Do you have three minutes? Then watch this video and afterward ask yourself a simple question. The video is about Tommy Carroll. Tommy’s a skateboarder. A good skateboarder. Which means he’s got great balance, and loves a little risk, and falls down from time to time, only to get back up and skate some more. In all these ways, Tommy’s not that unusual from a lot of other kids who love to skateboard. But though Tommy’s been skateboarding since he was ten, he’s been blind since he was two. Yeah. Tommy skateboards by sound. But while that makes him unusual, I’m still not sure that’s what sets him apart. Because I think what makes...
Luke 5:1-11
posted by DJL
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,...
Does Lent Still Matter?
posted by DJL
With Lent just two weeks around the corner, I’m curious how your congregation is observing it. How does the sanctuary change? Are there different pieces of art? Different paraments? Do you have a sermon series or theme for the season? Do you prepare and/or use Lenten devotions. Do you have Wednesday services in Lent? A soup supper? How are these attended? And what about education? Is there a special adult or youth education emphasis for Lent? Do you have an adult forum series or book study? From the earliest time of the church, Lent has been a time for instruction in the faith. In fact, the season began as a time for those who wished to...
Luke 4:42-44
posted by DJL
At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this...
The Three As of “Awesome”
posted by DJL
Neil Pasricha didn’t start out to create a killer-blog, he was just going through a really, really hard time and decided he either needed to look for some of the simple joys and pleasures of life or… well, he actually wasn’t sure what else he would do. And so he had a simple idea – notice the small delights of life and share them on a blog. And he executed it really well – these ideas are often quite simple and yet, perhaps for that reason, take you off guard. And it doesn’t hurt that his posts are written with care. 1000 Awesome Things became his project and blog. It received a couple of hits, and then a couple dozen, and then a...