Local Newspaper Article about a PCA family

Many in the congregation know this name, Daniel Domin. He is a US Marine from Dunbarton, NH and the son of a PCA Minister in Concord. He is home for the holidays and the local news paper did a story on him and the family.

Click on this link to read the story.

Sermon: Body as a Temple (Part 1)

I had planned to preach this text in one setting, but alas there was too much to deal with in this very well thought out argument by the Apostle Paul. This Sunday we will look at the context, the text itself and Paul's argument.

Next Sunday we will get to the application. Should be interesting......

1 Corinthians 6:12-20
1Cor. 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
1Cor. 6:13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
1Cor. 6:14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
1Cor. 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!
1Cor. 6:16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
1Cor. 6:17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1Cor. 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.
1Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1Cor. 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Boxing Day

When we were living in Canada, we got a real idea idea of what Boxing Day is like in the rest of the English Speaking World. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia that sums it up nicely...

In Canada, Boxing Day is observed as a holiday, except (in some cases) for those in the retail business. Boxing Day and the days immediately following are when many retail stores sell their Christmas and retired model products by holding clearance sales. Some shoppers will line up for hours at night (sometimes before midnight and after midnight on December 26) for retailers to open their doors. Except in Quebec, retailers often open their stores earlier than usual, such as 6 or 7 am. Some retail companies internally refer to the sales week after Christmas as the "thirteenth month." (See Boxing Week.) It is similar to Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) in the United States.

Boxing Day 2005 was the single largest economic transaction day ever in the history of Canadian commerce (according to Visa). Individual big box stores can even gross over $1,000,000(CAN) on one single boxing day.

Oh, to be in Canada where the shopping is at its peak. Can I say, NOT!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I am sure we all have our favorite Christmas TV traditions. My favorite program is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I had heard that it was controversial when it first aired, and I am not surprised. I found this article that describes the history of the program and how it almost did not make it to TV.

Enjoy!

Click on this link to view the article

Merry Christmas!

Sermon: Wisdom (Part 2)

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (New American Standard Bible)

6Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;

7but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

8the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

9but just as it is written,
"THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."

10For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

13which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

14But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

15But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

16For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

A new cohousing community in NH

I came across a TV program last night that was featuring a brand new cohousing community being developed in Peterborough, NH, about 30 miles west of Nashua.

What is cohousing? It is sometimes called sustainable housing. Here is a description from the website of the project.

Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing that attempts to overcome the alienation of modern subdivisions where few people really get to know their neighbors. It is characterized by private dwellings with their own kitchen, living-dining room, bedrooms, etc, but also extensive common facilities. This type of housing began in Denmark in the late 1960s, and spread to North America in the late 1980s. There are now more than a hundred co-housing communities completed or in development across the United States and Canada.

Cohousing communities balance the traditional advantages of home ownership with the benefits of shared common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors. These cooperative neighborhoods are among the most promising solutions to many of today's most challenging social and environmental concerns.

Cohousers are united by a mutual desire to live an environmentally sound lifestyle and enjoy a cooperative, intergenerational neighborhood. They value energy and resource efficient design, good architecture and natural beauty. Cohousers have no common political or religious orientation.

I was very impressed with the people interviewed, and why they wanted to live in this type of community. Folks park their car outside the community and walk to their dwelling. The farm is central to the community. I was even impressed to find out that some people paid more for their units so that other units could be offered to low income families with small children or farmers who could not afford the cost of the homes.

It truly impressed me that people, who are not necessarily Christians are taking seriously developing community and avoiding the pitfalls of the American lifestyle.

One man summed it up nicely when asked what he is giving up to live in the cohousing community. He said, I am giving up not knowing my neighbors and living an individualistic lifestyle where I pull my car in my garage after a day of work and ignore the people who live around me.

What do you think?

don't say anything

I thought this was amusing.......

The normal routine in the morning at the Wakefield home is for me to take the kids to school. as we make our way to the school, I usually "entertain the troops" by being a little goofy or talking in funny voices. Just for fun.

Normally, I drop Nikki, our Kindergarten student at the front of the school, and the teacher meets us there at the curb. Yesterday, right before we pull up, Nikki turns to me, and says......"Daddy, don't say anything" Referring to my goofy voices and conversation. Apparently, I was embarrassing her.

I complied with my daughter's request, but it told me something about the stage of life we are in with our family. My kids are growing up fast.

Congrats to the Dancers

I flew back to MHT just in time to catch the final performance of the Nutcracker and I was not disappointed. From the participants, they said it was their best performance of the weekend.

I was very impressed with the students and of course our daughter in particular. It was very well attended and I am hoping it was a success for the dance studios involved.

Congrats dancers, I thought it was a big success!

Back in P'Burg

I have the honor this weekend to facilitate a wedding back in Perrysburg, OH, a suburb of Toledo, OH. I am here for the weekend and heading back to NH Sunday.

Being apart of a wedding is always encouraging and a privilege. I am thankful to have the opportunity and enjoy seeing old friends.

Perrysburg has really changed since I left, and I am glad. There is a Starbucks right around the corner from where I am staying. For West Coasters, never a big surprise, but when I lived in the Midwest, coffee places were scarce. Glad I have somewhere to boost my caffeine!

Guest Preacher

This Sunday the Rev. Rodney Collins will be delivering the message from 1 Corinthians 2:6-10.

1Cor. 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
1Cor. 2:7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
1Cor. 2:8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
1Cor. 2:9 but just as it is written,
“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
1Cor. 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

Update on RUF @ Brown University

I mentioned a while ago about the PCA's campus ministry (RUF) being suspended at Brown University in Rhode Island. Click on this link to get an update on the circumstance. Seems the university is reversing its decision, but questions remain.

BTW - Rhode Island has the lowest percentance of evangelicals in the country, less than 2% of the population.

Tim Keller on the Post Modern Culture

As I talk with people about the challenges in New England, I keep referring to a talk Tim Keller did recently in Minneapolis at the Desiring God Conference.

Keller does a fantastic job of articulating the problem the church has in a post modern, post Christian world. I really think it is worth your time to listen to his presentation.

The talk is over an hour, but if you listen just to the first 20 minutes you will see what I am talking about. I think you will find it to be insightful and helpful.

Click on this link to hear the article...

Nutcracker Ballet

What is quickly becoming a family tradition at Christmas is the Nutcracker at the Amato Center in Milford, NH.

If your interested, click on this link for more information. It is this weekend, so get tickets ASAP!

Mark Driscoll

I have heard a lot about Mark Driscoll but have never heard him speak, until yesterday.

I have been slowly making my way through the Desiring God Conference 2006 and listen to Mark on a trip up North. I found it very thought provoking and I was impressed.

If your interested, click on this link to listen to his talk. Be prepared to be somewhat shocked, but challenged.

Sermon: The Foolishness of Paul

1Cor. 2:1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
1Cor. 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
1Cor. 2:3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
1Cor. 2:4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Cor. 2:5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

The theme over the last couple of weeks has been foolishness. We first began with the foolishness of the cross. Next we moved on to the foolishness of the church. And finally, this week we will look at the foolishness of the messenger, the Apostle Paul.

This is not Paul making fun of himself or his work. But rather wanting to make a important point. And his point can be clearly seen in verse 5 => so that your faith would rest on the power of God.

Headline: Church Kicked Out Of Town's Christmas Celebration

This really crack me up.

At an "Old Fashion Christmas Celebration"in Hillsboro, NH, the local Chamber of Commerce banned scripture reading at a local church. The minister was going to read a story about Christmas and then a scripture passage out of one of the gospels. After some pressure, the Chamber reversed its decision. The headline on the reversal was..

"Hillsboro Chamber To Allow Bible Reading At Christmas Event"

This is such a great example of the secularism of New England.

It is a Christmas Celebration
They have called it an old fashioned celebration
The event is inside the church

Incredible

This was featured on the local New Hampshire TV Station. Go to www.wmur.com for more on the story.

George Whitefield Quotes

At the day of judgment we shall all meet again.

Fight the good fight of faith, and God will give you spiritual mercies.

Do not waver, but give him that which he desires, your hearts; it is the heart the Lord Jesus Christ wanteth; and when you have an inward principle wrought in your hearts by this same Jesus, then you will feel the sweetness and pleasure of communion with God.