10.31--Our Dry Bone Valleys

Our Scripture reading today comes from Ezekiel 37:1-14. Let us together dive into the depths of this story. Listen attentively to this story of our people.

<Tell Ezekiel 37>

Imagine it. Imagine God picking you up and transporting you to a valley that is full of bones. Imagine being led from one end of this valley to the other, picking your way through the bones as you go. Imagine accidently stepping on one them, feeling more than hearing the crack under your foot as you wince at the jarring noise.

Why would God bring you here? What is so significant about the bones that they would catch and hold the attention of the Almighty? Why is it so important that you walk among them?

10.16--With Great Power (Sermon on 2 Kings 2:18-25)

My family is a movie-going family. There was a two-dollar movie theater in the town over from us, and we would go almost every week to see a different movie. The seats were old and deep; sitting in them was like sitting in a Lazy Boy recliner. The popcorn was just on the too-greasy side. And the projector was old enough that the picture quality was starting to fade slightly.

I loved it.

And what was my favorite type of movie to watch? Super hero movies. Yes, the plot line was always pretty much the same. Yes, the good guy always got the girl in the end. Yes, they always managed to throw in some funny, tension-breaking line at just the right spot in the drama. And yes, I loved them.

I remember going with my family to see Spiderman when it first came out. I was so excited, because Spiderman was one of my favorites. He never seemed to be the perfect hero, but he always managed to get the job done.

I could appreciate that in him, because I felt that way a lot in my own life.

I sat on the edge of my seat through the entire film, eyes riveted to the screen. What a perfect balance of action, comedy and even romance! What a wonderful combination of great cast, spot on writing, and just enough special effects to get the job done but not overkill it. It was perfect.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I always stay through the end of the credits when I’m at the movie theatre. Some people do this out of respect for the people who worked hard to bring me my movie. I do it just to see if there’s a teaser at the end for the next film. And while my family and I waited patiently to see if anything was at the end of the credits, my little sister wakes up from the hour and a half long coma she’s been in since Spiderman started. In the loudest voice her four-year-old self can muster, she asks, “Where’s Batman?”

10.9.11--Great is God's Faithfulness

Steve Jobs, the creator and former CEO of Apple, passed away this last Wednesday. Jobs was the innovative genius behind such inventions as the Apple 2, which was the first marketed personal computer, the iBook, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. Within hours of his death, the news was all over the web—many of my Facebook friends changed their profile picture to the Apple logo, the Apple web page put up a tribute picture to him, President Obama himself said a few words in honor of the man, and even competitive companies like Microsoft and Google paid homage to this man’s life and work in their own special way.

This one man has left an amazing impact on the world, and even those who worked against him have to admit that one of the great minds of our time has passed too early from this world. I think the President said it best in his official statement: “There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

The world will remember Steve Jobs due to the impact he has left behind him.

Breaking the Roof--A Sermonette for Preaching Class

My dad was on the other side of the door. That’s all I knew, and that’s all I cared about. I could see him through the glass, still in his uniform since he came straight from work to pick us up. Now, I didn’t know or care that the door was an emergency exit, or that setting off the alarm in an airport was a federal offense. All my eight-year-old brain cared about was that my dad, whom I had not seen in three months, was behind the emergency exit door, watching as we waited to process through customs as the Honolulu International Airport. So, when Mom let go of my hand for a second to fill out a form, I walked over to it, placed my hands on the push-bar, and walked through to Daddy.

Mom had to explain to security why I had done what I did, and I knew that I should be getting yelled at, maybe even getting a spanking, but she didn’t get mad at me at all. She knew what had driven me to open that door; she knew I wanted to be with my dad.

10.2.11--Our Slow Fade (1 Kings--A Sermon on the Story of Solomon)

Friends, today I am going to share with you a Cajun secret. My dad’s side of the family has some Louisiana its blood, so I can claim to be at least in part a Cajun. And with this hallowed ancestry comes certain culinary characteristics. One is a craving for extremely hot food. When we have guests over to our house and we cook spicy food, I have to cook one batch for Jess and I and another batch for our guests because they aren’t used to the fiery onslaught their mouth is about to endure. Another is that secret recipes are passed down from father to daughter, mother to son, generation to generation. It might be the use of a specific spice, or a unique way to prepare a certain dish. It is one of these secrets that I am going to share with you today.

And it’s about frogs.

Now, every self-respecting Louisianite knows that if you put a live frog in a pot of boiling water, it will hop right back out and be a very unhappy amphibian. What some do not know, though, is that if you put a frog in room temperature water and then place it on a burner or over a fire, the frog will happily swim around while it is being boiled to death. So, if you are going to cook your frogs while they are still alive, make sure you bring the water to a boil while the frogs are in the pot. 

This way, your frog will… literally… croak.