Sep 07 2009
4 Comments
Current Events, Popular Culture

Church of Christ Youth Minister & Watershed Worship Singer Sean Algaier to Appear on NBC’s The Biggest Loser

Many of the regular readers of westcoastwitness.com know Sean Algaier.

In addition to being the youth minister for the Jenks Church of Christ in the Tulsa area, Sean is also one of the lead singers of Watershed – a high energy Christian acappella group that’s frequently made appearances at Church of Christ retreats and workshops within the past five or six years.

Someone posted a link to this video on Facebook, and I clicked on it when I recognized Sean’s face in the still shot.

Apparently, Sean is a contestant on the upcoming season of NBC’s The Biggest Loser – a reality show where overweight people compete to see who can lose the most (here’s Sean’s profile on NBC’s site).

Good for him!

I know how tough it is to lose weight and admire Sean for putting himself out there, admitting he has a problem, and taking steps to fix it.

I’ve never watched more than a few minutes of The Biggest Loser, but will be tuning in this season rooting for Sean to win. The season premiere is September 15 at 8/7c.

Am I sharing yesterday’s news over here … did you already know about this?

Here’s a related video of Sean poking fun at himself and sharing his passion for nachos, fried chicken, rolls, and gravy (seriously … lol):

What in the world???

Anyway, watch Sean on The Biggest Loser!

(Click here to visit Sean’s fanpage on Facebook)

UPDATE: The show is now over – check out Sean’s transformation here. He lost over 150 pounds!

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Sep 07 2009
7 Comments
Devotional Thoughts, Update

Do You Have a Favorite Psalm?

Do you have a favorite Psalm? Mine is Psalm 73.

I grew up in a good home with parents who loved (and still love) God very much. Some of my earliest memories are those of being in Bible class on Sunday mornings and of watching my dad preach. 

Dad has been in full-time ministry for well over thirty years now, and mom is a Christian author and teacher.

As I grew up, I compared what my parents taught me regarding God’s view of morality and right living with that of my friends, many of whom weren’t raised as I was.

Internally, I developed a very unhealthy envy of my friend’s carefree lifestyles that seemed so much easier than the one my parent’s advocated for me. Eventually, the “do what you want” philosophy of living won out over the “do what God wants” philosophy in my life, and I journeyed down that sordid road of pain for many years before coming to this realization: life may appear to be more easy when God’s moral compass is replaced with your own “do whatever you want to” attitude, but that’s an illusion. The pleasure is there to be had, but it’s temporary, and ultimately a lie.

Sinful living is like that carrot on a stick that leads the jackass down the road and eventually off a cliff … the chase may be fun as first, and you may get a nibble every once in a while, but it doesn’t stay fun, and it won’t end well either.

That’s the message of Psalm 73. A guy named Asaph observed the wicked people around him seemingly without struggles or a care in the world, and he became jealous of them. He came to view serving God as a burden rather than a blessing, and believed he could bless himself by living according to his own rules like his rowdy neighbors better than God could bless him by continuing to do God’s will. 

Like me, Asaph, over the course of many years, came to realize how stupid it was to think that way … how deceived a person has to be to think that way.

Ultimately, my life got off track because I failed to trust God … to trust that He’s there, and that He loves humanity and actually wants to bless us.

Like Asaph, God has helped me overcome my mistrust of Him, and Psalm 73 is my life in a nutshell.

I have the privilege of preaching from the Psalms at Lake Merced soon, and haven’t decided which I’d like to work from yet. Maybe Psalm 73, but I’m thinking I may want to save that for some other time.

Any suggestions? Psalm 22 has already been taken, as has Psalm 23.

If you have a favorite, let me know. I’m going to do some reading today.

—-

In other news, things with the new college group are going great. Eight people were at Borders’ coffee shop last night for our study – several new people. Please pray for us as we continue to grow, reach out, and get people plugged in to the Lake Merced congregation. 🙂

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Sep 05 2009
2 Comments
Books, Resources, Teaching

Good Resource: Mark Driscoll’s booklet on the Old Testament

I sped through On the Old Testament (A Book You’ll Actually Read) by Mark Driscoll this past week, and read the whole thing (slowly) within a couple of hours.

Here are a couple of excerpts from my notes:

What is the central message of the Old Testament?

  • Opening line introduces the hero, God.  Throughout the pages of the Old Testament God is revealed. In the closing line of the New Testament Scriptures we’re reminded that God who is the hero of the whole story is embodied in Jesus. Thus, Jesus Christ is the true hero of the entire Bible.
  • Jesus Himself taught us that the Old Testament was primarily about Him (John 5:37-39).
  • Following His resurrection, Jesus opened the OT to teach others about Himself (Luke 24:27, 44-45).
  • Jesus’ own words about Himself as the central message of the OT are pointedly clear (Matthew 5:17-18).
  • Jesus was completely aware He was fulfilling the promises of the OT.
    1. Luke 4:20-21
    2. Taught about His death from Isaiah 53:12 in Luke 22:37
    3. Betrayal by Judas was predicted – Matthew 26:56
  • Simply put, when the OT is correctly interpreted you will find it’s about Jesus as God, our Savior, the object of our faith, forgiver of our sins, and giver of eternal life. To correctly interpret the OT you will need to connect its verses, concepts, and events to Jesus.

The Old Testament Foreshadows the Coming of Jesus

  • Representative figures, institutions, or events that foreshadow Jesus. Examples include:
    1. Adam who foreshadows Jesus as the second Adam
    2. The priesthood which prefigures Jesus as our High Priest
    3. David and other kings who prefigure Jesus as the King of kings.
    4. Moses and prophets who prefigure Jesus as our ultimate Prophet
    5. animal sacrifices which prefigure Jesus as the sinless lamb of God slain for our sins
    6. The temple which prefigures God’s presence dwelling among us in Jesus
    7. Shepherds who care for their sheep which remind us we are as foolish and vulnerable as sheep, but Jesus is our Shepherd who cares for us and keeps constant watch over us
    8. Judges who foreshadow Jesus as the final judge of all people
  • We also see people in the OT who perform various kinds of service analogous to the service that Jesus performs perfectly.
    1. Unlike the first Adam, Jesus is the Last Adam who passed His test in the garden and in doing so imputed righteousness to us to overcome sin imputed to us through the first Adam.
    2. Jesus is the true and better Abel who, although he was innocent, was slain and whose blood cries out for our acquittal.
    3. When Abraham left his father and home, he was doing the same thing Jesus would do when He left heaven.
    4. When Isaac carried his own wood and laid down his life to be sacrificed at the hand of his father Abraham, he was showing us what Jesus would later do.
    5. Jesus is the greater Jacob, who wrestled with God in Gethsemane and, though wounded and limping, walked away from his grave blessed.
    6. Jesus is the greater Joseph who serves at the right hand of God the King, extends forgiveness and provision to those of us who have betrayed Him, and uses His power to save us in loving reconciliation.
    7. Jesus is greater than Moses in that He stands as a mediator between God and us, bringing us the New Covenant.
    8. Like Job, innocent Jesus suffered and was tormented by the Devil so that God might be glorified, while his dumb friends were no help or encouragement.
    9. Jesus is a King greater than David, who has slain our giants of Satan, sin, and death, although in the eyes of the world he was certain to face a crushing defeat at their hands.
    10. Jesus is greater than Jonah in that he spent three days in the grave and not just a fish to save a multitude even greater than Nineveh.

That’s just a sample – there’s a lot more good stuff in this book.

Driscoll nails the reason behind the existence of the Old Testament: it’s all about Jesus! That’s a conclusion I drew for myself a long time ago.

There are four books in the ‘A Book You’ll Actually Read’ series. One on God, one on Church Leadership, one on The New Testament, and one on The Old Testament.

I own them all and have found all to be helpful – especially the on on The Old Tesament.

Direct, to the point, and you can read the whole thing in one sitting.

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