This past week I had been invited to share at Victory Mountain Camp’s 2nd and 3rd grade Kids Camp. I was on deck to share 4 sessions: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.
I used these slides to introduce myself that week:
A Practical Lesson in “Driving” Hospitality
I found myself behind a very slow moving vehicle on my way home from the church the other day. I wasn’t too worried because I thought surely this car doesn’t the EXACT route I take home.
Before that sentiment proved faulty, I recognized the vehicle! It belonged to my next door neighbor!
They are a couple with young children like us, so I was a little surprised they were driving so slowly. I found myself with a more patient attitude behind this slow vehicle because I knew them.
Sure enough, the car was going the EXACT way I was going home. But then, in a really weird place, the car slowed down right before a stop sign. I didn’t know if my neighbors were being nice to the car behind them (me) because they were going so slow or just getting out of the way in case the vehicle behind them was getting annoyed at their turtle pace.
So I cautiously steered around them fully expecting a friendly smile and a wave when we recognized each other…
List of the Kings of the Southern 2 Tribes of Judah
Back in March we went through the rationale of the Fall of Judah and the exile of the southern 2 tribes of Judah.
Here is a list of the kings of Judah, the years of their reign, and whether they did evil in the sight of the LORD (-) or good in the sight of the LORD (+)
King (name) |
Reign (in years) |
Evil (-), Good (+) |
| Reheboam | 17 | – |
| Abijah | 3 | – |
| Asa | 41 | + |
| Jehoshapphat | 25 | + |
| Jehoram | 8 | – |
| Ahaziah | 1 | – |
| Joash | 40 | + |
| Amaziah | 29 | + |
| Azariah | 52 | + |
| Jotham | 16 | + |
| Ahaz | 16 | – |
| Hezekiah | 29 | + |
| Manasseh | 55 | – |
| Amon | 2 | – |
| Josiah | 31 | + |
| Jehoahaz | 3 months | – |
| Jehoiakim | 11 | – |
| Jehoiachin | 3 months | – |
| (Zedekiah) | 11 | – |
| 18 kings (1 puppet king) | 387 (approx) | a lot of good, then some evil |
List of the Kings of the Northern 10 Tribes of Israel
Back in March we went through the rationale of the Fall of Samaria and the exile of the northern 10 tribes of Israel.
Here is a list of the kings of Israel, the years of their reign, and whether they did evil in the sight of the LORD (-) or good in the sight of the LORD (+)
King (name) |
Reign (in years) |
Evil (-), Good (+) |
| Jeroboam | 22 | – |
| Nadab | 2 | – |
| Baasha | 24 | – |
| Elah | 2 | ? |
| Zimri | 7 days | – |
| Omri | 12 | – |
| Ahab | 22 | – |
| Ahaziah | 2 | – |
| Joram | 12 | – |
| Jehu | 28 | +/- |
| Jehoahaz | 17 | – |
| Jehoash | 16 | – |
| Jeroboam II | 41 | – |
| Zechariah | 6 months | – |
| Shallum | 1 month | ? |
| Menahem | 10 | – |
| Pekahiah | 2 | – |
| Pekah | 20 | – |
| Hoshea | 9 | – |
| 19 kings | 241 (approx) | a lot of evil |
Visual list of the kings of the northern 10 tribes of Israel:
source Vimeo
Love is the Combination of Both Encouragement and Challenge.
“Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21a)
I think the wealthy man who asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life wanted Jesus to pat him on the back for all of his obedience of the commandments. I think the man wanted Jesus to say something like:
“Way to go! I’m so proud of you! I know that’s probably been tough to do, but I’m impressed with your obedience. Good job!”
But Jesus didn’t do what this man expected… but he certainly LOVED him. So “love” does not always mean thankfulness and pride for obedience, rather what the person really needs.
What this man really needed was exposure to what he depended on more than God: his wealth and his position. It wasn’t necessarily his self-righteousness or moral obedience to the Law he was depending on, rather the accumulation of wealth and status. What this man really needed wasn’t praise for his moral obedience, but both a challenge and exposure of what he was really depending on for salvation.
This is how Jesus “loved” him.
Boom, Boom, Boom… Big Thunder Cloud.
I had to apologize to Sari a while back.
We were playing UNO as a family and Sari came around the coffee table and wanted to tickle me. She poked her finger in my neck. I really didn’t want to be tickled at that moment (in fact, I hate being tickled), so I chided her:
“Sari, please don’t do that. I don’t like it. Please stop.”
I said those words in an annoyed, irritated, authoritative kind of tone. I wanted her to both know that I didn’t like it and NOT to do it again. Right after it happened, Amanda made fun of me to lessen its effect on Sari:
“Boom, boom, boom… big thunder cloud!”
I kinda laughed at that.
Later that night, when we were in bed, Amanda talked with me about what I had said and how what I say has an impressionable effect on Sari. “How I say things,” Amanda said, “is how you are shaping your daughter.” She asked if I wanted my daughter to be playful with me (which of course I do)… then I better not get so irritated and respond to her in that way.
Amanda was so right. I didn’t like it, but she was right.
The next morning, on the way to school, I apologized to Sari. I asked her if she remembered what I had said to her last night and she did. I told her I was sorry that I did that and asked her for forgiveness… to which she readily gave. I then told her that she can poke and try to tickle me whenever she wants and I won’t yell or get irritated with her.
I want both of my daughters to be free around me instead of fearful. I want them to be playful with me… and that includes them doing things that they like instead of all the things I like. I also need to be very careful how my responses are shaping my daughters.
Sari loves telling this story… actually, she makes me tell it. When we were going around to the various graduation parties this past May, Sari would say, in the presence of other adults: “Dad, tell the ‘Boom, boom, big thunder cloud’ story!”
I did.
Did Jesus Exist? Yes.
Bart Ehrman recently wrote a book entitled:
Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth
Due to an increase in a popular conception that seeks to argue that the historical Jesus never existed, Dr. Ehrman felt compelled to write a book to:
“…convince genuine seekers who really want to know how we know that Jesus did exist, as virtually every scholar of antiquity, of biblical studies, of classics, and of Christian origins in this country and, in fact, in the Western world agrees.”
This is Ehrman’s thesis:
“As a historian I can show why at least one set of skeptical claims about the past history of our civilization is almost certainly wrong, even though these claims are seeping into the popular consciousness at an alarming rate.
Jesus existed, and those vocal persona who deny it do so not because they have considered the evidence with the dispassionate eye of the historian, but because they have some other agenda that this denial serves.
From a dispassionate point of view, there was a Jesus of Nazareth.”
I’m currently about halfway through the book and I have to say, though Ehrman does not think the same way I do about who Jesus the man is, he does passionate believe, with historical reliability, that the historical Jesus did, in fact, exist, which is a claim that I appreciate amidst our current world of skepticism of whether there was a real Jesus or not. Ehrman is not a Christian, which, while sad for him (although he is not sad), helps the conversation because he has no engendered or inherent bias to prove it either way. Ehrman relies solely on the discipline of historical studies to arrive at his, and many others, conclusion: that Jesus did exist.
Tipping.
How do you tip?
Generously or not generously?
A while back I was thinking about my policy on tipping.
I do not tip on performance, I tip on grace.
I don’t use the amount I tip as a rating system on how well the person served me. I just like to tip generously, regardless of good or bad service.
I was thinking about my tipping policy because I was asking myself why I tip that way… and then I remembered:
I’m not proud of this at all, but when I was in my late teens, I went to a Mexican restaurant in Oklahoma City with some friends and we thought it would be funny to leave a $.01 tip. And so we did. While we were walking out of the restaurant laughing about it, the waitress ran up to us, kindly told us that we left our $.01 on the table, and handed it to us with a pained expression on her face.
While we thought it was humorous, the waitress did not.
When I remembered that story, I felt so ashamed at my younger self. I wanted to step back in time somehow and redo that moment. I cannot, but I can “red0” any future moments.
Therefore, regardless of performance (and maybe as a sort of life penance), I like to tip on grace (whether or not someone deserves it).
A New Approach to Tackling the Gospels in Main Street
History of Main Street
In the summer of 2003, I chose 39 stories in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), 39 stories in the Writings (Joshua-Nehemiah), and 39 stories in the Gospels and Acts. These 117 Bible stories comprised the core curriculum for Hayward Wesleyan Church’s Sunday school program that we eventually called Main Street (and the curriculum, Main Street Curriculum).
I put them into a 3-year rotation:
- Year 1 :: 39 weeks in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
- Year 2 :: 39 weeks in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah
- Year 3 :: 39 weeks in the four Gospels and Acts
We did this curriculum for 9 years, which is three cycles through the 3-year curriculum.
You can view the overview of this curriculum here.
We decided to go a different direction on year 10 to sort of change things up because we felt like we were in a rut. We used another person’s overarching storytelling through the Bible. We loved the first year and a half, but when it got to some of the stories in Samuel and Kings, we felt like it fell short of what needed to be addressed and taught. So mid-way through last year (year 11) we switched back to the Main Street Curriculum and finished out last year with the Old Testament.
So that would put the Gospels and Acts (New Testament) in the queue for this upcoming year.
The approach I took in the past to teaching through the storyline of the Gospels is to teach through the genesis of Jesus and the surrounding narratives (John the Baptist and Jesus’ birth, presentation at the Temple, boyhood, baptism of Jesus, and temptation in the desert). These stories moved the narrative along. Then we camped out in several weeks of miracle stories, then several more weeks in teaching through some of Jesus’ parable. Then we went to the end of Jesus’ life and talked through those stories (transfiguration, triumphal entry, last supper, garden of Gethsemane, arrest, crucifixion, death, and resurrection).
I’ve been wanting to change how we approach the teaching of the Gospels in Main Street.
Reading the Bible.
Back in February, I wrote this after my men’s small group that meets on Tuesday mornings:
“I was convicted this morning of a story my friend shared of a guy who would read through the Bible every month. It was a conviction he felt impressed by God to do.
“This story reminded of the man that inspired Dr. Ron Frost to read through the Bible on a regular basis. When one lives in the world of the Bible, one tends to adopt the Bible’s worldview, which demonstrates God’s worldview and His kingdom.
“I feel like I don’t read the Bible enough. I need to spend more time in it. I think I spend too much time thumbing through the News Feed on Facebook, USA Today app, or tech blogs on my iPhone. I don’t spend adequate time reading the Bible or books.”
Too be honest, since writing this in my journal back in February, not much has changed. I want it to change, but it hasn’t. I guess you could say that I don’t really want it to change because I haven’t changed it. I could make a few excuses like I’m in seminary and I’m already reading a lot, or that I teach the Bible on a regular basis and therefore I’m in the Scriptures a lot. These excuses are good ones, but I regardless of my profession, I want reading the Bible to be a regular part of how I live my daily life. And not just a chapter or two or even a handful of verses, but chunks of Scripture, regularly engaged with over time.
That is what I want.
…now to change that.
My Lack, and Therefore Need, of Empathy
My wife and I had a good series of talks on the way to a retreat back in February. I can’t remember the substance of our talks on the way down, but it was nice to have had the time and space to talk. As a married couple who both work nearly full-time and have kids in both school and daycare, we often meet ourselves coming and going and don’t strive to make time to connect and re-connect. Talking in a car on a 5-hour road-trip can lend itself to great re-connecting.
However, on the way back, we bickered.
My wife seemed annoyed and frustrated as we were driving home and I wanted to know why. I wanted to know why we had such a great connection time on the way there, but not so on the way home.
Her response was that I didn’t help or “co-lead” in packing and helping to manage the trip. She felt that it was all up to her. Toward the end, she said something that struck a nerve and made me think:
She told me that while I am getting better at being empathetic with people in my professional world, I am not getting any better at being empathetic with her or with the kids.
- That, I did not realize.
- That, I believe, is something I had not taken into consideration.
- That was new to me.
I know that I lack considerable natural empathy and I must manufacture and lace my interactions with it liberally. It’s something I recognize and try to compensate for. However, I am short and to the point. I don’t like to waste words. To me, feelings and emotions are nice to express, but don’t help move along discussion.
But I am so wrong.
We are humans who are comprised of both an intellect and an emotional core. It could possibly be said that feeling and emotions are the highways to get to understanding. Not for me… but for others, yes.
I need to work on that.
Forgiveness Always Comes w/ a Cost
If you were to come across an individual bashing your car with a baseball bat. What would you do?
You would probably call the police!
What if, when the police officer arrives, the offender apologizes to the officer, and the patrolman looks at you and says: “He’s sorry. Why don’t you just let it go?”
What?! You want that person to PAY, right? You don’t want to let him off.
But what about forgiveness?
Why is it difficult to forgive in this situation? Because we want justice. Where do we get that sense of justice? Well, from the ultimate Judge–God. Our desire for justice is reflective of God’s justice.
Someone has to pay for the offense: it’s either the offender or you. We all know, deep down, that someone has to pay. And we want the person who did the offense to pay. The reason why we don’t want to forgive is because we don’t want to pay for the offense. In terms of the Gospel, we don’t want to offer grace. Why? Because we think it wouldn’t be loving to the offender to let him off. Letting him go doesn’t help him, we think; nor the community he’s a part of.
We want the offender to pay.
That sounds an awful lot like Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. The one servant was forgiven much by the master, but then when one of his servants owed him a little, the one who was forgiven a huge debt threw the other servant into jail. When it was discovered what the first servant had done, the master “handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed” (18:34 NIV). Funny, how can you pay something back when you’re in jail?
Anyway, forgiveness costs someone something. In Jesus’ story, it cost the master a lot to forgive the huge debt of the first servant. The most gracious thing the first servant could have done was forgive one of his servants who owed him a little. After all, hadn’t the first servant just got radically saved by the master?
We often forget, at least I do, that I have been forgiven a huge debt, and the most gracious thing I could do to those who…
- offend me,
- hurt me,
- take advantage of me,
- get in my way
…is forgive them.
Offer them grace. Take the cost upon myself, just like the master did in Jesus’ story, and just like Jesus did on the cross.
Forgiveness always comes with a cost. Are we willing to pay it?