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Connections Connecting man to
man to God! Week of Issue 128 CONNECTIONS
is the opt-in newsletter for the men & friends of Minister Frank
Coleman. It's a periodic service that
helps connect you with God and with other men. If you'd like its delivery to your email
address stopped, scroll down and follow the instructions at the end of this
message. Also let me know if you
change your email address and want to keep subscribing to CONNECTIONS. "The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Proverbs 9:10 CONSIDER "Beware
of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within
us." Charles Spurgeon HOW VOICES OF THE BIBLE MIGHT SOUND "In the
provocative new project, The Bible Experience, Jesus sounds like actor Blair
Underwood The Bible Experience is an audio recording of the entire Bible read
by more than 80 well-known musicians, performers, pastors, and actors like Denzel Washington.
It's a remarkable endeavor from the publishing house Zondervan and the
Inspired By Media Group that brought together a diverse group of performers
to give voice to biblical characters and stories in a thoroughly captivating
recording that returns the Bible to its spoken-word roots".... Read this article in full at http://www.suntimes.com/news/falsani/95303,CST-NWS-fals13.article See the
behind-the-scenes 'making-of' video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_OCovT8Y68 Detail Page HOW TO BE CONFIDENT IN A CRISIS by Rick
Warren "The
test of our faith is when the problems come and we are tempted to despair, to
drift, and to throw out the things that are really important in life.
Character is made in the day-by-day, mundane, trivial things of life-the
routine. Character is developed there,
but it is revealed when we get into a shipwreck".... Read this article in full at http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Book/Articles/How+to+Be+Confident+in+a+Crisis.htm ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY WEEK White ribbons
symbolize purity of thought. Morality
in Media is asking people to wear a White Ribbon Against Pornography for the
week of Oct. 29 - Nov. 5. Bob Peters,
president of Morality in Media, stresses that just because hard-core
pornography and obscenity is prevalent in society does not mean it's
legal. "If people don't make
complaints in the community about pornography," he says, "there's a
perception that people don't care and maybe that it's even acceptable in our
community." Surveys indicate that
the average age of exposure to pornography is now 9 years old. http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0042434.cfm Morality in
Media http://www.moralityinmedia.org/index.htm?wrap.htm The Porn
Problem & Solutions http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/helppornproblems.cfm WRAP website Faithful
& True Ministries http://www.faithfulandtrueministries.com/ Pure Life
Ministries http://www.purelifeministries.org/ xxxchurch.com National Porn
Sunday WORLD A: THE UNEVANGELIZED WORLD The Center
for the Study of Global Christianity measures the world according to its
response to Christ. "World
A" is the unevangelized world, or those
individuals who have not yet heard of Christ, Christianity or the
gospel. "World B" are those
who have heard the gospel, but have not yet responded. "World C" are those who are
professed members of a Christian church.
In the case of countries, peoples, cities, provinces, and other large
segments, World A is those that are less than half evangelized; World B, over
50% evangelized but less than 60% Christian, and World C, over 60% Christian
or over 95% evangelized. World A
Individuals (AD 2000) -- 1,629,000,000 World A
Countries -- 38 World A Megapeoples -- 168 Presently,
more than 70% of Christian effort and ministry is directed at people who
already profess to be Christians, while less than 5% of our total missionary
activity is focused on those who have never once had a chance to hear about
the good news of the gospel. This is
the scandal of World A. To learn more
about the shape and response to this scandal, visit "The Scandal of
World A" at http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/globalchristianity/worlda.php LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE) Welch's Rules
of Leadership In former GE
chairman Jack Welch's book, Winning, he talks about his 8 "rules"
for being a good leader. Here's the
list: 1. Leaders
relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to
evaluate, coach and build self-confidence. 2. Leaders
make sure people not only see the vision, they live and breathe it. 3. Leaders
get into everyone's skin, exuding positive energy and optimism. 4. Leaders
establish trust with candor, transparency and credit. 5. Leaders
have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls. 6. Leaders
probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their
questions are answered with action. 7. Leaders
inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example. 8. Leaders
celebrate VERSE TO PONDER "Carry
each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ." Galatians 6:2 CONSIDER God's child in Christ adopted-Christ my
all-- What that earth boasts were not lost
cheaply, rather Than forfeit that blest name, by which I
call The Holy One, the Almighty God, my
Father?-- Father! in Christ we live, and Christ in
Thee-- Eternal Thou and everlasting we. The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not
death: In Christ I live! in Christ I draw the
breath Of the true life!-let then earth, sea,
and sky Make war against me! On my front I show Their mighty Master's seal. In vain they try To end my life, that
can but end its woe. Is that a death-bed where a Christian
lies? Yes, but not his--'tis Death itself there
dies. ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) THOUGHTS ON COMMUNITY "We
cannot live for ourselves alone. Our
lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these
sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return as
results." Herman Melville "... Our
creation, our salvation, and our stewardship are intrinsically bound
together. Salvation is not just a
matter of saving man's soul; it's about man as a whole. When we acknowledge
the kingship of the Lord in redemption, it will of necessity affect all of
life - our relationships and our stewardship of time, talents, gifts,
opportunities, and money." Ken
Hemphill, Making Change "By
sacrificing his body, Jesus created a new form of community -- the Body of
Christ around the world. There are people like my friends, stories like our
stories, everywhere he is believed and obeyed. His sacrifice reconnects us to reality, to
truth, to who God is, to a clear vision of who we
are without him and who we are with him." Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Finding God Beyond
Harvard "All
mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter
is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every
chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon,
calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this
bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by
this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death
diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne PROJECT VOTE SMART http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm GUIDELINES FOR GOVERNMENT &
CITIZENSHIP From the
Center for Public Justice come brief papers that address the nature of
political community, the task of government, and the responsibility of
citizens. The Guidelines also
illustrate how the Center's philosophy expresses itself when applied to a
number of key policy areas. http://www.cpjustice.org/guidelines/ PRAYING FOR GOVERNMENT LEADERS Given that
Election Day is right around the corner (November 7), it's a great time to
remind our children of the importance of praying for our leaders! This excerpt is taken from Praying for
Government Leaders kids' prayer card: You can be a
world-changer with your prayers! God
tells us to pray for our government leaders so that our country will be
blessed (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Here are some powerful prayers from God's
Word to help you as you pray! HOME Father, build truth into the home of each
leader. Help them want to do what's
right. Give them wisdom and
understanding. Let each home be full
of peace and quiet (Psalm 127:1, 101:7; Proverbs SPIRITUAL
LIFE Father, draw our leaders to Your
Son so that they will receive Your free gift of salvation. I pray that they would run away from bad
things and that they would live in the right way, serve You, and have faith,
love, patience, and gentleness. Help them fight the good fight of faith (John
WISDOM God of wisdom, help our leaders fear You
so that they will be wise. Cause them
to seek wise... To read the
full text of the card, go to http://www.navpress.com/Store/Product/251.html?aCode=NL221006 GLOBAL PRAYERS FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
BEGIN NOVEMBER More than 200
million Christians around the world are persecuted today merely for
confessing their love for Christ, a World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) press
release reports. "Each year, the
International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) gives Christians
in free countries the opportunity to pray for and with those who suffer for
their faith," the statement explains. According to
Johan Candelin, International Director for the
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, participating in
IDOP is among the most effective ways for Christians to show their support
for their brothers and sisters....
Read this in full at International
Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church http://www.persecutedchurch.org/ Voice of the
Martyrs http://www.persecution.com/idop/ Voice of the
Martyrs http://www.persecution.net/idop.htm IDOP.org Prayer
Bulletins http://www.idop.org/services.html Persecution.org http://www.persecution.org/suffering/index.php Christianity
Today: persecution http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/idop/ Open Doors http://www.opendoorsusa.org/Display.asp?Page=home Open Doors World
Evangelical http://www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/news/view.htm?id=740 The
Evangelical Fellowship of http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/pch/idop.asp Christian
Solidarity Worldwide http://www.cswusa.com/IDOP.htm SURVEY: REASONS WHY PEOPLE LEAVE THE
CHURCH A new study
by LifeWay Research found reasons why some people
stop attending church. Labeled as the
"formerly churched," 59 percent of those who left the church did so
because of "changes in life situation." This was the dominant
reason found in the survey conducted to better understand why people leave
the church. More
specifically, LifeWay Research Director Brad
Waggoner pointed out two life-situation reasons why adults stop attending
church. According to the study, 19 percent of the formerly churched
"simply got too busy to attend church," and 17 percent said
"family/home responsibilities prevented church attendance." Other reasons
explained were moving too far from the church, work situation and divorce or
separation.... Read this in full at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061015/25250.htm CONSIDER "You
aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy." Garth Brooks VERSE TO PONDER "A man
finds joy in giving an apt reply -- and how good is a
timely word!" Proverbs
15:23 THIS WEEK'S HYMN: WHEN MY LOVE TO GOD
GROWS WEAK Words: John
R. Wreford, 1837 Music:
Charles J. Vincent, Jr., 1852-1934 When my love
to God grows weak, [or When my
love to Christ grows weak] When for
deeper faith I seek, Then in
thought I go to thee, There I walk
amid the shades While the
lingering twilight fades See that
suffering, friendless One, Weeping,
praying there alone. When my love
for man grows weak, When for
stronger faith I seek, Hill of
Calvary, I go To thy scenes
of fear and woe. There behold
His agony, Suffered on
the bitter tree; See His
anguish, see His faith, Love
triumphant still in death. Then to life
I turn again, Learning all
the worth of pain, Learning all
the might that lies In a full
self sacrifice. >from
CyberHymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/e/whenmylo.htm GOD FAQ Question 96:
What particular use is there of the moral law to unregenerate men? Answer: The
moral law is of use to unregenerate men, to awaken their consciences to flee
from wrath to come, and to drive them to Christ; or, upon their continuance
in the estate and way of sin, to leave them inexcusable, and under the curse
thereof. 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 "Prayer
is to the skeptic a delusion, a waste of time. To the believer it represents perhaps the
most important use of time." Philip
Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY 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 I
am agreeing in prayer with you for God’s blessings to overtake you! 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. My friend Mathias “Spider” Schergen’s art will be
showing on display at several venues during the month
October. Hope to see you there. 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. GoodSearch Yellowtail:
Create art with your mouse by clicking, holding, drawing, and letting go http://www.flong.com/yellowtail/ 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.) The journey
of a thousand miles includes a broken fan belt and a leaky tire. Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS
into your in-box! We offer 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. Quick Links... · Here's How to Download & Share Your Favorite Music email: [email protected] phone:
1-773-410-1483 To subscribe to CONNECTIONS, send a
message to [email protected] with "subscribe MSM" in the subject
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