U2 is the biggest band in the world, and their latest 360 degree Tour makes you aware of that. 

Constructing what many believe to be the biggest stage set in concert history, their stage is gigantic.  Check out this video for a tour of the set.  I’m pretty sure that at the Rogers Center, they needed to open the roof because the set didn’t fit in the stadium.

There’s a theological word for something that big: transcendence – something that is magnificent, huge, incomparable. 

And that is in the nature of God.  God is transcendent.  He’s bigger than we can comprehend. 

Most of us want to be part of something bigger than we are.  We want to worship.  If we don’t worship God, we’ll worship money, or work, or family, or a rock band.  We’ll find something that is bigger than us to bow down to.

And while U2 isn’t worthy of anyone’s worship, their concert was transcendent.  You knew you were dealing with the biggest band in the world.

Now wait for the final post Monday…because the temptation would be to think that proving you’re the biggest band in the world was their goal – it wasn’t.

But it leads me to a question: in what ways are we doing church that points to a God who is transcendent? Sometimes church can be so banal, so mundane, that you would have a hard time believeing anything supernatural or bigger than us is involved.

In the music we use, the way the band plays, the way the preacher points to God, in the things that are happening in church, in what ways does that show the insider and the outsider that we are part of something far bigger than ourselves?

That’s transcendence.  And people are drawn to transcendence.

It’s pretty popular to be against something.  It’s harder to be for something. 

What about you?  Is your life FOR something, or has it become about being AGAINST something else?

• Do you love the church, or just criticize other churches and leaders? (Love Craig Groeschel on this)
• Do you love God, or just look down on others who don’t (or who you think love him less than you do)?
• Do you love your personal style? Or are you just trying to dress or live in a way that’s cooler than the guy down the street?
• Do you love it when new people come to faith, or resent that your story isn’t more exciting?
• Do you love your job, or just find things about it you don’t love?

Everybody’s a critic, but critics end up with nothing at the end of their days but a series of things they were against.  Not much to admire, actually or pass on to your kids.

What keeps us from being FOR something?  Maybe a fear that others will criticize us.  Maybe having lived in negative head space for so long that we forgot that God called us to build and grow people and his Kingdom.  What do you think?

What are you FOR? How can that become a passion for you?  How can what you are FOR begin to define you?

I want my life to be about what I am for, not what I’m against.  What about you?

We’re planning out 2010 right now at Connexus and that means a brand new season of preaching is coming up.  

Question: what subject do you most want to hear us preach about in 2010 at Connexus?  What issue are you facing? What question never gets answered?  What’s the area of greatest concern for your friends?

This is by far one of my favourite things to talk about. So – what would you like us to address?

Today's service for Michael Jackson was fascinating for so many reasons.  

This post isn't about the media or 'secular' society.  It's about people who say they follow Jesus and our attitude toward the Bible.

The last month has brought me into contact with an attitude I've seen over the years that just doesn't seem to go away.  The attitude?  Nearly everybody wants to hear from God, but a lot of Christ followers really don't like to read their Bible. 

Yeah, I just don't really read my bible.
I find the Bible too confusing.  
I don't get anything out of the Bible when I read it.  
I wish God would just speak to me directly.  

Bottom line:  if you don't access God's word, your probably not going to hear from God.  And your faith won't grow.  And you won't develop an intimate relationship with Him.  And you will end up making foolish decisions because you didn't consult God, but then you'll blame him for your misfortune.  And you'll be frustrated because you'll think God bailed on you.  But in reality, you bailed on Him.

There's a verse in Hebrews that gets me every time.  I know it's two verses after the 'famous' verse, but I like it better than the famous verse. 

What we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

The writer is talking about how God formed the universe.  Imagine being there in the moment before anything we now know was created, and God saying "this is what exists in my minds eye: Solar systems, planets, oceans and forests, people and duck-billed platypii."  

So in Part Two of the series "Signs from Beyond" (yesterday in Barrie, this coming Sunday in Orillia), we talked about God's will being revealed mostly in scripture.  

The assignment?  Read Romans 12.  Why?  Because most of us don't want to read the Bible. Most of us would rather hear from God directly rather than read the Bible to hear from God, even though direct communication is NOT something God does very often.  And even when we read the Bible, most of us don't read it as though God is speaking to us.

So the assignment was simple: read Romans 12 every day for a week and try to apply it to your life. I promised to do that too.  

This morning I started. I only got to verse one.  Actually, just the first part of verse one.  I didn't eve make it through one verse before I got stopped in my tracks.  Here's what hit me: the part about giving our lives (bodies) fully to Godin light of all He has done for us. 

Now I preached on this text yesterday.  I studied it during the week.  I've read it 100 times in my life, maybe more.  But I missed the part that says in light of all He has done for us. That stopped me dead cold.

I started thinking:  Do I really think about all that God has done for me?  What if I did?  That could change my motivation.  That could double or triple my gratitude.  If I really think about all God has done for me, my brain would melt. The Christian story isn't about what we can do for God, it's about what He has done for us.  It's about grace, mercy – God standing with us when I least deserved it. Wow! 

So I didn't read any further today. I had enough to saturate my little brain in applying just one verse to my life.  Usually I read 3-5 chapters of the Bible a day.  I got stuck at verse one.  And it's still eating at me.  I wonder what the rest of the week will hold?

Who says God's Word doesn't speak?  Try it.  Romans 12.  What's it saying to you?

I had an experience last Thursday that really sent my world spinning. Without going into a lot of details, a friend went into a deep crisis that had a number of us deeply worried and scared for his well being.  For a period of about 12 hours, we didn't know which way things were going to turn out.

A thought I've had on and off for years grabbed me again this morning:  

Wouldn't it be great to live a life story so compelling only God could claim credit for it? 

In the Old Testament, God had a reputation. It would have been absurd to claim personal credit for the parting of the Red Sea or for the collapse of the walls of Jericho.  The people of God were caught up in events so big only God could plausibly get credit.

I took some time off from blogging, not just in the last month, but for much of 2009.