Second Stage Ministries

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Grinched - part 2 - Head Wasn’t Screwed on Just Right

Do you have holiday traditions? The things that you and your family do every year for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s the day after Thanksgiving and everyone in your family gets together and puts up the Christmas tree and other decorations. Maybe it’s going around the table at Thanksgiving dinner and express what you are thankful for. Maybe it’s opening up a special Christmas Eve present. Maybe it’s going to church for a Christmas Eve service with the family. But there is something that looms in the shadows of those traditions and that is envy. We can now see what other people do for their traditions at our fingertips. We can compare our tree with their tree. We can see when they do something and how they do it and we feel like we didn’t do it right. The Grinch was envious. He was envious of the Whos and their celebration of Christmas. He didn’t like the noise or food or them. The Grinch, I think, most of didn’t like the Whos JOY. He overall was mad that they were happy

Grinched - part 1 - Me, Me, Me

One of my favorite holiday characters is the Grinch. Don’t ask me why, I don’t quite know the reason. But, I have always enjoyed watching the older animated version of the Dr. Seuss tale that comes on TV every year. Then in 2000, they made I live-action version of the story that brought a different life to the story. The 2000 version also shined some light on The Who’s in Whoville. But whether it’s the Grinch or The Whos there is some things that can be learned from this little story. One of the first things we pick up on about the Grinch is that he hates Christmas and “no one quite knows the reason.” The Grinch then decides to steal Christmas and he hatches this plan out of his own pride and self-centeredness. He didn’t really care about The Whos or his dog or anything from that matter. He just didn’t want Christmas to come and it was going to be his way or the highway.[1] In the 2000 movie, they really show the Grinch’s pride as he refuses many times to go do to town for t

Hallelujah - part 6 - The Word

Did you ever have someone break a promise to you? I know I have and I’m sure that your answer is the same. I know that I have also broken promises that I have made to people and I am sure that you would say the same again. As in past weeks, I have shared with you some thoughts on some topics that have been brought forward to me after listening to some new Elevation Worship songs. This the part of the song that stood out at me: “Light of the world Tremble the darkness Nothing can stop it You are the God of the promise Every word Will be accomplished You are the God of the promise” [1] Those words got me thinking about some of the promises of God. The one I think about the most is the one He gave to Noah. “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures o

Hallelujah - part 5 - The Storms

“When I felt like the burden was more than I could hold When the whispers of worry overwhelmed my soul You never left me alone You were there all along I was down to the wire hoping You would come through And You stepped in the fire like You always do How I'm convinced of Your love You are more than enough”[1] As I heard this song for the first time last month, I was reminded again of Job. A few weeks ago we looked at part of Job’s story in a post called “The Middle” (part 2 of this series). Job experienced a sudden storm in his life and it came out of nowhere. Have you ever experienced one of life’s storms that come out of nowhere? I know I have. It’s one of those situations that totally blindside us and we are left in shock. Job loss Death of a family member Death of a friend Cancer Divorce Storms - they can just come up and leave us asking “well, what now?” or “hey God don’t you care?” This is illustrated in a story in the New Testa

Hallelujah - part 4 - The Power

We often talk about our weaknesses when it comes to something that we need to do or that God calls us to do. I am reminded of a part in Moses’ story where this is evident in his life. Moses had just fled Egypt after he murdered an Egyptian who was abusing a Hebrew slave. He had a good reason though because Pharaoh was trying to kill him for killing the Egyptian. So he found himself in Midian where he became a shepherd for his father-in-law. This is where God came looking for him. (Exodus 2:11-3:1). God spoke to him from a burning bush - that had to be a sight to see - and told him that he needed to go back to Egypt and save the Hebrew people. But Moses came up with every excuse he could come up with not to go. God even gave him sign after sign that he was going to be ok (Exodus 4). Moses finally goes and leads the people to freedom. I tell you part of that story because maybe you can relate to Moses there. But Moses forgot where his strength came from. I thought about t

Hallelujah - part 3 - The Echo

Everyone thinks that an echo is pretty cool. I can remember the joy of being able to hear a sound echo back for the first time. Then I can remember trying to find different places that would produce an echo. So naturally I found myself in some trouble from time to time because I would randomly shout out at different times and place if I thought an echo might be possible. Everyone know this kind of echo. The echo you can hear in a big empty room. The echo you can hear in a valley. These echoes are awesome and fun. But what about the echo in your head. This echo can be very dangerous. Most of us know the definition of the word echo, but what about this definition: “a close parallel or repetition of an idea, feeling, style, or event.”[1] After looking at that definition we can see where the wrong kind of echo in our head can be very bad. I was recently sent a message from a friend of mine who did not even know what I was planning for this post. Talk about a God moment! But her