Trying Something New: Training Videos

I've created a series of videos to use as training for people at my church.  These videos cover the theological concept of Penal Substitutionary Atonement.  It's a long winded title that addresses the question "What did Jesus do on the cross?"  I've put the introduction to the training below.  Give it a watch and let me know what you think.

Super: Joshua is Wolverine

Wolverine was never one of my favorite characters from the X-Men, but he's hard not to like at least a little. He's tough as nails and always ready for a fight.  His instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later. . . or stab first in his case.  He is an independent warrior who has to learn how to play on a team when he joins up with Professor X and the X-Men.  He isn't used to following orders and his less than cool head make it difficult for him to obey.  Often this quality of Wolverine's gets the whole group into trouble.

We can be a lot like Wolverine.  Maybe we lack adamantine claws and mutant healing abilities, but we all possess his stubbornness at times.  We have our way of doing things and don't want to follow the rules or someone else's orders.  We often act without thinking things through.  Whether it's our boss, teacher, parents, or anyone else telling us what to do, we think we know better at least half of the time.  But what happens when we get this Wolverine-esque attitude with God?  What do we do when we think we know better than the Almighty?

There is a man in the Bible who fits Wolverine's description rather well.  He is a warrior through and through, solves problems with fighting first, and has a defining moment that revolves around obeying his commander.

Unto Whom?

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11 ESV)

"For unto you," the angels said.  Unto whom?

When Jesus was born, there were shepherds nearby taking care of their flock at night. Shepherds weren't the most noteworthy of people. They did a necessary but dirty job that kept them far away from home for much of the time. Very few people aspired to be a shepherd, even after the great King David. Shepherds were like our modern day janitors. Was it a necessary job? Yes. Does doing this make you any less of a person? No. Was this position looked down upon? Absolutely.

There must have been loads of people nearby Jesus when He was born. Bethlehem itself was packed because of the census. There was no room at the inn after all. There were plenty of people around. Perhaps some farmers, merchants, and traders were there. Romans were certainly present. Certainly there were people around that were more "important" than shepherds.

The Hobbit, Jesus, and Lord of the Rings

I can't wait to see the Hobbit!!!!

I'm a big fantasy nerd.  I love stories about elves, dragons, magic, and knights.  I have grown to love the Lord of the Rings trilogy through the movies and have only just begun reading the books.  And I've been eagerly anticipating the prequel movie that comes out this weekend.

Are you planning on seeing it?  If you are, keep your eyes open for some of the amazing Christian themes that run throughout Tolkien's stories.  J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian and wove loads of his beliefs into his writing in a masterful way.  As a refresher before watching the Hobbit, here is a quick look at some of those themes as seen in the first three movies.  There are Lord of the Rings spoilers below (but not for the Hobbit).

Super: Elijah is the Flash...Kinda

The Flash is one of those Superheroes that I don't think gets a whole lot of attention.  His only real power is his incredible speed which lets him do a whole lot of things like create whirlwinds by spinning or vibrate his hand so fast he can shatter glass, steel, and the like.  The stuff he does is really kind of cool, but he tends to be eclipsed by Superman who also has super speed on top of all of his other amazing abilities.  At least the Flash is faster than Superman as shown in this clip from Smallville.

Now, when I originally planned out the Super series, I intended on relating the story of Elijah and connecting him to Flash based on the way he outruns a chariot at the end of 1 Kings 18.  But the Lord led me in a different direction with this lesson.  Instead, I'd like to focus on what happened just before that.

Christmas is Here?

It's funny how Christmas seems to arrive earlier and earlier each year.  On my way to work today I heard Jingle Bells on a radio commercial.  Really?  Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet!  Then when I was walking into the church, I saw it.  There was snow on the ground.  Not a lot, but it was there on the grass.  In the first half of November.  I guess Christmas really is coming.

Have you started Christmas shopping yet?  No?  Good!  I'd like to give you some ideas while your Christmas budget is still flexible.  Without further ado, here are some wonderful Christmas gift ideas!

• Parasite Be Gone!          $4.00  
• Garden Seeds                $10.00             
• ABC's                           $25.00

Sorry if I failed to mention that these gifts aren't really great ideas for your loved ones this Christmas.  These are gifts for people around the world who are in desperate need of life's basic necessities.  It's hard to imagine their circumstances for those of us dealing with First World Problems like running out of space on our iPods and complaining the heater in our house is either a tad too cold or a tad too hot.  But for just 4 bucks, you can give a kid meds that will wipe out intestinal bugs in his system so that he doesn't go malnourished.  For 10 dollars, you can give a family in Africa seeds so that they can plant a garden and be fed for months to come.  For $25, you can help an impoverished mother become literate so she can provide for her family.

Super: Moses is Storm

I used to love watching the X-Men cartoon when I was a kid.  Ok, I also watched them all on Youtube when I was in college.  There was one X-Men that I always thought was cool but simultaneously never really liked.  Storm.  She was just too cool.  She grew up in Egypt and was worshiped as a goddess by a native tribe because of her incredible mutant-granted powers.

Her mutation allowed her to control the weather which sounds tiny until you realize all of the wild things she could do with it.  Controlling the wind allowed her to fly, toss enemies around like rag dolls, and even bring down aircraft.  Power over the clouds meant she could create spontaneous floods, blast her foes with lethal lightning, and blind everyone with thick fog.  Even when her enemies were unstoppable, she would blast them with arctic winds and freeze them solid.  The the X-Men had time for lunch and naps before they thought up a plan to stop the bad guy.  Storm was great.  Too great.  She was an "I win" button that made everything way too easy.

There is a man in the Bible who became that sort of legend and powerhouse to the people of God.  He too grew up in Egypt.  He too performed phenomenal miracles over nature that would cause Storm's powers to look like the magic tricks you see at a child's birthday party.  He too was an "I win" button and no situation the people ran into was unsolvable with him around.  But Moses didn't start out that way. The movies you've seen may have painted a very different picture than the truth in the Bible.  Moses actually starts off as a bit of a loser.  So what turned him into the hero we know?