Prepare Ye

Well, it's 4th and 1. It's the bottom of the ninth. It's sudden death overtime. It's time to put up or shut up. End of the semester means not so much reading, but LOTS of writing. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to remember all of that stuff I read. The Greek final is over, but is the p stand for pastor or for repeat? So, I've decided to chuck it all and open the first Taco Bell in Gettysburg. I think I can fill out the staff with some of my classmates. Can we serve Guinness with the chalupas? Now if someone can pull my Mom off of the ceiling, I'm just playin'. Until the dean calls me in for a "meeting." Until then, it's time to play tag. Here are three questions of three. What are your three favorite Christmas songs & who sings them? O Holy Night - Martina McBride I think this song is the test of singers. If you can hit the note (and if you know the song, you know the note) you can SING. Martina hits it, kicks it and drops an elbow off the top

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

(Jesus said,) ‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.’ - Matthew 6:9-13 Why do you have to learn Greek? That was a question that I was asked more than one time before I left Michigan to come out to Gettysburg. Why do we have to learn Greek? That is a question that my classmates or I ask more than one time each day we are here in Gettysburg. Actually, it is not that bad. It is frustrating, but no more so than any of the other courses I am taking. It’s just that it is so unfamiliar. First, it uses a different alphabet. Some letters are the same, but there are some new letters in there. Then, some of the familiar letters are not who they are in English. For example, this letter “p” is the Greek letter rho, and makes the “r”

The website Allballs.com earlier this week posted a list of the Top 10 Greatest Sports Movie Motivation Speeches. With one exception, I agree with the list. Here is the link to their site where clips are imbedded. I'm listing the movies with clickable links to YouTube or other sites to watch the clips. 10- James Caan in The Program (60 minutes) CAUTION - Strong Language 9- BillieBob Thorton in Friday Night Lights (We will win State. Can you be perfect?) 8- Dawson in Varsity Blues (Let's be heroes) CAUTION - Strong Language 7 - Coach Boone in Remember the Titans (Titans were greater than the gods.) 6- Rocky in Rocky IV (If I can change ... ) 5- the Groundskeeper in Rudy (There are worse things in the world ...) 4- Ronald Reagan in Knute Rockne All American (the classic) 3 - Gale Sayers in Brian's Song (This is the one I disagree with. Right movie, wrong scene. It should have been the scene where Gale accepts the Rookie of the Year award. He says, "I love Bria

Friday afternoon was not a good day. I've been having troubles getting my MacBook to boot up and install Windows, and then I choked on a Greek Quiz like Mama Cass on a ham sandwich. So I went for a drive. Wound up on Little Round Top. It was a cold and blustery day with the leaves at near full color. Took some photos. Wanna see 'em ... here ya go. The title of this post comes from the Gordon Lightfoot song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Anytime I'm out in cold, windy weather, I think of this song.

My writer's block got cured sometime around 3:30 a.m. This is the text of my mini-sermon that I pulled a near all nighter to put together. It's not exactly what came out because I worked from an outline, but it's close enough. In case you get bored, here are some pictures of the prettiest and best seminary in the megaverse ... THE Lutheran Theological Seminary (which is located in Gettysburg, PA.) I think we should go Ohio State and add the THE (2 of the 24 ways to say it) and drop the location. After all, everyone else is just copying off of us. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness." – Romans 12:6-8 I love coaching football. Besides missing my family and friends back in Michigan, not being able to coach this year has been the bi

Since I'm still struggling for my mini-sermon that is due to be presented in under 12 hours, I decided to surf the net. I enjoy deadlines. I just obey them like I obey speed limits. I think they're a great suggestion. So for my reading pleasure, and yours as well, here is the start of a great article from The Wittenburg Door Magazine . Click on the link at the bottom to go to their site to read the rest. Pondering a ban on 'hammer boarding.' The envoy from the emperor sat with Pontius Pilate, prefect of the Province of Judea, at a low wooden table. They were joined by a representative from King Herod's palace, several specialists on Judean culture who advised the prefecture, and an observer from the office of Caiaphas the High Priest. "The subject of our meeting is crucifixion, or as the crowd is calling it, "hammer boarding," Pilate announced. "There has been an outcry by some that the practice is not worthy of a civilized people and possibly in

I have found the future of church nerd liturgical rock and roll, and his name is Johnathan Rundman . Johnathan played a concert at the LTSG Megadome Entertainment & Worship Complex (also known as the Church of the Abiding Presences (a.k.a. the Chapel)). Johnathan performed around a dozen songs of acoustic/liturgical rock. Not bad for a Yooper! Johnathon Rundman - You Don't Speak For Me off of "Sound Theology" Disc Two His songs are available on itunes. Thanks to VH1 for the continuous plugs. I'd post more, but I have a mini-sermon to write and I still haven't settled on a text. Procrastination ... What A Rush!!

Dan, a Lutheran Southern Seminary senior, from Here I Stand tagged me with a 10 random things about me. So, here we go. 1. I was my high school valedictorian. 2. The farthest west that I have ever been is Dallas/Ft. Worth. 3. I was once given the title of "The Holder of the Most Useless Knowledge." 4. The candidate I have voted for has never won the election for President. 5. I wanted to learn to play the piano, but my parents wouldn't sign me up for lessons. 6. I have a hard time hitting a nail in straight. 7. I am a huge space/ NASA nerd. 8. I once drank a quart of beer in 4.68 seconds. The fact that it was timed says a lot about my time in college. 9. I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. No, wait, that was Johnny Cash. Who was the headliner at the first concert I went to. 10. Sometimes I suffer from writer's block, and

Lord, Forgive me for being so focused on the little details of my life that I am missing the big picture. Forgive me for being so worried about the piddling problems of my own pity party. Forgive me for thinking that it is all about me, when I know it is all about you. Lord, Open my eyes to the suffering and the problems of the people who are around me. Open my heart to their pain and pleas. Open my mouth to beseech you for your tender mercy and healing for them. Lord, Take care of the saints you have surrounded me with and who support me. Provide for them all of what they need to each day do Your work. Heal them of their pain, their illnesses, their suffering and their loneliness. Lord, Open the eyes of my heart. Use me to do your work. Forgive me for loving myself more than I have loved You or others. Amen.

READY : "But the LORD is my fortress; my God is a mighty rock where I can hide. "- Psalm 94:22 SET : I love college football and everything about it. I love watching a good offense, but there is nothing like a strong front line on the defensive side. There is nothing more intimidating to me than having a great front four who let nothing and no one advance down the field. They are the rock of their defense--a mighty fortress, so to speak. Nothing can penetrate them when the offense tries to advance. They stand firm. What an awesome sight it is to see nothing cross the line of defense. In 1529, Martin Luther penned what could have been the most powerful hymn ever written: "A Mighty Fortress is Our God. " You can find the words to this whole hymn by going to www.hymnsite.com . Luther wrote the hymn to honor and recognize the strength, power and might of our great God. In Verse 3 we sing: "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we

Just a bit late. Meant to post this before the end of the month, but it got bumped by the Reformation Polka. U2 - October and New Year's Day from Under a Blood Red Sky . Hey Bono, get over the world-class mullet you wore and issue this on DVD!

It is a tradition at LTSG for the junior class to "capture" the Luther statue on the eve of Reformation Day and the Luther Colloquy and dress him as a staff or faculty member. Here are a few photos of the capture and decoration. . . . . And the final view.. . .

A quick set of links to things I found interesting in the past few days. It beats emailing these links to a hundred or so people ( yeah, like I have that many people to email ) to brighten their day. Sports Coach Bill Belichick's advice column Grand Valley State? really? Charlie Weis: The Worst Football Coach in the Universe Religion Review of the book "Paul on the Cross" by Sinning Boldly A second look at "The Last Temptation of Christ" from Faith and Theology Ten Propositions from Faith and Theology. An interesting series of thoughts on theological topics by Welsh minister. Entertainment Top 15 SNL Musical Skits (More Cowbell please) Best Week Ever Top 10 Director/Actor Combinations

from Pray Now by the Church of Scotland Wilderness - sand Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.  -  Hebrews 11:12 Prayer Wilderness – a place of wonder, of expansion, of terror, of desolation; Wilderness – a state that allows great potential to be born within us, yet often through utterly rigorous testing That we truly question whether we will get through it; Wilderness – a condition that calls out deep prayer from within us. Wilderness – a place of un-ending-ness; No clear end in sight; Goals missing or never materialising; Monotony of every day; Slow, plodding, getting nowhere. How many of our days are like this? Sand, sand and more sand; Barrenness, no purpose, no meaning. And God said ‘I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.’ God speaks poetry and inspiration into t