A history lesson with some help

I thought this was pretty cool information.

"A Mighty Fortress": The Reformation Lives On through a hymn

On October 31, 1517, twelve years before he wrote this hymn, the Roman Catholic monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power of Indulgences to the door of a Wittenberg, Germany, church, effectively sparking the Protestant Reformation with his critique of indulgences sold by the Catholic church. Out of this Reformation, celebrating its 490th anniversary next month, was born all of the other churches that we know today: Lutherans, Presbyterians , Anabaptists (predecessors of the Baptist denominations) and Anglicans.

One of the hallmarks of the Reformation was the five "solas", meaning "alone":

Sola gratia (we are saved "by grace alone")
Sola fide (through "faith alone")
Sola scriptura ("Scripture alone" is the source of Christian doctrine)
Solus Christus ("Christ alone" is the mediator between God and man)
Soli Deo Gloria (all glory is due to "God alone")

Two of the ways Luther expressed the idea of sola scriptura were by encouraging ordinary people to read Scripture for themselves and to sing scriptural ideas in their own languages, rather than merely hearing scriptural ideas sung in Latin. Because of his emphasis on ordinary people participating in the service, Luther was a father of congregational singing."A Mighty Fortress" expresses the strength of ordinary people's devotion in the face of much resistance, and since its words and tune were both written by the founder of the Protestant Reformation, it has been called the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation."

For a while, it is the last hymn we will sing that was written by a monk--because ordinary people learned to read, write, and praise God with hymns in their own languages. May we sing it today with vigor, knowing we stand with generations of ordinary people to praise an extraordinary God.

Hope you enjoyed that. I didn't write all of that. I am not the scholarly or am I...

Come All to Blakes Burger Joint!!!

So, I was at work searching the internet because that's what I do for a living. Well, it seems like it. Anyway, I enjoy photography and I was flipping through the vitual pages of Flickr.com and I found this pic.

I can see myself owning my own burger joint. That would be nice. It would be like Sonic but way more greasy and yummy. Rollerskate car hops would be standard. All burgers would be 1 dollar... none of this 4 dollar stuff for a fastfood burger. My Dad would work with me too. He would flip burgers and sing to the other high school employees. I definitley wouldn't make them wear stupid outfits. I would also have a small amplitheater in back of the burger joint. It would draw people in and it would promote local bands.

Well, thats the end of my day dream. One can only dream. Thanks Flickr

And the BVD's Go to...

Good Bye, Gold BVD Award!!! I was very proud of this award. For most of you this might be odd but for those who attend Crossings... it's the highest achievement you can receive.

The Worst News

So, my wife pointed out something about me that I am not very proud of but I have accepted. The worst news, I call it. My wife noticed that there were about a dozen hairs on my pillow and they weren't hers. I studied them very closely and yep! they were mine. My hair is thinning and my widows peak is not a cute Eddy Munster widows peak anymore. I am getting old and I have accepted it. I am still bitter about not being able grow a full beard. It seems most all my friends rub it in my face because they all have Moses beards beside Mike and Duane. I thought I'd share this bit of information, so when you see my peach fuzz, you are not alarmed.

BY THE BEARD OF ZEUS...

Enough about Stinky Billy, What about praising His name?

James 3:9 & 10

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.
My brothers, this should not be.

The book of James is like a dad who spanks you one minute and plays catch right afterward. This passage reminds me of a time where my mother washed my mouth out with a bar of soap. I can admit I sometimes need that bar of soap.

I love God and I praise His name daily but there are times when I pause and say, "Why did I say that." It could be the people I work with or music on the radio. Really, I cannot blame anyone. I believe the mouth is one of the most powerful parts of the body. One minute we are sitting in church singing lovely melodies to our Creator and the next we could be talking about Billy, the stinky kid down the street. I think it all boils down to walking closer with Christ. The more you hang out Him the more you talk like Him and want to be like Him. It sounds cheesy but it's true. That's my prayer for myself and
for you.

LATER

Worship in a time of suffering

I recently got back from Baltimore, MD and during my time there I sang the song, Blessed be Your name, a couple times. I went to Baltimore to visit a church and this church loved this song. This song was so familiar to them and I don't know why.
It could be that Matt Redman writes really catchy songs. Also, it may be the content of the song. Anyway, I was singing, Blessed be Your name, in the shower this morning and when I came to the bridge, I had to think what the lyrics meant to me.

The lyrics of the bridge go like this:

You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name

(Then you sing again and again and then you shout it)

The first thing I thought of was the story of Job. Job was blessed so much. He had tons of cattle and family (Job 1:1-3). "He was the greatest man among all the people of the East". This guy was set and he was a true follower of God. Then poof one day all was gradually taken away from him. In the midst of losing all of his sons, daughters and being diseased himself, he still praised God.

All this went down like this: Job 1:20-22

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

That is pretty powerful stuff. Seeing how Job worshipped challenges me to do the same. Job was a man who worshipped in a time of suffering. Jesus was a savior who gave us the ultimate example of worshipping through sacrifice. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice and Job gave us a taste of worshipping when losing it all.

So, what are some things you think of when you sing: "You give and take away...My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name"

Ice Ice Baby

Knoxville almost froze over last night and early this morning. I almost slipped off the road twice. All I could do is just pray that I don't flip, dip, or slip off the road and it worked. I am here now at work, typing this blog trying to keep up with those who blog every other min. I am not bitter. Just kidding!!!