Yesterday, I didn’t have a change to tell this story, so I’m glad to give it to you in written forum. Please read the application at the end.

On May 27, 1992, in Sarajevo, one of the few bakeries that still had a supply of flour was making and distributing bread to the starving, war-shattered people. At 4 P.M. a long line stretched into the street. Suddenly, a mortar shell fell directly into the middle of the line, killing 22 people and splattering flesh, blood, bone, and rubble.Not far away lived a 35-year-old musician named Vedran Smailovic. Before the war he had been a cellist with the Sarajevo Opera, a distinguished career to which he patiently longed to return. But when he saw the carnage from the massacre outside his window, he was pushed past his capacity to absorb and endure any more. Anguished, he resolved to do the thing that he did best: make music. Public music, daring music, music on a battlefield.

For each of the next 22 days, at 4 P.M., Vedran put on his full, formal concert attire, took up his cello and walked out of his apartment into the midst of the battle raging around him. Placing a plastic chair beside the crater that the shell had made, he played in memory of the dead Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor, one of the most mournful and haunting pieces in the classical collection of the ages. He played to the abandoned streets, smashed trucks and burning buildings, and to the terrified people who hid in the cellars while the bombs dropped and bombs flew. With masonry exploding around him, he made his unimaginably courageous stand for human dignity, for those lost to war, for civilization, for compassion and for peace. Though the shellings went on, he was never hurt.

After newspapers picked up the story of this extraordinary man, an English composer, David Wilde, was so moved that he, too, decided to make music. He wrote a composition for unaccompanied cello, “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” into which he poured his own feelings of outrage, love, and brotherhood with Vedran Smailovic.When the piece of music was played at the opening night of the International Cello Festival in Manchester, England, it was then that the power of the actions of Vedran were really crowned. A world renowned master cellist played the piece on that opening night. The music began, stealing out into the hushed hall and creating a shadowy, empty universe, ominous, and haunting. Slowly it grew into an agonized, slashing furor, gripping the audience before finally subsiding at last into a hollow death rattle, and finally, back to silence.When the master cellist finished, he remained bent over his cello, his bow resting on it=s strings. No one in the hall moved or made a sound for a long time. It was as though the audience had just witnessed the terrible bombing that occurred that fateful day in 1992.
Finally, the cellist looked out across the audience and stretched out his hand, beckoning someone to come to the stage. An indescribable electric shock swept over the audience as it realized who it was: Vedran Smailovic, the cellist of Sarajevo!

Vedran rose from his seat and walked down the aisle. The master cellist and Vedran flung their arms around each other. Everyone in the great hall erupted in a chaotic, emotional frenzy--clapping, shouting, and cheering. And in the center of it all, two men wept unashamedly. An elegant prince of classical music, flawless in appearance and performance and Vedran dressed in clothes that were far less in quality. But his clothes, even his appearance, went unnoticed. The man’s presence seemed to lift him to a level beyond that of any man in the hall that night. For here was a man who shook his cello in the face of bombs, death and ruin, defying them all. (Adapted From Reader’s Digest – December 1997)

Chosen vessels have that quality about them. The treasure that is on the inside of the earthen vessel has the capacity to lift you beyond the destruction that exists around you. The content of our containers, must be the priority as we allow people to be blessed by the gospel that lives within us.

Have a blessed week.

A funny thing happen on the way to church today . . . you see, at The Chapel we have a team of people that are map out our selection of topics for our Sunday Celebration. That is were it starts . . .with a little planing and a whole lot of prayer we teach the people of our church God's word. After the plan is spoken, we put it on paper. The schedule is to be looked at once and a while and that is were our story beginings.

On most Sunday's all across America, a individual has the opportunity to share God's word to some eager people to hear. And if to of our speakers would of looked at the list, things would of gone a lot different. But the fact of the matter is two of our speakers came prepard to speak.

Now if it was two others on our team, that didn't look at the list, that would be one thing, but one of those people was me! Boy was that fun. After a good laugh, and relenting to my staff member, I sat in with the sheep and heard a wonderful message.

So were are you heading with all this? Well, Sunday afternoon, the quesiton came to my was the study worth it? I mean, I didn't get to share it with anyone . . .so was it worth it? Without thinking, I think many pastor without thinking can become message machine rather then a sponge of the word them selves. Lord Help is all.

Most of the caring
Most of the loving
Most of the encouraging
Much of the learning
Most of the admonishing

And on and on and on. Until this generation the small group was seen as the front line of the evangelistic/ disciplemaking process. Today, we are enamored by big things. Perhaps it is a sign of the times. We live in a culture that is enamored by big things: big football games, big malls, big Wal-marts, big worship services. These thing are important and have their place. There is nothing like worship in a big, big crowd.

But, there is a reason that Zachariah said, "despise the day of small things." (Zechariah 4:10) Most of what it means to be a church happens in, through and around small groups.

I have been thinking a lot about small groups lately with our newly created mission and values. The more I review our mission, the more I see the value of small groups. You see, without small groups, a church is only a half church. It is only living out part of what it means to be the church. This is why this pastors will even more be eating, breathing and sleeping small groups. It is why the our leadership will be attending small groups. We would readily understand and think it strange if a Minister of Education refused to ever attend worship. We would not accept an answer about scheduling problems or time pressure. We would see it is a spiritual issue, and rightly so. It is also a basic spiritual issues I am talking about here. Small groups are a part of what it means to be the body of Christ.

Yesterday after noon, as our young adults were meeting for their monthly bbq, a question came up about gaining a greater understanding about what other world religions believe. Some of the examples were, Buddhist, Hindus, and even Roman Catholics. The conclusion by our young adults was simple if we do not know the root of their religion, then it's more difficult to ask the leading questions to help them conceder having a relationship with Christ.

With that in mind, I did a little searching and found an article written by Joel Mark Solliday writing for CrossWalk Magazine.

His subject was, "The bible and the Koran, What's the Difference?"

Here are a few things that Joel said.

"The Bible is more diverse than the Koran in form, purpose, place, time and nature. Over 40 different inspired authors and/or editors wrote it from a wide variety of places and cultures over a period of 1,000 to 1,600 years. It represents the mores, idioms and thought-patterns of many cultures from the beginning of recorded history to the formation of our western calendars (about AD 100). It spans the Bronze and Iron ages and encompasses the Sumerian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. It was originally written in at least three different languages and contains books of law, historical narratives, treaties, wisdom sayings, songs, hymns, poetry, prophecy, genealogies, gospels, sermons, parables, prayers and personal and public letters.


The Koran, by contrast, is claimed by its admirers to have been a recitation of God’s truth only in Arabic to one man (Muhammad; reputed to be illiterate) in 7th century Arabia. It conveys deep religious devotion to one Sovereign God and it has long been effective in unifying its readers around that devotion and the mission it inspires."

The following passages (rather randomly selected) are better understood in their own context. Yet, the comparisons below are instructive to the generalization just above.

Koran: “The unbelievers are your sworn enemies.” Women; Sura 4:101.

Bible: “’Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor." Exodus 32:27, NIV.

Koran: “Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal harshly with them.” Repentance; Sura 9:123.

Bible: “How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock.” Psalm 137:9, NASB.

Koran: “Mohammed is Allah’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another." Victory; Sura 48:29.

Bible: “For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Joshua 11:20, NIV.

Koran: “When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its load.” Women; Sura 4:47.

Bible: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” 1 Samuel 15:3

The Bible claims that believers are adopted into God’s family. It pictures a God with various powerful emotions ("[God’s] heart was filled with pain" Genesis 6:6). In the Koran, people are allowed to be Allah’s servants but not his children. Frankly, the Koran speaks a lot more about the pain Allah will inflict than the pain he will feel.

Muslims respect Jesus as one of Allah’s prophets, one of 25 listed in the Koran. But they do not believe Jesus died at the crucifixion nor do they see Him as God in the flesh. They cannot relate to Isaiah 53 -- "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. . . . pierced for our transgressions . . ." Meekness and weakness are not qualities their prophets exude.

Finally, for Muslims, redemption requires men to wise up and follow Allah’s guidance in the Koran to distinguish good from evil. Sincerity and good works bring salvation. Sura 21:47 says; “We shall set up just scales on the Day of Resurrection... Actions as small as a grain of mustard seed shall be weighed out. Our reckoning shall suffice.”

The New Testament speaks of redemption through the blood of Christ, shed for the remission of our sins. No scales, just nails through the hands and feet of God’s Son.