Here is the video from the interview. I wasn’t prepared to invite everyone out to church, hence the deer-in-the-headlights look at that question.

60-Live (with guest Pastor Rick Dobrowolski) from WBPH on Vimeo.

Joshua 24:14–15 (ESV) 14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It now has a great song to go along with it:

I regularly read emails sent out by Dr. Charles “Chuck” Wood, who is self-described as a retired pastor and educator, current husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, Bible teacher, writer and contrarian, now hidden away in Mishawaka, Indiana. He often has good insights on evangelicalism and ministry, and today had a great one concerning dogmatism, which in essence is laying out a personal position as truth in areas that Scripture is not dogmatic about. Here is the quote:

Not only is it wise to avoid dogmatism in one’s ministry, it is also the better part of wisdom to avoid following or aligning with those who are given to it.  Dogmatists may be very brilliant – and some of them in the past really were – but they are usually narrow thinkers, who have a measure of “tunnel vision” that is limited to their own special interests or pet hobbies.  Unless the words or positions are firmly based on a serious exegetical determination from Scripture, better be a bit careful. (Dr. Charles Wood)

People are dogmatic about so many different things: parenting, music, versions, methods of ministry, standards of dress, movies, education choices, and the list goes on and on.

So . . . be dogmatic – - about things that really matter, such as the Gospel, the inerrancy of Scripture, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the reality of miracles, the truth of the resurrection, the existence of God.

But . . . quit being dogmatic about things that Scripture isn’t dogmatic about.

Because, you know, if God had wanted to be crystal clear on a subject, he probably would have included it in His Word in a crystal clear way.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but there are certain things worth being sarcastic about.

All I Have is Christ Animation from Grace in Cranberry on Vimeo.

Here are the lyrics of this amazing truthful song:

Let’s never grow satisfied until all the world has access to the Word of God.

Here’s the article.

The Story of Christmas – An Animation from Grace in Cranberry on Vimeo.

It is worth the few minutes it will take you to read his updated article here.

I cannot think of any better words that portray what Christmas is about than Simeon’s in Luke 2. From the text, we gather that Simeon was most likely older in years and known for being righteous and committed to God. We also realize that the Holy Spirit is filing him at the time of this narrative, just like the Holy Spirit was involved in proclaiming who the Christ-child was in Elizabeth’s words.

The Holy Spirit speaks through Simeon and does not say that Christmas is about:

• Giving gifts
• Eating great food
• Spending time with family and friends
• Taking time off of work
• Watching a meaningless NBA season start up
• Playing football in the snow
• Reading the Christmas story and feeling all warm & fuzzy inside

Instead, this is what the Holy Spirit through Simeon says Christmas is about:

Luke 2:29–32 (ESV) 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Christmas is about seeing God’s salvation – light and glory – in the life of the baby in a manger at Bethlehem.

Christmas is about being able to die in peace because you have placed all your faith and trust for life in a baby of humble origins. It is to celebrate the light and glory of Christ.

Experience peace this Christmas! And celebrate Christ!

Have you thought about your church service lately?

Do we at times get caught up with the same pattern in our church services and never change anything? We know humans are creatures of habit and routine, and we may deduce that people need routine in church services – but is that really true?

We know that God blessed us with variety in our world, right? What if God only gave us one terrain to experience the rest of our lives – the flat plain. How boring would that be (my apologies to residents of Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, and Kansas)? Instead of just flat plain, God gave us mountains, valleys, and hills as well.

Yet – we provide the same monotonous service week-to-week.

Yes, I realize there are central components that must always be in place in a service – the preaching & reading of God’s Word, singing, praying, giving, some kind of frequency of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and fellowship of the body of Christ.

But when was the last time you changed the order of those components for some variety? Or added something new? Or did the same thing in a different way?

Couldn’t we exhibit more creativity like our God does?

Here are some suggestions to improve in the area of service planning:

• Plan to plan – set aside a block of time each week to think through the next service, preferably as early in the week as you can to let your mind chew on it all week.
• Evaluate the previous week – not only should you plan for the next week, but also evaluate the preceding week. Set aside a block of time each week to evaluate your last service. Did something seem stale and routine? Can you do the same thing in a more thought-provoking way?

Please – love your people enough to not bore them. Get out of the way of God’s Gospel by not settling into a monotonous church existence. Continue to do what God’s Word instructs you to do in your church services, but infuse your service with some creativity and passion.

My inspiration for writing this post came from Kevin DeYoung’s article from last week.

To tell you the truth, I hate certain aspects of the holidays. Don’t people have enough stuff already? For me, my wish list is simple – books, books, and more books – and all in Kindle format (our current apartment has no room for physical books). Holidays are the moments marketers dream of to tout the latest tech, clothing styles, fads, deals, etc. But what is the point of collecting more? To get on a TV reality show about people who have too much?

Can we all just be content already?

1 Timothy 6:6–8 (ESV) 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Here is a great article dating back to July 2007 that sums up “stuff” for you.