"Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation
be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer
everyone." Colossians 4:5-6 CONSIDER "The world is not lacking in wonders, but in a sense of
wonder." G. K. Chesterton IS JESUS REALLY
ENOUGH? by C. Samuel Storms "'Fire!' The word rang out on that cold night with frightening
urgency, bringing me out of my chair and into the parking lot of our
apartment complex. There it was. Only three doors away a fire was raging. "My first reaction was to awaken Ann and get her to
safety. By the time she had escaped
and we had moved our car away from danger, the fire department arrived and
cordoned off the entire complex. In
doing so they shattered any hope I had of rushing back inside to save
something of our possessions. "It was there in the parking lot at "We frequently talk about Christ being all-sufficient, but
I fear that it has become little more than a theological cliché. Though I had often affirmed this truth, I
never really knew that Jesus was enough, until He was all that I had left. To
be sure, I had my health; and my wife was safe. But in one chilling moment in 1976 it
suddenly clicked: Jesus is not only necessary, He is enough".... Read this in full at http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/1/1.65.11.html?aCode=NL80206 JESUS KNEW WHAT TO DO "Jesus Christ was a man on a mission, and his purpose was
never in question. He did not,
however, misuse the notion that God was working his purpose out through his
life by adopting a passive attitude toward his work for God. He did not halfheartedly live, but actively
obeyed every command of the Father to the point that the life which he calls
every Christian to imitate is a life of action fueled by the knowledge that
their ultimate purpose is and remains the glory of God. ... Jesus never
structured the purposes of God around themes of self-importance or
self-esteem. Rather, he spoke of
taking up a cross, laying ones life down for others, and following in the
footsteps of one described as a man of sorrows acquainted with
grief." Douglas Baker HA! A DIFFERENT
APPROACH TO THE DA VINCI CODE It's no secret that the HowStuffWorks
staff likes to take things apart and see what makes them tick. They are the kind of sticklers who point
out science and technology mistakes in TV shows and movies, much to the
chagrin of the people listening. So
when they heard about the controversy surrounding "The Da Vinci Code," they couldn't resist picking it
apart. In this article, you'll learn
what happened when they took a close, hard look at "The Da Vinci Code" and how it [mis]uses
science, technology, art and history.... http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/davinci-code.htm LEADERSHIP U SPECIAL
REPORT In The Da Vinci Code, we hear echoes
of the Jesus Seminar which in its heyday in the 1990s recycled Gnostic
heresies and took the dead-end path of higher criticism of the late 19th
Century. Apologetics researcher Rich
Poll observes that the early Church spent much of its energy battling heresy.
This doctrinal war, in many ways, culminated in the Nicene Council's
creed. How interesting that a
revisionist account of such times and issues dressed up as well-researched
historical fiction brings us full circle.
In our Special Focus, we seek to address: *
the historicity and authority of the
Bible over and against non-canonical works *
the nature and validity of non-canonical
gospels, including The Gnostic Gospels *
Jesus' claims to deity and the early
Church's understanding of it, predating the Nicene Council *
Biblical understanding of Christ's view
of women like Mary Magdalene *
an obliquely related topic, the Bible
code Read this special report in full at http://www.leaderu.com/focus/davincicode.html WHAT DO YOU WANT TO
DO BEFORE 100? You've never been the kind of person who lets life pass you
by. You like breaking boundaries,
being active in mind and body, forging new territory and creating memorable
experiences with friends and family.
With age comes perspective, experience, and
control. Eons, a new company launching
this summer dedicated to helping 'baby boomers' and seniors to live the
biggest life possible, understands that -- and wants to celebrate it! That's why they've launched a free-to-enter contest that
encourages adults 50+ to list, discuss and achieve their life goals. Want to tour the country or learn to play
piano? Have you always wanted to
research your family tree or paint the landscapes of It's been said that the first step to achieving goals is to
write them down. So, the Eons
"How Old Are You?" challenge is asking you to make a list of things
you want to achieve before age 100.
Submit the goals and dreams you'd like to accomplish before the
attainable age of 100 and be eligible to win $15,000 towards making your
dream a reality! Just go to the
following website and type in Prize Code number 60711 ... then tell your
family and friends to do the same. "THE
SIMPSONS" SATIRE SPECIAL CREATION by Answers in Genesis "The popular, long-running TV program "The Simpsons" continued its satirical look at the
institution of the family with an episode that aired, ironically enough, on
Mother's Day. On May 14 "The Simpsons" also managed to satirize another
Genesis-based doctrine: creation. Yes,
this is an animated comedy, and thus one has to be careful not to take such a
program too seriously. But because
"The Simpsons" appears on prime time and
features clever, award-winning writing that attracts a large adult and teen
audience, it merits some comment"....
Read this in full at http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2006/0515simpsons.asp LEADERSHIP TIPS
(BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE) The L-Laws of L-Leadership: 1. Love people. 2. Think like a leader. http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln60515.html VERSE TO PONDER "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 CONSIDER "Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or
for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence
outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing
spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no
moral blanks; there are no neutral characters." Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) HOW CAN THE CHURCH BE
A COUNTERCULTURE FOR THE COMMON GOOD? What this culture lacks is purity. The church has not helped here much,
because always we want to impose morality.
Purity is to morality what intimacy is to acquaintance, what love is
to tolerance, what oneness is to equality.
Purity is not just a higher thing: it is a category unto itself. We should stop preaching morality and start
preaching purity. After all, no one
wants to drink merely sterilized water, chlorinated water, water
with a drop of iodine.... Read this in
full at http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2006/001/1.38.html WORSHIP: WHAT WE'VE
LEARNED A report from the Calvin Symposium. by Nathan Bierma The most visible changes in North American Christianity over the
last three decades have been changes in worship practices. And simplistic assumptions that these
changes represent unrelieved decline or undiluted progress risk breeding
"despair on the one hand or overconfidence on the other -- despair that
makes it difficult to see what God is doing in the church today, or
overconfidence that can lead to a kind of blindness to other ways God may be
at work." Such attitudes, in
turn, shape churches' ministry in everything from worship planning meetings
to outreach programs".... Read
this in full at http://www.christianitytoday.com/books/web/2006/jan30.html THE FATHER'S LOVE The American male is told that to cry is the mark of a
"sissy" and that to admit our faults a mark of weakness. The result is predictable. We have a generation of emotionally cold men,
traveling through life on the wave of surface pleasures. These "pleasures" leave one
emotionally drier than he was before.
We must be honest. What do we
fear? Who hurts us the most? We must ask these questions and be honest
with our answers".... Read this
in full at http://www.cornerstonemag.com/pages/show_page.asp?237 DIDYA EVER WONDER? *
Why do toasters even have a setting that
burns the toast to a horrible crisp which no decent human being would eat? *
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares,
why is there a song about him? *
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in
the carpool lane? *
If the professor on Gilligan's *
Who was the first person to look at a
cow and say, "I think
I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes
out"? *
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto
remains on all fours? They're both
dogs! *
Why ARE Trix
only for kids? *
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to
buy all that ACME stuff, why didn't he just buy dinner? *
Why is a person that
handles your money called a '"broker"? *
If corn oil is made from corn, and
vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from? *
Why do the Alphabet song and
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" have the same tune? *
Did you ever notice that when you blow
in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he
sticks his head out the window? NO ORDINARY PEOPLE by C.S. Lewis It may be possible for each of us to think too much of his own
potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often
or too deeply about that of his neighbor.
The load, or weight, or burden, of my neighbor's glory should be laid
daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the
backs of the proud will be broken. It
is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to
remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one
day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to
worship -- or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all,
only in a nightmare. All day long we
are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these
destinations. It is in the light of
these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection
proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all
friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary
people. (The Weight of Glory) BRAIN SCANS GET AT
ROOTS OF PREJUDICE According to a new Harvard study, the human brain may have a
built-in mechanism for keeping racially or politically distinct groups
apart. http://healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=532746 CONSIDER "So long as we are full of self, we are shocked at the
faults of others. Let us think often of our own sin, and we shall be lenient
to the sins of others." François Fénelon (1651-1715)
VERSE TO PONDER "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective." James 5:16 THIS WEEK'S HYMN: I
AM NOT SKILLED TO UNDERSTAND Words: Dorothy Greenwell, 1873 Music: William J.
Kirkpatrick, 1885 I am not skilled to understand What God hath willed, what God hath planned; I only know that at His right hand Is One Who is my Savior! I take Him at His word indeed; "Christ died for sinners"-this I read; For in my heart I find a need Of Him to be my Savior! That He should leave His place on high And come for sinful man to die, You count it strange? So once did I, Before I knew my Savior! And oh, that He fulfilled may see The travail of His soul in me, And with His work contented be, As I with my dear Savior! Yea, living, dying, let me bring My strength, my solace from this Spring; That He Who lives to be my King Once died to be my Savior! >from CyberHymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/a/imnots2u.htm GOD FAQ Question 73: How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of
God? Answer: Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not
because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works
that are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof,
were imputed to him for his justification; but only as it is an instrument by
which he receives and applies Christ and his righteousness. http://www.shortercatechism.com/ PRAYER AND REVIVAL by Frank Martin, World Connection Something has been brewing in my spirit for the last few months:
I've had a growing concern for revival.
Not only for a personal revival in my own heart but in my community
and around the world. As I've started
reading about revival, I've learned one thing: we must ask God for it. It won't come automatically. It comes because we have been faithful to
pray for it. If there is ever a time
in our country and the world when we need revival, it's today. Only one thing will restore the moral fiber
in our country to where it should be, and that's revival. Material blessings do not necessarily mean
that we're where we should be spiritually as a country. One author suggests that the material
blessings we're enjoying today are the dividends of the prayers of past
generations. If we are to have equal
blessings in the future for ourselves and our families, we must continue to
pray as never before. And we must pray
for revival".... Read this in
full at http://www.wgm.org/cms/Story/Story.asp?tid=5&did=941 PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY DAILY BLESSING PACT PERSONAL FINANCIAL Settlements "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). [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. Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern http://www.alexanderhamiltonexhibition.org/ Christian Car Club 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.) Blessed are the flexible, for they will not snap |
|
CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of announcements, news, recommendations,
articles, and other information helpful to men in our spiritual growth.
Thanks for welcoming 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 The mission of New Joy Divine Full
Gospel Church is to be a Christ-centered, Bible based, Spirit guided
church meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of its members
and the community it serves. The Men Servants Ministry 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 Visit
our website at: http://www.newjoydivine.org/
To
subscribe to CONNECTIONS, send a message to [email protected] with
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with "unsubscribe MSM" in the subject line. |