Simple Christianity... Sunday's message

I don’t know why we preachers and Bible teachers like to throw around big, twenty dollar religious words like “propitiation,” soteriology,” and, my favorite… “dispensational eschatology.” Maybe we like people to think that we’re smarter than we really are? Maybe we want people to think that our education was at least as tough as theirs? Who knows? For whatever reason, I fear that many of us have created a system of religion that is far more complicated than God ever intended for “the faith” to be. I just finished preaching a series on the Bible itself, “Word of God Speak” and I have observed that it isn’t nearly as complex or complicated as some of us have made it. Oh, its deep to be sure! Its riches are endless and the depth of knowledge unfathomable… but the plain and simple gospel isn’t all that complex, is it? God’s intention for mankind is remarkably simple. God’s plan of salvation is remarkably simple. I wonder if I have contributed to mudding the waters with “learned opinions” or if I have concocted a more elaborate religious system than God ever intended.

This Sunday I will be starting a new “mini-series” of lessons around this very premise… the simplicity of the gospel. We’ll look at the following questions and I solicit your input.

“What is a Christian?”

“Why would I want to be a Christian?”

“How do I become a Christian?”

“What do I do now that I am a Christian?”

I invite you to post your thoughts, comments, suggestions and questions through the comments section. Enter into this discussion with us. I look forward to hearing from you.

First off.... what is a Christian? How would YOU define Christianity? Any thoughts?

Truer Words...

Today is Monday, October 22, 2007 and it has begun like most Mondays… with just a few exceptions. It started for me this morning around 5 a.m. as Michael, our youngest son (a boisterous 3 years old) burst into our bedroom singing "Happy Birthday" to me. Yes, today is my birthday and Michael is particularly excited because it means he gets cake… chocolate cake… his favorite. I was less than enthusiastic at 5 a.m. "Happy Birthday to you…" he continued, "You live in a zoo…" (You know how it goes from there.) I thought to myself, though, that truer words have never been spoken. Indeed, sometimes I feel like I live in a zoo! Before long the other boys were up and we were rapidly moving through our morning routine of feeding, getting dressed, brushing teeth, packing our backpacks and heading off to school… a zoo, indeed!

Even though it is a normal Monday in most respects, it somehow feels different. I find myself preoccupied with the haunting questions of life this morning… Am I where I thought I would be at this point in my life? Am I doing what God wants me to be doing? What have I accomplished? Where is God taking me from here? What does he have in store for me next? Of course, I have no idea as to the answer for most of those questions, but the first question… am I where I thought I would be at his point in my life… I know the answer without a doubt. Are you kidding… I NEVER imagined myself as a preacher (you may not have either)! When I was a kid, I never even liked going to church. I thought it was what "old" people did who were just trying to get in to heaven. I'm not sure I ever gave much thought to having a family either. I knew I wanted children, but really had no idea what it would be like. I'm quite sure that I never pictured myself in a mini-van driving to soccer practice (we have a game tonight). What happened, I wonder?

Well, God did. Somewhere along the way God stepped in and changed my life. I'm not sure what path I had been on, but I know now that he radically altered course! He has incredibly blessed me beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. He has given my life purpose and meaning. He has blessed me with the most incredible opportunity (and responsibility) in the world… to preach "good news" and to serve in his kingdom. He has given me the most wonderful family (a.k.a the zoo) and has so fully blessed my life through it. I can't even imagine my life any other way!

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Road Trips

As you might imagine with three boys, road trips are quite an adventure. This year for Fall Break we logged quite a few hours in the ol' minivan trying to catch up on some grandparent time. All the grandparents were making noise about us not having been to see them in a while, so we loaded up the fam and headed out. We managed to see all the grandparents and even made a side trip to catch a glimpse of our newest niece, Sophia. I'm not sure how many hours were spent in the van... but we counted at least ten counties we passed through on Friday alone. I was reminded again that we don't take 'vacations' anymore... we take 'trips.' And now, having this trip under our belt... I am quite ready for a vacation!

The ol' minivan after one of our 'trips.'

The fellas

Andy... age 7

David... age 5

Michael... age 3

What if...?

What if there were no hypothetical questions?