One Year in Brenham

I cannot believe that we have been in Brenham for a year. Time has flown by and so much has changed in just one year. I thank God for His grace in the midst of great joy and great suffering. In the next few days I will commit some time to write about our experiences here thus far. However, I need to rest up now as Steph is heading to the famous 'Round Top' tomorrow.  So, more to come in the next few days.

AI: Weighing in

After tonight's performance, here's how I bet the season will unfold to the end.

10: Ramiele Malubay
9: Kristy Lee Cook
8: Chikezie
7: Carly Smithson
6: Michael Johns
5: Syesha Mercado
4: Brooke White
3: Jason Castro
2. David Archuleta
1. David Cook

What do you think?

TransformRadio.com

I wanted to let you know about TransformRadio.com!  It is a new branch of Transform Ministries that offers streaming audio of songs, sermons, live talk shows, and interviews.  We are still working on ironing everything out, but I wanted to welcome my online friends to check it out.  

I will be doing a live talk show on Tuesday's and Thursday's at 2pm CST, so I'd love to have you listen in.  You can find out more by going to the website or you can e-mail me if you have any questions.  

We are currently looking for music from bands to play on our show.  It doesn't have to be 'Christian' music, but it must be appropriate for all age groups.  You can e-mail your songs to transformradio@gmail.com.

Looking forward to journeying with you!

transformradio.com

Living in View of Easter

"He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay." - Matthew 28:6 ESV

We are now in Passion Week and as the week progresses we are confronted with the terror and joy that this week brings. For Christ became sin, although he did not have any sin, so that those who trust in Him will be righteous before God (see 2 Cor. 5:21). Through the passion narrative we experience great love and community, betrayal, shame, distress, hatred, violence, death, but in the end, we experience victory. This victory is not a small victory, rather, it is momentous in the grand scheme of creation.

God, after bearing with a rebellious creation for a long time, has sent His Son to become a sacrifice in our stead. While movies like the Passion of the Christ make much of the crucifixion, it lacks in conveying the significance of the resurrection. Without the resurrection a good man would have been put to death, and perhaps some could even argue that a sacrifice was made. However, without the resurrection, sin and death would still reign victorious.

Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of God, which we deserve, becoming the perfect sacrifice. Through His death, payment for sin was made and God's wrath was appeased. By His resurrection, Jesus became victorious over sin and death. This is our hope as followers of Christ! No longer does sin reign over us, and no longer is death the end! Rather, we now have an eternal hope in Jesus Christ!

Let us use this Easter season to remember that we have died to sin, and therefore are not longer obligated to its reign in our lives (see Romans 6-8). Our hope is no longer based on our performance, rather in Jesus Christ alone.

May God bless you and yours during this Easter season!

Wanting to Write...

Lately I have been wanting to write, which is a good thing, especially since I have a paper due in a few weeks. However, I am realizing that my desire to write goes in cycles. My good friend Justin calls them 'rhythms', which sounds much cooler, but whatever it is I don't always feel like writing. This is fine, but my dear wife reminds me that if I do not post new blog postings, then people will stop reading my blog.

So, I feel more inspired to write and would like to start making a meaningful contribution to the blogospehere. However, I'm still undecided as to what I should blog about. Therefore, I am going to ask my friends who read my blog to leave a comment and give me some suggestions about things to blog about. It can be about anything. I have a few ideas, but I am hoping for you to provide me with some ideas and inspiration.

I'm in a season where I feel like writing, so, give me something to write about!