First saw this from Gavin Richardson via Facebook

I don't blame Apple, really. Everyone knows you "got to give the people want they want." And people want to feel like they have the best. People want to be in the know. People want the good stuff in life.

And, you know, I could write a long post about being content blah, blah and blah.  But I don't have to.  There are two quick items I can bring your attention to that will do the speaking for me.

Number 1:

...for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11b-13

Number 2:
Jimmy Kimmel Live - First Look: iPhone 5

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What else could I add to that?

Stay blessed...john

There's a nice one-screen movie theater not too far from our house. We go there occasionally, depending upon what's playing. Something tells me, though, that I shouldn't expect this next movie to be showing there anytime. If it were, I think I would plan a church field trip.

The movie is entitled Hellbound. I haven't seen it; I've only seen the trailer. It appears to be a documentary-type look at the ongoing faith conversation about hell. Is it a real place? Who goes there? Is is forever? And so on. When I figure out how I can, I will watch it. I can't recommend or praise/bash it, yet. But have a look and see if it is something you might take some time to watch.


Would you watch it? Stay blessed...john

This was an easy sermon to preach.  Easy in the sense that making connections isn't difficult.  We all know what it feels like to be the one to say something we later regret.  We all know what it means to let your tongue slip and say something you wish you could take back.  And there have been times when you wish you would have said something.  Any way you lay it out, preaching on the tongue, or our big mouth, is easy like Sunday morning.

Someone said this was best sermon since coming to Shiner.  Another person was sure I overheard one of their conversations the day before.  And a few were sure I was talking directly to them.  

The title of this sermon is Mark My Words...On Second Thought.

Listen when you get a chance.  Play it as you wash dishes or clean off the clubs.  Let me know what you think.





Stay blessed...john

“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” 

A couple of months ago one church sign got a lot of publicity.  The sign read: God prefers kind atheists over hateful Christians.  I thought about that a few times while I was preparing for this sermon.  Our last church had a marquis.  Had this sermon come around then maybe ours would have had the same message.  But you can't always get what you want.  So, I got to preach this sermon, but didn't get to have church-sign fun.  Life goes on.

What I wanted listeners to consider with this sermon is that the choice between being religious and spiritual is a false dichotomy.  Religion gets put down by many people.  I shared two videos this past week on our church's Facebook and weekly eNewsletter (AnotherNote) that shared two ideas about religion.  One was called Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus.  The other is called Why I Love Religion, and Love Jesus.  You should take a moment to listen to them.

Religion gets blamed for quite a bit.  Religion, though, doesn't kill people; people kill people.  And we can't laud religion over relationship because if you have a relationship with God then you have a religion.  So, instead of picking on religion, I think we should understand that our religion is there and that others are paying attention to it.  Here are a few thoughts to help you choose your religion.

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And yes, I did have REM's song in my mind when choosing this sermon title.  Stay blessed...john