So we do service there every year. But that’s not the best part. The best part is this: we baptize people in those pools. Anyone. Everyone. If you haven’t been part of a baptism service where people decide, on the spot, that they want to get baptized, there’s nothing like it. This year we doubled the number of people that had signed up in advance. It was awesome!

Check out the service here.

Have you ever asked someone to explain a game to you? Whether you want to know how to play (and understand) Baseball, Monopoly, or Bridge, it doesn’t really matter. You need someone to make it easy, to take the complicated and make it simple. I’ve asked my share of times for someone to explain a game to me, and I’ve listened while others explain games to friends. And each time, I am surprised by how complicated these games can sound. Why? Because more often than not, the person explaining the game starts with tactics. The tricks on how to play well. And unbeknownst to them, the listener still doesn’t have any place to hang this valuable information.

Imagine someone is explaining baseball – wouldn’t you want to know that the objective is to get more points than the other team. But most people start by explaining there is a batter, and he’s going to hit the ball, and then he has to run to first base.

Imagine someone is explaining Monopoly – wouldn’t you want to know that the objective is to make as much money (and stay alive the longest) because of it? But most people start by talking about rolling dice and moving squares, and what you can do when you land on a square.

Now imagine that you’re a young Christian who wants to know about God’s laws and what you have to know. Do you want someone explaining about sacrifices, doves, blood atonement, and the rest? Or would you rather that someone like Paul of Tarsus, the author of his letter to the church in Rome, write something as simple as, “for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law”?

I choose Paul’s explanation. I don’t want details before I get the big picture. And Paul tells us the big picture is to love. Love covers it all. If you are loving your friends, your family, and even your enemies, if you are loving those you interact with, well then you’ll be in a great spot.

So what does it mean for you to love? What would this love compell you to do?  As you spend time thinking about this verse, ask yourself this: How can I love better today?

Every play pool? Pocket billiards? It can be a lot of fun. I learned the game as a kid, playing with my dad on vacations in San Diego, but didn’t really know much until I went to college, where there were many more tables. After all, when you are supposed to be studying, why not play pool instead? For weeks I did nothing but play pool, hours on end, almost every day, and tried to learn all I could. I bought books and read them. I tried out different cues. I used special chalk for my hands, and different chalk for the cue. I even wondered if an 18 ounce, 20 ounce or 23 ounce stick would be better. There was a billiards club that I tried to get in to, before I was 21. Yes, I wanted to “master” the game.

Then one afternoon an older gentlemen walked into the rec area at the university and saw me practicing some shots. Clearly I looked like I had a lot of potential, so he came over to ask how practice was going. I told him I was working on one- and two- bank shots and he asked if he could give me a tip. He brought me to the head of the table and asked me to hit the cue ball down the table with enough strength to come back to me, and to follow thru with my shot and leave my cue on the table there. He wanted to know if I could hit the ball straight. If I could, the ball would roll to the end, hit the cushion, and roll right back and hit the tip of the cue. I thought he was crazy, silly, and probably unaware of my talent.

Then I tried to do it. 100 times. Turns out I didn’t know the first thing about billiards. You have to hit the ball straight before you can do anything else. It’s what I now call a first principle.

Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, is doing the same – articulating a first principle. He tells them that they have to remember, and live by, and hold on to the one main thing – that Christ died, was buried (meaning, He really was dead), and was raised on the third day – according to what had already been written. This, he tells them (and us) is critical to remember. If you can’t get this straight, you shouldn’t be worrying about much else. It’s like practicing a bank shot before learning to hit the ball straight.

Why is it so critical? I think because it reminds us of three things.

1. Christ died – it tells us that all our shame, guilt, and rebelliousness went to the cross, so that we could be clean in God’s eyes
2. He was buried – following Christ means letting go of some of our own wants, desires, dreams – letting our own demands die
3. He was raised – once we lay down our own demands, God is committed to raising us up – giving us new hopes, dreams, and real life

Did you notice, like I did, that the tense of the verbs are passive when it comes to buried and raised? It means others did the burying, and others did the raising. Even Jesus had to submit to trusting someone else and their plan. He had to willingly give up control and trust that God was on His side and wouldn’t let him down.

Do you live life in a way that demonstrates this first principle? Are you living a life of surrender, where  you are letting things die, so that God can fill you up with new dreams, hopes, and life at its best?

We all have those days in our past that we’d like to go back to and change, right? In my house we weren’t allowed to play with guns – even fake ones. So when I got a squirt gun at a birthday party, I hid it from my mom and knew I could only play with it far from home. So that first time I pulled it out was the night of our elementary school open house. And I was playing with a few other kids – running around while our parents were busy – when I ran right into another adult and she didn’t like the fact that I was running around or squirting people with water. So she took away my gun. Man! If I could have just looked up a few seconds earlier, I could have kept my gun, and played for days. I’m sure there are others, but that’s a day I’d go back and do over…

There are few days in the year that I enjoy as much as Easter. It’s a day filled with hope for new beginnings. It’s the Christian version of the ultimate New Year’s Day, right? Because Christ conquered death, sin and shame, I can begin a new life. Because of the sacrifice of someone else, I get a do-over. And I love that.  Because I can come up with all sorts of things I’d like to change and do again.

And then you catch this verse and realize it’s not a cart blanche approach to new life. It’s a chance to start over, but with a calling, a purpose. We are given an opportunity for new life, but only if we pay attention to the first part of the verse – the need to carry our cross. And the call isn’t just a single isolated moment of sacrifice – it’s a daily call. Which, I am sure it was designed this way, creates a daily dependence on God. Which drives a new kind of relationship with Him. I don’t know about you but the notion of a do-over which looked so enticing moments ago suddenly takes on a different air when in the context of the call of Christ to pick up our cross and carry it daily.

When you read that, what comes to mind? What does it mean to lose one’s life for Jesus?

When I got that squirt gun, I was excited. Not just about that little orange wonder, but because I was going to get to have my way! In the never-ending battle between son and mom, I was going to leap ahead – and she wouldn’t even know it. I think many of us work this way with God – we think we can get our own way, even if we know that following Christ would probably look different than what we want. And so we try to sneak into situations where we can have our own way. And like a good parent, God chooses His battles and doesn’t turn every single disobedience into a teaching moment. But that doesn’t change the fact that we still live lives like the world revolves around us and our own desires.

This is the heart of what it means, I think, to grow mature in Christ. Knowing that there is a part of me that wants my own way. Knowing that a part of me wants the world to revolve around my wants and needs. And still choosing to let that part die, so that we can know life – real life. That’s the point of carrying our cross daily. It’s the daily dying to my own wants, demands, and sense of entitlement.  And when I do that, when I choose to head in the other direction, then God promises that I will actually gain life.

What things do you have to let die?

When I read, “by his wounds you have been healed” I struggle to create a mental picture of what that looks like. How can someone else’s wounds heal me? Doesn’t make much sense. And just when I am about to quit thinking about it and give up, what happens? A movie reference hits. That’s right, I can’t really ponder the theological realm without the help of Hollywood.

Ever seen the movie John Q? Denzel Washington plays the part of a dad who works a low end job, paying weekly for health insurance that doesn’t end up giving him the coverage he needs when his sons collapses from an oversized heart. It’s a movie worth watching, as John Q takes over a hospital and looks like he’s going to force the hospital to give his son a heart transplant. What reminded me of the movie? The fact that the donor is going to be himself. His plan is to sacrifice his own life so that his heart can be given to his son.

And that’s when it hits me – though God is a father that I don’t get to see, He’s no less interested in the condition of my heart. And He’s willing to sacrifice so that I can have a heart transplant that gives me new life. And that’s how I create my mental picture of His wounds healing me.

Easter is just around the corner, but I can imagine living in those days when Jesus had already died, and before He was raised up. Pretty depressing. This Easter Creekside will be meeting at the RAVE in Brentwood to share a message of Hope. After all, scripture also tells us that joy comes in the morning. It did in the movies, it did 2000 years ago, and it will again today and tomorrow.

I don’t know if it was because Good Friday was approaching, but the other night my wife asked me if I was willing to die for her. Knowing that she held the remote control and that my answer could dictate the difference between watching 24 or Kate & Nate Plus 8 (or whatever it’s called), I quickly answers, “Of course.”  But that’s because I love her (and like 24 a lot). Would I sacrifice even half that much for someone I only liked? Doubtful. Would I sacrifice just a little bit for someone I couldn’t stand – not a chance.

And yet Paul writes in his letter to the Roman church that while we were still sinners – people dead set against living God’s way – Christ died for us. I don’t know if I would have called it love or plain crazy, but I can tell you this – I am thankful!

As Good Friday comes and goes, it’s easy to forget about God’s sacrifice. And not just God, but Jesus too! That Jesus was willing to give up His life, step out of comfort and control, and trust God to have a plan. If you have kids you know that they don’t always do well with trusting you and the plan you have. They want to know what we’re doing after lunch, after naps, and later tonight. They want to know if everything they really want to do has been put into the plan. Now Jesus was God, but He was also a son, and a son who had to trust dad to put a plan together that would work. I don’t know about you but a plan that has me die, and wait a few days before someone else, not me, raises me up – that’s not a plan that sounds too exciting.

But Jesus gave up his comfort, his control, his ability to dictate life on his own terms, and trusted his father to know what was best. All this while God was saying, yes Jesus I want you to die so that we can save that guy over there – the one that has consistently rejected us. Not a dear one, a friend, a lover. No, instead someone defiant, petulant, and unpleasant. That’s right – me. And you.

While we were still blowing it, with no end in sight to the mess we were making, God gave up His son to die, for you and me.

As Easter approaches, ask yourself what kind of thank you note you’d write for what has been given to you today. The chance of a deep relationship with God – all made possible because of the sacrifice of one man. Would you write pages on end? Would you write a poem or song? Paint a picture? How would you express the joy and thankfulness that comes as you realize the kind of sacrifice that was made for you?

Me? I’m going to join friends on Easter and sing at the top of my lungs. Whether it’s in big chuch (with adults) or little church (with kids), I know I’ll be singing. It’s the way I say thanks.

Ever try to explain sacrificial death to a three year old? It’s not that different from explaining it to anyone without much of a religious background. Why? Because to really appreciate it, we have to first appreciate that we’re not perfect. And though we won’t fight it, we don’t really love it. Our three year old took more time to fight the notion that she isn’t perfect than to talk about the rest. But once we got past the reality that she makes mistakes (sometimes even mean ones), it was on to explaining God’s perfect nature and His inability to connect with us, the non-perfect. And at that point, she loved hearing that Jesus took all our mistakes with Him when He died.

Her response? “But I still make mistakes.” Oh, don’t we all. And so we got to explain the best part – that even when we were messing up, He did what He needed to. And that anytime we mess up now, we can just ask Him to erase our mistakes again. And He will. Every time.  Her spontaneous response was what we read in verse 11 – “We sing and shout our praise…” which is exactly what she did.

Some days it’s just helpful to slow down and think about these things like a 3 year old would. Because it was only after I watched her response did I really appreciate how great it is to be able to keep going back to God and asking Him to erase my mistakes. Happens more than I like. And I don’t celebrate as much as I should.

Today, take some time to sing and shout for joy because you too can enjoy life without condemnation!