2 Ways to Read Your Bible

I preached a sermon last Sunday that bothered me.

It is not that I disagree with what I said or regret preaching the sermon. It just bothered me. It bothered me because I did not want to listen to what I had to say.

The sermon was about the proper way in which one should read their Bible. It would have been easy to stand up and say, "You should read your Bible everyday for at least 30 minutes - 15 from the New Testament and 15 from somewhere else in the New Testament."

What I did was look at two ways we tend to read our Bible. The sermon was titled, "A Mirror and a Magnifying Glass."

Sometimes we use the Bible as a mirror.

We look into it to examine ourselves. We read the story of God redeeming His people and ask questions like, "How should this change how I treat my neighbor?" and, "How can God's forgiveness of my sins influence the way I forgive others?"

Other times we use the Bible as a magnifying glass.

We look into it to examine others. We read the stories of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and say things like, "I have run into some Pharisees in my day." and, "I sure am glad I am not like the people I know who are like that Pharisee who said that he sure was glad he wasn't like that tax collector."

This sermon bothered me because I am good at the magnifying glass method. When I was young, I was very good at judging the flaws of others. I could tell you all the sins of my classmates and knew how they compared to my good qualities.

As I grew in my relationship with The Creator, I realized how wrong my attitude was. I then started to judge all those who still judged as I once did.

Satan used my holy momentum to flip me over his head.

I still wrestle with this.

Even while preparing this sermon, I thought about the people from my past that I knew had turned scripture into a giant magnifying glass. In preparing for my sermon I was convicted by my own message.

I have found that this makes for the best sermons.

When speaking about preaching without notes, Andy Stanley once asked, "How do you expect your congregation to remember your message if you can't remember your message."

I think that the same holds true when the preacher hopes to convict his audience. How can I expect to convict people with my sermon if I am not convicted by the study I have put into the sermon.

So read your Bible. Let the story convict you. And whether you are a preacher or not, share with others how that great mirror of scripture has convicted you to have a better relationship with The Creator.

Would You Yell At My Daughter?

As she was getting her diaper changed, my oldest daughter (19 months) heard a lawnmower outside. She listened very intently for about ten seconds and said, “A Plane!”

I smiled and said, “You are sooo stupid!! When’s the last time you saw an airplane cutting grass. SHEESH! IDIOT!!” (Dear cps agent, I didn’t actually say this)

I actually said, “That’s right, a plane!”

Was she right? No.

Was her rightness important? Not at all.

I once heard an angry preacher preach an angry sermon that made me think he would yell at my daughter.

The Enhanced Church

I sure am glad Christmas is over.

I am not a scrooge (I use this term knowing full well that Scrooge now loves Christmas because the grim reaper told him he was going to die), but I am always thankful when the holiday season is over.

Now that Christmas is over, I get a month long break from those stupid jewelry commercials. I have never seen one that didn't make me want to kick my dog (I don't actually kick my dog, but I do chase him around the house for a minute and a half). These commercials irritate me for three reasons that I can articulate:

Revelation Regurgitation

Yesterday, I posted a blog explaining spiritual spit-up.

Today, I would like to give an example of what exactly this grotesque practice looks like.

Make sure you are either sitting down or standing up for this because it could get ugly.

I once was an angry preacher preaching an angry sermon...

I set up three folding chairs in order to illustrate three types of people like so:

Spiritual Spit-up

An alarming number of people have been throwing up in Bible class, during sermons, and in small group discussions for as long as I can remember.

You may say, "Ernest, this is not happening at my Church."

You say this for three reasons:

1. You did not know my name was Benjamin, so you called me Ernest.

2. It has been happening for so long that you are used to it.

3. You think I mean literal vomit

A Worthless Baby

I realized yesterday that my oldest daughter is better at stuff than my newborn.

The 15 month old, Claira, was kicking a giant ball that I think she stole from Wal-Mart around the house while the new born, Macy, was just lying there. Claira was doing a jig, a dance that seamlessly combined the art of spinning and the art of jumping, while Macy again did nothing to entertain me. Every time they play dodgeball, Claira wins.

The Sinners in the Back

I once heard an angry preacher preach an angry sermon.

He was angry at a particularly vile set of sinners; those sinners who make most people hide the eyes of their children and cover the ears of their pets. He was yelling at those people who did not attend Sunday evening worship.

He was bravely preaching this sermon at Sunday evening worship.