Last night Phyllis and I went to see the movie Freedom Writers. What an inspiring film of a young teacher wanting to make a difference in her kid's lives. Everyone should see this movie. I am planning a series on a week night which centers around inspirational movies about people who came out of great adversity and made a difference in their life or someone elses. Homeless to Harvard; October Sky; Johnny Lingo, are just three that come to mind.
What recommendations do you have for a series like this? I would show the film and then enter into a discussion afterwards about its relevance and the viewers could do differently to make adifference. I was just reading about Mr Holland's Opus but I have never seen that film. Please give me your suggestions.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Young Adult Service
Our second worship service at 12:15 pm is composed largely of young adults. There has been some discussion about making it more young adult friendly, such as edgier music, sermons topics more diretly related to young adults, video taping the service, streaming video the service. And so on. I need to hear from the young adults. What do you think? And more important how many of you would be willing to help plan and direct that kind of service in music, singing, drama, making of of video clips, ushering, and so on? Let's see how many people are reading this blog.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Bible--Casebook or Codebook?
When you read the Bible how do you approach it? How do you decide what to practice and what to discard? Take the following quiz and see how you come out. Look at what to do next at end of the 20 commands.
Write a "T" (today) beside each of the following statements that you believe should still apply to Seventh-day Adventists today.
Place a "NT" (not today) beside each statement that you believe no longer applies today. Do not answer according to what is practiced today but what you think the practice should be.
1. Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death (Exodus 21:17).
2. You may eat all you want from your neighbor's vineyard [garden] as long as you don't carry any produce away in a container (Deut. 23:24).
3. If a woman bear a male she shall be unclean seven days, but if a female she shall be unclean two weeks. If she bears a male she must wait 33 days to be purified from her bleeding but if a female 66 days (Lev.12:1-5).
4. He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:1, NIV).
5. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it (Lev. 19:26).
6. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard (Lev. 19:27).
7. Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute (Lev. 19:29).
8. Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God (Lev. 19:32).
9. When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married (Deut. 24:5).
10. If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand; show no pity (Deut. 25:11, 12, NIV).
11. "But the priests (ministers) . . . are to wear linen clothes; they must not wear any woolen garment . . . they must not wear anything that makes them perspire" (Ezek. 44:15, 17, 18).
12. When you fast put oil on your head and wash your face (Matt. 6:17).
13. Men everywhere should raise their hands in prayer (1 Tim. 2:8).
14. Women should dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes (1 Tim. 2:9).
15. A woman must not teach or have authority over a man; she must be silent (1 Tim. 2:12).
16. The church elder must not be given to much wine (1 Tim. 3:2).
17. Provide for widows over sixty who have been faithful to their husbands but do not help those under sixty (1 Tim. 5:9-11).
18. Greet everyone with a holy kiss (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14).
19. Women must cover their heads when they pray (1 Cor. 11:5, 13, 15).
20. If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off (Matt. 5:30).
How many of you will practice all 20 today? If you do not, how did you decide? Does anything go when using the Bible or are there some core principles to guide us? What principles do you use that help you decide?
Write a "T" (today) beside each of the following statements that you believe should still apply to Seventh-day Adventists today.
Place a "NT" (not today) beside each statement that you believe no longer applies today. Do not answer according to what is practiced today but what you think the practice should be.
1. Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death (Exodus 21:17).
2. You may eat all you want from your neighbor's vineyard [garden] as long as you don't carry any produce away in a container (Deut. 23:24).
3. If a woman bear a male she shall be unclean seven days, but if a female she shall be unclean two weeks. If she bears a male she must wait 33 days to be purified from her bleeding but if a female 66 days (Lev.12:1-5).
4. He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:1, NIV).
5. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it (Lev. 19:26).
6. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard (Lev. 19:27).
7. Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute (Lev. 19:29).
8. Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God (Lev. 19:32).
9. When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married (Deut. 24:5).
10. If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand; show no pity (Deut. 25:11, 12, NIV).
11. "But the priests (ministers) . . . are to wear linen clothes; they must not wear any woolen garment . . . they must not wear anything that makes them perspire" (Ezek. 44:15, 17, 18).
12. When you fast put oil on your head and wash your face (Matt. 6:17).
13. Men everywhere should raise their hands in prayer (1 Tim. 2:8).
14. Women should dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes (1 Tim. 2:9).
15. A woman must not teach or have authority over a man; she must be silent (1 Tim. 2:12).
16. The church elder must not be given to much wine (1 Tim. 3:2).
17. Provide for widows over sixty who have been faithful to their husbands but do not help those under sixty (1 Tim. 5:9-11).
18. Greet everyone with a holy kiss (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14).
19. Women must cover their heads when they pray (1 Cor. 11:5, 13, 15).
20. If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off (Matt. 5:30).
How many of you will practice all 20 today? If you do not, how did you decide? Does anything go when using the Bible or are there some core principles to guide us? What principles do you use that help you decide?
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
$5 million
If New Hope was to receive a New Year's gift of five million dollars how would you want the church to spend it? Would you spend the whole amount in one area or would you divide it up into smaller pieces? I could give you some ideas but I will leave it very general at the moment.
Friday, December 22, 2006
When will Christ return?
I have a unique theory of when Jesus will return. See if you agree or how you would describe his readiness to return.
In Matthew 24:14 Jesus said that this gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then the end would come. Later on in the same chapter he said that his coming would be as in the days of Noah when people were eating and drinking and were oblivious to the floods coming until it actually arrived.
Here is the BIG question. How can Jesus return if there are children constantly being born and growing into the age of accountability? Will Jesus save these children based on where their parents stand? Will Jesus save these children based on what decisions they would make if time was to last longer? Will Jesus treat them as if they have never lived? So since they have no chance of salvation they will not face punishment either.
2 Pter 3:9 says that God does not want anyone to perish but all come to salvation. I believe that Jesus gives us the clue in Matt. 24:36-39, being as in the days of Noah. The world had reached such a state of rebellion that no one was making a decision for God. Noah preached for 120 years and only his family entered the ark.
So today. The world will become worse and worse until evangelism dries up. No one is making a decision for Christ and it doesn't matter how many babies are born none of them will decide for Christ just as no one was making that decision in Noah's day. When this happens Jesus will return because there is no one left to save. What do you think?
In Matthew 24:14 Jesus said that this gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then the end would come. Later on in the same chapter he said that his coming would be as in the days of Noah when people were eating and drinking and were oblivious to the floods coming until it actually arrived.
Here is the BIG question. How can Jesus return if there are children constantly being born and growing into the age of accountability? Will Jesus save these children based on where their parents stand? Will Jesus save these children based on what decisions they would make if time was to last longer? Will Jesus treat them as if they have never lived? So since they have no chance of salvation they will not face punishment either.
2 Pter 3:9 says that God does not want anyone to perish but all come to salvation. I believe that Jesus gives us the clue in Matt. 24:36-39, being as in the days of Noah. The world had reached such a state of rebellion that no one was making a decision for God. Noah preached for 120 years and only his family entered the ark.
So today. The world will become worse and worse until evangelism dries up. No one is making a decision for Christ and it doesn't matter how many babies are born none of them will decide for Christ just as no one was making that decision in Noah's day. When this happens Jesus will return because there is no one left to save. What do you think?
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Adventist Positives
In this Christmas season we are encourage to be positive, to give thanks, to bless others, and be reminded of all the goods things that happened to us during the year.
I dedicate this post to the good things about Adventism. Much has been written about the negative aspects of our faith but there are many good things too. What have you found to be a great blessing in the teachings of Adventism? I could list quite a few but one that I am most thankful for is our emphasis on health and our heritage of health. I use the eight natural remedies, acronym--A STEWARD-- as guiding principles for my life. Good health is much more than not smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, it is all about balance in life. Now it is your turn.
I dedicate this post to the good things about Adventism. Much has been written about the negative aspects of our faith but there are many good things too. What have you found to be a great blessing in the teachings of Adventism? I could list quite a few but one that I am most thankful for is our emphasis on health and our heritage of health. I use the eight natural remedies, acronym--A STEWARD-- as guiding principles for my life. Good health is much more than not smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, it is all about balance in life. Now it is your turn.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Adventism Bible mistakes
When I was a young pastor I preached that everything that Adventism taught could be proved from the Bible. I have since come to realize that I was wrong. Adventism has its traditions and its "truths" that it inherited from other Christian groups. What are some of the teachings and practices of Adventists that you believe are non-biblical?
Let me start if off by comenting on our theology of ordination. Our theology comes right out of the Roman Catholic church not from the Bible. We have three levels of ordination: Deacon, Elder, Pastor. Deacon is inferior to elder which is inferior to pastor with you having to be ordained each time you take on one of these offices. In the Catholic church it is deacon, priest, and bishop, in that order with bishop being superior to priest and priest superior to deacon.
You find bishop, pastor, elder, deacon, in the New Testament but there is no hint that there were three separate ordinations required to fill these offices. There is much more I could say on this subject but this is enough for now. Now it is your turn. Where were we creatures of our culture such as ordination? And where do we need to change?
Let me start if off by comenting on our theology of ordination. Our theology comes right out of the Roman Catholic church not from the Bible. We have three levels of ordination: Deacon, Elder, Pastor. Deacon is inferior to elder which is inferior to pastor with you having to be ordained each time you take on one of these offices. In the Catholic church it is deacon, priest, and bishop, in that order with bishop being superior to priest and priest superior to deacon.
You find bishop, pastor, elder, deacon, in the New Testament but there is no hint that there were three separate ordinations required to fill these offices. There is much more I could say on this subject but this is enough for now. Now it is your turn. Where were we creatures of our culture such as ordination? And where do we need to change?
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