"Haven't posted a sermon in a while . . ." written by Drew on estrip.org

04/05/09 09:58 - 46ºF - ID#48302

Haven't posted a sermon in a while . . .

. . . but I did something different for Palm Sunday. Here it is:

At first, we like God.

Because we think God is going to save us.

At first, we like God.

Because we are sure that God is on our side.

At first, we like God.

Because God can act now, quickly, and decisively.

So we shout, "Hosanna." "Save us."

And God does.

And we celebrate.

But notice--

His War Horse is not a Horse.

He's on a pack animal. And a borrowed one, at that.

Now look, he goes to the Temple.

We wave our branches higher.

He's going to save us our religion.

He's going to save our country.

He's going to take back the land for God.

We've wanted God to come. Now God is here. Victory will be ours.

"Save us," we shout. "Hosanna" "Blessed is David's Kingdom."

David built God's temple.

You are going to tear it down?

David defeated God's enemies.

You are going to feed them?

David took the land for God.

Your Kingdom is not of this world?

David took God's throne.

You are taking the cursed cross?

At first we liked you.

But you aren't going to save us.

A grain of wheat must die?

The first must become last?

We must take up a cross?

No!

You are not like David.

You are not like God.

You are the anti-King.

You are the anti-God.

You cannot save us.

You will destroy us.

You must be stopped.

"Save us?"

We were so foolish.

We have no King but Caesar.

"Crucify him."

"Save Us," cries the crowd.

"Take up your cross," replies Jesus.

It sounds silly,

But to people-in-salvation,

the cross is the power of God.

Permalink: Haven_t_posted_a_sermon_in_a_while_.html
Words: 283
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: religion

03/30/09 04:24 - 36ºF - ID#48241

Lafayette Church, beginning April 12

Some shameless promotion of upcoming events:

Jesus, revealed!

* On SUNDAY MORNINGS we see Jesus in the stories of his post-Resurrection appearances, and consider where he might be showing up today. (10-11:15am)

* On SUNDAY EVENINGS we will see Jesus through contemplative prayer and sacrament. (8-8:45pm)

* On TUESDAY EVENINGS we will see how Jesus was revealed in scripture and the early church, as we watch and discuss the PBS Documentary "From Jesus to Christ." (7-8:30pm)

* On THURSDAY EVENINGS we will see Jesus as we serve others, rehabbing houses with West Side Ministries. (5-9pm, but late arrivals/early exits are ok.)

* On FRIDAY, APRIL 17 we will host a free screening of "Lord, Save Us from your Followers," a humorous documentary that shows how Jesus is and isn't revealed by the church.

EVERY EVENT is open and accessible for people of ANY or NO FAITH. There will always be snacks, there will always be an optional time of discussion, and you will be treated with respect.

Lafayette Ave. Presbyterian Church
On the corner of Lafayette and Elmwood
elmwoodjesus.org
886-6635

Beginning Easter Sunday (April 12) and continuing until May 7.

Permalink: Lafayette_Church_beginning_April_12.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: web

03/27/09 07:58 - 55ºF - ID#48217

Web Stuff

I did a SEO analysis online, and Lafayette Church gets an 81 (out of 100).

Other area churches got a 26 and an 18, despite hiring professionals to make their sites.

Gloat, gloat.

Permalink: Web_Stuff.html
Words: 29
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: food

03/23/09 08:47 - 23ºF - ID#48162

PriceRite review

Quite simply, it filled me with joy. (e:Janelle) had to reprimand me for staring, jaw agape, at prices and saying, "wow."

Seafood is less than $3/pound. Regular fish is even cheaper, but you can get scallops and crab and stuffed crab for less than $3 a pound.

Lots of fruit and vegetables are $1/pound or less.

Goya beans are .66/can. And oh my, the selection of Goya products!

Meat can be had for $1/pound, but I suspect that is just part of the grand opening madness. Turkeys were something like $.20/pound.

Cheese, shredded can be had for $2/pound, and sliced only slightly more--real cheese!

Cornflakes--$1 a box.

Plus it had all the staples, and quite a few treats.

Well laid out, clean, and well staffed. Uber-busy yesterday, but I anticipate being able find some space soon.

I want to go to there.

johnallen writes at 09:30:35 03/23/09 - Comment #46907: simply amazing

tinypliny writes at 08:47:29 03/23/09 - Comment #46901: Do they have dried beans? I somehow can't bring myself to buy cans because:
a) I don't know where my can opener is.
b) I am morbidly paranoid about botulism.

tinypliny writes at 08:45:28 03/23/09 - Comment #46900: I REALLY want to go to there!

janelle writes at 08:17:38 03/23/09 - Comment #46896: Oh, my! Leg of lamb for cheap?? We might have to alter our traditional easter burritos to have lamb instead. Always wanted to try cooking it.

jbeatty writes at 08:08:31 03/23/09 - Comment #46894: There are some serious deals to be had there right now. I just got back and had a tough time hauling in the 15lbs of pork ribs I bought, which was merely $15. This is definitely the largest quantity of meat I have ever purchased for personal use. I may have to go back tomorrow for the massive leg of lamb that was absurdly under priced. For the most part the produce looked good, they had some hard to find items and things I have never seen that I need to experiment with. I suggest giving yourself plenty of extra time to get through the checkouts, there were roughly 100 people waiting at the checkouts.

metalpeter writes at 08:03:26 03/23/09 - Comment #46893: I almost went in there on Sunday morning on my way home from the party (thanks again (e:PMT)) but I saw how packed it was so I stayed away. Hopefully I'll make it in there this week sometime.

dcoffee writes at 04:42:16 03/23/09 - Comment #46880: I'm all about it. I've been going to Aldi and SaveAlot for about two years. normal stores just waste a lot of money on conveniences, and you end up paying for it in the prices. I find those huge stores kind of annoying now, Do I realy need 5 brands of cooking oil, and 8 brands of peanut butter to choose from? It's a waste of time. Sure you might be picky about some things like salad dressing or whatever. But for the most part, you're paying for the brand name and the advertising, it's not the amazing product.

You'll find out that you spend HALF what you do at a normal store. I keep track, and even the generic stuff is not as cheep as Aldi. Bread and Bagels are a big thing for me, they're like $1.50 at Aldi, and $3.50-$4.50 at the big stores, even the store brand stuff.

I think this place will do well, there is a serious need in the area.

janelle writes at 04:40:00 03/23/09 - Comment #46879: To settle the Price Rite store times, according to their website:

All Stores Open: Mon-Sat 8am-9pm | Sun 8am-6pm

These times are similar to Aldis and other discount grocery stores. I think Price Rite is going to be a great addition to the neighborhood.

I shopped there regularly when I lived in Philadelphia and found no problems with it. It was great for living on a gradschool budget. This store is far cleaner with more diversity in products than the one in Philadelphia. In my experience, Price Rite has better produce than Aldis and overall a wider inventory of goods. Even after the opening sales are over, I think Price Rite is going to do quite well here. There will still be items that I can't find there (tofu, tempeh, tvp, etc...) and I'll hit up Wegmans for those items.

chico writes at 04:21:02 03/23/09 - Comment #46876: Thanks for the heads-up!! Am dying to check it out. But if it's only open till six p.m. on weekdays as (e:Lauren) noted, they're sort of setting themselves up to fail, no?

jenks writes at 02:22:05 03/23/09 - Comment #46875: is this where latina's was, on elmwood?

and LOL at I want to go to there. I put that on facebook one day and no one got it.

libertad writes at 01:28:21 03/23/09 - Comment #46873: I heard there produce is good actually but I think I will have to judge for myself. Really I wanted to go there yesterday but didn't want to risk them not having what I wanted so I went to wegmans.

james writes at 01:14:00 03/23/09 - Comment #46872: I can understand Tib. Latina's had shit produce and the butcher section smelled like unrefrigerated chicken.

drew writes at 01:11:00 03/23/09 - Comment #46870: @Tiberon: looked good to me.

@James: right on!

@MrMike: Time will prove the Buffalo Snews wrong. On this, and just about everything.

@Lauren: they only close at six on Sundays (probably because nobody wants to miss the Simpsons) every other night they are open until 9.

tiburon1724 writes at 12:29:39 03/23/09 - Comment #46868: I don't know if I'd trust perishables from there :/

james writes at 11:12:58 03/23/09 - Comment #46867: I crave the flesh of sea creatures. I may stop by there on my way home today for yum-yums.

mrmike writes at 09:56:34 03/23/09 - Comment #46863: The Buffalo News is already forecasting doom based on the previous occupants. That really annoyed me because it painted the neighborhood as the problem when nothing could be further from the truth. The area has been aching for a well-run mid sized store instead was given the filth and price gauging of Latina's and Quality. Latina's started off promisingly, but fell down that same problem plagued venue that did in Quality.

lauren writes at 09:49:08 03/23/09 - Comment #46862: (e:felly) and I wanted to join in the hubub of it all and go to Price Rite...so we went on over and tried to go in and BAM, they close at SIX during the week and only 9 on the weekends. This is terribly annoying.

Permalink: PriceRite_review.html
Words: 142
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/16/09 09:56 - 38ºF - ID#48067

Parade

Judging by the crowd yesterday, there are quite a few people that aren't so worried that they stopped spending money. I think if I was scared about the economy, one of the first things I would cut from my budget would be plastic beads.

Permalink: Parade.html
Words: 44
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/13/09 10:22 - 21ºF - ID#48041

"Saved" tonight at my house

on the medium screen (bigger than tv, but def. not imax).

People that want to talk about it afterward will be invited to, but not required.

The movie is really funny, and a little bit too true.

I will make popcorn and have pop, popcorn, and beer. If you want to bring something else to share, feel free. Otherwise, just show up and enjoy.

7pm, 265 Lexington

Ten things I like about the movie.

1. MacCauley Caulkin plays an angst-y character.

2. I know guys that are like the pastor.

3. All the non-Christians act like Jesus.

4. There is a nice balance of thoughtfulness and slapstick.

5. If (e:felly) came and watched a movie starring Mandy Moore it would be super-awesome.

6. A guy in a wheelchair playing footsie.

7. (shouted in anger) "I am FULL of Christ's love!"

8. "There's only one reason why good Christian girls go to Planned Parenthood" . . . "Mary's planting a pipe bomb?!??!!"

9. Happy memories--(e:janelle) and I saw it first on a date in Philly.

10. More happy memories--when I showed it to a youth group in Mt. Lebanon, they totally didn't get it. (but I'm sure you all will.)

Permalink: _quot_Saved_quot_tonight_at_my_house.html
Words: 197
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: haiku

03/12/09 03:16 - 26ºF - ID#48030

Another work haiku

Another detail.
Preach? details Heal? details. Pray?
boiler's broke again.

Permalink: Another_work_haiku.html
Words: 10
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: football

03/07/09 09:44 - 38ºF - ID#47980

How to build a football team

For the Bills, because they do not know.

1. Hire a good coach, and stick with him, even when he has a bad year. If a player won't play for him, said player goes--not the coach. (See: Noll, Cowher, Tomlin)

2. Build your team through the draft. Free agent signings should be rare, but when you make one, they should be for undervalued players, with more career ahead of them (See Bettis, Farrior).

3. Wide Receivers can be found at all levels, and should never be gone after in Free agency. Ditto Running backs. WRs are successful because of good QBs, and RBs because of good lines. (See: Ward, Parker, Washington)

4. Defense wins championships, and should always be the top priority. (See: the Steelers--always)

5. Character counts. Never invite the troublemaker, and don't be afraid to let him go, even if he is talented (See: Plexico Burress).

6. Coaching counts. Even the pros can still learn, if they are willing. Sign the guys that are willing to listen (See: Polamalu)

7. Another acceptable free agent signing is for depth--i.e. back-ups (see: Batch, Leftwich)

8. Even if a guy is great, let him go if and when he is old and wants a giant contract (see: Porter, Webster)

9. Stay in town. If your team has a city name in it, you better stay in said city. Don't go to the suburbs, and don't even think about relocating internationally.

10. Focus on fundamentals. Trickery will only go so far if you can't block or tackle.

Permalink: How_to_build_a_football_team.html
Words: 246
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/05/09 03:01 - 50ºF - ID#47960

Girl-drink Drunk

For (e:jason)

Permalink: Girl_drink_Drunk.html
Words: 11
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: politics

03/01/09 03:59 - 22ºF - ID#47915

An economic stimulus proposal

So next year, quite a few military personnel will, if all goes according to plan, be returning from Iraq.

This could be bad news, or good news.

Of course, it is always good news if there is peace and safety, but the possibility of bad news is this: an economy that already has high unemployment will have a glut of new workers--workers that have spent at least a year outside of our culture (more for most), and who's skills may not have an equivalent in our economy.

To make matters worse, quite a few have suffered trauma. Historically, re-adjustment to civilian life has not been easy.

Here's the good news. Many of these service people will be flush with combat pay. They will want new homes and new cars and furniture and clothes without camo and all sorts of things.

As long as we are throwing around all sorts of cash, I think we should make an investment in this area. In addition to regular veterans benefits, I would provide an additional bonus for veterans to take a class on starting a business. Another bonus for attending a support group. We should pay them to rehab houses and give them affordable mortgages to buy them. I would also love a bonus paid to veterans who stayed drug and/or alcohol free, or pledged not to own a gun.

So much can go wrong when veterans return. More Vietnam veterans have died of self-inflicted wounds than died in the conflict. This, however, is not only preventable, but by making the right choices, the end of our current war can be an integral part of the economy's jump start.

Permalink: An_economic_stimulus_proposal.html
Words: 277
Location: Buffalo, NY