Five Reasons Easter Sunday is better than Superbowl Sunday

1. Superbowl Sunday: Just one game
   Easter Sunday: At my church, we've got five services! (plus a sunrise service off-site)
2. Superbowl Sunday: Endless commercial breaks
   Easter Sunday: No commercial interruptions
3. Superbowl Sunday: Half-time show often features a classic rock act that won't go away
   Easter Sunday: The stone was rolled away! Classic!
4. Superbowl Sunday: People will be talking about the outcome for days
   Easter Sunday: People have been talking about the outcome for millenia
5. Superbowl Sunday: Vegas has odds on who will win
   Easter Sunday: We already know who won!

---

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

Luke 24:1-8 (NIV)

First post of the year 2011

Good morning. Let me wish all who read this a happy New Year!.

Today, January 1, 2011 is New Years Day and in recognition of the new year, I'd like to commemorate a few firsts of this year.

First Bible reading of the year

Genesis 1 - Genesis 3. Yes, Adam was the first man to wake up and find a woman whose name he didn't know laying next to him! Adam was also the first victim of the age old proverb "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Adam was also the first blame shifter and his quote "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12) gave context millenia later to Marion Barry's epic quote "B*!#h set me up." Way to go Adam! But more hopefully, Genesis 3:15 provides our first promise of a savior!

First songs listened to in the New Year

Yes, I'm a master of putting the iPod on shuffle and then hitting next until I hear a song I want to listen to, but here's the first three songs that I listened to all the way through:

1. "Praise Him" from Cross-Centered Worship by David L. Ward
   This was also one of the last songs I listened to in 2010 while driving back from the car wash. A good song to start the year with, too!
2. "Completely Done" from Sons & Daugthers by Sovereign Grace Music
   "The old is gone, the new has come
   What You complete is completely done
   We're heirs with Christ, the victory won
   What You complete is completely done"
   New Years Day seems to be a wonderful time to remember that the old is gone and the new has come!
3. "The Stand" from Passion: Awakening by Kristian Stanfill
   "What can I say, what can I do, but offer this heart, oh God, completely to you."
   That's my prayer to start this year.

So as 2011 kicks into gear, may God bless you this year!