MSM CONNECTIONS
For the week of 10/31/04
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
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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
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"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." 2 Timothy 4:2 NIV
CONSIDER
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot (1927-1956), missionary, martyr, The Journals of Jim Elliot [1978]
VOTE NOV. 2
http://www.nass.org/sos/sos.html
http://election.citizenlink.org/templates/cuscitizenlink/default.asp?id=28298
"Faith, Hope, and
Clarity"
by Dick Staub
"I turned to the NYT and read the fascinating editorial "Faith, Hope and Clarity," by Robert Wright a visiting fellow at Yale's University's Center for Human Values. Seldom will you read a piece aimed at clarity that produces the precise opposite so perfectly. Wright claims to help us understand George Bush through citing excerpts of "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, which the President says he reads each day to make sure he is "in the word."
"Don't get me wrong-I think the public deserves and needs an explanation for how the President's faith relates to his life and thought. My own physician, a thoughtful erudite man actually sought my counsel just this past week, wanting to understand how he should factor in the religious dynamic of this campaign, concerned about some of the comments President Bush has made that made my Dr. friend wonder if he could actually draw the line between his personal theology and public governance.
"The answers will not be found in Mr. Wright's piece, which is exhibit-A of "bad exegesis." Interpreting any text requires understanding the original language in context and Mr. Wright exploits Chamber's turn of the century "exchanged-life" theology without regards for language or context...."
For the full article, go to
http://dickstaub.com/culturewatch.php?record_id=763
BEST FRIENDS ONCE AGAIN
It's not too late to reverse the habit of neglecting your most important human relationship
by Greg Johnson
Have you ever had this dream? Your eyes blink open in the dark room. As you roll over, you check the red numbers illuminated on the nightstand: 7:17 a.m. Another Saturday morning. But this one is different. You're waking up with no children in the house. Besides a few days here and there, it's the first time that has happened in 23 years. What makes this day even more unique is -- they won't be back. The nest is empty. It's just you and your spouse. Together. Alone.
As you turn over, you catch the sleeping silhouette of the person you said "I do" with so many years before. Time has passed quickly. Though some body parts have sagged and the hair has a slight silvery glint, it's the same person you used to dream about waking up with in those crazy courting days....
Read this article in full at
http://www.newmanmag.com/article.php?sid=546&mode=thread&order=0
NO MORE MR. NICE GUY
by David Jeremiah
God created men to make a difference. Men are seeking... to conquer danger, achieve great things, rescue a fair maiden. They don't see their [own] lives as an adventure, can't find the battle...don't think they have what their maiden needs. They believe in heroes-they just don't think they are one. (Wild at Heart, John Eldredge) What does it take to be a man among mice? A hero is any strong, godly man who exhibits integrity and courage, no matter what the situation.
Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed. Just ask Daniel about those lions. Such biblical heroes made commitments to God in good times-commitments challenged in the midst of difficulty. Integrity makes men great.
Somebody in your life needs a hero to exhibit what it means to be a real man -- God's man. A man of God demonstrates integrity...everywhere.
On the most important battlefield of life -- the home -- God has called men to be heroes. Their courage, strength, and integrity are consistently tested. If husbands and fathers learn to win the internal battles, live the adventure, and love the beauty at home, they will be prepared for life's external challenges. Men, your metal may not be tested on the battlefield, but test your real mettle at home.
Read this article in full at
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/ministry_articles/1264556.html
BARNA: “KIDS ARE NOT
BEING PREPARED FOR LIFE”
According to a new survey from The Barna Group, there's one issue on which most adults agree: the nation's children are not being adequately prepared for life. Based on interviews with more than 1000 adults nationwide, the survey discovered that less than one out of every five adults believes children under the age of 13 are being "superbly" or "pretty well" prepared for life emotionally, physically, spiritually, intellectually or physically. Fewer than one out of every twenty adults believe that America's youngsters are receiving above average preparation in all five of those areas of life.
Adults feel most confident in the intellectual preparation that children receive these days. The lowest ratings, however, were reserved for the moral and spiritual preparation of children. Only 8% of adults said kids get better-than-adequate preparation in the spiritual realm, while more than 7-out-of-10 adults (71%) said children get inadequate spiritual training. Similarly, 8% said kids get above average moral preparation while three-fourths said youngsters get inadequate moral preparation
The survey findings indicate that parents feel they are being let down by society. Read the report at
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=173
EVOLUTION VS. INTELLIGENT
DESIGN
The October 2004 issue of Wired magazine contains an article attacking the Intelligent Design movement (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/evolution.html), but there's an accompanying column by George Gilder (identified as the "technogeek guru of bandwidth utopia") in which he turns his guns on the evolution industry. Gilder says: "The Darwinist materialist paradigm, however, is about to face the same revolution that Newtonian physics faced 100 years ago. Just as physicists discovered that the atom was not a massy particle, as Newton believed, but a baffling quantum arena accessible only through mathematics, so too are biologists coming to understand that the cell is not a simple lump of protoplasm, as Charles Darwin believed. It's a complex information-processing machine comprising tens of thousands of proteins arranged in fabulously intricate algorithms of communication and synthesis. The human body contains some 60 trillion cells. Each one stores information in DNA codes, processes and replicates it in three forms of RNA and thousands of supporting enzymes, exquisitely supplies the system with energy, and seals it in semipermeable phospholipid membranes. It is a process subject to the mathematical theory of information, which shows that even mutations occurring in cells at the gigahertz pace of a Pentium 4 and selected at the rate of a Google search couldn't beget the intricate interwoven fabric of structure and function of a human being in such a short amount of time.
"Natural selection should be taught for its important role in the adaptation of species, but Darwinian materialism is an embarrassing cartoon of modern science. . . . In biology classes, our students are not learning the largely mathematical facts of 21st-century science; they're imbibing the consolations of a faith-driven 19th-century materialist myth."
(http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/evolution.html?pg=5)
Also see
DESPITE PGA FAME, KENNY
PERRY STILL SAME MAN OF FAITH, FAMILY
A year ago, Kenny Perry was a solid, friendly yet largely unknown PGA Tour golf professional. Paid to wear colorful Tabasco golf shirts and raised in a small town in Kentucky, Perry was a former Tour winner but had faded into golf's background. That was before Perry won three tournaments in the summer of 2003, including back-to-back events at the Bank of America Colonial with a career-low third-round 61, and the Memorial Tournament the following week. Then the entire golf world learned that Perry is devoted to his faith, his family and his small-town roots.
"The greatest thing about last year is that [the golf media and fans] told my story about how important my faith is to me, about growing up in a small town and about wanting to help others," Perry said. "I'm just one simple guy, but God tells us to be ready at all times." Perry won more than $4 million in PGA Tour prize money last season with his three wins, but he is using that money to fund scholarships at David Lipscomb University – a Church of Christ school in Nashville, Tenn. -- as well as to help build and run a public golf course in his hometown of Franklin, Ky., and to contribute generously to his church, where he is a devoted member.
"You know what?" Perry said after the first round May 20 at the storied Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, "It's not my money; it's God money and He wants me to use it to honor Him. I'm just under pressure to use it the right way."
Read more at
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=18610
YOUR PC MAY NOT BE SAFE
Survey reveals widespread infection. The non-profit National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and America Online hired technical experts to conduct the study in the homes of 329 dial-up and broadband PC consumers. The results of the study found that PC users believe they're mostly safe online, but lack basic protections against viruses, spyware, hackers, and other online threats. The study found that the majority of computer users surveyed have a false sense of security with 77% saying they think their PC is "very" or "somewhat safe" from online threats; 73% saying their PC is "very" or "somewhat safe" from viruses; and 60% saying they feel "very" or "somewhat safe" from hackers. While those surveyed were very concerned with viruses, most don't have updated anti-virus protection.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-10-24-pc-security_x.htm
VERSE TO PONDER
"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:17 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"Christians ought not to be smothered in fear. There is a spiritual readiness, where we return to having the peace of God stand guard over our hearts and minds. What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the Heavenly Father. The Christian needs to walk in peace, so no matter what happens they will be able to bear witness to a watching world." Henry Blackaby
VEGETARIANS IN
PARADISE?
Based on Isaiah 11:6-7 and 65:25, will we be vegetarians in the new heaven and earth as Adam and Eve were before the Fall?
Answered by Bill T. Arnold
"The reference to Adam and Eve invites us to start with the book of Genesis. God allowed Adam and Eve to eat plants and herbs, a privilege he granted also to the animals (Gen. 1:29-30). And humans and animals enjoyed a peaceful and friendly relationship in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:19-20). It was only after the Flood that permission was granted to eat animal flesh, and only then under the condition that the blood was drained out of the meat (Gen. 9:3-4). We may take this as indication that meat-eating was not ideal, although God certainly blessed the eating of meat in other times and places (Lev. 6:24-29; Acts 10:9-16)....
Read this explanation at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/010/39.104.html
THE MERCHANTS OF COOL
They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey—a market segment worth an estimated $150 billion a year. They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts--and wallets--of America's youth?
See this Frontline report at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
PLAN AHEAD
"How To Minister Through A Christmas Open House"
by Kathy Chapman Sharp
For many families, perhaps even the family living right next door to you, Christmas is no more than a season of parties and buying sprees that will leave them spiritually empty and financially depleted when the New Year rolls around. Shouldn't we open our front doors and invite the world to come in and experience the Christ and Christmas we know and love? Why not start a new tradition this year and host a neighborhood party with a purpose -- a Christmas Open House? See how at
http://www.pastors.com/rwmt/default.asp?id=176&artid=3277&expand=1
ON POSTMODERNITY AND
CHRISTIANITY
What is a postmodernism perspective, and what does it have to do with Christianity? Should Christians embrace postmodern values or shun them? Does postmodern thought have anything to offer to Christianity, and vice versa? These are among the many questions tackled by a series of articles by Stephen Shields of faithmaps.org. If you're not sure you have a handle on what postmodernism is, or why it matters to the church, Shield's four-part essay is an excellent place to start.
http://www.faithmaps.org/postmodernperspective.htm
CONSIDER
"A man may be haunted with doubts, and only grow thereby in faith. Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to the honest. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood... Doubt must precede every deeper assurance; for uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed."
George Macdonald (1824-1905), "The Voice of Job," Unspoken Sermons, Second Series [1885]
VERSE TO PONDER
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding." Colossians 2:2a (NIV)
THIS WEEK'S HYMN: EVERY
MORNING THE RED SUN
Words: Cecil F. Alexander, 1848
Music: George C. Martin, 1889
Every morning the red sun
Rises warm and bright;
But the evening cometh on,
And the dark, cold night.
There's a bright land far away,
Where 'tis never-ending day.
Every spring the sweet young flowers
Open bright and gay,
Till the chilly autumn hours
Wither them away.
There's a land we have not seen,
Where the trees are always green.
Little birds sing songs of praise
All the summer long,
But in colder, shorter days
They forget their song.
There's a place where angels sing
Ceaseless praises to their King.
Christ our Lord is ever near
Those who follow Him;
But we cannot see Him here,
For our eyes are dim;
There is a most happy place,
Where men always see His face.
Who shall go to that bright land?
All who do the right:
Holy children there shall stand
In their robes of white;
For that Heav'n, so bright and blest,
Is our everlasting rest.
>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/e/m/emredsun.htm
DEVELOPING A STRATEGY
FOR SUCCESSFUL PRAYER
by Terry C. Muck
Like the marriage relationship, our relationship with God needs constant care. Though prayer is the communication vehicle through which a relationship with God develops, many pastors struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life. Yet, prayerlessness saps the power of ministry.
Weakness of the flesh attacks all of us, especially when it comes to sustaining an active prayer life. As Paul notes in Romans 8, there is no way to overcome our lower natures but by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can utilize the Comforter's power by putting into practice three common techniques:
Set up a system of accountability for prayer....
Provide positive and negative reinforcements for prayer....
Turn prayer into a physical act....
Read this article in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/spiritualgrowth/articles/bcl-030422.html
ON PRAYER
"The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil everywhere. Prayer, in one phase of its operation, is a disinfectant and a preventive. It purifies the air; it destroys the contagion of evil. Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice which goes into God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God's heart is alive to holy things. God shapes the world by prayer." E.M. Bounds
CRITICAL PRAYER
REQUESTS FOR STRATEGIC NATIONS
We're praying for our fellow believers in a different nation each week.
Please pray for...SYRIA
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sy.html
Syrian Christians have been a respected minority since the time of the church in Antioch (Acts 13). The Orthodox and Catholics survived the rule of the Byzantines, Muslim Arabs, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Most Christians are Arab, but there is also a large Armenian community. Christians are influential in the cities, professions, politics and the armed forces, but their percentage of the population is shrinking due to a high rate of emigration to the Americas and Africa. Pray that believers may rediscover the zeal of the church of Antioch, and experience spiritual renewal. Pray that they may move past tolerating, fearing or even despising their Muslim neighbors and adopt an attitude of warm-hearted love.
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
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).
PRAY FOR THESE
BROTHERS
* Bro. LaMallon Howard
* Bro. Joe Ross
* Bro. Lester Yancey
* Elder Tim Howard
* Pastor Alan Roundtree
* Apostle Aaron Royster
* Elder Dalter Yarbrough
* Bro. Robert Allen
* Bro. Anton Johnson
* Bro. Warren Baudy
[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.
Pray the Vote
http://presidentialprayerteam.org/praythevote/index.php
Non-Partisan Party platform comparison
John Knox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knox
Push It (another one of those frustrating yet addictive block games)
http://www.freeworldgroup.com/games/pushit/index.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.)
Failure is not an option! It comes bundled with the software.
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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: http://www.newjoydivine.org/
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