“Livin’ in sin is the new thing”
That’s a line from Britney Spears’ new song, 3. I heard it one day on my way back to church from lunch and had to look up the lyrics to make sure that’s what I was hearing. The lyrics are available here if you want to read them. Let’s take a look at a few of the lyrics that she has in her song, shall we?
Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing (yeah)
Are – you in
I am countin’!
“Livin’ in sin is the new thing.” Is that true? For many, they would say that that is a true statement. Our society has unofficially adopted that statement, as sin is something that is no longer frowned upon, but rather, promoted. Our television shows openly endorse casual sex, sex without consequences, living together before marriage, sex before marriage, and the list goes on. Sin is no longer sin. Sin is now a morally accepted thing. Their is no stigma connected to it, it’s as Britney says, “the new thing.” It’s in, it’s happening. Let’s take a look at another set of lyrics from her.
Three is a charm
Two is not the same
I don’t see the harm
So are you game?
This smacks in the face the 6th Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” What is she saying here? A two-person relationship is so yesterday, that a relationship needs to be three-person? And as she says, she doesn’t see the harm. Yes, there is a harm in this. There is a harm even in a two-person relationship when it is not in the confines which God has given to us, a man and a woman, committed to one another for life. Does that mean a guy and girl dating is sinful? No, but when that dating guy and girl start doing things reserved for husband and wife, then that is sinful. What Britney says above is sinful. Finally, the last set of lyrics.
What we do is innocent
Just for fun and nothin’ meant
If you don’t like the company
Let’s just do it you and me
You and me…
Or three….
Or four….
– On the floor!
All of this is innocent? If you don’t like it, then it’s just the two of us, or three, or four? That doesn’t sound like innocent fun, nor does it sound like it is acceptable to God’s Word.
The sad part about this song and it’s “theology” is that this is a “theology” accepted by society as a whole. Now when I say that, I don’t mean that all morals have gone out the window, but we are moving further and further away from God and His Word.
Your thoughts?
Toilet Paper Baron
Red Wagon
Wesley got a Radio Flyer wagon from his grandma for Christmas. We had decided since Gillette was covered with snow, we would just wait until the spring to put it together and for him to try it out. Gwen said she wanted to take a walk since it was fairly decent here. She thought it would be a good idea to take him out in the wagon. I put it together, but it took a few to do it. By the time it was together, we went walking, but the sun had set and it was getting a little chilly. Regardless, we went walking. Here’s Wesley as the king of the hill.
Wesley’s horse
Here’s the latest video of my little guy. He’s 17 months now and not so little. When he first got this horse over the summer, he still wasn’t able to balance himself on it. Now, he’s a real cowboy!
Pastoral year in review 2009
2009 is in the books. Sorry for the delay in posting, but vacation came first. Here’s the stats:
Sermons: 30 (preaching 2x/month average)
Funerals: 4 (including a 22-year old which was very difficult)
Baptisms: 6
Junior confirmations: 12
Adult confirmations: 2
As Porky Pig says, “That’s all folks!”
Advent is blue for a reason=Depression
I was doing some looking into the trends of churches which use blue over purple for Advent. Several of my pastor friends have thoughts as to why it should blue over purple or purple over blue. Then I came across this post, Advent is blue for a reason. This pastor writes:
I would argue that Advent is blue and for a reason. For many pastors, the season of Advent is a very depressing time.
He later goes on saying:
Needless to say, the season of Advent, and the entire month of December, can be draining on a pastor, both physically and emotionally. I always look forward to a vacation right after Christmas, but that may not happen for every pastor. During December, a pastor is running at 200% and still has things on his “To-Do” list. Through all of this, a pastor has to have a smile on his face and seem as if nothing is bothering him.
He hasn’t posted anything in a little while, but I think that this is a good post.
True Pastoral Leadership
…The more the difficulties you face, the challenges, the crosses, these will make you the kind of leader, the kind of pastor the Lord would have you be — His own, after His own heart.
–Rev. Matthew Harrison
From a sermon preached at Concordia Seminary on Saint Michael and All Angels
Unnatural Things
There are things in life that are natural: peanut butter and jelly; pizza and beer; salsa and chips. Another thing that is natural in a world sense is this: a child buries a parent. That is the natural order of things, or that is how it should be. What is not natural is this: a parent should NEVER bury a child! Unfortunately, that has just recently taken place in my congregation. This last Sunday, a 22-year old member of my congregation passed away (on All Saints’ Day). The family was naturally distraught. So why is it that a parent is now burying their child?
Sin. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, we now have a world that has been infested with sin, from the top to the bottom, inside and outside. Paul writes to the Romans, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) Because of that, sin has become the “unnatural natural” part of life. That means that we will have unnatural things as a result of the sin that we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and a result of the sin that we commit daily in our lives.
But praise be to God that there is a natural result to this “unnatural natural” called sin. The natural result is Jesus Christ and what it is that He has done for us. Later to the Romans, Paul writes, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:9-11)
For His saints, for those who die in the faith, we have the assurance of life everlasting. The Psalmist writes, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Ps. 116:15) This is the joy that we have.
When we face the unnatural things of this life, we are ever reminded of the natural result of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made all things natural, that is, holy and sinless.
Someone’s in the dog house
