I toyed with the idea of blogging about the Higgs Boson and its implications both theologically and philosophically, but then something happened last night. My wife, daughter, future son in law and grandson and I all went to a local fireworks show. It is the same one that all of us, plus my other daughter (my grandson's mother) and son in law went to last year. My grandson has been talking about fireworks ever since. So we fully expected that it would be a terrific time. And it was. But something happened that none of us expected. My grandson sat down on his mini-folding chair and was ready for the fireworks to start. And they did. But they were loud! And close overhead! And he got - shall we say, concerned? So concerned that he jumped into my arms and squeezed my neck tightly, and stayed there, or with his Mimi or Aunt Yaya for the entire rest of the show! Of course the idea of holding my grandson tight for that time was an unexpected pleasure. And, he never cried or complained. He even watched the fireworks in the reflections in the windows of the cars behind us. But he would not look up or let us go. And it reminded me of the Father's love for us. We are so concerned to be "mature" and deal with life as it comes. And that is probably is the right way to live. But sometimes the sounds "bump in our ears" (his words) too loudly and the spectacle is just too close for comfort. So all we want to do is run into His arms. Well, do it! I have a feeling that He loves it more than we know. God bless you and have a great day! Pastor Ken

Politics and Prayer

Wow! It has already been another month. Oh well, for the few of you who follow this, perhaps a rare post is preferred anyway! I have been thinking about several things lately. But what is uppermost in my mind is this: Are we too satisfied, and if not, what are we dissatisfied about? What I mean is this. There are a lot of things happening in our culture right now - things which we all know breaks the heart of God. But it seems to me that we can settle for being upset about cultural change without realizing that the only answer to all of this is a radical new great awakening in our country. As long as we focus on the external, cultural aspects, we will do two things. First, we will try to change outward behavior rather than inward character - the very definition of Pharisaism. And friends, I do not want to be a Pharisee! Jesus had more to say condemning them than any other group in his day. And that is because of the second thing such a focus leads to - we end up seeing what others are doing wrong and miss entirely what is wrong in our own hearts. We all know the statistics - divorces are at least as common in the church as outside and perhaps even abortions. Pre-marital sex, gossip, the list goes on and on. What we truly need to to see both ourselves and this world as God sees it, and to admit that the only answer is to be found on our knees, not at the ballot box. Is it time to stop screaming and start praying? Well, I don't know about the first part, but I know we must get on our knees now! Trying to change our society from the outside in will only result in anger and perhaps, eventually, persecution. Allowing God to change us - starting with me and the church - from the inside out will result in revival in the church and a great awakening without. Those of you who know me well know just how political I am and can be. I can't promise that I will stop being that way. But I do know I need to pray more and speak less! So pray for me. And pray for our country.

Pastor Ken

What the Bible says about sex

I was going to blog about something else this week, but I found this article on FoxNews.com too interesting. What do you think about it? http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/03/what-bible-really-says-about-sex/?test=faces.

Pastor Ken

"If you only knew..."

This post represents a new commitment to posting at least once a week. Mostly, I will be posting observations from some of my teaching. Today I had one of those moments that frightens and makes Pastors mad. I had a student at the University where I teach submit not one, but two papers which were plagiarized word for word. When I called him on it and reminded him that doing so was grounds for expulsion from the University, he told me about how hard his life had been lately and asking for another chance. Now, I am going to give him another chance, but the idea that having a hard time somehow justifies us cheating and stealing, for that is what plagiarism is, just floors me! The truth is that we can all do what is right when there is no cost or bother to doing so. But our character is shown when we do what is right when it isn't easy. We're all sinners? Of course! But Christians are sinners saved by grace who are called to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. So many times I have told my congregation that it isn't obedience when you want to do it - only when you don't want to. Of course times can be tough. But if we are not going to let the power of God change our lives, what is the point?

Pastor Ken

A long time

Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything to this blog. But, in the immortal words from Independence Day "I'm baack!" I was thinking about a set of articles in Christianity Today on the historicity of Adam and Eve and the implications for Christianity of recent genetic evidence that suggests that there cannot have been just a single set of parents for the human race. Now, I must confess, I don't understand all the genetics involved. But, as Francis Collins is one of those involved, I have no reason to doubt that this reflects the most recent scholarship on the subject. I am not prepared to comment on whether I believe it all to be true, though I remember just how many times the "assured findings" of science have turned out to be false. At this point, my only request is that we hold this conversation about the implications, biblically and otherwise, in a civil manner and not question the salvation of those with whom we might disagree. Regardless of what happens, I know that the very human condition we all share of being sinners with no means of saving ourselves, is still curable by the applied blood of Jesus Christ! I am content to follow the discussion, even enter in once in a while, and continue to trust Jesus until that day in glory when we will all be able to laugh at some of the things we thought were so important!

Pastor Ken

PS - Go to Christianity Today for a more complete coverage of the actual discussion.

What Love Demands

It is two days after Christmas. I have had a great time with my family, and now it is time to get back to work - and that means thinking! All during this holiday season a thought has been going through my mind. Or perhaps I should say, a question. Christmas reminds us that the central principle of Christianity is love - Love for God and for our fellow human. We all remember that Jesus told us that the first and greatest commandment is to love God completely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Doing that is difficult in just about every situation, but it is very problematic in the political arena. An example came on Christmas day when someone in my family asked me what I thought about a sticky political question (yes, we do talk politics, even at Christmas). As I tried to formulate an answer I found myself reflecting on what I would say based on my love for others. Should I say that a particular action should be forbidden because it is inherently harmful and sinful, and preventing people from sinning is a loving act, or should I say that we should give others freedom, even when that freedom leads to sin, because that is what God has done to us? I honestly do not have the answer right now. But I am thinking. What do you think?

Pastor Ken

Another month! But I really don't want to write anything unless I have something to say that might be worth hearing. Of course, by that standard, maybe, . . . . Oh well. Today, I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! This is such a great time of year. For those of us who are believers, we get all the best. First, there is the family aspect of it. I love all the time we get to spend with family. We will celebrate with my brothers and sister on January 1st. It is always fun and interesting when the 20 or so of us get together (including children and, now, grandchild). We will celebrate with Cheri's side of the family on Christmas Day. Again, there will be around 20 of us and the day will be filled with love, laughter and music. And, best of all, we will have time with our own children for several days surrounding Christmas. I could go on and on. Family is a great part of Christmas for all of us. May your family time be as fun and meaningful as ours!

Then there is the whole wonder, which we will rediscover this year with our grandson. This is the first Christmas where he will have some understanding of the gift part. We expect a lot of wrapping paper and joy as he opens gift after gift - more than he will likely be able to play with! I know Cheri and I have already put back several things we got to give at his birthday in January, just because we bought so much!

But the best part, of course, is the realization all over again of just what Christmas means. It never gets old to me to reflect again on what God was doing that first Christmas. It is popular in philosophical circles to assert that God is so far above us that we cannot hope to really know anything about Him at all. And, to a certain extent, this is surely true. How could I, finite as I am, hope to know much of anything about God? But Christmas changed all that. Because that is when God began the process of making himself known to us - of accommodating himself to our sphere. Everything I need to know about God I learn in Jesus. He is God in the flesh. And while there is more to God than can be seen in Jesus, there is no less. That He would be willing to take on humanity is mind-boggling. This Christmas I want to learn again just what that means and who He is. It is the best gift of all!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Pastor Ken