20 There are over 7 billion people on our planet. What percentage, when they wake up, do you believe think to themselves, “Today is the day I am going to die”? If you aren’t a soldier heading into a hopeless battle, on death row and today is your execution, or are at the end of…
Tag: Death
Augie’s Sermon on Death
Jeff Beck Yesterday, Larry Pareigis, a music promoter I follow on Twitter, tweeted that it was Jeff Beck’s 73rd birthday.1 Anyone know who Jeff Beck is? Yes, he is a tremendously talented guitarist…famous for his own work…but also (in part) for what he did with singer Rod Stewart. When I read Larry’s tweet, the song…
A Teachable Moment Since Abel
Cain and Abel Let’s jump right into Scripture today by reading Genesis 4:8-12 together: 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am…
Burger King and Braxton (“It’s love, in point of fact.”)
Every Saturday since Augie was a toddler, he and I have gone out for a daddy/son only breakfast. As a dad who has travelled and worked too much, it has been an immeasurable blessing. In Antrim, New Hampshire we went to T-Bird (which has a Dunkin’ Donuts); here near Denver Burger King is our normal…
I Do Not Remember…
Mark, I do not remember how it was to live with you the first five years of my life… But I do remember you spanking me—not as cruel torture by a decade older brother—but as a kind sibling helping his frequently-disciplined younger brother no longer feel pain when he got spanked by his parents. Mark,…
Why I Am a Heretic
I am no longer going to update this post. Instead please see the Beliefs page to read the most up-to-date list of what I believe. AKA, "What I Believe" I had an interesting conversation with a Twitter friend, and after he agreed to an uncomfortable implication of his belief system I commended him on being…
I Dreamt I Died Last Night
Nightmares How many here have had a nightmare? [ Wait for people to respond…and assuming nobody says no… ] I kind of figured, short of a newborn baby, everyone present for this sermon would confirm they have had bad dreams. What are they about? Being chased? Being attacked by some evil power? Falling? A bad…
20 Days
Perhaps one of the worst reports we can hear is that of a baby unexpectedly passing away overnight. As a parent of a three year-old, I don't want to even consider what it would mean to tuck my tike into bed one evening and then find he's no longer breathing in the morning. Can anyone…
Donne on the Brain
May 21 A couple of recent events…on national, one local…are the genesis of this sermon. Well, I should probably say one non-event, and one tragic event…birthed these words. Perhaps the incidents will cause you to consider some of the same things I did. First, the national non-event. As most of you are probably aware, non-believers…
Poof!
Within some Seventh-day Adventist circles there is a joke connected with how strict Adventists are unlikely to wear jewelry (even a wedding band is avoided). The only jewelry allowed has to be functional—for example, a watch. (To be fair, although I might come to a more tempered conclusion, they have valid reasons for their aversion…
Osama
Last night, just before turning my iPad off and going to sleep, it really felt like I should set my Facebook status based on the death of Osama bin Laden. This is what I settled on: ”Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the…
The End
If you click on the image, you’ll see that the “10-degree Map Centered at 40°N, 140°E” (generated Saturday, March 12, 15:22:22 UTC) says, “255 earthquakes on this map.”1 First, imagine having lived through the original estimated 8.9 magnitude quake—one that appears to have shifted Japan’s main island by 8 feet and the earth’s axis by…
Going Down in a Blaze of Glory
Text messages How many of you use your cell phones for text messaging? Do you text a lot? A little? Do you get any automatic text messages? For instance, do you…like me…get the weather every day on your handset? For instance today… [ Read them this morning’s forecast. ] Along with the weather at 8:30…
Reacting to a Shooting
This past Saturday a lone gunman allowed the demons in his mind to escape in the form of a deluge of bullets, starting with one into the brain of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. By the time bystanders were able to wrestle him to the ground six people had been killed (including a nine year-old girl) and…
Symphony of Christ, 4th Movement: The Culmination
Recap We are now through three of the Symphony of Christ’s four movements… The Promise In the first we saw the creation of the heavens and the earth; our original parents almost immediately blow it by losing trust in God; and our Lord…instead of giving us the destruction we deserved…giving a promise of a Messiah…