Cornerstone Community Church, San Jose CA

“I HOPE YOU DREAM”

What God Hopes For You

January 17, 2016

She was born in Alabama in 1880. At the age of just 19 months she developed a serious infection, and because of it lost both her sight and her hearing. The first seven years of her life were an incredible struggle for her and her family. Then, in March of 1887, a young lady named Anne Sullivan was hired by the family to try to teach young Helen Keller how to communicate. The breakthrough came on April 5, 1887, when Anne was able to teach Helen that the word “water” referred to the liquid she bathed in and drank. From that day on there was no stopping Helen Keller. She graduated with honors from Radcliffe in 1904. She authored five books. She was instrumental in the fight to give women the right to vote, which was finally accomplished in 1920. She spent much of her time during World War 2 visiting soldiers who had lost their sight and/or hearing. She helped establish Braille as the standard for printed communication for the blind. When she died in 1968 at the age of 88, Helen Keller was world famous, an inspiration to everyone who knew about her.

“I HOPE YOU DREAM”

What God Hopes For You

January 17, 2016

She was born in Alabama in 1880. At the age of just 19 months she developed a serious infection, and because of it lost both her sight and her hearing. The first seven years of her life were an incredible struggle for her and her family. Then, in March of 1887, a young lady named Anne Sullivan was hired by the family to try to teach young Helen Keller how to communicate. The breakthrough came on April 5, 1887, when Anne was able to teach Helen that the word “water” referred to the liquid she bathed in and drank. From that day on there was no stopping Helen Keller. She graduated with honors from Radcliffe in 1904. She authored five books. She was instrumental in the fight to give women the right to vote, which was finally accomplished in 1920. She spent much of her time during World War 2 visiting soldiers who had lost their sight and/or hearing. She helped establish Braille as the standard for printed communication for the blind. When she died in 1968 at the age of 88, Helen Keller was world famous, an inspiration to everyone who knew about her.

Listen to these words of C.S. Lewis and see what you think. There’s a lot packed into this one paragraph, so take a deep breath and see if you can soak it all in. Here’s what he says:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

Love, says C.S. Lewis, is dangerous.

Listen to these words of C.S. Lewis and see what you think. There’s a lot packed into this one paragraph, so take a deep breath and see if you can soak it all in. Here’s what he says:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

Love, says C.S. Lewis, is dangerous.

When “Star Wars” first came out in 1977, that was the full title – “Star Wars.” But when “Star Wars” ended up becoming a series of films and not just a stand-alone movie it was decided that the first movie needed a new title to distinguish it from the series. And if you are familiar with the series you know what they renamed it – “A New Hope.”

We’re just a few days away from the beginning of a new year, and with a new year comes new hope. In some ways our hopes stay very much the same from year to year, don’t they? We hope to get in shape this year. We hope to get out of the hole financially. We hope to start a family. We hope to find a new job or to get a new car or to start a new project in our home. We had many of the same hopes last year – some of those hopes were fulfilled, and some got put off.

When “Star Wars” first came out in 1977, that was the full title – “Star Wars.” But when “Star Wars” ended up becoming a series of films and not just a stand-alone movie it was decided that the first movie needed a new title to distinguish it from the series. And if you are familiar with the series you know what they renamed it – “A New Hope.”

We’re just a few days away from the beginning of a new year, and with a new year comes new hope. In some ways our hopes stay very much the same from year to year, don’t they? We hope to get in shape this year. We hope to get out of the hole financially. We hope to start a family. We hope to find a new job or to get a new car or to start a new project in our home. We had many of the same hopes last year – some of those hopes were fulfilled, and some got put off.

Cornerstone Community Church, San Jose CA

Cornerstone Community Church, San Jose CA

“THE STAR SOARS: THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM SHOWS US THE WAY”

Christmas: The Force Awakens

December 20, 2015

One of my favorite memories of growing up at our family home in Minnesota is taking my dog Toby for a walk late at night at a hilly, wildlife park behind our house and gazing up at the stars while Toby went off exploring. I particularly enjoyed viewing the winter sky, even though it meant walking in the snow and cold, but for some reason it just seemed to me that the stars were brighter in the darkness and cold of winter. Sometimes I would even lie down in the snow, make a snow angel, and then just lie there for 30 or 40 minutes taking in the vastness of the universe. Every once in a while Toby would come over to sniff me and make sure his master was still alive, and then he’d head back out to chase a squirrel or dig in the snow.