Hello, everyone biggrin . It’s been a while since we’ve written a sermon. I had the idea of this for quite some time, but I don’t think the Lord wanted me to write it until now. Well, for the last week I’ve been in a HUGE nerdy mood. I mean like ultra nerdy, so nerdy, you can’t even tell I’m being nerdy ninja . Last week I went to an anime convention with my friends and just totally had a nerd overload. I mean it. Everytime I saw a character cosplay that I knew and loved, I FREAKED out with excitement. You ever see those New Kids on the Block music videos where the girls are screaming their faces off at the New Kids on the Block singers? Well, I was like one of them, except towards the awesome cosplay people. sweatdrop I kept seeing characters from Resident Evilwhom I just adore.I saw HUNK(
), Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, and zombies. I was especially fond of HUNK….I nearly started stalking him just to look at his cosplay! DON’T JUGDE ME! domokun blaugh The entire time at the convention, my friends and I had a blast going to the various events and anime movies. We saw the FMA movie, which was AWESOME, and we watched a lot of cool home made anime music videos. It was awesome. But the best part of the convention was when we got to see Piano Squall. Piano plays a bunch of music from video games on the piano for charity. He played Final Fantasymusic, Mario Music, Inuyasha music, etc. The music was incredibly awesome! We went home really happy after that, I’ll tell you.
The next day, I went to church. I saw the service, which was MOST GREAT. The pastor is very passionate and funny with his sermons. He’s never boring, and the Lord always has a good message for him to say. His message actually inspired me to write this sermon, but I won’t get into that now. After the sermon, my youth pastors set up something called game day at the church. Basically, all that is is playing video games at church. We had Mario Kart, Halo 2, and an RPG room (Dungeons and Dragons style). Can you guess what I played? Yup, you guessed it. Halo 2. I played that with sixteen other people and got second place nearly each time. There was only one player that always beat me by 2 kills! Each game! gonk Except for one game where I stomped him into the ground! Bwahahaha! Ok, that didn’t happen…but I did beat him once. We played Halo 2 for 3 hours, then I went home.
Then a few days later my brother got the last Mortal Kombat game ever. It has all the characters from the Mortal Kombatseries, and I’ve been playing Mortal Kombat since I was 7. So, I got really excited about that! It’s a pretty fun game….the goriest game you’ll ever see. I also beat Resident Evil 4 again just the other day. That was also fun.
That pretty much sums up my very nerdy week.
Any dang way, this brings me to the point of the sermon. What does God think about our seemingly immense obsessions with things that are not of Him, like video games and working out and stuff? Does the Lord go yay or nah if we’re fans of animes or video games or hiking or anything else? Does He demand our undivided attention 24/7? The answer is yes and no to the last question.
First off, who here is a nerd? I am without a shadow of a doubt a big freaking dorky nerd. I mean, just a huge nerd. Had you asked me when I was younger if I was a nerd, I probably would have been like, “Pfft…Nerds are losers…” but back then, I was also a ginourmous nerd. No kidding. Heck, we all must be nerds here. We joined Gaia because we like anime, right? We all had that common interest. Unless you joined for different reasons, but you joining because you like anime is what I’m assuming. Heck, you must like the computer to be going on Gaia period.
Well, what are we nerds of? I am a nerd of just about everything. It all started with Star Wars. As a little kid, I was IN LOVE with Darth Vader. Today, he is my favorite character of all time. Of course, I couldn’t pronounce his name, so I called him “Star Vader” before one day my family got fed up and finally made me say, “DARTH VADER!” because I kept insisting it was Star Vader. Seriously, I got into fierce debates with my older siblings over his name. Of course, all my argument was, “HIS NAME IS STAR VADER!” and they’d get into big long explanations with a 4 year old as to why he’s named Darth Vader, but I never really listened. Not until that fateful day on a cold winter morning in Canada on the way home from Calgary….
ANYDANG WAY, I’ve always loved Star Wars. As I grew, I started really loving the series Predator. Predator came out in 1987, 4 years before I was born. I remember when I was like 5 how much my older brother LOVED that movie. He told me all about it, and wouldn’t shut up about it to me for many years. I became very interested in it as well, and after finally watching it, I also fell in love with that. Throughout grade 1 and 2, everyone was obsessed with Pok’emon. Not me. No sir, not me. It was all about Predator and Aliens!
Then came Aliens. It didn’t take me long to love that series. I’ve watched the second Aliens film, called Aliens, so many times I could probably recite every line in it. I love the queen alien. If only she were human…OK, I’m disturbing myself *shudders*
Beast Wars! *sweet intro music* Grade 1, recess, Beast Wars, every day. That’s all my friends and I did. We played Beast Wars. I was Megatron. My best friend was Scopanoks.
Man oh man, don’t get me started with video games…Ok, too late. I have loved video games since I first played Mario Brothers for Nintendo. Man, even now that game is AWESOME. I mean, who could get tired of jumping on kupas and eating mushrooms that make you bigger! All the while being a plumber trying to save a princess from a giant turtle monster guy named Bowser. Then there was Sonic. I remember getting in trouble for sneaking into the family room every morning to play Saga’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Everyday this happened! My mom would go, “James! DON’T PLAY SONIC UNTIL THE KIDS LEAVE FOR SCHOOL!” and I would go, “Ok, mommy…” then as soon as she left the room, I’d go play Sonic. Wowie! That’s how I learned my l33t ninja skills…
Awww….Mortal Kombat….a childhood no no, but still awesome. That’s one of the few games I couldn’t play because it was so gruesome…but I played it anyhow sweatdrop that is, I wasn’t allowed to play at first, but later I was allowed to. The VERY last Mortal Kombat game came out just Tuesday…R.I.P, Mortal Kombat…:tear: Let me tell you, I was never a competitive guy. When I played sports, I always made sure to tell the other team they did a good job. I shook hands and we went off. But with Mortal Kombat, I’ll tear your throat out if I lose! Ok, not really, but I turn into such a baby it’s funny. Last night, my brother and I were playing that before he went to bed, and I kept losing. I was throwing my best characters at him, but he kept beating me. So I threw the controller down and said, “I don’t want to play anymore you cheat jerk!” lol…*is embarrassed* And then today before he went to work we played, and I kept beating him. He was all calm, but I just HAD to rub it in.
Then there was Resident Evil. I LOVE that series more than any other series I think. I’ve always had an odd obsession with things that scare the bejebus out of me. Resident Evil is one of them. The zombies always gave me nightmares, and the creatures and atmosphere scared me even more. Every day I’d fear an outbreak of some sort of zombie plague! That was until I turned 13…or was it 15? I don’t know. Anyway, I love the creatures in that game. They’re freaky! Especially Nemesis…He’s freaky…if you want to see some Resident Evil creatures, go to my profile. You can’t miss them.
Halo! HALO! WOOOO!! Halo! I love that game! That’s my favorite game of all time. Master Chief is a total heart throb. Him and Cortonna. Fighting aliens to save mankind is always fun in video games. I don’t believe in aliens at all, but in video games, they’re fun.
Super heroes are awesome. Batman, Spider-man and the X-men are the coolest. Hands down! I mean it! *gets the hose* I used to love dressing as Batman. That was one of my things.
Animes….My favorite would have to be Cowboy Bebop. In fact, as I write this sermon, I’m watching the Cowboy Bebop Movie. Who doesn’t love Spike? Don’t lie. My second favorite anime is Ninja Scroll. Then it’s Full Metal Alchemist. I hadn’t watched FMA until our sister Lisa told me about it, but after I saw the movie at the convention last week, I think it’s awesome. When I was younger, I loved DBZ and Digimon. I hated Poke’mon, though, oddly enough. I could go on and on, but that would take a while.
Well, I also love history, I love to read and write, and I like school. Though, I also hate it with a passion. I love to play board games, watch movies, listen to various music, play video games, wrestle with my older siblings, work out, go swimming, go hiking (a new love of mine) and all that stuff.
Wow…I could talk about myself forever, huh? Well, the whole reason I brought that up was to show how nerdy I am. To show how nerdy people can get.
Well, this brings me to the actual sermon. When I first became a Christian, I was TERRIFIED that I may have to stop being a nerd. I asked everybody, “Hey, will God hate me if I’m a nerd?” Silly question, but I was concerned. Liking the things I’ve always liked was always important to me. It’s still pretty important to me today. I didn’t want to change that. So, I asked around, asking if I had to stop being a fan of things and every answer I got was the same. The answer was, “No, you don’t. Just don’t make it more important.” More important? More important than what? The answer should have been very apparent to me. But it wasn’t. Not until months afterward.
You probably already know what the answer is. Like I said, though, I didn’t. The Lord hadn’t opened my mind to really understand what the answer was right away. I had to learn it.
Matthew 22:37-40 (King James Version)
37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38This is the first and great commandment.
39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
1 John 3:22-23 (King James Version)
22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Ok, let me tell you a little bit more of my nerdiness. Over the years, I’ve collected quite a few toys based off of series that I love. I had a BUNCH of Resident Evil toys, a bunch of AVP toys, and a Darth Vader toy I treated like a baby. Man, I got creepy with my nerdiness there. Have any of you seen the 40-Year-Old Virgin? Well, when I saw that movie in theaters, I said to myself, “Wow, that’s totally my future”. Meaning, I was going to be like Steve, the main character. At 40 years old, I was gonna have a massive toy collection. At first, I celebrated that idea. Woooo! Forty and still a nerd!
Anyway, is that sinful? No. Not at all. It’s not like I worshipped the toys. If you have toys, it’s not sinful or wrong. They’re not idols, unless of course you treat them like it. But! Is there a problem with this? Maybe. It can be a problem.
Somewhere in the New Testament, it says, “Desire only spiritual gifts. The things of this world will rot away and no longer mean anything, while the gifts from God will last forever” it was something along those lines. One of the problems with having toys, or DVDs, or Computers or whatever, is that it can become an addiction. DVDs and all that crap can become more important to you than what’s important. Being a huge fan of anime or Resident Evil or whatever can become more important to you than anything else. If you let it, it will become life to you. Who’s seen Fight Club? That’s one of my favorite movies. In it, the main character, Jack, is completely addicted to buying useless, expensive things just because he feels like he has to. It became his life. If a table had a yin-yang on it, he HAD to buy it. These things came more important to him than say, raising a family, or having relationships with people. Eventually Jack went mad and started fist fighting himself (literally). Well, animes and games can do the same for people. Before I became Christian, I desired only to buy toys based off the cool series I love. That became the only thing I spent my money on, whenever I had it.
Going back to Matthew and 1 John up there, read what it says very carefully. The two most important commands are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Then 1 John says that if we received Christ, so we do what is pleasing in His eyes. So, if somebody finds that series and things are more important, is that person following God’s commands, being pleasant to God’s eyes? If these things become more important to him, is he making God and people his top priorities?
So, is it sinful to be a nerd, to love animes and all that jazz? Certainly not. The Lord our God made us who we are. He gave us the ability to be creative, and animes and video games and whatever are definitely ways to be creative. Do they have to be about God? Nope. Definitely not. However, if you treat these things like they’re more important, you are doing what’s wrong. Then it becomes sinful.
There is another danger here.
Matthew 5:13-16 (King James Version)
13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Last week my pastor was talking about something very similar to what I’m writing now. He was preaching how we shouldn’t be in love with the world, because the love of the Lord won’t be in you then. What does that mean exactly? He said that we shouldn’t be interested in the things of the now, because they won’t last forever. He went on to say that it’s OK to be fans of things, but when you cling on to it like your baby, the love of the Lord isn’t in you.
During his sermon, he told us a story of this man he read about in the New York Times. This man was a complete nerd of Star Wars. WAY bigger than me, and that’s saying something. He collects nothing but Star Wars merchandise, only talks about Star Wars, and only loves Star Wars. This man was once forced to choose between his girl friend and Star Wars. His girlfriend of many years was sick of the fact this guy thought Star Wars to be the most important thing in his life. She said Star Wars or her…He chose Star Wars. When episode 3 came out last year, he saw it everyday. He said, “Now that I’ve seen the final episode, my life is finally complete. My entire life is now worth it”. Wow...Not much of a life, is it? Funny thing is, when my pastor said that, I immediately looked at my shirt…because it was a Star Wars shirt.
The point is that we are like salt. If our flavor leaves us, we are no longer good. That means that if we lose our faith, we are in just as much of a pickle as when we didn’t have faith. Think about this…if we’re more concerned with seeing the final episode of Star Wars, what could happen to our faith? Would our flavor stale, and would we be good for anything? These things can make you become bad salt, but only if you let it.
Now, I don’t have any verses that say anything about whether or not it’s OK to be a nerd, but I tell you the truth, the Lord made us who we are. I thought about it and I thought about it, and I know the Lord said for me to love Star Wars and stuff like that. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it was because he wants me to use them as parallels to biblical things, or because he wants me to be able to relate to people of the same interests for whatever reason. My theory is that He wants me to be a nerd of the things I’ve mentioned to prove a point to non-believers. That point is that the Lord accepts all people, and He doesn’t demand that we are only Christians if only focus on Him. Sure, He demands the very best from us, and He demands that He is the most important to us, and that all people are to be second most important, but He doesn’t demand that we can’t have other interests. I don’t know why He made me a nerd. I don’t know why He made anybody a nerd. But whatever reason, it wasn’t because He wants us to be miserable and sinful. I love being a nerd! I love video games and movies and animes, etc. But does that mean I wouldn’t give those up if the Lord asked? No. It would be hard, I tell the Lord this everyday, it would be hard for me, but I would do it. I would do it for Him, or any of His children. I just thank God He tells me that that’s not likely to happen.
Here’s a concept. Why don’t we make ourselves nerds of God? Why don’t we make ourselves the biggest, most fan craved nerds of His son, Jesus Christ? Why not make ourselves down right creepy obsessed fan of the Lord? Does that mean we stop being nerds of anime or whatever? No, it just means that we make that a lower priority than the two most important commands. A much lower priority.
Philippians 4:8 (King James Version)
8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Of course, don’t waste your time with some of that horrible crap out there. Some things I’m sure the Lord frowns upon us watching. For example, movies like Good Fellas. Those movies are based off things that actually happen. They are movies about mobsters murdering people and being uberly sinful. Is that worth meditating on? Or movies like A Clock Work Orange (I freaking hate that movie…) where the entire thing is about a gang going around raping and beating people? These things are impure and evil. The movies and the actors themselves are not evil, but the acts that are represented, though not really happening, are what the Lord hates. Makes you think for a second, what does God think about us liking shows like Aliens or Predator, where aliens are killing people? I don’t know, but to be honest, those are in completely fictional circumstances. There aren’t aliens, so there nothing real about these films. So, I don’t think it’s wrong. However, that’s just what I think. You’ll have to go to the Lord about that.
Psalm 101:3 (Amplified Bible)
3I will set no base or wicked thing before my eyes. I hate the work of them who turn aside [from the right path]; it shall not grasp hold of me.
Psalm 101:3 (King James Version)
3I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Well, I don’t know exactly what this verse means, but I think it has to do with things that some people try and get others to do. Say, somebody says drugs are cool and that only cool people do them, would you let his evil works cling to you? Or say somebody tries to pull you away from the Lord, would you let the false teaching grasp you? You wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) hate the people doing this and only love him like Christ would, but the bad teachings are another story.
I’ve noticed something about me since I became a Christian. The things I like have become so much less important to me. All desire to buy toys and models has left me. I gave my toys away to my little bud Ethan, and kept only the ones that were gifts to me. The Lord became my everything. Sure, I still love nerdy things, but they just don’t mean so much as they used to. The Lord will make you desire Him if you choose to accept His Son.
Oh! One more point. While listening to Piano Squall, The entire time, I was praising Jesus/God in my head. Why not let God participate in our nerdiness? I felt God the entire concert. It was awesome.
I’ve got to go get pizza. I’m starving! I’ll end this sermon by saying that if you’re a nerd, more power to you! Brother! It’s ok to be a nerd. But remember, if you're not careful, it can be disastrous.
Here’s a prayer from Gini-san.
Father God, first off, please forgive all of our sins. And thank you! Thank you for making a way so that we can ask you to forgive us, so that there is no block between you and us. We love you Lord. And we desire to love you more. Thank you so very much that in this day and age you are setting us free to be who we are! Not so many years back christians felt they weren't serving you unless they just sat and read the bible all day whenever they weren't working. Thank you for showing us the truth! That we can enjoy this life and laugh, have fun and STILL serve you and love you with all of our hearts!! Show us Lord, if there be any wicked way in us, and lead us to the life everlasting. We give you our lives Lord, if there is anything there keeping us from loving and serving you, please show us. And thank so much for your balance! For showing us already that we can be nerds and still followers of you as well. Bless all those that read this sermon and set us free! In the Name, and the Power, and the Blood of Jesus Christ - AMEN!! We love you Jesus!!
