Free Yourself

K'Naan's song, Wavin Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix), is a song with a great vision- the nations gathering to celebrate something greater than themselves. It's about freeing yourself to celebrate a greater cause. For Christians, the greater cause is to spread God's fame around the world. Here's the vid:



By the way- the World Cup is AWESOME.

Do you speak soccer?

Jess and I decided last week that Hudson is going to grow up playing the game of soccer (or futbol), so we went to Academy and bought him a soccer ball. It's not one of our favorite sports (not even close!), though I played soccer for 8 or 9 years when I was a child. The World Cup has opened up a new world for us. We see the nations playing and celebrating this game. We want Hudson to know how to play soccer when we take the gospel to the nations (who happen to REALLY know how to play soccer). Steve Adler (shout-out!) said it best- "It's the language of the nations."

Soccer will be the common ground between Hudson and children around the world- so that the common language will go from soccer to Jesus.

Orangatar

To be sure, Lanny Donoho is one of the funniest guys I can think of at the moment. This is an intro video for a conference he just hosted. This will delete brain cells, but it's well worth it.

I REALLY like this guy...

Looking for some good entertainment? Try booking K-Strass and Zim-ZAM!


I have A LOT of respect for this guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve.

Here's a link to another video from a morning show called Sunrise 7.
http://vimeo.com/11156270

Radical- it's what's demanded of us

Let this video challenge you to the core.

RADICAL from David Platt on Vimeo.

Jessica and I are going to be reading this book together. The plan- turn off the tv no later than 9:30 pm and read and pray through "Radical" by David Platt. I have a feeling this is going to be like a baseball bat to the gut.

Jesus told the scariest cutest little stories.

Why do I get the feeling that Jesus' parables have become like fairy tales or Aesop's fables to the church in America? As I studied and preached through some of the parables, I got the distinct feeling that we have truly missed the point of Jesus' stories. His stories were never meant to be cute. There was no "happily ever after" butterflies in the bellies of the listeners. No one asked Jesus at the end of his parable, "So what's the moral of that story, Jesus?" Granted, a lot of people didn't understand what he was saying (ie the disciples asked Jesus what a few of his parables meant), but they were more confused because they were hearing something that was totally counter-cultural. They were trying to understand Jesus correctly- ("So you're telling me that if I don't forgive that Roman soldier for running his sword through my pregnant wife, then I won't be forgiven by God?" "Jesus, you're telling me that if I sin and cause others to sin, then your angels will gather me along with people much worse than me and throw us all in the 'fiery furnace'?" Their understanding of God and humanity was being rocked and turned upside down.

Do you get what Jesus is saying in his parables? He's asking everyone to consider- "Are you sure you know God?" "Are you sure you are wearing the white hat?" "Are you sure you're on steady ground?" "Are you sure you aren't God's enemy?" May we approach the parables with a bit of fear and a prayer that we will understand what Jesus is really saying in his "cute little stories."

Creating church.

Great video from North Point Community Church about how we often try to create church. My guess is that if you have visited churches lately, this will look strangely familiar. Painfully true...

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.