…delirium Mk. III

Posts Tagged “christianity”

Indeterminate

In which I discuss why exiting the formal ministry was one of the best decisions I've made.

Too Close to Hate

In which I discuss how someone can believe in grace while giving himself none.

Progress: 50%

This could very well be the halfway point of my time away from active ministry. I was taking time off when my son Asher was born, then some more when he was diagnosed with cancer, until I was offered a sabbatical to let me focus on taking care of my family, not to mention my own mental health.

Jesus vs. Cthulhu

I’m sad that October is almost over. I love this time of year. Fall is here and with Halloween in a few days, we all have an excuse to indulge in some spookiness. As such, I decided to draw the themes for our first XLM weekly Bible studies from horror stories.

Taking Correction

I got the chance to preach at Crossroads this morning! I ended up talking about how hard it is for me to take correction, even from God. Maybe you can sympathize?

Encumbrance

We had another great XLM Bible Study last Saturday. Here’s the audio. The background noise is the Magic players from the next table over.

Unintended Consequences

Sometimes, we think of sin like candy: a little bit is arguably good for you. It’s only a problem if you have too much. If you eat nothing but cheesecake all day, your pancreas will eventually give out, but a little indulgence here and there isn’t bad.

Life is Co-op

If you haven’t seen The Avengers yet, do. It’s smashing. Joss Whedon has once again done what he does best: thrown a team of weirdos with supernatural powers at a seemingly insurmountable problem so we can watch them tear it up.

Why it's Good

In the end, Good Friday is not about guilt and shame. It’s about hope and love.

Christianity 101: The Bible

For the next week, I’ll be posting the audio and my notes from a Sunday School series I recently taught at Crossroads. It’s a review of the basic beliefs of Christianity, but I tried to make it useful to longtime believers and noobs alike.

The Voices in Your Head

Some people say they hear messages from God. I am one of those people.

The Best Gear

One of the best parts of roleplaying is when your characters get new gear. After slogging through a baddie-infested dungeon or weathering a big boss fight, you get the payoff: loot. And every so often, your character gets that one weapon they’ve been waiting for, that one magic item they’ve needed – the thing that’s gonna get the job done.

Ancient Rules Lawyers

You know, they had real life rules lawyers in the first century.

The Real Story

Maybe it happened in a comic book. Maybe a TV series. Maybe even within a movie. You find a character you like, someone you identify with. You get to know how they work. Then, suddenly, they say a particular line or make a particular choice, and it just feels wrong. They would never do that, you think. You can tell the writer forced the moment in for convenience, or because they were pressured into it. It just doesn’t work.

Jesus' Character Sheet

I love my RPGs, my video games, my novels, my movies. I love a good adventure. And apparently, so does God.

How to Grow

The last XLM Bible Study was great. Thanks to everyone who came out! And thanks once again to Adventures in Comics and Games for hosting us!

Eyedrops

7:44 am

Push the Button

I had an unexpected moment in a police station that got me thinking about my life. Or rather, my character did.

Heroism

I’m very pleased. City of Heroes is now free-to-play, and it runs on my wife’s computer. This is good news because it runs very poorly on my aging laptop. Looks like I’ll be making my way back to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles once again. Woot! I’ve updated the “Game With Me!” page with the servers I play on.

XLM Bible Study!

You’re invited to the inaugural Extra Life Ministries Bible Study! We’ll discuss a Biblical topic for about 45 minutes, then have lunch and hang out. Questions are very welcome.

Blasting Bad Guys

I’m just now playing through Fallout 3, and I’m enjoying it a lot. I love post-apocalyptic fiction. It’s also been a while since I played through an RPG, so it’s a nice change of pace from my usual shooters.

Fail Better

I tried recording a podcast this morning for my day job. I moved our Mac Mini to an empty office, plugged in our shiny new Blue Snowball, and fired up Garage Band. My subject matter expert did great: very articulate. Good info. It looked like we were on our way to a respectable episode one.

Apologetics Bonus Level!

I’ve gone back and updated all the posts on my apologetics series with my notes. You can now read the lessons as they were written.

Authenticity with God

When we pray, I think we sometimes try to think of the most holy thing to say. For some of us, there are certain subjects that just don’t come up when we talk to God.

Apologetics Finale: Jesus

In the final lesson of the apologetics series, we touch on perhaps the most important question of all: how can Jesus be the only way to God? What about all the other religions of the world? And aren’t all religions basically the same anyway?

RCM = XLM

We repainted.

Apologetics: The Problem of Evil

In this morning’s Sunday School class, I tackled one of the most troublesome questions in religion and philosophy: why is there evil in the world?

Apologetics: Intro

I’m teaching a class on apologetics at my church. It’s Sunday morning at 9:15 am, for the next few weeks. Here’s the first lesson!

The Point

Christians, pray for tomorrow morning.

The Cost of Mercy

The name Good Friday bothered me for a while after I learned what it was all about. It offended my sensibilities to call such a horrendous day “good.”

The Mandate

When you think of Christians, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Forget the Bunny

It’s Easter this Sunday. You know what that means: church and chocolate. Probably brunch with the family. Gotta find a clean shirt. Gotta get up early for a weekend.

Question the Clown

In a few weeks, I’ll start teaching an adult Sunday School class at my church. It’ll be a series on apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith. I’ll be presenting the case for belief in Jesus in philosophical, historical, scientific, and existential terms.

Don't Pray Like You Vote

Sometimes, it makes sense to lower your expectations. You get disappointed enough times, and you learn to accept it.

Faith isn't Un-reason

Suppose you have a friend. Every time that friend makes you a promise, he keeps it. Every time that friend tells you a fact, he turns out to be right — even though you don’t always believe him at first. Your friend is always honest with you, even when it’s difficult to hear.

Final Boss Syndrome

It’s a staple of the Final Fantasy series. It’s happened in several pen-and-paper roleplaying games I’ve played with friends. And I’ve seen it in several movies, most egregiously in Equilibrium and Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Pieces of God

On the way back from An Artist’s Dozen, Cody and I were talking about what “art” means and what it’s supposed to do. He reminded me that art can basically be anything, but we expect it to impact us in certain ways.

FAIL.

Missed a post! Lapse in discipline. Devotion fail.

Transformation Hurts

In Highlander, when one immortal kills another, there’s an event called the Quickening. There’s lightning and explosions. Energy roars into the victor, who lifts off the ground, racked with pain. But they end up stronger.

The Razorclown vs. Jericho

I taught the Bible study tonight! It was on the first part of the book of Joshua.

One Kind of Grace

We Christians talk about God’s grace a lot. It’s central to how Christianity works. If you’ve spent any time around a church, you’ve probably heard it defined as “undeserved favor.”

The Playlist

“Merit for Sadness” by Haste the Day popped into my head the other day, and I put together a playlist around it. I realized that the end of the song would transition seamlessly into “Existence” by August Burns Red. After that metal onslaught, I thought a slower-paced song would do, so I threw in a low-tempo Demon Hunter song. I had “Artist in the Ambulance” stuck in my head soon after, and added “Injection” as a bridge.

God is Made of WIN

I don’t think we acknowledge Jesus’s cleverness nearly enough. Consider this:

Still Growing Up

I just got to hang out with a good friend of mine. We’d seen each other at church a bunch, but we hadn’t had a good, long conversation in a while. It seems like I was in his wedding, then a few years passed, and here we are.

Love Comes First

God is not an old white guy with a long white beard and a long white robe, sitting on a little white cloud and judging you.

Help Japan

We geeks are used to watching disasters befall Japan in animé. It happens so often, it’s a cliché.

Magic: The Gathering — Old Testament

A lot of characters and ideas from the Bible would make great Magic cards. Here are a few of my thoughts from the Old Testament.

Lent, Razorclown Style

For the past two years, I’ve done most of my writing for the year in one 46-day span.

How I Met Her

Two years ago today, I met a cute little Italian girl at a church event.

Scream at the Devil

Don’t get me wrong. There are some contemporary worship songs I genuinely love.

Hypocrisy!

Anyone remember my rant on achievements? How I said they’re not to be taken seriously? How they’re not that big a deal?

Stay Thankful

A critical attitude can ruin anything. Trust me, I know. When I see a glass that’s either half-empty or half-full, I think, that’s not even the right kind of glass.

I Like My Vampires Dark and Brooding

Pastor Michael will tell you that vampires are supposed to be hideous, irredeemable beasts. The Dracula from the novel? A wild-eyed monster trying to pass for a man. Nosferatu? A walking nightmare. None of this sparkly stuff.

Pick a Deity

I miss Dungeons & Dragons. It’s been way too long since I’ve played.

Love a n00b

My daughter Addison is finally here, and she’s teh cuteness.

Unlockables!

This little spoof goes out to my churchgoing friends. Up your Christian cred with these achievements!

Sin and the T-Virus

[Everyone] is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. -James 1:14-15

Fear, Love and Responsibility

Pastor Bill Wickham invited me to fill in for him at Spring Valley Church this morning. Here’s an mp3 of my sermon:

Achievements Aren't

I admit, I get a little thrill when I hear that little pa-pluck sound.

There is No Prayer Gauge

My wife and I were discussing a tough conversation she was praying about, and she wondered aloud if she had prayed enough.