Proud dad alert. 🙂
This video of the week is a euphonium improvisation that my son, Michael Fahrner, played this morning at church:
[youtube=https://youtu.be/DEqCrXld8uo&rel=0&w=512]
Episode 7 – Heaping Burning Coals (Part 2 of 3)
Welcome
Welcome to the seventh episode of Traditores Higher Frequency. This week we have the second of three broadcasts related to the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California that left 14 dead and 21 wounded on December 2nd.
When such a horrible act is committed, how should we react toward the perpetrators?
To answer that question, I am, in three parts, playing a sermon I preached on the 10 anniversary of the 9/11 attacks called, “Heaping Burning Coals on 9/11.” In the first portion I discussed how terrible the carnage was when radical Islamists used four airplanes as weapons, talked about our natural reaction to those who hurt us, and then shared some Bible verses that indicated it is okay to wish ill on evil-doers.
I’ll rewind a tiny bit as we head back to the Antrim Church of Christ in Antrim, New Hampshire for the second part of my talk on September 11, 2011…
Heaping Burning Coals on 9/11 (Part 2) Continue reading “Episode 7 – Heaping Burning Coals (Part 2 of 3)”
Merry Christmas!
The stockings are emptied; the gifts are open. What remains is more important: time with loved ones.
Perhaps the greatest gift the Lord gave us in 2015 is a new home in a new town. From the first day we visited Strasburg, Colorado, we have seen the beauty of its land and its people. That beauty is what inspired, and continues to inspire, Strasburg Rocks!
We are slowly unearthing all that Strasburg and the surrounding area has to offer; it is like unwrapping magnificent gifts year-round. One of the more recent discoveries was the annual Christmas celebration downtown. We were remiss then in not photographing the beautiful decorations along Strasburg’s main thoroughfare, but hopefully have made it up with a video of driving through the town late Christmas Eve (or early this Christmas morning, depending on your perspective):
[youtube=https://youtu.be/9wMl4I8s6Qg&rel=0&w=512]
Now, we stated that the greatest gift God blessed us with in 2015 was a home (not just a house) in Strasburg…but, of course, it pales in comparison to the greatest gift ever bestowed; one that was for all who will accept it. The 50th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” makes it apropos to remember that sacrifice from above with the same words that Linus used when Charles Shultz bucked precedent and included these verses in a Christmas special: Continue reading “Merry Christmas!”
Episode 6 – Heaping Burning Coals (Part 1 of 3)
Welcome
Welcome to the episode number 6 of Traditores Higher Frequency. This week we have the first of three parts connected to the horrendous December 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California that left 14 dead and 21 wounded.
When such inexcusable evil is perpetrated, how should we react toward the evil-doers?
To answer that question, over the next three episodes I’ll be playing a sermon I preached on the 10 anniversary of the 9/11 attacks called, “Heaping Burning Coals on 9/11.” As I pondered the most recent atrocity from radical Islam, that talk seemed apropos.
With that short intro in mind, let’s join the brothers and sisters in the Antrim Church of Christ in Antrim, New Hampshire…
Heaping Burning Coals on 9/11 (Part 1)
Continue reading “Episode 6 – Heaping Burning Coals (Part 1 of 3)”
Christmas Album “Must Haves” (2015 Version)
I seem to do this post later and later each holiday season…but I did start listening to Christmas music earlier in 2015! 🙂
Either way, here is my annual “Christmas Album ‘Must Haves.'” Year-to-year it doesn’t vary much, but I’ve added a few, reorganized a bit, and made sure the links are up-to-date. Also, everything I mention here (plus a whole bunch more) played on Countdown2.Christmas Radio, which was my year-round Internet Christmas radio station. I received an interesting note yesterday from a listener:
Who, What are you? We just found your station this morning. It is wonderful. Thank you for making our Christmas more enjoyable.
If you, like that person, enjoy classic, traditional Christmas music with some other great holiday tunes mixed in…then you would have loved Countdown2.Christmas Radio (which was shut down when it became clear it would be costly and difficult to remain legal).
Well, enough of the preamble! Here is 2015’s Christmas Album “Must Haves” divided into groups in that will help you, if you are just starting you collection, to know what to get first.
Top 5:
- “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
- “Christmas Classics” by Bing Crosby (includes “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” with David Bowie)
- “A Winter Romance” by Dean Martin
- “When My Heart Finds Christmas” by Harry Connick, Jr.
- “Christmas With the Chipmunks” by The Chipmunks
Continue reading “Christmas Album “Must Haves” (2015 Version)”
Happy Thanksgiving!
Although this year has had its ups and downs (perhaps a bit more on the downs side)…God’s blessings keep the score so far in the positive I have no excuse but…on this Thanksgiving day…to be…
Thankful. 🙂
I am thankful for my family (both biological and church), my employer (and those I work with), the town I live in (and its great residents), and…
The list could go on ad infinitum.
Oh, and I am thankful for you my blog readers and/or sermon/broadcast listeners and/or social media followers. You are truly a blessing from the Lord.
Ultimately, the greatest thing I have to be thankful for is also the greatest thing the world (including you) has to be thankful for…
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17, English Standard Version).
Of course, it doesn’t do you any eternal good if you don’t have faith in Jesus. My prayer is that you will find that trust in the One who gave His life so you could spend eternity with Him.
Regardless of where your relationship with the Lord is…Happy Thanksgiving from Traditores and Traditores Higher Frequency!
Episode 5 – Saved by a Razor
Welcome
Welcome to the fifth episode of Traditores Higher Frequency. I wrote the notes for this installment as a passenger in a Nissan Versa headed to Colorado Springs…to pick up a puppy…maybe two! 🙂 Oh, and with SiriusXM’s Holiday Traditions on the radio. Yes, I am one of those guys! I proudly listen to Christmas music too early…even have my own year-round Internet Christmas radio station. You can check it out at Radio.Countdown2.Christmas. Other than some tracks folks have sent me to add to Countdown2.Christmas Radio’s playlist, it’s all from my personal collection.
But debating whether it is too early to listen to Christmas music the first week of November is not why we are here. Instead…and we’ve touched on this in at least one previous broadcast…I want to quickly answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?”
Well, I want Scripture to answer that question. 🙂 Continue reading “Episode 5 – Saved by a Razor”
Video of the Week
This Video of this Week, “Hand of Jesus” is a brand new track…as in “released yesterday” from David Britt. I am hoping this means in 2016 David will be releasing a Christian CD of EP. 🙂
This song reminds me of a sermon I gave a while back called “The Hand of God.” Punch line is that the hand of Jesus is the hand of God (the Father is no different than the Son in His love and compassion for us). To (sort of) paraphrase David, “Take the hand of Jesus and be saved…”
[youtube=https://youtu.be/sGYwwxUN1e4&rel=0&w=512]
Episode 4 – Do You Really Believe?
Welcome
Welcome to episode number four of Traditores Higher Frequency! This week we build off our interview with accomplished country musician David Britt last week, where we learned a bit about him, his music, and his faith. During that interview we touched on what might be my favorite song by him, “Do You Really Believe”…and today we are going to consider what it means to really believe in Jesus.
The song has a very creedal chorus. What do I mean by creedal? Creeds are statements of belief. For instance, you may have heard the Apostles’ Creed. It’s starts with:
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell1
Do you see what I mean by creedal? Now compare those snippets to what David sings in the chorus of “Do You Really Believe”:
Do you really believe
That Jesus Christ is the Lord
Do you really believe
That He died on the cross
Do you really believe
That there’s a heaven and a hell
Do you really believe
Look in the mirror, ask yourself2
And, the longer chorus at the end of the song further adds:
Do you really believe
Those nails were driven through His hands
Do you really believe
Those thorns were wrapped around His head
Do you really believe3
He gave His life for all of us
The First Tree?
Last Saturday, heading to breakfast at Burger King followed by a haircut, Augie (my eight year-old) and I were chatting…and…I can’t remember exactly why…but the subject of trees came up. That led to a question of the first tree, and Augie said the first one created by God was the Tree of Life.
What do you think? Was he right?
Now, the Bible doesn’t really say what the first tree was. Instead, trees were created at the same time as other plants:
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so (Genesis 1:11, English Standard Version).
Assuming this part of Genesis is chronological (which it may not be), the Tree of Life came into the picture after man was created…which was after trees already existed:
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:8-9).
However, I have to admit that Augie’s childlike view that the first tree was the Tree of Life appeals to me…and I think it makes sense. This is what was said by Paul about the God who created that tree…well, all trees:
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3).
Our Lord wants all people to be saved. Even after our original parents (and we) sinned, He wants us to live eternally. Personally, I think God always intended us to do so, and as such it would make sense that He’d have the Tree of Life ready from day one to help with that. It was only our rebellion in the Garden that prevented ready access to it.
Was the Tree of Life the first tree created? Probably not…but it wouldn’t surprise me given how much God has shown His heart for us from day one. Now, that’s a God I would like to live forever with!
My Christian Belief Does Not Make Me Superior…
Did that title make you think I was going to apologize for the excesses of Christianity…or possibly the reverse…that somehow I imagine I am better than non-believers?
Actually, it was a play of this interesting article I saw a few days ago:
“My atheism does not make me superior to believers. It’s a leap of faith too”
Based on what I’ve seen in social media, a lot of new atheists should read the piece…for instance:
But my conviction that there is no God is nonetheless a leap of faith. Just as we have been unable to prove there is a God, we have also been unable to prove that there isn’t one. The feeling that I have in my being that there is no God is what I go by, but I’m not deluded into thinking that feeling is in any way more factual than the deep conviction by theists that God exists.
I keep this fact in mind – that my atheism is a leap of faith – because otherwise it’s easy to get cocky.
And, after noting that religion doesn’t have a corner on bad attitudes, the author posits:
Perhaps this is not religion, but human nature.
As I once said in a Twitter dialogue with Penn Jillette:
And “blind faith” in anything, religious or secular, is a very dangerous thing…
Sometimes our blind faith is in ourselves…what we “know.” The article’s author, Ijeoma Oluo, probably realizes that too.
I hope she finds the God she doesn’t believe in (yet). Her intellectual honesty can be used within the church…and that God wants her in His fold.
Episode 3 – Interview with David Britt
Welcome
Welcome to the third episode of Traditores Higher Frequency. This week you get to meet a very talented country musician and brother in Christ, David Britt. David and I connected on Skype and chatted about him, his music, and his faith.
What you are about to hear is a shortened version of that dynamic interview…so please be sure to visit our website…thf.fyi…to hear…and to watch…the entire interview.
Without further ado, here’s our conversation with David… Continue reading “Episode 3 – Interview with David Britt”
Noticed by the Oak Ridge Boys!
I was pretty excited to find out the Oak Ridge Boys tweeted about my interview with talented country musician David Britt:
Thanks @davidbritt for the great shout outs in this interview…. Good luck with @Singin4AReason https://t.co/WrshBDPbTy
— The Oak Ridge Boys (@oakridgeboys) October 21, 2015
Both the Oak Ridge Boys and David Britt have hearts of gold…supporting good causes and being true friends to their fans.
Oh, and you should check out the interview (a portion of which will be broadcast during this week’s Traditores Higher Frequency). You’ll get a glimpse of David’s heart of gold I mentioned. 🙂
In case it doesn’t show in the tweet for you: Continue reading “Noticed by the Oak Ridge Boys!”
Interpreting Away the Great Comission
I read a truly disturbing article last night:
“Why German Protestants Will Stop Converting Muslims”
Basically, a draft document for the Protestant Church in Germany nixes the idea of evangelizing Muslims:
The Church does not only categorically rejects the conversion of reform-minded Muslims but outright dismisses all missionary work directed at Muslims.
There is so much wrong in the article you should read the whole thing yourself, but here is the explantion of why the Great Comission (Matthew 28:16-20) doesn’t apply the same way it did the last two millenia: Continue reading “Interpreting Away the Great Comission”
Episode 2 – Who Is Your “Midnight Man?”
Welcome
Welcome to the second episode of Traditores Higher Frequency. Here is hoping the previous week has gone well for you…
And that you are ready to dive into Scripture to take a look at this week’s topic, temptation.
But, before we do that I’d like to introduce you to someone you’ll hear now-and-then on these broadcasts. Sitting beside me is…
[ Let Augie introduce himself and banter a bit. ]
[ Ask Augie if he has ever been tempted to do something wrong…what he should do if he is tempted…etcetera. ]
Sin Is Crouching at Your Door
It’s not just young boys who are beset with temptations. For instance, the inspiration for this episode is a song by Shayne Leighton called “Midnight Man.” Its lyrics are about a woman who repeatedly has intimate relations with a male friend. One who coaxes her into falling for sexual temptation by assuring her, “It’s okay, it’ll be alright. It’s not forever, it’s only tonight.” She then repeats that mantra to herself…that it is “not forever, it’s just one night, just one night.”
Of course, “you’ll get yours, I’ll get mine” (also from the song) happens more than just one night. It’s not safe to open the door to sin even a single time. The Book of James has some strong advice about this. Let’s turn to James 1:14-15 and read it together:
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Now, Shayne Leighton’s musical character was “lured and enticed by [her] own desire” and was looking for an excuse to go ahead and hop into bed with her smooth tongued friend. Her desire conceived and gave birth to sin…a sin that clearly grew…and…without God’s intervention…fully grown would bring death.
The Bible starts of with two perfect examples of how temptation grows into sin. The first is the one that got us into this mess to begin with, where Eve’s “Midnight Man” was a serpent and the temptation wasn’t sex, but a forbidden apple. Continue reading “Episode 2 – Who Is Your “Midnight Man?””