I’ve upgraded

Hello, This will be my last post on this blog.  However, I am not done blogging. I have upgraded. I have moved everything over to www.divinecrash.com This will allow me to host all my content, emails, podcasts, and everything else all on the same site with unlimited size and bandwidth.  Please enjoy my new blog and have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!!

And so it begins

Dear Jesus,

Today, it begins. Today is when everything came to a screeching halt and there was no other way to save those you love.  I can imagine the pain of having my friend betray me, I know that kind of pain that causes because it has happened to me but I am not like You, I ditched those friends, You forgave those friends and made them breakfast.

Tonight You’ll be arrested by men with no backbone.  They will come at night while You are praying with weapons because they were afraid of the crowds during the day, but you knew that.  You saw it since the beginning of time and you still went through it.  Thank you.

By Friday evening the sky went dark, the curtain tore, and you were dead.  This I don’t understand.  I don’t know why, would do this.  You have the power to come off the cross and you didn’t?  I don’t really get it.  I would have jumped off with the first tap of the first hammer, but thankfully your not me and I’m not you.

Saturday, I can identify with Saturday.  You’re still dead and your followers don’t know what to do, they feel a mix of abandoned and hopeless.  I get that and I know what it is to feel like You are far from me.  I understand the disciples, when I don’t know what to do next I go back to what I know. Sometimes it is fishing, sometimes it is just doing my thing the way I want.

Sunday…..Sunday is coming.  We’ll talk about Sunday when we get there, because Sunday is coming but we couldn’t have Sunday without Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

- Amen

I Deny Jesus!

We have all seen these emails.  We have gotten them from well-meaning friends and relatives who don’t know any better.  They usually start with some cliché picture of Jesus like this one:

Jesus on the cross

Then the email usually follows with something to the effect of “I love Jesus and if you love Jesus you will send this to ONE MILLION PEOPLE in the next sixty seconds.” and then the email tells you that if you don’t send it to the random number of people then you have denied Jesus and Jesus will deny you before God and then usually they quote some obscure Bible verse or random quote from some random person who may or may not have existed.

Church league softball

For a few years I played church league softball, and it was a mess.  This is supposed to be the body of believers coming together to have a good time and play a fun sport.  Yet what ended up happening was that it was a bunch of overweight bald-men who wanted to relive the good-old days when they played little league and the score mattered.

If the umpire (who was a volunteer) called a strike and it was a ball the batter would freak out and players would scream at each other if they missed a catch.

Really?

It is CHURCH LEAGUE SOFTBALL. It isn’t that important.  No one is going to hell because they didn’t win the game.

Or maybe they think they are?  Maybe someone taught the players there is a cosmic scorekeeper who likes to keep track of your points and if you have enough points you get into heaven, and if you don’t have enough points then you don’t.  Almost a Karma idea of God.

God doesn’t work that way, God doesn’t keep score.  God doesn’t play by human rules or human score keeping methods instead the Bible talks about that all those who call on the name of Jesus will be saved.

No matter what, anything, no matter the church league softball score anyone who believes in Jesus is saved.

Palm Sunday Service: Spit, hunting, and changing the world

Today’s service was one I had been looking forward to for a while now and it proved interesting.  You can listen to it on iTunes (search for Tanoma) or click here.

The scripture for this sermon was John 11:1-12:19 It was the death of Lazarus and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  I didn’t read the scripture, only a few verses.

We talked about church, not as a building but as people, people who love Jesus and come together to worship Jesus the savior.  So then, that means the church did not hurt you.  The church can’t hurt you.  The people in the church who hurt you are the people who forget they are the church and started thinking about themselves instead of the church.