Two by our friend John Piper that will make you think...

Simply wrong...but funny!

Please pray for my friend's son

Jeff Sorvik and I have been friends for a long time. He is a fellow church planter and pastor in the Duluth area where he pastors a really cool church plant up there calledAnchor Point Church. He really needs our prayers right now as his 17 year old son, Josh Sorvik, was in a skiing accident this past weekend. He has a severed spinal cord and it looks like the is going to be paralyzed from the waist down. Please pray that God will heal his spine - and that he will walk again! He is only a senior in high school. As a parent of boys, and one who is 17 (David), my heart breaks and cries out to God on behalf of Josh and the Sorvik family.

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Newsweek on Christians calling themselves "followers of Jesus"

Newsweek has done a nice piece here about how the new evangelicals don't like to be associated with a denomination, or to even call themselves "Christian" as that carries baggage. Hmmm.... Seems like we've been saying this for 15 years...

Only in Florida

The sign says "Bikers and Hikers, Move to the side of the road when vehicle approaches."

Ideas that are chaning the world

According to a Time Magazine Article, the New Reformed Movement is #3 on movements that are changing America! A renewal of a picture of God as holy, just, sovereign, and yet, infinitely loving is one our nation desperately needs and we are proud to be part of this movement of churches. May God protect us from arrogance or loving doctrine above God himself! It is a pretty fair article, and definitely a good thing for Time Magazine to see the impact of culture by sound theology. Let us live up to our press, now!

Penn Jillette on a gift of a Bible

This has had a profound impact on me... Penn is no follower of Jesus yet, but REALLY listen to what he says and how impacted he is by this man who genuinely loved on him. Penn is an ardent atheist, but moved by this gift of a Bible.

Oh my gosh, this is funny!

I THINK MY WIFE IS A CALVINIST! by Brandon Milan (brandonmilan.wordpress.com

I love John Piper!! But.... this is funny!

Predestination

In my study for tomorrow's sermon on predestination I stumbled across this little animation as well as this website . I admit, I am a Calvinist who is pretty at peace with the philosophy behind the idea... Problem with that is, most people are not at peace with it, so this is a great place to fuel your thoughts. Give both a look and let me know what you think. Tough topic!!

A great weekend

This picture was taken moments after the best duck hunting of my life.  Dirk Korth (my best man 20 years ago) and I were hunting in No. Dak. last weekend (October and set up on the north end of a pothole.  The mallards were coming in like nobody's business - we shot 5 in about an hour and a half.

Then, we went to jump "Treichler hole" which is a pothole that was named for David and I last year as we did quite well hanging out at this little body of water, bagging teal as they approached the western edge.  This year, however, we never made it.  We came in between two different potholes where the teal would just come in ON THE DECK, wings cupped, right at us as we sat on the southern edge of the pond.  Amazing.  I have never experienced anything quite like it in all my years of hunting.

Needless to say, we both had our legal limit by 1:15pm, and went home for a well deserved lunch, nap and to do a little strutting at the duck camp with the other guys.  What a great day last Saturday was!!

20 years in waiting...

but the wait just makes the new relationship all the more pleasant....

 I am the proud parent of a 2003 Victory Classic Cruiser!!!

So, here's my new baby. I purchased it from a guy in Denver, and am flying out on Sunday to drive it home. I had bikes before I was married, but gave it up for Lent (which is code word for Married, Married with Children.) Looking forward to drivin' my beautiful bride of 20 years down the lane with this hoss.

Pray for great weather, safety and great times with God (and killing sin while I'm at it!) driving the 900 miles home this next Sunday and Monday.

One happy rider,

Trike

Widening the Narrow Gate

As I have evaluated who I am, I think I am a pretty decent verbal communicator. I think my ability to think quick, and effectively is something that God has blessed me with, and is a blessing to others through teaching, encouraging, getting coffee and even preaching. I am pleased with that.

However, I am just a terrible writer - which is why blogging is so very hard for me. I write how I talk. Choppy, using dashes and parenthesis and exclamation points all the time, since I want to have emotion and passion in my writing. I have read much of what I have written and, at best, I give myself a C+ (because we all think we are above average - see Garrison Keelior!)

Every now and then, someone writes something that is EXACTLY what I am thinking and feeling, but could just never put into words. Below is one of these thoughts. Leah Grimes in a Hopester for a few years now, and quite honestly, and amazing writer. She has written something today that has really encapsulated my own thoughts about the "happy" gospel.

If you like what she has written, then let me know, and I'll pass it on. If you disagree with her, and love Joel Osteen and his message, then write a comment to me, and I will defend it. I agree with her 100%, so don't go find her to pick a fight. Get on your theological boxing gloves and you and I can go! (in a nice, Minnesota, Norwegian way - which means we will just ignore each other with massive passive agressiveness and then each die of stomach ulcers very young!)

Enjoy a great piece of writing about a controversial subject

~ Trike

Widening the Narrow Gate
by Leah Grimes

“[My goal] is to give people a boost for the week” –Joel Osteen (Lakewood Church)

"THIS IS A HARD TEACHING"

In my personal opinion, Osteen (along with countless others) presents a gospel that few could find offensive, and even fewer could reject. Over the past decade, Osteen’s message of “happiness” “positive thinking” and “financial prosperity” has attracted a loyal following of “itching ears” across the nation and around the world.
Though I refuse to judge the heart and motives underlying this man’s message, I find myself incapable of ignoring the implications of such teachings…

Basic logic would dictate that very few people would object to a gospel which promises happiness, success and wealth in return for being a “good” person and thinking “positive thoughts.” Recent nationwide surveys affirm this logic.

Yet I wonder…Since when has the Gospel of Jesus Christ become so inoffensive to the world? Since when has the narrow gate that few would find (Matthew 7) become so wide and easily found?

I wonder how many first-time attendees at Osteen’s church (and churches all across the nation for that matter) walk away from the weekly sermon saying, “That was a hard teaching.” Yet this was the exact response that Jesus Christ elicited from His own followers in John 6, “On hearing it (Jesus’ teaching), many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘Does this offend you?’ ...many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

The American church, in general, continues to cowardly tip-toe around every portion of Scripture that may be considered even slightly offensive or controversial. Preachers have resorted to producing neutral sermons that offend none and encourage all. The focus has shifted from the cost of discipleship and total transformation to church growth, attendance figures, and filling the seats. We have adopted a numbers-centered mentality…if we entertain, if we make people “feel good,” people will come back and the church will grow. "We now seek to comfort sinners, not to convert them."

DIET WORLD: SEE IF YOU CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE

Following stagnant church attendance in the 1960’s and 70’s, Evangelical leaders resolved to make the American public “feel good about going to church again” by proving that church was “worth their time.”
The game had changed. No longer were congregants asking “what can I offer God and this church?” but rather “what can God and this church offer me?” Sermons began sounding more and more like self-help messages…decorated with the occasional humorous antidote, movie clip and feel good family story. Please hear me correctly… Self-help teachings (Think: how to manage finances, how to have a healthy marriage, etc…), humor, stories, and illustrations all have their appropriate place within the body of Christ.
Yet it is my firm belief that every man, woman, and child that sets foot within the four walls of any church, is above all else, in desperate need of the message of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not a 3-point sermon on “How to become a better person” or “How to experience success in life.”

Through the atoning death of Jesus Christ at Calvary, we, who were by nature objects of wrath were made alive in Christ even though we were dead in our sin (Ephesians 2). The redeeming Gospel of Jesus Christ is the means through which dead people are made alive…not through which bad people are made better or unsuccessful people are made successful.

Jesus attracted massive crowds when He performed miracles while in the marketplace. Many began to follow Him, enticed by the prospect of blessing and healing. Yet it is when Jesus began to speak of the cost of discipleship that many deserted the faith. In Mark 10, a rich young man approached Jesus, asking “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The Word of God says that “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

If you listen closely…you will hear a desperate world crying out to the church, “What must I do to have peace?!?” “What must I do to have joy?!?” “What must I do to find purpose?!?” “What must I do to inherit eternal life?!?”
And what is our response? Do we, like Jesus, stand upon the very Word of God and boldly challenge the world to pick up its cross and follow Christ?
Or…
Do we encourage them to be a better person? To join a church? To read the most popular Christian book by the most popular Christian author? To listen to KLOVE? Do we offer them a “diet” version of the world that they have spent years addicted to, and yet have still been left wanting…or do we offer them a drink without cost from the spring of the water of life (Revelation 21).

CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER

I am a very young woman; I know very little…yet what I know, I offer freely as a platform for greater thought and discussion. For the past 23 years (much to the credit of my parents’ discernment) I have been blessed to attend churches that cling to the Truth of the Gospel and preach it boldly, with conviction. Yet I know that many have not been as fortunate.

I do not wish to seem ignorant of the many battles currently plaguing the modern-day church. The difficulty of competing for the attention of congregants (especially the youth) in an increasingly distracting world should not be underestimated. The need to be relevant, savvy, and entertaining often seems great. It is therefore incumbent upon my generation to find a way to be relevant while refusing to compromise the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As a young girl I was given the following charge…everyday these words fall with greater urgency on my heart…

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist.” -2 Timothy 4

**Disclaimer: Joel Osteen is admired by many as an influential pastor. I have nothing personal against the man. He just served as an example.
**I want to credit Jim Elliff for inspiring many of the thoughts found in this note.

Overcoming Sin ~ Free version online

Here's the link for Overcoming Sin, which is 3 different books by John Owen ("The Mortification of Sin", "Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It," and "Indwelling Sin"). You are limited to a few pages at at time, but believe me, that is about all you can handle at one time anyway.

Our schedule for reading for the next few weeks will be:
April 27th - Chapter One (pages 45-49)
May 4th - Chapters Two and Three (pages 49-57 for chapter 2, 57-63)
May 11th - Chapter Four (pages 63-66)

It is not much pages each week, but I will warn you, OWEN is TOUGH SLEDDING!! He is not easy to read, even with this new edition that has footnotes for 'old' words and updated English. However, I seriously would encourage you to take some time to really ponder these amazing truths.

If you would like your own copy, we have one left on our Hope Books bookshelf, and 12 more on the way (hopefully by this weekend, but that might be pushing it.) Our suggested donation to the Hope Books fund is $15.

Worship God! Kill Sin! Do as much damage to the kingdom of darkness as you can!

Trike

The Matrix meets Ping-Pong

Is it dumb? Yup! Is it cool? Yup!

What is Sin?

Welcome to the world of trying to KILL YOU SIN before it KILLS YOU!! At Hope, we are now in a 10 week sermon series using John Owen's Mortification of Sin. To start out the series, today's message was a Biblical Theology of sin click here to listen the message. I challenged the whole church afterwards to think through a thorough definition of sin and to post it here as a comment. Short or long, we'd love to hear what you all are thinking.

If you would like a copy of the powerpoint click here.

For a copy of the sermon notes, click here.

I'll be in Orlando all week, but I will be commenting and reading as well. Have a great week, and KILL SIN!!

Trike

April's Free Audio Book

I know NOTHING about this book, but I like Chesterton, and a fiction is something I am ready for AND I ABSOLUTELY know this --- I love to listen when I drive and I love FREE! Click here for this month's freebie from christianaudio.com. Use the code APR2008. Enjoy!!

How to be a blessing to the city...

I had the opportunity to meet and interview the Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak in December.  He was gracious enough to meet with me and our team as we prepared for the Don't Waste Your Life sermon series, answering the question: "How can a church be a blessing to the city of Minneapolis?"  He is a great guy, and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  Here's the finished product (in two parts due to size limitation):

R.T. Rybak on how to be a blessing to a city - interview with Steve Treichler (part 1)


R.T. Rybak on how to be a blessing to a city - interview with Steve Treichler (part 2)

Major Controversy here...

If you are into controversy, watch this trailer for Ben Stein's new upcoming movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. After you watch it, google "Ben Stein Expelled" and read the blogosphere about it. Wow!! Is this a hot potato!!

FAKT 1034 - "Life is like a cigarette. Smoke it to the butt."

A few months ago, I ran across an incredible short claymation film by Adam Elliot - Harvie Krumpet. Wow! I love this little 20 minute film, and especially his "Fakts". Harvie is a guy who struggles incredibly, but has one amazing truth - that life is to be lived, and lived well no matter your circumstances. That is where Fakt #1034 comes in.

Through the wonders of the internet (Thanks again, Al Gore!) and Atom Films, you can watch this wonderful, dark, thoughtful film right here. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central