Old Testament Easter:

I’ve been spending the last week chewing on the Pentateuch.  Truth be told, I hadn’t spent much time in the OT.  I knew the stories I needed, but there are probably whole books that I had only looked at in passing.  Genesis 1, I knew that though.  I thought I did.  Actually, I did know it, pretty well.  This week has shown me that the depth of the Bible is nearly infinite, at least it feels that way.

Galactus hungers!

For instance, Genesis 1, “In the beginning . . .”  Everybody knows Genesis 1.  Athiests, Muslims, Literalists and even Progressive Hippies know Genesis 1.  “In the beginning. . .”, and with those words a million arguments are begun.  Over the last week my thoughts have moved from defense of a stance on Genesis’ creation narrative (perhaps for another post) to how Jesus would want us to understand Gen. 1 for the greater purpose of the Missio Dei.

First, I think that God wants us to know He is powerful.  Powerful enough to have created everything that has existed (nothing is new, conservation of energy and all that).  He is also creative enough to craft things into the fantastic world around us.  Creativity and Power, absolute in both regards, that is who God is and He wants that understood from the get-go.  I think that no matter how you interpret Genesis you can agree that these attributes of God are intended to be understood, along with being personal.

I kept getting a nagging feeling that there was some kind of tie-in to the New Testament for us Gentile believers in the year 2012.  As I was arguing my stance online, which breaks my "never argue on the internet” rule, I went to figure out the original language.  Holy crap, I’ve got to learn this stuff!  I bet if I knew Hebrew I would read the OT in Hebrew constantly.  It’s like having a decoder ring.

I brew, you brew, we all brew for HEBREW!

First, a brief trip through the NT.  John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God.”  Clearly, John is calling back to Genesis 1 to do some very Greek philosophical stuff that other people can explain better.  Essentially, “Word” translates logos which means word (mind blown).  It also carried a heavier meaning like, reason and reason was a big freaking deal to Greeks.  It was kind of the unseen force that consisted or and created the ultimate reality.  Reason was real, reality was fake, and Greek food uses too many olives (one of these claims is still unaddressed by modern Greek culture).

John is trying to make a pretty awesome apologetic connection for his audience to show that what they had assumed was “reason” was actually Jesus.  He goes on to talk for a bunch of chapters in support of that thesis.  I kind of always understood that about the opening of John, but I think that might be an over simplification.  It seems possible to me that his call back to Genesis was less about fashioning an argument as much as it was reactionary to a new understanding of the text in Genesis.  Let me explain why.  This has some Easter stuff in it too, so, double your pleasure.

Jesus is born, ministers, dies and is resurrected.  Gospels 101, you are welcome.  The focus (this is the Easter part) is on the resurrection.  Personally, and I think for most people, the resurrection is the biggest deal in Christianity.  Everything hinges on Jesus’ resurrection.  Did you know that Jesus’ resurrection was not initially referred to as “Easter”?  Nope, it wasn’t, in fact, the day He came back was something called the “Festival of First Fruits”.  The Passover was a feast with heaps of symbolic meaning and so is First Fruits. (I admit that I don’t have a great knowledge base for Hebrew holy days, yet.  Forgive me if I miss something.)

Paul calls Jesus “The first of a great harvest of all who have died.” (1 Corinthians 15:20).  Another version of the verse has Jesus referenced as the “First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  For emphasis Paul calls Jesus “First Fruits...” again a few verses later.  I thought at was cool.  Perfect timing to add depth to the narrative, God amazes me with His redundancy.  I’m also amazed at how much I miss.

Why does this man have whipped cream and a
cherry on his head?  Maybe it’s an Easter . . .Sunday?
PUN!

So, Easter isn’t just Easter, it’s also Feast of First Fruits and Jesus is the First Fruits of the resurrection.  Jesus is also the Word or logos, the ultimate reality, truth, and reason.  Let me start tying this back into the OT with Jesus’ words, “...if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.”  It is widely believed that if Moses didn’t write word for word the first five books of the OT then his fingerprints are all over the final product.  Which means that Genesis, written by Moses, speaks about Jesus.

Re’shiyth.  That’s the Hebrew I was talking about earlier.  That’s the word used for “In the beginning.”  Surprisingly it means, “Beginning”.  But, that’s not all folks!  Re’shiyth (ray-sheeth) has more than one meaning.  About 14 or 15 times in the OT it is used as “First Fruits”.  That is so cool to me.

I think at some point John made the connection, “Wait . . . first fruits. . . Jesus was the . . .! ! !” and then he wrote a gospel.  I think that if you look at Genesis 1:1 and view it with this new information it is impossible to not see that God was seeding the story with language that would point to Jesus.  From the moment our holy text begins it is pointing to Jesus.

If the verses could be harmonized it might look a lot like John 1.  It might even look like, “In, for, and through Jesus Christ, the first fruits of the resurrection, God created the heavens and the Earth.”  I just can’t argue over interpretations when I understand the first words of the Bible this way.  I can, it just feels like the focus is wrong.  Jesus, in the Genesis account, from the foundation of the universe is the foundational purpose of all creation.

So, if I don’t see you before, have a very merry Easter.  I hope that your understanding of God’s Word is increased and you see how God has been showing you Jesus from the beginning.

Mad Men summed up in two clips:

First, a confession.  I have never seen an episode of the AMC show Mad Men.  I have been prodded by my good friend Tommy (@BrandNewTommy) several times and he promised me I would love it.  As soon as things get a strong whiff of popularity I tend to run the other direction.  So, even when I had cable, I never watched the show.

Tommy did get me to watch one clip by posting it on one of the social media outlets (Probably Friendster).  To be completely honest, I was enthralled by the monologue in it.  This is the video.




In three and a half minutes I felt like I knew everything about Don Draper.  I still have this pop up in my head.  What a stunningly well written and performed scene.  But, I still never watched the show.  Maybe I got introduced the wrong way.  I thought I tasted the absolute best and there couldn’t be any reason to get involved.  No need to spoil such a pristine moment.

But, SNL and pop culture kept informing me on the topic of Mad Men and I kept avoiding watching it. I knew there was more to it than this monologue.  Then two or three days ago I saw social media buzz over something weird.  Everyone was saying, “Zoobee Zoobee Zoo”.  I jumped over to Google and did a quick search.  Turned out it had to do with Mad Men.  A year later and I got my second taste of the show.

This clip epitomized exactly what I assumed the other half of the show was.  Sex.  Sexuality and the 60’s.  So, if you are uncomfortable with some sexy sexiness and French language songs, don’t watch.




In my mind, that sums up Mad Men.  Those two clips are as far as I can tell, the whole show.  Don Draper blowing minds and sex.  I’m sure the show is as good as everyone says.  I have experienced it myself.

But, I’m good.  I get it.  I’ve experienced the best it has and am intrigued.  I just can’t imagine there is anything better than these two clips.

The Top 10 Worst Infomercials

What if I told you there was something called “The Tiddy Bear”?  What if I told you it wasn’t what you thought.  The worst part is, someone bought these.  I know we had a Mr. Microphone growing up.

Live Blogging The Bachelor Finale:

Bachelor, please choose courtney. I want to see her lose control and transform into whatever the natural state of her kind is.


Live coverage of the bachelor finale....now! Courtney ate that cat after the cut away.


Wife: “He makes a prettier girl.” Regarding the Bachelor sister.

Phallic symbols give bachelor hope in his marriage choice?

Bachelor converts to old school mormonism, marries both. *SPOILERS ALERT*


The universe is pulling out all the stops to let Bachelor know that Courtney is trying to eat him after the wedding.


Bachelor should have stopped at “I don’t think...” Re:Courtney


Courtney just laid her eggs in Bachelor. Couldn’t chance waiting any longer.


Courtney does not understand how to act like a human.#Courtneyisanalien


Courtney is considering what it would feel like to wear Bachelor sister’s skin.

I bet the last host for “Courtney” was a nice person. shame...

That’s blood in her cup. #Courtneyisanalien

First impression of courtney = Bachelor sister was mind controlled.

They need to do a #Bachelor for older people. Like, 75-80, what would it be called?

HAHA! They could call it survivor. #oldpeoplebachelor

Plot twist, Bachelor’s dad killed attempting to hold back the invasion force of Courtney’s people.

Hmmm. Titanic 3D commercial. Foreshadowing? #Bachelor

Matterhorn shot #7 so far.

aaaand matterhorn shot #8.

#9....

OK, done counting, there are only so many things to video in the swiss alps apparently.

Lindzi has a bump on her chin, could be a zit. Engagement canceled.

I do appreciate that this Bachelor has made thick eyebrows sexy again. Represent!

Are they the only people on the mountain? That would be awesome.

Hmmm. Meowmix commercial. Foreshadowing? #Bachelor

Does Bachelor have a popped collar? Run, Lindzi, run!

Lindzi: “It only gets better.” Bachelor: “Ahh oh..yeah...” Courtney wins.

Lindzi’s dimple almost makes a complete hole in her cheek.

I feel like Lindzi could beat him up, but Courtney will eat his head on the honeymoon. Choices.

Oh, in case you weren’t sure, they are near the matterhorn.

Lindzi looks like an australian.

On a serious note, how did I not know there was a new avengers trailer coming out tonight?


Lindzi is endearing me with her humanity. Courtney is doing the opposite.

Magic Ingredient in Bachelor relationship = millions of dollars worth of vacations. Or, “love”.

The Bachelor single handedly keeps helicopter companies in business.


That weird oven he just build. What is that? #Bachelor


I like that after a season of making Courtney despicable they have to show her like a normal person.


The last girl who made a journal went right home.


When courtney says children she doesn’t mention that they will have to burst from Bachelor’s chest.


Has anyone considered that this season of the bachelor was a feeding program for Courtney’s alien race?


That’s what it looks like when Courtney cries. Like someone who’s body can’t cry, because that function no longer works.


I really think Bachelor’s decision comes down to this, who did you enjoy riding in helicopters more with?


#ToMyUnbornChild Don’t judge me too harshly for watching the Bachelor.


There are 6 guys with high powered rifles pointed at that box full of diamonds. No doubt about it. #Bachelor


2nd & 3rd helicopter ride of the episode. So many helicopters on this show. More than MASH!


Oh, they put the Matterhorn in the background. I had forgotten about the Matterhorn.


Asking a woman to get out of a helicopter in 4 inch heels seems cruel. #Bachelor

Bachelor was legit like, “I will call you if this doesn’t work out."

Now we know that the Bachelor ends with him giving unwilling birth to courtney’s spider babies.


hmmmm. 5 year engagement commercial. Foreshadowing?#Bachelor


*Spoiler* Ben gets engaged to the Matterhorn.

Ladies: Lesson to be learned from the Bachelor. If you are trying to win a guys attention. Get naked with them in the ocean.

That is an enormous diamond. Holy crap.

Well folks, thus ends the live tweeting of the Bachelor finale. We should wake in the morning to a world ruled by Courtney’s species.

How To Remove The Pain From Preparing A Weekly Sermon

I am stealing every word of this (except for theses) from the website of the group hosting a really cool online seminar with some really great speakers.  It genuinely has me pretty excited.  I know it’s all tied to getting me to use some service, but whatevs, this is still pretty slick.  Without further ado...stolen content.

After talking to hundreds of preachers, we’ve found most preachers love preaching, but the grind of preparation can often become a pain.  Here are three things we’ve seen.

1. Great preaching comes from a great preparation system.  Perry Noble doesn’t prepare in a vacuum.  He has a team at NewSpring Church that helps him prepare.  Perry will talk about how this works at the PreachBetterSermons.com FREE online event on March 15th.

2. A Preparation day is better than feeling like you have to prepare all the time.  Andy Stanley sets aside every Wednesday to prepare messages, and his team helps him keep this time guarded.  While Andy is gifted, his commitment to preparation helps make his messages memorable.  Andy will talk about the structure of his preparation day on the Preach Better Sermons online event.

3. Developing a sermon planning system takes the pain out of preparation.  There are things you can do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis that will dramatically improve your preparation time and help you deliver better messages. Helping you put something like this into place will be a part of the free online event.

Make a commitment to be a better preacher.  Sign up for the free online conference.  Here are the details.

•  Date:  March 15, 2012
• Time:  1pm – 4pm EST
• Speakers:  Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Louie Giglio, Dr. Charles Stanley, Vanable Moody, Jeff Foxworthy.  The event is being hosted by Jeff Henderson.
• Registration:  Free sign up at preachbettersermons.com

In Honor of My Most Recent Self Destruction:

I used to work at a music store.  It was like, 2006.  A guy who worked there would not shut up about Lit. I said, “Are they still together?”  After fussing at me for like ten minutes, he literally had to leave work he was so upset with me.

PS.. They bleep the “S Word” in this.

Trike Drifting

When I was in college me and the rest of the BSU decided to go on a retreat to this little cabin type situation near a lake. I’m pretty sure it was in Georgia. Either way, it was on a hill. The paved road spiraled slowly around the hill. The people in charge of the property had kids.

One of the lazy days of hanging out at this retreat lead me to get bored and I grabbed one of the kids little tricycle things. No one was watching me. I launched down the hill. After almost dying I ran back up the hill with, what was now, the greatest invention of all time. As I explained what had just happened no one said, “that seems dangerous.” Friend after friend launched themselves down the death spiral, some losing it in turns and flying over the edge only to roll into a tree. I had to jump a guy that got too wide in a turn. It was the thing that would have made us internet stars.

Eventually, we found a second toy and raced each other. Then I raced my friend Nick, this was only the second time I had rode including the inaugural launch. Somehow the dozens of times people went down the hill no one found the giant rough patch of concrete, but I did. As my front tire dug in and I lost all control, my body flipped head over heels. The considerable speed allowed me to pass completely over the concrete landing in a muddy patch. I thought I was going to die, the whole flip.

Of course, we built ramps.

I saw this video and every one of those memories came back just as vivid as the day we made them. It is a wonderful thing to survive stupid choices. A blessing to survive them with friends.

I want.