Sermon Prep: part three

ok, I decided to change up my questioning today.

As Jesus hung from the cross, 3 times he was told, mockingly, to "Save Yourself"

Luke 23: 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"



"Why do you think Jesus didn't save Himself?" And why is the phrase "Save Yourself" so important?

Sermon Prep: part two

Hey everyone! Happy Lent!

This Sunday I am preaching on the last words of Jesus. Last week Brian spoke on the first words from Jesus on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." If you missed it, Brian posted his message on the In Process facebook page.

This Sunday I will be focusing on the second words from Jesus, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" If you saw my earlier post (below) it was suggested that maybe the comma was in the wrong place and it should read "I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise."

My questions today are: What are your thoughts on paradise, heaven, the resurrection? What does the "afterlife" look like to you? What do you think happens to us the moment we die? Where do we go?

I hope you will come out Sunday evening at 7PM at Brea Olinda Friends Church.

Sermon Prep

Today I am starting to dig deeper into the passage of scripture that I will preaching from this Sunday. In Process (our church plant) is currently going through the last seven words of Jesus as He hung from the cross leading up to His death. Last night Brian spoke on Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

My passage is Luke 23:42, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." So I was reading and praying through the passage and I found this interesting take on Jesus' 2nd word from the cross.

Is it possible that the passage could the comma have been placed in the wrong place?

Our reading again:

I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

Another possibility:

I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise.


What do you think?

Lent 2010

I have been praying and thinking through Lent on ways to reconnect myself more fully with Jesus and other around me.

In the past I have given up one thing or another. One year I gave up coffee. That was a good idea and it was a bad idea. Yes, coffee is a huge distraction in my life that I need to have each and every morning. But eliminating coffee totally out of my diet caused incredible headaches and made me very cranky.

One year I gave up TV. I spent the entire Lenten season not watching TV. I love TV! Seriously! And TV demands too much of my time. When I cut TV time my reading time increased. It also increased my prayer time. But all I did was record all of my favorite shows so that I could catch up, for hours and hours, on Easter Sunday.

This year I decided to change the approach a bit and take Lent out of the box. I decided that I waste too much at Starbucks, so I will not shop at Starbucks for my favorite vente mocha and breakfast sandwich for the entire 40+ days. Each day during the week I will also eliminate another item, of the many, that are distractions and time wasters. My hope is that by doing these things I will better manage my time personally and my time with God.

Mondays are going to be Coffee Free Days. No coffee all day. I figure one day won’t kill me.

Tuesdays are going to be Internet Free Days. I will not be hanging out on the internet the entire day. No Facebook, no Twitter, No Google, No Amazon. The only thing I will do is periodically check my email.

Wednesdays are going to be Project Days. I will be devoting quality time to finish and start some project around the house. I have a ton of projects that I need to get moving on.

Thursdays are going to be TV Free Days. I am at work most of the day but instead of sitting in front of the TV, I will find some time to read and pray and just hang out with Monica.

Fridays are going to be Fast Food Free Days. I am seriously considering cutting fast food totally out of my diet like I doing with Starbucks for 40+ days. I spend too much and I am eating junk.

Saturdays are going to be Text Free Days. Simple enough, but I might include another social media fast day to go with it.

Sundays are days that are devoted to others and to God currently. I really don’t want to take away from the day and the enjoyment I am presently experiencing on Sundays.


What are you planning on doing for Lent this year?