So, what makes you laugh? You can tell a lot about a person by what makes them laugh. As the psalmist reflects on his experience of liberation from captivity by the gracious intervention of God he describes the response of those set free: “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” Psalm 126:2 Why all the laughter? What’s up with these shouts of joy? Laughter and joy was the appropriate response to their sudden and…
Sanctifying the Ordinary: Sports
“When viewed through the lens of Scripture we will see that sport is more than a game, less than a god, and when transformed by the gospel can be received as a gift.” So writes Jeremy Treat in his paper titled “More Than A Game: A Theology of Sport.” And that is a theologically informed, well-crafted sentence addressing a topic that has not been written about sufficiently from a biblical perspective. We need a theology of sports in order to…
Sanctifying the Ordinary: Laughter
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to laugh.” Ecc. 3:1, 4 Laughter is a gift from God. But laughter is a largely neglected and easily misunderstood topic in the church. But for the Christian, laughter is an important topic because when properly understood, laughter—and the humor from which is arises—is not a distraction from godliness or an evidence of immaturity. When viewed biblically and used rightly, laughter and humor are gifts from…
Sanctifying the Ordinary: Leisure
Prior to this past Sunday, I have never preached a message on leisure. My bad. For, as J.I. Packer has written, “We were not made, nor are we redeemed, to live without leisure.” No we are not. This truth is seen from the opening words and chapters in Holy Scripture where God models rest and limits our work. The creation account reveals a rhythm of work and rest that is part of the created order. We were made for this rhythm. We…
Sanctifying the Ordinary: Sleep
“Many Christians have an inadequate theology of ordinary life” writes Gene Veith in his book, The Spirituality of the Cross. How about you? Do you have a theology of ordinary life? If not, you need one, because most of your life is, well, ordinary life. You know what I’m talking about: laundry and lawnmowing. Commutes and carpools. You know the drill. But do you know that a theology of ordinary life can transform your ordinary life as you learn to…