...thoughts expressed here are not necessarily final.
December 13, 2004 The Foster Follies
Things have been going bang-bang-bang since I
las blogged.
I sensed Earnie needed helpso I took off Friday and we took Ma Smith in
together. I was feeling pretty lousy and had planned to stay home in bed.
I suppose God is teaching me something in all this.
I did get my online school account set up and verified through the seminary.
By the time I tried to register iwonder.com, a problem had arisen and
they wanted to sell it to me for several hundred dollars over market price.
iwonder how wewonder.com would go over? Sounds more corporate rather than
individualistic. As you might surmise- my mind is a bit divided right
now, so I will likely wait.
I taught on Luke 15 Sunday morning. The Lifeway curriculum is passable
one quarter then they go off the deep end featuring what is reminiscent
to me of 19th century spiritualized drivel. All they got out of
the three parables of the lost was how to respond when someone disappoints
you. I ditched it and taught on entering into the Joy of the Lost
being Found. See below.
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We went with friends the Bridges to Stephen Curtis Chapman/Casting Crowns/Chris Tomlin concert last night. It was loud, but I was impressed with the character that came through... |
| Chris Tomlin remains my favorite young worship leader. All three acts were deeply influenced by Piper in their lyrics and message. |  |
Earnie is off to a get-together with 3 friends- they have established a Christmas and birthday celebration tradition. All of them have birthdays within a month of Christmas. I am here balancing the checkbook and listening to Christmas music.
Entering into the Father’s Joy- God’s
Heart for the Lost
Joy the the World! The Lord is come- let Earth receive her King! Click
here for the message of joy found in the parables of the Lost in Luke
15.
From: God's-eye View by John Fischer
For now we see through a glass, darkly… (1 Corinthians
13:12 KJV)
"I had a mentor once who loved to teach about faith from a 20-foot
long timeline of Bible history that he used as a powerful visual effect.
He would roll out this room-sized diagram with a long line from
Adam and Eve to the present day. On it, at appropriate spots, he
would place little figures representing some of the well-known characters
of the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, David, Ezekiel, and Paul. Then
he would walk over to where, say, Moses was, turn him toward the future,
and place a dark pane of glass right in front of his nose. ... Though
Moses could not see into the future, there were two directions he could
look, both of which were useful to his faith and in turn are useful to
ours. He could look back and see how God had been faithful in his
own life up until then, and, most importantly, he could look up to God
and put his trust in the one who sees all. "
From Tozer: Men Who Met God, p. 70- The Back
Side of the Desert
Moses had a most unusual but highly effective postgraduate course. God took him out of the activity and the noise of Egypt and placed him in the silence of the open spaces. He kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. Tending the sheep, he learned lessons of meditation and observation that he could only have learned in the silence. Probably more important than anything else, Moses learned to know himself. That knowledge was a part of God's preparation of the man for his future tasks. We, today, know everything but ourselves. We never really come to know ourselves because we cannot get quiet enough.
Church's 'Skipping Christmas' Campaign Focuses on God's Gift
Charisma
News Service Published November 26, 2004, Page B1, Lexington Herald-Leader
Move over Scrooge, a church in Kentucky is skipping Christmas -- sort
of. Crossroads
Christian Church in Lexington isn't suggesting bailing out on the
celebration altogether, just the bad parts such as the stress, getting
into debt and huge crowds, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported. "We want
to encourage people not to get so caught up in the trappings of the season
that they miss the heart of what Christmas is about," said Fred Turner,
a pastor at the church. "We are not calling for people not to buy presents
or put up trees, but we are trying to turn the focus on the things that
matter." Turner said the church got the idea from John Grisham's newest
book, Skipping
Christmas, which has been made into the movie Christmas
with the Kranks, starring Tim Allen. Crossroads Christian began a
series of weekly discussions on the "Skipping Christmas" campaign that
focus on helping the community find simplicity, joy, rest, belonging and
Jesus, while skipping the loneliness, obligations and rush that come with
the holiday. The last session will be on Christmas Eve. "We really think
this is important because the heart of Christmas needs to be getting back
to who Jesus is and why He cares," Turner told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
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A controversial new billboard where God is apparently used to sell burritos and tacos for a local restaurant is raising eyebrows in Orlando's religious community. |
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CONSUME YOUR MERCHANDISE:
Bay County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office say John Douglas Sheetz, 18, and Misty
Ann Holmes, 17, called them to report a theft -- of their marijuana stash.
They let officers search their house for evidence -- and were then arrested
for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. (AP)
Clich here for pix of Frosty the Snowman's Funeral