The Easter Play

I am continually impressed by the people of this church. It amazes me the effort that people put into the play this year...and what a success it was as a result!

A big thank you to everyone involved. From actors, to set crews, to people who prepared food...it was well-done. Thanks!

The Funny Thing About the Easter Play

This year's Easter Play is less than 72 hours away. The set is almost finished. All the props are collected. We have one more rehearsal. It's almost show time!

If you haven't seen the play in rehearsal, I don't want to ruin it for you, so let me say this much: It's realistic.

It is about a pastor who is trying to make the Easter story come to life. I can tell it was written by my wife.

She knows that my heart is to see people experience the radical transforming love of Christ. It's something I struggle to put into words every single week.

So if you see the play, remember: It's real.

Brett Favre's Retirement

Almost everyone who sees me is asking what I think about Brett Favre's retirement. They wonder if I am in mourning, or whether I think that the Packers have a chance next year. Here are my thoughts:

• For the last 5 years Vikings fans have been telling me that Favre is a washed-up has-been. So why do they think the Pack will be worse off without him?
• Was that a collective sigh of relief I heard from the defenses of 29 NFL teams?
• Or was that a gasp...about thinking that they are going to have to trash all of their Packer game films...and that they have no idea what the Packers are going to do next year? It's hard to play defense when you don't have a clue.
  
• Consider this: Brett Favre has started every game for the Packers since my oldest son was born. He is a junior in high school. Brett Favre has been playing quarterback for the Pack since some of his teammates were in kindergarten.
• What do Kurt Warner and Matt Hasselback have in common? Oh, yeah, they were Favre's understudies with the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is going to be just fine. So will the Pack.
• The Packers almost went to the Super Bowl last year because of coaching. That's right, coaching. The Packers looked at what they had and put together a creative and innovative scheme that tore up the NFL. I'm sure that McCarthy and company will do the same this year. In fact, I'm sure they already have a plan in place.
• The Packers are going to be better next year than they were this year. I predict a 1st place finish in the NFC North. After all, look who the other teams in the division are!

Here's an interesting item of trivia for you to research: What is the one NFL team that Brett Farve has never beat?

Leave a comment if you know, otherwise I'll tell you all on Sunday.

Exceling in the Grace of Giving

We've been in the midst of a three week sermon series on the grace of giving from 2nd Corinthians 8-9. As a pastor, I am always a little leery of the issue of money, simply because I know that for many people the church appears to always have its hand out. That's not what church is about. Church is about being transformed into the image of Christ. And that is going affect our lifestyle...and our pocketbook.

That's why during this series I have been talking about the bedrock principle that we are to give ourselves...everything we are and have...to the Lord. Our lifestyles will then reflect our relationship with God. In a very real way we are all called "full-time" into ministry and "full-time" into stewardship. Each of us has a different destiny to fulfill. For some it will be sharing Christ in the workplace. For others it will be focusing on the home. Still others are in the challenging years of attending school. Wherever you are, you are called into full-time ministry.

At the same time, God has entrusted each of us with material possessions. We are all full-time managers of what God's possessions and will be held accountable for how we use them. This week we'll be finishing the series by looking at 5 principles of giving. I'm finding it personally challenging and am having a wonderful time meditating on what God says here in 2nd Corinthians. I'm looking forward to sharing the fruits of that study with you on Sunday. See you there!