Is this Funny?

The other day I posted a quote from Pastor Tullian that it's unwise to be serious when it's time to be silly, and unwise to be silly when it's time to be serious.

What response does wisdom dictate toward this two-minute clip?



Obviously the creators of this intend it to be funny...and I think in ways it certainly is funny. But I'm not sure that I should think it's funny.

What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know...

Seriousness & Silliness

A good word from Pastor Tullian:

It's just as unwise to be serious when it's time to be silly as it is being silly when it's time to be serious. (see Ecclesiastes 3)

Laughter

Randy Alcorn:

We need a biblical theology of humor that prepares us for an eternity of celebration and spontaneous laughter.

And he's got a text to back it up:

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh" (Luke 6:21).

Pesky Presbyterians

You don't expect to see the guys on Sportscenter praising the excellence of the Presbyterians, but that's what happened. Is it ethical for them to do something this deceitful?

I guess it was predestined to succeed...

Is this Fair?

In the song You are Holy, the guys sing this:

I will sing to
And worship
The King who is worthy
I will love Him, adore Him
And I will bow down before Him
I will sing to and worship the King who is worthy
I will love Him, adore him
I will bow down before Him

While we're singing that, the girls get to sing this:

He is Lord of Lords
He is King of Kings
He is mighty God
Lord of everything

He's Emmanuel
He's the great "I AM"
He's my Prince of Peace
Who is the Lamb

He's the living God
He's my saving grace
He will reign forever
He is ancient of days

He's the Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End
He's my Savior, Messiah, Redeemer, and friend

Where is the justice in this? They get to sing about the greatness of God, and I get to sing about me? I think next time we sing this song, I'm just going to be bold and sing the ladies' part. Is that a lack of submission to church authority?

Christianese

I saw this on Thabiti's blog and found it kind of humorous, though it also teaches a good point: let's be sure that we understand and explain what we are talking about when we use common Christian vernacular. Both non-Christians and young Christians may have no idea what we are saying if we do not thoughtfully help them to understand what our words mean:

Should I Really be Impressed by This?

At the recommendation of Matt Chandler, I recently picked up a copy Larry Osborne's book, Sticky Teams. On the opening pages there are close to 40 endorsements of the book and of Osborne's ministry. This one particularly stood out to me:

This is possibly the best book on leadership ever written. Everyone should buy multiple copies.

That is high praise for a book! Then I looked at the name of the person who gave this endorsement:

Carolyn Osborne, Larry's Mom

Does that count? I mean, is Mom really an objective analyst of leadership books to know that this is the best book on leadership ever written?

I'm not so sure about that endorsement...but I do respect Chandler's ministry and what he has done at the Village, so I am eager to get reading this one.

And if I ever publish a book, I can expect a powerful endorsement from Susan Lazarus, Larry's mom.

What's Wrong with America

Despite what this pastor says, I have a hard time thinking it's the way men go to the bathroom:



I have this tagged under "humor", but I'm not sure that it's actually funny. This guy is serious.

Since I'm not really in a blogging mood today...

Justin Taylor writes:

"I think it’s possible to avoid mocking people and at the same time to enjoy the foibles of everyday folks."

You be the judge:

Happy New Year from the Lazarii

If You're Looking for a Reason to Never Eat a Hot Dog Again...

Then watch this:



(Via 22 words)

Chanukah Tears

In honor of Chanukah, which began last night, I was going to post the famous Adam Sandler Chanukah song for some good laughs (actually I did post it for three minutes, did anyone see it?).

Then it hit me that the Apostle Paul wouldn't be chuckling at that song; he'd be weeping over his kinsmen who are without Christ, wouldn't he? Come to think of it, Jesus would be weeping too.

Sometimes we don't really take time to think about the things we laugh at.

A Little Thanksgiving Fun

This is a great commercial:

I'm not sure if Rick Reilly is a Phillies fan, but he sure sounds like one

I was mildly irritated when I visited espn.com during my lunch break yesterday and saw footage from the Yankees championship parade. Then I came across this little piece by Rick Reilly, who captured my sentiments well:

Look, the Yankees played well. But isn't that what the Yankees are supposed to do? They paid their players almost twice as much as the Phillies team they beat -- $208M to $111M. Just the Yankees starting infield made more than 15 teams this year. Throw them a parade? I don't get it. So what? George Clooney got a girl, Paris Hilton slept in satin sheets last night and Bill Gates went to the bank. Call me when you've got some news.

Read the rest here.

It's good to know at least that the Phillies have the best team that money can't buy.

The Strangest 60 Seconds of my Vacation

I saw a commercial for this:

And it wasn't a joke. You can actually buy these things. Is Chia Jesus around the corner?

Maybe the funniest sermon introduction I've ever heard

If you're not familiar with Mark Dever's ministry, it probably won't be as funny. But if you've heard him preach even a couple of times, this sermon introduction is absolutely hilarious.

This is Mark Dever like you've NEVER heard him before!

(And you'd do well in listening to the whole thing once you stop laughing; it's a terrific sermon!)

You know it's not your year when this type of thing happens...

I promise that I take no satisfaction in reporting this because it happens to involve the New York Mets:

NEW YORK -- Second baseman Luis Castillo left the New York Mets' game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night with a sprained left ankle after he slipped and fell in the dugout.

Castillo grounded out leading off the seventh and was on his way back to the bench when he tumbled down the dugout steps and had to be helped up the tunnel by some teammates.

Perhaps the 2009 Mets are being used by God to help me apply this important lesson from Romans 12:

Weep with those who weep.

After all, Mets fans are people too, created in God's image just like us Phillies fans.

One reason it's good not to be an idolater

You don't have to deal with things like this happening in your worship service:

It's all about perspective

Yesterday in my sermon I shared this illustration, which I had originally heard from C.J. Mahaney's sermon Grace and the Adventure of Leadership, one of the most helpful sermons I've ever listened to.

Imagine you are a parent who receives this letter in the mail:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Since I left for college, I have been remiss in writing and I’m sorry about my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I’ll bring you up to date, but before I do, are you sitting down? Please sit down. It’s imperative that you sit down before reading any farther. I’m getting along pretty well now that the scull fracture and concussion I got when I jumped out of my dorm window after the room caught on fire is pretty well healed. I only get splitting headaches a couple of times a day. But fortunately my jump from the window was witnessed by a gas station attendant, who took me to the hospital and continued to visit me there.

When I got out of the hospital I had nowhere to live because of the fire, so he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment. It’s small but cute, and he’s a fine young man and we have fallen deeply in love and plan to get married. We haven’t set the date, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same care you gave to me when I was a child.

In conclusion, now that I’ve brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire. I did not have a scull fracture, I was not in the hospital, I’m not pregnant, and there is no boyfriend. However, I have failed history and science…and I wanted you to see these results in their proper perspective.

Your attitude about a particular person or situation really can be changed by having the right perspective, a divine perspective.

How did the editors miss this one?

"It was the worst possible mistake."

That's what Rich Evans, editorial manager of BYU's Daily Universe, said after a front-page caption referred to Mormonism's 'Twelve Apostates' rather than apostles.