This Weekend

This Sunday morning my message is titled "Seeing Clearly".
Think you've got God all figured out? Are you an authority on the subject? Check this out.
1 Corinth. 13:12 (The Message) "We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!"
How in the world (or in heaven as the case may be) can the angels keep up their endless praise? How does that compare to my daily response to God? How are they motivated over and over again to lift up all those "Holy, Holy, Holy" expressions? Join us this Sunday morning as we take just a little peek through the keyhole into heaven to get an idea of why the angels are so excited.

Psalm 23:2

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

In That Moment

Today I went to Peet's Coffee and this big guy came in pushing a stroller with a baby that you could only describe as adorable. This guy was so big that I decided not to start a fight with him. I'd get pummelled. You really have to choose your battles you know.
Anyway, he sits down with the baby and the next thing I hear out of his mouth is these "goo goo" noises as he interacted with his baby. I kind of had to stop myself from laughing at how he sounded. It was the last thing you'd expect to hear from him.
It made me think of the time that I came home to find my landlord, a big burly guy with a gravelly voice, having a tea party in front of his apartment with his five-year old daughter. It really touched my heart.
Another prime example is what you see pictured here. This is my buddy Patrick. He's a Marine with tattoos and drives a Harley Davidson. Yet any thoughts of being intimidated by this tough guy disappear when you see him talking with his son Isaac. I just had to capture it with my camera.
Babies and kids seem to have this power over us. They reduce us to emotional puddles of mush as we go out of our way to make them smile or even laugh. Shawn Pallil has to undergo that procedure every Sunday as just about every person in the church tries to entertain him.
I can't help but think that something in the heart of God reacts the same way to all of His children. Think about what God went through -in order to win our hearts.
This is from an article by Dr. Robert Webber and it speaks of what happened on the cross.
"In that moment, the divine trinity experienced the human suffering of all people, of all time, of all history.
In that moment, the Father turned His back toward the Son.
In that moment, the Son entered into the eternal separation of hell itself.
In that moment, death, which is the consequence for sin, wrapped itself like a cloak around the Son of God and made Him, who knew no sin, take into His own physical body and spiritual being the consequence of sin -death itself.
In that moment, the eternal triune community of Father, Son and Spirit was rendered in two.
In that moment, God Himself was wounded to the core of His being. He experienced for us our own rebellion, taking it and its consequence into Himself to defeat it by His love."

Song Of The Ostrich

"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves."



Wonder why Solomon didn't say, "Your eyes are ostriches"?

Noah David Aragon

I got to hold a newborn baby today! I'm not sure who the parents were. I just snuck into the hospital and picked one up.
Just kidding. The parents were none other than our own James and Fawnia Aragon who brought little Noah into the world yesterday. If my powers of retention are correct, I believe he was 7lbs. 14 ounces and 20 feet long. Or maybe that was 20 inches. (Ladies are usually so much better with the details than men. My Mom could probably tell me how many times I've hiccuped in my life.)
When Fawnia offered to let me pick Noah up, at first I was a bit hesitant...but then couldn't resist. Hopefully we'll have some pics to display here in the near future.
Our major congratulations and prayers go out to the expanding Aragon family! We love you!

This Weekend

This Sunday morning my message is titled, "Am I A Normal Christian?" Sometimes it seems that the Christian life is portrayed as one victorious conquest after another. It would seem that there are a lot of motivational speakers out there whipping crowds of people into a frenzy. But what if your heart isn't connecting with that approach? What if you just don't feel faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall pulpits in a single bound? Does it mean you're not a normal Christian?
Jesus seems to have an approach in His teaching that differs a bit from a lot of what is offered up today. Let's see what He has to say about what is "normal" for the Christian life. Join us!

A First For Me At Disneyland

Ok, I've got to share this. Last week I went to Disneyland with some friends. We decided to ride "It's A Small World" because we couldn't remember how the tune went. Anyway, we got on the boat and into the attraction and then I noticed we seemed to be slowing down. It then occurred to me that many of the folks in our boat were...pleasantly plump...and our boat was filled to capacity.
We bottomed out! Our boat stopped altogether. The boats in front of us faded off into the distance and the boats behind us started stacking up. Of course, there is only one river through that ride so we stopped the ride completely.
Some of us on the sides tried to push it along but a voice came over the speaker saying "please keep your hands inside the boat". We all couldn't help but laugh at our predicament.
Finally some employees showed up and tried to push us along -to no avail. So they took three people out of the boat. We were on our merry way but the boat still moved quite slow.
When I told my friend Steve Conner about this, he said I should have stood up in the boat and said, "Well, I guess it's not such a small world after all."

This Weekend

This Sunday night my message is titled "I'm A Christian And You're An Idiot". The more descriptive sub-title is "In Defense Of Gentleness".
Have you ever heard someone call into a talk radio program to discuss a heated topic and they started with the words "I'm a Christian and..." Do you ever wince when you hear what follows? Sometimes they may even say all the right things. But more than anything I think people are listening for our tone these days.
Phil. 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
Prov. 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
Yes, we need to speak the truth. But how we speak it can make all the difference. It can even open doors in a world that so needs to hear it. Join us!

I'm still alive.

No, I'm not dead. Been meaning to write...blah, blah, blah. Well, I wasn't really meaning to write that. But you know the usual excuses. Too busy. Too hot. There's a possum loose in my office. All that kind of thing. You know how it goes.