Blood Diamond

I do not watch a lot of movies.  In my spare time, I would just rather play guitar.  I especially don't like movies with blood.  I don't mind seeing my own blood - I watch the nurses stick me when I give blood or get a shot.  But there is just something about blood in movies I cannot take, and this means I have "missed out" on some great movies.

One of those movies is Blood Diamond.  It has been used as an illustration in sermons twice that I can recall.  There are two quotes that stuck out to me as I watched the movie.

The first is from the smuggler, Danny Archer, played by Leonardo DiCraprio:

"Sometimes I wonder if God will forgive us for what we've done to each other.  Then I realize God is not here."

The second is from the fisherman, Solomon Vandy, played by Djimon Hounsou:

"They made you do bad things.  You are not a bad boy.  I am your father, and I love you."

The second quote is from the scene used in the sermon illustrations I alluded to earlier.  But here is my point: we do things to each other and, more importantly, to God.  Sometimes the guilt can put the doubt Danny has into our heads.  Thankfully, we are forgiven.  The debt has been paid in full.  Now we are free to hear the words that Solomon spoke to his son - I am your Father, and I love you.  I need to hear that every day.  And I cannot wait to hear it every morning when I wake up.  I wish I could listen better to hear my Father speak it.

Narnia

I just finished watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  I caught something I haven't caught before.  Before I go further, let me reassure you, I have read the book, along with all the other Chronicles.  Now, back to my point.

There is a point where Aslan is talking to Peter, Susan, and Lucy about Edward's betrayal.  He says that Edward being family "only makes the betrayal all the worse.  This may be harder than you think."  It got me to thinking: we betrayed our Father, and the fact that we are His children only made it all the worse.  Lucky for us, the betrayal has been reconciled.  That's what this whole season is about, isn't it?  A Savior came to make things just.

Loves

After a long, long wait, I have finally finished C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves.  I had started it back at the end of the summer, and I was very close to finishing.  All I lacked was the last chapter.  Well now I am done, and I have a few quotes I would like to share.

"Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose."

"To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal."

"The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."

"There is something in each of us that cannot be naturally loved.  It is no one's fault if they do not so love it.  Only the lovable can be naturally loved."

"...[T]hey are receiving Charity, are loved not because they are lovable but because Love Himself is in those who love them."

"We were made for God.  Only by being in some respect like Him, only by being a manifestation of His beauty, loving-kindness, wisdom or goodness, has any earthly Beloved excited our love."

Now I am moving on to a less theological book, Eric Clapton: the Autobiography.  So far I am enjoying it.

Not Just a Baby

Christmas.  It's about presents.  Traffic.  Stress.  Lights.  Red and green.  Trees.  And the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Until ten days ago, I never thought about all that goes along with this holiday.

I have never thought to connect the birth of the Savior to the death and resurrection.  That's the whole reason he was born.  I finally have had the opportunity to think about just what this season means.

A baby was born.  Not just a baby.  God became man.  He came to live a perfect life.  The one we were supposed to live and failed to do.  He was hung on a cross, becoming sin.  He defied death and conquered sin, raising back to life three days later.  This baby came to die.  Kinda takes the cheer out of the holy day, but death was not the end.  That brings the greatest hope.

My Style of Worship

Today I was involved in a discussion on the style of music that should be used in worship.  Being a worship leader for a junior high youth group, this was a very interesting discussion to me.  Here's what I walked away with in a nutshell:

1.  EVERY style of music has its baggage - so forget about trying to find a style that has no baggage.

2.  The music should accommodate the poor of the community.  In other words, the common person should be able to pick up on the melodies fairly easily, and also be able to understand what the lyrics are saying.  This does not mean the language has to be used everyday, but it should be understandable.  Sometimes this means explaining the text some.

3.  Folk music has generally tended to be simpler and easier to learn.  Therefore, many worship tunes are based on folk melodies and traditions.  This is no surprise in the south, but this goes for other places as well.

I have learned so much from this weekly small group, but today's discussion seemed especially relevant to what I am trying to figure out with my particular congregation of 11-14 year olds.

Hosea

Yesterday in the Sunday morning sermon, Roley encouraged the congregation to reread the book of Hosea.  I'm looking forward to refreshing my memory of how I am like the bride who keeps running away from a groom who gives me everything I need.