God's Best to you in 2006

I trust you are doing well and that the year 2005 was filled with Christ’s blessings and fond memories of a life lived well.

There is a verse in Psalm 143:10 that says:
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

This is my prayer for you in 2006. May you desire to do God’s will in 2006. Why? Because He is your God – a loving God filled with compassion and grace and mercy and a Heavenly Father who knows how to give good gifts to those who ask him. May you be led forward by his Holy Spirit into areas where you feel His strength and success girding you daily as you sense His holy approval in your steps and plans in the new year.

Do your children help or hinder your ministry of hospitality ...

This is a BLOG article from Tim Bayly - enjoy! - Greg

Last week I wrote of our small groups’ Christmas parties, saying that we had a ton of children in our house and that it was an absolute joy. Later my daughter, Hannah, commented that she and my wife, Mary Lee, had counted sixty-one in our home that night, thirty of whom were children. Other small group leaders wrote in to give a count of adults and children at their parties, also.

“How could you hear yourselves think” you may be asking? “Didn’t the children make it impossible for the adults to talk? Weren’t they interrupting all the time, crying or running through the room screaming like banshees?”

No, they weren’t. Sure, one of the babies cried occasionally, but his parents were relieved by others so they didn’t bear the full weight of his care throughout the three or so hours we had fellowship together.

“But what about the toddlers; weren’t they disruptive?”

Not really. They were able to go to different rooms in the house. Others played outside for a while. Generally, we were able to have an ordered evening with eight to ten little groups throughout the house sitting (or standing) and talking together.

Which brings me to some observations about the potential children have for disrupting Christian hospitality, whether that hospitality is having others over for a meal or hosting a small group in our home.

READ FULL BLOG ARTICLE

How Your Dentist Can Save Your Life

I thought this article from Reader's Digest was very interesting. It talks about how improper brushing/flossing can lead to bacteria spreading to other parts of our body and potentially death in some cases. Yikes! A good read ....

Greg

The dentist may be the most important doctor you see this year.
By Dan Ferber

A Silent Threat
Gum infections, too, harm more than just mouths. While mild gum infections called gingivitis may lead to red and swollen gums, they're not especially dangerous by themselves. But they can worsen into periodontitis, painless but chronic gum infections that, if left untreated, degrade bony sockets and ligaments that hold teeth in place. The immune system fights gum infections to keep oral bacteria from spreading to other parts of the body. It usually succeeds, but not always. Gum-disease bacteria can enter the bloodstream and move to the heart, creating life-threatening infections in previously damaged heart valves. What's more, scientists believe the resulting inflammation releases infection-fighting compounds that can inadvertently damage other tissues.

The arteries may be the most common target. People with periodontitis were twice as likely to die from a heart attack and three times as likely to die from a stroke, according to a study that examined 18 years of medical histories for 1,147 people. Steven Offenbacher, director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, who co-authored the study, is helping conduct another to see if treating periodontitis in heart patients will cut the risk of heart attacks.

Pregnant women with serious periodontal disease have about four times the risk of delivering preterm babies, and they face an increased risk of preeclampsia, in which blood pressure climbs sky-high after the 20th week, threatening the lives of both mother and fetus. In an early clinical trial, researchers found that treating seriously infected gums reduces pre-term births fivefold, but the work needs to be confirmed in larger trials.

Read the Full Story

Why You Won't Like Turkish Delight As Much As Edmund Did

Though Turkish Delight was said to have brought peace to a sultan's quarreling harem, Americans seeking out the candy after watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe may wonder if Edmund Pevensie couldn't have gotten a better price for his soul.

Though sales for the delectable confection are up 200 percent in the United Kingdom, there has been no major effort to introduce the candy to American Narnia fans, says Bernie Pacyniak, editor in chief of Candy Industry. In the United States, he says, Turkish Delight is an ethnic treat only found in specialty stores.

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Florida Towns Face Lawsuit After Banning Nativity Scene

Two Florida cities are being sued after both banned a private display of a Nativity scene on public property. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ken Koening against Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach near Jacksonville. Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach share joint control over a town center park that has a forum containing a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree. Also, both towns have approved an application by a private group to erect a large Menorah in the Park. However, when Koening wanted to display a Nativity scene in the same forum, both towns denied his request.

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Mega Churches to Close Doors on Christmas Sunday

This year, Christmas may be colder – or at least quieter – for the thousands who attend several evangelical megachurches across the country. Some of America’s largest churches are closing their doors on Christmas day, which this year falls on Sunday, to accommodate to the lifestyles of their congregants.

Among those slated to close its doors on Christmas day is Willow Creek Community Church – Chicago’s largest congregation and one of the top five largest in the nation.

"It's more than being family friendly. It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy," said Cally Parkinson, spokesperson for Willow Creek, to the Associated Press. Some “lifestyle-friendly” adjustments include bunching up the services on Christmas Eve instead.

According to the Associated Press, megachurch officials around the country consulted with each other before deciding to take the day off. On this list include Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich., North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., and the Fellowship Church near Dallas, Texas.

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Wisconsin School Allegedly Strips Christ From 'Silent Night'

An elementary school in Wisconsin allegedly has written new lyrics for "Silent Night" for its winter program, stripping away all references to Christ and replacing them with winter weather themes

Full Story

Activist's Boycott Ends After Macy's Allows 'Christmas' Back in Stores

About this time last year, Manuel Zamorano was making his list, checking it twice, and Macy's department stores came up as naughty, not nice. This year, the Folsom, Calif., grandfather is singing a different tune, something more like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Angry that the venerable department store refused to use “Merry Christmas” in its advertising or among its sales clerks, Zamorano launched a boycott, which Macy's officials quickly dismissed out of hand last year. But as increasing numbers of retailers face pressure from conservative Christians to ditch the more generic “holidays” for more explicit references to Christmas, Macy's relented and Zamorano called off the boycott. The difference this year, Zamorano and other activists say, is that their complaints are starting to have an effect. The U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree has been renamed the Capitol Christmas Tree, and rank-and-file people are growing tired of what Zamorano calls “political correctness run amok.” By Kevin Eckstrom. With photo. About 850 words.

TO READ THE FULL STORY, CLICK HERE

Car Killing Movies

I got this from the Bayly brothers blog. Good going guys!

How to kill a Porsche 911 Video

And yet another Car Killing

And still another, only this one is a truck, hence, Truck Obliteration

Christianity Today Book Awards for 2005

From more than 300 nominations, these books represent the year's best.

This year CT received 327 nominated titles from 52 publishers. CT staff selected the top five books in each category, and then panels of judges (one panel for each category) determined the winners. In the end, CT honored 23 titles that bring understanding to people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, and mission. CT also included their judges comments on the winners.

Click on a title below if you are interested in ordering the book or visit my bookstore to order from over 150,000 different Christian products.

APOLOGETICS/EVANGELISM
The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God
Lee Strobel (Zondervan) Explores the arguments for the existence of a personal Creator granted to us by advances in physics, cosmology, astronomy, biology, biochemistry, and other sciences.

CHRISTIAN LIVING
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
Scot McKnight (Paraclete Press) In clear, engaging prose, The Jesus Creed offers a broad range of material—from personal anecdote to Jewish prayers—for abundant reflection on Jesus and on practical ways for loving God and others.

BIBLICAL STUDIES
Africa and the Bible
Edwin M. Yamauchi (Baker Academic) Fresh, deep research that challenges many of the excesses of Afrocentrism in U.S. and African biblical interpretation.

HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY
The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys
Mark A. Noll (IVP) Destined to be the benchmark for an entire field of inquiry, no other book tells the story of evangelicalism's formative decades with such illuminating attention to the movement's historical antecedents.

CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE
The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions About Intelligent Design
William A. Dembski (IVP) Exemplifies the classic way in which ideas are sharpened—through vigorous engagement with the strongest objections that can be raised against them.

MISSIONS/GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach
Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost, & John W. Morehead II, ed. (Kregel) The book treats a breathtaking range of biblical, historical, methodological, and practical issues related to Christian witness to new religious movements.

THE CHURCH/PASTORAL LEADERSHIP (tie)
Christ, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship
Leonard J. Vander Zee (IVP) Clear as air and brilliantly organized and written, this book offers sources and insight to pastors of any Christian tradition, including the emergent church.

MISSIONS/GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches
Robert Banks & Bernice M. Ledbetter (Baker Academic) Focusing more on character and integrity than on methods and techniques, this book sifts through the enormous amount of literature on leadership to present essential theories and practices.

FICTION
Gilead: A Novel
Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Like a wise elder whose front-porch musings keep you listening deep into the night, the narrative voice in this portrait of grace sparkles with insight, wonder, and both the frailty and indomitability of the human creature.

SPIRITUALITY
Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence
Ruth Haley Barton (IVP) Countering the hyperactive evangelical subculture, this book shows in practical ways how a deepened intimacy with God, found in silence and solitude, can influence our perceptions and choices in daily life.

THEOLOGY/ETHICS
Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition
Hans Boersma (Baker Academic) One of those rare evangelical tomes that engages critically and creatively with a major doctrine under attack—the Atonement. Boersma has written a spirited defense of divine violence as a means toward an eschatological state of pure hospitality.

ChurchSites Launches New Audio / Video Media System

See a working demo!

ChurchSites Launches the new Audio/Video Media System Designed with today's churches in mind, the ChurchSites Audio/Video Media System (AVMS) is a powerful, cost effective and easy way to share your message. Whether it's a collection of sermons from your most recent series, a training session for the lay leadership in your church or a daily devotional for all to hear, the ChurchSites AVMS can help you present it easily and quickly.

In addition to providing audio and video content, the system allows for the association of related documents and files including PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, HTML and JPEG files. Group study materials and resources with your sermon to create a powerful enrichment tool for any visitor to your site. New research shows that a growing number of individuals are using digital media to connect and further their relationship with God.

Growing Numbers Seeking God Online: Are you reaching them?
A new study released by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, indicates that among the growing number of Americans who use the Internet, millions are turning to the digital dimension to get them in touch with God and others who pursue faith matters. The report projects that within this decade as many as 50 million individuals may rely solely upon the Internet to provide all of their faith-based experiences." (The Barna Group of Ventura, California; www.barna.org)

To learn more about the ChurchSites Audio/Video Media System visit www.churchsites.com/avms or to speak with a representative about adding this powerful ministry tool to your site call 866.932.4891 or email sales@churchsites.com

Pretty Woman!

Ain't she beautiful! 

The ChurchSites Team!

This was taken at the ChurchSites Christmas party (L to R: Mark, Scott, Sean, Greg and Rob) 

It's Coming!

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but I am a closet CSPAN junkie. I really do like watching (and I do watch). Yesterday, my ear's perked up when a bunch of big health kahunas met for an official White House press conference and said have no doubt a pandemic influenza, that of the 1918 likes (which by the way killed more people than those who fought in World War I, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people), is coming to the USA. If they are convinced that we are going to get hit, then I think it is in our best interest to clear our throats and take notice, and prepare ourselves intellectually and pragmatically. Are you prepared?

THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918-1919 http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/uda/

The official U.S. government Web site for information on pandemic flu and avian influenza.

Click here to find out more . . .
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

Would A Loving God Send People To Hell?

My pastor, Jeff Murray, gave this sermon, Would A Loving God Send People To Hell? on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at West Noblesville Community Church

Would A Loving God Send People To Hell?
Listen now!

Was C.S. Lewis a Sexist Christian Bigot?

Joe,

I too was reluctant to read the article (link to article below) you forwarded to me. However, I plowed through and was glad I did!

I felt that Nelson’s article was incredibly balanced and put forth the contextual ethos and true vision of what Lewis was “inspired” to cast. He dealt very thoughtfully and matter-of-factly with Pullman’s criticisms. I think Pullman wears his underwear much too tight! He also needs the grace and mercy of the Lord! Lord, because of your awesome grace have mercy on Philip Pullman. Amen.

Thanks Joe for the good read!

Greg Cross

Read the FULL STORY

Crazy Rob!