Another Week

It is Monday again. This will be a short week. Wednesday the family and I are going to the Indianapolis Children's Museum and then Tina and I are off to the North American Christian Convention. Have to get on the sermon only have two days. More later.

Integrity

Last week I was in a Verizon phone shop and they told me they could transfer my contacts in my old phone to my new one. Today I went in and talked to the same guy and he told me he couldn't. I reminded him of last week but he didn't remember. This is the same guy that told Tina and me that he has a phone account from another carrier.

What is with Integrity. Doesn't anyone have it anymore?

New Phones

We Got new phones yesterday and I activated them today. They seem really cool but it will take me forever to learn to use them. My meeting is tomorrow and I am looking forward to hanging out with my peeps.

Later Guys

Monday Mania

It is Monday again. Time to get a good start on next Sunday. Wayne Shaw was with us and presented us with our Natural Church Development results. We need to do some work on our personal spiritualness as well as our worship as a Church. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Hope you all have a good week. I am starting a series on 1 Timothy this week. What about you?

Great Blog

I love the approach that Bob Lowery Takes on Revelation. This is a great thought on his blog about the link between those who use Revelation to predict the end of the world and those who use the stars to predict silly things.

Great job Bob, Read it below:4
The Link Between Dispensationalists and AstrologistsJune 9th, 2008
By the time you read this the United Astrology Conference will have met in Denver and will have offered their prediction on who will be the presidential winner in November. They were to have made their choice by Tuesday, May 20. I don’t know who they will pick nor do I care.*Â

It appears that an integral component to predicting who will be the next President is the candidates’ exact birth times. Hmmm. They "know" that Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at 7:11 p.m. (Yet other astrologers give other birth times for Obama.) As in the past when it comes to disclosing information in a timely fashion, Hillary Clinton is not sharing the exact time of her birth. And Senator McCain has changed his known birth time by at least two hours, wrecking havoc with predictions on his presidential aspirations. (Supposedly his birth time was embedded like a gold nugget in a Mother’s Day campaign ad where his mother mentioned that her son was born August 29, 1936, at 11 a.m.) I have read that birth data are rated for accuracy and shared among astrologers through a variety of Web sites.


Astrologist Shelley Ackerman and others insist their profession’s work is accurate, if not more so, than many polls. . . . Just about as accurate as dispensationalists like John Darby, C.I. Scofield, William E. Blackstone, Charles Ryrie, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, and John Hagee–which isn’t saying much! For these individuals have consistently been wrong. Let me take Lindsey as one example. According to the way he read the Bible (at least in the early 1970s), the rapture must take place before 1988, within forty years of the establishment of the nation Israel (May 16, 1948). Furthermore, ten nations would make up the European Common Market. With great certainty Lindsey said that these events were predicted in a variety of Scriptures. And yet he was wrong.

Why are the astrologists and the dispensationalists wrong? The former appeal to the rhythms of heaven and earth, specifically the cycle of nature between the sun and the moon and the planets and the stars, and the latter appeal to newspapers headlines, and when the headlines change new editions of books need to be published.

Both camps remind me of those individuals who read tea leaves for guidance. Ridiculous? Yes! But how many Christians do you know who read their horoscopes or listen to the latest self-styled prophecy experts?

*For the record, they predict an Obama victory — Ed.

Tuesday

Working on my LBC Classes today. I don't have to preach Sunday so I am doing some work on my classes for this fall. I love to teach and preach. Have a good day.

Tuesday

New Week

it is a great new week. Started this morning with a nice walk to get my paper and drafted a letter to send to our board about a meeting we are having this weekend.

Don't have to preach this Sunday but have alot of meetings. Always seems to work that way.

Happy Father's Day

Hello all just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all. Love you dad

Priorities

I have been really worrying about my priorities lately. I don't know why but is my priorities what they should be. I love the Sermon on the Mount and I know that Jesus has alot to say on this info:

Everyone has treasures. Treasures are things we try to keep because of the value we place on them. We go to great lengths to hold on to them and protect them because we value them. In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus forces us to do some uncomfortable wrestling with the issue of financial treasures. To Jesus this is not a matter of money but of the heart. It is not a matter of physical possessions but of spiritual priorities. It is not a matter of this life but of eternal life.This is what Jesus is concerned with in the text. Jesus is not speaking against possessions but about our preoccupation with them. He gives us sound reasons why we should make it our priority to store up spiritual treasure in heaven rather than material treasure on earth. Jesus gives us for reasons worth our most serious consideration:

Material things do not last

Jesus gives us another reason for treasuring up our treasure in Heaven:

Focusing on Money will Bind us to Earth

Concentrating on “things” clouds our vision

Put your treasure in Heaven because:

It decides who our Master is

What do we treasure? What has our heart? What are our priorities? Treasures on earth and be eaten and destroyed? Or treasures in heaven? Jesus said where our treasure is determines where our heart is? Where’s our vision? Do we look at people and opportunities through God’s lenses? Is it clear that reaching people who matter to God is the greatest thrill in life? Who is our Master? It is impossible to have two. We will hate the one and love the other; or be devoted to one and despise the other. Ultimately, the only way we know what we treasure is when we are willing to honor the Donor above the gift and give away chunks of it freely in order to advance His causes. This is the best way to see who our Master really is.

Teaching Preaching

I think it is amazing that I am going to teach Preaching at Louisville Bible College this summer. It is a little nerve wracking and exciting that I get to do this. I love to preach and I LOVE to teach at this level.

http://www.louisvillebiblecollege.org/ is our website. Pray for me as I prepare this class and if you have any ideas let me know.

Meeting Time

Tomorrow will be a meeting of the "Minds." Some of the members of our study group are getting together. I hate it that two probably won't be there. Randy and Brian are caught in some of the flood waters in Indiana. We will miss you guys and we are praying for you friends.

I know you will miss the Donuts, Coffee, and stories that go no where. Mike if you can't come hope you are doing well.

These guys are great and are one of the reasons I stay in the ministry at times.

Thanks guys

Church Health

We are in the process of our third Natural Church Development Survey. It measures the health of the church. You get 30 people from your own church to take the survery.

I am reading now "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" and it has gotten me thinking. Just how healthy are we here at Shoals. I went to the Dr this morning and I need to go back Thursday for blood work. The NCD is like our bi annual check up here at Church. I hope we are growing in our love for Christ, His Church, and each other.

Swim Party

Today I took my son Jonathan to a swim party with his third grade class. One of the coolest things about being a parent is that you actually have a good time watching your child having fun.

Home Home

We got home from my mom and dads today. It was a great visit. We visited a place called Jumping Joeys and played for several hours. It had an obstacle course and several slides all powered by air to blow them up.

Yesterday we visited the GA home of FDR, the Little White House. My son Jonathan loves to learn about the presidents and he really enjoyed it. We finished the day at Red Robins for supper.

Tina is planning on painting all next week and my mom came home with us and will stay until Wednesday.