I saw a headline just two days ago that said supply chain problems could mean bah humbug. At ports on both coasts are dozens and dozens of container ships with goods waiting to be unloaded. The backlog could mean that by the time the regular Christmas shopping season starts, traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, there will be no toys, clothing and electronics left on store shelves. By the American way of thinking no stuff means no Christmas.
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This article in Atlantic outlines how the political fault lines across our culture have made their way inside our churches. Scott Dudley, senior pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian church, is just one voice of experience we hear from. “Many people are much more committed to their politics than to what the Bible actually says,” Dudley said. “We have failed not only to teach people the whole of scripture, but we have also failed to help them think biblically. We have failed to teach them that sometimes scripture is most useful when it doesn’t say what we want it to say, because then it is correcting us.” Dudley notes that he has heard of people leaving a church because it doesn’t align with their politics but has never heard of someone changing their politics because they did not align with their church’s teaching.
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Shoutout to Van Til in the intro. Then a discussion of evangelical liturgy and the call to worship.
In the second half: veteran worship and ministry leaders, with skill and experience, being shown the door. Is it just to replace them with younger guys that can be told what to do? The focus on church growth is coming back to bite evangelical churches in the long run.
The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang is demanding $1 million ransom be paid for each of the 17 missionaries they hold hostage or he has vowed to begin executing them. Pictures and video have been released that appear to confirm all 17 are still alive. The US State Department believes the video to be legitimate. Christian Aid Ministries does not want to make any comment that may endanger the lives of those missionaries being held. I have a pastor friend that has traveled to Haiti many times both for humanitarian relief and to train local pastors to be effective in their ministry. Haiti is an impoverished nation with government corruption and mismanagement of the highest order. Pray for the people of Haiti, these 17 missionaries in particular, and the political situation which prevents conditions from changing.
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The Blackwood Brothers Quartet was the first music group of any genre to travel by tour bus. Shown here is a replica of their 1939 cross city bus they upgraded and took on tour in the 1950’s. It was air conditioned and had bunk beds and recliners. J.D. Sumner is given credit for first promoting travel by tour bus. Before that groups traveled in cars, with musicians inside and trunks full of instruments and equipment.
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The armor of God (Ephesians 6) has no pants. That’s because men preparing for hard labor or going into battle were commanded to gird up their loins:
The Proverbs 31 woman girds her loins in strength but it’s usually associated with men. Most modern translations render the Hebrew “she girds her loins with strength” as she dresses herself or she wraps herself in strength but I’ve linked several translations side by side here. God tells Job to gird up his loins like a man in Job 38:3 but there again you have to go to the KJV for that translation, some modern translation give it in the footnotes. 1 Peter 1:13 is rendered “gird up the loins of your mind” in the King James but simply “prepare your minds for action” in the ESV. Girding one’s loins is an old concept because we’re dealing with another culture(s) millenia ago on the other side of the world. Men didn’t wear pants and thus the full armor of God has no pants.
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Intro: Looking for a car. Found a good long distance service. What can you discuss/display in front of other Christians? Origins of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. “Living the Christian Year” by Bobby Gross.
Big Topic: A response to a family with a teenage son, rattled in his faith after going out into the “real world” and deciding to become atheist. How do parents respond to a child raised in a Christian home, including church life and Christian school, who then rejects Christian faith?
Note: This is what he is talking about with the sock and shoe spinning, based on the idea that Moses took off his shoes because he was on holy ground. Spin Me Right Round Jesus is the first song in a long montage so feel free to bale out at any time.
This goes under the heading of trivia question theology. It was discussed in a Facebook group that I am part of. My answer is that when Jesus appears in the upper room to his Apostles, and later to Thomas in particular, he has been resurrected and appears in his glorified body. He can do things like appear and disappear in rooms with all the doors and windows closed. He instantly disappeared from their sight once the men on the road to Emmaus recognized who he was. He showed Thomas the nail prints in his hands and let him feel the wound in his side. Why would Jesus have these wounds after his resurrection? While I believe that there will be no sickness or death in heaven, and that we will be healed of all infirmities, our identity is hid in Christ and his redemptive work is very much tied tied to his death on the cross. Calvary is the point where heaven touches earth. His wounds may be visible for this reason; they are a major part of his story. Those marks define the crucified savior, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. My reasoning for the wounds being visible may be speculative but the fact that we see Jesus with them after the resurrection is firmly based on the Gospel accounts.
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Apple Cider Donuts are a cake type of donut with a pretty soft texture. Oreo’s have a crunchy cookie on either side but it’s crazy how much these things taste like apple cider donuts. This was an impulse buy. Fall doesn’t last long, do something wacky.
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The Master's Table 