One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend is almost here and there are a few things I want to share with you:

The Weekend Sermon

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FYI

William Doino Jr.  on "Joy in Chastity: A Review of The Thrill of the Chaste"

Chastity—not to be confused with celibacy, as it often is—means a total commitment to Christ, and self-mastery over one’s desires, whether one is single or married, female or male, religious or secular. It means leading a life of virtue and sacrifice, in charity and gratitude, for the glory of God. ...Eden describes God’s design for human sexuality, why sex is reserved for marriage, the importance of modesty, how singles struggling with loneliness and unrequited love can empower themselves through prayer and the sacraments, and why shared values with one’s spouse are so vital for a successful marriage.

Elizabeth Dias on "How Evangelicals Are Changing Their Minds on Gay Marriage"

Plus, Moore says, for evangelicals to keep views that are out-of-step with societal changes is par for the course. “We believe even stranger things than that,” he says. “We believe a previously dead man is going to arrive in the sky on a horse.”

One More Thing

Dallas Willard:

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”

One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend is here and I have a few things I want to share with you:

The Weekend

I can't say I've ever experienced true terror. I've never received that phone call asking me to sit down before the caller will go on. I've never heard a doctor say, "It doesn't look good, but we'll have to do more tests." I've never been commanded to join a convoy down a road where my friends were recently maimed or killed. I know some of you who have faced these and other terrifying experiences.

The disciples face two terrifying experiences in this weekend's sermon text. In the first, they are certain they will die. Then, after that situation passes, they find themselves facing a terror worse than death.

There is profound help in this weekend's passage for us as we face our anxieties, worries, fears and even terrifying circumstances. You will not want to miss it.

FYI

Seth Godin on "You are what you share"

It takes guts to say, "I read this and you should too." The guts to care enough about our culture (and your friends) to move it forward and to stand for something. We'll judge you most on whether you care enough to change things.

Jeni Carlson on "The Flaw in Always Trying to Fix Things"

How often do we as Christ followers, as leaders, as parents rush in to fix things? I think there is a flaw in this idea of always trying to fix things.

One More Thing

I'm reading the novel Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. It's filled with deep insights on life, including faith. Actually, I'm listening to it. The combination of beautiful prose and the soothing voice of the reader slows my mind down and fills my heart with longing for deeper relationships and simpler living. Here are a few quotes to reflect on.

“To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain.”

“I have always loved a window, especially an open one.”

“As I have read the Gospels over the years, the belief has grown in me that Christ did not come to found an organized religion but came instead to found an unorganized one. He seems to have come to carry religion out of the temples into the fields and sheep pastures, onto the roadsides and the banks of the rivers, into the houses of sinners and publicans, into the town and the wilderness, toward the membership of all that is here. Well, you can read and see what you think.”