Presby-Musings

Hope is what you get when you realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich and the powerful, and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. - N. T. Wright. Several years ago, I went to the Holy Land Experience amusement park in Orlando--which I think is now closing down.  It's a strange place, to be honest.  I'm not sure just how much of the amusement park itself is representative of the Holy Land... but it's an experience, so there's that.  At the Holy Land Experience amusement park there is a replica of the Empty Tomb of Jesus.  This is a photo of the inside of the tomb: Yes. That is a door in the back of the Empty Tomb.  I have used this before in a sermon, but it's just too good to not use again.  I can't tell you how many deep theological problems this back door to the Empty Tomb creates.  But there it is.  I've had the opportunity to go on three different pilgrimages to the actua...

Several years ago, I went to the Holy Land Experience amusement park in Orlando .  It's a strange place, to be honest.  I'm not sure just how much of the amusement park itself is representative of the Holy Land ... but it's an experience , so there's that. At the Holy Land Experience amusement park there is a replica of the Empty Tomb of Jesus .  This is a photo of the inside of the tomb: Yes. That is a door in the back of the Empty Tomb .  I have used this before in a sermon, but it's just too good to not use again.  I can't tell you how many deep theological problems this back door to the Empty Tomb creates.  But there it is. I've had the opportunity to go on two different pilgrimages to the actual Holy Land in Israel, and am preparing for a third trip a year from now. As part of the trips I lead, we visit an area just outside of the Old City of Jerusalem that is believed by many to be the site of the garden where Jesus was buried in a bo...

This Sunday is Easter. I have been waiting for it for a while.  I need me some Easter.  I need the dawn to break and to know that the sun is coming up and that the night is about to be over.  I need to feel resurrected. Maybe you've been feeling that way, too. When you go to church this Sunday, if you're the church-going type, you'll undoubtedly hear the story of Jesus' resurrection read at some point.  You will at my church...at both services. A friend of mine asked what I was preaching on this Sunday.  He was being funny.  I thought about being funny back and saying something like, "Actually, I am going to be preaching on Giving this Easter.  I figure since I've got a full house, why waste it?" So when you hear the story of the Resurrection read from one of the Gospel accounts on Easter Sunday morning, what do you think?  Most people who find themselves sitting in a church pew on Easter morn typically know at least a little about the...

I went to the Holy Land Experience yesterday with my youngest son, who happens to be five going on forty.  It was my first visit to the Christian-based Orlando theme park since the Trinity Broadcasting Network bought it some years ago.  I went, quite frankly, because my wife and older son went on a 15 day trip that included several days in the real Holy Land, and I promised my little guy we would one-up them.  Our mission was not to merely experience the Holy Land Experience as a means of one-uppance. We knew that wouldn't cut it.  Our mode of one-uppance was going to come when we got our picture taken with Jesus, which we were certain we would be able to do. The brochures and television ads clearly showed Jesus walking around greeting people in the park.  We decided that a photo op with Jesus himself would pretty much trump any ancient ruins that the other two members of our family visited.  In a moment of kindness I will include you on my little photo sa...