Whatever It Takes

From Facetime with school teachers to livestreaming worship services, we’ve all been doing whatever it takes to carry on in this new age of social distancing. So many church services started using Facebook Live for the first time in the past couple of weeks they crashed the system. FB apparently didn’t see that coming but they have worked hard to get those archived videos back up. I’ve seen so many posts about how to participate in worship from home as well. Getting up and getting dressed is helpful for working from home and on Sunday morning. If you sing, clap, read along in your Bible and shout “Amen!” it makes worship a group activity and not just a spectator sport.

The Truth is Stranger than Fiction

This morning at church I preached a rare topical sermon. I wanted to point out two things, first that all expositional sermons have a topic and secondly that even when offering a topical sermon I do so in an expositional manner.

What I really said – or tried to say, perhaps almost said – was that I would deliver a topical sermon in an exponential manner. Exponents, you know from math class. If the sermon multiplied exponentially that would mean the longer I preached the more of it there would left to preach. It would never end. Not what a congregation wants to hear at 11:30 on Sunday morning.

You can listen to the Never Ending Sermon at the Unity Baptist website. Don’t worry, the actual run time is only 36 minutes. There should be a link in left-hand sidebar to Storms of Life. This funny moment brought to you by a tongue tied preacher. Writing can be edited; live and in person just happens.

One More Pic

We hope everyone enjoyed the Spooky Monday post earlier this week. It was a little bit of a gamble but several factors were considered; Happy Monday is a funny, uplifting thing never meant to be taken too seriously, there were Christian themed images/cartoons included, and those without a sense of humor probably don’t visit this site.

The only thing stopping us from calling it “Spooky Monday” was the Martin Luther meme. It was necessary to acknowledge Reformation Day. There is another image, both creative and brilliant, that I can’t believe was left out. So on this All Saints Day please accept this October 31st 95 Theses inspired project. I can’t believe this was somehow overlooked.

Coffee with Jesus: Top Ten Lists

I don’t usually created a new post to share a single cartoon. But today is New Year’s Eve and this is the kind of stuff people think about as they reflect on another year past. Today is Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday, but when the calendar turns over people tend to think in larger terms. Coffee with Jesus reminds us that important depends on your point of view. One might even interpret that ours is skewed and should be more like his, but now I’ve quit preachin’ and gone to meddlin’.

Click the image to view full size.

 

Coffee with Jesus is a product of Radio Free Babylon. Join the Resistance.

Random Bits

Writers tend to work through things by writing about them. There hasn’t been a new post at My Other Blog in quite a while but this one lists some things I’ve done over the past 40 years. Big birthday coming up, this is more productive than buying a small sports car.

And Then Jesus Said…

Yesterday I suggested (in this post) that the people reading Newsweek magazine were not the same people reading Al Mohler, Daniel Wallace, etc. I drew the conclusion that some people would make a decision without giving Christianity a fair shake. Jesus himself may not have replied in so many words, but here is a very timely Coffee with Jesus comic strip that just cannot wait until the next Happy Monday post:

Click the image to view full size.

Coffee with Jesus copyright/produced by Radio Free Babylon.

 

Meet David Wilkie (of Coffee with Jesus fame)

David Wilkie is the co-founder of Radio Free Babylon and author of Coffee with Jesus. That comic strip frequently makes a Happy Monday appearance and occasionally gets a dedicated post. I’ve been to the Radio Free Babylon site looking to find the person or persons responsible for the website content but they are purposefully elusive. If you have no sense of humor, or don’t think Christianity should be the subject of humor, neither RFB nor Coffee with Jesus are for you. But those people are probably not reading this site either. Fair warning just in case.

Steve Brown, host of the Steve Brown Etc. radio program, recently interviewed David Wilkie. Steve Brown’s online presence is now hosted by Key Life. Follow this link to listen to the full interview on Steve Brown Etc. 

Chicken Church

Earlier this week I took my mother to lunch at the Big Chicken. Anyone from north Georgia, particularly the greater Atlanta area, knows about the Big Chicken, which is actually a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, in Marietta. The thing is a landmark and part of life in Atlanta, like the Coca-cola museum or Turner Field.  It is certainly no accident that the building looks like a chicken.

The Church by the Sea in Tampa Bay, Florida may be another story.  My mother told me she saw it this morning on Headline News (HLN). Church members say it’s not unusual to see tourists stopping to take pictures. What do you think? Is it a great coincidence or a bit of careful planning that resulted in the big chicken church?

…

And here’s my thought: If tourists drive out of their way to snap pics of a church that just happens (if that’s the case) to look like a chicken, they will also see Jesus on the cross. Is that not what the church is called to?

Happy Thanksgiving

…

 

God Bless Chick-fil-A

If you don’t know Tim Hawkins you’re really missing out.  All seriousness aside, let’s watch this and share a smile.  I’ll see you all next Wednesday at a Chick-fil-A near you (unless you live in Boston).

…

Below is Tim’s original Chick-fil-A song, with a special Truet & Dan Cathy verse.