Posts Tagged: "Jay Z"

Coming Home Sermon

Brian Dolleman - August 22, 2022 - Life With God, Uncategorized

Some background on that song… Coming Home

It was written by J.Cole, Jay-Z, Alex da Kid, and Skylar Grey… produced by Jay-Z and performed by Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy, aka P. Diddy, aka Diddy, aka Puffy… and Skylar Grey in 2010 and by 2011 it was certified as 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (which means it had sold over 2 million copies in that year).

In the words of Ali G, RESPECT.

Jay-Z and Kid had gifted the song to Diddy for his album, Last Train to Paris. “Coming Home” is a biographically written hip hop and pop ballad inspired by moments in Diddy’s life—including the loss of his close friend, the Notorious B.I.G.

As it was performed today, the rap lyrics were left out…

However, here is a rather profound line in the rap lyrics…

“It’s easy to be Puff, but it’s harder to be Sean”

It’s easier to be who I’m trying to project myself as, than it is to actually be me.

Dang. There’s some truth.

Benedictine nun Joan Chittister wrote:

Better to walk through life simply and without masks, than to lose ourselves in the pursuit of identities that are purely cosmetic and commercial. Then, at least, we will be known for what we are rather than for what we are not.

Lose the mask, not your true self. Amen!

I love what Father G says… “You are exactly what God had in mind when he created you.”

Today, we’re going to be talking about coming home. Shari and I were traveling in the month of July and it was wonderful and there’s just nothing like coming HOME. That personal habitation, that familiar and familial place where we started and repeated celebrations of the milestones of our lives. Home, where you know where everything is and how everything works. Home, where you communicate in your shared primary language. Home, where comfort and help and healing is normative. Home, where we are most truly and in every way ourselves.

I’m coming home, I’m coming home

Tell the world I’m coming home
Let the rain wash away—all the pain of yesterday
I know my kingdom awaits—and they’ve forgiven my mistakes
I’m coming home, I’m coming home

Our Psalm this morning is quite unique among all the other Psalms because of its noted author… Moses.

Yes, that Moses. The one from lots of pages to the left in the Old Testament. Like 581 years worth of pages earlier. See why it’s so unique to be included in the Psalms that were written by David and the people who served and worked with him?

Unique is good, right?

OK, here we go… Read More

Good Ideas From Bad Individuals

Brian Dolleman - June 19, 2014 - Life With God, Uncategorized

In my tale of two grandmothers, I described my “bad” grandma…

My swearing-smoking-drinking-gambling grandmother was a constant, loving, generous, steady, faithful, and gracious presence in my life – until she died of lung cancer when I was 19 years old.

Life is interesting that way.

It’s far less black and white than we think. Our categories don’t always have the space for what is actually there. We want to use the labels “good” or “bad,” “sinner” or “saint,” but the truth usually is found in the AND…

We are simultaneously both good AND bad, sinner AND saint.

Paul the Apostle (who is credited with the taking Christianity to the world and writing more books of the New Testament than anyone else) acknowledged this “sinner AND saint” truth when he wrote,

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. —1 Timothy 1.15

I love that Paul didn’t say, “I WAS the worst of them all,” but chose instead to admit, “I AM the worst.”

Here we have the “worst sinner” writing the Bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit…

He’s both good and bad, sinner and saint.

And so are we.

The idea that we learn all the good things from good people and get all our bad ideas from bad individuals is… Read More

MORE LEAKAGE

Brian Dolleman - December 4, 2013 - Life With God, Uncategorized

Here’s a little more leakage – some content from the book I wrote this summer…

Yo, we at war. We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all, we at war with ourselves. —Kanye West (Jesus Walks)

Tears on the mausoleum floor, blood stains the coliseum doors… —Jay-Z (No Church in the Wild)

If you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another… Read More

SNEAK PEEK CHAPTER LEAK

Brian Dolleman - December 3, 2013 - Life With God, Popular, Uncategorized

Many of you know I wrote a book this summer and am in the process of trying to get myself a literary agent (if you are related to an amazing literary agent, please hook a brotha up). Anyway, this week, I thought it would be fun to do a little sneak peek chapter leak…

* * * * *

Life with God is easier than we think. Most of us are simply trying too hard. We’re straining and we’re stressing, but all that effort is for nothing.

God doesn’t want your works, He wants you.

And there’s more… Read More