Friday, February 26, 2010

He took your place.

As I reflect on this this Sunday's message from 2 Sam 9, I am at a
loss for words in awe over God's mercy.

Think this through...

- Adam turned his back on God.

- God had to turn His back on Adam.

- Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us.

- As such, God had to turn His back on Christ.

- The last point above was done so HE CAN TURN TO US!

Brethren, what joy is yours in Christ. How our hearts should overflow
with passion for the gospel and our hands abound with works fitting
for the Savior!

May the Lord bless you today as you seek to serve our risen Lord.

(sent from a spell check-less mobile device)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Braced for sleep.

Sin is NOT adorable.

There are times when my children are rebellious and Daniela and I
would forgo punishment because we want to demonstrate mercy. There
are other times when they make a funny face or say something very
funny that all we want to do is hug them.

SIN IS NOT ADORABLE.

I had the opportunity to share my testimony several times while on
vacation and this truth has occupied a lot of my thinking:

SIN IS NOT ADORABLE.

It was because of our sin that Christ went to the cross.

SIN IS NOT ADORABLE.

It was our sin that caused our Lord to weep at the tomb of His friend
(John 11).

SIN IS NOT ADORABLE.

Remember that next time you are tempted....

The Father loves you but your sin is not adorable.

Written and and sent from a portable device...
sorry about the spelling.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

From today! (too 2)

From today! (too)

From today!

Lunch @ a great pizza joint on South Beach.

Daniela and the Hurricane Sim!!!

What 8 years has taught me...

Every year, on Feb 17, I think my wife needs a medal of honor. She is
not only an amazing woman... she is a godly mother, a great servant of
Jesus, a true friend, and the best wife on this or any other planet.
Feb. 17th was our 8th anniversary and, if anything, there is one thing
I know for sure:

I love Daniela Johnson.

But here's the secret to 8 years of joy (and I imagine the secret to
80 years) - I wake up every morning and choose to love her.

Folks, the person you are married to or the one you are preparing to
marry is not the most lovely person EVERY DAY. Therefore, you must
make the conscious decision to love them every day.

Read (and then re-read) Ephesians chapter 5.

Men, are you up to the task?

--- Sent from a spell check-less mobile device ---

Friday, February 19, 2010

That's me and my sparkling vampire homie. Don't be hatin'.

My ride for this afternoon... A caddy! It's for sale too... if you're interested.

Sweet!

First Flight (part 2)

The guy that gave up his seat for us....

If you have ever traveled in a large group, then you know that
sometimes you can not sit together on a plane. Such was the case with
both our flights (Portland - Texas. . . Texas - Miami). The FAB 5 had
almost the entire row behind me.

So I asked the man behind me to switch.

He seemed a little reluctant at first, but then he saw that I was
traveling with my family. We traded seats.

It turns out that he was also traveling with his family and he gave up
a seat close to them so I could be close to mine.

Does that remind you of Anyone?

Jesus Christ gave His life so that we could have life in Him. That is
awesome.

Why not take five minutes and read (then re-read) Romans chapter five?


Blessings.

(sent from a spell check-less mobile device)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

While the older children home-school... the Izz and I just chill :)

Sunrise, Bible Study, and Coffee. What else do you need to start the day?

First Flight (pt 1)

On the first leg of our outing to Miami, someone, while in the
restroom, passed out and they called any doctors to the back of the
plane. Just so you know... a "code red" on American Airlines means
medical assistance is needed. I had people around me freaking out...
"code red? What is that? Are we going to crash?"

There were not any doctors, but we were sitting behind a med student.
After some initial shock and, what seemed like terror (she was just
about hyper-ventalating over the whole "what is a code red?", she made
her way to the rear of the aircraft.

As I watched all this happen, two things came to mind.

1. I am not a doctor (I do t even play one on TV).

2. I can not even imagine what it must have been for the angels in
heaven to look upon Jesus on the cross! Here was the Prince of glory
and there is nothing they can do... He was on a resue mission. If you
remember, He could have called thousands of the host of heaven to
attend to Him... He had the power. He had the authority. But by His
grace He chose to remain on the cross.

Take a few moments to read (and then re-read) the second chapter of
Philippians.

Blessings!

(sent from a spell check-less mobile device)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Our landscape last night!

Awesome.

Daniela on Vacation... and loving every minute of it!

What do you do in S. Florida after a big lunch of the best Chinese food on the planet? Nothing but sit in the sun and relax!

What do you do in S. Florida after a big lunch of the best Chinese
food on the planet?

Nothing but sit in the sun and relax!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Sunday, February 14, 2010

DAVID'S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

What a blessing this morning was!

Here is the "pew's eye view" for those who were not able to join us.

The text is 2 Samuel 7:18 - 29.

(AGAIN... SORRY ABOUT THE POOR AUDIO QUALITY)

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.

Happy Valentines Day

http://www.wiredzune.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/valentines.JPG

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Too wild!

One down...

Ana and the Izz

Two wild kiddis watching THE WILD

Friday, February 12, 2010

Count your blessings

I love old hymns!

There is one that encourages us all to:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.


Sometimes that is hard! But if you think through your life, even during the most trying times there is always something to praise Him about.

This Sunday at BBC we'll see the proper response to God’s grace:
1. Recognition of God’s character.
2. Recognition of our proper place in His plan.
3. Trusting in His faithfulness.

Hope to see you there!

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Great article from Bob!

Here is a great article about verbal assault and how to deal with it.

http://bobparr.org/2009/08/24/walk-it-out/

Cheers.


(sent from a spell check-less mobile device)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Valentine’s Day

Daniela and I do not celebrate Valentine's Day, but we know several
people who do. Seriously, this is not a message against Valentine's
Day.

Years ago I vowed to seek to love Daniela as Christ loves the church
(Ephesians 5:25 - 27). Since then, I have sought to show her everyday
that I love, cherish, and honor her. Why? The work that Christ does
on behalf of His church did not end at the cross… or even at the
resurrection!

* On the cross, Jesus paid for our sins!

* At the resurrection, He secured our victory over death!

* HE CURRENTLY SITS AT THE FATHER'S RIGHT HAND INTERCEDING FOR HIS
CHURCH! (Hebrews 7:25)

What a thought… Husbands… how often do you show your love for your
wife?

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with
water through the word, and to present her to him self as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless.

Ephesians 5:25 - 27

You have a great and awesome task before you…

To show the gospel in your marriage!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Davidic Covenant (02-07-10)

The Davidic Covenant (02-07-10) from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.






This video was captured on an iPhone.

Friday, February 5, 2010

MADE TO STICK

Made to Stick (Heath and Heath) Book Review below:

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Well... what can I say about this amazing work by the brothers Heath?  Their ideas will certainly stick with me.  I have begun incorporating some of the time tested principles of this book into every form of communication I use (preaching, teaching, writing, blogging, parenting... everything).

Basically, this book sets out to teach you how to make your point stick... sort of fitting considering the title eh?

The authors cover 6 essential characteristics of ideas that last and impact those they come in contact with:

1. The core message should be simple.

2. Presentation should be unexpected.

3. The imagery should be concrete.

4. There must be credibility to the idea.

5. People are emotional and ideas that stick should not forget the emotional element of "human-ness"

6. Stories can carry ideas farther than facts and figures can.

The authors have also included extremely helpful exercises reinforcing these areas on vulnerability.  If you decide to check this book out, I highly recommend working through the exercises.  One warning though: This book will most likely make you think, but more than that, it will probably make you act on what you think.  The last thing you want is to share tons of data with someone or a group of someones and find that NOTHING LASTED... nothing stuck!

Bottom-line: I only recommend this book if you want what you say to be remembered and acted on.

One of the places you can get Made to Stick is here.

GOOD QUESTION

I got this question recently [paraphrased]:

In 1 Samuel 31, it says that Saul fell on his sword and in 2 Samuel 1 it says that an Amalekite killed him. What's going on?

Good question.  What do we do with texts like these?

How would you answer this?

Here's my response:

Remember... This is the account of when David heard the news. Scripture doesn't say that the Amalekite was telling the truth.


We must always be aware of who is speaking in the Bible.  Remember, the serpent lied to Eve (Genesis 3).

May the Lord bless you as you seek to please Him.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Davidic Covenant

This Sunday we will be looking at 2 Samuel 5 – 7... The Davidic Covenant.

When you think of covenant, what comes to your mind?

Rules? Contracts? …?

When we look at the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7, there are (at least) two things that stand out:

David is under no obligation to the Lord in the covenant. The throne is simply offered as a gift from the God in whom he trusts.

The fulfillment of the covenant rests in the character and integrity of God... not David.

Consider your own salvation... do you see these two facts shining through?

Blessings as you go about your day today... refreshed and joyful!

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 1 Peter 1:8–12

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

David –vs- Goliath 01-17-10

1 Samuel 17
David –vs- Goliath
01-17-10 @ Bethany Baptist Church

This week we looked at a very familiar story... David and his battle with Goliath.

(NOTE: The audio, for some reason, does not correspond to the video in segments. I apologize.)

01-17-10 from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.



Here are a few points and questions to ponder from this text:

- God chooses what we go through; we choose how we go through it. (John Maxwell)

- David’s boldness came from his trust in the Word of God.

- David allowed his theology to interpret his circumstance; we would be wise to do the same.

- God is still looking for men and women after His own heart… will you be one of them?

And probably the greatest truth of this passage is:

- God is not bound by your deficiencies… He is glorified through them.

Blessings!

Monday, February 1, 2010

The Kingdom Handed Over (01-31-10)

The Kingdom Handed Over (01-31-10) from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.





This week (01-31-10) we look at Saul's end.

Such potential... such opportunity... wasted.

We also ask the question: WHO DO YOU SERVE?