When This or That Interferes with Being Single Minded

What were they thinking? A group of “Evangelicals” have come together to save the environment. That is so socially nice. Green presents for everyone.

The problem with anything other than being singularly minded on Christ is that we are no longer singularly minded on Christ alone.

I love my kids, but they do not take me away from my single mindedness about Christ.

I love my wife, but she does not take me away from my single mindedness about Christ.

I love to preach, but that does not take me away from my single mindedness about Christ.

There is a Biblical order about things. No thing comes before Christ, No Thing.

What these “evangelicals” have forgotten is that mankind is doing what he was placed here to do. In Genesis 1: 26 – 31 it says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth,[11] Syr reads sky, and over every animal of the land and the creatures that crawl[12] Lit scurry on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls[13] Lit and all scurrying animals that scurry on the earth.” 29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. [I have given]* The bracketed text has been added for clarity. every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came, and then morning: the sixth day.”

Houston, we have a problem with these “evangelicals.” We are placed on this planet to make it not perfect. Our presence alone does not promote or hinder the environment. We are here for a very specific set of purposes. 1. Verse 27 – Rule over all living creatures of creation. 2. Verse 28 – To have babies and fill up the earth with humans. 3. Verse 28 – To subdue the earth and rule over everything on the earth. He has given us everything within the environment for our specific dominion. We are to use everything within the environment of the earth for our desires and pleasures.

It is pretty sad when someone places the creation in higher regards that those given to govern it. When creation is worshipped more than the Creator, then there is that small problem of idolatry. I know it is not a big problem for this group of “evangelicals” but idolatry is still idolatry no matter how green it is.

Is the world a nasty place, sure it is. Is the world slowly falling apart, sure it is. Is it man’s fault, sure it is, but is is because of sin, and there is nothing mankind can do about it falling apart. The earth groans for its purification and not until then will it ever be restored to its original beauty.

Sin is ugly and that is what this world continues to slowly become. It is not the sinless beautiful ball that it was before the fall. It is dying because we brought sin, not because we exist and continue to rule and have dominion over this planet.

There are many well meaning people who have fallen for the idolatrous trap of environmentalism. We can not bring grace back to this planet because we brought sin, only the return of Jesus Christ Himself will bring about the purification of this planet and its Garden of Eden quality again.

My Sermon Series for Next Christmas

Yesterday when I finished preaching, I had a great idea for next Christmas season. I have already began putting this set of sermons together. Kind of yucky that I am preaching and thinking about sermon series for next year already. Iave a great remainder of 06, 07 is soon to be here and I do not have a sermon for February put together yet.
I have an idea for a series of sermons for next Christmas. The last one is the Fun One.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

John 1

1. Creator/God
2. He became flesh and dwelt among us

Luke 2

1. Birth
2. Shepherds and Angels

Isaiah 53

1. Death
2. Sin Offering

Luke 23:30 – 24:12

1. Jesus’ Burial
2. Jesus’ Resurrection

Mary’s Story (Summary of the previous 4 sermons)

1. Holding the Baby in her arms
2. Holding His crucified body in her arms at the cross
3. Holding the discarded burial closths in her arms after the resurrection

The sermon will preach while “Mary” comes and sits down with the baby in a blanket. Reading some of the prophecies and Luke accounts of the Angel, and the Shepherds. Then Mary leaves the stage and comes back while Isaiah 53 is being read with the “blanket” draped over her shoulder while appearing to hold the body of her dead son. The final time we see Mary is when she is holding the blanket and the discarded burial clothes and reading Luke 23 – 24. The invitation is given as Mary. “I held Him throughout His life. What John wrote is true, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”

Riches and Christians

I was just wondering: What if we sold our “nice” or “semi-nice” homes and bought a small house in a “bad neighborhood” for the purpose of sharing the gospel? Is that what Christ challenged the rich young ruler to do? Go live like everyone else? What a novel concept.

I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in one of those “bad” neighborhoods and I know the stigma that goes along with being one of those poor kids who had free lunch and would never amount to anything. I know what I was told when I was called into the ministry, that poor kids from that side of town will not make it through college or seminary. I remember being told by a counselor at Ouachita Baptist University that I would never graduate from college because people with my financial background seldom make it and typically fail out or cannot afford to finish.

I remember being one of the poorest kids in our youth group at the wealthiest church in town. I remember going to all of those “Big Beautiful” homes that cost more than my family could make in 10 years of work. My dad was a city policeman and my mom was a teacher’s aid.

My grandparents raised three kids in a 900 sqf home and was able to do for others in their neighborhood because they were not spending all of their money on their home and cars. It really makes you think about those who are still living in those 900 sqf homes today. I have often wondered why do we always have to have that which costs us everything we have so that we do not have anything to give to those who need.

My wife grew up in one of the smallest houses I have ever been in. It was just over 875 sqf and it was falling apart, literally. She was a second generation family in her own family. Her sisters are 20 years older than her and she has a brother 11 months younger. Her father was retiring when I met them and they were lower middle income.

We both went to college and I did finish seminary. She has her BSE in Early Childhood Ed and I have a MA(RE) with a Youth Ministry concentration. In a time when we can afford that 3000 sqf. home in the “right” neighborhood with two new cars in the garage what are we supposed to do? We are currently in a home which is 2100 sqf 2 story home and in an upper middle income neighborhood in our city. How? We bought a fixer upper (25% below appraisal) and have been fixing it up bit by bit. Is it the nicest home in the neighborhood? No, but it is our home. Two families in our neighborhood homeschool, three families private Christian school and two families use public school. Most of our neighbors are elderly and do not need to educate their children.

I am always reminded of the passage in Ephesians 4:28 The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. (HCSB) What are we doing with “our” possessions? If God takes care of the needs of the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, I am more than completely assured that He will care for my needs.

The American church cannot give to those who are in need because the American church is too busy caring for its own needs and not the needs of those in need. Look at most church properties, they have become edifices of excess instead of sanctuaries (places of refuge) of worship. How does the American church justify its existence when it has become a political machine and an organization which care only for itself instead of a refuge for those in need, both spiritually and physically.

What I learned while in Elementary School: This is What Settles Homeschooling for Me

What I learned in Kindergarten in 1970. I learned that boys and girls have different parts in their underwear. A group of us took our underwear off to show off our haves and have nots. Where was the teacher, who knows. In that same setting I also found out that when you touch a person of the opposite sex in the place where they have or have not, that something feels different inside. I also learned that kissing girls is not that much fun, but it is the grown up thing to do. I also leaned that boys can pee up a wall higher than girls can.

What I learned in First Grade in 1971. I learned some really good words I had never heard before. I also learned that saying those words can get you in lots of trouble. I learned that being sexually abused by a 6th grade boy is also possible, even if you are a boy yourself. I also learned to tell my parents lies about things I did or did not do at school so that they would be proud of me. I learned how to walk home alone, the mile and a half each way was good exercise, especially while running away from bullies who wanted to beat me up.

What I learned in Second Grade in 1972. I learned how to cut the hair of many of my classmates. Their barbers and hairstylists were happy for the additional business. I learned not to tell people about what doctors tell you about your own body. That stuff must be personal. I learned that girls do not like boys to pull their panties up from the back, that is also when I found out when you get slapped by little girls it hurts.

What I learned in Third Grade in 1973. I learned some farm terms in class. I used them during recess to make fun of classmates. I learned that the principle does not like being called “manure face” to her face. I learned that principles know how to use their paddles. I learned about death, a sixth grader died in a freak sand-pile accident. I also learned that life goes on after caring for about five minutes. I learned that you are always supposed to call weaker boys “faggots” or “sissies” and pick on them until they cry. I found out what Playboy and Penthouse were. The back corner of the playground is a good place to get away from teachers to look at pictures of naked women.

What I learned in Fourth Grade in 1974. I learned that my next to best friend’s dad was killed by a drunk driver. I learned that my best friend drank alcohol. I learned how to cheat in school (SRA reading cards) and to be good at it. I also learned that if you do not get caught cheating people think you are smart. I learned that calling the person next to you “four-eyes” can make them cry, especially if they are girls. I learned what marijuana was, I saw a boy smoking a joint before school. I also learned from the sixth grade boys what masturbation was. I learned from a classmate that church is the place to bring a large trash bag full of marijuana to show off that you found your dad’s stash. I also learned that dad’s hate having their stash displayed for all to see.

What I learned in Fifth Grade in 1975. I learned that girls have breasts and bras. I also learned that you are not supposed to touch either or you get slapped. I learned that some teachers catch cheaters when some do not, mine did. I learned what “French kissing” was and wondered why they could not just keep their tongues in their mouths, it sounded gross. I found out what sex was. Girls at school took us to their house on the way home to show us different parts of their bodies and let us touch them to see what those parts felt like. This time was different than when I was in kindergarten, because this time I definitely responded to the different body parts that girls have. I first learned what oral sex was from a girl after school. I did not know that was what I was doing, she said it was a grown up thing to do.

What I Learned in Sixth Grade in 1976. I learned that in the back corner of the playground that sometimes breasts can be touched and not get slapped. I found out “French kissing” can make you sexually aroused. I learned that watching two boys masturbate in the bathroom is great for telling girls about what the two boys were doing. I learned that I have perfect pitch. I learned that some girls are not so bad to hang around with. I learned the word “bicentennial”. I learned that girls have pubic hair in the same places boys do and it looks like the same kind of hair. I also learned that girls have more than one color of pubic hair.

This is what I learned in elementary school in the early 1970’s. That was thirty years ago in a much more protected era. Maybe I will put together a Things I learned in Junior High and High School in the future.

The Political Animal Awakens, Momentarily

I was reading an article about libertarians today and found myself drawn to it to try to understand better this tendency I have in leaning sharply toward this philosophy. Then it struck me: I am a Constitutionalist.

A Constitutionalist is a different breed form your average run of the mill communistic Democrat or socialistic Republican. A Constitutionalist makes me a rare bird, a conservative libertarian.

Fiscally, the Constitution, in Article 1 Section 8, sets forth the limits on the spending of the Federal Government to: In Clause 1, to pay the Debts, provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States. In Clause 5, to coin Money. In Clause 7, to establish Post Offices and post Roads. In Clause 9, to constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court. In Clause 12 to raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years. n Clause 13, to provide and maintain a Navy. I used the wording and capitalization in the original document which lends greater understanding to their original intent.

From a concise reading of the original text and understanding their intent with limiting the power of the Federal state over the rights and duties of the individual states, it is clear to me that there is NO right given to the Federal to spend monies other than those assigned to it by the constitution. There is no right given to the Federal state by the constitution for social spending such as Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, Food Stamps, WIC or any other socialized spending.

It is also evident that there is other spending which is not constitutional. There is NO Federal mandate for education but the government spends Billions of dollars it has not legitimate authority to spend. There is no Federal mandate for FEMA and there should be no monies spent by this Federal agency either. It is beyond the scope of the Federal state to spend any monies on anything other than what it is constitutionally mandated to spend.

Am I for totally removing all social spending by the Federal government? Yes! There is no constitutional mandate for the spending and therefore it is in violation of the constitution for the Federal government to spend. Am I cold hearted and cruel to all of the people who are depending on these monies for their livelihoods? No! If they want these funds continued, they should seek redress from their individual states, not the Federal government.

In The 10th Amendment to the Constitution, the following is stated: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

There is a wise reason for delegating social responsibilities to the states; the states can better understand the needs of the people within their borders. If one state chooses to raise its tax rate to provide for social spending that another state chooses not to provide, then each of the states have chosen on their own their rate of taxation. This allows for individual citizens to move in between individual states for the sole purpose of finding the needed social spending which is necessary for their individual needs. Literally, an individual person can move out of a state to avoid excessive taxation and find a state with lower taxation.

Socially, the constitution does not provide for the Federal government to be involved in criminalizing or legalizing social or moral activities. These too are granted to the individual states for the sole purpose of allowing the individual states to be responsive to the individual needs of its citizenry.

I will make a basic argument against this in that the Federal state actually has a right of self-perpetualization. By this, there are a limited number of laws that the Federal government can make in this area to provide for the continuation of the country. The Federal government should have one singular standard when it comes to the continued progeny of the citizenry. This would be to have a government standard for family to be that of one man and one woman being considered for marriage and that two parents of opposite sex are best to accomplish this goal.

All other moral and social issues are granted exclusively to the individual states for their consideration.