Starting Tomorrow: Reading Through the Bible in A Year–Anyone Want to Join Me?
Below is an excerpt from an email I sent to the twenties group at my church yesterday. I’d like to open this up to any of you who read this blog and would like to join the journey, beginning tomorrow morning (September 1st). If you’re game, pick one of the several Bible reading plans below and leave a comment or shoot me an email and throughout the year we can chat here and there on this blog about our reading.
“In two days it’s September 1st. Traditionally I use September 1st as my
marker for starting up a new year of Bible reading. I know of three people
within the twenties group who one month ago started together a plan to
read through the Bible in one year. I’d like to spread the love.
Beginning this September 1st I’m going to start my 5th or 6th year of
following a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year-plan.“This year I’d love
to do this along with some of you. Below I’ve attached a folder with a
variety of different plans I’ve used through the years. I’d love it if
some of you also chose one of these plans and began, on September 1st,
a quest to read through the Bible in a year. This isn’t that hard to
do. It averages out to just over 3 chapters a day–you could do that
in 15 minutes a day. For those of you who choose to do this along with
me what I’m thinking is that we can just chat together throughout the
year, a minute here or there when we see each other on Thursdays and
Sundays, and talk about how our reading is going and how God is
teaching us and transforming us through our reading. If you’re game,
email me and let me know.”
Download bible_reading_calendar.pdf
Download bible_reading_chart.DOC
Download Biblereadingrecord.doc
He Lives to Make Intercession For Them
Here’s a verse that stirs my prayer life, gives me confidence when preaching & teaching, and shouts good news:
“…he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he lives to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:25
Baptism
At our outdoor service this last Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing, along with Mark Mitchell, my good friend Dan Maass.
Other Jobs I’d Like to Have
Here’s a list of some of the different jobs I’d like to have if I didn’t have a call on my life to be a pastor. Please note that this list operates under the assumption that I’d also have the requisite skill and gifting to perform these professions for, as you’ll soon see, my resume falls short for most of these potential professions.
1. NFL Football Player. Because I like to hit people, I’d play defense. I’m better on defense than offense. I’d play outside linebacker or defensive end (I played defensive end in high school and during my freshman year of college). I’d play for the 49ers. Frank Gore and I would lead the team back to her old glory days.
2. Ultimate Fighter. I’d fight in the light heavyweight division (205lbs.) or middleweight division (185lbs.).
3. Adventure Travel Company Business Owner. I’d start my own adventure travel company along with my buddy Campbell, we’d call it “Epic Journey,” and we’d lead groups of people on epic adventure trips (backpacking, rafting, mountain biking, etc.) where we’d simultaneously preach the gospel to our clients and direct them to plug into a healthy local church when they returned home.
4. Architect. I’d design both commercial and residential buildings and aim to include secret passageways in most all of my designs.
5. City Planner. I’d design cities that have a multitude of central gathering places that facilitate city community, that have hip downtown cultural centers, that have a high percentage of open space and parks, and that offer ample low income and upper income housing options.
6. Professional Downhill Mountainbiker. I’d ride my bike down mountains and get paid for it. I’d start my own line of biking gear called, simply, “RAD.” My racing name would be Cru Jones.
7. Chef. I’d become extremely proficient at making, serving, and selling my favorite dish: pizza. I wouldn’t cook anything besides pizza. I’d make my pizzas in one size only: Large. And I’d serve one free dark beer (must be over 21 and must not abuse alcohol) with each purchase of one of my famous pizzas. I’d make sure to include the cost of the beer in the pizza price.
8. Professional Backpacker. I’d get paid to go backpacking by writing articles and books about my backpacking adventures.
9. Stuntman. I’d design and execute high profile stunts for films and have my brother perform any of the stunts that I was too afraid to perform.
10. High School Teacher and Football Coach. I’d teach History, English or, maybe, Physical Education (as long as we could devote half the year to Dodgeball and the other half to Full Contact Badminton) and I’d coach the varsity football team, quickly becoming one of those inspirational coaches that changes everybody’s lives, wins tons of games, and gets a “based on a true story” movie made after him.
Buzzard Blog 1 Year Anniversary: Thank You, I’m Shutting Down My Blog, That’s Not True, A Way You Can Serve Me (2 Quick Questions I’d Like Your Feedback On)
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Buzzard Blog. And I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for reading and interacting with what I write here. When I launched this blog on August 20th, 2006 I had just a handful of visitors. Things picked up from there. Today, several hundred people read Buzzard Blog each day.
So, thank you. Thank you for helping make this blog a success through your regular visits, comments, encouragements, and suggestions. I mean it–thank you.
Once, a few weeks back, I had the thought of shutting this blog down once it reached its 1 year mark and walking away from the blogging world, grateful for my fruitful year of involvement. But, like I said, I had that thought only once. It was a quick thought–I gave it about 11 seconds of my attention and I’ve never thought about it again.
And so today I launch into my 2nd year of Buzzard Blog: Musings on the Gospel, the Church, & Culture. And as I enter my sophomore season I’d like to ask for your help. There’s 1 key way that you could serve me here at the outset of this 2nd year. Below are 2 questions. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me a quick comment in response to these 2 questions as that would help me better shape the content of this blog over the course of this next year.
1. What have you appreciated about Buzzard Blog?
2. What would you like to see more of or less of on Buzzard Blog?
Thank you,
-Justin Buzzard
Happy Anniversary to My Beautiful Bride
Sweet Taylor, happy anniversary! I love you. I still can’t believe you married me 4 years ago. I don’t deserve you. I can’t wait to take you out tonight, to laugh and celebrate the grace God’s shown us these last 4 years, and to dream and pray about the years to come.
It seems like only yesterday that we met at that party in that crowded kitchen. I still remember what you were wearing: white sandals, light blue jeans, and a dark blue sweater. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. Once we spoke and I learned of your love for Jesus and heard that slight stutter that shows up when you’re nervous, I began to sense that something was happening to my heart. I began to pray that God would give me opportunity to get to know you better. I began to pray that you would want the same thing.
Six weeks later I asked you out on our first date. After you got over the fact that I called you at 9:15am on a Friday and asked to take you for a hike in the rain that same morning, you said the words I longed to hear, “yes.” My heart raced as I drove over to meet you and then walked and talked and laughed with you along that misty trail.
Quickly, I fell in love with you. It was years later that I learned that after that first date, you told your roommate Kelly that you thought I was the man you would marry. Six months later, on your 23rd birthday, I proposed to you–out in the forest along that same misty trail. Again, you said “yes!” Three months later, we walked down the aisle together as husband and wife. That was 4 years ago today. Where has the time gone?
Tay, I’m so thankful to have you as my bride. You are a godly woman, an excellent wife, and a wonderful mother. You give me so much joy. The way you serve me has taught me far more than you know about the gospel, about the way of our Savior. I treasure our marriage. Taylor, I treasure you.
Kid Nation
Have you heard about the upcoming new reality show, Kid Nation? If a TV show ever rebelled against the commandment, “Honor your father and mother,” it’s this show–leaving kids un-parented for 40 days. Terrible. Who are these parents?
Here’s the description of the show from the CBS website:
40 Kids for 40 days with no grown-ups. Can they do it?
40 Kids have 40 days to build a brave new world without adults to help
or hinder their efforts. Can they do it? These Kids, ages 8-15, will
turn a ghost town into their new home. They will cook their own meals,
clean their own outhouses, haul their own water and even run their own
businesses including the old town saloon (root beer only). Through it
all, they’ll cope with regular childhood emotions and situations:
homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule they’ve
ever known.Will they stick it out? In the end, will these Kids prove to everyone,
including their parents, they have the vision to build a better world
than the pioneers who came before them? And just as importantly, will
they come together as a cohesive unit, or will they abandon all
responsibility and succumb to the childhood temptations that lead to
round-the-clock chaos? Don’t miss this intriguing series.
The Soul Winner
I’m thoroughly enjoying working my way through Charles Spurgeon’s, The Soul Winner, a collection of six Pastor’s College lectures, four Sunday School and prayer meeting addresses, and four sermons, all concerning the topic of winning souls for Jesus. Though I’m only halfway through these 319 pages, I’m already putting this book in the “must read” category for pastors.
A few, excellent quotes that are sticking with me:
“Let sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel.”
“There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul.”
“It is very sad when the failure of any ministry is caused by want of
heart. You [preachers] ought to have a great big heart, like the harbor
at Portsmouth or Plymouth, so that all the people in your congregation
could come and cast anchor in it, and feel that they were under the lee
of a great rock. Do you notice that men succeed in the ministry, and
win souls for Christ, just as in proportion as they are men with large
hearts?…You must love the people and mix with them, if you are to be
of service to them.”“The weapon with which the Lord conquers men is the truth as it is in Jesus. The gospel will be found equal to every emergency; an arrow which can pierce the hardest heart, a balm which will heal the deadliest wound. Preach it, and preach nothing else. Rely implicitly upon the old, old gospel. You need no other nets when you fish for men.”
“The preachers work is to throw sinners down into utter helplessness, that they may be compelled to look up to Him alone who can help them.”
