Forget the iPad, consider an ADAM

We have a lot of very intelligent tech folks at our church, and I recently asked one of them what they thought of the iPad. He liked it, but told me about a device coming out of India this summer called the ADAM.

I read an article on the ADAM and its comparison to the iPad.

Very cool stuff.

A New Kind of Christianity: Book Review

I am not a fan of Brian McLaren, but I think he is worth listening too from time to time. He provides insights into the church that I rarely come across in my ministry circles.

He has a new book out entitled: A New Kind of Christianity where he is highly critical of the Western Evangelical church. I like the premise, but he goes way to far.

Here is a good review on CT's website. Check it out and make sure you read the entire article. I think the review is very helpful.

Talk about ambitious!

Talk about ambitious!

The breakaway Anglican Church in North America ACNA has an Archbishop that thinks big. Very big. From an article in Christian Today.....

"In the next five years, I want us to plant 1,000 new churches," Duncan said last summer when he was installed as the first Archbishop of the ACNA. "We can do that."

Duncan is the new archbishop for the ACNA. Wow, I am stunned. Would love to see the blueprint for this plan, which is called, not surprisingly, Anglican 1000.

Time will tell....

The Dickin Medal Cat

I found this amazing, the British Army has a medal, called the Dickin Medal that they award to animals who have served in the military. This year, a black lab has been awarded the medal for his bomb sniffing abilities. That does not surprise me, labs are great. But this snippet in a BBC article really caught me off guard.

"A total of 26 other dogs, 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat have won the award"

Yes, you read correctly, a cat has won this military award. A cat. I found that unbelievable and had to find out why.

Here is the reason....

"1949: Simon – the ship's cat on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident, noted for surviving injuries from a cannon shell, raising morale and killing off a rat infestation during the incident, by doing this duty despite being wounded. He was raised to the fanciful rank of "Able Seacat" and awarded a campaign medal. "

True Story.

Sermon Text: Genesis 18:9-15, 22-26, 19:23-29

Gen. 18:9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”
Gen. 18:10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
Gen. 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
Gen. 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
Gen. 18:13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
Gen. 18:14 Is anything too hard* for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Gen. 18:15 But Sarah denied it,* saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Gen. 18:22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham jstill stood before the LORD.
Gen. 18:23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Gen. 18:24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
Gen. 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
Gen. 18:26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Gen. 19:23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
Gen. 19:24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.
Gen. 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Gen. 19:26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Gen. 19:27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
Gen. 19:28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
Gen. 19:29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Trans Siberian Railway via Google

When I was living in Shenyang in Northeast China, every Sunday an extension of the Trans Siberian Railway stopped on it's way to Vladivostok, Russia. I wanted to travel home after my one year teaching assignment via the Trans Siberian Railway. I would travel from Shenyang => Vladivostok => Moscow => Warsaw => London.

The only problem was, I could not find anyone to go with me. And in 1995, it was dangerous to travel alone on the Trans Siberian. So my adventure was never realized.

Well Google has a project that is a decent compromise. They have created a virtual trip on the Trans Siberian for anyone to experience from the comfort of your home. It is not the same, but really really cool experiment.

Check it out for yourself.

Sermon Text: Genesis 17

Gen. 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;* walk before me, and be blameless,
Gen. 17:2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
Gen. 17:3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
Gen. 17:4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen. 17:5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,* but your name shall be Abraham,* for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen. 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Gen. 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
Gen. 17:8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Gen. 17:9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
Gen. 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Gen. 17:11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Gen. 17:12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,
Gen. 17:13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.
Gen. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Gen. 17:15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah* shall be her name.
Gen. 17:16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give* you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Gen. 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
Gen. 17:18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
Gen. 17:19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.* I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
Gen. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
Gen. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
Gen. 17:22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Gen. 17:23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.
Gen. 17:24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen. 17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen. 17:26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
Gen. 17:27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Sermon Text: Genesis 16

Gen. 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
Gen. 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children* by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen. 16:3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
Gen. 16:4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.*
Gen. 16:5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!”
Gen. 16:6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
Gen. 16:7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
Gen. 16:8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”
Gen. 16:9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”
Gen. 16:10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”
Gen. 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,*
because the LORD has listened to your affliction.
Gen. 16:12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
Gen. 16:13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”* for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”*
Gen. 16:14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;* it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
Gen. 16:15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
Gen. 16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Pagan Christianity Critique

Yes, George Barna is at it again, co writing a book entitled Pagan Christianity which is suggesting the institutional church is a pagan concept.

George Barna, really annoys me and I find him arrogant and terrible at his exegesis and understanding of Christianity. I have not read the book, but I have no plans to send him or the publishers $$$.

Mark Driscoll has a critique of the book on his blog. It is a good read, I would encourage you to review it. Glad to see someone is on the ball and seeing through Barna's arguments.

Mark Driscoll is far more gracious than me in regards to Barna, and I think he is very fair in his treatment.

The Promises of God

From the Sermon: Covenant with Abram, Genesis 15

Is. 9:6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

wand the government shall be upon* his shoulder,

and his name shall be called*

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Is. 43:1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

Is. 54:10 For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.*Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Rev. 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

Rev. 7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Rev. 21:1 Then I saw ya new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.*

Rev. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Rev. 21:5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Sermon Text: Genesis 15

Gen. 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
Gen. 15:2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Gen. 15:3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
Gen. 15:4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
Gen. 15:5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Gen. 15:6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Gen. 15:7 And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
Gen. 15:8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
Gen. 15:9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Gen. 15:10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
Gen. 15:11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Gen. 15:12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
Gen. 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
Gen. 15:14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Gen. 15:15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
Gen. 15:16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Gen. 15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
Gen. 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
Gen. 15:19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
Gen. 15:20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
Gen. 15:21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”