⍟ Chelpkid Number 3:
“If you could snap your fingers and have anything if you want, what would you wish for? I would wish for infinity wishes, but if that was against the rules, I’d wish for a genie because a genie can still give you three wishes, and I just like the lamp.”
⍟ Because Jesus’ rose from the dead, all who belong to him will be resurrected too.
Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? A. At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
So one reason Christians celebrate the resurrection that has happened is because of the resurrection that will happen.
Happy Easter.
⍟ I hiked about 6.5 beautiful miles east of Tucson this morning with my son and some men from church. We went to Bridal Wreath Falls and had a great time.
⍟ Read this mini-lesson about ancient copies of the Bible.
⍟ The power of the devil can be terrifying, but Christians overcome him “by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony”. Be encouraged in the fight with my sermon from last night. I read a lot from Revelation.
⍟ Congrats to Crema Coffee! Now open for business in northwest Tucson (near Bookmans on Ina). Go say, hi. They use beans from Exo Roast.
⍟ After his resurrection, Jesus said, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Tomorrow, I’ll explain from the book of Genesis how Jesus was right. Want to learn more? Come to my class tomorrow from 11:30am–12:00pm at Covenant.
This is the story about a 45-minute video on how to prune Mesquite and Palo Verde trees by Angelo Romeo. Feel free to stop reading, but if have at least one Mesquite or Palo Verde tree that you need to prune and don’t feel confident about doing it, you might want to read on.
Like most people around Tucson, I have several Mequites and Palo Verdes around my home. I love how they look and I want them to grow larger, especially on the west side of my home so I can have more shade on my house during the hot summer.
I know that pruning is an important to get big healthy trees, but I’ve been unsure how to do it. And because I don’t want to hurt the trees, slow their growth, or reduce their lifespan, I’ve been hesitant about doing anything. Worse yet, I’ve also been unwilling to pay someone to do it for me. Call me stuck.
Then I met Angelo Romeo. Anglelo is a professional tree trimmer and licensed arborist here in Tucson. After teaching me a few things, he told me about an an instructional video he made for folks like me so that I’d could learn what to do and prune the trees myself.
Angelo was a natural teacher and obviously knew what he was doing. So even though I had read pruning guides before and still felt unsure about what to do, I decided to give Angelo a shot and pay the $12 for the 45-minute download
Totally worth it. In addition to teaching the principles and techniques behind pruning, he also gives advice about tools, planting, and watering too. There’s no fluff or hard sales pitch. It’s not fancy in anyway. It’s just a really helpful guide. You can preview it on YouTube.
After watching the video I was excited to give it a try. It was fun and I’m happy with the results. So happy, I’ve been talking about tree trimming a little too much and I wrote this post.
If none of this fits your life, you can just be happy for me! But if this sounds like something you could use, go pay Angelo a few bucks for his hard work and get the video from his website.
Lutheran pastor, Johannes Brenz (1499–1570), writes in his Commentary on John:
It is not a true faith which is conceived from miracles and wonders or signs. For miracles are merely seals and witnesses. A seal certifies nothing new except what has already been committed to writing. In the same way, witnesses say nothing new, but they bear witness to things which have been heard or seen. Thus, miracles do not confer faith, and they do not take something uncertain and make it certain, but they confirm something that is already certain. They do not make believing persons out of unbelieving persons, but they confirm already believing persons in their faith.
This is why Jesus sometimes reproves people who ask him to do miracles or show them signs.
⍟ If you are looking for ways to improve your teaching, check out my little guide called Links for Improving Your Teaching. I added new links and revised it yesterday; so if you’ve seen it before and found it helpful, it’s worth another look.
Here are three thoughtful conversations about focus and distraction. They approach the subject from different angles; all are worth listening to.
I had some trouble getting the right links to share with you. Hopefully they will work. If not, search the web using the information below. You’ll be able to find them.
- How to Stop Hustling So You Can Achieve What Really Matters | Donald Miller interviewing Michael Hyatt on Building a StoryBrand
- Distracting Ourselves to Death | Michael Horton interviewing T. David Gordon on White Horse Inn
- Cal Newport Has an Answer for Digital Burnout | Ezra Klein interviewing Cal Newport on The Ezra Klein Show
⍟ Seth Godin’s Avacado Principles are ripe and ready to use. 🥑
⍟ Will and Lee brought down the house at the Tucson Folk Festival this afternoon! This is how they started the show. Check out youngmacdonaldband.com to see where they’re playing next.
According to the Post Office, there are 5,860 households within a half-mile of the church I pastor. If I introduced myself to 10 a week, it would take me more than 11 years to meet them all.
UPDATE: I’m not discouraged, just getting some perspective. I think these numbers lead to a lot of interesting questions.
⍟ What would be a great set of classic texts to read on the doctrine of the Trinity? Fred Sanders gives his answer in this annotated reading list.
When you understand what worship is, it’s easier to be active and truly present in worship.
Like learning the rules of baseball before you go to your first game, learning why we worship the way we do can help you better appreciate and participate in what’s going on. Conversely, not knowing can make the experience boring and even frustrating.
So if you want to be more present in worship, take some time to learn about worship.
There are some things on my Recommending Page you can read. And I preached a sermon last Sunday to get you going in the right direction. Give it listen.
