I went to see "I am Legend" over the Christmas break. I thought it was a pretty good movie. It was not one that I will put in my "Dude Collection", but it was still interesting and good.( If you are planning to see it don't read any farther because I will give the ending away.) The interesting part was that the main character Will Smith gives his life to save the world from a deadly virus that has attacked man making them less than human. I haven't researched the author of this book, but what strikes me about the story is it's similarity to the Gospel. The world is perishing. Someone must die to save it. This is the essence of the gospel. The world rejects it, but on the other hand it is right under their nose. The world longs for salvation, and you can see and hear it in the movies produced in Hollywood.
What other movies can you think of that have the essence of the gospel in it's plot?
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wisdom
Proverbs 1:20-33 is a great test on why we need wisdom in our life and what happens when we reject her. I think there are two indicators of a wiseguy or wisegal from this passage. Lovers of wisdom seem to embrace correction and seek counsel.
Most people are not open to correction. It may be that they cannot bear the thought of being wrong or making a mistake. But I have found that the wisest people that I know are always looking to improve. They embrace the correction of a trusted friend. It's never fun, but is always highly profitable.
Seeking counsel is a wise thing. Correction comes after the mistake has been made. Some of us have an affinity for learning the hard way. But the wise man or woman understands that you can get ahead of the game by pursuing advice beforehand. How much pain and regret could be erased from my life if I would have sought godly wisdom.
Counsel and correction are not the only indicators of wisdom, but our desire for them does say a lot about the direction of our life.
Most people are not open to correction. It may be that they cannot bear the thought of being wrong or making a mistake. But I have found that the wisest people that I know are always looking to improve. They embrace the correction of a trusted friend. It's never fun, but is always highly profitable.
Seeking counsel is a wise thing. Correction comes after the mistake has been made. Some of us have an affinity for learning the hard way. But the wise man or woman understands that you can get ahead of the game by pursuing advice beforehand. How much pain and regret could be erased from my life if I would have sought godly wisdom.
Counsel and correction are not the only indicators of wisdom, but our desire for them does say a lot about the direction of our life.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
When A Tree Falls
I was thinking about my post from last week. I have less than 2.3 readers. I have one faithful reader. My good friend Kevin Ingram.
Anyway...you know that old saying that asks "When a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?" I was thinking about this...When a blogger blogs and no one reads it, does it have meaning?
What do you think?
chris
Anyway...you know that old saying that asks "When a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?" I was thinking about this...When a blogger blogs and no one reads it, does it have meaning?
What do you think?
chris
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Anybody Checking This
I have been slack in posting. I was wondering if anybody is checking this thing. If you are give me a post. Right now, I think I may have about 2.3 readers in United States.
How many of you listen to podcasts?
Grace,
Chris
How many of you listen to podcasts?
Grace,
Chris
Friday, November 2, 2007
Good Deeds
What a joy it is to be the lead pastor at GracePointe Church!! The reason I say this is that we have some God-lovers in our church. People who serve Jesus Christ. They are not perfect people, but they genuinely love Christ. This love is best demonstrated in their love for the least. They get out of their comfort zone. They enter in to dangerous territory. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
As of this week, we have a team that created a booth at the Hometown Harvest. We gave out candy to what seemed like several thousand children. We were able to make new friends and represent the love of Christ in our community.
We have a team that left this morning to travel to Atlanta to work with the homeless. This team of eight will be going under the bridges of Atlanta to share Christ in word and deed to the untouchables of our state. The team has been supported by the church body with 400+ ham and cheese sandwiches that were made last night here at the church campus. Others gave money, blankets, clothes and hygeine products. It has been a total church effort.
We have one man who left Thursday afternoon to spend his weekend in the prison. He is ministering to men in the prison through bible study, prayer and worship. A business man taking his weekend to spend with criminals for the sake of the gospel. WOW!!
This is just what God has been doing this week. Pretty cool and God-glorifying. I recall Jesus saying that we should be loving Him by loving children, convicts, poor and the broken and that's exactly what GracePointe is doing.
As of this week, we have a team that created a booth at the Hometown Harvest. We gave out candy to what seemed like several thousand children. We were able to make new friends and represent the love of Christ in our community.
We have a team that left this morning to travel to Atlanta to work with the homeless. This team of eight will be going under the bridges of Atlanta to share Christ in word and deed to the untouchables of our state. The team has been supported by the church body with 400+ ham and cheese sandwiches that were made last night here at the church campus. Others gave money, blankets, clothes and hygeine products. It has been a total church effort.
We have one man who left Thursday afternoon to spend his weekend in the prison. He is ministering to men in the prison through bible study, prayer and worship. A business man taking his weekend to spend with criminals for the sake of the gospel. WOW!!
This is just what God has been doing this week. Pretty cool and God-glorifying. I recall Jesus saying that we should be loving Him by loving children, convicts, poor and the broken and that's exactly what GracePointe is doing.
Monday, October 22, 2007
CREATIVITY
When you open up the Bible and discover God for the first time, what do you find? Surprisingly, you won't immediately discover that He is loving, holy, just, kind or gentle. The very first thing you discover in the first sentence, Genesis 1:1, is that He is creative. He is the Creator. It's fascinating to me that God reveals that He is a creative person first.
Which brings me to another observation...if we are created in His image, then we should be creative people. We should be in the creative process. To be like God is to be holy, loving, joyous, and CREATIVE. We don't often hear this sermon. We don't emphasize this in the church. I have mulled this over in my mind for some time. If I am to glorify God by being like Him then I should be a creative person. I have the capacity for creativity because I am made in His image. I have, as a Christian, the dynamic in me in the person of the Holy Spirit. The church has the same characteristics.
My conclusion from this is that the church should be the most creative force in the world. This would glorify our Father in heaven.
Which brings me to another observation...if we are created in His image, then we should be creative people. We should be in the creative process. To be like God is to be holy, loving, joyous, and CREATIVE. We don't often hear this sermon. We don't emphasize this in the church. I have mulled this over in my mind for some time. If I am to glorify God by being like Him then I should be a creative person. I have the capacity for creativity because I am made in His image. I have, as a Christian, the dynamic in me in the person of the Holy Spirit. The church has the same characteristics.
My conclusion from this is that the church should be the most creative force in the world. This would glorify our Father in heaven.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Show Me Your Glory
I have been locked down in Exodus 33:12-23 for the last couple of weeks. It is an amazing section in the life of Moses. It is where Moses asks God to show him His glory. For some strange reason, I always have a mental picture of Cuba Gooding, Jr saying "Show me the money." I wonder if Moses was saying it like that. Anyway, I got to thinking about this and there is a lot of great stuff for life here. But the one thing that popped up on my radar screen was the thought of someone asking me to show them my glory.
The right answer as a Christian and as a Pastor is Jesus Christ. He is my Glory. But in a current reality check, the answer may be something else. It could be my wife, my children, my job, my coaching wins for my 6-8 year old flag football team or any other accomplishment. These things are to be enjoyed as measures of glory granted by God here on this earth. But the glory should go to Christ who gives all this blessing to me. This life has fading glory. The Unfading Glory of Glories is only in Christ. He never wears out or changes. His person and work have created the basis for me to have any form or measure of glory. I just know that I often glory in the benefits of Christ and not in Christ the Person.
The right answer as a Christian and as a Pastor is Jesus Christ. He is my Glory. But in a current reality check, the answer may be something else. It could be my wife, my children, my job, my coaching wins for my 6-8 year old flag football team or any other accomplishment. These things are to be enjoyed as measures of glory granted by God here on this earth. But the glory should go to Christ who gives all this blessing to me. This life has fading glory. The Unfading Glory of Glories is only in Christ. He never wears out or changes. His person and work have created the basis for me to have any form or measure of glory. I just know that I often glory in the benefits of Christ and not in Christ the Person.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Whatever He Did
I got to thinking about Jesus and whatever He did. Jesus kept the "glory principle" perfectly. Every time He ate He glorified God. Every time He drank He glorified God. Every time He spoke He glorified God. Every action was for the glory of God. That's incredible! There was simply not a moment in His life when He glorified Himself over the Father.
Jesus put it like this in John 8:28-29, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him."
WOW!!
The verse for Jesus would be written like this..."So whether He ate or drank or whatever He did, He did it all for the glory of God." No wonder God cracked the sky open on several occasions just to say "This is My Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus was perfect in glorifying God. He never fell short in hitting the target. In whatever He did it was for the glory of His Father.
So, what did Jesus do? He glorified His Father. So, if I follow Him, what should I do?
Jesus put it like this in John 8:28-29, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him."
WOW!!
The verse for Jesus would be written like this..."So whether He ate or drank or whatever He did, He did it all for the glory of God." No wonder God cracked the sky open on several occasions just to say "This is My Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus was perfect in glorifying God. He never fell short in hitting the target. In whatever He did it was for the glory of His Father.
So, what did Jesus do? He glorified His Father. So, if I follow Him, what should I do?
Whatever You Do
I have entitled this blog "The Glory Principle". It comes from the idea that everyone is in the pursuit of glory. There is no action or reaction that is not rooted in the promise and expectation of some measure of glory. Simply stated, the glory principle is the idea that everything I do, say and think is for glory of Christ.
The idea and vision for this principle is rooted in 1 Corinthians 10:31. This is my favorite verse in all of the Bible. Paul writes these words to the church at Corinth: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I want to live this out daily. But often find myself living it out this way "so whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I do it all for the glory of self." I know as the Pastor of a church I am not supposed to say that, but it is true and I hate it.
This blog is going to be about me living out the "The Glory Principle". Specifically, it is going to be about my journey in learning to glorify God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am learning that to glorify God involves both the mundane and the special works of life. If I glorify Him in the mundane (eating/drinking), I will most likely glorify Him in the special. They both matter to God.
The idea and vision for this principle is rooted in 1 Corinthians 10:31. This is my favorite verse in all of the Bible. Paul writes these words to the church at Corinth: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I want to live this out daily. But often find myself living it out this way "so whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I do it all for the glory of self." I know as the Pastor of a church I am not supposed to say that, but it is true and I hate it.
This blog is going to be about me living out the "The Glory Principle". Specifically, it is going to be about my journey in learning to glorify God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am learning that to glorify God involves both the mundane and the special works of life. If I glorify Him in the mundane (eating/drinking), I will most likely glorify Him in the special. They both matter to God.
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