Millennial Christianity

THOUGHTS FROM A NEW GENERATION OF CHRISTIANITY

Tag: millennial

January 21, 2013

Do You Trust God With Your Child?

Hello everyone! I know its been a over a month since I’ve last posted. I plan on finish my series in the Sinai Experiment, and then, I personally will be taking a small break. Family, ministry, and school life have, and will be, very active for me this semester, and I won’t be able to blog consistently. However, since this site is about Millennial Christians, I believe the best thing I can do is allow you to hear from other Millennial’s as well. So there’ll be posts, but not just from me, however, I will write when I am able to.

As for now, every now and then I get the amazing opportunity to preach for my church on Sunday morning. I decided ever time I get a chance, I’ll post it on this site. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to critique the message, i.e., form, delivery, etc., or just your all around thoughts on it! Just follow the link below and it’ll take you to the message!

Do You Trust God With Your Child?

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December 15, 2012

Redeeming Bethlehem: Moving From The “Why” to “How.”

There are days when you know history is being made in a good or bad way, and yesterday, history was made in a bad way. Adam Lanzan walks into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and kills an entire classroom of Kindergartners. When its all said and done, 20 children and 7 adults, including Adam, are dead. As a Father of a 4 year old, my heart goes out to the families who have lost a child. To add to their tragedy, Christmas is right around the corner and their mourning will only increase through presents that will never be opened. The situation is tragic, hopeless, and leaves our nation wondering why?

For the next few weeks, maybe even months, officers will be trying to explain “why?” They’ll investigate every thing about Adam and his family to uncover why someone would commit such a cruel act against innocent children. They may be able to find an answer to shed light on why Adam did this, but in the end, it will always remain a mystery to everyone who was affected by his last act on earth. The pain Adam caused, and the innocents he stole from a nation watching every moment of it, will be felt through the rest of our lives.

Its events like these that make us all a little bit sober to our present reality. As a believer in Jesus Christ, tragedies like these make my faith hit the fan. The age old question is asked, “Why does an all loving God allow evil events like this to happen in our world?” The simple answer is found in Genesis, when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and brought sin into this world. We call it “the fall,” and yesterday’s events truly shows how fallen people are. Yet, I know that answer doesn’t satisfy us the way it should. We still want to know “why,” but in all honesty, even if God ever gave us the answer to “why,” it still wouldn’t be enough.

The truth is, God doesn’t work in the “why,” he works in the “how.” God answers how we can make it though a fallen world. God isn’t a stranger to his creation doing abominable acts against children. In Exodus we find Pharaoh killing all the male Hebrew children, and in Matthew, King Herod kills all the boys 2 years and younger. Matthew sums up the mood in Bethlehem when its all said and done, “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.” (Matt. 2:18) Yet, what makes these passages so interesting is the context surrounding them. In both these instances, the nation of Israel is being oppressed and they are waiting for God to bring his salvation to them. Well guess what? God does. In Exodus, God raises Moses up to lead the people of Israel out of bondage from Egypt. In Matthew, God raises up his Son Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the promise given in the Old Testament, to lead every man, woman, and child, out of bondage of sin and despair.

How we make it through any tragedy in life is by putting our hope in the salvation God provides for us. The salvation God provides through his son Jesus Christ means we have a future hope and glory to anticipate, and our end here doesn’t mean our life is over for good. We continue on to a place Christ has prepared for us. A place where families will be reunited and what was lost will be found again. In the midst of tragedy it feels like the circumstance has the last word, but when our hope is in Christ, He has the last word. Christ declares life instead of death, and hope instead of misery. God spits in the face of sin, death, and the grave, and triumphantly declares life through Christ!

In Egypt and in Bethlehem God was already working out his plan of redemption for the nation of Israel who experienced lost, and He’s currently working out his plan of redemption for the parents and community of Newtown, Connecticut. So during the next few weeks, months, and years to follow, we pray for each other and love one another. We serve each other and be a shoulder to cry on. Finally, we let Christ be the reason for us to wake up, get out of bed, and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14), because we know it brings us  one day closer to glory. May the hymn “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” be our prayer from this day forward.

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

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December 10, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Don’t Commit Adultery

“Life as God intends it depends on us taking marriage seriously.”

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

In a perfect world, adultery wouldn’t be an issue, however, you and I both know that’s not the case. In my opinion, this is the hardest commandment to keep, because in all honesty, sex is awesome. God gave us sex, not only as a way to procreate, but as a way to establish intimate relationships with each other. No where in the bible do we find God saying sex is bad or He regrets ever conceiving the idea. What he disproves of is His children using sex as a way to meet the needs of their own carnal desires. God disapproves when we treat others as meaningless objects of self gratification, when they are so much more than that. And of course, we can’t talk about sex without talking about marriage.

In all reality, sex and marriage should be viewed as one in the same. To have sex with someone means you are willing to commit to a lifelong, intimate relationship with that person. Unfortunately, we don’t view sex or marriage that way. Gone are the days of viewing sex and marriage as sacred, and we now live in a world that only views them as casual. When we view sex and marriage as causal, we only have pain and heartache in store for us. Causal sex has caused us to view the gift of life as a death sentence, and has left a generation fatherless. Casual marriage has left us with commitment phobia, and has caused a generation to be jaded towards the idea of spending their life together with one person. Its a sad state of affairs, all because, we want to “hit it and quit it.”

So how do we change the course we’re on? It starts with mom and dad. Parents play a key role in helping their children not commit adultery. Mom and dad have to be brave and teach them how to have a God viewing way on sex, which only cultivates healthy relationships. Our children are too important for us to drop the ball on this topic, and our logic for not talking to them about how to have the proper view of sex is absurd.

As a student minister, I’ve had the chance to talk to parents about “the talk.” I usually ask them what their parents told them about sex and relationships, and it never fails, they tell me their parents never talked to them about it. These parents had to navigate through the trials and tribulations of  sex and dating by themselves. When these parents finally got married, their parents told themselves, “They did all right,” and take all the credit for their child’s success, and chalk it up as good parenting. Consequently, their married children have kids of their own, and when it comes time for them to talk to their children about sex and relationships, they tell themselves, “My parents never talked to me about sex, and look how I came out?” Instead of helping their children navigate through the trials and tribulations of sex and dating, they just assume their kids will be alright, and claim their child’s success story as good parenting.

Am I hitting a cord here? Does any of this sound familiar to you? Does this look like “good parenting?” No, in fact, its terrible parenting. When you keep doing the same thing over and over again, hoping to get a different outcome each time, they call that insanity. The next generation deserves so much more than insane parenting. And don’t think for one moment I’m not there with you. I get it, thinking about talking to my daughter about sex sounds as awesome as being stung by a thousand bees. Yet, I can’t be this way. My daughter is too important to me to let her fall into adultery, and letting her believe the world’s standard of causal sex. If Millennial’s want their children to see better days, then we have to talk to our children about God’s view on sex.

What barriers prevent marriage from becoming a community matter? How can we surpass these barriers in healthy and beneficial ways?

I think one barrier that keeps marriage from becoming a community matter is because the church still finds this topic taboo. Churches need to provide space for men and women to share their trial and triumphs when it comes to sex and marriage, and be willing to preach on this matter. At the same time, the church cannot let this topic dominate its message, and it need to provide a space to detox from a sex filled world. I’m learning community is tricky, and it takes time to build it. More often than not, we want a friendship we can break ties with whenever we want. Community goes beyond friendship and moves us towards a family dynamic. And we all know how messy families can be.

Have you ever thought about adultery as the depersonalization of another human? Does using this definition change the way you view your relationships, both inside and outside the context of marriage?

I believe we all know adultery dehumanizes a person, but its something we never think about. It would be better for us to keep this definition of adultery in mind, because it helps us see people the way they were meant to be seen. Relationships are important and we need to view people as more than physical objects for our gratification. This can go beyond sex as well, because we can emotionally abuse people too. This definition of adultery makes us think about why we are in a particular relationship with someone, and if we are treating them with the respect and dignity they deserve.

My Experiment

I participated in the experiment “Vow.” This experiment asks you to write a letter to your spouse telling them the things you might have said at your wedding, if you had known then what you know now. In all honesty, I wouldn’t change anything. My wife and I said the traditional vows and those vows hold some serious weight compared to the ones people write themselves. If anything, I have a better understanding of those vows and what they mean to me today.

As a side experiment, I challenged all my young adults to consider how they would approach talking to their children about sex and relationships. I’m learning good parenting just doesn’t happen on its own. Good parenting requires a plan, and all future and current parents need to have a plan on how they will talk to their children about sex. Also know “the talk” will be a continuous conversation you will have with your children. You may have the first conversation when they enter middle school, but you will need to come back to it when they’re entering high school, college, and even before they get married.

For further reading about sex, purity, and relationships check out: “Sex God” by Rob Bell, The Every Man’s Battle Series by Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker and Mike Yorkey, The Every Woman’s Battle Series by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn, these series also have books for teenagers and young adults too, and Dateable by Justin Lookadoo and Hayley DiMarco. Dateable is written for a teenage audience, but if you can get past all the doodles inside the book, it has some great content for adults to wrap their heads around what they can share their kids about dating.

What experiment did you participate in?

What is your game plan to talk your children about sex?

If you already had “the talk” with your child, how did you go about it?

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November 27, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Don’t Murder

“The taking of life should be the rarest of human action, something done without anger, arrogance, or vengeance, and certainly without pleasure.”

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

The Hebrew word that is actually used here is “kill.” Its meaning is used in various ways, i.e. accidental death, capital punishment, violence, and murdering (Sinai Experiment, 10). Using the word murder, instead of killing, does express the intent behind the command; however,   when we think of it as killing, we can assume God doesn’t wanting anyone taking a life. Only God alone has that right, and we shouldn’t be so quick to think that He enjoys doing it either. In fact, I would be willing to say that’s the last thing God wants to do. I’m pretty sure God would rather enjoy His creation, and have His creation enjoy each other. Yet, our God is is just, and He will end one of his creations if it is doing the unthinkable.

Still, this is no easy topic to discuss, considering when many of Israel’s laws call for it. So what can we conclude about all of this: (1) God does not like killing anything; and (2) God will allow it to happen to restore balance back to creation. If you haven’t figured it out yet, part of the Ten Commandments is about keeping balance within creation. The Commandments are created so everyone has an equal opportunity to be treated fairly. Violating one of these Commandments takes away from the balance of life, and only brings broken relationships.

Maybe the best question we can ask ourselves when a Commandment is violate is, how can balance be restored? Whether the violation is stealing, abuse, and even killing, we have to take the right steps in insuring balance is restored. We don’t like to admit it, but even death brings balance to life. This is why I believe it is so imperative that we pray for our governing officials. They are in charge of administering our laws, and when someone breaks them, balance has been offset and they must restore it. This happens on small and big scales, and men and women must make these decisions on life and death on a regular basis. We have to remember, God uses our governing officials to administer His justice to His creation. Its not perfect because creation isn’t perfect, however, its what we have, and this is where faith takes over and we trust God knows what he’s doing.

In the end, if someone should live or die will always be a debated topic until Christ returns, and it should be. Life should never be taken lightly, and deciding if someones life should be taken should be treated with the up most care. Unfortunately, I believe we’re one extreme or the other. We’re either too causal to the point where life doesn’t matter, or we’re too formal to the point that we refuse justice to be administered. Making sure our motives our pure is the key to restoring balance, and I pray we can all be honest with ourselves when we weigh in on decisions concerning life and death.

How do we create space to allow discussions on killing to take place without conversations being overrun by emotion and the personal connection so many have to this topic?

If anything, I believe we allow it to happen naturally, not forced like in a debate class. If we are willing to read our Bibles, especially our Old Testaments, there are plenty of passages that speak about death. Take the time to read books from the Law, Wisdom, Former Prophets, and Latter Prophets. Each one has books that speak about taking life and even celebrating God taking life. Furthermore, the way we keep from blow ups over conversations like this is to be open, stay clam, and communicate the way you feel about the topic in a loving manner.

Does this chapter change the way you view anger, forgiveness, and love of enemies? What does it mean for reconciliation to be the motivating factor for all our actions? Is this something we can even do?

In this chapter, it mentions what Jesus says about murder on The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew ch. 5. The Sermon on the Mount is the Law internalized, and I believe Jesus says being angry is just as bad as murdering because of what anger can lead to. Our anger with someone can lead to questionable thoughts about them, our questionable thoughts can lead to accepting them as okay, once we accept those thoughts as okay, then we are willing to put our questionable thoughts into action, which can lead to death. How we feel about someone truly fuels how we will treat them, and we need to be aware of that. We should always look at ways we can bring reconciliation, even if it means we can no longer be around a particular person. And the answer to the last part of this question is determined by if you truly believe God is capable of all things possible.

My Experiment

I participated in the experiment “Rejoice.” In this experiment you learn how to appreciate life by celebrating it. So I took all our young adults to Sonic and we had a blast. What made this time even better was the manager in charge saw our group and he gave us half off on all our drinks! Might I add, this wasn’t even during happy hour either. As I thought about my time celebrating life, I started to think about how rarely we do celebrate it. We celebrate birthdays, but how many times do we throw a party for someone just to celebrate them? We don’t, and its unfortunate. Celebrating life is something we need to be more intentional about. It brings a breath of fresh air into our world that we need more than just once a year. Take time to celebrate life with a group of friends just because. And who knows? Maybe you might get half off Sonic drinks.

What experiment did you participate in this week?

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November 12, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Honor Your Father and Mother

“The elderly, the sick, the handicapped, the orphaned-caring for them just has to be someone else’s responsibility. But what would happen if God took that attitude with us?”

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

Honor your father and mother. It seems like this command is preached to anyone who is 18 and under. I won’t lie; I personally hatted it when my parents used this one on me. Honoring your father and mother is a good thing, might I say, a great thing. The problem is we have reduced this command to those who are not adults. We forget, when God gave this commandment to Moses to give to the people, God was speaking to those who were adults. This makes it crystal clear; we are to honor our parents well beyond our teenage years, and sadly, many adults fail to keep this commandment on a regular basis.

Yet, God doesn’t stop at honor your father and mother, he gives a reason why the Israelites should always keep this command. God says if they do, they will live long in the land God has given them. Have you ever stopped to wonder why God would add this little caveat at the end? He could have left it to just honor your father and mother, and the command would have been fine as is, but God is trying to teach the Israelite’s something very important. There’s a distinct connection to why honoring your father and mother is connected to living long in the land. I believe there are two reasons for this.

First, our parents are the first true authority we will ever have in our lives. They are put over us to “train is up in the Lord.” Their task is not easy, because they are supposed to be the reflection of the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. If we can’t respect the visible authority of our parents, what makes us think we’ll respect the invisible authority of our Heavenly Father? When we reject God’s authority in our lives, we can expect to lose what God has given us. God gave Israel the land so they could claim themselves as a nation, but unfortunately, they rejected God’s authority, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it all started because adults rejected the command to honor their fathers and mothers.

Second, as a parent, I sometimes forget I have a little person watching every single move I make. This little person sees the best and worst side of me, and she usually extends me more grace than I truly deserve. Our children will always watch us, well into their young adult years, and truth be told, if they see their parents not showing honor to their grandparents, don’t be surprise if they do the same to you when they finally grow up. Don’t be surprise if your adult children and grandchildren, don’t want to have anything to do with you, because you unintentionally taught them they don’t have honor their parents, through your actions.

This command is for our benefit so we can continue to have meaningful family relationships that connect each generation. A relationship with our future grandchildren is only made through the relationship we foster between our parents and our children. Each generation acts as a bridge between the previous and the next, and it all connects when each generation chooses to honor their fathers and mothers.

We forget, the reason why a generation becomes the way it is, is because of what the previous generation chooses what to and not to do. When one generation chooses to reject God and his commandments, the next generation will do the same, and then some. It’s a snowball effect, until one generation chooses to do otherwise. God knows how we raise our children up will truly affect how they respond to them. For Israel, they chose not to honor their parents, which lead to later generations loosing the land.

As I think about this, it makes me think about how I’ve always heard my generation would be the one that God will use to raise up a great revival. In all honesty, as a Millennial, I truly believe my generation won’t be the one God uses to bring about the next Great Awakening. I believe it will be our children who do so, because we have chosen authenticity with Christ, over anything else. Millennial’s will be the ones who cultivate and prepare the way so our children will be ready for God to pour into their lives. I don’t have any hard date to back this up, its just my opinion on how I think it will all go down.

The word honor probably means something more than adequate physical care. Do our mothers and fathers (not just our biological parents) continue to be a part of our lives, our congregation’s life?

I believe our mothers and fathers do play an active role in our lives. As a student minister, I see more and more young adults connecting with their parents in a way that I haven’t seen before. I know each parent and child have their growing pains, but I believe, because of an extended adolescent phase, it has had a positive effect on the relationships between parents and their adult children. Yet, when it comes to the church, this is an area where we still struggle. The Church as a whole is going to have to be better at connecting with members who are home bound or in assisted living.

If this command is really about the care of those, who at times, need extra help or attention, what considerations should we make for those with handicaps and disabilities – whether elderly or not? How well do we do this now?

As a whole, I believe every church does a good job with making their facilities handicap accessible. We live in a country that makes it by law that a building has to be accessible for those who have physical disabilities. However, we fail when it comes to those who suffer with disorders that cause mental handicaps. When I visit other churches, very rarely do I find one that has a member who is mentally challenged. Maybe they have a place for them that fit their needs. I don’t know, but what I do know is that I rarely see them inside of a church. This makes me believe we’re not doing our part ministering to families who have children with mental handicaps.

My Experiment

This week I participated in the experiment “Write.” In this experiment, I’m supposed to write a letter to my parents thanking them for all they have done for me. This maybe a simple experiment, but the truth is how often do we take the time to thank our parents? How often do we write them a letter sharing with them they did a great job raising you and your siblings? I dare say we never do, however, my letter is going in the mail the day I post this, so if my mom reads this, which she normally does, you and dad have a letter coming in the mail. I love you both and thank you for all the prayers you have said, and continue to say, for my family and me!

What experiment did you participate in?

How do you believe we can be better at honoring our parents?

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October 22, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Remember the Sabbath

“Sabbath is not laziness; its productivity of a different kind–it’s rest and restoration for another week ahead.”

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

Rest. It sounds so awesome, but how easy is it for us to do? There always seems like there’s something else that needs to be done, and the idea putting off that something for later, just seems silly. Resting is an important aspect of our lives, the only problem is, we forget to do it. We forget to carve out time for a break and rejuvenate ourselves so we can be ready for the next task at hand. There’s something to be said about taking a Sabbath, and I think it’s equally important that we  understand what it means to keep a Sabbath.

When God spoke this command to his people, he’s asking them to truly trust in him. In a society that’s survival is dependent on a good crop season, taking time to rest could be detrimental to your existence. Yet, even in an agricultural society, God knows they need to take time to rest and believe he is still at work, even when they are not. When you don’t take time to rest, you burnout. And the blessing of a land God has given you, ends up becoming a burden to bear.

The idea of this commandment is reflected back when God rested on the seventh day, after he finished his work developing creation. Now this doesn’t mean God rested like we think, i.e. sleeping. The word rest in Hebrew literally means “stop.” God stopped what he was doing and enjoyed everything that was taking place. Creation continues to move on because God designed it that way, and there’s an important truth for us to take from that. No matter what happens, life will go on even with out our help. The world will always move forward no matter what. When we can embrace this truth, Sabbath becomes a whole lot easier.

However, just like any other good thing God has created for us, man has the ability to turn it upside down. We see the full extent of this in the New Testament where the Pharisees are so extreme with what rest is, they question Jesus if its okay to heal someone (Matt. 12:9-14). Yet, Jesus puts Sabbath in perspective for them and reminds them keeping Sabbath also means to do good. This is another reference back to Genesis when God declares creation as “good.”

So here’s what modern day believers need to conclude about what it means to keep the Sabbath: resting through good. We rest from the normal work God has given us, and at the same time, we do what is good in the eyes of God. I believe this is what God always intended for us when he declared a day of rest for us.

“Are our worship services too busy? Do we practice Sabbath in our worship? What could we do to better prepare and enable ourselves to practice Sabbath in our Sabbath worship?”

For our group, we concluded our worship service is not busy at all, and in fact, everyone in our group likes our worship service. But maybe the writers of this question are focusing more on the idea of the flashy show church services have become? If this is the case, than in my opinion, yes it has. We don’t need to put on a show to declare the greatness of God.

Yet, the next part of this question can be taken two ways: (1) do they mean worship service; or (2) worship throughout the day? For both questions we can make an argument we do and we don’t. I believe for the most part we’re good at relaxing, but taking the time to do good for others is where I believe we fail. I think it would be really awesome if instead of doing another bible study, our churches developed a time to serve others and be a blessing to them.

Finally, the best way to prepare for our Sabbath worship is to go to bed on time. Find out what your pastor is preaching on and look over the text the night before. Be intentional about planning out what your Sabbath day will look like.

“Sabbath is not a principle for only God’s people–its is God’s intention for all creation. What can you do in your life to share Sabbath with those around you during the week?”

What I love about this question is it declares a truth we often forget. There are blessings God has given for all of his creation, not just Christians, and Sabbath is one of them. God has given all of his creation the ability to partake in resting and doing good. This made me ask the group, what do you think would happen if society declared one day out of the week to do good? I had a few students believe it would just become legalistic and it wouldn’t mean anything. What I found interesting about their answer was is how they automatically assumed it would become legalistic.

Now I understand why they would think that because it doesn’t take much to know what humans will naturally do; however, the problem is we gravitate to a negative conclusion and we end up throwing out all possibilities of the good that could come from it. From their answer it made me think about how we sometimes don’t understand the difference between obedience and legalism. The truth is, we don’t like the idea of obedience, but its necessary for us. We need commands in our life that we can automatically fall to. For example, a person in the military needs to know how to follow commands without hesitating because it can mean the difference between life and death. We need that type of obedience because there are things we don’t like to do, but we need to do them anyways. Now I’m not promoting being someone who doesn’t think, but we do need good rules and laws to follow without hesitation.

Being legalistic means we believe their is only one way to do good. For example, when there are churches who will only allow the King James version of the bible to be read, or when people believe the only music that can be played in a worship service is a hymn. When we start believing our way is the only way to declare the Gospel, to do church, or to live out our faith, then we have become legalistic.

My Experiment

This week I participated in the experiment “Retreat.” I was supposed to go to a nearby monastery and worship with some monks. I never made it to a monastery  but it just so happen, the seminary I attend had a spiritual formation retreat going on. So I let that be my retreat since I was learning about solitude and silence. Here’s what I took away from my retreat: solitude isn’t so much as a state of being, but more like a space you inhabit. Whatever activity you participate in i.e., reading, writing, sleeping, contemplating life, etc., in that space is practicing solitude. As I started thinking about that, I thought, maybe that’s a good way to think about Sabbath. We let the Sabbath day be our space of solitude. Everything we do within Sabbath is a time for us to commune with God and allow him restore us for the coming week. In the end, I think we might be a lot more spiritual than we think we are.

What experiment did you participate in this week?

How did you practice Sabbath this week?

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October 15, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Don’t Misuse My Name

“But this Commandment is also more than just what not to say.”

-The Sinai Experiment

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

God damn it! Jesus Christ! Holy sh*t! I bet you didn’t expect that to be the first few words you were going to read. And sorry if I offended anyone. All three of these phrases are used when something goes wrong, and at the same time, these phrases are considered the epitome of taking the Lord’s name in vein. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we should be using phrases like these anyways, but the problem is, we have narrowed misusing God’s name to just these three phrases. When in reality, its much, much more.

Israel was called to the representatives of the nature of God to a fallen world. Everything about their way of life was meant to reflect a God who is trying to redeem a fallen creation. If you haven’t figured it out yet, representing God’s name is mostly done through words, not deeds. Unfortunately for Israel, and modern day believers, we have bought  into the lie our words mean more than our actions. We’ve bought into the idea that we’re still Christians, when nothing in our life reflects we have a relationship with God. We misuse the name of God more than we realize, especially when we shift this commandment from just words, to the way we live.

Its amazing to think how God puts so much trust in the very people he created. Think about it? He’s calling a group of people, who nowhere near perfect, to reflect a perfect and holy God. Doing something like this can go only two ways: (1) really, really bad; or (2) really, really good. When God’s people represent his name in a wrong way, it causes creation to become unforgiving, and even turned off to the idea their is a God who loves them. However, when God’s people represent his name in the proper manner, it causes creation to be redeemed. So like Israel, modern day believers have a lot to live up to; however, unlike Israel, we have the Holy Spirit which actual gives us the ability to represent God’s name properly. So the big question is, what’s our excuse?

“In what ways have your heard God’s name misused? How can we speak out for our beliefs without misrepresenting God?”

When I asked this question to our group, the first thing mentioned was Westboro Baptist Church. Now if you don’t know who Westboro is, this is the church that will picket at funerals of service men who have died in combat. Might I add, they also say some ridiculously ignorant things. I find it unfortunate these people get all the media attention, which makes my God look like the most horrible being to ever exist. Furthermore, these people make my job that much more harder. For anyone who has ever been affected by these people, let me be the first to apologize. Unfortunately, there are people who have no clue who my God is and have chosen to be in the dark about the amazing grace he provides.

In my opinion, the way we avoid attitudes like Westboro is by learning how to read the bible. I find it sad that there are so many people who don’t know how to read the bible properly, and sadly, the church doesn’t help in this area either. So let me give everyone a quick run through on how to interpret the bible correctly. These four principles are taken from “Grasping God’s Word,” written by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays. I highly encourage anyone to pick up this book and read it. It doesn’t look like it, but the book is an easy read and very helpful. They even have a snazzy picture that goes along with the principles, so some of the words that are used may cause you to scratch your head, but it matches the picture. Click here and it’ll take you to Amazon so you can check it out.

(1) Grasp the text in the time of the biblical audience. We forget that God had an actual word for a group of people in their time. We need to understand what he is saying to them, so we can know what it is saying to us.

(2) Measure the river to the cross. There is a difference between how people lived then and how we live today. We need to understand what those differences are so we can make sense of how it applies to us today. This has a lot to do with knowing about culture, history, and even the difference between the Old and New Covenant.

(3) Cross the principlizing bridge. There is a timeless truth that is always being spoken about and we need to know what it is. The criteria for coming up with this principle is: (a) it should reflect the text; (b) should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation; (c) should not be culturally bound; (d) should correspond to the teaching of the rest of scripture; (e) should be relevant to the biblical audience and to us.

(4) Grasp the text in our own town. How does the text apply to us today? In our lives, in our churches, in our nation?

When we’re willing to use these four principles when we read our bibles, I promise you, it’ll clear up a massive amount of confusion when it comes to understanding who God is.

“My Experiment”

I participated in the experiment “Witness.” This experiment asked readers to stand outside on a corner holding a sign that says, “God is love.” I have to give a big shout out to Daniel Kerls, Allen Harris, and Thai Martin, for standing on the corner with me for 45 minutes. We held up signs that said, “God loves you,” “You are precious to God, “There is hope for everyone,” and my personal favorites, “Sorry for Westboro.” It was actually a lot of fun. We got a few honks, some smiles, and a couple of thumbs up. No one was mean to us or tried to run us down. I’ve come to the conclusion, most people are actually pretty nice when you’re not all in their face.

We even had someone stop and ask if we were taking donations for a church, which she was ready to give, and told us she was listening to her Christian music when she drove off. I thought it was interesting, but then, I started to think about what she did and two things came to mind. First, do people automatically think if someone is holding a ‘God loves you” sign, the church is needing money? If so, we’re in a lot of trouble. And second, why did she feel the need to tell us she’s listening to her Christian music? Was it her way of saying she’s a believer too, or was she trying to say she was doing something good as well? Now I’m not judging this lady, and I could be over analyzing her comment, but I though it was strange for her to tell us that. In the end, I’ll probably never know, but I’m thankful for willingness to give.

What do you think the lady was trying to imply by telling us she’s listening to her Christian music?

What experiment did you participate in this week?

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October 8, 2012

Counter Culture: Finding Love

This post is written by one of my friends Daniel Kerls. He’s a Millennial just like me, and in fact, he’s three days older! Daniel wanted to write and little bit about faith and culture through his eyes, so you’ll be seeing future posts by him. Give Daniel some encouragement and let him know what you think about his post by commenting!

This is the beginning of what I hope will be a series on Christian culture. Culture can be very deceiving. As Christians, we are called to be part of the world, and yet not of the world. In short, we are a separate culture – law abiding and respectful, but holding our beliefs above all. In America, however, many people have come to think that Christian culture and American culture are one and the same. Now don’t worry, I’m not about to go into some long rant about politics and rights and Christianity and Lord only knows what else, but I am going to focus on one of the major influences culture has on us: our idea of love.

A lot of people have their first introduction to “love” in high school. There’s a huge amount of pressure from friends to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, and a lot of those relationships drag on way past their expiration date just to avoid becoming a social outcast. The “L” word is thrown around quickly and messily, and the relationships reflect that. The relationships aren’t Godly, and often lead people to make bad mistakes. But people also look for love in the wrong places. If you want gold, you don’t go digging in a pig sty, and you’re about as likely to find gold in a pig sty as you will true love in a bar or night club. You can go out and have fun, just be mindful of what you’re looking for and where.

Let’s look at another way our culture shows us love: media. Take your modern romantic comedy: An awkward guy/girl meets their incredible opposite, and through a series of unlikely events, they fall in love and everything is happily ever after. Or, if I want to look at something really bad, I’ll point out Twilight: Bella sees Edward, and instantly falls in love. Before I start foaming at the mouth about how stupid Twilight is, I’ll just sum up my point with this: American culture’s ideas about love are not Godly, and they are not realistic. If you’re expecting to find a soul mate where everything just works out, you’re in for a world of heartbreak.

Don’t get me wrong ladies, beneath my macho hardened exterior; I’m as soft and romantic as they come. But I wasted a lot of my life on this soul mate concept trying to find “the one”, and I don’t really want to see that happen to anyone else. While praying about yet another girl that might be “the one”, the only response I got was the equivalent to a slap in the face because I wasn’t focusing on God. I was praying to God looking for love, but I wasn’t looking for love from the one responsible for love. So I stopped looking for a girlfriend, and began 7 months of trying to change the focus of my life to become the person that God wanted me to be.

And I changed. Once I focused on God, I was better able to understand what love really was and how I could express it. I stopped being as pessimistic about things, stopped being as crude as I was, and actively worked on improving myself. I’m still a long way from being where God wants me to be, but recently I understood what we should expect in order to find love. A major part of focusing on God is being obedient – and I don’t mean just going to church and doing Christian activities, but actively expressing God’s love in your life as you live it. Making holy and Godly choices as you live your life, whatever you’re doing. That is why God gave us free will – not so we could be slaves, but so we can glorify Him by the choices we make in our lives.

Here is what it all boils down to, folks: There is nothing more attractive than someone who reflects God’s love. It is a love so completely different from the love this world expresses that they shouldn’t even be the same word, and it will floor you the first time you see it. Just because the idea of some mystical soul mate is bunk doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing people out there who love. It means that if you want to find someone right for you, you need to go out and live your life in a way that reflects that God is working in it. He will set people in your life that reflect Him as well. So don’t worry. Focus on God, and the rest will fall into place.

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September 26, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Don’t Replace Me With Images

“God has met this longing in Jesus Christ, who is described as the image of the invisible God. YHWH is not encapsulated in bronze or iron, but in a living, breathing human being-One who enters into relationship, loves, hurts, trusts, and forgives.”

-The Sinai Experiment 

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. Also, it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

The old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and since there are so many pictures of our Lord and Savior, you can imagine the thousands of words that have been spoken about him. It’s interesting to look through all the pictures and see how people have depicted Christ. Some pictures are great, and some, are pretty terrifying. Yet, these pictures of our Lord have more influence on us than we give them credit for. So what do we do with a commandment that specifically says don’t make an image of  God? In order for us to answer that question, we need to understand what it means to the people God first told it to.

Israel lived in a culture where images of gods were made on a daily basis. These man made gods (idols) would be given a shrine in the house hold and a family would burn incense, or put food and water out as an offering to them. The point of the offering was to get something in return. We gave you food or water, now you give me what I want. The heart of idol worship is control, and people worshiped these idols believing they could get whatever they wanted out of their god.

Can you see why God doesn’t want Israel to make images of him? He doesn’t want them believing they can control him. He doesn’t want them worshiping him just so they can get something out of him. God desires an authentic relationship with his people, and that can’t happen if his people believe he is only good for giving them gifts. Relationships are a two way streak. Both parties serve each other because they want what is best for the other person. When both people are willing serve each other, everyone wins.

So fast forward to our day in time with thousands of paintings of Jesus. The paintings aren’t bad. What’s bad is the image we have of our God. When we see God only as Santa Clause, who’s supposed to brings us toys to play with. A genie in the bottle, who’s supposed to grant us what ever we wish for. Or a maid, who’s supposed to go behind us and clean up the messes we make. When we view God as an object for our own selfish desires, we’ve made an image of him. And the sad truth is, many of us would rather have a god who grants all our wishes, than a God, who we can have a relationship with.

“A snapshot may capture part of a person’s character, but it falls shore of defining who he or she is. How difficult is it to love and serve a God we can’t nail down? Are there some ways we’ve attempted to simplify God in order to satisfy our own needs?”

The second part of this question is where the real discussion took place for our group. They believed the way we have simplified God is by the gospel we’ve created. We’ve narrowed the gospel down to two or three scriptures, and when you do that, we truly miss a major truth about the gospel. For example, they brought up John 3:16 and how no one knows what John 3:17 says. Of course some of them knew what it said, but I took it a step further and asked if they know the situation that was taking place when Jesus said this? They all looked at me with a blank stare.

If you’re not sure where John 3:16 sits at, its at the end of a conversation Jesus is having with Nicodemus about what it means to be reborn into the Kingdom of God. Don’t get me wrong, John 3:16 is a wonderful verse and a great one to share about God’s love for us, but we miss a major facet of the gospel if we only leave it at John 3:16. The gospel is about God’s love for us, but its also about how God is restoring us into a brand new person. How he is bringing restoration to a broken creation. I love that God loves me, but I also love how God has taken away my fallen nature and given me a new nature, capable of living out a holy life in Christ. I think that’s a gospel many people miss because we’ve watered it down so much, and I believe that’s a gospel this generation so desperately needs.

“What images of God (both positive and negative) are espoused by Christians today? How are these accurate depictions of YHWH as revealed in Jesus Christ? How are they inaccurate or incomplete?”

The one image that came to everyone’s mind was the image we have of Jesus on the cross. There are some images of the crucifixion that are admirable, then there are some that are just plain terrible. The crucifixion was a bloody mess, and the only one who has even come close to depicting what happened on that day was Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Yet, even that is incomplete because people were naked when they were crucified. Imagine the controversy it would create if someone actually portrayed a naked Jesus? Not that I’m encouraging someone to do this, nor am I trying to get a laugh. But seriously. Can you fathom being able to look at a picture like that? It’s puts the crucifixion in a whole new context, and it humbles me because what our God was willing to go through for us.

My Experiment

I decided to participate in the experiment “Compare,” which urges readers to look a medieval art of Jesus. Two things stick out: (1) people look really sad; and (2) there are a lot of naked baby angels flying around. Both make me scratch my head and wonder why? However, there are other images that came to mind when I was looking at these ones. The last church I was a member of had a hallway going toward the sanctuary. This hallway was apart of the children’s area and it had a bunch of different pictures of Jesus. They had a picture of Jesus holding a baby, a picture of him walking with a disabled child, and they even had a massive mural of him sitting with a bunch of kids from different nations, and might I add, one of those kids is wearing an Awana’s shirt.

Now as a disclaimer, I love this church and believe it is one of the most solid churches I have ever been a part of. The ministers who serve at that church are amazing, and have helped me tremendously in my walk with Christ. Yet, every time I return to that church, I cringe when I walk down that hall because those pictures depict Christ as the biggest sissy I have ever seen. I’m sure I’m going to get some comments for that one, but I seriously, I believe most Christians see Christ as someone who would never hurt a fly. And we wonder why men could care less about following Christ? No man wants to follow a sissy, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a women didn’t want to either.

Now to clarify, I don’t believe Christ is not a sissy. In fact, I believe he is everything a man should to be: brave, loyal, passionate, merciful, and even romantic. But here’s what we need to understand, our view of God is going to determine how great our faith is. If we view God as almighty, powerful, and capable of doing the impossible, you better believe your faith will push you do to some incredible stuff. However, if you view God as a sissy, well, you’re faith is probably going to get its butt kicked every time you face a challenge. So my question to you is, what does your faith say to others about the God you serve?

What experiment did you participate in this week?

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September 19, 2012

The Sinai Experiment: Don’t Worship Other Gods

“We forget that God is the sole provider of the everyday stuff.”

- The Sinai Experiment 

If you’re reading this for the first time, click here so you can catch up on what I’m writing about. And it’s  not to late to join in on the experiments. If you want to participate, click here and it’ll take you to the House Studio website so you can purchase a copy of “The Sinai Experiment.”

Don’t worship other gods. Check… or is it? For believers living in the new millennium, this commandment ought to be an easy one. Think about it? There are no makeshift statues of gods hanging out all over the place. People aren’t sacrificing animals, or having sex with a bunch of cult prostitutes. We have no reason to struggle with this commandment. Yet, you and I both know, we do. We don’t worship statues, we worship ourselves. Why is this? I think a little insight into the culture the Israelite’s lived in will give us a better understanding about ourselves.

Israel struggled with idol worship. It was the thorn in their side, but why did they struggle with this so much? Gods in the bible were thought to bring the rain, a new harvest, or to help with fertility. So naturally, the Israelite’s began to worship these other gods as a “just in case” their God doesn’t pull through for them. Its a trust issue. Israel doesn’t trust God with the everyday necessities, so they worship other gods to make sure they will be provided for. We don’t have statues of different gods because our society has progressed in its thinking, and understand gods don’t provide rain, food, or help with pregnancy. And since there is nothing left to worship, we worship ourselves. We worship our abilities because that’s what provides for us.

So for the modern day believer, the issue is still the same. We don’t trust God with the everyday necessities, so we trust in our abilities because that is what provides. This is why we’ll put everything else before God. The sad truth that no one wants to accept is, we trust more in a broken education system, a job, or a particular set of skills, to provide for us than our God. We have to come to the conclusion, God really does care about us. And when worship other gods, we are really saying we don’t trust God. We need to wrap our heads around the words of Jesus, “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom first, and these things will be added to you.” (Luke 12:29-31).

“What little things in life do we sometimes think God can’t be bothered with? What specifically do we do that shows our lack of trust in God for provision in these areas?”

During this discussion, I thought I would ask the group what they believe are the little things in life and what they believe are the big things in life? When it came to the big things, they believed finding work, relationships, and knowing God’s will was high up there. However, when it came to the little things, they had some trouble coming up with some. As I was listening to them, a light came on, maybe they couldn’t come up with little things because there are no little things in life. Everything has some sort of importance. Now I’m sure some may argue this, but in the eyes of our God, I don’t believe he sees only big things and little things, only his creation. And because we are his creation, everything matters to him. He is concerned about the business man running late to work, the college student stressing over a midterm, an eighth grade boy who just got dumped, a senior girl making sure she has the right dress for prom, and the football player who is concerned about winning the game. It all matters because God loves his creation. So we need to be like our God, and see things from his perspective. As long as creation is involved, it matters to God and it should matter to us.

“As a people, Israel put other things before God on a regular basis. How does our “Christian” society put things before God? Where do our loyalties lie? How do we make sure our priorities are aligned with God’s?”

If anything, I believe we put our own wants and needs before God. This works on an individual and corporate level. For example, on a corporate level, we tend to invest more on the church building, than the people of the church. Now as a disclaimer, I don’t have a problem with a place of gathering. Click here for more on that, but when we’re spending more of our finances on a new sign, a nice landscape, or a giant cross for all the world to see, instead of taking care of the people inside and outside the building, we missed it. Our loyalties can lie with making the outside look great, but not the inside. And honestly, the way we make sure our priorities are aligned is by everyone reading their bibles. If we would take the time to learn how to read the bible, and grapple with it, a lot of issues would be solved.

My Experiment

I decided to participate in the experiment “Provide.” This experiment wanted me to check out relationaltithe.com. This site provides people with the ability to meet needs across socioeconomic and geographic barriers. I really enjoy the idea of what they’re trying to do, unfortunately the site hasn’t been kept up in a while. Maybe one of you can help them with that. The experiment also wanted me to put a bird feeder in my front yard because Jesus said the birds of the field are dependent on God. I already have two bird feeders in my front yard, and my wife keeps them full on a consistent basis. In all honesty, I could care less about the bird feeders, but watching them has taught me something. When there is food, the birds come. When there is no food, the birds don’t show up. Simple, yet profound. The way God provides for others is through his people. When his people don’t provide, I can guarantee people will not come to meet God; however, if they do provide, I guarantee a flock of “birds” will come. Which makes me have to ask: could the real reason why people are not coming to Christ is because the church has simply refused to provide for others?

What experiment did you participate in this week?

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