Sermon Snippets - Easter Edition

Last night, after a great Maundy Thursday Service, I was significantly disappointed. Not with anything related to the service, but because my favorite college basketball team, the Indiana Hoosiers, lost in the NCAA tournament.

Their season had largely been an excellent one, as they were ranked #1 in the country more than any other team and won the Big Ten title in a year it was considered the best in the nation. I hoped and expected that they would at least make the Final Four in the tourney, cementing their incredible return to glory after suffering through some dreadful seasons a few years ago.

Alas, my expectations were not met and reality quickly set in as they were handily dismissed by Syracuse.

This may be going out on a limb to make a connection, but I think this bitter disappointment probably tastes a lot like what the disciples felt when Jesus was arrested and crucified.

They had dreams of glory and victory. They were hoping that Jesus was the promised Messiah, though their understanding was consistently flawed (Mark 8:32-33, John 20:9, etc.). When Jesus is arrested, tried, and hung on a cross I am sure their disappointment and despair weighed them down - admittedly to a much greater degree than what I am experiencing.

Couple that with the violence, abuse, and shame that saturated that Friday evening crucifixion and it's no wonder that Good Friday has long been a solemn occasion which precedes the joy of Easter Sunday.  That original Good Friday was the darkest of dark times.

Except for that it wasn't.

As I meditate on the Crucifixion story, something within me resists the popular bent towards solemness and gloominess of Good Friday services. I will still take the sufferings of Jesus on my behalf seriously.  But my gratitude overwhelms any bent towards sorrow because I know certain undeniable facts:

1. Jesus willingly embraced the suffering and the cross.
2. The extent of His physical and spiritual suffering matches the extent of our depravity. Therefore, I am (we are) responsible for nailing Him to the Cross.
3. This predetermined, God-ordained plan and Jesus' willingness to follow through are unmistakable indicators of God's incredible love for us (Romans 5:6-8).

And of that, I am thankful beyond what words or ideas can express.

Good Friday isn't a solemn occasion for me this year, but it is a holy occasion where I can fully celebrate and rejoice in God's amazing grace. And Sunday will be even sweeter!

Music Monday on Tuesday

A little late this week. But in order to make it up to you, I'll post two songs from our highlighted group.

Reality Check is one of the most overlooked bands ever in Christian music history. Of course, they didn't help themselves by breaking up after their first album, but they had a sound unlike any other in the CCM world. Looking back, I'd probably compare them to secular groups like Limp Bizkit or maybe early Linkin Park.


In high school, my best friend and I made two 'legendary' lip-synch videos to various Christian rock songs, and I'm pretty sure we had at least one or two from Reality Check. I am very, very thankful youtube didn't exist back then, because we totally would have posted them on there, before we realized how embarassing they were. There are a couple copies of those that still exist in a semi-secret and protected location. And I would totally destroy them if I ever got my hands on them again.

Back to the real music, I had never actually seen their one and only music video until about 10 minutes ago. It's a strange, yet classic late 90's production for sure.

"Masquerade"

 

 

Here's a non-music video someone created for their song "Plastic":

 

 



Music Mondays

Obviously with a weekly entry like "Music Mondays", I consider myself something of a music expert. This is mostly based off of my love for music, especially the excellent options in the genre of Christian music. When there is an excellent artist or band that doesn't get the recognition they deserve, I react in two ways:

1. I feel a special joy that naturally comes when you know a 'secret' that few others are privileged to know.
2. I recommend the underrated artist to those I know who'd appreciate them.

I will be highlighting some underrated artists over the next several weeks. Feel free to leave your favorite underrated CCM musicians in the comments.

We'll start this off with Kristian Stanfill. He's written a lot of popular songs, but has been hidden in Chris Tomlin's shadow for a while and is just recently starting to get airplay on the radio. He's been a mainstay at the Passion conferences and is probably breaking out as an artist as I write this.

So I'm guessing that the 'underrated' label won't apply for very long, but here's a favorite of mine that he is responsible for:

Sermon Snippets - 7:1-30

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I saw a production of "Fiddler on the Roof" that was staged locally in Winona Lake. I had never heard of the story before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the performances and the story itself. I can still remember the rousing rendition of "Tradition!"

The song captures much of what that play is about, holding on tradition as the world around you changes and also threatens you.

How do we maintain our sanity when everything is mixed up? Tradition.
How do we get through the tough times? Tradition.
What is our guide when complicated situations arise? Tradition.

To a point, that is all well and good. But when it comes to ministry and the life of the Church, that is not good enough. Sticking with our traditions can be dangerous because traditions can often get in the way of necessary progress. We won't change the truth we proclaim, but we may change how we proclaim it to effectively be salt and light.

Jesus' example in Mark 7 shows us that in order to faithfully follow him, we must be willing to "change or die". Traditions cannot be worshipped and we must be willing to adopt an 'out-of-the-box' approach to ministry.

It's a challenging approach, it's a uncomfortable approach, but it's the way of Jesus. Let's follow Him!

Music Mondays

When I was searching for last week's Music Monday selection, I stumbled upon some classic 80's CCM. If you recall, last week's blog was all about the evolution of Christian music and how Christians were seeking to be salt and light and make excellent music, not just good "Christian" music.

Well, this week, I'm turning back the clock to share a favorite of mine that was from that period of time where Christian music was it's own sub-culture-that-you-dare-not-leave-or-else-risk-being-labelled-a-greedy-sell-out.

Just because the sub-culture was that way, doesn't mean there wasn't some great music and great musicians. In fact, I would put this week's artist right up with any female vocalist ever, Christian or non-Christian.  Sandi Patty is a five-time Grammy winner, 40-time Dove award winner (!), who's made five platinum and three gold records.

And she belongs on the list of all-time best female vocalists. Before I share my list, let me share this incredible song that features a great duet with Wayne Watson.

In no particular order, here's my list of all-time best female vocalists:
Whitney Houston
Aretha Franklin
Mariah Carey
Celine Dion
Jennifer Hudson
Etta James
Julie Andrews (in respect to my dad's well-informed musical opinion)
Sandi Patty

Obviously this is a modern-day 'all-time' list. It doesn't take into account the best vocalists from the 18th century. I also put more weight on vocal ability than on entertainment ability, which is why someone like Beyonce or Amy Grant isn't on this list. I got into a fun debate with a friend over this last week, feel free to comment about your own faves.

Sermon Snippets - Mark 6:30-56

In high school, I worked at the local Arby's during the parts of the year I wasn't playing basketball.  I continued to work there in college occasionally too, following the same type of schedule. Even during the season I'd occasionally work if I needed the money.

I remember one year, I was assigned to work the Sunday night of the Super Bowl. The Rams were heavily favored against the Tennessee Titans and though I was a little sad I'd miss the game, I didn't care all that much.

Unfortunately, that turned into one of the best Super Bowls ever, with the game coming down to the last play. And I missed it.

Sure I could read about it or hear about it from my friends, but it wasn't the same. I missed the chance to watch it as it unfolded and I've always kind of regretted that.

But given that the Big Game is the most watched TV event every year, there are probably millions of people who watched that game but because they weren't really into football, had no idea that what they were watching was a historically close contest. I am sure they found the game to be nice and interesting, but their opinions about their viewing experience probably had more to do with the commercials than the close finish of the game. And as a sports junkie, I find that to be sad.

What is even sadder is the fact that so many people miss the work of God, when it's playing out right in front of them. It's one thing to fail to comprehend how good of a game an event is, it's an entirely different thing to fail to comprehend what God is up to.

But this is not a new trend. The disciples repeatedly missed out on who Jesus was and what God was trying to show them through some unimaginable miracles. The second half of Mark 6 describes two of Jesus' most famous miracles. It also records that the disciples "did not understand...but their hearts were hardened" (vs.52).  Their example from this passage serves as a warning to us to make sure we do not miss what God is trying to show us and teach us.

Music Monday

Mat Kearney is this week's featured artist and he represents a growing stable of muscians who are redefining what it looks like to be a Christian in the music business.

Since it's birth in the late 60's through the early 2000's, Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM) has been it's own little universe.  The Christian sub-culture embraced the safe artists and their safe, but uplifting music. Any group or artist that flirted with wider commercial success was quickly labeled a sell-out (see "Grant, Amy").

Eventually some CCM artists like dc Talk, Jars of Clay, Bob Carlisle, Kirk Franklin, and Sixpence None the Richer fell into commercial success and proved you didn't have to comprimise your overall Christian message to make good music.

As CCM became more and more dominated by worship music and artists, the next generation has risen up and followed these trailblazers going full speed ahead. Bands like Lifehouse, The Fray, Owl City, and individual artists like Mat Kearney have proven that the Devil doesn't have all the good music and it's possible to be 'salt and light' in the secular music business.

The above song isn't overtly Christian, but it doesn't have to be. His life obviously is and his overall catalogue of songs reflects it too.

Sermon Snippets - Mark 6

This week's sermon preview is less of a preview and more of an inclusion of something that ended getting up cut from the message.

This week's passages collectively turn our focus on the resistance and rejection Jesus began to experience as His ministry continued. The types of criticism and hardships that come His way are one's we can still experience today. And His example gives us insight into how to handle those situations for ourselves.

What really 'grinds my gears' though is when I observe Christians opening themselves up to resistance and persecution for non-essential things, for hills that aren't worth dying on.  It is one thing to be the target of ridicule because of the message of the gospel. But it's totally different to be mocked for how you try to get the message out.

To be blunt, I think it is totally fair when the world derides Christians for picketing abortion clinics and protesting homosexual legislation, especially when signs are carried that communicate non-biblical and harsh messages.

The passing of bills for or against is not the issue. Gay marriage is not the problem. Abortion is not the problem. Sin is the problem.

And the only solution for sin is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

The only solution for the homosexuality and gay marriage issues is to help all people understand their worth as children of God, showing them that their ultimate significance and purpose in life is found only in a relationship with Jesus.

The solution is not to picket outside a Planned Parenthood (especially one in Warsaw that doesn't perform abortions). The solution is to support pregnancy centers that will practically help women dealing with unplanned pregnancies, especially those that seek to share the Gospel with those they help.

I cut this out of my sermon because it detracts from the overall direction of the passage, but this blog is my soapbox and I felt like sharing a pet peeve of mine that I won't be getting into on Sunday. If you are going to paint a target on your back, please make it a Gospel-shaped one, and not one of your own design.