Sermon Video: "Why do you stand here looking into the sky?" - Acts 1:1-11

Jesus, in his last instructions to his disciples before ascending into Heaven, teaches them that the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel is not their current mission. Through the power of the Holy Spirit his disciples will be spreading the Good News of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the world! From these eleven (and Jesus' other followers) will grow a worldwide Church that stands for two thousand years. Only the continued presence of the Holy Spirit could make such a remarkable success story possible.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Herman Wouk and the Holocaust

I've been rereading Herman Wouk's WWII novels this spring, Winds of War and War and Remembrance, and coupled together with teaching Lord of the Flies this spring (and watching Schindler's List with that class), I've spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of humanity.  Questions such as: Why were people blind to the Final Solution while it was happening?  Herman's novel, and Spielberg's movie make it clear that most of the Jews of Europe couldn't imagine that the Nazi intended to murder all of them.  I pointed out to my class each time a character in the movie says, "this is the worst"; sadly, it happens over and over until the train mistakenly rolls into Auschwitz.  Throughout the novels, various characters try to understand how such evil could take hold in Germany, but each theory falls flat because the Holocaust wasn't the only example of hatred and persecution of the Jewish people; until the mass killings began, it wasn't even the worst example (the Inquisition leads the list, but also episodes during the Crusades and Black Plague, among others).
So how could this happen and how could people have been so blind to it?
The short answer is: human nature
We are capable of unspeakable evil because humanity is rotten to the core.  The few examples of "good" people who have done the right thing in history cannot blot out the casual evil that exists each and every day in our world.
We are also at times blind to that evil because humanity, as a whole, isn't interested in facing the truth.  We'd much rather believe that we're civilized, that we've risen above the primitive nature of our ancestors and somehow fixed the problems of the ancients through education, psychology, or laws.  We haven't, the only thing that modern man has achieved is to convince ourselves that our problems can be fixed, despite the vast evidence to the contrary.  Not convinced?  Consider the vast amounts spent on education in the world today (certainly a higher percentage of people in the world today can read/write, etc. than ever before), and yet the genocides continue despite 24/7 coverage on CNN.  Psychologists and Sociologists can diagnose mental issues, can help some people to overcome their problems, and yet the world's prisons are full (and then some) of men and women guilty of every type of inhumanity.  America is the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, and yet our teens flee to drug use and reckless sexual behavior to escape their hollow existence.  (I could continue, but the point is made)
Where is the hope, where is the peace??
The Gospel is humanity's only hope, and transformation of individuals by the power of the Holy Spirit is the only solution.  We will never fix the problems in our society until we begin to transform lives one at a time.  The Holocaust happened because mankind IS that depraved.  After WWII the slogan was, "never again", but that didn't last very long. {see Pol Pot in Cambodia, the Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, the Sudan, Somalia, 9/11 etc.}
Is remembrance important?  Very much so, but it won't stop us from walking down the path to another Holocaust.  Humanity doesn't need a make-over, it needs an overhaul.  Only Christ has the power to save us from ourselves.

Memorial Day observance Video

This is the video of our Memorial Day observance at the Palo cemetery, including my message honoring the eight Medal of Honor recipients from Iraq and Afghanistan.

To watch the video, click the links below:
Memorial Day Video
Memorial Day Video - Part 2

Sermon Video: The Union of Doctrine and Devotion - Colossians 2:2-6

Paul writes to share his joy that the Church at Colassae is "encouraged in heart and united in love" as well as having an "orderly and firm faith".  This combination of emotional and rational health helps the church remain true to the Gospel despite the temptations of "fine sounding arguments" which seek to lead it astray.  As Christians, we have the same need, to be emotionally and intellectual involved in our faith so that we as individuals, and collectively as a Church, will not fall prey to ideas that would take us away from the Gospel.

To watch the sermon, click on the links below:
Sermon Video Part 1
Sermon Video Part 2

Remembrance

“Remember the Alamo!” We certainly do. “Remember Goliad!” Not so much. And yet, both were used as rallying cries by the forces that defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Why is the Alamo remembered to this day, its legend celebrated in movie and song, but Goliad is known only to the few who paid attention in U.S. history in high school. In the same vein, the defeat at Pearl Harbor became “A date which will live in infamy”, but the defeat of American forces in the Philippines which occurred later that same day has been forgotten. What is the purpose of remembering the tragedies of the past? Why will we all tell the next generation years from now about what it was like on Sept. 11th 2001, much as our parents told us about the day that JFK was assassinated?


We remember the past because it helps us to understand the present. The tragic past also inspires us to make choices today which we hope will prevent us from repeating it. As Americans, we honor and celebrate those who risked their lives in service to their country throughout our history each Memorial Day. We have parades, go to the cemetery, and listen to speeches, often including a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We honor them because we know that our present freedoms were purchased with blood, and we honor them because we hope to avoid the wars that interrupted, and for too many ended, their lives.

As Christians we do the same thing. We celebrate Christmas and Easter every year to remember what Christ chose to do for us. Jesus chose to enter our world as a man, subject to the same pain that we feel. He chose to walk up to Jerusalem, knowing the Cross would be the ultimate destination, but also knowing that the empty grave awaited beyond it. We remember because it is “altogether fitting and proper” to honor Jesus for his sacrifice on our behalf. Likewise, we will always honor those who give the “last full measure of devotion” to America.