We decided last week to look for a new church.
We have friends that go to a very small church and we were going to visit there today, but were unable.
The church gets together and eats breakfast, prays for 20 minutes, and then studies the bible. (I don't know whether or not they sing. If they don't, it may be that my family can get that started.)
There isn't an actual sermon, but I like the idea of reading a passage and then chewing on it as a group; of just examining God's unaltered word together.
It has this kind of home-church feeling, which Mom and me find really appealing. (I just made a rhyme by accident.) It makes me think of what the home-churches first century disciples led would have been like.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Shoes for Life
The Palouse 9-12 Project had a potluck today, and there was a hiking trail to the top of the butte we were at.
Me, my brother and my cousin went up it.
I was wearing slip-on (and off) shoes, and I'm in such awful shape that I was having a hard time with the climb even without having to worry about keeping my shoes on, so I did the sensible thing and went barefoot.
My cousin and I were talking about it hurting to walk with bare feet, and he pointed out that life tends to make our feet hurt because we won't wear shoes. The pain is self-imposed because we have a choice to put our shoes on.
I liked this analogy about shoes for life and it struck me that it'd be neat if the analogy worked out with Ephesians 6:15, which says 'and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.' (talking about the armor of God)
It doesn't workout perfectly, but this is what I found.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of peace. We should always have that gospel (God) foremost in our minds, the closer you are to God, the easier life will be. That doesn't mean that you'll be given less obstacles, it means the obstacles you're given will be easier to deal with.
If you don't have that readiness, you'll be stumbling over the jagged rocks you have to walk on.
How do you get that readiness?
You get it by seeking out God's wisdom that is stored in His word, by praying to God earnestly and humbly, and by striving to live in a way that pleases God (which means being a doer of the word and not a hearer only).
I do need to add that I don't think this is necessarily what that verse is saying.
I've always understood the verse to be admonishing us to always be ready to share the gospel, in any circumstance.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Ephesians 6:10-17 (ESV)
Me, my brother and my cousin went up it.
I was wearing slip-on (and off) shoes, and I'm in such awful shape that I was having a hard time with the climb even without having to worry about keeping my shoes on, so I did the sensible thing and went barefoot.
My cousin and I were talking about it hurting to walk with bare feet, and he pointed out that life tends to make our feet hurt because we won't wear shoes. The pain is self-imposed because we have a choice to put our shoes on.
I liked this analogy about shoes for life and it struck me that it'd be neat if the analogy worked out with Ephesians 6:15, which says 'and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.' (talking about the armor of God)
It doesn't workout perfectly, but this is what I found.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of peace. We should always have that gospel (God) foremost in our minds, the closer you are to God, the easier life will be. That doesn't mean that you'll be given less obstacles, it means the obstacles you're given will be easier to deal with.
If you don't have that readiness, you'll be stumbling over the jagged rocks you have to walk on.
How do you get that readiness?
You get it by seeking out God's wisdom that is stored in His word, by praying to God earnestly and humbly, and by striving to live in a way that pleases God (which means being a doer of the word and not a hearer only).
I do need to add that I don't think this is necessarily what that verse is saying.
I've always understood the verse to be admonishing us to always be ready to share the gospel, in any circumstance.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Ephesians 6:10-17 (ESV)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design
Last Sunday the pastor started a sermon series on the evidence of Christianity.
The first sermon was on evolution.
Sunday night I went to a friend's youth group and saw a poster advertising a lecture (actually more of a FAQ or Q and A session) by Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box.
It was on evolution, creationism, and intelligent design.
I think that was definitely God's timing.
So, anyways, Behe is doing a lecture tonight in the university of a neighboring town and another one tomorrow night in the university in my town.
Sadly I can't go to either one because the community play I'm in keeps me busy in the evenings, which is why I was ecstatic when I heard there was another one early this afternoon.
I went, and I thought it was really interesting just hearing what he had to say.
I've put Darwin's Black Box on my list of books to read, because I'd like to hear what else he has to say. The QA session was only an hour long, so he was only able to answer about four questions.
The first sermon was on evolution.
Sunday night I went to a friend's youth group and saw a poster advertising a lecture (actually more of a FAQ or Q and A session) by Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box.
It was on evolution, creationism, and intelligent design.
I think that was definitely God's timing.
So, anyways, Behe is doing a lecture tonight in the university of a neighboring town and another one tomorrow night in the university in my town.
Sadly I can't go to either one because the community play I'm in keeps me busy in the evenings, which is why I was ecstatic when I heard there was another one early this afternoon.
I went, and I thought it was really interesting just hearing what he had to say.
I've put Darwin's Black Box on my list of books to read, because I'd like to hear what else he has to say. The QA session was only an hour long, so he was only able to answer about four questions.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Edit: Tea Anyone?
I need to apologize for reporting incorrectly.
Moscow Pullman Daily News stated correctly the number of people attending.
You can see their report here: http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/17/66933.aspx
Moscow Pullman Daily News stated correctly the number of people attending.
You can see their report here: http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/17/66933.aspx
Inside Joke
I recently went with my brother (J), my friend (M), and her brother (B) to Seattle, WA. While we were there B decided to name himself Nobody, and then we all decided that M would henceforth be dubbed Everybody. And of course, we had to finish what we started, so J became Anybody and I became Somebody.
That's the end of my inside joke.
It's actually really amusing, because someone, quite unaware of our game, will say something like 'Everybody's afraid of the dark!' and M will reply 'No I'm not!'. Or someone will say 'Somebody hates pickles', to which I would declare that I did too like them.
It's actually not the end of the joke because we gave another of my friends (T) the name Who, which made me sad since I wanted to give her another -body name (there aren't any more so I wanted to do a play on words using the word body). But, alas, B would always reply to my suggestion with 'There are no more bodies! I buried them all!'
OK, now the joke is over.
That's the end of my inside joke.
It's actually really amusing, because someone, quite unaware of our game, will say something like 'Everybody's afraid of the dark!' and M will reply 'No I'm not!'. Or someone will say 'Somebody hates pickles', to which I would declare that I did too like them.
It's actually not the end of the joke because we gave another of my friends (T) the name Who, which made me sad since I wanted to give her another -body name (there aren't any more so I wanted to do a play on words using the word body). But, alas, B would always reply to my suggestion with 'There are no more bodies! I buried them all!'
OK, now the joke is over.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tea anyone?
I was at the Moscow Tea Party (hosted by the Palouse 9.12 Project) yesterday. There were over 300 people there, despite the Daily News's false report of 'almost a hundred people'.
I wore chains (as you can see if you click on the link to the article) to symbolize how the government has turned every citizen of the United States into a debt-slave, by the money they've borrowed. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." The government has put me, you, and every US citizen over $35,000 in debt. Every baby born now, is automatically born with 35K of debt, and none of us have any say in this debt, we didn't borrow the money, and we didn't use the money, but somehow we're the one's stuck with the debt.
I was quoted in an article about it in the Lewiston Tribune. I would give you the actual article on the newspaper's site, but you have to subscribe to the newspaper in order to read the article. So, I'll have to give you this link instead (although, this may be the whole article here):
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/16/66913.aspx
I think it was great to have such a good turn-out, and now that it's over we have to keep going and take it the next step by doing things like calling our congressmen to either give our support or express our disappointment in them. (It's true that I've never yet called mine, so I'm not gonna be pestering people incessantly about them doing it, but I still think it's an important thing to do and I plan to start.)
Lots more pictures off Dale Courtney's blog:
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/15/66902.aspx
This is the local 9.12 project's site:
http://palouse912project.com/forums/
This is the national 9.12 projects site:
http://the912project.com/
I wore chains (as you can see if you click on the link to the article) to symbolize how the government has turned every citizen of the United States into a debt-slave, by the money they've borrowed. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." The government has put me, you, and every US citizen over $35,000 in debt. Every baby born now, is automatically born with 35K of debt, and none of us have any say in this debt, we didn't borrow the money, and we didn't use the money, but somehow we're the one's stuck with the debt.
I was quoted in an article about it in the Lewiston Tribune. I would give you the actual article on the newspaper's site, but you have to subscribe to the newspaper in order to read the article. So, I'll have to give you this link instead (although, this may be the whole article here):
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/16/66913.aspx
I think it was great to have such a good turn-out, and now that it's over we have to keep going and take it the next step by doing things like calling our congressmen to either give our support or express our disappointment in them. (It's true that I've never yet called mine, so I'm not gonna be pestering people incessantly about them doing it, but I still think it's an important thing to do and I plan to start.)
Lots more pictures off Dale Courtney's blog:
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/15/66902.aspx
This is the local 9.12 project's site:
http://palouse912project.com/forums/
This is the national 9.12 projects site:
http://the912project.com/
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