One of my favorites stories from church history is that of 5th century "Desert Father" named Simeon the Stylite. Simeon is famous for his increasingly extreme ascetic feats. One time, he shut himself up in a hut for a year and a half. Another time, he went all of Lent without eating or drinking. He later took to standing continually upright until he toppled over. When people heard of his severe austerity in the name of God, they started taking pilgrimages to see Simeon. The crowds grew so large, that Mr. Stylite decided it was time for something new. Simeon discovered a nine foot pillar with a small platform at the top. He lived on that pillar for six years.

Millions of people will gather tomorrow to proclaim that "Christ is Risen!! He is Risen indeed!!" Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose again. But what's the big deal? What does that have to do with me?
Tomorrow is Easter... so what?

If that's what you're thinking, tomorrow's message is for you!! The Gospel is the BEST NEWS EVER... come tomorrow to find out why. And bring your friends.
I'm so excited, I even went suit shopping. 
 

Ever since I was a kid, my teachers and coaches would constantly try to inspire me to chase my dreams by saying something along the lines of "If you work hard, you can be anything you want to be." So I worked hard! I desperately wanted to make my middle-school basketball team. I showed up to try-outs ready to go! So did 120 other kids. In just a few minutes I realized my teachers and coaches had all lied to me. I could not be taller. I could not be more athletic. I could not have chosen to be born into the basketball coaches family. I didn't even make the first cut. 
 

I'm always a little sad when I take my girls to the zoo. I don't feel so bad for the little animals being locked up, we do that all the time with cats and dogs and hamsters. However, I always feel a tinge of sadness for the elephants, zebras, and in particularly, for the lions. Lions in the wild are ferocious and glorious. Lions in the zoo are comfortable and pathetic. 
 

Each culture is dominated by its own idols.
The Vikings had Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki.
The Greeks had Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Eros.
Hindu deities include Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Vishnu.

We have Significance, Affection, Comfort, and Control. These idols contaminate our souls with spiritual toxins. Over the course of this year's Lent season, we are working to identify and dismantle these idols from the alters of our hearts to purify our worship of the one true God, the only one Who satisfies. We aim to detox our worship. 

A detox is a process by which a person aims to cleanse the body of toxins or unhealthy substances. In the same way that our bodies incrementally and imperceptibly accumulate toxins, our souls do the same. A little here, a little there, and without realizing it, we've found ourselves in a spiritual funk.