Happy Easter

Want to wish everyone who may be reading this a very Happy Easter.  Two things of consequence that I find worth posting, if you are not interested in such things feel free to ignore this post:

1) A link to Mike Howerton's Easter sermon, a bit of a Christianity 101 entitled Present Company Included in case you like listening to sermons, want to hear a person with fantastic control over the tone of their voice (business applications obviously), have some questions, or whatever. 

2) Below is a parable about Jesus in a present context.  I received it on one of those mass e-mailings, and I have no idea who wrote it originally.  If you do know please let me know so I can pay them their due respect.  It may be one of the best thing's I have ever read (and sorry it's so small):

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Mortenson,
a studious man who taught at a small college in the western 
United States. Dr. Mortenson taught the required survey course 
in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student 
was required to take this course his or her freshman year, 
regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Mortenson tried 
hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, 
he found that most of his students looked upon the course as
nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, 
most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Mortenson had a special student named Steve. 
Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent 
of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he
was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He 
was now the starting center on the school football team, and 
was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Mortenson asked Steve to stay after class 
so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Mortenson said. "Do 
you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... 
I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Mortenson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project
in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in
sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I
need you to tell me you can do it," 
said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can
do it."

Dr. Mortenson said, "Good. I need you to do this
on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat 
in the front of the room. When class started, the
professor pulled out a big box of donuts.
No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they 
were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers 
and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it
was Friday, the last class of the day, and they 
were going to get an early start on the weekend with
a party in Dr. Mortenson's class.

Dr. Mortenson went to the first girl in the first row
and asked,
"Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Mortenson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve,
would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia
can have a donut?"

"Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a 
quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. 
Dr. Mortenson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Mortenson then went to Joe, the next person, 
and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Mortenson asked, "Steve 
would you do ten push-ups so Joe can 
have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so
it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten 
pushups for every person before they got their
donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Mortenson 
came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team,
and in as good condition as Steve. He was very
popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Dr. Mortenson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr. Mortenson shrugged and then turned to 
Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups
so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to 
do ten pushups.

Scott said, "Hey, I said I didn't want one."

Dr. Mortenson said, "Look, this is my classroom,
my class, my desks,and these are my donuts. 
Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it."
And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little.
He just stayed on the floor between sets because it 
took too much effort to be getting up and down. You 
could start to see a little perspiration coming out
around his brow.

Dr. Mortenson started down the third row. Now the 
students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr.
Mortenson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Mortenson asked Steve, "Steve, would you
do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that
she doesn't want?" 
Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.


By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled 
the room. The students were beginning to say 
"No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the
desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of
extra effort to get these pushups done 
for each donut. There began to be a small pool 
of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms 
and brow were beginning to get red because of the
physical effort involved.

Dr. Mortenson asked Robert, who was the most vocal
unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push
up to make sure he did the full ten pushups in a set
because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's 
work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent 
Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could 
count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Mortenson started down the fourth row. During his
class, however,some students from other classes had 
wandered in and sat down on the steps along the 
radiators that ran down the sides of the room.

When the professor realized this, he did a quick count
and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. 
He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Mortenson went on to the next person and the 
next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve
was really having a rough time. 
He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Mortenson, "Do I have to make my
nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Mortenson thought for a moment, "Well, they're
your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do 
them any way that you want." 
And Dr. Mortenson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer 
student, came to the room and was about to come
in when all the students yelled in one voice,
"NO, don't come in Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked
up his head and said,
"No, let him come."

Professor Mortenson said, "You realize that if
Jason comes in you will have to do ten 
pushups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. 
Give him a donut."

Dr. Mortenson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let 
you get Jason's out of the way right now. 
Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was
going on. "Yes," he said,"give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason
can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very 
slowly and with great  effort. Jason, 
bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Mortenson finished the fourth row, and
then started on those visitors seated by the
heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each
push-up in a struggle to lift himself against 
the force of gravity. By this time sweat was 
profusely dropping off of his face, there was no 
sound except his heavy breathing; there was not 
a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two
young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular.
Dr. Mortenson went to Linda, the second to last,
and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Mortenson quietly asked, "Steve, 
would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have
a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the 
effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for 
Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, 
Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, 
began to cry. "Dr. Mortenson,
why can't I help him?"

Dr. Mortenson, with tears of his own, said, 
"No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him
this task and he is in charge of seeing that
everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether 
they want it or not. When I decided to have a 
party this last day of class, I looked my 
grade book. Steve here is the only student with
a perfect grade. Everyone else has
failed a test, skipped class, or offered me 
inferior work. Steve told me that in football 
practice, when a player messes up he must do 
push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could
come to my party unless he paid the price by 
doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for
your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can
have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished 
his last pushup, with the understanding that 
he had accomplished all that was required of 
him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled
beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Mortenson turned to the room and said. 
"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ,
on the cross, said to the Father, 
'it is finished.' With the understanding that 
He had done everything that was required of Him,
He yielded up His life. And like some of those
in this room, many of us leave the gift on 
the desk, uneaten."

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and 
to a seat, physically exhausted, but 
wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said 
the professor, adding, 
"Not all sermons are preached in words."