Christmas Eve

I want to wish all of you a merry Christmas. I have so much enjoyed blogging through half of my year with all of you. Thank you for all that you have meant to me and my family ------ and thank you for being part of this ministry. I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to spend time around the manger this Christmas ---- as we all look at this scandalous event where God is made flesh. Blessings to all of you and your families.

Light Rail

I took the family down to Charlotte, NC for a couple days and we had the privilege to take Charlotte's new light rail train system. This is actually the second time we have gotten to do it and it is so much fun ----- and it is cheap. So if any of you are in Charlotte and have a chance you all should take your kids. Kindergarten thru 12th grade is $1.50 round trip and less than kindergarten is free.

Rushing

Wow, I have felt this rushed in a number of years. I guess this is kind of a journal entry. For the most part my wife and I pride ourselves in not rushing around during the holiday season ----- but something is different this year. We really are rushing around an inordinate amount. So ya'll can pray for us ----- to slow it down some. It isn't that we are rushing to the mall all the time. Instead we are rushing to this party or that party or this house or that house. I hope all of you are finding time to not rush around. I'll keep you posted on how it is going.

1 Thessalonians 5.12-24

I first of all wanted to say thank you for all of your prayers during my exams. It was a tough last few days and one day I had to wake up at 2am in order to go to campus and finish a take home exam. But, now it is done and now to the fun stuff. This week I will be preaching on 1 Thessalonians 5.12-24. One thing in this that is very intriguing is verse 23, it says: "May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that it says our spirit, soul and body are to be kept sound and blameless. I think I know how to keep our bodies sound. And I think I know how we are to keep our souls blameless.
But how do we keep our souls sound?
How do we keep our bodies blameless?
How do we keep our spirits sound and blameless?
Let me know what you think.

Last stretch

Hello all. I thought I would write to you because no one else is awake. It is 3:45am Eastern Standard Time. I just arrived on the Duke University campus to finish my last exam. It is a take home exam that is due at 9am this morning. It is in American Christianity with Dr. Grant Wacker. But, I thought I would let all of you know the status ----- especially in light of the fact that many of you will be getting up soon and turning on your computers ----- this way you can pray for me during the home stretch. I will let you know how it goes. But this is it for the semester.

When Marketing is Not Good News

Celebrating Christmas in a Hotel

I ran across this quote in preparation for a sermon I have to turn in for a class. I thought you all would enjoy it. It comes from a book called Christmas From the Back Side by J. Ellsworth Kalas. "But I tell you, I'm glad Christmas came to a hotel. Hotels, and all that they represent as temporary lodging, are part of life. If Christmas isn't inclusive enough to come to a hotel, it would seem that some of the most inevitable elements of our human experience are somehow beyond God's concern and redemption."

Piedmont Community College

I have to give a shout out to all the wonderful students at Piedmont Community College. I have so much enjoyed coming out on Wednesdays and having pizza with you all. I have truly experienced the love of God in our conversations. We are heading to PCC again today and I am excited to hang out with all of you.

Exams

So, this is the week we start our Exams at Duke. So please pray for me. I am thankful that the Durham District Superintendent - Gray Southern - is going to preach for me on this Sunday. So that I can spend more time with these Exams. Please pray for me ----- I'll keep you posted.

Catch my breath

Okay, so it has been a mind bending pace for the last few days. Right after class on Tuesday we headed to my in-laws and visited there through Thanksgiving. And then on Friday we left and I went and saw Duke play Duquesne at Cameron Indoor Stadium ---- it was an awesome game and I think our Blue Devils are looking good this year. After the basketball game I then went and did a wedding ---- which was fabulous. And now I am sitting here in front of my computer preparing for tomorrow's sermon. I am tossing around a couple ideas ----- I will either go with Mark 13.24-37 or 1 Corinthians 1.3-9. One thing that is important for all of us to remember is that it is Advent. Honestly, I am just now coming into a full appreciation of what Advent is. As I have come to realize that Advent is about celebrating the coming of our Lord, not just in the manger, but also in the second coming ----- I have come to realize the richness of God being with us. Let us continue to run the race until Christ comes in all of his glory.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ----- mostly this is because it is a wonderful time to remember what life is all about. Life is a gift and we have set aside a time to be thankful to the gift giver. God has truly blessed us as Christians ---- blessed us with life and love. Now let us do the radical thing and share that love with others as we thank God for the many blessings we have.
God bless all of you this thanksgiving and I pray that you find much to be thankful for.

Sheep and Goats

In Matthew 25.31-46 Jesus says the Son of Man will come with the angels and judge the sheep and the goats. Now you might want to quickly read this story because I noticed something interesting. Neither group knows that they have seen Jesus. The one group feeds, supplies drink, welcomes strangers, clothes, visits the sick and visits prisoners. While the other group does not feed, supply a drink, welcome strangers, clothe, visit the sick or visit the prisoner. The only difference is what the two groups do, but both of them are clueless. Are we clueless that Jesus is in our midst? That is an important question-----but the answer doesn't really matter. The important thing for us to do is to take care of the "least of these." Because Jesus has solidly positioned himself with the hungry, thirsty, naked, stranger, sick and prisoner.