Boy Scout Facts From "Scouting," January-February 2010: The Boy Scouts were officially started by Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell (1857-1941) when he published Scouting for Boys in [ let the congregation say based on it being the 100th anniversary ] 1908. General (in the British Army) Baden-Powell "was officially crowned the first—and only—Chief Scout of the…
Category: Pastoral
Just in Case
Music Addiction Those who have been tortured with listening to me talk in a day-to-day setting know that I’m a bit addicted to music. I’m sure there are plenty who have more than I do…but even without ripping every CD I own, my iPod has over 60GB of music files. It’s not a bad addiction…
When Sacrifice Is an Abomination
Following directions Have you ever followed a teacher or a boss' directions exactly…completed your assignment or task…looked for approval…and then… Been told you totally hosed up? Gotten that bad grade or bad review of your work? [ Assuming most everyone is shaking their heads, note how this seems to be a pretty common experience. ]…
Money (That’s What I Want)
Abu Dhabi Last week I was in Abu Dhabi–The company I work for has provided services to FIFA Club football matches there and a good friend of mine has been running the ticketing. After I dealt with exchanging U.S. dollars for UAE dirhams (and back), saw all the expensive cars zipping down the road (a…
Unequally Yoked (Part 2)
Review Last week I spoke about the active controversy about whether Christians should sign The Manhattan Declaration, a 7-page document that stands up for: the sanctity of human life the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife the rights of conscience and religious liberty. [ http://manhattandeclaration.org/ ] Although it is well…
Unequally Yoked (Part 1)
The Manhattan Declaration How many out there use social networking sites? Which ones? MySpace? Facebook? Twitter? At this point all I really use is Facebook and Twitter, and there has been quite a controversy amongst Christians on that service under #mdec about The Manhattan Declaration — mainly, whether a Christian should sign it or not….
Understand the Loaves
Finally in Sync Do you know the one miracle that all four Gospels record? [ Wait for answers. ] Right, the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments says it nicely: Here, for the first time, all the four streams…
You Are Members of the Devil’s Household
You Are Members of the Devil’s Household COLOMBIA: PASTOR MARTYRED http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=MTky On Sept. 21, Pastor Manuel was shot and killed by The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.
When God (Finally) Speaks Clearly
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, withthe moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red…
There Is More than One Way of Offering Sacrifice to Fallen Angels
***Prolegomena ***Augustine Augie’s namesake Born 354 Christian mother, pagan father Not a baptized believer until 387 Ordained “against his will” in 391 Became bishop of Hippo in 396 (Hippo Regius, now Annaba, Algeria) Died on 28 August 430 during the Vandal siege of the city
Eternal
What does the word "eternity" mean to you? In my brain unlimited words like "eternity" and "infinite" bring equations like 1/X to mind… As X approaches infinity… However X can never reach zero because…division by zero is undefined. Although it could readily become a lousy analogy, mentally God to me is being able to divide…
Washed in the Blood of the Lamb
When I was in England I got to… Meet with a client at the Tower of London See Big Ben Ride in one of their funky taxis with the lead singer of the Toadies (a really nice guy) Have a conversation on the Tube with a drunk Irishman (also a really nice guy, but more…
Father’s Day (What Went Wrong?)
Happy Father’s Day to all you fellow fathers out there… “Father’s Day is the day to honor fathers and celebrate fatherhood. It was during a 1909 sermon about Mother’s Day when Sonora Smart Dodd became inspired to create Father’s Day. She wanted to show how thankful she was to her father for taking care of…
Providence In the Form of a Woman
Providence In the Form of a Woman Introduction What is your favorite book of the Bible? The one that you most connect with? Are most inspired by? Gives you the most comfort? For me it is John, although Acts is also high up on my list…and Romans is pretty impressive. You? Anybody choose Esther? Anybody…
Inclusivism
In 1492… Do you remember the poem that starts off, “In Fourteen hundred nine-two” or “In fourteen nine-two”? How does it continue? “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Although Columbus has fallen out of favor in the modern world, there is no question he had a tremendous impact on the future of…