On a recent Sunday, those worshipping at CrossPoint Community Church were encouraged to text in their questions and doubts during Matt’s message. Some were answered “live.” The best of the rest will be answered here.
TEXT: Pastor Matt, will my pet make it to Heaven?
As much as I tried to avoid answering this question, I just couldn’t. Too many of you threw it my way for me to ignore it. Apparently a lot of people want to hang out in paradise with their poodle.
This is one of those topics that the Scriptures just don’t talk about in any detail. We’re left to make an educated guess based on what the Scriptures do speak clearly on. And taking it all in, my personal, Biblical insticts lead me to offer a pretty confident, “no.”
[Long pause for the pet lovers to stop cursing my name.]
Let me tell you how I get there. First, the Bible tells us that mankind - human beings - are the crown of God’s creation, the height of all that He’s made. Also, mankind carries an incredible value in the eyes of God because we are - unlike our pets or any animal - made in His image. That is, all humans reflect something of the character and power of God. For example, like God created all things, mankind - as His image bearer - can create small but still very incredible things. A dog simply can’t. (Gen. 1:27-31) Continue reading »
On a recent Sunday, those worshipping at CrossPoint Community Church were encouraged to text in their questions and doubts during Matt’s message. Some were answered “live.” The best of the rest will be answered here.
TEXT: Pastor Matt, can two people of different faiths - a Christian and a Jehovah’s Witness - have a successful marriage?
Well, it all depends on how you define “success.”
If success is a husband and wife who deeply love one another, strive to meet each other’s needs, and build a happy home with well-behaved children then yes, two people of different faiths can be very successful.
However, if success includes having a shared peace of mind in knowing that you’ll spend eternity together; if it means raising your children to walk in step with you and your spouse in a common system of beliefs, thus teaching them the importance of being “one” in all things; and if it involves having your spiritual life be a mutual source of joy and support, then in all honesty the answer is “no.” Continue reading »
Lifeway Research recently posted the results of a thorough study on the power of parents and children inviting their neighbors to church. Check out this snippet:
LifeWay Research found that 76 percent of American parents agree with the statement, “If a neighbor I trusted invited my children to go to church with them, I would let my child go with them.” Only 24 percent disagree.
LifeWay Research conducted the study among a representative national sample of 1,210 American parents.
I was surprised. We live in a world of fear surrounding our children and of increased religious privacy. And yet, if you and your son invited to pick up his buddy from the soccer team for church on Sunday, his mom and dad will probably be all for it. So what’s stopping you?
The Christmas craziness is officially underway for the Popovits family. Right now I am sitting at the airport, watching my little one run around a packed departure gate. Actually, my daughter just came running out of the bathroom and exclaimed at the top of her lungs, “Daddy, I went potty!” I’m sure everyone enjoyed that.
We’ve traveled a lot with Ava over the last 3 and a half years and one thing I’ve noticed is that while most of the time parents with little ones are looked at with disdain and frustration by others at the airport, during Christmas no one seems to care. In fact, they almost enjoy it.
At Christmas there seems to be an extra measure of travel mercy for little ones. For example, this morning the girl who took our order at McDonald’s responded to Ava’s energy not by rolling her eyes but by sliding her a toy - a My Little Pony that she was very grateful for - and offering a “Merry Christmas.”
Whether you love Jesus or not, it’s crazy how the celebration of Jesus’ arrival affects almost everyone this time of year. It’s as if there is something embedded into all of creation that just wants to be a little bit nicer this time of year. Just a little bit, though.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could extend such grace to all people, all of the time? But alas, that kind of peace won’t happen until Jesus arrives for the second time.
Until then, I’ll be very happy with a My Little Pony.
Again, sorry for the gap between posts. In fact, I feel so bad that I knew I needed to offer something truly wonderful as penance.
Check out this clip of comedian Louis CK on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He nails what I think many of us have noticed - we live in a really unappreciative world. Actually, each generation simply struggles to appreciate the effort and the innovation of the ones who went before them, creating the high standard of living that we inevitably take for granted. (If you’ve ever read a little book called the “Bible” you may notice that this is also a recurring theme in the Old Testament, among the children of Israel - i.e. the entire book of Isaiah) In other words, we’re greedy pigs.
Thanks to Frank for sending me this link. Oh, and just a heads up to those of you whose faces turn red when people swear or use colorful language. This clip is clean, but if you click on others you may not be so blessed.
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