shaved ice ...

my father is spending the week in Hawaii ...

he took this picture today from his I phone ... it's a small world ... I love shaved ice ... long live America and shaved ice ...

heaven is hip hop ...

so, let's get some talk about the heaven series ... gardens and walls and stones and rivers and fruit ... any thoughts? ... any questions? ...

when Jesus teaches us to pray for the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven, what is He talking about? ...

what does it look like when Heaven comes down? ...

will there be steak in Heaven? ... is Jesus a vegetarian? ...

why are angels guarding the city of Heaven? ...

does God look more like Morgan Freeman or Gandalf? ...

will Heaven look more like the Emerald City or Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? ...

will there be sex in Heaven? ... will we all be naked? ...

will Jesus ever let me ride His white horse? ...

are you living Heaven now? ...

website prowler ...

I'm a church website prowler ... I fascinated by design and imagery and what others churches are doing around the world ... there are times I will spend hours just surfing the net for new churches and websites ... lame, but true ... it's boring, it's my life ...

one of my favorites is Life Church ... they're one of the most creative churches on the planet ...

I enjoy Ed Young and Fellowship Church ... creative church, but they make you pay for everything ... unbelievable ... so many churches are ripping people off ...

a couple nights ago, I stumble upon Elevation Church ... check it out ... I haven't listened to any messages, but I'm enjoying the layout of their site and blogs ...

if you find some great websites, send my way ... I'm a late night website prowler ...

heaven crashing down ...

at the Stirring, we began our new series 'heaven' this morning ...

we talked about heaven crashing down on earth ... in Revelation 21:2, we get a glimpse of heaven at the end of the age ... the prophet John sees heaven coming down from God in heaven and crashing into earth ... and a loud voice shouts that God will live face to face with His children forever ... this has always been God's heart ... to live with us ... to bring heaven on earth ...

if you're interested, I've listed a few of the books I've been reading to prepare for this series ... if want to take this deeper, read these books ... Surprised by Hope written by the notorious N. T. Wright, probably my favorite author on earth ... Heaven written by Randy Alcorn, is the most profound and captivating book on Heaven ... and of course, the Bible, which has so much to say about Heaven ...




through this series, my prayer is that God would show us and teach us how to live heaven now ... there is so much talk about getting to heaven somewhere someday, but Jesus comes and invites us to live heaven today ... to know God and experience the life of heaven here and now ...

heaven series ...

this week, we've been getting ready for our Heaven series that begins this coming Sunday ... we've been waiting almost a year to launch this series on heaven ... this may be one of the most challenging series for us as a team ...

we have so many confusing images and beliefs about heaven ... chubby cherubs playing harps on fuzzy clouds ... pearly gates and golden streets ... huge mansions and eternal cotton candy ... yep, heaven ... as a kid, I thought heaven was the never ending church service ... punch me in the face ...

this is the heart of this series ... what we believe about heaven someday 'shapes' how we live heaven today ... we'll talk about heaven on earth, life after death, the door to heaven, the resurrection, judgment, and hell ... that kind of stuff ...

my prayer is that God would show us and teach us how to live heaven now ...

this is amazing ...

I found this on my wife's blog and I had to post it ...



Here's the reply the teacher received the following day:

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

simply Christian ...

I'm reading Simply Christian again and getting ready for our 'heaven' series ...
N.T. Wright blows my mind ...
This is the most inspiring and provoking book I've read in years ...
My mind hurts so good ...

I just finished a chapter on the Holy Spirit ... God's breath upon His people ... God's spirit alive in us, making us the temple of God, where God dwells on earth ... where heaven crashes into earth ... the Spirit of God awakening God's new creation in the world ... amazing ... we are God's people on earth, filled with the Spirit of God, calling the world back into a life with Jesus ...

tonight, I'm praying for more of that in my life ... I'm so grateful for Jesus in my life and I'm so hungry to see heaven on earth ... to see the love and compassion and justice and beauty of God crash into earth through His people ... not someday, but today ... (or tomorrow, because it's already 11:41 pm and I'm tired) ...

this book will change your life ... (and read the Bible, too) ...

Erase the Dark ...

shoes ...
children ...
art ...
film ...
songwriting ...
interactive piece ...
painting ...
sushi ...
erase the dark ...

tomorrow night at 7 pm ... $10 ... don't miss it ...

confessions ...

I just finished my paper on Sanctification ...
It's the second of six papers I am writing for my theology class and ordination ...
The next one is on healing ...
I'm tired and I wish I owned a hot tub right now ...
My body hurts ...
I still have this awful cough ...
Every time I cough, I feel piercing pain in my pancreas ...
Facebook sucks ...
I still haven't heard the new U2 album ...
I can't wait for Erase the Dark ...
If you don't play Settlers, we can't be friends ...
My toes ache ...
If you're still reading this blog, you must really like me ...
Goodnight ...

the Stirring ...

just got back from the Stirring tonight ... we're in our Jonah series ...

tonight, we asked a few questions ... why does God send winds and waves and whales into our lives? ... why does God hurl us into the ocean depths? ... why does God bury us beneath his stormy and wild waves? ...

God, in His mercy, humbles us and exposes us and tests us and disciplines us to shape our character ... to make us holy ... to make us more and more like Jesus ... Read Hebrews 12 ... amazing ...

I can't wait for Erase the Dark this Friday night ... we've got some amazing films and artists and food and creativity ... I hope we can fit 1000 people in that gym ... everyone I know is going to be there ...