Connecting man to man to God
For week of November 9, 2008
Issue 230


“The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Psalm 145:8


CONSIDER
“The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked the disciples to sit on the grass. He washed their feet, with a towel wrapped around His waist -- He, who is the Lord of the universe! He drank water from a jug of earthenware, with the Samaritan woman. Christ made use, not extravagance, His aim.” St. Clement of Alexandria (150?-220?)


JIM WALLIS ON HOLDING BARAK OBAMA ACCOUNTABLE
Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, plans to hold president-elect Barack Obama accountable for his commitment to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. Christianity Today spoke with Wallis to get his take on the evangelical vote, working with an Obama administration, and abortion.

"The important evangelical vote this time is the black church. Black churches are evangelical. They’re voting overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. The most important evangelical vote is the black evangelical vote, not the white evangelical vote. When we talk about the evangelical vote, you’ve gotta talk about evangelicals of color.

"There are a lot of evangelicals who are willing to engage with an Obama presidency on global poverty, the environment, Darfur, on trafficking, on war and peace in Iraq. The life issue has been defined very narrowly. I voted the way black evangelicals vote for a very long time. It’s wonderful to see black evangelicals leading the way this time. The abortion rate does not go down. I think we have a serious chance for an abortion reduction, and I think we have a serious chance with an Obama administration.

“Barack Obama will be held accountable on a serious commitment to abortion reduction. He called for that, his campaign platform said that, and he should be held accountable to that. He needs prayer and accountability, support and pushing, both at the same time.”
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2008/11/jim_wallis_on_h.html


PRAY FOR OUR PRESIDENT AND OUR NATION
by Chuck Colson
“The votes have been tallied. Now it’s time to pray for our new President and for our nation. And it’s time for the church to be the church”.... Read this in full at
http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7474


COVERAGE OF CAMPAIGN 2008
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/campaign2008.html

THE CHRISTIAN POST
http://www.christianpost.com/topics/Election


CALIF. PASSES PROP 8, A LANDMARK PRO-FAMILY WIN; ARIZ. & FLA. ALSO ADOPT MARRIAGE AMENDMENTS
In the recent elections, California voters overruled the state Supreme Court's ruling legalizing "gay marriage," and in the process handed the nationwide pro-family movement one of its most significant victories ever.

With 95% of results tabulated, Proposition 8 -- a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman -- led by 52-48% and a margin of 400,000 votes out of nearly 10 million cast.

The amendment reverses the high court's landmark May decision and serves as the biggest setback yet for homosexual activists in their goal of legalizing "gay marriage" nationwide.

It is the first time that voters in a state have overturned a court's decision on the issue. The amendment reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Read this in full at
http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29268


BILLY GRAHAM TURNS 90 AS NATION TRANSITIONS TO NEW LEADERSHIP
Evangelist Reflects on Past Year, Prays for New President
“I never expected to live this long, and it is hard to believe I have reached the age of 90,” says Mr. Graham. “Every day is a gift from God, no matter how old we are. I have discovered that just because we grow weaker physically as we age, it doesn’t mean that we must grow weaker spiritually. In fact, we ought to be growing stronger spiritually because our eyes ought to be on eternity and Heaven -- on the things that really matter.”

Mr. Graham hopes to finish a new book based on his personal experience with growing older. He wants to share how people can be prepared emotionally and spiritually for what, he says, can be the most fulfilling years of life.... Read this in full at
http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=420


BONHOEFFER: THE TRUTHFUL WITNESS -- AN INTERVIEW WITH STANLEY HAUERWAS
The ultimate hope of Christians does not lie in the political arena; neither does the state determine our mission in the world. In an online interview, Duke Divinity School’s social ethicist, Stanley Hauerwas, says, “I have argued that Christians’ first political responsibility is to be the church, and by being the church they should understand that their first political loyalty is to God, and the God we worship as Christians, in a manner that understands that we are not first and foremost about making democracy work, but about the truthful worship of the true God.”.... Read this interview in full at
http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/interviews/hauerwas.asp


S.F. CHRISTIANS OUT TO BREAK 'SODOM AND GOMORRAH' MENTALITY
Out to break the commonly-held notion that Christianity is about judging others, a group of San Francisco Christians braved the rain Nov. 1 to show only "Agape Love" to the city's needy. The part music-festival, part-outreach "I AM LOVE...360" event mobilized dozens of youth volunteers from local San Francisco Bay Area churches to Civic Center Plaza to show the love of God in a practical way by handing out free meals, blankets and prayers to the homeless and needy. "God's love is complete and worldwide. Christians should be the first to reach out to whomever, wherever," Living Grace Fellowship pastor Rodgar McCalmon, who organized the free event, told The Christian Post.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081102/s-f-christians-out-to-break-sodom-and-gomorrah-mentality.htm


WHY ZONDERVAN BOUGHT BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
Christian publisher Zondervan has announced its purchase of BibleGateway.com, an online reference of searchable Bible translations and one of the most popular Christian websites. The site's previous owner, Gospel Communications International (previously Gospel Films), shuttered its Internet division and website-hosting ministry in October after back-to-back years of significant financial losses. Zondervan also acquired Gospel.com, which has offered website hosting to more than 250 ministries (including several Christian publishers). Zondervan CEO Moe Girkins discussed how the online acquisitions fit the company's vision for digital growth. Read the interview in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/novemberweb-only/145-41.0.html


GOD’S PATIENCE
“God is not patient in the sense that we are when we wait our turn at the dentist's.  His patience is an active power which (in both senses) bears the world, causing it to move to a fixed end, and which also bears each individual, making him advance in the way of God.  His patience is also a power which gives the world and each individual enough time for this advance to be their own act, the fruit of their experience, investigation, and choice.” Jacques Ellul


FOLLOWING CHRIST 2008 CONFERENCE
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship’s Following Christ 2008 conference, Dec. 27-31 in Chicago, is for just about everyone. You don’t have to be in an InterVarsity group, you just have to be active in or care about the world of the university and professions. Registration is happening now.

The theme of the conference for 2008 is Human Flourishing -- “what it truly is, what’s wrong when it’s absent, and how God is calling us to both model and multiply it.” The conference website has an essay on the theme of human flourishing. Plenary speakers include Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright, Andy Crouch (author of the new book Culture Making), Francis Collins (former director of the Human Genome Project), Anne C. Bailey (historian of the African slave trade), and others. Get more information at
http://www.intervarsity.org/gfm/features/fc08


LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)
From Aisle 3 to the Top
Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and COO, began his tenure at the company as a lowly sales associate. He had a miserable first day, but the store manager reached out to him. He keeps that lesson in mind as he evaluates managers today. "You can teach your way through errors in judgment, but having a lack of interest in creating an environment where people matter is very, very difficult to overcome," he says. Read this in full at
http://www.newsweek.com/id/165379


VERSE TO PONDER
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9


CONSIDER
“We live by demands when we should live by priorities.” J. A. Motyer


TOO GREAT A TEMPTATION, FAILURE IN LIFE
A psychologist who found he could predict children's prospects by testing whether they could resist eating a marshmallow is to scan their brains to find the neurological roots of temptation. His findings have proved so compelling that 40 of his original subjects, now in their forties, are preparing to undergo scans in the hope of answering a perplexing human question: Why are some of us better than others at resisting temptation?" Read this in full at
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article5063058.ece


COFFEE WITH A MISSION
In this interview with the owner of Saint’s Coffee, you’ll learn how drinking your daily coffee can help feed hungry orphans in Swaziland.
http://www.esa-online.org/Images/mmDocument/PRISM%20Archive/Features%202008/NovDec08CoffeeWithMission.pdf
http://www.saintscoffee.com/


SPECTACULAR SINS
by John Piper
“The apex of the glory of Christ is the glory of his grace -- treating people infinitely better than they deserve -- giving himself for the everlasting joy of the worst of sinners who will have him as their highest Treasure. And the apex of this grace is the murder of the God-man outside Jerusalem around AD 33. The death of Jesus Christ was murder. It was the most spectacular sin ever committed.

“At the all-important pivot of human history, the worst sin ever committed served to show the greatest glory of Christ and obtain the sin-conquering gift of God’s grace. God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil.

“Evil is anything and everything opposed to the fullest display of the glory of Christ. That’s the meaning of evil. In the death of Christ, the powers of darkness did their best to destroy the glory of the Son of God. This is the apex of evil. But instead they found themselves quoting the script of ancient prophecy and acting the part assigned by God. Precisely in putting Christ to death, they put his glory on display -- the very glory that they aimed to destroy. The apex of evil achieved the apex of the glory of Christ. The glory of grace.

“I think the days that are coming will demand from the followers of Christ a change in the way we look at the world. It seems to me that Christians in the West are being coddled. We suffer little in the name of Christ. Therefore, we read the Bible not with a desperate hunger for evidences of God’s triumph in pain, but with a view to improving our private pleasures.
Therefore, we read the Bible selectively. We pick a text here and there to fit our felt needs. This is like a doctor who forgets how to write prescriptions for the best antibiotics because everybody seems healthy, and he has spent the last decades tweaking good health with hip-hop exercise videos, unaware that pestilence is at the door. It’s like the soldier who forgets how to use his weapons because the times seem peaceful, and he has spent the last decades doing relief work and teaching the children how to play games. But the times are changing.”.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianity.com/Home/Christian%20Living%20Features/11581982/


A SLIP OF THE TONGUE
“The church where I work videotapes pretty much all of our services, so I have hundreds of messages on tape. Only one of them gets shown repeatedly.

“It's a clip from the beginning of one of our services. A high school worship dance team had just brought the house down to get things started, and I was supposed to transition into some high-energy worship by reading Psalm 150. This was a last-second decision, so I had to read it cold, but with great passion: "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in his mighty firmament!" The psalm consists of one command after another to praise, working its way through each instrument of the orchestra. My voice is building in a steady crescendo; by the end of the psalm I practically shout the final line, only mispronouncing one word slightly: "Let everything that has breasts, praise the Lord."

“A moment of silence. The same thought passes through 4,000 brains-did he just say what I think he did? In church? Is this some exciting new translation I can get at the bookstore?

“Then everybody in the place just lost it. They laughed so hard for so long I couldn't say a thing. I finally just walked off the stage, and we went on with the next part of the service.

“Eight years I've been teaching at that church: of all the passages I've exegeted and messages I've taught that's the one moment that gets replayed before conferences and workshops. Over and over.

“It's an amazing truth: being fully right barely brings as much life to other people as simply being human.” John Ortberg, Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them


INAUGURATION OF THE CALVIN '09 YEAR
The Calvin '09 year which celebrates the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin has been inaugurated in front of the Reformers' Wall in Geneva by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, and the Protestant Church of Geneva.

"Calvin, the visionary Reformer, sparked a movement which has spread to the four corners of the earth: more than 80 million Christians living in 107 countries today acknowledge his legacy." With these words Setri Nyomi, general secretary of WARC, and Clifton Kirkpatrick, WARC president, opened the ceremony at the Reformers' Wall. Representatives of Reformed congregations from all over the world were present at the traditional ceremony of the Company of Pastors, which this year was devoted to the founder of the company, John Calvin.

The Calvin '09 year will be punctuated by key occasions, spectacles, exhibitions, public courses and concerts. The International Museum of the Reformation will present the exhibition "A Day in the Life of Calvin," while congregations can download or order a ready-to-use mini-exhibition.

All the details of the events in Switzerland and throughout the world can be consulted online at the international and interactive site www.calvin09.org: for example, the great spectacle John Calvin in front of the Reformers" Wall, the official ceremony in Geneva on 14 June 2009, or the reconstruction of a typical 16th-century Huguenot village.
http://www.calvin09.org/home/home.html&lang=2&sid=0eca2b0262086bd1b353279328b50232


US SUPREME COURT WEIGHS LIMITS OF BROADCAST INDECENCY
With the rest of the country focused on the presidential election Nov. 4, the Supreme Court danced around the use of dirty words, opting for "f-word" and "s-word" as euphemisms for expletives in a chamber that twice erupted in laughter.

The justices showed little sign of reaching consensus during the oral arguments in the case, Federal Communications Commission vs. Fox Television, that centered on "fleeting uses" of profanity on live television during daytime hours when children are likely watching.

Much of the morning's argument focused on the literal and non-literal meanings of the expletives in question, and the use of a word as a throwaway epithet as opposed to a description of sexual activity.

The case, the Supreme Court's first major consideration of alleged broadcast indecency in 30 years, arose after several celebrities let loose with crudities on television.... Read this in full at
http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=16840


MIM URGES PRES.-ELECT OBAMA TO VIGOROUSLY ENFORCE FEDERAL OBSCENITY LAWS
In a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, Morality in Media president Bob Peters said: “Your choice is either to build on the limited progress made under President Bush in combating obscenity or to follow in former President Clinton's footsteps and give hardcore pornographers another 'free ride.'”… Read this in full at
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/903278609.html
http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/


CONSIDER
“How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.” George MacDonald (1824-1905), Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, ch. VII [1867]


VERSE TO PONDER
"I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1


THIS WEEK'S HYMN: THE HAVEN OF REST
Words: Henry L. Gilmour, 1890
Music: George D. Moore

My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,
“Make Me your choice”;
And I entered the “Haven of Rest”!

Refrain
I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.

I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The “Haven of Rest” is my Lord.

The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have
A home in the “Haven of Rest.”

How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the belovèd so blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the “Haven of Rest.”

O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
And say, “My Belovèd is mine.”

>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/a/v/havenres.htm


ON PRAYER
“Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the Spirit of God.” Edwin Keith


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


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.

Book your next vacation with us!
ChristianConnectionTravel.com

Books, Music & More!
ChristianConnectionBooks.com

Get your domain name here!
GoGlobalDomains.com

Let me show you how to earn money as you travel!
http://FrankColeman.WorldVentures.biz/
It's as easy as 1-2-3!


SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

Fact Monster
http://www.factmonster.com/

nuTsie tunes (classical music)
http://www.nutsie.com/playlist/Traditional%20Classical/620976

SlideRocket (PowerPoint presentation application)
http://sliderocket.com/product/pricing.html

Video: Wingsuit Cliff-Jumpers Take Off (yikes!)
(warning: contains s-word at the end)
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/video-wingsuit.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.)


A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
[email protected]


Thanks for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!


Subscribe!
Subscribe to CONNECTIONS here


Get Archives of all past issues here:
http://www.geocities.com/newjoydivine/connections/archives_08.htm


Check out my blog