Merry Christmas!

December 20, 2017

After an extremely hectic couple of weeks, I'll be taking some time off for the holidays. So no blog post or scope this week (or next). Instead, I'll be focusing on a) catching up on some R&R with the family, b) preparing my heart for Christ's glorious birth (starting with my own confession appointment today) and c) preparing for an AWESOME 2018!

I pray that you have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year, and if you're still trying to figure out what to do for some last minute gift ideas, there's still time to order more copies of "WHATEVER, GOD".

Merry Christmas everyone!

How I’m Getting Ready for Christmas

November 30, 2016

Tis the season! It’s the last day of November and that pretty much makes it official: the Christmas season is here!

The music’s on the radio and lights are up everywhere you go. It’s just a matter of time before Christmas Day is upon us and we celebrate the single most important event in the history of all mankind – a day that divides history between BC and AD… the day that Jesus Christ was born.

If you’re in the Orthodox church, you know that we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth by a 40-day period of fasting called Advent. Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter – a time to prepare ourselves for the enormity and significance of what is about to happen.

When something is important (ie, wedding day, birth of a child, Super Bowl), it takes time to prepare. You can’t just show up on the day of the event without preparation; doing so would lead me to question the value you place on that day/event.

That’s why the church gives us this time of fasting – so we don’t just “show up” on Christmas without being prepared.

So what should our focus be during this time? How should we prepare ourselves? What should we be doing?

This Nativity Night...

December 24, 2014

I'll be offline till after New Year's but I wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance. Here is a beautiful meditation about what Christmas is really all about, coming from a sermon given several hundred years ago.

Finding Joy in the Bible - YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT Part 5

March 31, 2014

"Your words were found, and I ate them,and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart" Jeremiah 15:16

Do you ENJOY reading the Bible? Be honest. I know that you probably force yourself to do it, but how often do you actually find JOY when you read God's Word?

That's our topic in this week's message in the You Are What You Eat series. The title of the message is FINDING JOY IN THE BIBLE and it's a topic that I'll bet most people don't think applies to them. We know it is "good" to read to Bible and we know it is "beneficial" to read the Bible and we know that we are "supposed" to read the Bible.

But did you ever know that it can be ENJOYABLE to read the Bible?

Well, now you do. Check out the message above and see for yourself.

Jesus the Humble - ALL YE FAITHFUL, Part 2

December 23, 2013

"He took what is ours so that He could give us what is His."

That's what Christmas is all about and that's what yesterday's message - Part 2 in the ALL YE FAITHFUL series - was all about as well.

Why did Jesus come to earth? What was His aim? What was He trying to accomplish? Check out the video below as we discuss that and much much more in this week's message - a perfect message to prepare us all to celebrate Christmas.

Do You Know What Life is Supposed to Look Like?

December 18, 2013

“Not exactly Michael. That’s good, but I want you to watch me again and then do what I’m doing. Here goes.” Drive by my house on a sunny afternoon these days and that’s what you’ll hear. Assuming that the temperature cooperates and gets to at least 40 degrees, you’ll see me and my son Michael out in the driveway – shooting some hoops.

Yeah it’s cold, and yeah there are still piles of snow on the grass, and yeah we know we’re going to get in trouble for not wearing our jackets (shhhh….don’t tell Marianne), but we still do it anyway. He loves playing and I absolutely love coaching him up and helping him get better – that’s what being a dad is all about!

In the process of teaching him, I’ve learned quite a bit about what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to teaching something new. Obviously, any kid can pick up a ball and throw it towards the rim. The concept isn’t difficult.

But I don’t want him to just shoot the ball; I want him shoot the ball THE RIGHT WAY. Shooting the right way isn’t easy or natural. It takes understanding and practice. But if he can learn the right way at a young age, it’ll increase his chances of success (and my chances of retiring early because my kid plays in the NBA) significantly.

So what's the best way to teach someone something new?

Why Did Jesus Really Come to Us?

December 12, 2013

That’s an easy question isn’t it? We all know the answer to that – or least we think we do. If I took a survey of Bible-believing and church-going Christians in America today, what response do you think I’d hear most? Or better, how would you yourself answer that question?

I think the vast majority would say “Jesus came to die for us and save us from our sins.” And we’d point to some of the most famous verses in the Bible that speak about God’s desire for our salvation to validate our answer – such as John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

That’s a good answer. Nothing wrong with it at all. Perfectly accurate and 100% in line with Scripture. God did send His Son into the world to save us from everlasting death out of His great love for us and no one can deny that.

But is that it? Is that all Jesus came to do? To give us salvation and take us to heaven with Him after we die? Or might there be more???

What Gift Will You Give?

December 6, 2012

We’re now a full week into December and that means several things. It’s time to find those winter hats/gloves. It’s time to put up those Christmas lights. And it’s time to start doing SOME CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!

But this year, instead of spending all our time thinking about gifts for our loved ones, let me encourage you to take some time to think about what you will be offering to your Most Loved One – the One who loves you dearly and has given us everything that we need in life.

The other day, I spoke about how Jesus gave up all He had in order to come down and save us. But I thought of an even greater gift that was given at Christmas – one that is unparalleled in terms of the sacrifice made. It was the gift that God the Father was willing to let go of.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Letting go of your Son – your only Son – for the sake of another? That is unfathomable! No words can describe that kind of sacrifice made for us. The thought of sacrificing your own son is something that makes every parent cringe. We'd gladly sacrifice ourselves 100 times before letting anyone touch our children.

Why Does Jesus Ask for So Much?

December 4, 2012

“Why would Jesus say that to the man? It seems a bit unreasonable doesn’t it? Why is Jesus making it so tough on the guy?”

That’s what I honestly find myself thinking every time I read the story of the Rich Young Ruler – found in Mark 10:17-22.

The guy came to Jesus and asked a very reasonable and well intentioned question – “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

His request wasn’t bad. I’d love for more young people to be asking the same question. He wasn’t asking how to get rich or how to be famous or how to marry a supermodel. He wasn’t asking for anything material or earthly at all. He asking how to inherit eternal life – which seems like a question that would make Jesus really happy.

So why then did Jesus eventually answer the man this way?