Captain Carefree!

I Peter 5:6-9

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

From Steve's Message..

The five imperatives:

1.  Preach the word.
2.  Be prepared
3.  Correct, rebuke, and encourage.
4.  Do not follow after "ear ticklers".
5.  Discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Champions need the Spirit of the Lord

As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them.With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.”
Judges 15:14-16

And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Judges 16:28

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
Hebrews 11:32-33

Thank you, Mike Jones, for this messsage.

Easter sights from Dove Mountain

It was a glorious Easter for Dove Mountaineers. Here are my two favorite photos from Annette Johnson's extensive album (you can see all 62 photos if you are her friend on Facebook - and why aren't you?).

Above:  a bevy of Dovemountaineer beauties radiating Easter joy

Below:  Hannah Johnson makes friends with the Steve's "lamb" from the children's message.

Born Again Barbie?

I can't resist giving props here to yet another brilliant children's message by Steve Johnson yesterday. To illustrate redemption, Steve doused a couple of Barbie doll knock-offs (which he confesses were from the Dollar Store) in Hershey's chocolate syrup, tossed them into a giant garbage can, and then, after thoroughly explaining Christs' redemption, fished them out clean and new (obviously a matching pair previously stashed away) from the depths of the trash. Gasps heard all around the room.

Back in real life, Steve had to take dear Annette to the emergency room later in the service for severe abdominal pains. As of this morning he still did not know a diagnosis, but apparently the baby is not in danger. He text from the waiting room stated it may be a gall bladder problem. Pray for Annette!

Pastor Allen's Resurrection Eggs

You may have heard of Resurrection Eggs before. The story is usually told in twelve segments (with a dozen eggs). I liked the version Pastor Allen used in the Children's Message yesterday, which focused on one egg for each day of Holy week, related to the traditional scriptures that is read on that day. In celebration of this approach, I will be sharing an appropriate verse for each day of Holy Week starting tomorrow. Enjoy!

Torpor illustrated

It is only natural that a pastor as passionate as Allen Cooney would lead us to understand the deadliness of spiritual torpor. A typical definition for torpor would be "a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility," but in the animal world, it also refers to hibernation.

In a spiritual sense, it is the indifference that Elie Weizel was railing against in Night (see yesterday's quotes). It is also (which is why it was in the sermon) the state of mind out of which Old Testament prophets such as Micah were constantly calling the people of Israel.

Surely no one would argue that we don't need prophets today. Thank God for Pastor Allen calling us out of our torpor! The Lenten season is a great time to reflect on the areas of indifference in our lives...and to repent! Practicing those spiritual disciplines that Elder Dave Bowen preached about four weeks ago will help keep both out minds and spiritual sensitivities awake and alert!

And thanks, as always, to Steve Johnson for his lively illustrations, as pictured above. I always say that the children's message is really for us as adults - we need those visual lessons as much as the children!

N.B. If the photo is not easily comprehensible to those who were not there, Steve is wrapping sweet Jenna Van Stelle in plastic refrigerator wrap to represent the way a state of torpor shields us from penetration by the Holy Spirit (represented by a squeezed water bottle). I think you can picture the results.

Wearing the Armor

In my humble opinion, Steve's object lesson Sunday on the armor of God was much more effective for having the members of the congregation supply the "homemade" armor items than it would have been if he had used the cheesy plastic pieces of "armor" that are sold in Christian supply stores. Not that an Easter basket helmet isn't pretty cheesy itself!

On a serious note, it did undergird the "body" principle that we all work together to "watch each other's back."

Thanks to Steve, Jessica Williams, and all the other "armor suppliers" for memorable object lesson!

Catechetical Reminder: Holy Trinity

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

The icon above has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it in Germany while visiting the Brotherhood of Jesus. Below is my favorite Trinity hymn, also discovered during that time period, while worhshipping in army chapels.

God Father, praise and glory Thy children bring to thee.
Thy grace and peace to mankind Shall now forever be.

Chorus: O most holy Trinity, Undivided Unity;
Holy God, mighty God, God immortal, be adored.

And thou, Lord coeternal, God's sole begotten Son,
O Jesus, King anointed, Who hast redemption won.

O Holy Ghost, Creator, Thou gift of God most high;
Life, love and holy wisdom, Our weakness now supply.

Catechetical reminder #2: idols of our own making

This week's catechism questions reminds us of our human proclivity to create objects of veneration other than the true and living God. While it is easy for us to deride those who would worship a golden calf (historic idols) or an elephant god (non-western idols), the neon sign reminds us that we are quick to make, and justify, myriad idols of our own.

Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things upon the earth..." Colossians 3:2

Chocolate Pudding Revenge

Okay, here's a test of whether anyone is reading these blogs or not. If you felt as badly for Annette Johnson as I did on Sunday when Steve was supposed to be feeding her chocolate pudding, join me in showing her some sympathy by bringing her a chocolate pudding cup this coming Sunday. Wouldn't that be fun?

Catechetical reminder

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.



The prominence of this question in the order of the catechism (#2) is a reflection of the priority our fathers in the Reformation had for the principle of sola scriptura: scripture alone. Review this question and answer many times before Sunday. You may be the one called on to answer it!

Dance of Joy

Okay, I wanted to upload the whole Dance of Joy video for your amusement but haven't quite figured out how to do that. So you can link to it by going here. Or you can see it on Ross Newman's Facebook page. Or maybe Steve and Ross will record their own version!

Thanks guys, for another in the series, "memorable moments in the children's sermon"!

A healthy congregation laughs

I looked around Sunday and enjoyed all the head-nodding, head huddling, whispered assents, and general laughter at several points in the sermon. I also enjoyed the head bowing (especially during communion), pensive contemplation, and furrowed-brow processing that I saw, but that's a story for another time...

How quick-witted can Steve Johnson be to come up with this dialogue in the children's sermon?

Hannah:

I bought it with the money I got mowing Dave Bowen's grass!"

Abigail:

"Dave Bowen has a girl mow his grass?"

Brilliant!

More wardrobe suggestions for Steve

I had so much fun last week with the Hawaiian haystacks, that I couldn't resist making these wardrobe suggestions for Steve. This could become a signature Dove Mountain "Barleymen's wear" line. Or not!