Alan – Page 37 – Traditores

A Christian Voter’s Guide

Posted on October 30, 2010October 30, 2010 by Alan

There are a good number of individuals who will find great discomfort in the title of this article. If you are a non-Christian…it may elicit fears of fundamentalists trying to elect their confederates so as to…in a nefarious conspiracy…change America into a Taliban-style Christian theocracy! Even if you are a believer, the title may be unsettling because throughout the ages the gospel has suffered at the hands of unholy amalgamations of religious and secular authority. A strong argument could be made that followers of The Way should be apolitical so as to avoid the leaven that ruins the whole loaf.

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Trick or Treat?

Posted on October 29, 2010October 29, 2010 by Alan

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Travis Allen, Internet Ministry Manager for Grace to You, has an informative and thoughtful answer to that question in his article, “Christians and Halloween.” Although his punch line is that “ultimately, Christian participation in Halloween is a matter of conscience before God,” the article also shares some fairly surprising origins for some of our Halloween traditions (for instance, did you know that “bobbing for apples was one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world’s ‘blessings’ on a couple’s romance”?)

Personally, I tend to agree with Travis’ advice on the holiday, both in the “punch line” I shared above (see Romans 14:5, 23) and this:

There’s another option open to Christians: limited, non-compromising participation in Halloween. There’s nothing inherently evil about candy, costumes, or trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. In fact, all of that can provide a unique gospel opportunity with neighbors. Even handing out candy to neighborhood children–provided you’re not stingy–can improve your reputation among the kids. As long as the costumes are innocent and the behavior does not dishonor Christ, trick-or-treating can be used to further gospel interests.

What do you think…”trick or treat” or “avoid like the plague”?

P.S. In case you are interested, my sermon this past Sunday, “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” was about how Christians should view ghosts…

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“Mighty Mouse come down and save the day…”

Posted on October 26, 2010October 29, 2010 by Alan

(October 19, 2010 for October 24, 2010)

Today was day two of week two of my “Couch Potato to 5K” running program…and I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that twenty minutes filled with repeating periods of jogging ninety seconds and walking two minutes is so exhausting for me–by the time I reach the final jogging cycle I’m pretty much spent. I was pleasantly surprised this morning, just as the last interval began, to have Tesla’s “Mighty Mouse” start playing through my headset. It’s a favorite song for both Michael and me, and was a perfect tune to provide motivation through that last painful minute and a half.

Was it luck? Coincidental timing?

God causing my iPhone’s shuffle mode to play the song I needed just as I needed it?

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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Posted on October 24, 2010August 10, 2013 by Alan

Who doesn’t love a good ghost story?

Now, who doesn’t love a good ghost story? Perhaps there are some sitting before me who have never enjoyed them…but I’ve always liked tales involving other-worldly beings.

For instance, I can still remember back in third grade when Mrs. Edwards would read to us from horror books written for kids. Or how about “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”–a television series about a cantankerous…and dead…New England captain not to keen on sharing his house with the young family that has moved in? How many were surprised by the end of the “Sixth Sense?”…which gave us the famous (and oft used comedically) line, “I see dead people”? Even my favorite film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” technically has a ghost–Clarence Oddbody doesn’t become an angel until after he gets his wings…and only George Bailey is able to see him.

My guess is that the average person loves a good ghost story…

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Whose Table?

Posted on October 10, 2010August 10, 2013 by Alan

Now…if you are like me and get great comfort from routine…at this point you are a bit uncomfortable because I got Winslow to change up the order of the service…and I’m making you all wait for the Lord’s Supper until after the sermon. However, since my talk is about that very subject, it seemed apropos to hijack the Sunday schedule so that we partake of the body and blood of Christ after we spend twenty to thirty minutes discussing it.

And I promise–next week we go back to normal! 🙂

Goals

Along with changing the order of the service, I’m going to throw off the normal flow of my sermons and give you the punch line at the beginning of this talk Not only does it allow me to gain evil enjoyment out of further throwing off my fellow consistency-loving brothers and sisters :-), you can make sure I actually do what I promise.

What you’ll learn

After we get done with a quick discussion of a few views of Communion, we’ll let the Bible show us that the Lord’s Supper:

Is commanded by Jesus
Is in remembrance of Jesus
Is exclusive
Is a sign of the New Covenant
Is a sign of the oneness of God’s church
Represents Jesus’ sacrifice
Must be taken worthily
Reminds us the Lord is a jealous God
Is our way of proclaiming the Lord’s death until his return
Given directly from Jesus Christ Himself

Of course there is more, but let’s leave it at that for today…

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Time in a Bottle

Posted on October 3, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

Redeeming Time

During Sunday morning’s Bible study we’ve been slowly working our way through Ephesians, and this week we spent some time with these verses:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).

The part that stands out most to me is “making the best use of time, because the days are evil.” The original Greek is probably more accurately translated as “redeeming time”–which ends up being a bit more emphatic.

So much comes to mind when I ponder the word “time.” My brain can quickly move from sayings like “a stitch in time saves nine”…

To dreams of time travel (and the paradox that quickly results)…

To songs about time (how many can picture Mick Jagger singing, “Ti…i..i…i…ime is on my side”¹?)…

To biblical advice.

As you can imagine, being that this is a sermon, we’ll focus on the latter. ☺

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Harvest Laborers

Posted on September 19, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

We are in the final day of Home & Harvest Festival here in Antrim…and it seemed appropriate that today’s sermon’s topic sprout from that. For whatever reason, “home” never seemed like the obvious choice–“harvest” did. I suppose that makes sense; for instance, the t-shirts Rick had printed up don’t have a picture of of a home on them, do they? Nope…it’s a combination of a skateboarder in the center and wheat on the side (and some veggies on the bottom). (For those listening to or reading this sermon at a distance, we have a sanctioned skateboarding competition over the weekend…thus the skateboarder.)

So, harvest it is! What comes to your mind when you think of “harvest?” A lot of it depends on how we’ve grown up and where we have lived–for all I know some of you have actually been farmers. For me, it reminds me of Tenney Farm…site of last night’s great fireworks (which I could hear 5 miles away–Dad had Augie duty and mom attended with Gerry)…and of Eric Tenney…one of my favorite people in our small town and the epitome, for me, of a New England farmer. Well, he doesn’t have an thick “ay-yuh” accent though. ☺

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Figs and a Whale

Posted on September 12, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

I’ll admit up front that the title of this sermon is a bit nonsensical…I really know of no place in the Bible…or history…or in fiction for that matter…where figs have been connected with a whale…although, never having read Moby Dick, for all I know Captain Ahab may have had a thing for figs like Captain Queeg in “The Caine Mutiny” had for frozen strawberries. ☺

Jonah

However, in preparing for “Kenley’s Sermon on Jonah” last week I couldn’t help but feel that Jonah was a type for Israel…that his behavior toward the Ninevites had parallels to Israel’s behavior toward surrounding nations in Jesus’ time. For instance, do you remember this from the narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman?:

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) (John 4:7-9)

Just like those Jews didn’t want to have “dealings with Samaritans,” Jonah clearly did not want to have dealings…especially ones that might have a positive outcome…with the Ninevites.

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Kenley’s Sermon on Jonah

Posted on September 5, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

(14 questions)

First..apologies…this sermon was written (and executed) under the influence of a bad cold. Thus my limited intelligence has been further impeded…

Although sometimes a sermon topic jumps out at me, I really like it when church members suggest ideas for a talk. With the help of her mom Randi, Kenley came up with today’s subject–the book of Jonah.

On the surface it might not seem like great sermon fodder–you know, Jonah is a pretty simple story:

God commands Jonah to go tell the Ninevites they are going to get destroyed.
Jonah tries to escape on a ship.
God sends a storm.
Jonah ends up in a fish.
Jonah gets his head on straight.
The fish vomits up Jonah.
Jonah tells the Ninevites they are going to be destroyed.
The Ninevites repent.
God relents.
Jonah gets angry because he knew God would show mercy.
God tells him he shouldn’t be angry.

Not a whole bunch to it…doesn’t seem much more complex than a children’s story, does it?

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Homosexuality

Posted on August 8, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

The sermon I do not want to give…

I stand before you prepared to preach a sermon I do not want to give. Many in society think that Christians have a fixation (and a negative one at that) on homosexuality and sex in general. This talk will be seen as further proof that we have it out for people who just want to live and let live.

Why am I hatin’ on gay people?

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Your Deafness Is a Shout

Posted on August 1, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

Blessings

Of they myriad blessings God has given me…one is a job that, for now at least, allows Michelle to stay home with Augie. Another is Michelle herself–she truly is the “better half” and is “far more precious than jewels” (see Proverbs 31:10).

She is also is my “help meet” (see Genesis 2:18)…which (in part) means she makes the trek to the Nissan dealer in Swanzey when either her Quest or my Cube needs a little attention. Although, while there, much of her time is spent watching Augie entertain himself at an automobile dealership, it does give her the opportunity to chat with other folks in the waiting area. Early last month she was hanging out while my Cube was getting inspected, and struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was getting his vehicle fixed.

You probably have run into the type…let’s see if you can figure it out after a some bullets:

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Marriage Is a Privilege?

Posted on July 25, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

Internet Radio

As I’ve previously shared…at night I like to listen to podcasts as I fall asleep (or fall back to sleep). Truth told…I actually prefer they play all night–something Michelle isn’t terribly fond of. ☺

Recently, however, the convenience of Internet radio applications on my iPad, iPhone, and Droid mean I am often replacing a podcast with a live stream of a radio station. The choices are unlimited–but I’ll admit that I’m usually listening to talk of the religious or conservative kind (although Elhkhart Internet Radio’s mix of music has been a recent favorite).

One night this past week at the Costa Mesa Marriott Suites I woke up in the middle of the night (a fairly normal occurrence, especially when traveling)…and the speaker made a quick comment that hit me. He said that marriage was a privilege, not a right.

Now I can’t really tell you what his point was–I zoned back out pretty quickly…but it’s what convinced me to do this initial sermon on marriage.

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God Relenting of Good

Posted on July 18, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

Is America a Christian Nation?

Is America a Christian nation?

This past Monday and Tuesday I attended a conference of ministers put on by the New Hampshire Renewal Project–and I’m pretty sure you’d find the vast majority of those attending that gathering would wholeheartedly say, “Yes!” to that question.

How would you answer it?

How would you define it? (“It” being “Christian nation.”)

For instance, to be a Christian nation would the Bible need to prophesy about us? Some people are convinced in Scripture’s symbolism they can find our great union. I would argue that someone really wanting to can pretty much find anything they want in the imagery of Daniel and Revelation…or elsewhere like Ezekiel 38 with “merchants of Tarshish with all it’s villages” (Ezekiel 38:13, NASB). However, I think that we can all agree that (a) being spoken of in the Bible could mean quite opposite of being a Christian nation (they might be words “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”–Romans 9:22) and (b) that if somehow the U.S. Is mentioned, it’s clearly not in the same sense of Israel–where God called, redeemed, and ruled that nation.

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Clay or Butter

Posted on July 11, 2010December 1, 2016 by Alan

The Devil Made Me Do It

Anybody here remember Clerow Wilson, Jr.?

How about Flip Wilson? That was Clerow’s stage name…

For those less familiar with his comedy genius, Flip Wilson was the “first black entertainer to be the host of a successful variety show on network television.” The Flip Wilson Show was the #1 variety show “shortly after it began on NBC in 1970” and was #2 on television overall in 1972 (surpassed only by “All in the Family”).¹

Flip portrayed multiple characters…but perhaps the most memorable one was Geraldine, a woman pretty sure of herself looks-wise and wife of Killer…utterer of famous lines like “When you’re hot, you’re hot” and “What you see is what you get.” That second one will be familiar to those of us who used the first early WYSIWYG (pronounced “wizzy-wig”) HTML editors.

I can’t speak for others…but as a person who identifies most with the 70s decade…another one of Geraldine’s famous sayings sticks in my head more. Do you know what it is?

“The Devil made me do it.”

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Half-Baked

Posted on June 20, 2010August 11, 2013 by Alan

Canaan, New Hampshire

I grew up in Canaan, NH…a town that was about the same size as Antrim when I lived there, but now appears to have about a thousand more people. I still remember our address and phone number…PO Box 172 and 523-7763. Not bad, eh? ☺

Although Canaan also has a couple major roads running through it like Antrim does (Route 4 and Route 118)…growing up it seemed “sleepier” to me than this wonderful town. Perhaps it’s just the difference in what we are aware of as an adult versus what we are as a child…but Canaan definitely seemed more like the middle of nowhere than Antrim does.

And although she was a registered nurse, my mom stayed at home to watch us boys in our house on Canaan Street Road (yes “Street Road”). To earn extra cash she took up macramé–and became quite accomplished. She even started an annual craftsman’s fair in town. Since I was actually somewhat cute as a kid (I know, I know, very difficult to believe)–and just as extroverted–she often would leave me alone at the table because it increased sales. ☺

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