Traditores – Page 7 – Traitors for Christ

I Didn’t Do It!

Posted on December 4, 2016December 10, 2016 by Alan

Good or Evil

What do you think? Are humans inherently good or evil?

How many here believe humans are inherently good?

How many here believe humans are inherently evil?

I suspect the best answer to the question, “Are humans inherently good or evil?” is…

Yes.

🙂

But, if there is one thing that I think argues for the latter…that we are inherently evil…at least in part…is our propensity to lie.

It seems to me that, even at an early age, when you are going to get into trouble for doing something, human nature automatically wants to say…

“I didn’t do it!”

Pretty much as soon as we can feel guilt and/or understand we might get in trouble, we want to (and to often do) lie. Say we didn’t do it. Blame someone else. Claim ignorance about it. Anything but just fess up and admit we are the guilty party. Continue reading “I Didn’t Do It!”

Empty tomb with crosses in the background

Do You Understand?

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Alan

Fiverr

Has anyone here heard of Fiverr? The description in the title on its web site’s main page is:

Fiverr: The Marketplace for Creative & Professional Services

And it is a great marketplace for various services. For instance it’s main menu lists Graphics & Design, Digital Marketing, Writing & Translation, Video & Animation, Music & Audio, Program & Tech, Advertising, Business, and Fun & Lifestyle. I have used it for logos and some video intros and outros…and have found it a relatively inexpensive place to get quality work.

However, it does have one problem that has caused my hairline to shrink a little…related to its providers being all over the globe.

Can you figure out what that is?

Not time zones…if anything that seems to work in my favor with work getting done while I am sleeping. Instead…

It is language.

I think I am being very clear about what I would like and the responses…very congenial and timely…often show English is not their first language…or second, for that matter. This past week it just meant more back-and-forth than should have been needed…but one time it was so bad I had to cancel the order. Sometimes…

They just don’t understand.

However, even when you and someone else both fluently speak the same language, can’t you get in the same situation? Where you think you’ve explained something very clearly, but…for whatever reason…even after restating it several different ways…sometimes..

They just don’t understand.

Sometimes it is just a lack of knowledge. I can try to explain quantum mechanics to a four year-old, but nobody would be surprised if the kid stares blankly at me and just burps. 🙂

However, and I don’t want to psychoanalyze this too much, I think occasionally the incapacity to comprehend is because of a mental block. It could be an inability to pay attention, an unwillingness to accept the truth, and so on…but it’s not that that they cannot understand…sometimes…

They will not understand.

Continue reading “Do You Understand?”

Happy Thanksgiving (2016)

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Alan

Whether it is the dogs laying on my legs, Augie getting super excited at seeing Pikachu during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or you, my Facebook friend…I am reminded I have so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and may the Lord, who most deserves our thanks, bless you this holiday season.

Man having to choose between an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other

Gotta Serve Somebody

Posted on November 20, 2016November 27, 2016 by Alan

Digital World

We live in a digital world, don’t we?

What does that mean to you? What does it mean to live in a “digital world”?

Heading to my Mac’s trusty dictionary (as I often do), its first definition of digital is:

(of signals or data) expressed as series of the digits 0 and 1, typically represented by values of a physical quantity such as voltage or magnetic polarization. Often contrasted with analog.

We are definitely in a computerized world…and computers, ultimately, do all their work in ones and zeros…but when I said, “We live in a digital world” I was really going with the idea that we live in an either/or world…an either this or that world. Continue reading “Gotta Serve Somebody”

Who Is Your Father?

Posted on November 17, 2016November 17, 2016 by Alan

The Internet provides many blessing, but it also comes with destructive curses. One of its banes is the ease by which it allows damning accusations to proliferate. Most common today are charges of “isms” and their equivalents, e.g. racism, sexism, and nativism. I’d like to propose some understandings when it comes to accusations in general, but especially on social media. They are an attempt to combine logical and biblical principles.

The burden of proof is on the accuser

Whether you are the first one making an accusation or just passing it along (with or without commentary), the burden of proof is on you. “Innocent until proven guilty” is important because, otherwise, our government could arrest anyone they wanted, charge them with a crime, and then say, “Prove you didn’t do it.”

We would consider that tyrannical and backward if our government did it. It is equally tyrannical and backward for you to do it. Continue reading “Who Is Your Father?”

Now That Its Over

Posted on November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 by Alan

Lazarus

Let’s jump right into Scripture today.

Well, first a bit of background. Jesus’ good friend Lazarus dies while Jesus is away. Jesus gets the news and stays another two days.

There is no question. Lazarus is dead. Fully, truly dead. Continue reading “Now That Its Over”

Damien and Augie’s Sermon on Angels

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Alan

Last Sunday…

Last Sunday Damien came over after church, and he, Augie, and I were chatting at the kitchen table. I cannot remember if I specifically asked what they would like me to preach on, but, regardless, the two boys ended up telling me they’d like one on angels.

And this sermon is a result of that request. 🙂

Because it is a talk for children, it’ll follow our three rules for preaching to kids. Kids, do you remember them? 🙂

Use simple words.
Keep it short.
See #1 and #2.

I’ll do my best with #1…but the way we’ll try to stick with #2 is we’ll limit our sermon to five questions about angels:

Are angels real?
What are angels?
What do angels look like?
What do angels do?
Should we worship angels?

Does that work for you Damien and Augie? Other kids?

Are Angels Real?

So…let’s start with a fundamental question. Through the ages people have believed in a lot of supernatural creatures that don’t exist like fairies, vampires, and leprechauns. How about angels?

Are angels real? Continue reading “Damien and Augie’s Sermon on Angels”

You Just Can’t Win

Posted on October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 by Alan

Can’t Win at…

Do you ever feel that you just can’t win?

That no matter what you do, someone is going to be unhappy?

Michelle is familiar with a few of these stories, but I’ve felt that way quite a bit at work. Not with my boss specifically, but as an example…early this year one bigwig sent an even bigger bigwig a note asking a question and saying that I was doing a “fabulous” job. The word “fabulous” was literally used.

My Director needed an update about the overall discussion…so I forwarded it to him thinking, “He’ll see what bigwig #1 thought and that’ll be good for me.”

Well, I’m not entirely sure what my boss thought, but I did find out that his boss was very unhappy because he felt I stepped outside my bounds.

I do my job in a way that the bigwig I am specifically leant to is super-duper happy and…

I just can’t win. And trust me, that’s not the only example. Luckily I am not one to give up, but I have to admit I am having a hard time getting past my sense that I just can’t win.

Now…your experience might be in a different area. Perhaps a relationship where no matter what you do it bothers the other person.

You just can’t win.

Or at school, where no matter how hard you try your teacher isn’t satisfied.

You just can’t win.

That’s a frustrating and depressing situation to be in, isn’t it? Continue reading “You Just Can’t Win”

You Are Not Alone

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Alan

Last Week Stopped Short of the Full Story

Last week, in my sermon “Like a Feather,” we discussed how Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light.

How salvation itself is “easy.”

Just believe…have faith…in Jesus.

So simple it is hard to accept.

But true.

However, we had to stop there or my sermon would have gone on way too long. 🙂

I also noted that doubt’s yoke is hard and burden is heavy. A such, stopping at the point of salvation doesn’t remove the yoke or lift the burden completely, does it?

Great, you were saved. Great, I was saved. Great, we were saved.

But you mess up…I mess up…we mess up so much. Avoiding sin seems anything but an easy yoke or light burden.

Have we lost our salvation?

Will we lose our salvation?

Were we every saved?

Doubt’s yoke is hard and burden is heavy.

Continue reading “You Are Not Alone”

Light as a Feather

Posted on October 16, 2016October 16, 2016 by Alan

Light as a Feather

Overloaded

Do you feel overloaded by life?

That there is too much expected out of you by your boss?
That there is too much expected out of you by your friends?
That there is too much expected out of you by your family?
That there is too much expected out of you by your spouse or significant other?
That there is too much expected out of you by society?
That there is too much expected out of you at work?
That there is too much expected out of you at home?

My guess is that unless you are younger than a teenager it is very, very likely that you have said yes to one or all of those.

And I suspect that I could changed “expected” to “demanded” in all of those and you would still say yes to at least a couple of them.

Does your neck feel crushed and your shoulders feel very, very heavy with the burdens put on them?

At times mine do. Some of it is my own fault. Bills I shouldn’t have created. Tasks I shouldn’t have volunteered for.

However, even subtracting those and the fact my wife has fair expectations of me…sometimes I feel overloaded…like what I am yoked with is too heavy for me to handle. The burden can overwhelming.

But I have some really, really good news for you and me. 🙂 Continue reading “Light as a Feather”

How You Should Vote in 2016

Posted on October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 by Alan

Don’t Worry IRS

When this sermon’s notes go up on the web, if the IRS has a bots that searching for “misbehaving” ministers, then this should set off its alarms since it is titled, “How You Should Vote in 2016.”

However, they…and you…don’t have to worry. I am not going to put our tax deductible status at risk by endorsing either candidate.

Now, if I thought God wanted me to…I would regardless of the implications…but I don’t think He does. I can tell you that the two main ones are both horribly flawed from a Christian perspective…and I suspect if I spent time checking out their competition…they also wouldn’t fair well from a biblical perspective.

It’s About You

Instead, this isn’t about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, it’s about you.

How you should vote, not who you should vote for.

How how you vote…and how how you participate beforehand…reflects on you.

And, I’ll be honest, this election season is sucking the life out of me…so I’m going to keep this short.

I could just skip preaching about it, but just as Paul “did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), I will not avoid painful subjects.

Principles

Continue reading “How You Should Vote in 2016”

Acting Like Romans

Posted on October 7, 2016October 7, 2016 by Alan

I ran into a really interesting article tonight thanks to Instapundit about “How Roman Central Planners Destroyed Their Economy.” Although not all enacted by today’s progressives in the United States (yet)…it does seem like Romans created a progressive’s playbook. (Just read the article…think Venezuala…you’ll understand.) Strangling, escalating, damaging control of people and markets.

What got me really thinking, however, was when I recognized the most intrusive emporer’s name because of another reason. He is the same one known for the most extreme persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire:

The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire.[1] In 303, the Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman religious practices.

I couldn’t help but wonder, does this anecdotally show a correlation between the progressive affinity for totalitarianism and their persecution of Christians? They’ll tell you how every part of your life is to be lived and will not allow you to worship any other God than theirs. (For instance, it would not be far-fetched to compare “demanding that they comply with traditional Roman religious practices” and basically banning businesses that won’t bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.) As Dennis Prager says, leftism is a religion.

Either way, random Friday night thought…

Noah’s Sermon on Our Resurrection

Posted on October 2, 2016October 9, 2016 by Alan

Three of Two 🙂

Last week I started my talk by saying it was the second of a pair of sermons for kids. Basically two of two.

This week is three of two. 🙂

The reason we are going to have a third sermon aimed at children is because my heart was drawn to Noah and his family. If anyone is unfamiliar with Noah (for instance, our listeners on the Internet), he is a little boy who has brain cancer. The prognosis is not good, and although we’ve been praying for his healing…there is a really good chance that he will not make it into the new year.

Adults, if your child did not have long to live, what would you tell them?

Kids, if your friends…or their brothers or sisters…didn’t have long to live, what would you tell them?

Today, I will suggest what you should tell them.

And it makes sense that “Noah’s Sermon on Our Resurrection” be connected to “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” and “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming,” because the first explained exactly why we, including little boys sometimes, die…and the second one mentioned our resurrection as we learned three things we know for sure about the end times.

As a quick review:

In “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” we learned we die because of cause and effect:

Cause: Sin.

Effect: Death.

And we also learned that Jesus had to die on the cross to make sure our death would only be temporary, not for eternity.

As for the three things we know for sure about the end times from “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming,” do you remember what they were?

Jesus will return.
Jesus will return visibly.
Jesus will return when people don’t expect it.

Today, I will add a fourth thing we know for sure.

Continue reading “Noah’s Sermon on Our Resurrection”

Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming

Posted on September 25, 2016October 9, 2016 by Alan

Two of Two

This is the second in a pair of sermons…and as with last week…kids I want you to pay special attention…as they said in the military, “Eyes front!” 🙂

Do you remember the name of last week’s talk?

That’s right, “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross,” where we learned why Jesus had to die.

You didn’t forget all of that already did you? 🙂

Do you remember the rules for preaching for children?

Use simple words.
Keep it short.
See #1 and #2.

Did we succeed with those last week? Mostly? 🙂

I’m not sure I would say it was short…but “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” required a lot of introduction…and this one won’t.

So, shall we stay with those ground rules kids? Simple words and short?

Funny Words

So in today’s sermon we’ll talk about amillennialism, premillennialism, postmillenialism, futurism, preterism, historicism, and eschatology.

Sound good?

Now, those weren’t simple words, were they? Sounded kind of funny too, didn’t they. But, definitely not simple.

And what was rule #1?

Right, “Use simple words.”

But the reason I mention them is because they help show that talking about what people believe will happen at the end here on earth…

Continue reading “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming”

Augie’s Sermon on the Cross

Posted on September 18, 2016October 9, 2016 by Alan

Choosing a Sermon Topic

Kids…as best as you can…this week I need you to pay attention. No, I won’t make you put everything away…but you’ll shortly understand why this week and next you shouldn’t tune me out. So…

Do I have your attention?!

I said…

Do I have your attention?! 🙂

Early this week I asked Augie what I should do a sermon on. He responded that I should preach about Jesus on the cross and Jesus coming back.

What do you think? Were those good suggestions?

They were awesome suggestions!

However, to do both at once would break one of the rules of preaching for children, so this week it’s “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” and next will be “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming.”

So far so good?

And the reason, [fill in the kid’s names here], I need you to pay attention is that although this sermon is titled “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross”…it’s not just for him…it’s for you too.

Do I still have your attention? 🙂

Preaching to Children

Now, in order to preach to you, I figure there are some rules. Can you tell me if I have them right?

Use simple words.
Keep it short.
See #1 and #2.

Did I get that right? Three simple rules and we’re good?! 🙂

Let’s repeat the together:

Use simple words.
Keep it short.
See #1 and #2.

Related to those three rules, let me share a quick story about a famous physicist who was also a very fun guy, Richard Feynman. One time he promised to write a lesson about a really difficult topic for students who were starting their first year of college.

He failed at that and said, “You know, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we really don’t understand it.”

And to be honest kids, if we adults cannot explain something important about God simple enough that a child can understand…

Well, maybe not a toddler. 🙂

If we adults cannot explain something important about God simple enough for you to understand, then…

Maybe we really don’t understand it. Continue reading “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross”