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Connections Connecting man to
man to God! Week of Issue 132 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. "May God
himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and
whole, put you together -- spirit, soul, and body -- and keep you fit for the
coming of our Master, Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians CONSIDER "People
do not drift toward holiness. Apart
from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer,
obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it
tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward
superstition and call it faith. We
cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we
slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have
escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have
been liberated." D. A. Carson,
For the Love of God ARE YOU READING THE BIBLE? National
Bible Week was Nov. 19-26, but its message needs to be taken to heart every
day of the year. The Bible Literacy
Project and the National Bible Association supported the national program
with a public service billboard campaign involving 5,000 billboards that say
"an educated person knows the Bible." "We have a tremendous disconnect in
public school education," said Chuck Stetson, chairman of the Bible
Literacy Project. "On the one
hand, national surveys show that virtually all educators recognize that
knowing the Bible is key to understanding English
literature as well as art, music, history and culture. However only 8% of public schools teach
about the Bible." Although
Scripture or Christian teachings is increasingly being ruled out in public
schools, the Bible Literacy Project published national reports that revealed
98% of high school English teachers and 100% of university professors agreed
that students need to know the Bible in order to be well educated. Professors surveyed were from such
prominent universities as Yale, Harvard, Nearly all
high school English teachers said Bible knowledge gives a distinct academic
advantage to students in studying English and 90% said it was critical for a
good education but that today's students are "clueless, stumped, and
confused." Another Bible
Literacy Project report included a Gallup Poll of teens, showing that
students do not know enough about the Bible to properly understand British
and American literature or the Bible's impact on culture. "Our
goal is that everyone should read the Bible," said Peter Giersch, president of the National Bible Association. Also see AUDIO 'BIBLE EXPERIENCE' A BIG HIT It's an epic
telling of the life of Jesus -- an ambitious production featuring an all-star
cast. But it's not a movie or
miniseries. It's a new audio
Bible. "Inspired By ... The Bible
Experience: New Testament" features a large cast including some of http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/ap_on_re_us/talking_bible_4 Also see http://www.zondervan.com/TheBibleExperience DEC. 1: THE NATIVITY STORY The Nativity
Story is a major motion picture that chronicles the saga of Mary and Joseph
up to the time of Christ's birth and their flight into http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/special/nativitystory.html Also see http://www.thenativitystory.com/ BUTTERBALL THANKSGIVING/CHRISTMAS http://www.butterball.com/en/index.jsp SCIENCE GIVES CHRISTIANS UPPER HAND OVER
ATHEISTS Today's
Christian no longer has to try to maintain only by faith their belief in the
origin of the universe. The atheist
now does. Former atheist and
award-winning Christian author Lee Strobel premiered his one-hour documentary
The Case for a Creator to hundreds of Christians at an apologetics conference
recently. "We're actually living
now at a time of tremendous intellectual renaissance of Christianity,"
said philosopher and author Dr. William Lane Craig. Craig's comment came
after fellow philosopher J.P. Moreland told conference participants that the
church has become anti-intellectual.
"We've got to start using cognitive language and not just faith
language," Moreland exhorted....
Read this in full at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061118/23538.htm Also see PRACTICAL ATHEISM "The old
pagans had to choose between a brilliant, jangling, irresponsible universe,
alive with lawless powers, and the serene and ordered universe of God and
law. We modern pagans have to choose
between that divine order, and the gray, dead, irresponsible, chaotic
universe of atheism. And the tragedy
is that we may make that choice without knowing it -- not by clear conviction
but by vague drifting, by losing interest in Him. A nominal deist will say: "Yes, of
course there must be some sort of Force that created the galaxy. But it's childish to imagine that It has any
personal relation to me!" In that
belief atheism exists as an undiagnosed disease. The man who says, "One God," and
does not care, is an atheist in his heart.
The man who speaks of God and will not recognize him in the burning
bush -- that man is an atheist, though he speak with
the tongues of men or angels, and appear in his pew every Sunday, and make
large contributions to the church."
Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the
Mountain [1955] EVANGELICAL APOLOGIST: CHURCH
ANTI-INTELLECTUAL, MUST CHANGE Philosopher,
writer, and Christian apologist J.P. Moreland mixed contemporary culture with
Christian history and jokes that drew laughter with a serious challenge for
Christians to become more intellectual recently at a megachurch-hosted
apologetics conference. Moreland spoke
to a crowd of about 1,400 evangelical Christians at the Washington, D.C.-area
McLean Bible Church during the three-day apologetics conference titled
"Loving God with All Your Mind" -- which was the title of
Moreland's lecture. The apologist
used examples of political experts, talk show hosts, and the media response
to recent school violence to demonstrate secular society's image of religion,
in particular, Christianity. Moreland
said society treated religion as a "privatize, sociological phenomenon
that is barely a cultural way of life." He added that according to the
secular world, the purpose of religion is to be meaningful, not true.... Read this in full at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061119/23549.htm LOVING YOUR CHILDREN "Do you
think you love your children better than He who made them? Is not your love
what it is because He put it into your heart first? Have you not often been cross with
them? Sometimes unjust to them? Whence came the
returning love that rose from unknown depths in your being, and swept away
the anger and the injustice? You did not create that love. Probably you were not good enough to send
for it by prayer. But it came. God sent it. He makes you love your children." George MacDonald (1824-1905), Annals of a
Quiet Neighborhood [1866] MAKING PEACE "People
notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make
war dress -- in uniforms and medals, or in computers and clipboards, or in
absoluteness, severity, greed, and cynicism.
But the peacemaker is dressed in righteousness, justice, and
faithfulness -- dressed for the work that is to be done." Walter Brueggemann WORLD RELIEF'S NEW STORY BLOG To read
heartening stories from around the globe, check out World Relief's new story
blog. The blog helps readers explore
the personal side of what World Relief does.
Written by volunteers and staff around the world, the entries capture
the life-changing work of Christians like Sybil Baloyi,
founder of WR's Child Development program in http://worldreliefstory.blogspot.com/ LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE) A Cherokee
elder sitting with his grandchildren told them, "In every life there is
a terrible fight -- a fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion." A child asked, "Grandfather, which
wolf will win?" The elder looked
him in the eye. "The one you
feed." VERSE TO PONDER "As
God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another,
forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves
with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14 CONSIDER "Silence
is one of the deepest disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the
stopper on all self-justification. One
of the fruits of silence is the freedom to let God be our justifier. We don't need to straighten others
out." Richard J. Foster, Seeking
the Kingdom HOMELAND SECURITY As Christians
we carry one passport that says Earth and another that says heaven. How should we live now in a world that will
die, yet will be raised to exist again forever? Some
Christians believe that with prayer and hard work -- including political mobilization
-- we can reclaim our country's Christian distinctives,
make abortion illegal again, and limit legalized marriage to a man and woman. Other
Christians question not only whether this is possible, but also whether it's
desirable. Why devote so much time,
money and energy to improving a world that's going to hell in a hand
basket? When you know the ship's
sinking you don't keep trying to fix it, you herd people into the lifeboats! So, they argue, let's just preach the
gospel and pray, and stay away from social reform. The first
viewpoint says we should do everything possible, including politically, to
Christianize this nation. The other
says that Jesus calls us to be apolitical, and bring change by being
committed disciples in our neighborhoods, communities and workplaces. We don't need, they say, to make our
beliefs a mandate that we foist on a world that already thinks of Christians
as intolerant.... Read this in full at http://www.newmanmagazine.com/faith/content/faith1.html HOW TO LOVE GOD MORE DEEPLY by Patrick
Morley The key to
staying on track is a life of devotion and study of God. A life of devotion means to love Him more
and more, and a life of study means to know Him more and more. To love and know God. These, then, should become my chief
pursuits, and everything else should proceed out of the overflow of what God
is doing in my life. I realized that
my relationship with Him must always be a higher priority than the work I do
for Him. This
"organizing principle" -- however one might word it -- has
application for us all. In other
words, we each should be committed to our relationship with Christ as our
first priority. We each should be
committed to a life of devotion and study of God. Then, after we are filled up to the
overflow with enough Jesus for ourselves and some left over to give away, we
go do whatever it is we are called to do -- practice law, fix plumbing, sell,
manage, mow lawns, drive a truck, perform accounting or whatever. In other
words, in God's economy paying attention to our relationship with Him
necessarily takes priority over the work He has called us to do. Beginning a work day without some time for
reflection and planning leads to a day of wasted motion and fatigue. In the same
way, if we do not spend time praying through our concerns and listening for
the voice of God in Scripture, throughout that day we will not enjoy the
guidance that comes from standing regularly in the presence of our
Maker. We won't be salt and light if
through neglect we lose our flavor and let our batteries run down. So, how can a
man learn to love God more deeply?.... Read this in full at http://www.maninthemirror.org/alm/alm26.htm STUNNING HAND ARTWORK When Italian
artist Guido Daniele was hired by an advertising
agency to create body painting of animals, he loved the idea. "I researched each animal in depth to
see how I could transfer it to a hand, and then set about bringing it to
life." See this remarkable hand
artwork at http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=31152&trkid=rdinsider_dec_06 CREDIT MATTERS We get
bombarded with credit card applications all the time. And signing up is so easy. But do you ever stop to think whether you
really want the credit card (never mind the great freebie it comes
with)? And did you know that the more
credit cards you have, the harder it can be to get a loan for a car or a
house? Understanding the ins and outs
of credit, your credit history, and how to choose the best credit card for
your needs is easier with Credit Matters from the Federal Trade Commission,
American Express, and the http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/credit-report/rscredit.htm CONSIDER "So long
as the word remains in any way theoretical and is not incarnated by actions
and translated into deeds, then it is not faith. It might be theology, not very good
theology at that, but it is not faith.
Faith is a combination of conviction and deeds, and it cannot be one
without the other. Faith divorced from
deeds is as lifeless as a corpse."
Murphy VERSE TO PONDER "Be
doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not
doers, they are like those who look at themselves in the mirror; for they
look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they look
like. But those who look into the
perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget
but doers who act -- they will be blessed in their doing. James 1:22-25 THIS WEEK'S HYMN: ALL GLORY TO GOD Words:
Charles Wesley, 1745 Music:
Charles H. Gabriel (1856-1932) All glory to
God, and peace upon earth, Be published
abroad at Jesus' birth; The forfeited
favor of Heaven we find Restored in
the Savior and Friend of mankind. Then let us
behold Messias the Lord, By prophets
foretold, by angels adored; Our God's
incarnation with angels proclaim, And publish
salvation in Jesus' Name. Our newly
born King by faith we have seen And joyfully
sing His goodness to men, That all men
may wonder at what we impart, And
thankfully ponder His love in their heart. What moved
the Most High so greatly to stoop, He comes from
the sky our souls to lift up; That sinners
forgiven, might sinless return To God and to
Heaven; their Maker is born. Immanuel's
love let sinners confess, Who comes
from above, to bring us His peace; Let every
believer His mercy adore, And praise
Him forever, when time is no more. >from
CyberHymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/g/g/aggpuear.htm GOD FAQ Question 100:
What special things are we to consider in the ten commandments? Answer: We
are to consider, in the ten commandments, the preface, the substance of the
commandments themselves, and several reasons annexed to some of them, the
more to enforce 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 "You can
do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray
until you have prayed." S. D.
Gordon PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY 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. SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES Tell us what
sites you find enjoyable and why. Reality TV
World http://www.realitytvworld.com/ One-click
reference tool http://www.answers.com/main/product_info.jsp VeggieTales' fun & games http://www.bigidea.com/videos/veggietales/vt029/ 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 best
things in life aren't things. 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... · Download & Share Your Favorite Music · Visit my blog - comment & share your thoughts email: [email protected] phone:
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