Journey to Heaven: Part 2 (11/21/08)

I must admit that I’m uncomfortable challenging the views of N.T. Wright, perhaps the world’s greatest New Testament scholar at the moment! I suspect he might have a well-thought out response when I claim he didn’t really support his notion of a “restful happiness.” Nonetheless, it’s true, at least in the writings and speeches that I’ve heard from Bishop Wright. So I stick by my claim!

For those of you that were hoping the video would reveal a concrete answer on what heaven is like, I’m sorry to disappoint you. But I think the Bible is clear that it will be better than we can imagine. And like so many things in the Christian faith, we must display faith and trust in our God that this promise is true.

One thing I didn’t mention. Although it’s possible, I haven’t seen any convincing support that people in heaven are watching over us. I know, a lot of people believe this is the case. I miss my parents greatly and sometimes I even say something to them directly, like they can hear me. You know, kind of like when you’re praying. But then I usually add a real prayer, “God, if they can’t hear me, will you pass on the message?” I am positive that this prayer is heard….and God has the ability to pass the message. Unless of course they are sleeping….and then it will just have to wait until “the morning.”

Hey, how’d you like the “island” music at the end?

Journey to Heaven: Part 1 (11/11/08)

I must first apologize for the audio problems on this video. It’s not terrible, but the levels weren’t set exactly right. And so you’ll hear a little bit of distortion here and there.

More importantly, we are now addressing what I believe is a very important topic. How we view the afterlife should have a clear and real affect on our current lives. And I’m amazed at how so many Christians seem to hold views that are not Biblical. If you would like to read more about it, a good source is N.T. Wright’s latest book, Surprised by Hope.

In the video, I mentioned how people react in the Bible when they encounter God’s presence. If you’d like to read some of these incidents for yourself (which is a great idea!), here are some passages for you: Exodus 19:16-19, Matthew 17:1-8, Isaiah 6:1-5 and Ezekiel 1:25-28.

In the next video (coming November 21), we will dive into more details about heaven. And then we’ll conclude this series on December 1 by focusing on Hell.

 

Green Bibles (11/1/08)

I don’t have a lot to add to the video. I just want to stress that I’m not anti-environment! I just think we need to keep things in perspective and maintain proper priorities. So many in the environemental movement seem to lose this balance. Indeed, some people worship creation and place it at a higher or comparable level to God. But even those within maintstream Christianity lose their bearings sometimes, emphasizing “creation care” while failing to focus on God’s most prized creation: human beings.

In our “green” culture where it has become so politically correct to be “green” about everything, I’m not sure how my video will be received by many folks. Nonetheless, I thought it was important to express these views.