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the Night Before Christmas
I’m only familiar with the first few lines of the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas. While we were watching a movie tonight, a loud snap in the garage brought the first few lines to mind.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a [RAT].
Apparently with all the snow at our house, everybody wants to come inside, including the rats.
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White Christmas
We’ve never had a white Christmas in our seven previous years in Marysville. That changed today. Here is a boring 10 second video, not only to show snow on the ground, but also to celebrate December 25 snowfall at our house.
Merry Christmas!
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Enjoying the Process - The Book
I am excited to announce that I completed a major project last week and picked up copies of the finished product on Friday.1
A Bit of Context During the final week of May, I adapted 14 sermons from my Ecclesiastes series into a book for the graduating seniors in our ministry. They endured 61 messages over the course of three years, and I figured this was the least I could give them.
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The Laying on of Hands
Lord willing, I will be ordained this Sunday night. I am humbled and excited by the implications of this occasion.
Different churches (and denominations) obviously take different approaches to ordination. The typical approach in our tiny corner of evangelicalism includes a rigorous series of tests, in which a panel grills a man over his biblical, theological, and pastoral understanding. The process may also involve the candidate preaching an abbreviated sermon to the board of elders, and then answering any questions the board might have for him.
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To Infinity and Beyond
Disclaimer: Some of you have heard parts of the story below but have waited a long time to see actual pictures. Others may wish they had never seen pictures when it’s all said and done.
As a newbie to the Grace Community Church high school staff in 1997, I was recruited to be part of the promotion for summer camp. Little did I know how much that event it would change my life.
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State of the Void
Today is the first snow day of the school year. Since I’m not teaching at a school anymore, a snow day isn’t the novelty it used to be. But the church office is a virtual ghost town when the Academy is closed, and it’s always fun to stay home anyway. In a while, the kids and I will bundle up, throw snow at each other, build a snowman or two, shovel off the driveway, and spend a couple hours looking forward to hot chocolate.
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One Week Later
It’s been one week since my last post and all I have is another instant message from hobbsandbean.
maggie is singing a song that sounds like the farmer in the dell, but it goes like this “the surgery the surgery, if you want the surgery i’ll charge you for it.” they were playing c-section.
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It's Very Male / Female in Here
The following is an instant message I received from hobbsandbean a short while ago.
maggie leared how to chop carrots with a REAL knife today! a serrated one, so it wasn’t too sharp, but still! she did awesome. now she’s knitting. while cal sets off grenades. it’s very male / female in here.
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Too Late for Me
Some interesting discussion going on at TeamPyro over the video below. I’m guessing most people younger than me probably don’t know that the original song was, “Momas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys” made popular by by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
Is the video funny or sad? My response is a pastor answer, “Yes.”
Also, thanks to a friend of mine, I found out Phil was on the Way of the Master Radio show last Thursday.
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Happy 30th Birthday, Mo!
On November 18, 1978, Mo was born. Her mom toasted her a bagel for breakfast, spread with peanut butter and decorated with (leftover Halloween Reformation Day) mini M&M’s to celebrate.
UPDATE [2:33PM November 18]: I forgot to mention earlier that Mo had the same breakfast yesterday, just without the M&M’s in such a deliberate pattern. Also, for as much as she appreciated the thoughtfulness, she found the candy quantity lacking and made appropriate addition.
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You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly
Trapped in Neverland by Carl Trueman underscores the ugliness of today’s world “because it prevents many from ever growing up at all.” Here’s one more tempting bite:
I have had too many run-ins with students who act like five year olds and, when held to account, express all the pouting resentment that one comes to expect from a generation that demands respect but refuses to put in the time and effort to earn it.
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Open Minds and Open Doors
As he promised, Phil de Oliveira made his attempt to prop open the door for theistic evolution in Genesis chapter one. Go. Read. Comment. But do try and keep any prideful snickers and firebrand fundamentalism in check.
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Repentance--Seeing Sin for What It Is
Series | Repentance
We have been tasked to change the world.
As men and women made in the image of God, we’ve been tasked to take dominion on the earth. As Christian men and women, being formed into the image of Christ, we’ve been tasked to make disciples of all nations. These are no small opportunities or responsibilities; both dominion-taking and disciple-making involve changing the world.
Rightly so, Christians are often on the front lines of these cultural and spiritual campaigns, making plans and throwing resources like time and energy and money to reach their communities as well as foreign countries.
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Night and Day
Part 8 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
All six bullets I’ve mentioned come from observation of the biblical story itself. In light of how obviously they refute theistic evolution, let alone naturalistic, I wonder if Darwin didn’t concoct his theory by sitting down with Genesis one in front of him and consciously writing an anti-Genesis story. Since he grew up in a professing Christian home, I think it’s reasonable to suppose he knew exactly the truth he was rejecting.
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Bullet Six - Bad Good
Part 7 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
At multiple points throughout week one, God declared His work “good.” When He gathered the waters together to make dry land, God saw that it was good (verse 10). When He made plants and trees yielding seed and bearing fruit, God saw that it was good (verse 12). When He set the sun and moon to rule the day and night, God saw that it was good (verse 18).
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Bullet Five - Breeding Boundaries
Part 6 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
This shoots as big a hole in theistic evolution as any of the previous bullets. Everything that reproduces, every plant, every animal, every fish, every bird, every insect, (even every human in a similar way), all reproduce according to their kinds.
On day three (verses 11-12), God created vegetation (remember that in the evolutionary timeline plants are not the first sort of organic life), and the phrase according to its kind is repeated three times.
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Bullet Four - Defined Days
Part 5 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
The hope of theistic evolutionists hinges on the word “day.” In order for evolution to fit in Genesis one, “day” must represent long periods of undefined time, more than likely covering millions of years.
The Hebrew word for “day” is yom. The question is, does yom ever refer to a period of time other than 24 hours? The answer is yes. Even in the first two chapters of Genesis, “day” is used at least three different ways.
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Bullet Three - Immediate Fulfillment
Part 4 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
Seven of the eight creative acts in Genesis one include a follow up phrase of immediate fulfillment.
Verse three, And God said, “Let there be light,” *and there was light*. Verse six, And God said, “Let there be an expanse….” *And it was so* (verse seven). Verse nine, And God said…*and it was so*. Verse eleven, and it was so. Verse fourteen, and it was so.
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Bullet Two - Chronological Sequence
Part 3 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
Every verse in Genesis chapter one (except for verse 1) begins with the conjunction “and.”1 Moses doesn’t skip through the story, he moves step-by-step, directly from one work to the next and from one day to the next. Not only are his readers intended to feel the immediacy of the progression, Moses leaves no empty space for long, indefinite periods of time.
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Bullet One - Narrative Genre
Part 2 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
The bulk of the book of Genesis is in the narrative genre. “Narratives are stories, purposeful stores retelling the historical events of the past, that are intended for a given people in the present” (Fee and Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 90). Moses is telling a story, but it is a non-fiction story, an historical record of actual events at specific times in particular places with real characters.
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Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
Part 1 of the series: Shooting Down Theistic Evolution
According to Genesis 1:1, the universe was launched in an instant, due to the initiating, intelligent, omnipotent, creative work of Elohim. In the first verse of the Bible our beliefs are framed about God, the one God, the only eternal God, the God who is distinct from, yet involved with His creation. He created time, space, and substance out of nothing. And as quickly as the second verse in the Bible, amidst this new and vast universe, God focuses His work on the earth.
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Breaking News
Many of you already know that Mo is scheduled for a C-section on Wednesday morning since Hallie is breech. However, her water broke around 10PM tonight (Sunday) which a trip to triage confirmed. From here on out you can check any news on my Twitter page, as it’s easier for me to update.
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What Not to Believe
Photo thanks to keyphotographics
Genesis 1:1 frames our beliefs about God in such a way that certain other beliefs are necessarily ruled out. As various commentators indicate, the creation account precludes:
Atheism, the belief that there is no god. Verse 1 assumes God’s existence. There is no proof provided, or apparently necessary. It is taken for granted. I guess the point is, only a fool would say there is no God (Psalm 14:1).
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Starting at the Beginning
A couple months ago I was having breakfast with some of the one28 staff men. Our conversation turned toward the subject of past one28 graduates, and in particular, the current spiritual state of those students. There are, as anyone might suspect, some students continuing to walk with Christ who are closer to Him than ever. There are other students who have given every appearance of walking away from Christ.
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Monkeys in My Backyard
The following is not a joke. The Professor saw this poster on the wall at our local community college and “obtained” a copy for me. All I did was snap a photo and crop out the teacher’s contact information at the bottom. Again, there was no monkey business on my part regarding either the background image or any of the text. Feel free to click on the picture for a larger version.