that the women were just having a conversation on the way there, and they were wondering who was going to roll away the stone that was set in front of the tomb.  This type of grave was very different from anything that we know.  It was probably carved out of the rock.  The entrance would not have been very high.  In fact, in John 20, it says in a couple of places that somebody “stooped down” to look into the tomb.  To cover the entrance, there would have been a rut dug in front of the entrance, and a large stone would be rolled down the rut in front of the entrance.  Some people who are smarter than me, figure that the stone may have been about four and a half feet in diameter.  I’ve never studied geology, but I do know that stones that size are very heavy and difficult to move, especially if they will have to be pushed up a slight incline.  

The women were thinking of the logistics of what to do when they got to the tomb.  It seems as though they brought everything they needed except a way to get into the tomb.  But when they arrived at the site, they discovered that the stone had already been moved away.  This major obstacle that they were going to have to figure out some way of moving was already taken care of by the time they arrived.  According to Mark, they don’t think anything of it, and they go into the tomb to carry out their duty of anointing the body of Jesus.  But when they get inside, Jesus isn’t there.  Instead, there is a young man wearing a white robe, and he tells them the most incredible thing: Jesus is not there.  He’s alive.  He has risen.

The women no longer had to worry about who would roll away the stone.  It had been done.  And now, with the proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection by this young man, who was a messenger of God no doubt, an even bigger stone had been rolled away.  This was the stone that blocked humanity from entering into a full relationship with God.  The sin that kept humanity away from a holy and awesome God was removed.  New life was made possible, and humanity was no longer forced to lay in its tomb.

What I find perhaps most remarkable in all of this is that they’re surprised.  Given all the times that Jesus taught the disciples that he would rise on the third day, you would think that maybe they might have an air of excitement on this morning.  Yes, they were probably scared of what would happen if they were found.  Yes, they were probably wondering what they were supposed to do next.  But if they listened to Jesus’ teaching, they would have known that something significant was going to happen on that morning.  Maybe it’s because the idea of a person being raised from the dead is so outlandish.  Maybe it’s because they had something else in mind when they entered Jerusalem at the beginning of the week.  Whatever the reason, there was no sense of expectation on the part of the disciples.  Jesus said on at least three different occasions that Mark tells us about that he would rise from the dead after three days.

But, really, let’s not be too surprised.  How many of you here have been told something that seemed outrageous and unbelievable, only to find out that it was the truth?  That’s what today is all about, isn’t it?  It’s about hearing the story of the unbelievable once again, and moving closer to understanding what it all means.  The women go to the tomb, wondering who will roll away the stone.  They didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary that morning.  They expected to walk in and find the body of a friend, a son, a teacher.  They didn’t expect him to actually be risen from the dead.  If they did, why were they going to anoint the body?  But the stone was rolled away from the entrance, and their world changed.

The women listen to the message of the young man in the tomb.  Mark tells us that they fled the tomb, terrified and afraid.  The other gospels tell us that they end up running to the disciples and telling them that the tomb is empty.  The disciples are bewildered.  They don’t know what to think of this either.  Shortly thereafter, Jesus shows up.  Jesus appears in the midst of the disciples as they are sitting around in a locked room.  The stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and their world was changed.

After all these events, the disciples spend more time learning what Jesus had been trying to teach them all along.  They spend forty days with Jesus, soaking it all in one more time.  And then, when the Holy Spirit comes upon them at Pentecost, they can no longer hold it in.  They travel all over the known world, telling everybody that come into contact with that the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty.  And the world was changed.

Wherever people stand when it comes to Jesus, one cannot deny that something happened that morning in Jerusalem.  The world changed.  The whole direction of history took a sharp right turn.  People can dismiss the story, disbelief that anything supernatural happened, and ignore the message of the gospel altogether.  They can say that it was wishful thinking by the religious zealots of the day, that it was all a lie made up by some disillusioned fishermen, that Jesus lives on in his teachings, but that’s all.  But they cannot deny that the world changed.  And perhaps that is the best evidence of all.  Lives are still being touched by this message.  In the 2000 years since the message was first proclaimed by a young man in a white robe, nobody has ever produced the body of Jesus, which would have put an end to Christianity before it ever left the ground.  The stone was rolled away.  The tomb was empty.  And the world was changed.

Good Friday Reflection

Last night was the community worship service in Hillsboro for Good Friday.  It was a great worship, and all the pastors in Hillsboro were able to share.  I actually didn't have much of a manuscript to preach from last night.  It was only a reflection lasting a couple of minutes.  Below is the best recreation of my reflection on the cross.

As I've been thinking about the cross year, there has been one thing that I can't seem to get out of my head.  God can take the worse thing imaginable and flip it in such a way that it becomes the most incredible thing that He has to offer.

I'm always drawn to the story of Joseph in Genesis.  And I can hear what you're thinking right now, "What does the book of Genesis have to do with the cross?"  Well, hang with me for a minute.  To get the whole story of Joseph, start reading in Genesis 37, but here's the Reader's Digest version.

Joseph has a dream that his brothers will bow down to him.  This makes his brothers mad.  They decide to kill him, but change their minds and end up selling him into slavery instead.  Through a long series of events, Joseph becomes the second in command in all of Egypt, and ends up saving his family from a famine that swept across the land.  In Genesis 50, after their father dies, his brothers think that Joseph is finally going to get his revenge on them.  Instead, he says to them, and I'm paraphrasing here, "You meant this for evil, but God used it for good."

God took the cross - the most horrific, humiliating and dehumanizing manner of execution in human history and turned it into the focus of His plan of salvation for all the world.  And this is where it starts to hit home for us as well.  God can take all the sin, all the junk, and the awful things in your life - both what you've done and what has been done to you - and turn it around for His glory.

It can't be done by willing yourself to a better life.  It can't be done by just being a nice person and doing good things.  The only way that the sin in your life can be take away and you can begin a new life in relationship with the Almighty Father is by the cross.

Crucifixion was the worse that humanity had to offer, and God took it and turned it into the way of salvation for all who chose to accept it.  It was meant for evil, but God used it for good.

Swish's Series Review - Pittsburgh, 5/6-5/9

I think this is a new feature that I may post near the end of each series that the Cardinals play this season.  We'll see how it goes.

Here's how this is going to work.  At the top, you'll see the record for the particular series that the Cardinals are playing; how they have faired in each series this season; and their total record for the season.  If the Cards win a majority of their individual two, three or four game series, they should have a pretty good season.

Cardinals' record: 2-2 (Series, 0-0-1);  2-2 (season)

Pirates 6, Cardinals 4

Not a good way to start the season.  One strike away from a 4-2 victory, and a Motte fastball gets turned around for a bases clearing double.  Ludwick had a big homer to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th, and Pujols was 3-4 on the day.  Wainwright didn't help himself by issuing 5 free passes; hopefully, he's sharper the next time out.

Cardinals 9, Pirates 3

And the first win is under their belt.   Duncan, Pujols and Molina all homered for the Cards, who look like they have 7 people that could legitimately hit 20 homers this season, assuming health and playing time (4 of those are sharing time in the outfield).  Molina triples and homers in his first two AB's.  Five guys have two-hit days: Rasmus, Pujols, Greene, Molina and Thurston.  I know it's only two games into the season, but Pujols' is currently hitting .714.  That's his batting average, not slugging percentage.  He's 5-7 on the season with 3 walks after two games.  I'm calling it now: Pujols is the 2009 MVP.  Let's also not forget to give Lohse his due as well - 7IP, 3 R (only 2 were earned), 5 H, and 4 K's.  If the starters can pull that out of their hat three days out of four, this will be a great season.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 4

I think the phrase that best summarizes this game: play with fire and you're going to get burned.  I didn't catch the early part of the game, but from the looks of things Wellemeyer got burned... a lot.  His line: 5 IP, 12 H, 5 R (all earned).  That's rough.  That's leaving a lot of pitches in places where people could just pound them.  Thompson also gave up a 2-run HR, but all in all, the bullpen seemed to be pretty solid.  The bottom of the ninth was marred with the cliches that baseball is about not making mistakes and it is a game of inches.  Freese doubled; Thurston doubled and was thrown out trying to stretch it; Duncan walked; Rasmus crushed a couple of balls foul before getting robbed of an extra base hit by McLouth; and Greene hit a liner that was snagged by Vazquez at third.  Thurston doesn't make that mental error, and he scores on Rasmus' fly out and Pujols is batting in a 7-5 game with a runner on 1st.  Rough game filled with a lot of "what ifs".

Cardinals 2, Pirates 1

One of the most anticipated starts of this early season definitely took place in this game.  After missing the majority of the past two seasons with injuries, Cardinal fans were eager to see what Chris Carpenter would do today, and they weren't disappointed.  Carp held the Pirates hitless until the 7th inning when former Indianapolis Indian Nyger Morgan got a base hit - the only hit of the game for the Pirates.  They did manage to get a run in without getting a hit, which is always an interesting feat.  A walk, fielder's choice/error, and another fielder's choice is what brought the run around for the Pirates.  Carp's final line: 7IP, 1 H, 1 R (unearned), 7 K's and 2 BB's.  Solid.

The Cards managed just 8 hits, but they pulled together 4 of those in the 7th inning, which proved to be the difference when 2 runs came home that inning.  It had the potential to a huge inning, when the Cards had bases loaded with no outs and the top of the order coming up.  Freese lined out to left, and Molina was thrown out at home on Rasmus' flyout to end the inning.  Reyes came in and shut the Pirates down, but not before Craig Monroe gave the fans a major scare by hitting one deep to center field.

Overall

The Cards had a tough series against a decent Pirates team.  The two losses had some glaring issues that could have easily turned them around to W's, but we can't dwell on them too much.  Motte had a case of the rookie jitters and cost the first game; Wellemeyer couldn't do anything right in the third game, but they still had an outside chance in the 9th.  However, Lohse and Carpenter put together gems, and all in all, the bullpen pitched fairly well (I believe they only allowed 6 runs total, and 4 of those came at Motte's expense in the first game).  I certainly would have liked to see them take 3 out of 4, but a split is better than losing the series altogether.

Next up: The always dangerous Houston Astros come to town for a three game set Friday through Sunday.