Author Archives: Clark Bunch

Happy Monday

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“My purpose is to glorify God, and that’s what I want to do at the Olympic Games.”  -Jennifer Nichols, archer, Team USA  Read the full story here at Baptist Press.

Michael Phelps ends his Olympic career with a record breaking 22 total medals.  This will be the week for track and field events, and basketball teams will begin knock-out rounds today as well.  Team USA had their first “close call” with Lithuania, winning by only 6 points.

Chick-fil-A set new sales records last Wednesday, courtesy of Mike Huckabee sponsored Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.  Not all Christians stand in agreement, which should come as no big surprise.  Other things Christians disagree on include infant baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the divinity of Christ and who can be saved. Continue reading →

True or False: Man Cannot See God and Live

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I’m going to consider this question in order to illustrate two important truths that should apply to other questions.  I have heard entire sermons on Exodus 33:20, in which God says to Moses “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”  Some elevate the idea of dying at the sight of God to one of the great doctrines of our Christian faith.  If your paradigm is that no man can see God and live then you run into problems with other passages of scripture when men do see the face of God.  So here come two important lessons.

1) The Bible does not contradict itself.  The Bible is the Word of God.  At essence it conveys one single message, that of how a holy, righteous God deals with a sinful, fallen, broken humanity.  Many apparent conflicts are the result of not understanding historical or cultural context.  Bible students must learn something of history, Hebrew poetry, and the language of analogy. Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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Opening Ceremonies in London – where else can you see Queen Elizabeth II jump from a helicopter or Mr. Bean play Chariots of Fire?

9.66 million Tweets sent during the Opening Ceremonies.  That’s more than during the entire Games in Beiging, but to be fair Twitter wasn’t the “big deal” in 2008 is has become.  Media outlets actually had problems Saturday because the data networks were jammed with tweets and they couldn’t get details for broadcast.  When people watching television started tweeting about the lack of info, the problem only got worse.

James Holmes will be back in court today, but news cameras will not, Continue reading →

God Bless Chick-fil-A

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If you don’t know Tim Hawkins you’re really missing out.  All seriousness aside, let’s watch this and share a smile.  I’ll see you all next Wednesday at a Chick-fil-A near you (unless you live in Boston).

…

Below is Tim’s original Chick-fil-A song, with a special Truet & Dan Cathy verse. Continue reading →

Chick-fil-A Drama Play by Play

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The Chick-fil-a saga continues, and some would argue has gotten ridiculous.  Here’s a timeline, a play by play if you will, of how we ended up where we are.  The story has been picked up by national media, who of course are reporting many facts wrongly.

  1. Dan Cathy is interviewed by Ken Coleman, a radio talk show host in Atlanta.  The link I had to the interview is longer valid, but Cathy did remark that America is inviting God’s judgement.  That broadcast was over a month ago, and there was no social media attention nor public outrage in the weeks that followed.
  2. Last week this interview was published by the Baptist Press.  Cathy says in the interview there is no such thing as a Christian company.  A company cannot be lost or saved but individuals are.  A company can however be run according to Christian principles.   Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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Happy Monday, a weekend review and a look ahead.

Let’s begin with the good news (so I can display the London Olympics icon).  Opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games are this Friday.  For over 100 years the Olympics have been an occasion for the nations of the world to put their differences aside and meet on the athletic field.  London2012.com is the official website.  I will probably provide commentary and keep a running tab of American medals on my other blog.

Box Office numbers are not being released for Dark Knight Rises out of respect for Aurora, CO shooting victims.  We have been praying for Colorado during the weeks of wildfires and home destruction, and will continue to pray for Colorado now.  James Holmes will make his first appearance in court today. UPDATE – Formal charges will be filed on Monday, July 3o.

If you read this blog and are gay (probably a small demographic) you’ll want to find and join a Chick-fil-A boycott this week.  Despite the chain’s official statement to continue serving everyone equally without discrimination, and leave the same-sex marriage debate to the politicians, Chick-fil-A is the target of GBLT boycotts and protests.  For the rest of us, Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day is August 1.  Like I said, as for me and my house…

Word of encouragement  “…God is in the business of setting us up with just what is necessary for us to get to that place where we need to be. Keep serving others. Keep putting others first. Keep using your gifts to bless others. You never know when God will open a door for you.”  More here from Walter Bright

Here’s a story I had pegged for the Read and Share File, but haven’t put together enough to publish another installment yet.  John Boyers, pictured left, will coordinate 160 chaplains serving at the summer games in London.  His regular “gig” is pastoring the players and staff of Manchester United, so he is right in his element.  Read the full story at Baptist Press.

I’m looking forward to the week ahead.  Keep my family in your prayers and have a Happy Monday :- D

Bloggers, Moderate Your Comments

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Typically I allow anyone that has been approved before to have their comments automatically displayed.  Meaning that your first comment to this blog will be held for moderation and after that one is approved your others will appear instantly.  Some blogs strictly moderate every comment, while some allow everything to appear regardless of the source.

Keep your eye out for comments from L.W. Dickel.  If there is even such a guy (it could be a group of people) he keeps leaving exactly the same inflammatory remarks on multiple posts of multiple Christian blogs.  It’s nothing more than anti-Christian spam, but my filters didn’t catch it and I’ve seen at least two Christian blogs displaying the same comment.  Keep an eye out, moderate your comments, don’t bother engage.  If he wants a legitimate dialog, let him follow the rules.

 

As For Me and My House, We Will Eat at Chick-fil-A.

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Thousands of conservatives protested JC Penny when they announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be their new spokesperson.  (If you recall, I cited the ridiculousness of such a boycott).  In light of Christians calling on others in their ranks to boycott Disney, JC Penny, or (retailer of the week) for supporting gay marriage we should not be surprised that gay and lesbian groups are calling for organized boycotts against Chick-fil-A for their public stance on supporting the family.

Please read this article, published by Denny Burk, titled Chick-fil-A and the Irony of the Tolerance Policy.  I will offer a couple of excerpts but strongly encourage reading the original piece. Continue reading →

Bible Survey: Joseph: Dreams Do Come True

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If you follow The Master’s Table but have never heard of Bible Survey, that’s because it’s been a while.  Specifically it’s been over a year.  There was a time I considered bailing out on that project and deleting the URL.  I once tried to give away but there were no takers.  Every now then it bugs me, so…

Joseph: Dreams Do Come True is the Bible Survey post based on Genesis chapters 37 – 41.  The first several chapters of Genesis deal with a lot and cover several hundred years of human history.  As we near the end of Genesis and begin Exodus the story should speed up.

Was the Serpent in the Garden of Eden Satan?

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Most people believe that Satan appeared in the Garden of Eden as a serpent and tempted Eve to commit sin.  Some point out, however, that the Genesis account does not directly identify the serpent as Satan, and others will actually argue against the serpent being Satan.  So am I knowing and willfully opening this potential Pandora’s box?  Oh yeah.

I suggest beginning with a read of Genesis 3.  In verse 15, God speaks of enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.  This makes little sense if God is speaking to a mere serpent.  But if the seed of woman is a veiled reference to the Son of Man, i.e. Jesus who is the Christ, then this is the first prophesy of the Messiah.   Continue reading →