Category: faith

40 Days in the desert

Jesus in the desert - Day 1

I caught Andrew’s suggestions on the “40” illustrations by Simon Smith today.

I thought the music selection of Jap-Jap’s “Blue Shimmery Fall” was great, so I put a video together in Windows Movie Maker – yes that’s right Thomas, you can do video with Windows XP :-).

Anyways, I thought it made for a great story and backing track.

I’d like to try it with Third Day’s “King of Glory” as well – but that will have to come at a later time, as I only have it on my Mp3 player and not on my Lappy 486.

What do you think? Any other musical suggestions?

College students considered religious centrist

I caught a press conference on CSpan last night about a study by Harvard University Institute on Politics on College Students and their religious and political views.
I found a link to the video of the press conference on CSpan.org, but it appears to be bad.
Maybe it will start working in the near future. You can however watch the full press conference from the Harvard University website.
Anyways, it was an interesting study.

Traditional party identification labels of “conservative” and “liberal” are antiquated, and don’t fully represent students.

They said that the majority of college students define themselves as independents rather than the traditional Republican or Democrat. Students also tend to buck traditional liberal or conservative labels, looking more at right vs. wrong.

Religion is important in the lives of college students, but Republicans and Democrats may never agree on the role of religion in politics today.

Seventy percent of the students felt religion was important to them.
Twenty-five percent of students said they became more spiritual during college. Over 60 percent of Republican students thought that religion and spirituality in America was declining and it was a bad thing.
While over 50 percent of Democrat students thought that religion and spirituality in America was increasing and it was a bad thing.

Morality playing a strong role in students’ political views.

On the issues of right and wrong, Republican students tend to be focused on three major issues, abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage. But the study found many are also concerned about the moral issues with the Katrina response.
Democrats also tend to add educaenvironmentroment and health care to their concerns.
All students are concerned about genocide worldwide.

(The survey) finds seven out of ten of America’s college students believe that religion is somewhat or very important in their lives, but they are sharply divided “along party lines” over how strong a role religion should play in politics and government today. Despite these differences, more than half of students agree they are concerned about the moral direction of the country. While a majority believes hot-button issues like abortion policy, gay marriage and stem cell research are issues of morality, many also agree that the Government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, education policy and Iraq war policy are also questions of morality.

Some other information the study found was:

  • Both Democrats and Republicans agree on their concern over the country’s moral direction, but students are generally optimistic about our country’s future.
  • College students continue to support a more multilateral U.S. foreign affairs stance and are conflicted over unilateral action to prevent nuclear weapons development, including in Iran.
  • More than seven in ten students believe the United States should withdraw some or all U.S. troops from Iraq.
  • Potential 2008 Clinton-McCain presidential matchup is a dead heat on campuses.
  • President Bush’s approval rating still dropping, as students continue to feel the country is on the wrong track.
  • A majority of students trust our government’s ability to correctly choose which phone calls and e-mails to monitor, but they are still generally unwilling to allow it.

I felt like the study showed that today’s students are more concerned about human life in general than their parents may be.

One part of the study showed that students supported the spread of democracy by large ncasualtiesil casualities were in play.

Then the support decreases dramatically.

Anyways, it was an interesting program.

  • Video of the press conference

    • Good Friday thoughts

    I thought this was a great post from Mark Batterson:

    Good Friday

    Since it’s Good Friday I thought I’d share a devotional thought:

    Did Peter feel a twinge of guilt every time he heard a rooster crow?

    There is a poignant scene right after Peter denied Christ. A rooster crows. And Luke 22:61 says, “At that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter.” I don’t think it was a vindictive look. I think Jesus wanted to establish eye contact to maintain relationship with Peter, but Peter went out and “wept bitterly.”

    You know how certain sights or sounds or smells can trigger a memory? I’ve got to think that every time Peter heard a rooster crow he winced. It was a daily reminder of his failure. He was haunted by three denials.

    Peter gets a bum rap. He is forever remembered as the disciple who denied Christ three times, but we forget the fact that he is the only one who got close enough to get caught. Peter is the disciple who sinks in the Sea of Galilee, but he is also the only disciple who walks on water! And Peter is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus’ ear when the religious leaders come to arrest Jesus. But I don’t see any of the other disciples coming to Jesus’ defense do you?

    Lack of Evidence

    All four gospels tell the story of Peter cutting off the right ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Luke 22:51 says that Jesus “touched the man’s ear and healed him.”

    Let me state the obvious: you don’t cut off someone’s ear and get by with it, especially if that someone is the High Priest’s servant. Worst case scenario: Peter gets charged with attempted murder. Best case scenario: Peter gets charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

    We tend to overlook this subplot, but Peter is in a world of trouble!

    Then Jesus intervenes.

    Somehow he reverses the irreversible. He reattaches the amputated ear. But he does more than heal this man’s ear. I love the way my friend and mentor, Dick Foth, puts it: “Jesus destroys the evidence against us.”

    Stop and think about it.

    Malchus files a civil suit against Peter and takes the witness stand. He says, “Peter cut off my ear.” The Judge says, “Which ear?” Malchus says, “My right one.” The Judge says, “It looks fine to me.” And the case gets thrown out of court for lack of evidence!

    This isn’t just a story about Jesus and Peter and Malchus. It’s a picture of what Christ accomplished on the Christ. He destroyed the evidence against us. It’s like the Accuser of the Brethren brings charges against us, but the Judge says, “The evidence has been destroyed.” And the charges are dropped.

    That’s why it’s called Good Friday.

    Grace, it’s a name for a girl. It’s also a thought that changed the world.

    Prayer on the Daily Show

    The Daily Show discussed a new scientific study, that set out to prove if prayer works or not.
    According to the study, prayer may do more harm than good.
    Stewart suggests it was leaving out the word “Amen.”
    If you don’t end it right, you can’t expect to get the right answer.
    He also wonders if the study has any “real world application.”

    Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship

    Phil and I visited Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, with pastor Dr. Tony Evans this morn.

    It was a great experience I thought. Definitely a church with it’s finger on the pulse of the community.

    This is a church that’s been reported on in several places for it’s outreach to the community. I’ve always thought that a church should be judged on the impact it makes on the local community. If the church were to suddenly close down, what type of effect/impact would it have on the local neigbhorhood. Is the church really reaching out to its neighbors, or just benefiting the saints?

    A surprise to the visit was a visit by Fred Hammond. The church didn’t advertise him coming or being there, he just came out mid-service. Dr. Evans said, “Look what you would have missed if you had stayed home. And some people will say, ‘But you didn’t tell us Fred was coming.’ That’s right, we wanted you to come to church for God not Fred. There’s no telling who will show up next week.”

    Good stuff.

    Anyways, Dr Evans had a great message on Luke 4:1-13, about Jesus’ time in the wilderness. Thought I’d share some of my notes.

    Luke 4:1 – “Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness.”

    We should be constantly be under the influence of the Spirit

    The Spirit was in full control of Jesus

    The Spirit led him into the wilderness

    So many times we get frustrated about being in the wilderness, but sometimes the Spirit will lead us into the wilderness

    The Spirit led Jesus/leads us into a hot, barron, isolated wilderness

    Luke 4:2 – For forty days, being tempted by the devil.

    Satan came to tempt Jesus in the very place the Spirit had led Jesus

    The Spirit gives you a test, but the devil will tempt you

    Often tests and temptation can happen side by side

    Luke 4:2,3 – And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn to bread.”

    Jesus had given up what He craved to get what He really needed

    This was great – God/The Spirit will lead you to the devil, not so the devil can defeat you, but so you can defeat the devil

    Satan called on Jesus to meet His own needs, independent of God

    Satan will tempt us to fix our own problems without God’s help

    Jesus found a parallel situation in scripture to find the solution for His problem

    In the wilderness God will show you He is God

    When you don’t develop in the wilderness, God won’t lead you to your destiny or the promised land

    Luke 4:6,7 – And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”

    Satan told Jesus that he could bless Him

    God didn’t give the world over to Satan – Adam did

    God gave Adam the rule over the world, but Adam gave that over to Satan when Eve and Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden

    Often our blessings come from Satan

    We walk around saying “Blessed! Blessed!” when the blessings are not from God

    The blessings of the Lord bring no sorrow

    If the blessings bring sorrow – we may be enjoying blessings from the wrong blessor

    Luke 4:12 – And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

    You don’t back God into a corner to make Him do a miracle

    Then Evans went Kayfabe on us with a wrestling illustration, that got everyone up and fired up.

    He asked if anyone watched professional wrestling. I think I may have been the only one who raised my hand.

    “Let me let you in on a secret,” Evans said. “The winner is chosen before each match. But they have to entertain the crowd. They have to show you how the victor became the victor. They have to make a profit. So when the match starts the victor already knows he’s going to win. That’s why when he gets power slammed it doesn’t really phase him. When he gets body slammed it doesn’t really phase him. If he gets a litle bloody, that’s OK because he knows who’s going to win in the end.”

    We already know who’s going to win in the end. We already know we’ll win in the end — as members of God’s kingdom. So when the devil attacks and slams us to the mat – we know it’s not that bad, because we win in the end.

    House of Prayer/Community

    Richard, Phil and I met this morning at the Waxahachie IHOP for coffee, fellowship and discussion on this “new thing” we’ve begun.
    I don’t know if any of us are sure on how we should classify it. Is it a house church? Emergent church? House of prayer? It’s so fluid right now and exciting.
    I jotted down a few notes and thought this would be a good place to keep track of them and maybe get some feedback.
    Here are some ideas/visions we discussed:
    No building – the church is not a building, its the people. We want to think out of the box with meetings in homes, not a big spacious auditorium.
    A heart of ministry and worship – maybe self explanitory, but we want to have a heart that’s reaching out and ministering to people while we worship God.
    Relational – we don’t want anyone to feel like a number, or just a dude sitting in a pew, seat whatever. We want to build relationships and in that fellowship, learn from each other and grow together.
    Constant communication – we want to build a community where people feel comfortable sharing ideas, prayer requests, concerns, needs.
    Diverse
    Smaller groups – in each house church group we envision smaller groups that meet outside the typical “community meetings.” Such as women’s groups, mens groups etc.
    Christ seekers – we don’t claim to know everything. We’re just souls seeking God and a Christ-like life.
    Multiplication – we envision the community growing and multiplying. How great would it be to know that every Saturday or Sunday people are getting together in a house in each neighborhood in Waxahachie, or Dallas, or Texas or the US to pray and draw close to God.
    Ministry – we need to be involved in doing ministry in our community regularly. Whether we have 3 people or 30 people, we need to be out working in our community and sharing God’s love.
    10-15 people ideal – each house group will grow till 10-15 people are gathering weekly. From that, smaller groups will split off and start their own house groups in their neighborhood.
    Monthly corporate meetings – each month all the house groups will gather for worship, sharing and testimony to share how God is working in their lives/groups/communities.
    Ownership of faith – group members take ownership in their faith and put it to use.
    Tithing – each person should be responsible for tithing to the church/community. This brings up a whole other topic of issues that we’re not familiar with. Non-profit organization, bank accounts, etc. Something to study and look into: what is tithing? Is 10 percent scripturally required, or is that “man’s standard?”
    So those are some of our thoughts and ideas we discussed this morning. I’d love to hear other ideas and thoughts. Especially from those of you already involved in the emergent church movement.