I found this on One News Now blog, in a post entitled “Cinderella a Christian?” Like Tony Dungy (of the Indianapolis Colts), God continues to place men of God in the athletic spotlight. I greatly appreciate men like Dungy and Coach Moore, who are embracing that call with humility, and using that platform to point to Jesus and His Glory! Original Post found at http://www.momentumblog-jason.blogspot.com. Visit Momentum Student Ministry at http://www.westwoodmomentum.org.
For parents/students
Your Worldview
One of my classes in Seminary this semester is an Apologitics class. This week, one of my assignments included answering the following worldview questions from my point of view, and then from the average American’s point of view: How do we find happiness? How do we find wholeness? What goals are really worth pursuing? What is life “for”? I chose to include my answers on my blog this week in hopes that it would get anyone who reads it thinking as it did for me. I hope you will take the time to read my answers, and then, perhaps, you will answer them (all of them or one of them) for yourself. I would love to see the thoughts of others on these very important questions. I would urge all Christians to at least take some time and think through these questions, as they are some of the very questions that we will be asked by non-Christians. We need to
"What good is it to gain the whole world…"
Once again, a person that we would label a ‘celebrity’ has given us a perfect illustration of this verse, found in Matthew 16:26. “What will it profit a man,” Jesus asks, “to gain the whole world and (at the same time) forfeit his soul?” Heath ledger has proven to be another epitome of the message of this verse.From the outside looking in, most people would have traded lives with Ledger in a split second; without much thought at all. He was wildly wealthy and popular, thanks to a brilliant acting career on the big screen. With those two assets, there were very few things on earth that were out of his reach. To compensate his popularity, he was a great looking guy, which afforded him the ability to have just about any woman he could have wanted. He had the assurance of work, as he had become greatly sought after as a star in films, yet he could retire at
Parents and their children’s technology
After taking last week off from blogging because of the holidays and travel, this week I am late because of getting back in the office and being in ‘go mode’. So, sorry for that. I wanted to, especially after Christmas has just passed and many tech gifts have been given to students, I wanted to issue a warning to parents that I once put in letter form at the first church in which I served. That warning is directly tied to those tech gifts that have just been given, as well as all the ones given through the years to teenagers. I am convinced that one of the biggest mistakes made by parents is simply giving the gift of technology without then monitoring that technology as it is put into use by the student. I was spending some time with 4 of the best guys in my first ministry one day. I asked to look at one of their cell
The Shepherds’ Adoration
I had the opportunity last summer to visit Hungary on a mission trip with some of our recent graduates of our student ministry. We spent 7 days teaching English to a group of about 25-30 students ranging in age from 11 to 18. We taught about creation, the fall, the lingering detremental affects of sin and the Savior that came so that we might be reconciled to God. On the last day, we took the opportunity to present the Gospel and provide an invitation for the children to respond. After taking the children who had responded out, discussing their response and hearing a couple of them pray to trust Jesus, I noticed some of our oldest students. None of them had come forward. The three that mostly caught my attention were named Yoji, Martin and Ishvan (at least that is the English phonics way of spelling the names!). All of these boys were 16-17 years of age, and the three
Pointing to Jesus this Christmas season
I have just finished reading an incredible book by David Nasser, entitled Glory Revealed. The book has 20 short chapters, in which David uses 10 different Scriptures to show how the glory of God is revealed in us and through us. If you are looking for a devotion-type book, I would highly recommend it to you! I have been reading it for some time, coming back to it occasionally, until last night I finally read the final chapter, called Glory Revealed Through Preparation. In this chapter, Nasser uses the analogy of the glory of the red carpet scene that we see on television all the time. This scene is always buzzing with crowds, celebrities and the media. David speaks of all the preparation that must take place in order for this spectacle to occur. He shares how important the red carpet is, letting people know that this is going to be an event to remember. However, when the crowds show
A word from Tozer…
Two Sundays ago now, our Pastor shared about spiritual gifts during our Bible Study hour. He spoke about the fact that we all have been given varying gifts from God and that we are all accountable for using those gifts in order to aid in building His kingdom here on earth. As he shared how we can find out what our spiritual gifts are, he said that the only way we can cultivate these gifts is by serving and following the prompting of God. The truth is, most gifts lie unused, and therefore useless to the body. As I heard this, I was reminded of an excerpt of an essay that I once read by A. W. Tozer. I wanted to share that with you this week as we continue to think about our gifts and how important we are in the mission of building for the kingdom. This quote comes from a book called, “Tozer on Worship and Entertainment,”
Thoughts from the Baptist State Convention
Have you ever allowed a perfect opportunity to say something to someone pass you by? I have. I have had so many, actually. The moment passes and then you spend the rest of the day wishing you had just said it. I actually had one of those this past week. For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to attend a baptist state convention meeting. It was interesting and I was actually excited. This year’s agenda was pretty full, with several important votes on the schedule. One of the first of these motions was presented by Meyers Park Baptist Church, of Charlotte, NC. The pastor and member/secretary of the deacon board had come to present a motion that would seek to overturn a motion that passed at last year’s convention. This new by-law, without quoting it, basically states that any church which openly condones or approves of homosexual behavior is out of friendly relationship with the convention. Well, Meyers
Beware of the GOLDEN COMPASS
In a 2003 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Philip Pullman announced that “My books are about killing God.” Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman “The most dangerous author in Britain” and described him as the writer “the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.” So, why am I telling you these things about Mr. Pullman? Well, he is the author of the trilogy of books that have inspired the movie, “The Golden Compass,” which will appear in theatres on December 7th of this year. This is a movie about which I want to offer a strong warning. It has been said that this movie has been made in order to counter the message of the first Chronicles of Narnia movie, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”. However, as with all evil things, it appears to be purposely presented as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It seems the movie has been dumbed down to fool kids
A New Creation
This morning at our See You At The Pole rally at Person High School, a girl read this well known verse:“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17God really illuminated a couple of things from that verse that seemed fresh to me this morning. I wanted to share those things. First, the phrase “…the old has passed away” really made me think about students. Here I was, standing just feet away from a doorway through which so many students today will pass through who are living in the old. I thought about how this verse should serve as a reminder to us as believers of what it was like to be blinded from the Gospel and held captive by our sin and the death penalty we were under. Instead, for so many believers, nothing much has changed. We are still living for many of
