MSM CONNECTIONS
For the week of
The Men’s Ministry e-mail newsletter of
New
Our mission: Our mission is to lead men to
Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for
Christian men to grow in their faith
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"Come and listen, all
you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him
with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin
in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and
heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my
prayer or withheld His love from me!" Psalm 66:16-20 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"Courage does not always
roar. Sometimes, it's the quiet voice at the end of the day saying,
'I will try again tomorrow.'" Anonymous
THE ANGEL STADIUM DECLARATION
by Rick Warren
On
- - - - - -
Today I am stepping across
the line. I'm tired of waffling and I'm finished with wavering; I've
made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is
irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!
I will live the rest of my
life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's
glory. I will use my life to celebrate His presence, cultivate His
character, participate in His family, demonstrate His love, and communicate His
word.
Since my past has been
forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven, I
refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking,
trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless
worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in
ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.
Because this life is
preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, "we" over
"me," character over comfort, service over status, and people over
possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most and
I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have
for Jesus Christ today.
I won't be captivated by
culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems,
debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep
running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by
me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back
off, back down, back out or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward
by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused
so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I
finish the race.
I'm a trophy of God's amazing
grace so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous
with everything that God entrusts to me.
To my Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, I say: However, Whenever, Wherever, and Whatever you ask me to do, my
answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost,
I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever
it takes Lord; Whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a
way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and
faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"
http://www.saddleback.com/flash/default.htm
THE REWARDS OF FAITH
Some of the Bible's most
valuable insight into the nature of faith is shown in examples of those who
demonstrated it. I find it especially helpful to look at situations
where Jesus directly complimented someone's faith. Such instances
are much less common in the Gospels than we tend to imagine,
though. While Jesus spoke often about faith, he commended the faith
of individuals on only eight occasions:
1. Blind Bartimaeus
2. A woman with a hemorrhage
3. Four men with a paralyzed friend
4. A tenacious woman
5. A disdained woman
6. The one leper who thanks Jesus
7. A centurion who requests healing for his servant
8. Two blind men who ask for healing
Read the full article from
Nehemiah Ministries' Blaine Smith at
http://www.gospelcom.net/nehemiah/outrageous2.htm
ONLINE GAMBLING GAINS
MOMENTUM
In much the same way the
Internet vastly expanded access to pornography, the World Wide Web has
introduced an array of gambling methods that never require a person to set foot
in a casino. As a result, online gambling has become a $10-billion-a-year
industry.
The federal Wire Act of 1961
bans the use of telephones to place sports bets, but the law is hard to enforce
because it does not specifically ban casino games -- especially through the
Internet, since the method was not around when the law was passed. Lawmakers
have been trying to update the ban, but little progress has been made, USA
Today reported. More than $200 million is bet on online poker each
day, up from $16 million two years ago.
Three states --
QUIZ: THE RELIGION OF 'STAR
WARS'
If knowledge of principles
and the ability to quote masters were all that a religion required of its
followers, Jedi might boast more adherents than many world faiths. Wise in the
ways of the Force are you, young Jedi?
Take Beliefnet.com's quiz to find out.
http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=&surveyID=135
REMEMBER
National Day of Prayer - May
5
http://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/
Mother's Day - May 8
http://www.annieshomepage.com/mothersday.html
NATIONAL FATHERHOOD
INITIATIVE
The importance of principled
fatherhood in
"The key issue in
parenting is to do the very best you can to be a role model," said
Williams, the father of 14 children. "Ultimately, that's how our kids
learn to be parents themselves -- by what they see in their
homes. So we need to do the best job we can in setting a good
example."
Fatherhood Initiative
President Roland Warren said the awards are given to inspire
others. "In many ways, obviously, it's the 'Tale of Two
Cities,'"
Williams summed up the
evening by saying that he'd interviewed almost 800 men and women in leadership
positions. Overwhelmingly, the most influential person in their lives: "Dad."
BASIC BIBLE DOCTRINE
II. The Atonement - Part II
How is Christ's death applied
to individuals - How are we saved?
A. Election -
God chose us.
1. Definition:
From eternity past God chose those who would trust in Him for salvation.
2. Scripture -
God definitely chose who would believe. Ephesians 1:4 - "He chose us in
Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and
blameless before Him."
1 Peter 1:2
- "...chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father."
Romans
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
1:9 - "who has saved us...according to His own purpose and grace which was
granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity."
3. Scripture -
Man, however, definitely has a free choice whether or not to believe.
Romans
John
4. Scripture -
God has sovereignly chosen us, yet we have a free will in salvation.
John
John
* In these
last two references Jesus states both sides of the coin with no apology or
contradiction. Any can come and not be cast out (free will of man -
Acts
See also Acts
5. Three
different views of what God's election in salvation means
a. View #1 -
God's election and foreknowledge is merely "foresight."
"God
simply knew ahead of time who would believe."
Problems:
God's free choice and sovereign plan is entirely ruled out. Salvation is thus
only according to man's free will. This contradicts the scriptures about
election.
b. View #2 -
Election was corporate not individual.
"God
chose the group - the church. We become elect when we believe."
Problems:
Again, there is no sense of God's election if God only said there would be a
group of saved people and man does all the choosing.
c. View #3 -
Election is personal and real.
"God
chose the individuals who would believe while it is also true that each person
makes a genuine choice to believe or not."
Problem
& Solution: While we can't understand how both election by God and the free
will of man are simultaneously true, they are both taught by scripture.
6. Examples and
Illustrations - We cannot exactly illustrate infinite truth, but perhaps these
explanations will help. Christians experience and accept the combination of
God's sovereign choice and man's free choice all the time. One example is the
time of our death. God determines when we die. Yet our free choice might, from
our perspective, determine when we die (choice of road in auto accident,
suicide, etc.) Likewise we don't question that God has determined certain
events to occur (who we marry, where we work, etc.) yet we freely made those decisions
as well.
7. Logical and
emotional barriers to accepting God's sovereign election.
a. "I
can't accept that someone (my father, mother, relative, friend, etc.) is not
elect."
1) God seems
arbitrary and unloving - No, God elects according to love (Ephesians 1:4).
2) God seems
unjust - No, it is God's grace that any are saved (Ephesians 2:8).
3) God seems
responsible for some being lost - No, God desires all to be saved (2 Peter
3:9). Man's sin is responsible for his lostness (Romans 2:2-5;
b. "I
can't accept as true anything I can't understand."
1) We also
don't understand the trinity. We also don't understand how Christ is fully God
and fully man. Yet both are clearly taught and true and accepted.
2) The real
struggle we may have is accepting something we can't control. As God's
creatures we must come to grips with accepting His control and His truth and
completely trusting Him to do what's right.
c. "If God
elected some then I don't need to witness."
* No, it is
God's will and plan that we are His tools in accomplishing His plan to save
people. We are commanded to tell others so we must be obedient
(Matthew 28:19, 20). Yes, all the elect will be saved, but if we
don't share the gospel we have disobeyed and missed out on the opportunity God
gave us (Romans
Conclusion:
Both
election by God and man's free choice are true. The obvious emphasis
in ministry is that people must choose to trust in Christ for salvation or they
are lost. And we must tell them. But as we share we can rest in the
fact that God is sovereign and all will be saved whom He chose.
http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=2565
TRUTH IN LEADERSHIP
In an article based on
leadership principles of the U.S. Navy, W. Brad Johnson and Gregory P. Harper
write about trust: "Those who serve on ships are expected to exhibit
obedience, knowledge, fighting spirit, reliability, loyalty, initiative,
self-control, energy, courage, justice, faith in ourselves, cheerfulness, and honor,
but above all comes absolute truth, the final test of a man.
"There is something
utterly correct about this advice from the post-World War II
Navy. Above all comes truth. Truth is the very heart of
integrity and nothing compromises an officer's integrity more thoroughly and
instantaneously than telling an untruth. The commanding officer of a
ship or submarine must assume with unflinching certainty that his or her
officers will never compromise on this score. Give me bad news and
give me all of it, but never ever twist or withhold the facts.
"In my (GPH) second
squadron, we had a lieutenant who, after he completed his initial tour, wanted
to get out and fly for the airlines. In order for it to look like he
had a lot of flight experience, he doctored his flight log, adding flights that
he never flew. No one knew this until another lieutenant (instructor
pilot) checked his log book one day before giving him an annual qualification
check-ride. Upon discovering the doctored book, he immediately took
it to the operations officer, who took it up the chain of command, and an
investigation was conducted. It was discovered that the pilot had
indeed doctored his flight log. He had lied in writing and he had
compromised his honor. He was finished in the
squadron. No one would trust him after that and he was quickly taken
off flight status and released from active duty. How could the Commanding
Officer ever trust this man with an airplane and the lives of a crew again? Even
now, whenever I fly on a commercial airliner, I look at the pilots in the
cockpit and make sure that this man is not piloting the plane. I
still wouldn't trust him!
"Of course, truthfulness
is a prerequisite for trust. Originating in the German word trost, which means
comfort, trust suggests a state of confidence and comfort in relation to one
who habitually tells the truth."
Read this article in full at
http://www.leaderlinks.com/feature20050302.htm
RUGGED INDIVIDUALISTS
An adventurer is someone who
somehow pushes limits, whether they're physical, psychological, artistic or
intellectual. Forbes magazine is featuring the series Rugged Individualists, where
it chats with, and profiles, a number of such iconoclasts who've pioneered in
their areas of expertise, from climbing Mount Everest (Sir Edmund Hillary), to
breaking the four-minute mile (Sir Roger Bannister), to forming a new genre of
hard rock music (Cream), to developing the hydrogen bomb (Dr. Edward Teller). Along
the way, it also examines some of today's business leaders who also try their
hand at high adventure.
http://www.forbes.com/2005/02/28/0301ruggedind.html
VERSE TO PONDER
"This is the confidence
we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he
hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask--we know that we have
what we asked of Him." 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"Not until we have become
humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and
sovereignty...acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts,
and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become
ours." J.I. Packer
NEW LAW PROMOTES ACCESS TO
FREE CREDIT REPORTS
You now can get your credit
report for free. A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your
request, once every 12 months, from http://www.annualcreditreport.com. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has
prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm)
explaining your rights and how to order a free annual credit report.
A credit report contains
information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been
sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer
reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers,
employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit,
insurance, employment, or renting a home.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ycr_free_reports.htm
'RIFLE' SNIFFS OUT
VULNERABILITY IN BLUETOOTH DEVICES
If you've used your cell
phone today -- or any other wireless device that uses Bluetooth technology --
someone could be watching you. John Hering, a student at the
University of Southern California, has developed the BlueSniper rifle, a tool that
looks like a big gun which can "attack" a wireless device from more
than a mile away -- several times the 328-foot maximum range of Bluetooth....
For tips on protecting your
Bluetooth device, go to
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4599106
"SWEET HOUR OF
PRAYER" BACKSTORY
"During my residence at
Coleshill,
THIS WEEK'S HYMN: SWEET HOUR
OF PRAYER
Words: William Walford, 1845
Music: William B. Bradbury,
1861
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet
hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of
care,
And bids me at my Father's
throne
Make all my wants and wishes
known.
In seasons of distress and
grief,
My soul has often found
relief
And oft escaped the tempter's
snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet
hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I
share,
Of those whose anxious
spirits burn
With strong desires for thy
return!
With such I hasten to the
place
Where God my Savior shows His
face,
And gladly take my station
there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour
of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet
hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition
bear
To Him whose truth and
faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to
bless.
And since He bids me seek His
face,
Believe His Word and trust
His grace,
I'll cast on Him my every
care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour
of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet
hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from
I view my home and take my
flight:
This robe of flesh I'll drop
and rise
To seize the everlasting
prize;
And shout, while passing
through the air,
"Farewell, farewell,
sweet hour of prayer!"
>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/h/shop.htm
GOD FAQ
Question 17: How did God
create humans?
Answer: After God had made
all other creatures, he created male and female; formed the body of the man of
the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with
living, reasonable, and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge,
righteousness, and holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and
power to fulfill it, and dominion over the creatures; yet subject to fall.
http://www.shortercatechism.com/
ON PRAYER
"To pray is to change.
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to
change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The
closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we
desire to be conformed to Christ." Richard Foster
PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY
http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html
DAILY BLESSING PACT
Use the following list as your daily
prayer guide. Think of a brother or situation that applies and lift them up in
prayer.
I am agreeing in prayer with you for God’s
blessings to overtake you!
PERSONAL
Marital harmony
Family unity
Children saved
Faithful pastor
Spirit-filled church
Real friendships
Relatives redeemed
Educational benefits
Recreational time
Fulfilling career
Favor with God and man
Be in God’s will
FINANCIAL
Better Jobs
Raises or bonuses
Benefits
Sales & commissions
Settlements
Estates & inheritances
Investment increase
Rebates & returns
Checks in the mail
Gifts & surprises
Money to be found
Bills decrease while blessings increase
"And all these blessings shall come
on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord
thy God" (Deut. 28:2).
PRAY FOR THESE BROTHERS
*
Min
Lamont Smith
*
Bro.
Travis Collins
*
Bro.
Carl Modica
*
*
Bro.
Antonio Dawkins
*
Elder
William Moore
*
Bro.
Robert Turner
*
Minister
Byron Dickens
*
William
Moore, Jr.
*
Bro.
Eddie Watson
[As you travel on business or vacation, let me
know if you'd like the church guys to pray for your safety and spiritual effectiveness. I'll
add your name to the list for the time you'll be away.]
CLASSIFIEDS
Are you looking for something
or do you have something to sell?
Let me know and I'll put it
in this newsletter.
SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us what sites you find
enjoyable and why.
Lost in Translation: What
happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth
between 5 different languages?
http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/
How Fast Are Your Reactions?
(Tranquilize the sheep!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf
All links to Websites are
provided as a service, and do not imply endorsement by our church.
(BTW: whenever the URLs in
this newsletter are too long to turn into links on your e-mail program, just
copy the entire URL (two lines or more) and paste it into a temporary email
message. Then delete the return in the middle of it and copy it
again. Then paste it into your web browser and hit enter.)
Chopped cabbage is not just a
good idea, it's the slaw!
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MSM CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter
of announcements, news, recommendations, articles, and other information
helpful to men in our spiritual growth. Thanks for welcoming MSM CONNECTIONS
into your in-box!
Who to contact:
Minister Frank Coleman, Men Servants
Ministry Chairman, 773-410-1483,
Minister Arnold Whitehead, Men Servants
Ministry Vice-Chairman, 773-846-6090
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The mission of
The Men Servants Ministry (MSM) Team
offers a variety of activities for men to interact with other men on our
journey of faith in Christ together. Large group, small group, and one-to-one
events encourage relationship building and spiritual strengthening that result
in maximizing the potential we all have in Christ. Contact Min. Frank Coleman,
773-410-1483, [email protected]
if you'd like to participate in a men's discipleship program.
New
Tel: 773-224-5683. Founded & Pastored
by Apostle Aaron L. Royster & Prophetess Mable L. Royster.
Visit our website at: http://www.newjoydivine.org/
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