Merge Worship

It's been a minute or two since I last blogged. The family and I have been on vacation and I'm just getting back into the groove.

I wanted to share something with you that I read before leaving for vacation. It's called "A Jesus Manifesto" and it was written by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola. Not the most obvious pairing on the planet, but a great testament to the truth that they've agreed to in this document. Here's a taste of what they have to say:

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

I challenge you to take a few minutes and visit their site. Read the manifesto and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. If you're like me (and let's hope you aren't ;-), expect to be confirmed, convicted, challenged and motivated. My prayer is that we would all embrace Him and make it our mission to make Him known.

I shared this illustration with our congregation this past Sunday in worship and I thought it would be worth sharing here. We were finishing up our set with a little old school Tomlin; "We Fall Down". As we sang the chorus in rehearsal ("We cry holy, holy, holy") I began to reflect on the eternal nature of the song we were singing.

We hear the song being declared from eternity past in Isaiah 6. Isaiah describes seeing seraphs surrounding the throne of God singing continually "holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is filled with His glory."

We see the song declared in the eternal future by these same creatures in Revelations 4. John describes them singing "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was and is and is to come". This triggers a worship offering from the 24 elders that I can't wait to see.

The point is that there is an eternal song happening right now. At this very minute those creatures are somewhere in their "holy, holy, holy" song. How powerful is it that at any moment of any day we can join their song and sing the eternal praises of our God?

I encourage you to think about that imagery the next time you hear those words in a song. Allow yourself to connect to that eternal song and appreciate the depth and wonder of an eternal song to our eternal King.

So this is going to be a little off the beaten path, but honestly I wanted to just do something fun. I heard yesterday that Disney is going to be buying Marvel. This prompted a 30 minute discussion with my 8 year old son about what Disney/Marvel pairings would be the funniest or clearest connection. He even asked if I thought they could do the deal in time to get Mickey and the gang on the roster of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. (I told him I doubted it.)

Here's a list of some of my faves from our discussion. (btw...if you don't know who some of these people are, I need you to up your nerd quotient a little bit before continuing) :-)

Iron Man & Buzz Lightyear

Frozone & Iceman

Deadpool & Goofy (also known as the laugh track)

Thor & Stinky Pete (They both use a hammer/axe type deal...work with me. Besides, you can't say Thor & Stinky Pete out loud without laughing. Go ahead and try it....told you.)

Minnie Mouse and Jean Gray (both with more power than anyone credits them for)

Donald Duck and Gambit (similar accents)

Dash and The Human Torch

Cruella DeVille and Mystique

Mickey and Captain America

What are some combos you'd like to see or that would make you laugh out loud?