Here we Go Steelers, Here we Go!

Anyone who knows me knows which team I will be rooting for in the Super Bowl. Growing up in Western PA during the 1970s and 1980s was a wonderful experience. The Steel Curtain, Mean Joe Greene. I loved the Defense.

This Steeler's Defense of 2009 reminds me a lot of the past. And if history is any indicator, we will see a 6th Super Bowl Victory.

Go Steelers!

Chronicles of Narnia Update

I mentioned a few weeks ago about Disney pulling out of the Chronicles of Narnia. The BBC has just broke the news that 20th Century Fox is stepping in to fill the void Disney left.

Here is the link to the BBC Story.

Personally, I am thrilled. I hope 20th Century Fox makes a killing and Disney regrets their move. Who Ho, Here comes the Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

Sermon Text: John 8:12-59

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”
John 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
John 8:15 “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
John 8:16 “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
John 8:17 “Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
John 8:18 “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
John 8:19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
John 8:20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
John 8:22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
John 8:23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
John 8:26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
John 8:27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
John 8:30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
John 8:35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
John 8:38 “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.
John 8:40 “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.
John 8:41 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
John 8:43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
John 8:46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
John 8:47 “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
John 8:48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
John 8:50 “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
John 8:52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
John 8:53 “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
John 8:55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

Sunday Morning Services Cancelled

Sigh.....It seems like "Sunday" is the one day of the week we get significant snowfall. I can count 4 Sundays now where it was snowing heavily.

Sadly, we are going to cancel Sunday Morning Services and all Sunday Activities. Sorry.

Sermon Text: John 7

John 7:1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
John 7:2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.
John 7:3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.
John 7:4 “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
John 7:5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
John 7:6 So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.
John 7:8 “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
John 7:9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
John 7:10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.
John 7:11 So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?”
John 7:12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”
John 7:13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
John 7:14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
John 7:15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
John 7:16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
John 7:17 “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
John 7:18 “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
John 7:19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
John 7:20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
John 7:21 Jesus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.
John 7:22 “For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
John 7:23 “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
John 7:25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?
John 7:26 “Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?
John 7:27 “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”
John 7:28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
John 7:29 “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
John 7:30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 7:31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
John 7:33 Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.
John 7:34 “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
John 7:35 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?
John 7:36 “What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.”
John 7:41 Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?
John 7:42 “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
John 7:43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.
John 7:44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
John 7:46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
John 7:47 The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you?
John 7:48 “No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?
John 7:49 “But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.”
John 7:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them,
John 7:51 “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?”
John 7:52 They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
John 7:53 [Everyone went to his home.

This is a Car!

It is tradition that the new president gets a new limo, that is a good tradition.

The new limo for Obama is nicknamed "the Beast" Apparently, it is quite a step up from the previous limo.

I am not a big fan of Cadillac, but this is a car I would like to see, ride, maybe even drive. Nice looking limo.

No SS Classes Today

For todays date, there will be no "Life Together" given the Winter Conditions. No Sunday School classes at 9:15 am.

Sermon Text: John 6:22-71

John 6:22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone.
John 6:23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
John 6:24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
John 6:25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
John 6:28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
John 6:30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?
John 6:31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’”
John 6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
John 6:34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
John 6:36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
John 6:42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
John 6:43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
John 6:46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 6:48 “I am the bread of life.
John 6:49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
John 6:52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
John 6:54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
John 6:56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
John 6:57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
John 6:58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 6:59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
John 6:61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
John 6:62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6:64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
John 6:65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
John 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
John 6:68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
John 6:69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
John 6:71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference

I have not been to a conference for a couple years. Financies have been the real problem but there have been other factors.

Anyhow, when I saw this I could not pass it up for one reason => the speakers....

DA Carson
Tim Keller
John Piper
Mark Driscoll

and many many more.

I am really looking forward to it and if your interested, click on this link. Should be a great conference.

And you get an ESV Bible, a nice bonus.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

My favorite book from the Chronicles of Narnia is hands down, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". It is the most Christian of the series. That is great, but I like it because it is a quest, a noble adventure with great characters.

Anyhow, there is news on the movie version that has many worried. MARY McNAMARA of the LA Times has an interesting article I would encourage you to read. She scolds Disney and gives them a tongue lashing.

I myself am fine with Disney dropping the Chronicles of Narnia. I am not a big fan of Disney, just ask my family.

Anyhow, I hope it is a success in spite of this recent event.