MSM CONNECTIONS
For the week of 09/05
The Men’s Ministry e-mail newsletter of
Our mission: Our mission is to lead men to
Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for
Christian men to grow in their faith
and minister to others.
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MSM CONNECTIONS is the opt-in newsletter for the men of New Joy Divine Full Gospel Church. It's a periodic service that helps connect you with God and with other men at NJD. 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 MSM CONNECTIONS.
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"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3:22 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." George Moore
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS
MONTH
September is our time to be sure we're prepared for the next emergency that should threaten us. Throughout the month hundreds of activities are planned across the country to highlight the importance of individual emergency preparedness. The National Preparedness Month coalition, which includes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 80 organizations and all 56 states and territories, is encouraging us to take simple steps to prepare our families for any possible emergencies. See resources at
http://www.ChristianEmergencyNetwork.org
AOL: <a href="http://www.christianemergencynetwork.org/">click_here</a>
AOL: <a href="http://www.ready.gov/">click_here</a>
AOL: <a href="http://www.dhs.gov/">click_here</a>
MEN AT WORK -- AND PLAY
by Jeff Samsel
There's something about moving furniture that brings out the real person in all of us. I learned this when my friend Rick and I volunteered to help move a large bed from a church member's second-floor home. We quickly realized that no amount of lifting and pushing would do the job -- unless we talked over a strategy. We were forced to communicate. If we didn't, we'd tumble down the stairs and end up battered by a set of box springs.
I think I learned more about Rick on that moving day than I did in months of conversations at church. Neither of us are shy, but we never seemed to find much to say to each other on Sunday morning.
But things were different on moving day. As Rick and I worked, it was OK to be silent at first. But as the day progressed, we learned about one another's families, jobs, interests and concerns. The following Sunday, conversation came easily. What seemed to be a simple act of moving furniture turned out to move our relationship to a new level....
Read this in full at
http://www.newmanmag.com/article.php?sid=552&mode=thread&order=0
AOL: <a href="http://www.newmanmag.com/article.php?sid=552&mode=thread&order=0">click_here</a>
LEISURE SERIES: SUNDAY,
NO LONGER A DAY OF REST
Historically, Sunday was reserved for prayer and reflection, and most commerce or non-religious activity was off-limits. But these days, almost anything goes. As part of her series on leisure, National Public Radio's Susan Stamberg talked with Alexis McCrossen, author of Holy Day, Holiday: The American Sunday. Listen to it at
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3854495
AOL: <a href="http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3854495">click_here</a>
LABOR DAY ARTICLES
Eric is passionate about being a stay-at-home dad. "My staying home and Jody engaged in her career works well for us. We each think we have the better end of the deal. I love kids, and she loves her job and our kids. I haven't traded away a gloomy future so my wife can work; I traded up. I worked for 12 years as an engineer; it was a good experience and I miss my colleagues. But I will have a more significant impact on the world by being home."...
http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/labor/
AOL: <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/labor/">click_here</a>
REMAIN STRONG
"Integrity is keeping my commitment even if the circumstances when I made the commitment have changed." David Jeremiah
SELLING AMONG WOLVES
If you're in a sales career and want to increase your earnings, here's a way to do it.
by Michael J. Pink
How do you know when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving! That popular joke still makes me bristle. It's a stinging reproach to a profession I love. And yet, while many sales professionals work with complete integrity, far too many others don't -- and that has tainted the image of the profession.
My recent discussion with a 40-something-year-old sales veteran reveals how the profession became tainted. He told me, "The fact that I don't always tell the truth is your problem -- not mine." He wrongly believes that nobody was getting hurt and that a biblically based, principle-centered approach to sales sounded good in theory, but wouldn't work in the real world. He bought into the lie that "nice guys finish last" and in the dog-eat-dog world of sales, only the tough, the ruthless and the silver-tongued can survive....
Read this article in full at
http://www.newmanmag.com/article.php?sid=549&mode=thread&order=0
AOL: <a href="http://www.newmanmag.com/article.php?sid=549&mode=thread&order=0">click_here</a>
VERSE TO PONDER
" ... If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away." Walker Percy
BACK TO SCHOOL
A new school year has begun. You'll find helpful resources, information and ministry on the web for a young Christian's back-to-school experience. See the report at
http://ifc.gospelcom.net/family/800/
AOL: <a href="http://ifc.gospelcom.net/family/800/">click_here</a>
Also see these articles
http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/backtoschool/
AOL: <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/backtoschool/">click_here</a>
9/11 ANNIVERSARY
ARTICLES
http://www.christianitytoday.com/todayschristian/special/calltopray.html
AOL: <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/todayschristian/special/calltopray.html">click_here</a>
GRAND PARENTS DAY
(9/12) ARTICLES
http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/grandparents/
AOL: <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/grandparents/">click_here</a>
FAITH IN ACTION
"It seems to be an opinion pretty generally prevalent, that kindness and sweetness of temper; sympathizing, benevolent, and generous affections; attention to what in the world's estimation are the domestic, relative, and social duties; and, above all, a life of general activity and usefulness, may well be allowed, in our imperfect state, to make up for the defect of what, in strict propriety of speech, is termed religion. Many, indeed, will unreservedly declare, and more will hint, the opinion that the difference between the qualities above mentioned and religion, is rather a verbal or logical, than a real and essential difference; for in truth, what are they but religion in substance if not in name? Is it not the great end of religion, and, in particular, the glory of Christianity, to extinguish the malignant passions; to curb the violence, to control the appetites, and to smooth the asperities of man; to make us compassionate and kind, and forgiving one to another; to make us good husbands, good fathers, good friends; and to render us active and useful in the discharge of the relative social and civil duties? We do not deny that, in the general mass of society, and particularly in the lower orders, such conduct and tempers can not be diffused and maintained by any other medium than that of religion. But if the end be effected, surely it is only an unnecessary refinement to dispute about the means. It is even to forget your own principles; and to refuse its just place to solid, practical virtue, while you assign too high a value to speculative opinions." William Wilberforce (1759-1833), A Practical View [1958]
PUBLIC TV EXPLORES GOD
PBS-TV will air the two-part series "The Question of God: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis with Dr. Armand Nicholi" beginning Sept. 15. Many people wonder whether they're on earth for a purpose or their lives are just an accident. So did Lewis and Freud. Though it's not known whether they ever met, Nicholi said he found "striking parallels" in their writings: "It was almost as if they were talking to one another." Both were raised in religious households -- Lewis a Christian and Freud a Jew – but later became atheists. Lewis committed himself to Christianity at age 33 and became a major defender of the faith.
Lewis knew Freud's work and had used Freud's writings to defend atheism, Nicholi says. Freud, who also was living in England during the same period, may well have been aware of Lewis too. Nicholi describes both as gifted writers who focused on basic life issues that concern every human being, such as love, sexuality, and happiness. And both believed the most important question to be asked is whether there is intelligence beyond our universe.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/
AOL: <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/">click_here</a>
WRESTLING WITH AN
ABORTED CONSCIENCE
by Russell Moore
Recently a woman wrote a back-page commentary in the New York Times Magazine about her decision to abort two of her triplets, a choice she tells readers wasn't all that difficult and she's glad she made. After all, she doesn't want to have to live in Staten Island and shop at Costco for the really big tubs of mayonnaise. And her Manhattan apartment has several flights of stairs. This ghoulish commentary was far less revealing, though, than the letters to the editor The Times received in response.... Read this insightful commentary about abortion at
http://www.pastors.com/rwmt/default.asp?id=169&artid=7200&expand=1
AOL: <a href="http://www.pastors.com/rwmt/default.asp?id=169&artid=7200&expand=1">click_here</a>
VERSE TO PONDER
"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:8 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"He looks today, as He has ever looked, not for crowds drifting aimlessly in His track, but for individual men and women whose undying allegiance will spring from their having recognized that He wants those who are prepared to follow the path of self-renunciation which He trod before them." H. A. Evan Hopkin
NEW $50 BILL TO DEBUT
The new multi-colored $50 bill will be released Sept. 28. It has subtle background colors of blue and red, and images of a waving American flag and a small metallic silver-blue star. The bills will be distributed through commercial banks starting on the release date.
For more on the bill, go to
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/main.cfm/currency/new50
AOL: <a href="http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/main.cfm/currency/new50">click_here</a>
JESUS IS THE MODEL FOR
LEADERSHIP
While corporate scandals and indictments of top company officials make the headlines almost daily, Ken Blanchard is leading a determined effort to instill faith, ethics, and values among business executives. Better-known as the globe-trotting speaker, consultant, and co-author of "The One-Minute Manager", one of the best-selling business books of all time, these days Blanchard feels driven to help business people learn how to "lead like Jesus," as he puts it. Blanchard, who calls himself the "Chief Spiritual Officer" at his training and consulting firm, The Ken Blanchard Companies, has also brought many of his friends in the business world to this task.
The result: "Leadership by the Book," a two-DVD set featuring 12 interviews of business leaders by Blanchard, bundled with a comprehensive 68-page Discussion Guide for individual or group study. Each lesson centers on "servant leadership" as modeled by Jesus Christ. The series demonstrates how corporate leaders like Dan Cathy (Chick-Fil-A), Tom Muccio (Procter & Gamble), Don Soderquist (Wal-mart), and many others are applying Christian principles in leading their companies.
The series begins with the story of Bob Buford, who turned the family business of a single ABC television station into a network of cable systems. Wealthy beyond his dreams at age 42, Buford was forced to re-examine the meaning of his life a few years later when his son died in a tragic accident. Out of that soul-searching came a deepening of his faith, and renewed dedication to the two faith-based organizations he had founded - FaithWorks and the Leadership Network.
More information is at
AOL: <a href="http://www.pmm.org/">click_here</a>
THE LIMITS OF
GOVERNMENT
"What government can never do is put love in a person's heart, or a sense of purpose in a person's life. You see, in order to heal, to help the lonely, it works every time when a loving soul puts their arm around another and says, what can I do to help you; how can I help you in your life; what can I do to make your life better? Many are called by God to do so, and government must stand on the side of those millions of acts of mercy and kindness that take place on a daily basis. I also know programs that change the heart work. When a person changes their heart, they change their habits. Government is not good at changing hearts. The Almighty God is good at changing hearts." George W. Bush
THE LAMB OF GOD
A man once asked a shepherd, 'What does 'Lamb of God' mean to you?'" The shepherd replied, "Each year at lambing time, there are lambs and ewes that don't make it. Inevitably, on one side of the field is a ewe whose lamb has died. She's full of milk, but she won't nourish any lamb she doesn't recognize as her own. Inevitably, on the other side of the field is a lamb whose mother has died. That lamb is going to starve because no other ewe will accept and feed it. So the shepherd takes the dead lamb, slits its throat and pours its blood over the body of the living lamb. The ewe recognizes the blood and accepts and welcomes and nurses that living lamb. Through the gift of the blood of the lamb that has died, the living lamb is recognized and accepted and nourished and saved. That's the 'lamb of God."
http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=1604
AOL: <a href="http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=1604">click_here</a>
THIS WEEK'S HYMN: SONS
OF LABOR, DEAR TO JESUS
Words: Samuel R. Hole, 1889
Music: John Stainer, 1889
Sons of labor, dear to Jesus,
To your homes and work again;
Go with brave hearts back to duty,
Face the peril, bear the pain.
Be your dwellings ne'er so lowly,
Yet remember, by your bed,
That the Son of God most holy
Had not where to lay His head.
Sons of labor, think of Jesus
As you rest your homes within,
Think of that sweet Babe of Mary
In the stable of the inn.
Think how in the sacred story
Jesus took a humble grade,
And the Lord of Life and Glory
Worked with Joseph at His trade.
Sons of labor, pray to Jesus;
Oh, how Jesus prayed for you!
In the moonlight, on the mountain,
Where the shimmering olives grew.
When you rise up at the dawning,
Ere in toil you wend your way,
Pray, as He prayed, in the morning,
Long before the break of day.
Sons of labor, be like Jesus,
Undefilèd, chaste, and pure;
And, though Satan tempt you sorely,
By His grace you shall endure.
Husband, father, son and brother,
Be ye gentle, just and true-
Be ye kind to one another,
As the Lord is kind to you.
Sons of labor, seek for Jesus,
Where He tells you ye shall find,
In the children, 'mid the mourners,
In the sick, poor, lame and blind-
"Search the Scriptures," He entreats you,
"For of Me they testify";
Love His altar, where He meets you,
Saying, "Fear not-It is I."
Sons of labor, go to Jesus,
In your sorrow, shame and loss;
He is nearest, you are dearest,
When you bravely bear His cross.
Go to Him, Who died to save you,
And is still the sinner's Friend;
And the great love, which forgave you,
Will forgive you to the end.
Sons of labor, live for Jesus,
Be your work your worship, too;
In His Name, and to His glory,
Do whate'er you find to do;
Till this night of sin and sorrow
Be for ever overpast;
And we see the golden morrow,
Home with Jesus, home at last!
>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/o/n/sonlabor.htm
AOL: <a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/o/n/sonlabor.htm">click_here</a>
ON PRAYER
"Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often instead of worshipping God, we construct statements as to how prayer works. Are we worshipping or are we in dispute with God -- 'I don't see how You are going to do it.' This is a sure sign that we are not worshipping." Oswald Chambers
CRITICAL PRAYER
REQUESTS FOR STRATEGIC NATIONS
We're praying for our fellow believers in a different nation each week.
Please pray for...NEW CALEDONIA
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nc.html
AOL: <a href="http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nc.html">click_here</a>
The Kanak peoples are Christianized and nearly every village has a church, but the traumatic colonial take-over damaged their self-image and led them to confuse the gospel with Western culture. Christianity is often a veneer over the underlying animism of the past. Even many pastors fail to discern between occultic practices and what the gospel teaches. Pray that a truly biblical yet indigenous Christian witness may be raised up, and the power of the gospel demonstrated over all the power of the evil one.
http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html
AOL: <a href="http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html">click_here</a>
PRAY
* Bro. William Moore, Jr.
* Pastor Watson
* Pastor Verdale Goines
* Minister Aaron O’Tey
* Bro. Rudolph West
* Bro. Eric Gray
* Bro. Edward Corey Phillips
* Minister Arnold Whitehead
* Minister Kory “Keys” Martin & Family
[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.
The Traffic Cone Preservation Society
AOL: <a href="http://www.trafficcone.com/">click_here</a>
Playaholics: Lots of games
http://www.playaholics.com/games.php
AOL: <a href="http://www.playaholics.com/games.php">click_here</a>
RetroFuture
AOL: <a href="http://www.retrofuture.com/">click_here</a>
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.)
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see you.
Min. Frank Coleman, Editor
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MSM CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of announcements, news, recommendations, articles, and other information helpful to men in our spiritual growth. Thanks for welcoming MSM CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
Who to contact:
Minister Frank Coleman, Men Servants Ministry Chairman, 773-410-1483,
Minister Arnold Whitehead, Men Servants Ministry Vice-Chairman, 773-846-6090
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The mission of New Joy Divine Full Gospel Church is to be a Christ-centered, Bible based, Spirit guided church meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of its members and the community it serves.
The Men Servants Ministry (MSM) Team offers 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.
New Joy Divine Full Gospel Church is located at 7625 S.
Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60620.
Tel: 773-224-5683. Founded & Pastored by Apostle
Aaron L. Royster & Prophetess Mable L. Royster.
Visit our website at:
AOL: <a href="http://www.newjoydivine.org/">click_here</a>
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