Connecting man to man to God!

Week of November 19, 2006

"Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words.  Learn how to apply them.  You'll need them throughout your life.  God's Word is an indispensable weapon.  In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.  Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."  Ephesians 6:14-18 (Msg)

     CONSIDER

"Kind words are the music of the world.  They have a power which seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some angel's song which had lost its way and come to earth."  Frederick William Faber

     THE CHURCH'S GREAT MALFUNCTIONS

by Miroslav Volf

"He was a 'good Christian man,' he even taught Sunday school, and yet he ended up presiding over one of the worst business frauds in history, involving thousands of people and billions of dollars. I could be referring to any number of executives in the business-page headlines of the past several years, from Enron to WorldCom and beyond. Why didn't their faith prevent their crimes? I suspect at least 3 factors were at work in their faith's spectacular failure: the lure of temptation, the power of systems, and a misconstrued faith"....  Read this in full at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/52.108.html

     COMING CLEAN

"If we would put some slight stress on ourselves at the beginning, then afterwards we should be able to do all things with ease and joy.  It is a hard thing to break through a habit, and a yet harder thing to go contrary to our own will.  Yet, if thou overcome not slight and easy obstacles, how wilt thou overcome greater ones?  Withstand thy will at the beginning, and unlearn an evil habit, lest it lead thee little by little into worse difficulties.  Oh, if thou knewest what peace to thyself thy holy life should bring, ... and what joy to others, methinketh thou wouldst be more zealous for spiritual profit."  Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ, I.xi. [1418]

     THE SELF-SINS

"The self-sins... dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them.  The grosser manifestations of these sins -- egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion -- are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy.  They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel.  I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church visible.  Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice."  A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), Pursuit of God [1948]

     THE DA VINCI CODE MOVIE IS NOW ON DVD

The movie is based on the novel written with the controversial premise that a conspiracy exists to cover up the true story of Jesus.  According to Lee Strobel, a basic knowledge of church history shows that the book's claims are false:

*          There is no evidence -- inside or outside the New Testament -- that Jesus was married.

*          The 27 books of the New Testament were affirmed as Scripture based primarily on their ties to an apostle, as well as their impact on the church and their internal qualities.

*          The 4 Gospels were written within 50 years of Christ's resurrection and accepted by the church as divinely inspired.

*          The texts that The Da Vinci Code promotes are not Christian documents and were rejected by early Christians as heretical.

*          The book/movie asserts that Christ's deity was not embraced by the church until A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicea.  But the New Testament -- all of which was written more than 200 years before Nicea -- claims Jesus was God.

*          The early church fathers, including Ignatius in 105 and Clement in 150, said Jesus was God.

*          The Priory of Sion, a "European secret society" which the book claims included such notables as Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci, was founded in 1956, not 1099 as the book says.  The documents that serve as the basis of the story -- the Les Dossiers Secrets -- are known forgeries....

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23157

Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310273721

HowStuffWorks: "How 'The Da Vinci Code' misuses science, technology, art, and history"

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/davinci-code.htm

Dallas Theological Seminary: "Da Vinci Dialogue"

http://www.dts.edu/media/dialogue/

Westminster Theological Seminary: "The Truth About The Da Vinci Code"

http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/

Christian History & Biography coverage of The Da Vinci Code

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/davincicode.html

     THE CANDY GAME

Match the description with a candy bar name.  Scroll down for the answers:

1.        Another planet in our solar system:

2.        A famous street in New York City:

3.        A part of the galaxy:

4.        A series of small hills:

5.        A nutty happiness:

6.        Worker bees make this:

7.        A town in Pennsylvania:

8.        A famous English author:

9.        A "Peanuts" character:

10.    Sly laughter:

11.    Twin letters:

12.    An infant of a famous baseball player:

13.    Absolutely nothing:

14.    An endurance race:

15.    Greasy digits:

16.    A day employees are glad to see:

17.    A famous trio:

18.    A large orchestra:

19.    Happy laughter:

20.    A little overweight:

21.    A thing-a-ma-jig:

22.    Noise at a car wreck:

23.    What a married couple does:

24.    What good friends give:

25.    Disintegrating celestial body:

26.    Fox baby and common feline:

27.    Redeemers:

     FIVE THINGS EVERY SON NEEDS FROM HIS DAD

by Ken R. Canfield , Ph.D.

"We used to be boys, so we have a natural companionship with our sons; our natural interests tend to merge more easily with them than our daughters.  Unfortunately, although it's easier for us to be with our sons, it's still too often a distant relationship.  We need to be intentional about building a close connection with our sons and giving them a healthy model of what it means to be a boy, a man, and a father.  Even more importantly, we need to be intentional about raising young men of faith.  Based on research I've done with about 2,000 fathers, I have identified 5 key things that sons need from their dads:

A Plan

"Sons need dads who are thinking about their futures and taking action to prepare them - whether we're talking about tomorrow, next week, next year, or ten years from now.  Financial planning makes a good comparison because our regular, consistent investments will pay rich dividends for our sons' futures"....  Read this in full at

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/1341640.html

     A MOMENT IN TIME

"As moments go, [the moment of the incarnation] appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you read these words ... But in reality, that particular moment was like none other.  For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man.  While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived.  Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb."  Max Lucado, God Came Near (Multnomah, 1987)

     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)

Fast Company's "Business at Its Best" profiles the groundbreakers and mavericks demonstrating the power and promise of business.  Using the smartest tools, management techniques, and innovations, these are true standouts in their industries and provide inspiring examples for excelling in business....

http://www.fastcompany.com/partners/microsoft/

     VERSE TO PONDER

"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."  Isaiah 1:16-17

     CONSIDER

"Prophets are, by their nature, inconvenient party-poopers.  It is a mistaken notion that prophets can see the future.  Rather, they tell us what is true right now."  Thomas Cahill

     TV REPORT: MEN IN CHURCH

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly explores the reasons for the decline in the number of men regularly attending church services and what some Christian congregations are doing to address this issue.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics

     TODAY SHOW COVERS RELIGION

NBC's The Today Show produced a 4-part series titled "The Mystery of Faith."  Promos for it asked the question: "What saves, destroys, inspires, unites, and divides?"  The answer given was religion.  See the coverage at

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15624647/

     COMMON MARRIAGE TIME BANDITS

by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott

There are literally dozens of time bandits walking off with time you could have spent on each other, but the following 4 are the most common and the most sneaky.

Bandit One: Unfinished Business

Far and away, one of the greatest time bandits prowling around your relationship is the past. Your present is inextricably linked to your past. I (Les) wrote an entire book about it called Shoulda Coulda Woulda, so I can assure you that I've given this topic some serious study. Your past can be very crafty when it comes to robbing you of your present. Make no mistake, when you are weighed down by regret, pain, or guilt over things that happened two decades ago or two hours ago, you will no longer be able to live fully in the present. As long as you are gazing over your shoulder, you will feel unfinished....  Read this in full at

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Book/Articles/Common+Marriage+Time+Bandits.htm

     SURVIVING DESPERATION

We have a lot to learn from a 78-year-old woman who spent 8 days floating on her mattress.

by Jenny Schroedel

"About a year ago, on NPR's "This American Life," I heard the story Louann Mims, a 78-year-old Hurricane Katrina survivor who floated through her flooded home for 8 days on an extra firm Sterns and Foster mattress.  Before the levees broke, she went out on her patio to have some cereal and a banana.  After two bites, she saw water seeping toward her patio.  She rushed into her home and discovered that murky water was also surging through the front door.

"She was trapped.  She soon realized that her mattress was the only thing that would float.  She grabbed her ladder and climbed up onto the mattress, paddled into her kitchen and got herself some juice, cheese and raisins.  She had a just little bit of each every morning, and in the afternoon, when she felt hunger pains, she tried to ignore them.  It wasn't much food, but it was enough"....  Read this in full at

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001392.cfm

     HOLIDAY SAFETY TIPS

Is Meat Supposed to be This Color?

Close your eyes and think back to the smell of wonderful holiday foods like roast turkey, mashed potatoes, fried latkas, and sufganiyot.  As the holidays approach we like to celebrate by entertaining friends and family, throwing parties, and preparing feasts.  Unfortunately, thanks to e-coli, poor sanitation, and a host of other bacteria, the holiday foods that we love send thousands of people to the hospital each year.  Fortunately, there's a lot of information available to help you keep your food microbe free and have a wonderful holiday meal.  Be sure to keep food safe by following basic food safety tips....

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cfocus/cfholidays05/focus.htm

     GUYS: PREDICTING HOW LONG YOU'LL LIVE

"Good genes may increase your odds of a long life.  But if you really want to live to 90, you should cut down on the cheesy nachos and beer, turn off the remote and get out and exercise more often.  That's the clear implication of a study that followed 5,820 Japanese-American men for nearly 40 years to determine how well lifestyle factors in middle age can predict healthy aging.  It found that middle-aged men who avoided risk factors such as obesity, heavy drinking and high blood sugar or hypertension were more than 5 times more likely to be alive and healthy at age 85 than those who didn't"....  Read this in full at

http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/14/health-living-aging-biz-cz_rl_1114aging.html

     FAITH

"Faith is not the opposite of reason.  Faith rests squarely upon reason but with the added component of revelation."  Famed geneticist Francis Collins, quoted in TIME magazine (Nov. 13, 2006)

     SHOOT-FIRST APOLOGETICS

What a dead bluebird taught Walter Martin about defending the faith.

by Richard J. Mouw

"I was chided recently by someone who was upset with me because of my extensive dialogues with Mormon scholars.  "How can you engage in friendly conversations with people who believe such terrible things?" he asked me.  I tried to explain that if we are going to criticize Mormonism, it should be on matters that they actually believe, not on what we think they believe.  I said the best way to know Mormon beliefs is to actually engage in dialogue with Mormons.  "You don't need to have dialogue with Mormons to know what Mormonism is all about," the person retorted.  "All you have to do is read Walter Martin!  He had those folks figured out!"....  Read this in full at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/november/27.98.html

     THE CANDY GAME ANSWERS

1.        Another planet in our solar system:  Mars

2.        A famous street in New York City:  5th Avenue

3.        A part of the galaxy:  Milky Way

4.        A series of small hills:  Mounds

5.        A nutty happiness:  Almond Joy

6.        Worker bees make this:  Bit-O-Honey

7.        A town in Pennsylvania:  Hershey

8.        A famous English author:  O Henry

9.        A "Peanuts" character:  Peppermint Patty

10.    Sly laughter:  Snickers

11.    Twin letters:  M & M's

12.    An infant of a famous baseball player:  Baby Ruth

13.    Absolutely nothing:  Zero

14.    An endurance race:  Marathon

15.    Greasy digits:  Butterfinger

16.    A day employees are glad to see:  Payday

17.    A famous trio:  3 Musketeers

18.    A large orchestra:  Symphony

19.    Happy laughter:  Chuckles

20.    A little overweight:  Chunkie

21.    A thing-a-ma-jig:  Watchamacallit

22.    Noise at a car wreck:  Crunch

23.    What a married couple does:  Kisses

24.    What good friends give:  Hugs

25.    Disintegrating celestial body:  Starburst

26.    Fox baby and common feline:  Kit Kat

27.    Redeemers: Lifesavers

     CONSIDER

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love."  Coretta Scott King

     VERSE TO PONDER

"We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.  See that none repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

     THIS WEEK'S HYMN: GIVE THANKS TO GOD, FOR GOOD IS HE

Words: Paraphrase of Psalm 136; author unknown

Music: Arthur S. Sullivan, 1875

Give thanks to God, for good is He, His grace abideth ever;

To Him all praise and glory be, His mercy faileth never.

His wondrous works with praise record, His grace abideth ever;

The only God, the sovereign Lord, Whose mercy faileth never.

His wisdom made the heavens be, His grace abideth ever;

He spread the earth above the sea, His mercy faileth never.

Praise Him Whose sun doth bring the day, His grace abideth ever;

The moon and stars His might display, Whose mercy faileth never.

He helped us in our deepest woe, His grace abideth ever;

He ransomed us from all our foes, His mercy faileth never.

Each creature's need He doth supply, His grace abideth ever;

Give thanks to God, enthroned on high, Whose mercy faileth never.

>from CyberHymnal at

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/t/t/gt2g4gih.htm

     GOD FAQ

Question 99: What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the ten commandments?

Answer: For the right understanding of the ten commandments, these rules are to be observed: That the law is perfect, and binds everyone to full conformity in the whole man unto the righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience forever; so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin.  That it is spiritual, and so reaches the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul; as well as words, works, and gestures.  That one and the same thing, in divers respects, is required or forbidden in several commandments.  That as, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden; and, where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded: so, where a promise is annexed, the contrary threatening is included; and, where a threatening is annexed, the contrary promise is included.  That: What God forbids, is at no time to be done;: What he commands, is always our duty; and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all times.  That under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded; together with all the causes, means, occasions, and appearances thereof, and provocations thereunto.  That: What is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, according to our places, to endeavor that it may be avoided or performed by others, according to the duty of their places.  That in: What is commanded to others, we are bound, according to our places and callings, to be helpful to them; and to take heed of partaking with others in: What is forbidden them.

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

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.  Expect unexpected things 'above all that we ask or think.'"  Andrew Murray

     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

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.

A Well-Trained Dog (type in a command, such as sit, roll over, down, stand, sing, dance, shake, fetch, play dead, etc.  Type an unusual command.  Lastly type "kiss.")

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

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.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Min. Frank Coleman, Editor

[email protected]

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