Last Sunday, we covered Chapter 19 of The Story - The Return Home. We talked about some of the joys of various homecoming festivals, and how being home, even when life is busy, can seem so good to your soul.
We also talked about the fact that the book of Ezra records that the Jews were sent back to Jerusalem with a mission. King Cyrus of Persia told them to rebuild God's temple. But there were enemies of Israel who tried to delay or stop the progress of the construction of the house of God.
But when King Darius, the new king of Persia, learned of this opposition, not only did he put a stop to it, but he demanded that the enemies of the Jews be the ones to financially support the temple's reconstruction, as well as to provide needed elements for the sacrifices to God that would take place there.
God seems to be rather insistent that this "house" be built. But we are reminded many times in Scripture that God doesn't live in temples made by human hands.
Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
If God doesn't "need" anything from us, including a "house" to live in, why is he so focused on the Jew's building a temple for him?
I believe it's not the temple itself God is concerned with, but everything the temple represents!
So what does the temple represent?
1. God's Presence
The temple was where the Jews went to worship. It was where they went to pray. It was where they went to inquire of the Lord and bring their sacrifices.
2. God's Praises
The temple was, after all, where people went to worship God. That would serve as a reminder that it's always appropriate to do so.
3. God's Provision
The idea here was that God's temple would be the first completed building in Jerusalem, right? So while they're building their houses, and their businesses, and their markets, they'd see that finished temple and remember that once again, it was God who brought them out of captivity. It was God who brought them into Jerusalem again, and it was God who brought them freedom and resources to settle here again.
Now, in our modern situation, the temple represents the church. Let me be so bold here as to suggest that in THIS case, I DO mean the church building.
Our specific building, Plum Creek Christian Church, was constructed in 1912. Construction finished in December of that year. Plum Creek had been meeting before that time in a barn a short distance North East of where the church currently sits at 4021 E 550 N in Rush County Indiana.
Plum Creek isn't a temple, or for those of you who are reading who don't attend Plum Creek Church, YOUR church isn't a "temple" either. But it is where we gather together to worship God. And he is still concerned about what happens inside that building. He's concerned that we:
1. Gather Together to Celebrate His Word - Not just from specific leadership persons such as myself as the preacher, or Libby Tanner as a Sunday School Teacher, or Scott Sterwerf as an elder. Those facets are certainly true and accurate, but from everyone I talk to at Plum Creek, I hear words of wisdom, words of kindness, words of life!
2. Gather Together to Worship Him - I appreciate our worship teams at Plum Creek and the unique worship experiences they help to arrange. Lifting our hearts to God together gives me great joy each week.
3. Gather Together to Enjoy Fellowship with his People - I have made lifelong friends at Plum Creek. People to love, people to pray with, people to bounce ideas off of. People who's shoulder I can cry on when I need to. I can testify that the people of Plum Creek do a great job of wrapping their arms around you in troubled times.
God is still just as concerned with what happens inside the building today as he was back there. And just as there were enemies to face the Jews who re-constructed the temple, there are enemies today who would threaten our work on building the kingdom of God. In order to stand up to those enemies, we need to be strong and united, as the Jews in our story were. I'll leave you with this scripture, and encourage you as I do to follow Paul's instructions in order to best carry out the work of building God's Kingdom.
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Be one, my brothers and sisters - and let no enemy inside or outside of the church stop you from building God's kingdom.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Out of their box...
I opened a new set of Ninja Turtles action figures tonight. Big deal, right? Those of you who know me well know this isn't news, so why blog about it?
Because these brand new figures are nearly 25 years old. I'll explain.
When you were a child in the late 80s it was impossible not to be hit by the tremendous wave of pop culture that was "turtle power". I was just another victim of the pizza eating, cowabunga yelling, foot bot fighting ninja knuckleheads. I remember very well when we first went to buy a turtles action figure. We finally wore my mother down. She fought against the turtles, she didn't want that in her home. Well, she lost ;)
The first turtle was to be a gift for my brother's pending preschool graduation. The turtles were so popular at the time, finding a figure was nearly impossible. Oh there were figures, but they were all supporting characters such as Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady. Finding an actual "turtle" turtle was a tall order.
With the help of a friendly walmart associate, we literally started taking each figure off the shelf until finally, we found Donatello! The trouble came in, though, that after we gave him to Matthew, I was super jealous. Fortunately over the weekend, Walmart had a chance to restock, and when I came home from school Monday, Mom had a surprise for me...
My very own ninja turtle! Leonardo! I remember to this day how brilliantly his bright blue bandana popped out against his olive green skin tone. He was a beautiful figure, my first of many, and my favorite to this day.
Over the years, I ended up assembling all four turtles, and several other characters, April, Shredder, etc. but they wore out over time, and then in my "too cool for toys" teen years, I sold them in a church garage sale. Sad times.
A few years later when moving moving into college, I wanted some background noise, and randomly popped in one of the TMNT movies. As new friends came by to introduce themselves over the next couple of hours, and saw what I was watching, we ended up talking all about our memories of watching the turtles, playing with our turtle toys, and pretending to be them on the playground at recess time. Before long, after spending the day sharing old memories with new friends, it seemed almost like I was experiencing it all over again for the first time, and the turtle power wave hit me just as hard, if not harder than before.
I suddenly really missed my toys, and regretted selling them. Especially the four turtles. Oh well. Life goes on.
Fast forward a few. Years, and my wife Jesci (who is awesome) bought me a most excellent Christmas gift. She had gone to eBay and purchased a huge box full of TMNT toys! It was great to see a lot of those old toys again, but the main attraction, the crown jewel, the MVP(most valuable plastic) was an original 1988 Leonardo and a Donatello in perfect shape, still in their original packaging.
I couldn't believe how cool that was. I didn't know how to tell her what that meant to me. And I couldn't open them. They were just too... Perfect! In time, I picked up Raph and Mike as well so I could have a set of four. One of the advantages of your childhood heroes being named after renaissance painters is that eBay sellers often miss spell their names, and you can buy that's tuff cheap, since no one thinks to try miss spelling "Rafael".
Anyway, over the years, I kept them in a closet, unsure of what to do with them. When my son was born, we decided to hang them in his turtle themed room, at least until we could get him his own set.
Well, in the past year I noticed the plastic bubbles that hold the figure on the cars were coming apart, they were just kinda wearing out. Eventually the figures were going to come off of the package whether I liked it or not. Then the other night while I put Torrin to bed, there went Raphael. Fortunately I Caught him in time.
Donatello followed, and while I thought it would bum me out, it was actually really great to have those toys back. I have quite a collection of action figures, and have often thought about selling them all and just going down to those four original turtles. You know, I think I'm ready to do just that...
Because these brand new figures are nearly 25 years old. I'll explain.
When you were a child in the late 80s it was impossible not to be hit by the tremendous wave of pop culture that was "turtle power". I was just another victim of the pizza eating, cowabunga yelling, foot bot fighting ninja knuckleheads. I remember very well when we first went to buy a turtles action figure. We finally wore my mother down. She fought against the turtles, she didn't want that in her home. Well, she lost ;)
The first turtle was to be a gift for my brother's pending preschool graduation. The turtles were so popular at the time, finding a figure was nearly impossible. Oh there were figures, but they were all supporting characters such as Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady. Finding an actual "turtle" turtle was a tall order.
With the help of a friendly walmart associate, we literally started taking each figure off the shelf until finally, we found Donatello! The trouble came in, though, that after we gave him to Matthew, I was super jealous. Fortunately over the weekend, Walmart had a chance to restock, and when I came home from school Monday, Mom had a surprise for me...
My very own ninja turtle! Leonardo! I remember to this day how brilliantly his bright blue bandana popped out against his olive green skin tone. He was a beautiful figure, my first of many, and my favorite to this day.
Over the years, I ended up assembling all four turtles, and several other characters, April, Shredder, etc. but they wore out over time, and then in my "too cool for toys" teen years, I sold them in a church garage sale. Sad times.
A few years later when moving moving into college, I wanted some background noise, and randomly popped in one of the TMNT movies. As new friends came by to introduce themselves over the next couple of hours, and saw what I was watching, we ended up talking all about our memories of watching the turtles, playing with our turtle toys, and pretending to be them on the playground at recess time. Before long, after spending the day sharing old memories with new friends, it seemed almost like I was experiencing it all over again for the first time, and the turtle power wave hit me just as hard, if not harder than before.
I suddenly really missed my toys, and regretted selling them. Especially the four turtles. Oh well. Life goes on.
Fast forward a few. Years, and my wife Jesci (who is awesome) bought me a most excellent Christmas gift. She had gone to eBay and purchased a huge box full of TMNT toys! It was great to see a lot of those old toys again, but the main attraction, the crown jewel, the MVP(most valuable plastic) was an original 1988 Leonardo and a Donatello in perfect shape, still in their original packaging.
I couldn't believe how cool that was. I didn't know how to tell her what that meant to me. And I couldn't open them. They were just too... Perfect! In time, I picked up Raph and Mike as well so I could have a set of four. One of the advantages of your childhood heroes being named after renaissance painters is that eBay sellers often miss spell their names, and you can buy that's tuff cheap, since no one thinks to try miss spelling "Rafael".
Anyway, over the years, I kept them in a closet, unsure of what to do with them. When my son was born, we decided to hang them in his turtle themed room, at least until we could get him his own set.
Well, in the past year I noticed the plastic bubbles that hold the figure on the cars were coming apart, they were just kinda wearing out. Eventually the figures were going to come off of the package whether I liked it or not. Then the other night while I put Torrin to bed, there went Raphael. Fortunately I Caught him in time.
Donatello followed, and while I thought it would bum me out, it was actually really great to have those toys back. I have quite a collection of action figures, and have often thought about selling them all and just going down to those four original turtles. You know, I think I'm ready to do just that...
Sunday Review 8/16
Now that I have a blog of my own, I think it would be a cool thing to sort of look back in the rearview mirror as it were and review Sunday's sermon and activities. That way, anyone who missed church at Plum Creek Sunday morning, or for that matter, anyone who may be curious about what we talked about can get an idea of what went down. Plus, it will allow me one more opportunity to spend some time with those thoughts before moving on to crafting the new sermon for the coming week.
We've been working through a popular sermon series called The Story. A 31 week study that focuses on the main narrative of the Bible - the story of God's redeeming love for humanity. It tells how the story progresses all the way from Genesis 1's creation story to Revelation 22's "come, Lord Jesus."
This week, we were on chapter 18 of the story, which covers the events in the book of Daniel.
We looked at how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't try to fight the unfair circumstances in their lives, nor did they use them as an excuse to compromise their faith or integrity, but they accepted their situations and served God despite the opposition and despite the unfairness that surrounded them.
I think it's particularly difficult for us in 2015's America to adapt to "unfair" things that happen to us. Because, for the most part, we have life handed to us on a silver platter, even those who would consider themselves "poor."
We get upset when our internet reception is poor, when interstate traffic is backed up, or our sandwich is cooked improperly. We get mad when our favorite team misses an easy foul shot, when homework keeps us from being able to play with friends, or when we can't beat that boss in level 8 of Mario Bros.
When we don't like a certain movie, it's not enough for us to simply not like it, we take to YouTube or Twitter and trash it. If we don't like what's happening in politics, we threaten to stop voting. And heaven forbid the church makes a decision we don't like. A lot of times we use our tithes as a bargaining chip rather than as an offering to God.
If we don't like how we're being treated at work, we often quit before finding a new job. Evidently the thought that "They can't treat me that way!" is more important to us than "Hmm, I need to feed my children this week..." And if we do, actually do, commit some sort of error, we usually point the finger at someone else before we blame ourselves for the problem.
These are the things that make me think, as I say, that it's difficult for us in 2015's America to adapt to "unfair" things. But they happen. Each of us has had something unfair happen in our lives before. Remember that often times, how we choose to respond to the unfair thing determines whether or not God will be able to use our humble circumstances for his glory.
1 Corinthians 1:26-27
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that their very weakness is what qualifies them! Daniel and company were placed in positions of leadership in Babylon, not because they were great, but because God had a job for them to do there. God was able to use their devotion, their integrity, and yes, even their weaknesses to do amazing things.
Read their story in Daniel chapters 1 - 6 and see what I'm talking about. See how they stood up to opposition, relied upon one another, and ultimately turned to God when there was no where else to go, and trusted him to use their humble circumstances for his glory.
In the end, not only the kings, but the whole nation's heart was turned to God. That was made possible all because of the work of four men and their willingness to stay faithful and their willingness to accept their humble position, even if it was "unfair".
In the passage above, Paul goes on to say the reason that God chooses to use lowly and humble resources (aka, you and me) is so that no one may boast before him. Paul closes chapter one in a way very similar to how I will close this blog entry:
Let me boast, not in myself, but in Christ. If anything is found in me to be of value, to be of worth, to be of interest, then let it be my devotion to my king.
Daniel and friends submitted to God even when life was unfair. They may have had the right to act differently, but they remembered that their commitment to God called them to be different. They humbled themselves and they patiently waited on the God they trusted to use their humble circumstances for his glory. May we do the same. And may we boast only in him who gives us our worth and our purpose.
We've been working through a popular sermon series called The Story. A 31 week study that focuses on the main narrative of the Bible - the story of God's redeeming love for humanity. It tells how the story progresses all the way from Genesis 1's creation story to Revelation 22's "come, Lord Jesus."
This week, we were on chapter 18 of the story, which covers the events in the book of Daniel.
We looked at how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't try to fight the unfair circumstances in their lives, nor did they use them as an excuse to compromise their faith or integrity, but they accepted their situations and served God despite the opposition and despite the unfairness that surrounded them.
I think it's particularly difficult for us in 2015's America to adapt to "unfair" things that happen to us. Because, for the most part, we have life handed to us on a silver platter, even those who would consider themselves "poor."
We get upset when our internet reception is poor, when interstate traffic is backed up, or our sandwich is cooked improperly. We get mad when our favorite team misses an easy foul shot, when homework keeps us from being able to play with friends, or when we can't beat that boss in level 8 of Mario Bros.
When we don't like a certain movie, it's not enough for us to simply not like it, we take to YouTube or Twitter and trash it. If we don't like what's happening in politics, we threaten to stop voting. And heaven forbid the church makes a decision we don't like. A lot of times we use our tithes as a bargaining chip rather than as an offering to God.
If we don't like how we're being treated at work, we often quit before finding a new job. Evidently the thought that "They can't treat me that way!" is more important to us than "Hmm, I need to feed my children this week..." And if we do, actually do, commit some sort of error, we usually point the finger at someone else before we blame ourselves for the problem.
These are the things that make me think, as I say, that it's difficult for us in 2015's America to adapt to "unfair" things. But they happen. Each of us has had something unfair happen in our lives before. Remember that often times, how we choose to respond to the unfair thing determines whether or not God will be able to use our humble circumstances for his glory.
1 Corinthians 1:26-27
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that their very weakness is what qualifies them! Daniel and company were placed in positions of leadership in Babylon, not because they were great, but because God had a job for them to do there. God was able to use their devotion, their integrity, and yes, even their weaknesses to do amazing things.
Read their story in Daniel chapters 1 - 6 and see what I'm talking about. See how they stood up to opposition, relied upon one another, and ultimately turned to God when there was no where else to go, and trusted him to use their humble circumstances for his glory.
In the end, not only the kings, but the whole nation's heart was turned to God. That was made possible all because of the work of four men and their willingness to stay faithful and their willingness to accept their humble position, even if it was "unfair".
In the passage above, Paul goes on to say the reason that God chooses to use lowly and humble resources (aka, you and me) is so that no one may boast before him. Paul closes chapter one in a way very similar to how I will close this blog entry:
Let me boast, not in myself, but in Christ. If anything is found in me to be of value, to be of worth, to be of interest, then let it be my devotion to my king.
Daniel and friends submitted to God even when life was unfair. They may have had the right to act differently, but they remembered that their commitment to God called them to be different. They humbled themselves and they patiently waited on the God they trusted to use their humble circumstances for his glory. May we do the same. And may we boast only in him who gives us our worth and our purpose.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Coming out of my shell
Did I ever tell you that I once had my own talk show? It's true! I had my own radio show on WJBC the Net. But,don't let yourself be too impressed. It was Johnson University's Internet radio station. The name of my show was "Zachary Korff: Coming Out of His Shell."
Named for my insatiable love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the fact that I was, indeed, coming out of my shell. I love radio, and always have. I had settled in as a co-host with several of my friends on WJBC such as Mac Fife, Drew Stewart, and "Nails". He and I took over Saturday nights together.
But now I had my own show. This time, Nails joined me as my co-host. We played music, but I was more excited about the content of our show - talking about controversial issues of the faith. We "came out of our shells" to talk about the hard hitting issues no one else wanted to cover. It was a blast!
When I say I've always liked radio, what I specifically mean is Talk Radio. As a young minister in training, I was nervous about having new content to express each and every Sunday morning. I asked my father-in-law, who had been a very successful preacher, how you keep yourself full of different things to say come Sunday morning. His answer was three fold:
1. Read/watch/listen to the news
2. Read Books
3. Read God's Word
As a minister it would be important to know what Was going on in the world, what people were saying about it, and finally, what God's word said about it. I choose to follow this advice, but I didn't have cable, and I wasn't much into reading the newspaper (for those of you who don't know what a newspaper is, it's kinda like the Internet, but in print form). So, radio was the medium I choose, and the love was born.
Ironically, Tim and I would listen to the radio together and apart, and then talk about what we heard our favorite hosts saying, but Jesci, his daughter and my wife of 12 years, hates listening to talk radio.
So when I finally had the opportunity to do my own radio show, I was excited to launch a theme that blended my favorite heroes in a half shell with my love for talk radio, and "Zach Korff: Coming out of his Shell" was born.
As I type this up, we're nearing the 10th anniversary of when the show launched (January 2006). And I figured, since I sadly no longer have access to the radio to express my thoughts, perhaps a blog would be a good outlet.
So, while it may not be as "entertaining" as listening to the sultry sound of my voice, I will aim to be just as entertaining, informative, and light hearted with my words here on this blog as I cover a wide variety of things that interest me, from faith matters, to geek matters, to family matters (not necessarily meaning the TV show).
Thanks for reading! I'll include a picture of my old school flyer that I used to promote my radio show.
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