Blog – River's Edge Community Church

Hiding in Plain Sight

Hiding in Plain Sight

Last week, we looked at the likely possibility that Mark’s ending is lost and gone forever. I would agree with the lost part, but what if it was (and here’s the important part) not gone forever? That’s what we want discuss today, but in order for it to make any sense, we have to reiterate what we said two weeks ago in the script. Matthew “used” Mark’s gospel and oftentimes imported Mark’s exact wording so that if you compare the parallel accounts in Mark and Matthew, you will see a huge amount of similarity. And while I agree that “copied” is such a strong word to describe what Matthew (and Luke) often did to Mark’s gospel, it is awfully close. Let me give you a few examples. Here’s a case where Matthew follows Mark almost word for word. Mark 13:5-7 – “And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it

Dreadful Sorry, Clementine

Dreadful Sorry, Clementine

I’m sure you remember the song, “Clementine.” Who could forget that chorus: “Oh, my darling. Oh, my darling. Oh, my darling Clementine. You are lost and gone forever. Dreadful sorry, Clementine.” Of course, you remember it. It is one of the top 100 western songs of all time—all time! “In a cavern, in a canyon; excavating for a mine, dwelt a miner, a forty-niner, and his daughter, Clementine.” Huckleberry Hound introduced the song to me (the Huckleberry Hound Show also introduced us to Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo!). “Light she was and like a feather, and her shoes were number nine. Herring boxes without topses, sandals were for Clementine.” It was those size-nine feet in sandals that did Clementine in. One morning, she got a splinter in her toe (if only she had footwear that had topses!), tripped, fell into the river, and drowned. “Ruby lips above the water, blowing bubbles

They Did What?

They Did What?

We all know that Alexander had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It was so bad that, according to Judith Viorst, Alexander wanted to move to Australia. But that is not all we know. We also know that Mark had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad ending. Unfortunately, we can’t ship Mark 16 off to the Land Down Under and hope that all our problems go away. No, we have to do something. We already know the extended version (vv. 9-20) is not authentic, and we made a pretty good case that verse 8 is not as bad of an ending as we might have thought at first blush (just like calling our favorite country to the south, “Straya,” is not as bad of a name as we originally thought). But there are two other options that we have not yet considered. But to grasp those arguments,

Now, That Is an Ending!

Now, That Is an Ending!

Horrible endings. We’ve all read them, watched them and experienced them. Agatha Christie made us endure page after page on a train, trying to figure out who did it, only to discover that everyone did it. We saved Private Ryan only for him to be consumed at the end of the movie, not with gratitude, but with a deep fear that he hadn’t earned the right to be saved (don’t you think he should have worried about that decades ago?). Tony Soprano was sitting at a booth enjoying a nice meal and then it all went black; and by “all,” I mean the whole series. And we won’t even bring up my time with my first girlfriend which indeed ended very badly. Maybe even horribly. And that is the point: We’ve all encountered bad endings. The question is, do we encounter one at the end of Mark? Let’s admit it

Missing the Mark

Missing the Mark

Quick, name one of the absolute worst movies ever made. If your list included any of the following three classics, you win. Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) or They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968). Why? In Plan 9, Bela Lugosi (the star of the movie) died midmovie and was replaced by his body-double who didn’t look anything like him, but he “fooled” the audience by covering his face in every scene with his cape. Classic! The name of the movie alone should land Santa and the Martians on this list; and if that is not enough, the plot is also horrific. And any movie where Hitler’s dead, severed head hopes to rule over a new Third Reich from South America can’t, by definition alone, be any good. All of these could qualify as the worst movie ever. Quicker, name one of the

The Little Things Are Infinitely the Most Important

The Little Things Are Infinitely the Most Important

There are Sherlock Holmes’ quotes and Sherlock Holmes’ QUOTES. Some prefer, “The game is afoot” (The Adventure of the Speckled Band). Others choose, “Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth” (The Sign of Four). Others enjoy citing these words when they, once again, know the correct answer, “It is my business to know what other people don’t know” (The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle). But for me, the greatest Sherlock Holmes quote comes from the story of “Silver Blaze.” Inspector Gregory can’t figure the case out, but he realizes Sherlock has seen something that he hasn’t. And so, he asks, "You consider that to be important?" Sherlock replies, “Exceedingly so." Gregory is still at a loss: “Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” Sherlock answers: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” Gregory is exasperated, “But

Not Where It Is Supposed to Be

Not Where It Is Supposed to Be

Luther the dog was all fur, fun and family. He was a Bernese-Mountain-Dog-and-White-German-Shepherd mix, and he topped the scale at 120 pounds (at the time, our two boys combined didn’t weigh that much!), and most of that was pure love. See, Luther loved to play, go for walks, cuddle up on the couch with us and let the boys crawl all over him. In other words, he was part of the family. But that was the problem. When we weren’t with Luther, Luther went bonkers. Luther didn’t suffer from separation anxiety. He suffered from separation panic. And when a 120-pound dog panics, a dog who is alone in your house, you can be sure there will be damage in his wake. A few examples. When left alone, Luther ate a library book, a plant, a pillow, a couch cushion, a green-magic marker, a baby-gift for a friend, three-quarters of a

An Eye for the Difference

An Eye for the Difference

I grew up reading the Swedish newspaper. Technically that’s true, but it probably wouldn’t stand up in court, especially if it was a Swedish court. The truth is, I can’t read Swedish, but I can comprehend Swedish cartoons. And honestly, that was the only thing I was interested in reading. See, in every edition on page 4, there was always a spot-the-difference game where there were two almost identical pictures; and we, the readers, were to find ten differences between the two. Now, that sounds easy, but try doing it in Swedish! In any case, it was there that I first developed an eye for differences, but I had no idea that skill would be necessary to read the Gospels, but it absolutely is. I first saw how necessary this skill was when I purchased a book for my Synoptics class in seminary. The book was aptly named, Synopsis of

Seven “Quote” Reasons to Love the Prophets

Seven “Quote” Reasons to Love the Prophets

You may find it strange, but I didn’t always love the prophets. Before I graduated from seminary, I would have listed my favorite three Old Testament books as Deuteronomy (my MA thesis was “The Form and Function of the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32), Ecclesiastes and Genesis (not a prophet, major or minor, in the group!). But then I read Abraham Heschel’s, The Prophets: An Introduction (1962, Harper Torchbooks) and that changed everything. His words made the prophets come alive for me and I fell in love with them (granted, more so Isaiah than Obadiah, but Obadiah is still fun to say). That was many years ago, but I have never looked back. And that got me thinking, maybe a little Heschel will move you to love the prophets, too. And a little Heschel we can do. As the essayist Joseph Epstein once said: “I believe it was Gayelord Hauser,

Seven More from the Prophets

Seven More from the Prophets

Consider three sets of movie quotes. Here is set one. All three should be very familiar to you. I’ll give you the quote, you provide the name of the movie. First quote: “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Second quote: "Go ahead, make my day." Third quote: “There’s no crying in baseball!” If you said, The Godfather, Sudden Impact and A League of their Own, you win the first category. Here is set two. All three of these quotes are related because all three are angry statements. Again, you get to name the movie. Fourth quote: “I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" Fifth quote: “You can't handle the truth!" Sixth quote: “I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" If you said Midnight Cowboy, A Few Good Men and Wizard of OZ, you have won the second set. Here is the third set. What connects

Seven from the Prophets

Seven from the Prophets

Roughly 16,000. That is how many football players are eligible for the NFL draft each year. 16,000; but only 250 or so are selected. 2,000-3,000 prospects are considered for the seven-round NHL draft each year, but only 224 are selected. Apparently, 140,000 players are eligible for the MLB draft each year, but out of that number, only 600-700 are selected. Now, if you were a major league general manager, choosing the right prospects out of a field that big should not be a problem. Why then, out of a field of 23,145 Old Testament verses should choosing seven verses be so tough? For the past seven weeks we have been looking at Christopher Wright’s book, The Old Testament in Seven Sentences (IVP Academic, Downers Grove, IL, 2019). When I purchased the book, I thought it would be a fun thought experiment that would definitely stretch the imagination, but would ultimately

194 (or More) to 1

194 (or More) to 1

Paul Simon told us—“There must be fifty ways to leave your lover.” Now, I realize there are numerous ways to interpret this song: Is the person speaking about a friend, his mother, a woman who wants him to leave his current lover so that he may embrace her (literally and figuratively), or is the speaker his current lover who is dismissing his pain by mocking his comment that he is thinking about leaving her? But the point the speaker is making is clear: it is easy to leave someone you no longer love (“You just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. You don’t need to be coy, Roy; Just get yourself free.”). But if that is so, the opposite must also be true. It must be extremely hard to leave many lovers behind because you are forced to choose just one. For instance, I’m going to

Isaiah’s Beautiful Feet

Isaiah’s Beautiful Feet

It was a very formal Southern church in which there was no messing around. That also meant it was a very serious and uptight church where nothing unseemly was allowed—ever. And that is what makes this story so much fun. Stuart Briscoe was one of my heroes—a great pastor, a spectacular teacher, and a phenomenal communicator and, on top of all that, he had an outrageous sense of humor. On one formal occasion, he was speaking at the above serious church on a very uptight Sunday morning. More to the point, he was speaking about today’s verse (as it is quoted in Romans 15): “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” And to prove his point, he swung his leg up and plopped his foot on the very formal, serious pulpit so that the sole of his shoe was facing the very formal, proper congregation. A

Micah’s Masterpiece in Three Points

Micah’s Masterpiece in Three Points

There’s a famous story about President Calvin Coolidge. As he was coming out of church one Sunday, a reporter intercepted him and, hoping for a controversial soundbite, asked the president what the topic of the sermon had been. Coolidge, who was never one for being longwinded, replied, “Sin.” The reporter knew there was no story there, and so he asked a follow-up: “What did he say about it?” Coolidge replied, “He was agin’ it.” Now, I realize many people feel this story is apocryphal, but Coolidge was a master of brevity, and his summary of the sermon exudes an economy of expression which, in my book, is a vote for authenticity. After all, a good summary is hard to find. It’s not every day someone recaps Beauty and the Beast by saying “Stockholm syndrome works” or condenses Star Wars: Episode V by saying “talking frog convinces son to kill his

David’s Verse Is a Little Worse

David’s Verse Is a Little Worse

Henry Ford famously offered all his customers the opportunity to purchase a brand-new Model-T in any color they wanted “as long as that color was black.” Apparently, not every customer was pleased with their “multitude” of color options. I understand how they feel. I came into this project thinking that we could choose any seven verses in the Old Testament and that the goal was to choose ones that are theologically rich, emotionally satisfying, textually significant and spiritually meaningful. But here we are, choosing our fourth verse, and I am beginning to feel claustrophobic. Yes, I can choose any seven verses as long as there is one creation verse, one Abraham verse, one Moses verse, one David verse, one prophet verse and one Psalm verse. After that, pick any seven verses you want! Thank you, Mr. Ford. And, if you would be so kind, please hand over a good David

An Avalanche of Moses

An Avalanche of Moses

When we lived in Canada, there was a month where it snowed every day. Not tons every day, but snow every day. And not just a flake every day, but several inches every day. Every day. To make things worse, there was already a foot or more of snow on the ground when our month of snow began so that by the end of the month, we didn’t have any place to put the new snow. We were flinging new snow over our heads with shovels that were forced to function like lacrosse sticks. The snowbanks that lined our driveway were so high, we looked like we lived in a cave. And driving out of the driveway onto the street was always an adventure (blow your horn first and then go in faith). There was so much snow! And it was beautiful. Let’s face it, if you are going to

The Plan Has a Name

The Plan Has a Name

Here’s what I love about a heist movie. Yes, you have the pay off. So what? And sure, you have the actual heist. Big deal! And most of the time, you have some cause that motivates the whole adventure. Fine and dandy. But what you need is a great plan that requires thought and training to execute it because one false step and everything comes crashing down. In this case, you’re going to need cars and a map of the sewers and something has to be done about those traffic lights. And of course, you’re going to need a “drop zone” to get into the sewers. Show me the plan. Let’s practice the plan; and then, let’s work the plan. The result is that you have a heist movie that will steal my heart. And that is why I love Genesis 12. We’ve got a problem. We’ve got a plan,

Seven in One Blow

Seven in One Blow

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was Seven in One Blow, the story of a tailor who strikes at a swarm of flies who are interrupting his lunch. He kills seven of them. Impressed by his accomplishment, he sews the words, “Seven in One Blow,” on his shirt and then goes out to seek his fortune. However, everyone who reads his shirt believes he killed seven men. You could say that misreading changes their perception of him. As a result, he vanquishes the giants, saves the day, finds his fortune, and wins the girl. But you would think that anyone who could get seven in one blow would clean up appropriately. Today, we begin looking at Christopher J.H. Wright’s short introduction to the Old Testament which is aptly named, The Old Testament in Seven Sentences (IVP Academic, Downers Grove, IL, 2019). It’s a fun little book,

Rejuvenating Resolutions

Rejuvenating Resolutions

We all love to make New Year’s Resolutions. It’s a great New Year’s thing to do. And our resolutions are usually really good. And yet, by the time we get into the second week of the new year, our resolve usually starts to wane. And that is not good. What we need is some way to rejuvenate those New Year’s resolutions. And what better way to renew those goals than to listen to those who know about when change begins. And where does change begin? It begins in us. Here are ten great quotes about us, about change, and about the time to decide to grow and to be the person God has called you to be. Enjoy! “The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.” -- W.E.B. Du Bois “It is never

When Does New Year’s Begin?

When Does New Year’s Begin?

Forget about when Christmas begins! When does New Year’s happen? The calendar says it is New Year’s, but I am not sure we can trust our calendars. See, for most of our history, no one knew what the date was—or even what time it was! At least, that is my big take-away from a book a friend co-wrote entitled, The New Millennium Manual: A Once and Future Guide (cowritten in 1999 by Robert Clouse, Richard Pierard and our good friend, Bobby Hosack). Here’s my summary of the story. Apparently, the earliest calendars were all based on the moon. People looked up; and when they saw the new crescent moon, they began a new month. But the lunar calendar was almost 11 days shorter than a solar calendar; and so to keep up with the sun, they had to add an extra leap month every three years. But there were other