Freedom!

This Sunday at Washington Street I'm going to wrap up our "It's A Wonderful Life" series by looking at the gift of "freedom." Paul wrote in Galatians 5 that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free.... good news indeed! Why would he have to remind the Galatians of that? Hadn't they experienced the freedom and new life in Christ? Well, of course they had.... so what was the problem? Well, many of them were wanting to return to their old habits of observing the law. Was there anything wrong with the law? Well, no. Its just that the law was never going to save them and Paul knew that. They were forgetting that their salvation now rested in turning their lives over to Jesus... and not in their efforts to keep the law.
Go back and re-read Galatians 5:1-6 before Sunday and let me know what you think. Today, as we're anticipating the coming of a new year in a few days and making all kinds of resolutions... let us NOT be tempted to go back to our old lives... but to enjoy FULLY the Wonderful Life that is ours in Christ!
John 10:10

It's A Wonderful Life... Joy!

I'll be back on Sunday and continuing our celebration of the wonderful life that we have in Christ. A great big THANKS to Brad Sullivan for doing an outstanding job with last Sunday's message while I was out! This Sunday we'll be unwrapping the gift of "joy." When Jesus was born the angels headed out to the fields to shout out the good news to the shepherds watching their flocks. "We bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people!" they said. Indeed the coming of the Messiah was a joyous occasion... though his life was certainly not always filled with such joy. Our lives sometimes are anything but 'joyous'... but for those of us in Christ we can still be full of joy. How is this you ask? I am SO glad you asked. Join us on Sunday as we celebrate the JOY that is ours in Christ... even if this is a tough time of year for you. In the meantime, read Luke 2. I'm curious to hear from you. When have you experienced true Christian joy... even when you didn't feel much like smiling? Leave me your comments.

Merry Christmas from the Blacks

The annual taking of the Christmas card picture is always an exciting time at the Black house! It usually starts off amicably enough... full of holiday cheer and optimism. "Maybe THIS will be the year," Celeste and I will think. It usually denigrates rather quickly, however, into what can only be described as "weeping and gnashing of teeth." This year was no exception.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas this holiday season and all of the blessings that a new year holds. Maybe next year will be the year... until then, enjoy these "outtakes" from our attempts at the perfect Christmas picture.

Remembering Pa Pa Forrest

We're all thinking about Pa Pa Forrest this time of year. He left us to be with the Lord a year ago and we're all so grateful for the fond memories and the wonderful legacy he left behind. I am so thankful that my kids had such a fantastic Pa Pa who was not only a lot of fun to be around but was also such a great Christian example. Thanks Pa Pa... we love you!

Its A Wonderful Life! ...Love

I have SO enjoyed hearing the personal stories that Stacy Johnson and Rob Tittle have shared with us the last couple of weeks on Sunday mornings.  It is one thing to talk about the blessings that we have in Christ… peace and hope.  It is quite another thing to see those blessings actually lived out and experienced by our Christian brethren!  I want to thank them for so openly sharing their faith and their struggles with each of us.  This Sunday Celeste and I will be celebrating the holidays with family.  Brad Sullivan will be bringing the message to us… continuing the series “It’s A Wonderful Life” by looking at the blessing of the  LOVE that we have in Christ.  Robert Young will also be sharing some from his personal experience how he has seen love demonstrated through his relationship with Jesus.  How about you?  How have you been blessed by the “fruit of love” because Jesus lived?  I would love to hear from each of you…

The Golden Compass

There's been a lot of buzz lately over "The Golden Compass"... a new sci fi/ fantasy film that was released over the weekend and has gotten a lot of Christians upset about its content. I have to admit I knew nothing about it until a few weeks ago. Apparently it is based on a series of books that has been criticized (by Christians) as "anti-Christian". Whether it is or not, I can't say, since I haven't read them. The author, however, does claim to be an atheist and the organization in the books that all of the bad guys are associated with is said to represent the church. Whether it is meant to represent Catholicism specifically or all of Christendom... I don't know. From all that I have read by way of review, the books from which the movie was made does look to contain content that could be considered "anti-church." I wonder if some of the criticism against Christendom may be deserved at some level? It is no secret that lots of horrible and awful atrocities have been carried out in the name of "the church" over the centuries. I just don't know the story... maybe some of you can help me?
Regardless, the question remains... should Christians go see it? Your kids may have asked you if they can go. Here's what I know. The filmmakers have gone out of their way to portray the movie as a simple fantasy and claim that any anti-religious overtones have been stricken from the film adaptation. I wonder, however, if there isn't a secret aim to slip that back into later sequels. The director recently said that he hoped to be more faithful in the next adaptation to the source material... which I took to mean that he intended to include any anti-religious content later on. That remains to be seen, I suppose. Ultimately it will be up to individual Christians to make the decision whether this is a movie worth watching. No doubt some will be intrigued by all of the fuss and be first in line just to see what all the buzz is about. Some will be standing on the street corner with signs condemning anyone who chooses to view it.
My opinion? I'm probably not going to be in line at the box office or the video counter. Even if it is a good film with a good story, etc.... why would I want to support something that comes with such a potential to do undermine faith? I even wonder if the fantasy element to it doesn't make it more dangerous than if they had just come out with a clear and simple anti-Jesus message? It seems pretty sneaky to me... which I know is something the devil is pretty good at.
Bottom line... I would skip it. Wait till May, then go and see the next installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series... "Prince Caspian." It'll be hard to beat CS Lewis anyway!

... Hope

Man, Stacy Johnson did a wonderful job last Sunday sharing with us his personal story of God’s abiding presence throughout his ordeal recovering from a horseback riding accident last year.  Sorry, Stacy… I understand she didn’t throw you, you exited in a hurry.  Still, the outcome was the same… a broken back that could’ve been a lot worse than it was.  How wonderful it is to share our personal testimonies of how God has helped see us through tough times.  This Sunday Rob Tittle is going to share with us along the theme of HOPE.  The Christian life truly is “A Wonderful Life” and not the least of those blessings is the incredible hope that we have as believers.  Regardless of how the day treats us, we can go to bed at night with the hope… the assurance that this life is NOT all that there is!  God has promised us a home in eternity!  That gives me reason to get out of bed in the morning.  What would we do if Jesus had never been born? 

I’m curious… what are your thoughts?  How has this blessing of ‘hope’ helped you in your Christian walk?