Last month, while volunteering as the Avengers for the Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield, we learned of a little boy named Tyler. Radiation treatments keep Tyler’s lymphoma at bay, but also kept him from the festival that day. We told Tyler’s mom about Costumers for Christ and she told us that Tyler would absolutely love a visit from his favorite superhero—Spider-man!
Although I made several Spiderman costumes as commissioned works, this was the first time I cosplayed as Spider-man myself. Saint John’s Children’s Hospital was colorful and inviting. Both patients and staff smiled brightly as Spidey walked the halls and rode the elevator to the fifth floor. A somewhat startled security guard pointed us to Tyler’s room. But when I poked my head through his door, I was surprised by what I saw. I expected a frail little boy too weak to move. But as soon as Tyler saw Spider-man he excitedly jumped out of bed and ran over to meet me, energetically bounding around the room. He spewed forth enough Spider-man knowledge to impress any fan. As we talked, I learned that Tyler is in “maintenance” now, which means he still has radiation treatments on a regular basis, but has been cancer-free for several months! Praise God! Read more…
Nearly everyone knows the story of Batman. Once you’ve heard it, you can never forget it. As a young boy Bruce Wayne excitedly emerges from a theater in Gotham City along with his wealthy socialite parents, Thomas and Martha. But as the trio makes their way through a dimly lit alley, a mugger steps out of the shadows, waving a gun and demanding money. Before the couple can comply, the thief pulls the trigger. Bruce watches in horror.
Days later, kneeling by his bedside, Bruce solemnly vows to avenge his parents’ death by waging war on criminals. Relying on his billion-dollar inheritance, Bruce travels abroad, studying under the greatest criminologists, detectives and martial artists in the world. When he finally returns home to Gotham City, he adopts a persona that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals—the Batman! Read more…
If you’re just joining us, last Sunday I explained that Blooming Grove is going to be entering a float in this year’s Halloween Parade in Carlinville. The theme for the parade is Superhero Celebration and we’re looking for brave souls to dress up as superheroes—something that my family has been doing for years—and walk or ride in the parade with us. I’m excited about this parade because I’m convinced that comic-book heroes can teach some valuable spiritual lessons. In fact, I like to think of superheroes as modern-day parables. Jesus used parables—that is, fictional stories—to illustrate spiritual truths. I believe that the stories of comic-book heroes like Batman, Spider-man, Iron-Man and others can help us better understand some very Biblical concepts.
In the comic-book industry there are two powerhouse publishers—DC Comic and Marvel Comics. While Superman is the strongest one there is in the DC universe, Thor is earth’s mightiest hero in the Marvel Universe. Fans of DC and Marvel have debated for decades which superhero is really more powerful—Superman or Thor. In fact, a friend of mine, Josh Boultinghouse, even starred in a short fan-film series titled Super Power Beat Down, which pitted the Man of Steel against the Prince of Thunder. The outcome was determined by fan vote and while Thor put up an epic battle, it was Superman who stood victorious in the end. Read more…
Most of you have probably figured out by now that I’m a really big geek.
I wear that name like a badge of honor because I’ve earned it. I started collecting comic-books almost as soon as I could read. Wednesdays were my favorite day of the week because that was new comic-book day. Each week I would ride my bike to the comic-book store in the Piggly-Wiggle strip plaza to see what new comics had come out. And even before that I spent countless Saturday mornings laying belly-down on the carpet of our living watching the Super Friends and other Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Space Ghost and Birdman. Read more…
If you’re still new to the Grove, you may not have noticed it yet, but we’re a pretty subtle group of worshippers. And by that I mean there’s not a lot hand raising that goes on here. I don’t know why that is. Ashley and I have been to Christian concerts or conferences where everyone is raising their hands in worship, but here at home it seems like maybe we’re not comfortable raising our hands in worship. I think maybe the reason we’re uncomfortable with it is just because we don’t know what we’re doing. So, I’m going to have Tim Hawkins walk you through the art of hand raising in worship.
This husband and wife had recently been remodeling their kitchen and one day the wife came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist to the electric coffeepot he had in his hand. Her adrenaline kicked in at the thought of her husband being electrocuted, so she grabbed a nearby 2×4 and whacked him hard, intending to jolt him away from the deadly current. She managed to knock him clear across the room, breaking his arm in two places. She later she found out that, up until that moment, he had been happily listening to his iPod. What looked like electrocution were actually his best dance moves.
Music has a way making you move, doesn’t it? Even worship music. Maybe you like to tap your foot or raise your hand while you’re singing in church. David danced before the Lord in his underwear. Whatever you do at least you can be grateful that you’ve never been whacked with a 2×4 while dancing in your kitchen! Read more…
A growing church held a special song service to raise money for their new singles ministry. The worship leader announced that for a $20 donation you could pick out one hymn, and for a $50 donation you could pick out three hymns. “So who’s going to start us off?” he asked. Then a single lady in the back started waving her hand. “I will! I will!” she said. Excitedly, she ran down the aisle and put her $50 in the collection plate. The worship leader said, “Thank you so much. Go ahead and pick out three hymns.” She turned and looked over the congregation and said “All right. I’ll take him, him and him!” Read more…
When humans first learned to sing, they expressed in music everything that meant something to them in life. People sang about family and friends. They sang when marching off to work or to war. And the greatest thing mankind had to sing about was God. As they sang, the Creator of cosmos listened with pleasure.
It didn’t take long though for people to start arguing about which songs to sing, how loud to sing them, whether or not they should be accompanied and what instruments should be used! There’s often been this divide between those who crave contemporary worship music and those who long for the sturdy old hymns of the past.
Have you wondered about the difference between the two? Read more…
A prominent figure once complained about the impact of music upon our young people. He said, “This new music is promoting the moral degeneracy of our adolescents.” We might think this statement was made by someone within the past fifty years, but it’s actually a quote of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
Without question, music has a profound impact on human beings. Music continues to shape and add color to the most important moments of our lives. Spouses have favorite songs that conjure up happy memories of courtship. Certain compositions are immediately associated with specific holidays or other special occasions. Music can be used to change or reflect different moods. Even King Solomon enjoyed listening to David play his harp. It helped him find peace when he was angry or depressed. Music still has that effect on people today, especially spiritual music. Read more…
Almost everybody loves music. People prefer different artists and styles, but it would be tough to find someone who doesn’t care for any of it. The combination of melody and lyrics captures a person’s innermost thoughts and emotions that are difficult to express in any other form. People identify with their favorite songs and develop a connection to others who share their feelings. We often recognize our favorite song just from the first few notes. And the last song we heard can often get stuck in our heads all day. Music has a way of touching the heart as nothing else can.
And this is especially true of spiritual music. Unfortunately, there’s no quicker way to turn holy ground into a battle ground than to bring up the topic of music in the church. Some people want only new contemporary music, others want fine-old hymns. Personally, I love the new praise and worship music. I sing it enthusiastically at church and I listen to contemporary Christian music on the radio. But as we sing a new song to the Lord, I think it’s important that we not forget the old ones. Read more…
