As you’ve probably figured out, I love good Christian humor.  And I think this qualifies.  I’m not sure it was intended to be good Christian humor, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to truly funny stuff about faith.  You can buy the snow devil t-shirt here.

What better way to kick off 2010 then with some silent monks who sing?

Everything seems to move at warp speed.

So for this Christmas I encourage you to spend quality, focused, time with your friends and family. Enjoy their company and the community you have. Use this as an opportunity to show what it means to live a life of faith, not by preaching Bible verses, but by being there when they need you.

In the meantime, check out this video. I think we can all wish this was our house growing up…

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I love to laugh.  I especially love to laugh when Christians are being funny.  All too often our “humor” is pretty lame.  It’s nice to know that not all Christians are Ned Flanders clones.  While some people may consider this a clever marketing campaign, I consider it good Christian humor.  Way to go LifeChurch.tv.

I’m feeling a little under the weather today.  And I’m really hoping that it’s not the [cue ominous music] dreaded H1N1.  So I thought something a little lighthearted would be in order.  Which is why I turned to my old standby of RockTV.  They are one of the few Christian comedic groups that’s actually funny.

So much of what passes for “Christian humor” just isn’t funny at all.  But RockTV is different.  They blend hilariousness (is that even a word?) with serious theological points.  Not everyone can be funny and right at the same time.  But RockTV pulls it off time and again.

As we head into the weekend, relax, enjoy your Friday evening, and laugh a little at the latest from RockTV.

In the post, “guard your heart,” I wrote that every time we break one of the 10 Commandments we do serious damage to our heart.  We just weren’t designed to live the way we are choosing to live.  In their book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell and Don Golden agree, saying, “What God begins …with the 10 Commandments is the long process of teaching [Israel] how to be human again.”

God gave us the 10 Commandments not as punishment for being disobedient, but as a guide to how to live a better life.

That’s the serious side of all of this.  But since it’s Friday, and I just managed to run my USB drive through the washing machine, I feel like a little laughter.  So here is Mel Brook’s take on the 10 Commandments…

Religion can be a serious business. People have tough questions about their lives, their futures, and even their decisions. It’s no wonder that many churches are so solemn. But I think this is a shame. Humor is one of the ways God has made us unique. No other creature can tell a joke. Humor is a reflection of God’s own personality.

It’s unfortunate that Christians are seen as the ones holding everyone back. We should be on the cutting edge of science, literature and yes, humor. God has given us great freedom. Why don’t we take that freedom and make people laugh?

So on this warm summer day, are a few funny church signs.

If you have a favorite church sign, leave a comment and we’ll see about getting it featured on R3. We could all use a little more laughter in our day.

I am off to visit some friends for the weekend, which means time is a little tight today.  But I do have something to leave you with.  Many consider the Bible to be dry, dull, and boring.  And maybe a bit repetitive.  But I am convinced there is humor to be found in the Bible.

Take, for instance, the story of Esther.  Esther was a Jewish woman who found herself the queen of the Persian empire.  She was the queen of Xerxes (you know, the weird looking king from the movie 300).  The Bible tells us that one night Xerxes couldn’t fall asleep.  So instead of turning on late night television, he had “the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign…brought in and read to him” (Esther 6: 1)

I don’t know about you, but whenever I have a hard time falling asleep I like someone to come in and read a book about all my great exploits.

Well sort of.

“The fake religious protesters passed out pamphlets and held up picket signs with messages such as ‘Hell is not a Video Game‘ and ‘Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation.’”

Apparently Electronic Arts (the makers of Madden as well as many other video games) hired a viral marketing firm to promote their upcoming Dante’s Inferno video game.  To do this, the marketing firm hired a bunch of “protestors” and gave them Christian-sounding slogans.

The only thing that makes this a potentially successful viral marketing ad is that there are enough “religious” protesters out there chanting similarly stupid slogans.  I don’t believe the Kingdom advances through protests of video games.  The kingdom advances when local churches (and Christians) build into their communities.  When we become integral to the health and well being of a community, that’s when people’s hearts and minds are changed.

Trying to shock people into believing never works.  All it does is get you mocked.