Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Perfect Courage vs. Guilty Cowards

This past Sunday I preached on Matthew 27:1-31; Judas' remorse and death, Jesus' trial before Pilate, conviction and sentence. In this passage Jesus stands out as having perfect courage even among numerous guilty cowards. If you'd like to hear what Jesus' perfect courage means to guilty cowards like us, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Faithfulness on Trial

Two weeks ago I preached on Matthew 26:57-75 in which Jesus and Peter both face trials testing their faithfulness, but with two very different outcomes. If you'd like to listen to this sermon and to hear what Jesus' faithfulness on trial has to do with us, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

He does it Again...but was as Anyone Surprised?

Chores

Growing up in the city, I always associated chores with something kids do for an allowance. I remember having to do chores such as taking out the trash, vacuuming the stairs, and picking up after the dog in the backyard. So it's interesting to hear fifty-year-old farmers talking about having chores to do each morning. And although I haven't asked, I'm pretty sure they don't receive an allowance from their parents when they're done.

Well, as you can tell from a previous post, the fantasy baseball draft took up most of my Saturday. Ever since college a bunch of my friends have had a baseball rotisserie league. And over the years it has gone through numerous changes. The first year half of us drafted NL players and the other half drafted AL and one guy kept the stats for the entire league. At one point we changed it into a keeper league (you can hold over a certain number of players for the next season) but then we changed back to redrafting new teams every season.

We have guys from Wisconsin that draft Brewers, Ohio that draft Indians and Michigan that draft Tigers...way too early! It's been fun to over-the-years see who certain guys seem to always want on their team. Mike likes well-known veterans (who usually have a good year when he gets them). Matt likes speed (I think he drafted Ichiro 3-4 years in a row). And as you can imagine there have also been many hilarious moments on draft day throughout the years. The number one has got to be when John mistakenly clicked on "Roman Martinez" (a mediocre pitcher) instead of "Pedro Martinez" (the best pitcher) with his number one overall draft pick.

Even though we've all long since graduated, moved away, started careers, changed careers, moved back, got engaged, got married and started families, as many as can make it still try to get together at someone's house in the Chicago area on draft day. I haven't been able to make it the last couple years and so have had to draft remotely; online. And even though it doesn't help one's team to be present, you sure miss out on a lot of the memories from draft day.

I'm having problems uploading sermons so I apologize for the not posting the last couple of weeks yet. I hope to have this resolved soon.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Basketball Coaches Guitar Hero Commercial

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Draft Results

So every year at about this time, I get together (online that is) with some old college chums of mine for the right-of-passage that is the fantasy baseball draft. If you think rotisserie refers to a way to cook chicken, let me explain fantasy baseball. You have a group of owners (e.g. a bunch of college buddies) who draft a team of all-stars from major league baseball rosters and then compete against each other to see whose team does better by the end of the season. The way we decide the winner is based on a 5x5 points system (five pitching categories and five hitting categories). Each team is made up of 20 players (11 hitters and 9 pitchers) plus reserves or bench players. Hitters are awarded points based on batting average, runs, runs batted in (RBI), homeruns and steals. Pitching points fall into wins, earned run average (era), strikeouts, whip (walks and hits per inning pitched), and saves.

So all that to say, below in the team that I drafted today. If I think about it, I'll periodically post how I'm doing during the season. Also, I'll try to post my final season roster as because of injuries, trades and additions, it usually looks quite different. Enjoy! - Jeff

C - Brian McCann (ATL)
1B - Adam LaRoche (PIT)
2B - Ian Kinsler (TEX)
3B - Kevin Youkilis
SS - J.J. Hardy (MIL)
CI - Paul Konerko (CWS)
MI - Clint Barmes (COL)
OF - Hunter Pence (HOU)
OF - Jason Werth (PHI)
OF - Xavier Nady (NYY)
OF - Mike Cameron (MIL)
OF - David Murphy (TEX)
U - Luke Scott (BAL)
SP - C.C. Sabathia (NYY)
SP - Diasuke Matsuzaka (BOS)
SP - Scott Baker (MIN)
SP - Gil Meche (KC)
SP - Chris Volstad (FLA)
SP - Jessie Litsch (TOR)
SP - Randy Wolf (LAD)
CL - Bobby Jenks (CWS)
CL - Frank Francisco (TEX)
BN - Kelvim Escobar (SP; LAA)
BN - Travis Ishikawa (1B; SF)
BN - Josh Anderson (OF; ATL)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

God and His Word

"Assuredly, when the word of God is despised, all reverence for Him is gone. His majesty cannot be duly honored among us, nor his worship maintained in its integrity, unless we hang as it were upon his lips."

Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (2.1.4)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

My Off-season is Officially Over

As of yesterday I am officially coaching basketball again. I had a nice, relaxing week between the end of the junior high season and the beginning of elementary basketball. Fortunately, this year I'm co-coaching the elementary team with the girls' JV coach who also happens to have a son on the team. Steve has been coaching a lot longer than I have and so I am eager to learn from him. It also should be easier to control a bunch of 4th-6th graders with two coaches than just one. Our first practice I thought went really well and although the kids certainly have a LOT to learn, they seem excited about starting up the season and I believe this will be a good group of kids to work with. However, it's only the first week and we're already going to have to cancel a practice...

That's right, we're currently experiencing yet another snow storm. I thought that we were not only done with new snow but that most of what was still on the ground would be completely melted in another week or so. Not so fast my friend. Apparently March tends to be the snowiest month of the year and even though we been having nice weather the past week or so, we're back to the frozen tundra of North Dakota. School in Underwood is canceled and therefore basketball practice as well. In addition there's already been quite a bit of flooding in the state from the melting snow and from ice-dams forming in the rivers. I'm looking forward to our vacation to LA!

So how's your bracket doing? Well, thanks for asking. I am actually in two brackets and both of them seem to be in good shape (it helps when you pick mostly the same teams and they're all still in it). As those of you who know me could probably guess, I picked Duke to win it all. Now I know they are only a "2" seed this year and have a tough road ahead (Nova, Pitt and then a "third time's a charm" game against UNC) to even make it to the finals but what can I say?

I read an interesting book over the past couple weeks. "Odd Man Out" was written by a doctor named Matt McCarthy who in-between his graduation from Yale and beginning medical school at Harvard, played baseball in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's organization. He was a left-handed pitcher who was was drafted in the twenty-six round by the Angels and pitched the following year for the Provo Angels in the rookie ball league. It was interesting learning about the minor league baseball culture and experience. I gave me a whole new appreciation for what guys who've come up through the minors have gone through just to get to the major leagues.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Where We Fail, Jesus Succeeds (for us)

At the decisive moment of Jesus' earthly life and ministry His disciples completely abandoned Him. But the good news for them and for us who have also failed Jesus is that at this same moment, He succeeded. This Sunday I preached on Matthew 26:31-56, Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial and all of the disciples' failure, His faithfulness and their unfaithfulness in Gethsemane and Jesus' betrayal and arrest. The main point as I saw it relating to us is that "Where we fail, Jesus succeeds for us." We have all been unfaithful but He remained faithful and in so doing provided the solution for our failure. If you would like to listen to the sermon, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Why St. Patrick Deserves his Own Day

Like many Christian holidays, the meaning of St. Patrick's Day has been hijacked by our secular culture and turned into a day to wear green, pinch those who don't and drink green beer. Now I don't have a problem with any of these practices, if done in moderation (e.g. you don't want to be overly pinching people). But they have distracted us from the significance of the person to whom this day is set aside. In fact, St. Patrick lived quite a life that's worth celebrating.

St. Patrick (well, actually long before he was a saint) was born in England in 384 AD to a nominal Christian family. But he was abducted by pirates as a child and taken to the pagan country of Ireland as a slave. During his six-year captivity he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and his relationship with God grew. He was able to eventually escape and return to England. But that's not where the story of St. Patrick ends...not by a long shot.

In 431 AD (30-40 years later) he has a dream in which the Irish people beg him to return and to share the Good News of Jesus with them. So even though he was not well educated, he returned to the country of his enslavement and spent the rest of his life (until his death in 461 AD) spreading the gospel throughout.

The gospel's penetration into Ireland is almost exclusively due to God's use of St. Patrick's enslavement and faithful return. That my friends is why he deserves his own day!

By God's Grace, Jeff

A Disappointing End

This past weekend marked the end of the junior high basketball season. During the regular season we amassed an 8-2 record and unofficially tied for first-place in our district. But the end of the season district tournament was another story. We were matched up (randomly) with Turtle-Lake in the first-round. This was the other top team during the regular season and we had split our two previous match-ups. I felt confident going in as we were finally healthy. We were down by one at half but I was still optimistic that if we came out and played well in the second-half we'd have a good shot. Unfortunately they outscored us 19-4 in the third quarter and even though we tried to claw our way back in the fourth it was to no avail. The guys were pretty bummed about losing the opening round as even though we still had a couple more games to play, the best we could now finish was fifth. However, even that was not to be.

Saturday morning we played Wilton and although maybe not at the top of our game, were able to take care of business and get the win. So in the afternoon we were matched up with Washburn (a team we'd beaten twice already) for fifth place. However, from the opening tip they seemed fresher and hungrier for the victory than our guys. We were down by double-digits at the beginning of the fourth quarter and again put up a furious comeback but fell a few points short. Afterward I tried to console the guys by reminding them that as eight graders their basketball careers were really only beginning and if they stuck with it, worked on improving over the summer and used this game as motivation, the future would be bright.

Other than the basketball tournament, this past week was fairly quiet. My wife and I Netflixed the movie "Changeling" which is based on a true story of a woman's fight to locate her missing son amidst a corrupt LA police department. I really enjoy movies based on actual events and this one was no different. I thought it brought out the struggle between maintaining one's position of power and doing what's right even at potential personal cost.

On Sunday we had a family from the church over for supper (i.e. dinner). Actually it was a mom who's in her 90s and one of her sons (who's in his 60s). They are both members of the church but my wife and I had never really had the opportunity to get to know Rich. Come to find out that while served in the Navy he was part of a convoy that assisted in the recovery of the Apollo X astronauts' space capsel and that he used to be an avid golfer.

And in case anyone is curious, the weather is beginning to warm up around here. The last few days have been in the 40s and the snow is finally beginning to melt.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Forgiveness for Partakers in Jesus' Sacrifice

In Matthew 26:17-30 Jesus' foretells of His betrayer while celebrating Passover with His disciples and He institutes the New Covenant ordinance of Communion. Throughout this passage the main point as I see it relating to us is that there is forgiveness for all who partake by faith in Jesus' work on the cross for sinners. If you would like to listen to this sermon, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Communion and the Wedding Supper of Lamb

"We are not sharing a funeral meal together; we are having a dress rehersal for the wedding supper of the Lamb. This One who was crucified as a criminal will return as our Judge and King. That is what this Supper is all about."
- Mark Dever (Twelve Challenges Churches Face, p. 134)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

This Saturday my wife and I drove to Bismarck for a book sale at their Public Library. One of the features of the culture around here that I appreciate is the number of "Christian" books stocked by local libraries. I was able to pick up a copy of Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline" (there were actually three to choose from!), Hendrickson's "More than Conquerors" (commentary on Revelation) and a bible study guide for Romans...all for a couple of bucks (and that included the books that my wife picked up for the Underwood library!). You would be hard pressed to find another locale where you could discover such finds at a public library.

While we were in Bismarck we caught the 2009 Best Picture "Slumdog Millionare." It was entertaining and thought-provoking. Although the characters may be far from role models, you gain an insight into India's caste system and changes in that country over the last twenty years. As an editorial in this month's "Christianity Today" by Philip Yancey pointed out, America elected an African-American president within 250 years of instituting slavery but India is still struggling with the effects of 4000 years of their caste system.

I had a busy week of basketball as well. We had games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We won our games on Tuesday and Friday but fell by three to Garrison, a team we had beaten earlier this season, on Thursday. We were short-handed (missing two starters) and have been battling the flu and cold bugs lately. Hopefully we can regain our health and be at full strength for the end of the season tournament this weekend. On a positive note, our seventh grade team (made up of more 6th than 7th graders) won for only the second time this season on Friday, which also happened to be their last game. I am glad they could finish on a positive note.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Friday, March 6, 2009

Local Flavor

For those of you who do not subscribe to the Bismarck Tribune or live outside of central/western North Dakota, I wanted to give you a little taste of the local flavor. In honor of having recently seen (and thoroughly enjoyed) "Marley & Me" based on the newspaper columns of a Florida writer, I want to let you in on a treasure buried in the Friday edition of the Bismarck Tribune; columnist Kelly Hagen. My wife and I look forward to reading his hilarious and culturally relevant snippets each week. This week Kelly ponders the "near" miss of the recent asteroid and its impact on his life, including his advice to the Defense Department on how to deal with a future potential cosmic collision. So, for a taste of Bismarck's hidden gem, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Preparation for Jesus' Death Reflects Understanding

This Sunday I preached on the first sixteen verses of Matthew 26 and the main point that I saw relating to us today in this passage is, how we prepare for (or respond to) Jesus' death reflects our understanding of it. If you would like to hear the sermon click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Monday, March 2, 2009

Preaching Under-the-Weather

On Friday my throat starting feeling scratchy and dry. On Saturday my throat continued to bother me and I felt a lack of energy. On Sunday I woke up with a stuffy nose in addition to the previous symptoms. By God's grace this was the first Sunday that I have had to lead the service while feeling under-the-weather. I took some water with me to the pulpit and God provided me the strength to make it through the worship service, Sunday School and to make it back later that evening for our Elder meeting.

On Monday my wife and I drove down to Washburn to watch the high school boys' compete in their first-round game at the district tournament. They came in ranked fourth in the District (out of seven) having beat the fifth, six and seventh place teams this year but having lost to the higher ranked ones. They played the fifth seeded team, Garrison, in the first-round and pulled out a close victory. We kept turning the ball over against their press but they had a hard time putting the ball in the basket so it became a war of attrition and Underwood was able to squeak out the victory. On Saturday we played Turtle Lake (#1) and got destroyed. But that wasn't surprising as they're the fourth ranked team in the state and made it to the championship game last year with basically the same team. With one loss Underwood still has a chance to advance to regionals if we can take care of business tonight against Sheridan County.

Junior High basketball was pretty uneventful this week as we did not have any games. But this week we have practice on Monday and then three games in a row! We also found out that at our district tournament in a couple weeks we'll be facing Turtle Lake in the first round. If you've read my previous posts you might remember they're the only team we've lost to this season and we've also beaten then in an overtime thriller. There's no loser bracket in our tournament so whoever loses that game can finished no better than fifth.

Lastly, Netflix sent us "Flash of Genius" which we watched this weekend. This was a movie that I was really looking forward to seeing. It is based on a true story of the man who invented the intermittent wiper but had his idea stolen by Ford and endured through a 12 year legal battle to claim what was rightfully his. Now I am a big fan of justice so I enjoyed seeing the verdict go against the "mean" corporation and for the "little guy." However, going through this process ended up costing the main character his marriage. He got justice at the expense of his family. Reflecting on this after the movie my wife and I concluded that the Bible tells us to care for and preserve our marriages as a first priority and leave the vengeance for righting wrongs to God.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Holiness is the Goal of Marriage

"Will we approach marriage from a God-centered view or a man-centered view? In a man-centered view, we will maintain our marriage as long as our earthly comforts, desires, and expectations are met. In a God-centered view, we preserve our marriage because it brings glory to God and points a sinful world to a reconciling Creator."
- Gary Thomas ("Sacred Marriage" p. 32)