MSM CONNECTIONS
For the week of 08/08
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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"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God 's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:9-13 (TNIV)
CONSIDER
"The first and last word for a disciple of Jesus is 'Obey!' I mean to say that today the word 'believe' is not as important as, 'You who believe, obey him whom you believe!' Of what use is believing if you cannot obey?" Johann Christoph Blumhardt in Thy Kingdom Come: A Blumhardt Reader, Vernard Eller, editor
THE IMPORTANCE OF A
FATHER IN THE HOME
by Amanda Lynn Geesey
"Lord, the pain is too much to bear! I can't take this anymore; I have to get out. I tried to get his attention once before with the anorexia but he did not care then, so why would he care if I was alive or dead. Well, at least the pain will be gone. My heart hurts, there is no one to care, no one to love me. He left without a word, without a tear. He did not call on my birthday. He even misspelled my name on the first Christmas present he ever sent, and there was only one of those. His checks are supposed to buy his love, yet he never even sends them! He probably does not even remember my name, I know he does not know my hair color, eye color, whether or not I am tall or short, fat or skinny.
God, I just pray I don't look or act anything like him...."
Read this letter in full at
http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?pageid=21857
<a href="http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?pageid=21857"> Or click here</a>
PEER PRESSURE
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of the spider who built a beautiful web in an old house. He kept it clean and shiny, so flies would patronize it. The minute he got a "customer" he would clean up after him so the other flies would not get suspicious. Then one day a fairly intelligent fly came buzzing by the clean spiderweb. Old man spider called out, "Come in and sit." But the fairly intelligent fly said, "No sir, I don't see other flies in your house, and I am not going in alone!"
Presently the fly saw on the floor below him a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper. He was delighted! He was not afraid if lots of flies were doing it. So he came in for a landing. Just before he landed, a bee zoomed by, saying, "Don't land there, stupid. That's fly-paper!" But the fairly intelligent fly shouted back, "Don't be silly. Those flies are dancing. There's a big crowd there. Everybody's doing it. That many flies can't be wrong!" Well, you know what happened. He landed on the paper and died.
Some of us want to be in the crowd so badly we end up in a mess because we didn't listen or search out a situation. What does it profit a fly (or a person) if he escapes the web only to end up in the glue? (Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, 7-19-04)
HAPPENINGS IN AUGUST
August 12-15 - PGA Championship (Kohler, WI)
http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2004/
<a href="http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2004/"> Or click here</a>
August 13-29 - 2004 Summer Olympic Games (Athens, Greece)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/sports/features/athletes/olympics-athletes.html
<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/sports/features/athletes/olympics-athletes.html"> Or click here</a>
http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/
<a href="http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/"> Or click here</a>
http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp
<a href="http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp"> Or click here</a>
http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html
<a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html"> Or click here</a>
August 15 – New Joy Divine 20th Anniversary Celebration – Hosts: Women of Virtue Ministry
http://www.geocities.com/newjoydivine/page10.html
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/newjoydivine/page10.html"> Or click
August 27-29 – Men Servants Ministry (MSM) 2004 Men’s Conference
http://www.geocities.com/newjoydivine/page7.html
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/newjoydivine/page7.html"> Or click
THE FAITH OF A
PITTSBURGH STEELER
Football means a lot to Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jay Riemersma, but it isn't the most important thing in his life.
Read the article at
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/072804/loc_072804048.shtml
<a href="http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/072804/loc_072804048.shtml"> Or click here</a>
JONI ON LARRY KING LIVE
Joni Eareckson Tada was on Larry King last week. Read the transcript of her interview at
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/03/lkl.00.html
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/03/lkl.00.html"> Or click here</a>
BELIEF IN HELL BOOSTS
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Economists searching for reasons why some nations are richer than others have found that those with a wide belief in hell are less corrupt and more prosperous, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The St Louis Fed drew on work by outside economists who studied 35 countries, including the United States, European nations, Japan, India and Turkey and found that religion shed some useful light. "In countries where large percentages of the population believe in hell, there seems to be less corruption and a higher standard of living," the St. Louis Fed said in its July quarterly review.
For instance, 71% of the U.S. population believes in hell and the country boasts the world's highest per capita income, according to the 2003 United Nations Human Development Report and 1990-1993 World Values Survey. Ireland, not far behind the United States in terms of income, likewise has a healthy fear of a nether world with 53% of the population acknowledging hell's existence. The researchers also noted the long tradition among classical economists to equate a society's honesty, and the strength of the rule of law, with economic vitality. "Adam Smith wrote that one of religion's most important contributions to the economic development process is its value as a moral enforcement mechanism," they said.
The St Louis Fed's essay "Fear of Hell Might Fire Up The Economy" can be found at:
http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2004/c/pages/fear_of_hell.html
<a href="http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2004/c/pages/fear_of_hell.html"> Or click here</a>
JUST DO IT!
"Instead of so knowing Christ that they have Him in them saving them, they lie wasting themselves in soul-sickening self-examination as to whether they are believers, whether they are really trusting in the Atonement, whether they are truly sorry for their sins -- the way to madness of the brain and despair of the heart.... Instead of asking yourself whether you believe or not, ask yourself whether you have, this day, done one thing because He said, Do it! or once abstained because He said, Do not do it! It is simply absurd to say you believe, or even want to believe, in Him, if you do not do anything He tells you." George Macdonald (1824-1905), "The Truth of Jesus", Unspoken Sermons, Second Series [1885]
WORTHWHILE ARTICLES TO
READ
"What Would the Founding Fathers Do" about the application of Christian principles to American politics? A few cautionary words.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/127/54.0.html
<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/127/54.0.html"> Or click here</a>
What happens when church and culture conspire to ignore the meaning of words?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/007/32.46.html
<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/007/32.46.html"> Or click here</a>
The value of ethical wills
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26339-2004Jul3.html
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26339-2004Jul3.html"> Or click here</a>
A CHRISTIAN NATION?
What faith-related changes do Americans -- and Christians -- favor and oppose? George Barna's latest report examines 6 changes in how faith and morality could be integrated into American society. Those considerations include barring the Ten Commandments from government buildings, eliminating the phrases "In God We Trust" from currency and "One Nation Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, allowing profanity on broadcast TV, teaching creationism in public schools, and making Christianity the "official religion" of the U.S. Read this at
<a href="http://www.barna.org"> Or click here</a>
LEADERSHIP RE-VISIONED
"Summoned to Lead" is a new book by Leonard Sweet. Here's its description
http://www.zondervan.com/Books/Detail.asp?ISBN=0310232228
<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/Books/Detail.asp?ISBN=0310232228"> Or click here</a>
Cast a vision, set a strategy, rally the troops, and take the hill -- you don't need another book to rehash the well-worn principles of modern leadership. But if you're looking for something different, something that . . .
* approaches leadership as an art as well as a science
* inspires hope and expectation in those of us who aren't born leaders
* challenges those with leadership roles to explore new possibilities.. . . then Leonard Sweet wants to help you discover a very different kind of leadership vision. It's one you hear if your ears are open, and it could summon you at any time. When you respond, the puzzle pieces of who you are will fit together into a leader others follow because you've answered a call, not trained for a position.
Leaders don't see a vision, says Sweet, they hear one. "Sound becomes sight. Leaders hear life."
For a sonogram of "acoustic leadership," Sweet takes us inside the incredible account of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the celebrated polar explorer who led his entire crew of 27 from disaster in the Antarctic to safety. Called "the greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none," Shackleton objectifies the goals of Sweet's own exploration in search of wisdom for today and tomorrow's truly compelling, voice-activated leaders.
Right now, you may be leading many people or just yourself. But who knows what tomorrow -- or a minute from now -- will call forth in you. Are your ears open?
To read an excerpt from the book, go to
http://www.zondervan.com/media/pdfs/0310232228.pdf
<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/media/pdfs/0310232228.pdf"> Or click here</a>
THE SHACKLETON EXAMPLE
Sir Earnest Shackleton has been called the greatest leader ever for saving the lives of the 27 men (and keeping their morale and hopes alive) stranded with him on an Antarctic ice floe for almost two years. If you're not familiar with this early 20th century explorer, read about him at several websites, including
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/"> Or click here</a>
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/shackleton/expedintro.html
<a href="http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/shackleton/expedintro.html"> Or click here</a>
http://www.jamescairdsociety.com/
<a href="http://www.jamescairdsociety.com/"> Or click here</a>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/shackleton_ernest.shtml
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/shackleton_ernest.shtml"> Or click here</a>
At the following website, Shackleton's leadership principles are boiled down and enumerated:
http://www.umass.edu/fambiz/shackleton.htm
<a href="http://www.umass.edu/fambiz/shackleton.htm"> Or click here</a>
1. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and focus energy on short-term objectives.
2. Lead by personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors.
3. Optimism.
4. Stamina.
5. Team message, minimizing status differences and insisting on courtesy and mutual respect.
6. Ability to admit mistakes, and not to blame others.
7. Master conflict, deal with anger in small doses, engage dissidents, and avoid needless power struggles.
8. Ability to lighten up, find things to celebrate and laugh about.
9. Calculated risk-taking.
10. Tenacious creativity and persistence.
VERSE TO PONDER
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
CONSIDER
"A firefighter performs one act of bravery in his career, and that's when he takes the oath of office, after that, everything else is in the line of duty." Special Operation's Chief John Moran, New York City Fire Department
Mark your calendars for the weekend of August 27-29, 2004 at the Hickory Ridge Marriott Conference Hotel in Lisle Illinois where we will have our annual Men’s Conference. Theme: “The Fruit Of The Spirit.” Come and be blessed during this time of fellowship and ministry. Contact Minister Maurice Collier or Minister Frank Coleman. Visit the church’s web site: www.newjoydivine.org, go to the Men’s ministry page [>>Ministries>>Men Servants Ministry (MSM)] for details or download a registration form <here>.
THIS WEEK'S HYMN:
CONQUERING NOW AND STILL TO CONQUER
Words: Fanny Crosby, 1890.
Music: John R. Sweney
Conquering now and still to conquer, rideth a King in His might;
Leading the host of all the faithful into the midst of the fight;
See them with courage advancing, clad in their brilliant array,
Shouting the Name of their Leader, hear them exultingly say:
Refrain
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race,
Yet to the true and the faithful
Vict'ry is promised through grace.
Conquering now and still to conquer, who is this wonderful King?
Whence are the armies which He leadeth, while of His glory they sing?
He is our Lord and Redeemer, Savior and Monarch divine;
They are the stars that forever bright in His kingdom shall shine.
Refrain
Conquering now and still to conquer, Jesus, Thou Ruler of all,
Thrones and their scepters all shall perish, crowns and their splendor shall fall,
Yet shall the armies Thou leadest, faithful and true to the last,
Find in Thy mansions eternal rest, when their warfare is past.
Refrain
>from CyberHymnal at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/conquer.htm
<a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/conquer.htm"> Or click here</a>
AUGUST IS...
National Immunization Awareness Month, sponsored by the National Partnership for Immunization, to raise the public's awareness of the importance of immunization.
http://www.partnersforimmunization.org/niam_prkit.html
<a href="http://www.partnersforimmunization.org/niam_prkit.html"> Or click here</a>
and
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/menus/vaccines.htm#Schedules
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nip/menus/vaccines.htm#Schedules"> Or click here</a>
ON PRAYER
"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." Max Lucado
CRITICAL PRAYER
REQUESTS FOR STRATEGIC NATIONS
We're praying for our fellow believers in a different nation each week.
Please pray for...MALAYSIA
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/my.html
<a href="http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/my.html"> Or click here</a>
The Church is growing amongst all non-Muslim ethnic groups -- about 10% of the Orang Asli, 10% of Indians and 7% of Chinese are Christian (about a third being Catholic). Yet the continual external pressure from Islam at every level, the pressure from non-Christian families to compromise and the lure of materialism have harmed real commitment. Many young people come to the Lord, but the rate of backsliding after entering employment is high. Pray for a deep work of the Holy Spirit in reviving and emboldening the believers.
http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html
<a href="http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html"> Or click here</a>
PRAY
* Bro. Eddie Watson
* Bro. Lester Wilkerson
* Bro. Patrick Wilkerson
* 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.
High School Maps Online has names, addresses. phone numbers, maps And directions to 26,000 US high schools
<a href="http://www.hsmaps.com"> Or click here</a>
DrBarrick.org
<a href="http://www.drbarrick.org/"> Or 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.)
Sing to, and worship, the King who is worthy.
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:
<a href="http://www.newjoydivine.org"> AOL users click here</a>
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