Rebirth, New Life, & New Beginnings

Though I know Easter is behind us, & Christmas on the distant horizon, these thoughts have been swirling around in me since April, so I though I’d put them down for others to engage with.

I was raised in a non-believing home, so I had only the vaguest notion that Easter had anything to do with Jesus – if anyone in my family had ever mentioned it, I didn’t remember – but the excitement of Spring, new life, and EXCESS AMOUNTS OF REESE’S EASTER BUNNY CANDIES just moved my SOUL, so it didn’t surprise me whatsoever when I began exploring the Bible late in my teenage years that Bunnies, Eggs, and Spring all represented new life and were a living arrow all pointing towards the resurrection of Jesus.

My younger brother and I would get up early on Easter Sunday, sneaking out into the kitchen to find our huge Easter baskets – packed full of candy, and toys – and Mom & Dad would be awoken by the ruckus, joining us shortly to cook a full-out breakfast of  pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash-browns.  Then we’d empty our Easter baskets in our room, and take to our immense 8 acre back-yard to hunt for eggs for the next hour or so.  And when THAT was through, we’d  hop in the car and drive across town to Granda & Papa Wilkinson’s with the rest of the extended family, hunt eggs again at their house –  except they had mostly plastic eggs with MONEY INSIDE – then eat a huge Easter lunch that would make Thanksgiving recoil in fear of it’s huge-osity.

I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone here has some sort of annual traditions that you uphold – whether the big one takes place at Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas… or SUPERBOWL.  There are things in each of our lives that we count on year after year to happen a certain way, and often just ride through the experience – simply going through the motions.  Well, Jesus was a Jew, and the Jews had a LOT of traditions they upheld, but few as important as the passover… [Read more…]

NEXT: Fresh New Worship – June 2016

Screen Shot 2016-06-29 at 10.04.43 AMI know it can be hard to find solid, new corporate worship songs for your congregation, especially if you don’t subscribe to the “one-size-fits-all” mentality of only pulling from the CCLI Top 100. I collect new songs year round, listen, play along, & analyze to see which ones float to the top – that’s to say, I’ve done some of the work for you. I hope this curated list of new worship songs helps you better serve your congregation.

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Why I Believe…

WhyIBelieveIt forever shaped the world, & impacts every moment of history since (& according to Christian theology, before as well). What could have possibly occurred that had the power to quickly reshape a great many long-held convictions of a people radically opposed to change – the “new” was immediately suspect – to the point which they would all be willing to lay down their lives for this new truth?

Every year I edit & repost this because it IS the message I want my life to speak: Jesus, God with Skin On – the true King, defeating sin & death.  As a former Atheist, I did quite a lot of study before I was convinced that Jesus had not only existed, but that the resurrection was quite honestly the most logical explanation of what could be historically known about Jesus’ death and the origins of the early church. This is that research compiled for quick study…

One more thing: though I don’t go into it in any detail here, if you’ve heard somewhere that the Jesus’ story was based on earlier, pagan mythology, please don’t stop digging! Read THIS ARTICLE LINKED HERE as your next step. Really. For your own sake. PLEASE!

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