Palm Sunday Prep

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels. (Mark 11:1–11, Matthew 21:1–11,Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19).

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of box, yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.

                                                                                             - Wikipedia

Quote of the Day

The Almighty has His own purposes.
                                                                                               - Abraham Lincoln

Leadership Thought...

"Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it.”

Today in Church History

March 28, 1515: Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila, founder of a reformed Carmelite order, is born. Though her contemporaries noted her practicality and administrative skills, her legacy stems from her mysticism, evidenced in her Autobiography, Way of Perfection, Book of Foundations, and Interior Castle.

March 28, 1592: Czech theologian Jan Comenius, educator of the Bohemian (or Moravian) Brethren, is born in Nivnice, Czechoslovakia. As today, the region was tormented by warfare, and Comenius believed the only way to bring peace was through education. He designed a plan for educating every province and country, which he presented in The Great Didactic(1632). Education, he believed, should be more than just learning facts and languages (as was the case in his day), it should mold Christian character and should be marked by observing the physical world. He is called "the father of modern education."

March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passes the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633 (Charles I's reign). In essence, the act restored the Anglican episcopacy to Scotland and quashed Presbyterianism, which had been the national church since 1638. In 1690 Parliament again established the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian.

March 28, 1937: Billy Graham gets his first opportunity to preach when his teacher John Minder unexpectedly assigns him the Easter evening sermon. Graham tried to get out of it, saying he was unprepared, but Minder persisted. Desperately nervous, Graham raced through four memorized sermons, originally 45 minutes each, in eight minutes.

Great Video about Evil - Ravi Zacharias

Quote of the Day

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.

—John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople; sermon, ca. 400

Disciple

A Disciple is a pupil or follower of a religion, a person, or a movement. Christians are to be disciples of Jesus (Luke 14:26,27). They follow in the teaching and example of Christ. It should be noted that a disciple is a convert but not all converts are disciples. As disciples, Christians are to bear their cross daily (Matt. 16:24) meaning that they are to live and die for Him if necessary (Matt. 16:25). 

Justice

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” 

                                                                                                    ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Today in Church History

March 23, 332 (traditional date): Gregory the Illuminator, who converted a nation before Constantine even embraced Christianity, dies. A missionary to his homeland of Armenia, he converted King Tiridates, and much of the kingdom followed suit. Soon Christianity was established as the national religion, with Gregory as its bishop.

March 23, 1540: Waltham Abbey in Essex becomes the last monastery in England to transfer its allegiance from the Catholic Church to the newly established Church of England.

March 23, 1743: George Friedrich Handel's oratorio "Messiah" plays in London and is attended by the king, who stood instantly at the opening notes of the Hallelujah Chorus—a tradition ever since (though some historians have suggested it was because he was partially deaf and mistook it for the national anthem). The oratorio was actually quite controversial, since it used the words of God in the theater, and the title only made things worse. Handel compromised a bit by dropping the "blasphemous" title from handbills. It was instead called "A New Sacred Oratorio.

March 23, 1966: The Archbishop of Canterbury meets at the Vatican with Pope Paul VI—the first such meeting between Anglican and Catholic leaders since Henry VIII broke with Rome more than 400 years before.

                                                                                 - Christianity Today

Giving In

I gave in, and admitted that God was God.                                                                                
                                                                                                                           - C. S. Lewis

Suffering of the Saints

The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.          
                                                                                           -  C. S. Lewis

Family Pictures

We have had an eventful month as a family. I have become a great uncle, as my niece had a baby at the end of February. The baby's name is Nerrista and I have yet to receive the promised pic of Nerrista from my Mom, Sis, or Yvette. BUT, I DID snap a shot of Bill Ridge (the new Grandpa) sitting in the waiting room. He either has a new halo or he has just come up with a brilliant idea. (I don't think either of those are possible though.)

Tiffany just received her first pair of glasses and wanted me to put her picture of them on my blog...so...

And lastly, I snapped this picture while we were hiking last week at Prophetstown State Park. We had a cookout, hiked about 4 miles, and then played Frisbee and still had time to read for a couple of hours. What a great "winter" day in Indiana. 

Is the Bible True, Powerful, and Inspired by God?

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand. --Mark Twain

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. --George Washington

If you believe that exposing your children to violence is a problem, by all means keep them away from the Bible. --Rev. Charles Henderson

The Bible "A Book Worth More than all the other Books that were ever printed." - Patrick Henry

Funny!

This picture is worth a thousand laughs. The one below that is Tristan's favorite.

catsnkittens.com

catswithlightsabers.com

St. Patricks Day

The Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation,

Amen.

Saint Patrick's Day Preparation

Here is some quick background information about Saint Patrick. I will be leading a Mission Trip next year during Saint Patrick's Day. Let me know if you are interested!

Most people do not realize just how long ago Patrick lived. Patrick was 16 years old in about the year 405, when he was captured in a raid. He then became a slave in what was still radically pagan Ireland. Far from home, he clung to the religion he had ignored as a teenager. Even though his grandfather had been a priest, and his father a town councilor, Patrick "knew not the true God." But forced to tend his master's sheep in Ireland, he spent his six years of bondage mainly in prayer. He escaped at the suggestion of a dream and returned home.

Patrick was in his mid-40s when he returned to Ireland. Intimately familiar with the Irish clan system (his former master, Milchu, had been a chieftain), Patrick's strategy was to convert chiefs first, who would then convert their clans through their influence. Milchu was one of his earliest converts.

It is interesting to note that he did not drive the snakes from Ireland, as there have never been snakes on the Emerald Isle, and he was never formally canonized as a Saint in the Catholic Church. 

                                                                           - Christianity Today

What Nourishes the Soul?

"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself...."

When reading Tozer this week, I found the 3 sentences above to be very insightful. I would love to have a dialogue about this if anyone is interested. I have really appreciated the conversations I have had this week with several different folks about Gnosticism, the church, and discipleship.

Reading the Bible

How do you read the Bible? This quote made me think about the Bible and my life with Jesus.

Some people like to read so many [Bible] chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!
                                                                         --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YVETTE!!!

Happy Birthday to Yvette, as she turns 40 today!

Just Kidding! She is really 25.


Ok...actually she is somewhere between 25 and 40...AND I AM NOT TELLING WHERE!

My lack of knowing and understanding God's Word is because of....

...laziness. The following words from R.C. Sproul are ones I can really identify with.


Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.

Great Book - You'll Love it! (Unless you are a Oprah or Chopra fan!)

Just finished reading the book "Why Jesus?" by Ravi Zacharias. I highly recommend this book and would love to discuss with someone once they have read it.

Any takers?

Today in Church History

March 9, 320 (traditional date): Roman soldiers leave Christian soldiers naked on the ice of a frozen pond in Sebaste, Armenia.They placed baths of hot water around them to tempt them to renounce their faith. When one did so, a pagan guard—inspired by the fortitude of the remaining Christians—converted and joined the freezing Christians. They were all killed and made famous by Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa.

March 9, 395 (traditional date): Gregory of Nyssa, Cappadocian father and bishop, dies. An outstanding thinker, theologian, orator, and ascetical author, he was very influential in developing the theology of the Trinity.

March 9, 1831: Evangelist Charles Finney concludes a six-month series of meetings in Rochester, New York. The meetings, which have been called "the world's greatest single revival campaign," led to the closing of the town's theater and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions.

The Gospel of Thomas & Gnosticism

Twice in the last week, the subject of the Gospel of Thomas has come up in discussions, and so I want to first share this article from carm.org. Following the article are some of my thoughts concerning this subject.

-----

What is the Gospel of Thomas?

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus that was discovered in 1945 at the village of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. Before the Nag Hammadi discovery, very little was known about the Gospel of Thomas other than three small fragments from Oxyrynchus that date to 200 A.D....

The Date of Thomas

Even though the Gospel of Thomas is perhaps the earliest, most popular, and best "Gnostic" Gospel around, it does not belong in the New Testament since it was written in the second century at a time when all of the apostles of Christianity had already died....In fact, even many adherents to a first century origin for the Gospel of Thomas argue that, in its present form, Thomas reflects later editing.

Historical Value

Though the final composition of the Gospel of Thomas is likely in the second century, there may be some traditions in Thomas that date back to the first century and may be independent of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). However, by and large, the Gospel of Thomas does not really give us much new information about the historical Jesus compared to what is already found in the New Testament Gospels...

Is the Gospel of Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?

There is debate within the scholarly community regarding whether the Gospel of Thomas is a Gnostic document. In fact, the reputable Gnostic scholar, Elaine Pagels, changed her views after years of studying the Gospel of Thomas. She know thinks that it is not a Gnostic document. However, in line with many other scholars, it seems best to conclude that it at least contains some Gnostic like ideas such as salvation by secret knowledge, the extreme asceticism,... the idea of a heavenly teaching Christ who may not necessarily be human, etc. Thomas also places little emphasis on the value of the Old Testament Scriptures. This was certainly in line with Gnostic thinking. Even if Thomas is not Gnostic, it appears to have vast similarities with “Gnosticism” as broadly defined.
---

My Thoughts

The Gospel of Thomas is not worth wasting ANY time reading or studying, as it is Gnostic, hence it is also heretical. Time is way to precious and short to spend it reading and studying that fraudulent writing. We should be spending our time studying the canon of work that God has (in his sovereignty, omniscience, and omnipotence) placed before His creation. (The Holy Bible) Rom. 1

One other thought at this point comes to my mind. If we really believe John 1:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, why would we trust other people to use other texts and belief systems to evaluate and interpret the Holy Scriptures that clearly contradict the Bible's interpretation of itself???

Parts of God's Word cannot be true, and other parts false. It is either all true, or it fails to be the Word that became flesh. Although that sounds intolerant, truth by definition excludes.

Today in Church History

March 7, 203: Perpetua, a Christian about 22 years old, her slave, Felicitas, and several others are martyred at the arena in Carthage. They were flogged, attacked by hungry leopards, and finally beheaded. Perpetua remains one of early Christianity's most famous martyrs.

March 7, 1274: Thomas Aquinas, one of the most significant theologians of all time, dies at age 48. Known for his adaptation of Aristotle's writings to Christianity, he became famous for his massive Summa Theologiae (or "A summation of theological knowledge"). In its early pages, he stated, "In sacred theology, all things are treated from the standpoint of God." Thomas proceeded to distinguish between philosophy and theology and between reason and revelation, though he emphasized that these did not contradict each other. Both are fountains of knowledge; both come from God.

March 7, 1530: Pope Clement VII rejects Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry eventually responded by declaring himself supreme head of England's church.

Our Position, God's Position

"Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you...'" Genesis 17:3-4

Abraham has the correct posture for man. There is no better picture of the correct place for mankind, recognizing the correct place of God. God, on His throne speaking, and Abraham on his face listening!

Quote of the Day 3

Gossip is the devil's radio.
                                         - Anonymous

Quote of the Day 2

T - Is it true?
H - Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring?
N - Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?
If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut!

Quote of the Day

You are confronted again and again with the choice of letting God speak or letting your wounded self cry out.
                                                                                           - Henri J. M. Nouwen

Jesus' Time: Food

I thought a snapshot of what people ate in first century Palestine would be interesting to learn about. Basically...the woman’s daily job included preparing food for her family. They would grind grain, bake bread, milk the animals, and make cheese. I think we should get a goat, just so I could watch Yvette try and milk it! ;-) 


Don't worry, she doesn't read my blog. 


Typically a family ate two meals: Breakfast – light or small amounts of food taken to work; and Dinner – A large meal with cheese, wine, vegetables and fruits, and eggs. As for meat, fish was most common, followed by chicken or fowl. Red meat (beef and lamb) was served only on special occasions, and pork and crustaceans were absolutely forbidden. 


Most foods were boiled or stewed in a big pot and seasoned with salt, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, mint, dill, and mustard. Food was sweetened with wild honey or syrups from dates or grapes. 


Food was generally served in a common bowl and eaten by dipping in with the fingers.


                                                                         - Taken from JesusCentral.com

C.S. Lewis

Studying this morning, I found myself stuck on brainyquotes.com and found a few great quotes from CS Lewis that I do not remember reading. For your thoughts today too...


=============


- Let's pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere. 


- The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not. 


- The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil. 

Polycarp

Polycarp was an aged bishop in the very early church. The following article is enlightening and inspiring, even if you are aware of his story.


---------------------------


Polycarp had been a Christian since he was a child, but the Romans didn't get around to killing him until he was in his eighties. Whatever the reason for the delay, it is still the first recorded martyrdom in post New Testament history.


Uneducated but Direct
He lived during the most formative era of the church, at the end of the age of the original apostles, when the church was making the critical transition to the second generation of believers. Tradition has it that he was personally discipled by the apostle John and that he was appointed as bishop of Smyrna (in modern Izmir in Turkey) by some of the original apostles.


In his later years, he tried to settle disputes about the date to celebrate Easter and He confronted one of the church's most troublesome heretics, the Gnostic Marcion, calling him "the first born of Satan," when he ran into him in Rome. Polycarp was also responsible for converting many from Gnosticism. His only existing writing, a pastoral letter to the church at Philippi, shows he had little formal education, and was unpretentious, humble, and direct.


Such traits are especially evident in the account of his martyrdom, which was written within a year of his death. It is not clear exactly why he was suddenly, at age 86, subject to arrest, but when he heard Roman officials were intent on arresting him, he decided to wait for them at home. Panic-stricken friends pleaded with him to flee, so to calm them, he finally agreed to withdraw to a small estate outside of town. But while in prayer there, he received some sort of vision. Whatever he saw or heard, we don't know. He simply reported to his friends that he now understood, "I must be burned alive."


Roman soldiers eventually discovered Polycarp's whereabouts and came to his door. When his friends urged him to run, Polycarp replied, "God's will be done," and he let the soldiers in.


He was escorted to the local proconsul, Statius Quadratus, who interrogated him in front of a crowd of curious onlookers. Polycarp seemed unfazed by the interrogation; he carried on a witty dialogue with Quadratus until Quadratus lost his temper and threatened Polycarp: he'd be thrown to wild beasts, he'd be burned at the stake, and so on. Polycarp just told Quadratus that while the proconsul's fire lasts but a little while, the fires of judgment ("reserved for the ungodly," he slyly added) cannot be quenched. Polycarp concluded, "But why do you delay? Come, do what you will."


Soldiers then grabbed him to nail him to a stake, but Polycarp stopped them: "Leave me as I am. For he who grants me to endure the fire will enable me also to remain on the pyre unmoved, without the security you desire from nails." He prayed aloud, the fire was lit, and his flesh was consumed. The chronicler of this martyrdom said it was "not as burning flesh but as bread baking or as gold and silver refined in a furnace."


The account concluded by saying that Polycarp's death was remembered by "everyone"—"he is even spoken of by the heathen in every place."


                                                                                         - Christianity Today, 153 People Everyone Should Know

Discipleship and Southside

I will get the honor of preaching on March 25th at FCC, and am preparing a message on being "Covered with Dust." Basically it is a look into being a disciple and will include a look into first century discipleship. I began studying for the message this week, and found this really good quote from Dallas Willard. The quote is followed by a few of my ow thoughts  concerning what we are doing as we prepare to begin our new worship opportunity on the south side of Lafayette in September. 

“A disciple is a learner, a student, an apprentice—a practitioner, even if only a beginner. … Disciples of Jesus are people who do not just profess certain views as their own but apply their growing understanding of life in the Kingdom of the Heavens to every aspect of their life on earth.” - Dallas Willard

Discipleship for an individual believer is a lifelong journey with Jesus. We (as a church) must be intentional, about making disciples. This happens through modeling and living out Jesus' teachings and meeting together in small groups for Bible study. 


If we do NOT model it, and we fail to meet regularly, then we will NOT make disciples of Jesus. We may be making something, even a type of disciple, but not true followers of Christ. 


Thoughts?