Reading: Psalm 77; Exodus 1:8-2:10
This week we began reading in Exodus, and right from the start we noticed a couple of forgettable people who actually played a very important role in God's work.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Preached on August 24, 2008 at PLWC.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Funny story, if by "funny" you mean "awkward"
So I use StatCounter to track the traffic on this site, and one of the virtues of tracking software is that it lets me know what terms people are searching for that lead them here. In other words, if someone Googles "sermon on Romans 11" and ends up at my sermon titled "Which God?", StatCounter will tell me that so I know what search terms relevant to my blog are popular. I started noticing that with some regularity people were arriving at this blog after searching for odd things like "bible black solution" and "bible black pics." These terms made no sense to me, so I suspected there was something going on that I didn't know about.
I should mention that I chose the name "Bible Black" for this blog because of a song named "Starless" by King Crimson; it's a fantastic song that makes you feel mellow and dramatic and broody when you listen to it. One of the recurring phrases in the song is "Starless and Bible Black." I like prog rock, I'm a preacher, I wanted a blog name that was vaguely mysterious and hip-sounding, so I picked "Bible Black." And, after a very quick search, I didn't find much else on the internet that wasn't related to King Crimson that made use of the phrase, so I thought I was all set.
Here comes the awkward part.
When I started getting hits from searches like "bible black solution," I suspected there was some association with the phrase that I wasn't aware of, so I did a more thorough search. I checked Wikipedia for Bible Black and discovered that it is also the title of a pornographic occult-centered Japanese comic book series. At that point I thanked my lucky stars that I had checked Wikipedia rather than running a Google image search, and I resolved pretty quickly to change the title of my blog lest there be further confusion and awkwardness.
As my brother said, "This is why we can't have nice things."
This explains the need for a new look and title for the blog. Not only am I a prog rock fan, I am also a screaming fanboy for all things written by C.S. Lewis. If you're familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, you'll remember the scene in "The Silver Chair" when the Lady of the Green Kirtle uses an enchanted fire to convince the heroes of the story that the above-ground world of Narnia is a myth and fairy tale and her boring underground world is the real one. Puddleglum, who may come second only to Mr. Spock on my personal list of heroes, successfully defeats the witch's enchantment by stamping out the fire with his bare feet. There is a great deal of symbolism in this part of the story, so if you haven't read it, sorry for the spoilers, and if you've read it but missed the symbolism, read it again and pay attention this time.
To the best of my knowledge, no deviated preverts have ruined this phrase to the degree they have done with "Bible Black," so I should be okay for now. I make no promises, though. There are a lot of deviated preverts out there.
I should mention that I chose the name "Bible Black" for this blog because of a song named "Starless" by King Crimson; it's a fantastic song that makes you feel mellow and dramatic and broody when you listen to it. One of the recurring phrases in the song is "Starless and Bible Black." I like prog rock, I'm a preacher, I wanted a blog name that was vaguely mysterious and hip-sounding, so I picked "Bible Black." And, after a very quick search, I didn't find much else on the internet that wasn't related to King Crimson that made use of the phrase, so I thought I was all set.
Here comes the awkward part.
When I started getting hits from searches like "bible black solution," I suspected there was some association with the phrase that I wasn't aware of, so I did a more thorough search. I checked Wikipedia for Bible Black and discovered that it is also the title of a pornographic occult-centered Japanese comic book series. At that point I thanked my lucky stars that I had checked Wikipedia rather than running a Google image search, and I resolved pretty quickly to change the title of my blog lest there be further confusion and awkwardness.
As my brother said, "This is why we can't have nice things."
This explains the need for a new look and title for the blog. Not only am I a prog rock fan, I am also a screaming fanboy for all things written by C.S. Lewis. If you're familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, you'll remember the scene in "The Silver Chair" when the Lady of the Green Kirtle uses an enchanted fire to convince the heroes of the story that the above-ground world of Narnia is a myth and fairy tale and her boring underground world is the real one. Puddleglum, who may come second only to Mr. Spock on my personal list of heroes, successfully defeats the witch's enchantment by stamping out the fire with his bare feet. There is a great deal of symbolism in this part of the story, so if you haven't read it, sorry for the spoilers, and if you've read it but missed the symbolism, read it again and pay attention this time.
To the best of my knowledge, no deviated preverts have ruined this phrase to the degree they have done with "Bible Black," so I should be okay for now. I make no promises, though. There are a lot of deviated preverts out there.
More of Puddleglum
For the benefit of my mother and anyone else who cares, here is the full image from which I made the banner graphic for this blog:
Puddleglum Stomping
It's an original watercolor, thus explaining why I placed an obnoxious stamp of the site's address on the bottom corner of the image. Higher quality images are available for those who ask nicely, though.
Puddleglum StompingIt's an original watercolor, thus explaining why I placed an obnoxious stamp of the site's address on the bottom corner of the image. Higher quality images are available for those who ask nicely, though.
Two sermons: "The Word Is Near You" and "Which God?"
Again, I apologize for not posting last week's sermon sooner. There's really no excuse this time; I just didn't do it. But to make it up to you I'm redressing the blog, so at least there will be some new colors for you to look at.
These two sermons are based on the book of Romans, which is Paul's letter to the churches in Rome in which he explains (among many other things) what the basic defining criterion is for those who follow Christ. Of course grace is the key, and Paul spends a lot of time working out that grace in different ways. But our first sermon explores the concept of faith in some depth, and the second delves into Paul's discussion of what God's greater plan is for the Jews, who seemed to have rejected Jesus as the Messiah on a large scale. Paul's answer to that issue reminds us and reassures us of some of the most fundamental aspects of who God is.
"The Word Is Near You"
Preached on August 10, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Isaiah 52:1-10; Romans 10:5-15
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
"Which God?"
Preached on August 17, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Hosea 3; Romans 11:1-12, 29-31
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
These two sermons are based on the book of Romans, which is Paul's letter to the churches in Rome in which he explains (among many other things) what the basic defining criterion is for those who follow Christ. Of course grace is the key, and Paul spends a lot of time working out that grace in different ways. But our first sermon explores the concept of faith in some depth, and the second delves into Paul's discussion of what God's greater plan is for the Jews, who seemed to have rejected Jesus as the Messiah on a large scale. Paul's answer to that issue reminds us and reassures us of some of the most fundamental aspects of who God is.
"The Word Is Near You"
Preached on August 10, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Isaiah 52:1-10; Romans 10:5-15
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
"Which God?"
Preached on August 17, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Hosea 3; Romans 11:1-12, 29-31
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Commandos, Spies, and Secret Missions
Reading: Matthew 16:13-20; Revelation 12:1-9
For our last concentrated look at the kingdom of God in our far less than comprehensive series on the subject, we focused on some of Jesus' words that have caused a few Christians to get their knickers in knots over the years. How you interpret Jesus entrusting the keys of the kingdom to Peter can make a pretty big impact on what you think of the pope, but in any case we have to accept that Jesus expects the church to do a lot of damage to the gates of hell.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
For our last concentrated look at the kingdom of God in our far less than comprehensive series on the subject, we focused on some of Jesus' words that have caused a few Christians to get their knickers in knots over the years. How you interpret Jesus entrusting the keys of the kingdom to Peter can make a pretty big impact on what you think of the pope, but in any case we have to accept that Jesus expects the church to do a lot of damage to the gates of hell.
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.
Click here to download a recording of this sermon (recorded in February of 2011).
Preached on August 3, 2008 at PLWC. (Also preached as a recording on February 20, 2011 at PLWC.)
Preached on August 3, 2008 at PLWC. (Also preached as a recording on February 20, 2011 at PLWC.)
Friday, August 1, 2008
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