So here’s a preview of something from the sermon text at Landmark this weekend:

Exodus 4:1-4:
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. ^Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

I’ll just say this: If you ever find yourself questioning God or arguing with God and things start turning into snakes – the argument is almost over and you’re losing.

We were dead. Now we are alive. God’s grace makes us alive.

If we are Christians, we have moved from death to life at some point. God’s grace has moved us out of deadness and into aliveness. Later in Ephesians 2, we find out that we come to life through faith. “For it is by grace you have been saved ,through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

All this to say: I saw new life begin this week. Twice, in fact.

God is really doing amazing things here in Republic County!

The kids had fun and “Paul,” our storyteller, did a great job. We’ve got to remember to bring him a blanket for his jail cell next week.

The goal is to get the kids to learn without so much thinking about the fact that they’re learning. This week, we were trying to hammer home that God uses even unlikely people like Paul. After the story, we had the kids line up fingertip to fingertip and pass a balloon without moving their feet. Then we started pulling one kid out of the line – nobody else move your feet! It’s amazing how an easy game gets tougher when you change the rules.

God calls the people he intends to use. That’s a lesson we’re all still learning.

BTW, here’s Paul:

In a way, that’s a handicap. I can’t help but think I’m having to dig through layer after layer of my preconditioning before I can begin to interact with the Bible on God’s terms. And then, if I arrive, I’ve got to go back to the beginning and think about how to preach to people from the TV and Web generations.

In another way, that’s a tool. Video production is today what desktop publishing was in 1995 (within the reach of almost everyone, done well by almost no one). So I’m stabbing my way toward using video elements to supplement my teaching. If and when it works, it should really work.

The problems are quality and availability. I’m finding I can’t just go out and get what I need. For example, at our grand opening service, I wanted a video that introduced Landmark Church’s reason for existence and core values. Oddly, no one had produced anything like that. For our current sermon series, on Exodus, I wanted a brief video element that would introduce the themes of the series on first viewing and then, on subsequent viewings, remind and refocus the congregation for the sermon. Again, not something I could go download and buy.

Which means I’m the video producer (see desktop publishing comment above). I’ve gotten good feedback on the video stuff so far. But, as far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on whether the videos are helpful.

Which brings me to today’s project. I’m loading a bona fide video editing suite to work on my first “live video” project (the others used motion, but it was all generated in PowerPoint). We’re starting an elementary Sunday School and hearing stories from the life of Paul. To build excitement, “Paul” and I shot an introductory video. Now it needs cut together.

Anyway, pray for patience for me.

I think he got it. I stopped staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve when I was 13 or 14. The previous year, I’d stayed up to watch the ball drop in Times Square (on tape delay, of course) and been so unimpressed I decided there was nothing worth staying up for.

Now, I need a really good reason to stay up late. And flipping a page on the calendar doesn’t count as a good reason. Besides, all the really big changes during a year seem to correspond with the school calendar, not the “real” calendar.

We were tossing around the idea of staying up Christmas Eve and sitting in on midnight mass until we found out we would have to drive to another town to attend one. Celebrating the incarnation is worth losing sleep. New Year’s … eh.

Anyway, I’m going to bed tonight unless you’ve got a really good party I should come to. And someone to watch my kids. Let me know how your New Year’s Eve goes.

Christmas morning was a hoot. Kate (parroting Mama’s instructions) told us over and over: “On Christmas, we wake up and eat all of our breakfast. Then we can open presents.” The girls were as excited to get an orange from the stocking as they were to get the bikes Uncle Louis brought. (But they rode the bikes before they ate the oranges.)

Friday, we went to Crete to see the whole Lorenz family. Okay, not the whole thing … but enough of them I couldn’t count them all. The snow was melting, so we brought the girls’ rain boots and a change of clothes. Always good for a couple hourse of entertainment. Megan was so tired she fell asleep on Grandma.

Now, it’s Saturday and I’m in my normal Saturday “undisclosed location” and back to work. Sometimes sermons seem to write themselves – usually they come out kicking and screaming. We’ll finish our traditional/non-traditional Advent celebration tomorrow (traditional would be to end Advent before Christmas.)

In January, we’re going to start a new sermon series. I won’t tell you what about. But YouTube might.

Search Google for Landmark Church. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.

As of right now, we’re #4! Awe – some!

Last time I blogged about us getting into the top 10, we dropped to 200. I’m hoping something else caused the drop last time – and that this will be a lasting rise.

I don’t know how Google works, but I do know Google usually finds exactly what I’m looking for – so this is a huge vote of confidence for our site.

This is also the first Christmas Eve service I’ve ever preached. It’s been a struggle to land on a text because I don’t know who to expect – is this a “church family” kind of thing or will we see lots of new faces?

I’ve finally landed on Romans 11:33-36. Not a traditional Christmas passage, but an appropriate passage nonetheless.

^33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

^34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

^35 “Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?”

^36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.