Verse of the Day

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority."
- Acts 5:29

Quote of the Day

Lots of activities added to the side of the blog for the November calendar! Check them out and put them on your calendar. Now on to the quote of the day.....

"We still need prophets to summon us back to the spiritual roots of wholeness and peace. We still need broadcasters of God’s word and magnifiers of God’s truth, so that we will understand and turn and be healed."
-Kenneth L. Waters, Sr.

Expelled - Tomorrow night at 6:00!

Sunday night at the building is family film night. We will be watching the documentary Expelled starring Ben Stein. Here is the synopsis from Christianbook.com: "Ben Stein may not look like a typical school rebel---but when he learned that educators and scientists were being ridiculed, denied tenure, and even fired for the "crime" of discussing evidence of "design" in nature, he'd had enough! Join him as he travels the world, questioning academia's doctrine of random evolution and championing intellectual freedom!"

Check out the official website at: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

Here is Christianity Today's review: http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2008/expelled.html

And here is Christianity Today's interview with Stein: http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/benstein.html

The Trinity, Toothpaste, & the Jesus Christ Show

One radio show I truly enjoy and through which I am regularly challenged is "The Jesus Christ Show" on KFI AM 640. Usually we get to hear a few calls as we drive to worship every Sunday morning. The show is broadcast live from 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. If you can get past the premise that the host speaks as if he is Jesus Christ himself - and granted this took me quite awhile to get past - you will find one of the most knowledgeable apologetic minds I've encountered. You can download the weekly podcast through the KFI website. It is an awesome radio show and one which always encourages and edifies me.

A couple of weeks ago a young boy, probably around 9 or 10 years old, called in and asked the host ('Jesus') if he could help explain the trinity to him because he was having a hard time understanding how God could be 3 separate entities. The host gave probably the best response I've heard, especially when trying to explain it to a kid. He pointed out that the word "trinity" is not actually used in the scriptures. He then asked the boy if he had ever seen or had used Aquafresh toothpaste, and of course, the boy had. He pointed out how Aquafresh has three colors swirled into one toothpaste - the white part cleans the teeth and fights tooth decay, the red part specifically fights plaque and tartar, and the blue part helps freshen breath. When you squeeze the toothpaste out, all three are present in the one toothpaste - you can't take out one element. The host stated that the Trinity is similar - you can't actually separate them as they are various elements of the same God each working in different ways, but ultimately a part of the same thing. I thought his metaphor was apt, understandable, and in its own way, profound.

The Internet and this week's blog spotlight!

With the blog kicking back into high gear, one thing I would like to do is to spotlight one of the links you'll see on the left of this page under "Websites to Check out & Christian Blogs".

Before this week's highlight, I'd like to briefly address the internet in general terms. I've always viewed the internet as I would a huge metropolis, like Los Angeles (where I have lived), New York, or London. The benefit of living in a huge city is the vast amount of resources available that are not available in suburbs, small towns, or rural areas. For instance in Los Angeles, there are museums, sports teams, universities and colleges, vast libraries, parks and recreational activities, as well as a wealth of diversity amongst the people. I would consider all of these things to be positive elements of a large city. Unfortunately, the flip side of that coin is also evident and prevalent. Huge cities also produce and house some of the worst elements of human nature and society, more so than in small towns or rural areas - extreme poverty, corruption, and exploitation among others. This is the metaphor I use to describe how I view the "World Wide Web." Like a big city the internet is filled with numerous resources that can educate, edify, and enlighten, but there are also incredibly seedy, sinful and disgusting elements to the internet, akin to some dark and dangerous alley in a big city. It's up to us as Christians to stay in those parts of the internet that help encourage and uplift our spirits, and not fall easily into the areas of the web where sin easily entangles.

As a Christian though, there are numerous websites that can truly enhance, uplift, and encourage one in a spiritual walk. The internet has been a blessing to me in the sense that I can commune with fellow Christians in prayer, in discussion, and in fellowship. Although we might not be able to meet daily to gain encouragement, we can find areas online where we can receive a similar encouragement.

With that being said, I'm going to try to each week highlight a Christian website or blog that I think will spiritually uplift and benefit you and I'll post the direct link here for you to check it out.

This weeks spotlight is the blog of Mike Cope, the preacher at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. Mike also co-edits the Christian publication Wineskins. Although I've heard Mike Cope speak many times, particularly at the Pepperdine Lectureships, I do not know him personally - but, in what is one of the many interesting things about the world wide web, I do feel like I know him from reading and following his blog. Mike is a thoughtful Christian, who can be funny, random, thought provoking, and reflective. He can be predicting a baseball series in one post and expounding a verse into practical applications in the next. I was particularly impressed and touched by his recent post on Mark 5:1-20, which is one of my favorite passages in the gospels - the healing of the demon possessed man. It's a passage I've preached on and come back to time and time again, particularly when challenged with the idea of evangelism. Mike has a brilliant and challenging entry about this passage which can be directly accessed here: http://preachermike.com/2008/10/20/the-ex-demoniacs-testimony

His main website is linked under the left side of this webpage under the title "Websites to Check Out & Christian Blogs." The title of the link is "Mike Cope."

Verse of the Day

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
- Lamentations 3:21-25

Quote of the Day

"Living as we do in a world that suffers so much, two opposing possibilities can easily tempt us: either to turn our backs and live oblivious to the pain or to allow the pain to overwhelm us and despair to take up residence in our hearts. The truly faithful option is to face the pain and live joyfully in the midst of it. Those who suffer most remind us of how tragic and arrogant it would be for us to lose hope on behalf of people who have not lost theirs. They are teachers of joy."
-Joyce Hollyday
Then Your Light Shall Rise

Happy Halloween!

Pizza, some creative pumpkins and the Nightmare Before Christmas movie made for a fun night at Church. Good job guys! They turned out awesome!

We're Back!

After some admitted time off, I'm begging your forgiveness and launching the blog again. The template has changed, some links have changed, some dates have been updated and we're back online with some updated information. I'm hoping that if I update it, you will come!