Connecting man to man to God!

Week of November 5, 2006

"The word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12

     CONSIDER

"The gospel message says: "You don't live in a mechanistic world ruled by necessity; you don't live in a random world ruled by chance; you live in a world ruled by the God of Exodus and Easter.  He will do things in you that neither you nor your friends would have supposed possible."

Eugene H. Peterson, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work

     NOVEMBER: GLOBAL PRAYERS FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

More than 200 million Christians around the world are persecuted today merely for confessing their love for Christ, according to World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). "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," says Johan Candelin, International Director for the WEA Religious Liberty Commission....  Read this in full at

http://tinyurl.com/ylsgzs

World Evangelical Alliance

http://www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/news/view.htm?id=740

IDOP mobile page

http://www.idop.org/mb/

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 Canada

http://www.persecution.net/idop.htm

IDOP.org

http://www.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 UK

http://www.opendoorsuk.org/

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: persecution

http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/pch/idop.asp

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

http://www.cswusa.com/IDOP.htm

     A TIME FOR CANDOR

by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

"Pornography, once peddled only in darkened back alleys, is now a great American success story.  In the span of a few short years, the scourge of pornography has been transformed from a vice to a commodity -- one more line of merchandise on the shelf, and on the screen.  America has become a pornographic society, where shocked expressions long ago gave way to sighs of resignation.  Pornographic images fill the movie screens, the magazine racks, the bookstore shelves, and the computer screens of the nation....

"Christians must respond to this rising tide of pornography with a clear word of moral witness and stern calls for effective legislation which would restrict or eliminate these abuses of computer networks.  We must also press for aggressive prosecutions of persons involved in child pornography of any form.  These are only starting points in this struggle, but we must waste no time in demanding appropriate action.  As G.K. Chesterton commented, pornography is "not a thing to be argued about with one's intellect, but to be stamped on with one's heel."  It is not an abstract issue, but a concrete threat"....  Read this in full at

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061101/25719.htm

     HEAD OF NAE RESIGNS

The president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Nov. 2 after being accused of paying for sex with a man.  The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."  Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV.  In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity.  I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date.  In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061103/ap_on_re_us/haggard_sex_allegations

New Life Church

http://www.newlifechurch.org/

New Life Church Press Release (pdf)

http://www.newlifechurch.org/nlcpressrelease110206.pdf

National Association of Evangelicals

http://www.nae.net/

     PASSAGE - A NEW MAGAZINE FOR GUYS

It's purpose: "Laying the foundation for godly manhood."  Aimed at guys ages 15-18, PASSAGE: by New Man gives guys a roadmap to biblical manhood with articles that are Christ-centered, culturally connected, practical ... but not predictable.  Like its big brother New Man, PASSAGE: by New Man will equip these emerging "Men on a Mission" to take risks, find adventure, and pursue truth.  These guys are on-fire for God.  They read their Bibles faithfully, they're regulars at their youth groups, they're bold and unashamed of Jesus Christ, they courageously share their faith and stand for truth.  They're also culturally connected.  Online gaming all night: Cool.  Hour after hour downloading MP3s: No problem.  Ultimately, though, they want to discover God's purpose for their lives and to live out their faith in the real world.  PASSAGE: by New Man is divided into 6 channels: GOD / GAMES & GADGETS / GIRLS / MANHOOD / MUSIC / SPORTS.

http://www.passagemagazine.com/index.php

     WAR, MALNUTRITION MAKE SUDAN THE WORLD'S "MOST DANGEROUS PLACE FOR CHILDREN"

(World Vision) About 1.8 million children have been affected by the conflict in Darfur, Sudan.  They are especially vulnerable to disease, malnutrition, and violence.  Pray for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict, and especially pray for the children who are the most vulnerable to the unrest and violence that continues to plague Darfur.

http://tinyurl.com/y6b53m

     EVANGELICALS FOR DARFUR

An unusually broad range of evangelicals have joined together in urging the U.S. government to vigorously push the Sudanese government to accept a large United Nations peacekeeping force to stop the genocide in Darfur.  Jim Wallis and Richard Land (head of the Southern Baptists' public policy work), Tony Campolo and Joel Hunter (president of The Christian Coalition), Ted Haggard (president of the NAE) and Dr. William Shaw (president of the National Baptist Convention, USA) are all signers.  Here's what the petition says:

"We come to you from across the evangelical spectrum.  We beseech you to act on your faith and do the right thing by leading the world to stop the genocide affecting "the least of these" in Darfur.  To date, more than 400,000 people have been killed. 2.5 million displaced.  Countless more have been raped, maimed, and tortured: Men, women, and children created in God's image, innocents all.  Ending the atrocities will require your personal leadership in supporting the deployment of a strong U.N. peacekeeping force and multilateral economic sanctions.  While we often disagree on matters of politics, we are united in the belief that your intervention can make the critical difference in Darfur.  We join together now to urge you, in the words of Proverbs 24:11-12, to "rescue those being led away to death."  We pledge to do everything we can to rally support in both Congress and the U.N. to support your leadership in ending the horror in Darfur."

http://go.sojo.net/campaign/evangelicalsfordarfur

     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)

Making Good Decisions Better

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Inability to make decisions is one of the principal reasons executives fail.  Deficiency in decision-making ranks much higher than lack of specific knowledge or technical know-how as an indicator of leadership failure.  Successful people make the right decisions early and manage them daily. In the following paragraphs I'll break down those components by exploring the criteria for making solid decisions and by reinforcing the need to properly manage them day by day.  As a leader, multiple decisions swirl around you and each clamors for time and attention.  The first step in successful decision-making is to prioritize the many decisions in front of you.  Give yourself time to brainstorm and make a list of each decision you presently face.  When you have identified an exhaustive list of decisions, take the following steps to separate the big decisions from the minor ones...  Read this in full at

http://www.maximumimpact.com/Newsletters/leadership/Content/

     VERSE TO PONDER

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."  2 Timothy 3:16-17

     CONSIDER

"I am growing accustomed to the grace of gradual illumination, so it is a delight and no real surprise when I see God's messages to me in the scattered rainbows on my wall at sunrise."

Luci Shaw, Weavings

     A NEW GENERATION OF ADULTS BENDS MORAL AND SEXUAL RULES TO ITS LIKING

The latest Barna Update examines the lifestyles and perspectives of adults who are in their 20s and 30s and provides challenging insights about the imprint Baby Busters are putting on morality.  Most Americans say they're concerned about the moral condition of the country and the vast majority of adults describe themselves as moral people.  But the nation's residents have difficulty agreeing on what a "moral" life should look like -- much less how to make ethical decisions or how to define moral standards.  The new study shows a significant divide between the nation's young adults and its older residents.  The project analyzes 16 different areas of moral and sexual behavior and finds that Busters' lifestyles take a less traditional-- some would say less moral -- path on 12 of those 16 areas.  The study also explores 16 different perspectives regarding morality and sexuality, finding that Busters' views are less conventional than that of their predecessors in 13 areas.  In none of the 32 facets of lifestyle or attitude are Busters more likely to possess a conventional moral position when compared with the older crowd of "pre-Busters."

Perhaps no moral dimension has changed as much as Americans' perspectives and behaviors related to sexuality.  Among the 32 factors examined in the research, eight of them related to such topics as extramarital sex, pornography, homosexuality, and sexual fantasies.  In all 8 of these areas, Busters are significantly different from older Americans....  Read this in full at

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=249

     WAYS FOR CHURCHES TO SAVE MONEY & BE GOOD STEWARDS

Churches hold a bounty of ministries each week inside their doors.  Powering these activities comes with costs to a church's budget and can negatively impact the environment and human health.  The National Council of Churches just released a report titled "Bottom Line Ministries that Matter: Congregational Stewardship with Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Technologies" that outlines how congregations can save money and reduce carbon emissions that lead to global warming.  The report promotes moral and financial stewardship while benefiting creation and delivering justice.  The report shows how churches successfully save on average $8,000-$17,000 each year using energy efficient technologies.  If each of the nation's congregations were to cut their utility costs by 25% through energy saving measures, we could save $500 million a year for other priorities and prevent more than 5 million tons of global warming causing carbon emissions.

http://www.nccecojustice.org/network/

     WHO'S WHO?

~   A programmer is someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don't understand.

~   An auditor is someone who arrives after the battle and bayonets all the wounded.

~   A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. (Mark Twain)

~   An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday did not happen today.

~   A statistician is someone who is good with numbers but lacks the personality to be an accountant.

~   A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that is not there.

~   A topologist is a man who does not know the difference between a coffee cup and a doughnut.

~   A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a "brief."

~   A psychologist is a man who watches everyone else when a beautiful girl enters the room.

~   A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep.

~   A consultant is someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells you the time.

~   A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to Antarctica in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.

http://www.mikeysFunnies.com

     CHURCH BELLS RING ON WALL STREET TO ANNOUNCE GOD, NOT MONEY

The landmark Trinity Church in New York City rang $1 million worth of new bells, pealing for 3-1/2 hours according to a mathematical formula dating to the 17th century.  "Iconic sonic booms echoing through the corridors of commerce" is how Trinity's rector, the Rev. James Cooper, describes the "change-ringing" bells -- the only 12-bell set in the United States.  Starting at 1 p.m. Oct. 28, a "band" of British ringers pulled the sallies at the Episcopal church for a full peal of at least 5,000 "changes" -- each a mathematically calculated sound sequence for all dozen bells, instead of a particular melody.  The rich cascade of sound was to be heard again Sunday morning.  The bells swing 360 degrees from their frames as they're rung using 30-foot ropes, producing the shimmering sounds whose patterns change hour after hour.  The more bells are involved, the longer they can be rung without repeating a pattern.  For instance, 6 bells have 720 permutations, while 12 can go through 479,001,600.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061029/ap_on_re_us/wall_street_bells

8-minute documentary video

http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/multimedia/webcast.php?id=190

Trinity Church website

http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/

North American Guild of Change Ringers

http://www.nagcr.org/pamphlet.html

     CONSIDER

"God's Word is designed to make us Christians, not scientists, and to lead us to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  It was not God's intention to reveal in Scripture what human beings could discover by their own investigations and experiments."

John R. W. Stott, Christian Basics

     VERSE TO PONDER

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Ephesians 5:19-20

     THIS WEEK'S HYMN:

Anonymous medieval Irish hymn

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save what Thou art:

Thou my best thought, by day or by night;

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise;

Thou mine inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven's joys, O bright Heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all!

     FUNERALS:  A CONSUMER GUIDE

Planning ahead for most things is difficult, let alone when the subject is your funeral.  But with the high cost and the wish to spare loved ones from difficult decisions, many people are thinking ahead and doing pre-need planning.  Get tips on how you can make a well-informed decision with Funerals: A Consumer Guide from the Federal Trade Commission.  Find out about choosing services, the costs involved, and questions you should ask.

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/funeral/funeral.htm

     GOD FAQ

Question 97: What special use is there of the moral law to the regenerate?

Answer: Although they that are regenerate, and believe in Christ, be delivered from the moral law as a covenant of works, so as thereby they are neither justified nor condemned; yet, besides the general uses thereof common to them with all men, it is of special use, to show them: How much they are bound to Christ for his fulfilling it, and enduring the curse thereof in their stead, and for their good; and thereby to provoke them to more thankfulness, and to express the same in their greater care to conform themselves thereunto as the rule of their obedience.

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 have discovered that the real purpose of prayer is to put God at the center of our attention, and forget ourselves and the impression we are making on others."  Rosalind Rinker

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

     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
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

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http://www.zondervan.com/mobile

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(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 1st step to wisdom is silence, and the 2nd step is listening.

Min. Frank Coleman, Editor

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