Hi, all... Just found this place, and I love it. I am also amazed by how many of us are active in the mission and ministry of the Lord. Hallelujah! It's been a busy week between requires seminars, services, and three funerals in five days - all of which were blessings in disguise once the initial pain and shock have worn away - and one led to a chance to bear witness of the Lord to a young man in a deep spiritual struggle. He was raised in the church, but at 16 wound up studying satanism because he never felt that he fit in with the religious people. He has been dealing with a number of things, and gradually found someone to witness to him to begin him on the trek back to the Lord, but still has a lot of questions. I really hope that the Spirit gave me the right answers for this young man's soul and spiritual nourishment. He is like a lot of people who know a lot about "Jesus Christ" as a subject to be studied, but who have no ideal of the reality of the Living Lord and the Savior. We Methodists don't have a whole lot of good rep as far as evangelism goes, but we do spend some time on apologetics, so we had a long talk about faith not being knowing, but accepting God's offer of grace, and learning to seek God in a personal way. Next week is my last gig with the Praise Team. The Bishop has appointed my wife and I to churches in the Savannah area, and I want to do Amazing Love. We have done some of the old standards - 'Shout to the Lord,' 'Here I am to Worship," etc. But we have also done 'He Reigns,' 'Glory,' 'Forever.' Never could get them to tackle "Thief" by Third Day, wanted to do that on Good Friday. However, I fear that the more traditional crowd would not have like that. What a wonderful thing to be involved in services which have an opportunity to sing the old songs of faith and allow younger folks to enjoy some of the new expressions of the old faith and love of Jesus. I love Sonic Flood, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Redman, Chapman, and almost anything from Vineyard or Hillsong. Got to get back at it. Packing and preparing to move in about three weeks, or so. Shalom; Rick
How wonderful. My prayers are with you and your wife. How about Mercy Me? Their my favorite. I love Third Day to, had the opportunity to see them in Atlanta a few years ago. Very talented.
What took you so long? Us Catholics know a little about speaking on apologetics too. "Thief" is a great song. I like "Watch the Lamb" for Good Friday, too. I think it is by Rich Mullins Be blessed, Rev. As a praise leader in my marriage group, I have always said that playing the guitar is my form of prayer. I never feel closer to God than when I am playing and singing his music. GB and thanks for stopping by. Let's try to make it a habit.
I had an intern a couple of years back who was learning guitar. He played acoustic fairly well but on hs last Sunday, as part of his final sermon, he brought out a new electric for the last piece. On it he did "Ein Feste Burg" (A Mighty Fortress), Jimmy Hendricks style. I almost lost my breakfast laughing, though most of the older folks didn't see the humor, and the younger ones didn't know who Hendricks was, it was still one of the highlights of my internship supervision years.
Prayer Request for the Day Hi folks, Hope God is blessing your families and you, today. Please pray for my students as classes conclude in the next two weeks, Since I work with students with emotional/behavior disorders, the end of school seems to be a little bit more problematic. Just yesterday, I've had a boy exposing himself on the bus to girls, a grandmother refusing to medicate her grandson (my student) because it is the end of the year and she wants him to "have fun", and so on. Please pray for peace for the end of the year and my patience. Thanks and GB. BTW, I am never bored where I work. It is never dull.
You're always in my prayers. I admire you for the work you do. Most of us could never handle it. Isn't God good? He knows who needs to be where, if we just listen to him. God Bless You.
I just wanted to say......What a wonderful place for this to go on. What a great idea. I have PM'd some of the people on this site about Christ related things, but RARELY go to this part of the site. I dont want to debate with people that will not listen but just try to spread hate. I will leave it at that. I will be a regular reader here. GB
Welcome aboard. This is a safe, wonderful thread. While I am not sure of the problems you have had in the past, the debates in this forum have a generally respectful tone though I am not sure how many folks have had their hearts or minds changed. We have kept it fairly civil with each other and I like to think I've taught a little and learned some as well.
Welcome. There's some great guys on here. I love them all, they've been so good and kind to me. I treasure this place. Come on in and enjoy the fresh air and kindness. God Bless you, DD
Hey Guys. I was just reading through all the posts. Am I the only woman that comes here? I'm just curious!
Raul, I'm a little late getting in on the request for your kids, but I have them now. I enjoyed your comment about playing your guitar. For me, I hope my place is at the Lords knee, singing on His praise team for all time. I feel the same way while I sing to Him, that you do playing. I feel that, like faith and love, music in ones heart is another of His gifts, and when you give it back, it is special. Welcome Atl and Drake, thanks for coming by. Rick, best of luck my friend on your new ministry, I will hold you and yours in my thoughts and prayers. Kieth, thank you a bunch for the well presented "witness" in the other thread. I was amazed and thankful for the clarity and delivery of your thoughts. You spoke quite eloquently and I heard your words. I know you know what I mean by that, thanks. Hi Deb !!!
Hi, my friend. I didn't know you sang. God bless you. I can sing, but I'm so nervous about getting up in front of the church and doing it. I like the contemporary music best. I love some of the old hymns also. Maybe some day, I'll get up there and let it rip for the Lord.
Welcome aboard. DD, I know Mary sometimes visits here but I don't know if she has posted in this thread. cnc66, thank you very much. It was a "tough room" but hopefully some people are beginning to see Christians as fully faceted folks and not the caricitures modern media would have you believe we are.
I'm amazed by this thread. To see how much spirituality is a common bond is heartwarming. I don't post much here, just read, because I had been bashed on another subject at FH regarding spirituality. Glad to see everyone here - Keith, DD, Marty, The Rev, ATL. When I was very young and we used to go to church with my mom, I used to be embarassed because she loved to sing, but couldn't carry a tune to save her life and she sang loud in church. Now that I'm older I realize that it doesn't matter if you can sing, as long as you're praising the Lord. I will continue to read this thread and post occasionally. Thanks everyone.
one of my favorite movie moments is when Henry Fonda fullfills his end of the bargain and joins his family in Church... and he sings at the top of his lungs... badly... and they loved him even more... Spencer's Mountain your Momma's singing was sweet as could be to the Lord
My father would always say, with a little twinkle in his eye, that the Psalmist said "make a joyful noise unto the LORD". Dad was so joyful he could throw off five rows around him but it did not deter him one iota. Mary, glad to have you post here. We try and watch each other's backs in the other threads in this forum. I can't help the self-inflicted wounds but a gentle demand for civility has generally gone a long way. One advantage of being old (and there aren't many) is that I've heard all the stock excuses and arguments over the years and have developed some decent answers. They help.
Glad you're here Mary, my friend. There's a bunch of nice guys in here. My mom sang. She was an alto and very good. How I wish I could hear her sing In The Garden or The Old Rugged Cross again. No one gets on you here for your beliefs, it's great. Luv, Deb
This is a great thread, I really enjoy it. One of the fondest memories I have of going to church was in the late 60's and early 70's, my mom would dress me in a suit and tie, which I hated at the time. I had a flat top haircut just like Dad's, and on one occasion, we had a family picture taken at church. When I was younger, I would walk down the hall and see that awful picture. I was embarrassed for my friends to see it. Now that I am older, I'm really fond of that picture. Makes me think of better times. My grandfather was a preacher, and then my dad was a preacher until he joined the Army, and went to fight in the Korean war. He wound up being a drill sargeant for 15 years, and to this day, when he raises his voice, you hear the preaching drill sargeant in him, and he's 77 years old. I really appreciate this thread. I have some pretty good stories that I'd like to post in this thread, of my grandparents, my parents, etc... Some of them are just flat out hilarious. I'll post them when I get more time. They are all church related, and I'll be happy to share them. Thanks to you all for posting this thread, I really enjoyed reading it. Mike
I posted this in the POFO but got to thinking that since these brave people need all the help they can get I would like everyone to add all serving vets to their prayer list. It seems that the number of suicides and attemps have become alarming with some 2100 in 2007 alone. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...30/AR2008013003106.html?referrer=emailarticle Thanks and God bless. Ron
My prayer for all of you this morning is from one of my favorite passages. Jesus praying for all of us in the Garden before his death. John 17:20-24: Have a great day, GB
hI aLL, God BLESS YOU IN Christ Jesus. wHAT A GREAT THREAD, WILL HAVE TO VISIT HERE REGULARLY, DIDN'T KNOW IT EXISTED TILL THE rEV SENT ME A pm THIS MORNING (oops, darn caps lock) BTW after yesterday's good news (got my first sale at the new job, praise the Lord!) the adversary decided to hit back and I had to take my cat Tiki to the Vet this morning with a blocked urinary tract. Sadly the vet will cost about $100 more than I made in commission yesterday. But the Lord is great, He will cure my cat and provide for my needs, because the adversary has no legal rights against me and God is always faithful. I give thanks and praise to God for showing me that Tiki was sick this morning so I would know to take him to the vet. Tiki should come home in a few days, I will miss the little fella, his brother Pippen will be the most upset though I imagine. Anyway your prayers for both my cat Tiki would be appreciated, and for God to give me another sale to pay for Tiki's expenses. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. In Christ's matchless love, Mark AKA PhinsRock
Hi every one Got a question......we're studying the ten commandments on Wed nights. We were on #5, Honor thy mother and thy father. The discussion got pretty heated on this. Some of us wanted to know how you can honor an abusive or just plain mean parent. We feel you can love them, but respect and honor are another matter. My father was a verbally abusive man. Always cussing, ranting, raving and mean spirited. He never respected any one. He also said he didn't believe in God. So, needless to say, I loved him, but never honored him. Our mom took care of us, he thought any thing we wanted or needed was useless. I personally feel that Jesus would not want us in an abusive relationship, be it as a child or married to some one like that. He came to teach us love. He also taught us we didn't have to conform to the ways of the world, but follow him. So, I'm interested in all your opinions on this. Thanks, Debby
I'll take a shot at it. It is a disturbingly common question. First of all, one honors a parent in many ways and for different reasons. One may respect and indeed love someone who is unworthy, after all God loves us and we are certainly unworthy. We do it because it teaches us to love and respect God. We also need to be forgiving for its own sake. If we harbor hate that hurts us. It sours our relationship with all around us. While your father may have justly earned your anger, it does no harm to him and potentialy harms you. That would be a shame. In Ephesians 6, we get a New Testament interpretation when we hear Paul's instruction to fathers not to provoke their children but to raise them recognize and obey the LORD Here we have the flip side of the commandment and a direct admonision for fathers to adhere to. It is a part of that long section in Ephesians 5 and 6 where we are taught to act as wise people and not unwise. Hope this helps a little btw, what you are calling the fifth commandment, Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Orthodox, and some others call thefourth. There is an old time disagreement how they should be numbered.. Just an aside, I can work in either direction!
Thanks Ohio. That's exactly how a lot of us felt the other night. I loved my dad, I just chose not to be like him. I think Jesus and Paul taught us to have strength in all we do and to love un-conditionally, but at the same time, to be ever watchful for all the pit falls satan puts in our path. I forgave my dad long ago, but, I haven't forgotten the way my sisters and I were treated (only mentally) so I feel that way I can be aware and not put myself in positions like that. I hope this came out right. It's hard to type feelings, isn't it?
You are welcome. It came out fine! When we are told to "love our neighbors as ourselves" we usually have more trouble loving neighbor than self. I mean, let's face it, humans are often very selfish. But in this case, the opposite is true. If someone were hurting another person we would do what we could to keep the offender at a distance wouldn't we? I mean wars are fought over things like that. Yet too often we are made to feel guilty if we disassociate ourselves from someone, especially a relative, who hurts us! To love oneself sometimes involves quarantining ourselves from difficult or even dangerous influences. That sounds like what you did and you are to be commended for the way you handled it!
Thanks again. We got along better after I left Ohio and moved to FL, then GA. I think some where in Proverbs it says to put distance between you and an enemy???? And "It's better to eat bread with a friend than steak with an enemy." And watch your enemies closely???? I wish I could remember verses better. I love The Word, but my memory fails me most of the time. Thanks for the discussion and kindness. It is so wonderful to me that I found you guys on a football site. Who would have thunk it? And I thank Rev for starting this thread for us. God bless all of you.
Keep in mind God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies! (Psalm 23) Even in that arena, God is with us!
Nice, I believe the proverb is "Better to eat vegetables (herbs) in a house with love then the finest meat in a house full of strife" Prov 15:17 That was an interesting question earlier ddebby, I think the idea behind blessing one's enemies and it pouring coals on their head is that kindness leaves a sort of debt with the recipient of it. Now granted, there are some people for whom the most magnamous acts of kindness will not suffice, but they also tend to be the ones who need kindness the most.
