Sermon: History of Nineveh ( Part 2)

This Sunday we will be finishing our study of the ancient city of Nineveh, and with that the Assyrian Empire. The point to all of this is to set the stage for the books of Jonah & Nahum.

Our key text will be 2 Kings, particularly chapter 17-19.

There is a lot of archaeological evidence in regards to the Assyrian Empire. They kept detailed records and we have been fortunate to have been able to recover some of these documents and get a good idea what life was like in Nineveh.

One of the most encouraging things is how much the Bible Narrative matches up with the Archaeological evidence. It certainly testifies to the Bible's reliability in regards to historical facts. Pretty cool.

Mark Your Calendars!

Yes, Wednesday, Sept 26 was the day I received my 1st Christmas Catalog. And I did not just get one, I got 2! Both from L.L. Bean.

Apparently the folks in ME are already feeling the Christmas Spirit in September. Somehow I remember things differently. It seemed when I was growing up, November was when the Christmas Season got going. And then later as a young adult, I remember seeing catalogs at Halloween. But apparently September is the time to start turning our attention to Christmas, 90 days and counting.

I find this all ridiculous given it was 92 degrees outside today ( which is odd) and the leaves have yet to hit their peak as far as colors. It seems to me, someone should make a rule => the catalogs do not come out until the last leave its the ground. What do you think?

Sermon: History of Nineveh ( Part 1)

So for those of you who can not wait until Sunday to find out the sermon topic, here it is => History of Nineveh.

Ok, so that sounds boring to some of you, but what if I told you there will be....

Google Earth Presentation
Satellite Images
Digital Photos
Bible Software

all in one sermon!

Got your attention! It should be an interesting beginning to our studies of Jonah & Nahum. At least that is my hope.

Sermon Text: Genesis 10:6-12

Genesis 10:6-12 (New American Standard Bible)

6The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.

7The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

8Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.

9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."

10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah,

12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Who is Nimrod?

In preparing for Sunday's Sermon, it won't surprise you that I do Biblical Research on the passage or passages I am dealing with. The main passage we are looking at this Sunday is Genesis 10:6-12, that talks about the founding of Nineveh.

The founder of Nineveh according to the Bible is Nimrod, who is mentioned in this passage as well as others in the OT. But who exactly is Nimrod?

That took me through lots and lots of reading yesterday. The Anchor Bible Dictionary as well as commentaries were helpful. The most colorful article on Nimrod was at Wikipedia. Check it out. So who you think Nimrod is?

Uncharted Waters

Last Night, Wenderson & I hosted an information meeting at Crossway Christian Church Monday Night for folks who are interested in our outreach to the Brazilian Community in Southern NH. Wenderson had some friends lead worship and they did a great job.

Wenderson & I have been praying about this for a couple of months and we are finally sharing what we have been praying and talking about with the public. Our hope is to reach out to Portuguese-Speaking people in our neighborhoods over the next couple of years. We are excited to see where God will be leading in the months and years to come.

For those of you who do not know, Wenderson, he is a seminarian in Boston and has been attending our church since the Spring. He grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Brazil and found us via the Internet. I have really enjoyed getting to know him and the people of Brazil, and am thankful God has brought him to the church. We have no idea where this will all go, but we are confident God knows.

So for now, we launch into uncharted waters.

Sermon: Learning from God's Enemies: Nineveh

As we are at the beginning of a new school year, we are also getting ready to start a new sermon series. Our new series will involve the books of Jonah & Nahum and the theme between them, Nineveh.

We will for the next few weeks looking at the nation of Assyria and its great city Nineveh and then finally settling into the book of Jonah.

One of the reasons for the title of the sermon is this passage from Luke.

Luke 11:32 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."

Should be interesting!

September Network Mtg

Every month we try and get together as Presbyters to pray together and discuss various ministry topics that are of interest to us. Some times the discussion is theological, some times it is pastoral.

Today we met in Exeter, NH to discuss "Fencing the Lord's Table" There is no way to sum up the discussion but as always it was profitable. I am very grateful for these times I have with fellow ministers of the gospel.

Weekend in VT

This weekend I took the kids and went to St. Albans, VT to preach and administer the Lord's Supper at Trinity Presbyterian Church. It was a long trip (7+ hours of driving) but at least it is through some very beautiful countryside. St. Albans is north of Burlington, VT near Lake Champlain. The church sits up on a hill and at certain points, you can see the Lake and the Adirondack Mountains.

I was very encouraged by the attendance at the church and the new visitors that were there. The only downside was that it began to rain during the picnic after the worship service and did not stop until I was a few minutes from home. Not a fun trip back, but I was glad I went.

As far as fall colors, they were just starting to turn so it was not spectacular, but it will be in a few weeks!

Googling Jonathan Edwards

Tuesday I am leading a discussion with some fellow Presbyters on Fencing the Lord's Supper. So in preperation I did some research looking for resources that might be helpful in the discussion.

To my surprise I stumbled across a book that has been digitalized by Google that was extremely useful. The book => The Works of President Edwards

I have heard of projects like this to preserve older books, but had not found one before. You can download it and have it on your computer for future reference or to simply read. Very cool, check it out!

Guest Speaker this Sunday

Rev. Rodney Collins is preaching this Lord's Day at Christ Presbyterian Church. Rodney has preached here at CPC many times before and has always been warmly received. We are blessed to have his ministry with us this coming Sunday.

Dale

So I am going out on a limb here and maybe surprise some of you.

Drew & I have recently become NASCAR fans for a number of reasons. When we can, we tune in to the races on the weekend. I know, for some of you the idea of watching cars going in circles would put you to sleep. But there is a lot of "drama" on and off the track that makes it excited to watch.

Anyhow, last night CMT had a special presentation on Dale Earnhardt and we watched it to gain a better understanding of the NASCAR champion. It was very good and even if you are not a NASCAR fan, I would encourage you to check it out. It is narrated by Paul Newman, and there are a number of interviews with folks that are interesting.

Dale was an impressive person and I understand better why folks feel a connection to the NASCAR legend. I was most fascinated with the reaction folks had when Dale won Daytona in 1998 and the events that followed his death at Daytona in 2001. Like I said, there is a lot of drama in NASCAR.

BTW => CMT is showing it again on Weds., and probably many many many times more.