Connecting man to man to God!

Week of October 8, 2006

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  1 Peter 1:3

     CONSIDER

"It is as impossible for man to demonstrate the existence of God as it would be for even Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate the existence of Arthur Conan Doyle."  Frederick Buechner

     THIS IS CLERGY APPRECIATION MONTH

October is a special time that congregations nationally set aside each year to honor their pastors and pastoral families for their hard work and sacrificial dedication.  Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures.  Their lives are played out in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move.  They're expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down, and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward....

http://parsonage.org/cam/index.cfm

     PASTORS - LEADERS OF THE FLOCK BUT ALONE IN THE CROWD

Worshippers hear them speak each Sunday, and a steady stream of people visit them each week.  But for many pastors, ministry makes a lonely life.  Though they often relate well to large groups of people on many different levels, ministers nationwide have reported difficulty in forming authentic personal relationships.  And that feeling of solitude takes its toll, experts say, sometimes to the detriment of those involved....

http://www.abpnews.com/www/1401.article

     NATIONAL PASTORS CONVENTION

Feb. 5-10, 2007, San Diego, CA.  A time for pastors to nourish their souls, engage their minds, and connect in meaningful conversations....

http://www.nationalpastorsconvention.com

     SCRIPTURE-BASED PRAYERS TO PRAY FOR PASTOR

Protection.  Thank You that no weapons formed against my pastor will prosper. As our pastor dwells in the shadow of the Most High, deliver him from terror, darts of doubt, and diseases.  Set Your angels around my pastor, and let no power of the enemy harm him.  Turn aside rumors, gossip, criticism, abuse, and ungratefulness.  May inordinate expectations, stress, and fatigue be cast into the sea (Ps. 91:1-11; Lk. 10:19; Mk. 11:22-24).

Priorities.  Lord, give pastor wisdom to prioritize the tasks of each day.  Guard pastor against the tyranny of the urgent, and help him/her discern what is most important (Ps. 90:12; 2 Cor. 11:14; 1 Jn. 4:1).

Focus.  Father, keep my pastor from pride and self-pity.  Allow pastor to glory only in the cross, and let it be his reason for ministry (Gal. 6:14).

Holiness.  Jesus, keep my pastor holy in every way.  Protect pastor from seducing spirits, especially when he is tired and hard-pressed.  Provide friends to help protect my pastor and to walk with him in personal holiness (1 Pet. 1:16).

Knowledge.  Enlighten the eyes of pastor so that he may know the hope of Your calling, the riches of our glorious inheritance in the saints, and the incomparably great power that is in us who believe.  Let pastor see the full revelation of Jesus Christ.  May he know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Eph. 1:18-19; Gal. 1:12; Phil. 3:10).

Preaching.  Anoint pastor with the truth. As pastor preaches, may he proclaim Jesus Christ in the energy of the Holy Spirit.  Let people be cut to the heart and acceptChrist.  Confirm the message with signs and wonders.  Heal the sick, and set the oppressed free (Mt. 16:17; Col. 1:28; Acts 2:37; Mk. 16:20).

Excerpted from the Prayer Card for Pastors.  To order these prayer cards, go to

http://www.navpress.com/Store/Product.asp?sku=1576839060&aCode=NL100906

     DIFFERENT STYLES OF PARENTING

When the USA's 300 millionth resident appears this month, that person's life will be shaped, in part, by whether Mom and Dad are baby boomers, Gen-Xers or millennials, experts say. Someone who came of age when civil rights and the women's movement helped define the generation will have a very different take on life than someone who grew up a decade later listening to Madonna and watching MTV. Those even younger who have never known life without computers, video games or cellphones have yet another perspective....

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-27-generations-parenting_x.htm

     THE UPS AND DOWNS OF TWEEN LIFE

Tweens -- children between the ages of 8 and 12 -- are in a transition time in life.  Barna's latest survey among this group shows that their family is critical to their success and satisfaction with life -- and is doing well in many areas.  But these kids are struggling in other dimensions of life that are likely to have lifelong repercussions.  Find out more about what is working -- and what is not -- in the lives of America's adolescents by reading the latest Barna Update.

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=246

     GOSPEL COMPOSER JOHN W. PETERSON DIES

Gospel Hall of Fame composer Peterson, 84, wrote over 1000 hymns and gospel songs.  He died Sept. 20 of cancer in Scottsdale, AZ.  His compositions included "It Took a Miracle," "Heaven Came Down," "Over the Sunset Mountains," "So I Send You," and "Surely Goodness and Mercy."

http://johnwpetersonmusic.com/johnw_.htm

It Took A Miracle

http://www.sfcentral.org/ministries/music/gracenotes/gn111.htm

Heaven Came Down

http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/heaven.html

     CAL THOMAS ON THE AMISH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

"If terrorism has made us feel unsafe and insecure, the latest shootings in a one-room Amish school in Lancaster County, Pa., can only multiply our fears....  As one who watches some, but less and less TV, I observe a growing acceptance and promotion of violence in network "entertainment" programs.  The "CSI" series, which enjoys high ratings on CBS, as well as other crime shows on other networks, depicts graphic violence, blood and smashed brains.  In an apparent effort to capture the necrophilia demographic, autopsies present naked bodies for the medical examiner (and the camera) to go over.  In fact, murders appear to be rivaling situation comedies in the competition for our attention.  One is banal, the other brutal.  Local TV news is drenched in crime and blood"....  Read this column in full at

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2006/10/05/no_safe_places

     PREVENTING FUTURE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

KidsPeace, which helps kids at more than 50 centers nationwide, is issuing expert tips to help schools, parents, and America's children prevent future tragedies and deal with the aftermath of school shootings....

http://www.kidspeace.org/SchoolShootingPreventionTips.htm

     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)

Georgia church is Facing the Giants with its mainstream, somewhat-Christian, indy film.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln60925.html

     VERSE TO PONDER

[Jesus said,] "If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you."  John 14:15 (Msg)

     CONSIDER

"One needs the sweetness to start one on the spiritual life but, once started, one must learn to obey God for his own sake, not for the pleasure."  C. S. Lewis

     DISCIPLESHIP

The last command Jesus gave the church before he ascended to heaven was the Great Commission, the call for Christians to "make disciples of all the nations."  But Christians have responded by making "Christians," not "disciples."  This, according to scholar and renowned Christian thinker Dallas Willard, has been the church's Great Omission.

"The word 'disciple' occurs 269 times in the New Testament," writes Willard In THE GREAT OMISSION (HarperCollins).  "'Christian' is found three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples of Jesus...  The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ.  But the point is not merely verbal.  What is more important is that the kind of life we see in the earliest church is that of a special type of person.  All of the assurances and benefits offered to humankind in the gospel evidently presuppose such a life and do not make realistic sense apart from it.  The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian -- especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way.  He or she stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God."

Willard challenges the thought that we can be Christians without being disciples, or call ourselves Christians without applying this understanding of life in the Kingdom of God to every aspect of life on earth.  He calls on believers to restore what should be the heart of Christianity -- being active disciples of Jesus Christ.  Willard shows that in the school of life, we are apprentices of the Teacher whose brilliance encourages us to rise above traditional church understanding and embrace the true meaning of discipleship -- an active, concrete, 24/7 life with Jesus.

     SCIENTISTS TELEPORT TWO DIFFERENT OBJECTS

Just as it must have been impossible for people to think the human voice could be transmitted over wire in the 1800s, then ultimately wireless 100 years later, so too the following story seems impossible.  Yet...

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Beaming people in Star Trek fashion is still in the realms of science fiction but physicists in Denmark have teleported information from light to matter bringing quantum communication and computing closer to reality.  Until now scientists have teleported similar objects such as light or single atoms over short distances from one spot to another in a split second.  But Professor Eugene Polzik and his team at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University in Denmark have made a breakthrough by using both light and matter.

The experiment involved for the first time a macroscopic atomic object containing thousands of billions of atoms. They also teleported the information a distance of half a meter but believe it can be extended further....  Read this in full at

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/10/04/teleportation.reut/index.html

     STAR-STUDDED AUDIO BIBLE HITS MAJOR RETAILERS

Hollywood actors and music artists were offered roles that they confessed they could not pass up and an opportunity that Hollywood could not provide.  Now, after countless hours of recording, the star-studded line-up will see The Bible Experience -- an unprecedented project of bringing the Bible to life -- reach the masses.

Slated for major retailers this month, The Bible Experience is a fully dramatized audio recording of Scripture and is reported as the most ambitious undertaking in recent recording history.

"We do have other dramatized audio versions of the Bible that have been popular, but this is a totally new caliber with all the people involved," said Zondervan spokesperson Leslie Speyers.

Inspired By Media Group and major Christian publisher Zondervan partnered in the production of the landmark project involving a cast of big name Hollywood stars, artists and a group of pastors.  The voices of more than 200 people including Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood, Kirk Franklin, Angela Bassett, Donnie McClurkin, and Bishop T.D. Jakes are featured in the recording....  Read this in full at

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060925/24764.htm

Also see The Bible Experience website

http://www.inspiredby.com/

     BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

http://www.mlb.com

     WORLD SERIES

Begins Oct. 21

http://www.worldseries.com

     GRASS ROOTS EVANGELICAL OUTREACH FOR HALLOWEEN

The American Tract Society is calling on individual Christians from every denomination to "Light Up the Night" this fall.  "Light Up the Night" is a totally new campaign to get gospel presentations and evangelical messages into the hands and pockets of children and adults all over the country this October.  ATS is offering an industry first -- Glow-in-the-Dark tracts for children during the darkest holiday of the year, Halloween.  "It's not just for Halloween," states David LeFlore, ATS Vice President of Evangelism/Outreach.  "This year we're encouraging people in every denomination to shine the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, to tens of thousands of children through gospel tracts.  This can be done at church harvest festivals, Christian bookstores, and individual homes that will help "Light Up the Night" this Halloween."  ATS is offering free downloadable resources and ideas on its featured website....

http://www.light-up-the-night.org

     HONESTY IN PRAYER

by A. W. Tozer

The saintly David M'Intyre, in his radiant little book, The Hidden Life of Prayer, deals frankly, if briefly, with a vital element of true prayer which in our artificial age is likely to be overlooked.  We mean just plain honesty.  "Honest dealing becomes us," says M'Intyre, "when we kneel in His pure presence."

"In our address to God," he continues, "we like to speak of Him as we think we ought to speak, and there are times when our words far outrun our feelings.  But it is best that we should be perfectly frank before Him.  He will allow us to say anything we will, so long as it is to Himself.  'I will say unto God, my rock,' exclaims the psalmist, 'why hast thou forgotten me?'  If he had said, 'Lord, thou canst not forget.  Thou hast graven my name on the palms of thy hands,' he would have spoken more worthily, but less truly"....  Read this in full at

http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/2/2.32.13.html?aCode=NL100906

     IF I KNEW

If I knew it would be the last time

That I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly

and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time

that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss

and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time

I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word,

so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,

I could spare an extra minute

to stop and say "I love you,"

instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time

I would be there to share your day,

Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,

so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow

to make up for an oversight,

and we always get a second chance

to make everything just right.

There will always be another day

to say "I love ! you,"

And certainly there's another chance

to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,

and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you

and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance

you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,

why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes,

you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time

for a smile, a hug, or a kiss

and you were too busy to grant someone,

what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,

and whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them

and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"

"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."

And if tomorrow never comes,

you'll have no regrets about today.

     MEN COMPULSIVELY SHOP, TOO

Contrary to popular opinion, nearly as many men as women experience compulsive buying disorder, a condition marked by binge buying and subsequent financial hardship, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine....

http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/2006/september/shopping.html

     CONSIDER

"The New Testament does not say, 'You shall know the rules, and by them you shall be bound,' but, 'You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"  John Baillie

     VERSE TO PONDER

"My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing."  James 1:2-4

     THIS WEEK'S HYMN: OVER YONDER

Words & Music by Hen­ry de Fluit­er, 1918 (1872-1970)

Come let us sing of homeland,
Down by the crystal sea;
Wonderful land where Jesus
Buildeth a mansion for me.

Refrain

Over yonder, down by the crystal sea,
Over yonder, there’s where I long to be,
No more sorrow, toil, grief nor care
In the homeland bright and fair,
Over, over there.

There is a wondrous city,
Streets of transparent gold;
Not half its glorious beauty
Has e’er to mortals been told.

Refrain

Water of life there floweth,
Fruit in abundant store;
Citizens of that country
Hunger and thirst nevermore.

Refrain

Come go with me to homeland,
Jesus invites you there;
Help spread the invitation,
Tell it to men ev’rywhere.

Refrain

>from CyberHymnal at

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/v/overyond.htm

     GOD FAQ

Question 93: What is the moral law?

Answer: The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding everyone to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and body, and in performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he owes to God and man: promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it.

http://www.shortercatechism.com/

     SPIRITUAL WINGS

Receive daily meditational ponderments capsulized as simple one-liners in your e-mailbox as yet another path to spark the soul in thought. Includes a daily spiritual acronym; a weekly spiritual affirmation, a weekly spiritually oriented artwork, a weekly spiritual sharing, a weekly spiritual prayer, a weekly spiritual poem, a weekly spiritually oriented joke, and a weekly spiritually oriented cartoon. Ecumenical, nondenominational.

-"May the road always lead, where you need to be."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpiritualWings/

     ON PRAYER

"I take some comfort in the fact that virtually all the masters of spirituality recount a dark night of the soul.  Sometimes it passes quickly and sometimes it persists for months, even years.  I have yet to find a single witness, though, who does not tell of going through a dry period.  If I suffer a time of spiritual aridity, of darkness and blankness, should I stop praying until new life enters my prayer?  Every one of the spiritual masters insists, No.  If I stop praying, how will I know when prayer does become alive again?  And, as many Christians have discovered, the habit of not praying is far more difficult to break than the habit of praying."  Philip Yancey in Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

     PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY
http://christiansincrisis.net/

     PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY
http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html

     PRAYER CENTRAL

Submit your prayer request to our team of intercessors:

http://prayerbook.homewithgod.com/cgi-bin/prayerbook/guest.pl?138161154600845:5:0

     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
Business Growth

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).

[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.

My friend Mathias “Spider” Schergen’s art will be showing on display at several venues during the month October.  Hope to see you there.

HOTHOUSE
31 EAST BALBO
OCTOBER 14TH – OCTOBER 28TH
RECEPTION:  SATURDAY, OCT 14TH, 3:00 – 5:00
Parking available across the street at a discounted
weekend rate.  All ages welcome.  Elevator accessible.
Visit  www.hothouse.net
click on calendar, then October 14th for more info

SOUTH SHORE CULTURAL CENTER
7059 South Shore Drive
Sept. 8 – October 30th
Opening reception:  Wednesday, October 4th   6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

CASA MICHOACAN
1638 South Blue Island
October 6th – October 30th
Opening Reception:  Friday, October 6th,  6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

CAFÉ MESTIZO / CULTURAL URBAN COFFEE HOUSE
1646 West 18th Street
October 3rd – October 30th
Reception:  Friday, October 20th,  6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
(Live Latin music by Gonzalo Cordova from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm)

Stop in & let Matt know that you read about it in the CONNECTIONS newsletter!

     SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES

Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

Urbana 2006 (Dec. 27-31)

http://www.urbana.org/_u2006.cfm

Free online Bible study tools

http://www.bible.org/

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.)

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, when at the cross the Savior made me whole.

Min. Frank Coleman, Editor

[email protected]

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