A Valley View

Unity?

2011-06-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

I really want to share a recent news story with everyone. This story is about Omaha area ministers uniting in signing a proclamation regarding homosexuality. They feel that Christians owe the homosexual community an apology. (Are they apologizing for the Bible or for the One who wrote it?) I was going to include excerpts here on the blog until I noticed the following sentence at the bottom of the story...

Copyright 2011 by KETV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I want to be very cautious in following these guidelines. Instead of publishing any part of this story I will just add the link to this post. I must say though that there is no fear of any of the ministers at Valley View signing this proclamation. These "Omaha area ministers" are either extremely ignorant of Biblical truth or they are intentionally rebellious.
It seems that many professing Christians either don't believe that by one man sin entered the world and sin has therefore been passed down from generation to generation or they have forgotten Biblical history. Yes, man was created in the image of God. However, man has sinned and is no longer perfect. This means that we cannot claim "God created them this way" as an excuse.
Can the murderer claim that God created him to be a murderer? Can the fornicator claim God created him to fornicate? Can the liar say that lying is perfectly acceptable because God created him to lie? How about the adulterer, pedophile, thief or spousal abuser?
No, sin is to blame! Don't be deceived, God is not mocked. Only one man was born perfect. That man didn't have an earthly father. Oh, and don't think I am referring to Adam, he was created - not born.

^{Romans 1:26}For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: ²⁷And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. ²⁸And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ²⁹Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³²Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Here it is...
http://www.ketv.com/news/28214658/detail.html

Pet Peeve

2011-05-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

In Romans chapter 1 Paul talks about how people abandon the God of creation and "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator..."
I believe the following story makes perfect sense when one considers the lie of evolution that has been adopted as truth in this country. Since we supposedly evolved from animals we now have to be politically correct when referring to our pets.

The Journal of Animal Ethics says calling the family dog a pet is simply derogatory. Instead, editors of the journal said owners should call their dogs and cats "companion animals."
According to the article, the term '"pets,' whilst technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as just that: property, machines or things to use without moral constraint."

And don't call rats, raccoons or any other woodland fauna "wild animals," or "pests." The journal asks people to call all those untamed animals "free-living" or "free-roaming."
*"We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them," the journal argued.
Veterinarian Jane Corkum said that the politically-correct terms might be a little overboard. But she said the idea of identifying an "animal-companion" as more than just a critter is important to most pet owners. "I don't find it an offense to calling them a pet because I think of my pet as a friend or as a companion, so I think it is just a word," said Corkum. "But I can certainly see why some people do want to get rid of it and just call them a companion or a friend or family member even."© 2004-2011 LSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Story posted 2011.05.10 at 10:30 AM CDT (KETV)
http://www.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=140&nid=48332554&cid=16030&scid=-1&oid=140&device=android,shadow_vzw,verizon,DROIDX,2.2.1&speed=21952&version=1.1.0%22

*"think clearly"?

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools... Romans 1:22

Compartmentalized

2011-02-21T12:37:00.002-06:00

I have been reading about this idea of compartmentalization. The reason for this is that David Barton referred to a time in American history when everyone in politics had to affirm a Christian doctrinal statement in order to serve in public office. In fact, he went on to say that for 200 years it was imperative that voters looked at the private life of an individual to know if he would be fit for public service.
We have now encountered a shift in societal thinking. Now people assert that public and private life are unrelated. This means that many Americans would say that though a man does not operate morally in his private life, he will still perform the duties of his public office morally. The politician may behave and live in one manner, yet that lifestyle will have no effect on his policy decisions. People blindly trust this to be the case when they support Supreme Court Justices. They believe that each Justice is capable of separating their world view (their belief system) from their rulings. This idea of separation is called compartmentalization.
I have heard that Bertrand Russell was one of the early proponents of compartmentalization in politics. He was opposed to the idea that those in political office must affirm Christian principles. In fact, he openly condemned the very idea of Christianity...

“There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably, some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he does not dare face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not real, he becomes furious when they are disputed.”

Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics

While America slept, Bertrand Russell (British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian) was able to influence the landscape of American politics. The attacks from Academia don't end there. Finite human reason and logic are the only basis for intellectualism today. If one looks to any power other than human intelligence alone he is ridiculed and abased. These attacks on Christianity and our Creator are blatant and condemning. Yet Christians sleep.

*Robert Green Ingersoll:

“I do not regard religious opinions…as exotics that have to be kept under glass, protected from the frosts of common sense or the tyrannous north wind of logic. Such plants are hardly worth preserving. They certainly ought to be hardy enough to stand the climate of free discussion, and if they cannot, the sooner they die the better.”

*American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism.

We sleep because we have been lulled into compartmentalization. We have bought into the thinking that there is a disconnect between sacred and secular. Sacred is for the church in very compartmentalized ways, secular is for every other area of our lives... work, home, play, etc.,

Let me illustrate by asking how we should apply the following verse:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

II Peter 2:1-2

February Special

2011-02-17T17:48:00.000-06:00

We had a violin concert at the house today as Becky was getting the girls ready for their special music this Sunday. Enjoy!

Anti-Evolution Crusade

2011-02-09T13:29:00.002-06:00

I have posted the following article in blue ink. The black font is mine.

"Science Guy" Bill Nye: Anti-Evolution Crusade "Horrible"

Opinion by AUSCS
Religion / Religion in Society
By Sandhya Bathija

With Darwin Day (Feb. 12) just around the corner, scientists, educators and citizens across the world are gearing up to celebrate the birth of Charles Darwin and his contributions to science.
As Bill Nye “The Science Guy” recently put it, teachers’ reluctance to teach Darwin’s theory of evolution is “horrible.” Scientific advances that benefit everyone could be at risk if students don’t learn sound science.

“People make flu vaccinations that stop people from getting sick,” he said. “Farmers raise crops with science; they hybridize them and make them better with every generation. That’s all evolution. Evolution is a theory, and it’s a theory that you can test. We’ve tested evolution in many ways. You can’t present good evidence that says evolution is not a fact. ”

The statements made here are pretty bold, however, they are also deceptive. Darwin's theory of evolution regarding changes within a species is not in dispute. What is in dispute is the "origin" of the species. I contend that you can't present any evidence that says origins evolution is a fact.
Additionally, if you were to take Darwin at his word, then you wouldn't care much about whether we could make flu vaccinations. After all, survival of the fittest is all about weeding out the weak. Disease and death is to the advantage of the origins evolutionist and is a valuable tool for natural selection. Finding and using vaccines keeps the weak in the gene pool and hinders our ability to evolve into a stronger species.

Yet some Religious Right-oriented state legislators across the country want to derail the teaching of evolution and weaken science education in public schools. We are barely into 2011 and, according to the National Center for Science Education, already four states are pondering anti-evolution bills, including: New Mexico, Oklahoma (where there are two anti-evolution bills!), Missouri and Kentucky.

All of these measures are carefully crafted with creationist code language intended to sidestep decades of federal court decisions preventing creationism from being taught in public schools. These courts have ruled time and time again that creationism is religious dogma and our Constitution prevents our public schools from favoring any religious belief.

"creationist code language"?
By the way, can someone show me where our Constitution prevents our public schools from favoring any religious belief?
The latest bill, out of New Mexico, HB 302, would allow teachers to inform students “about relevant scientific information regarding either the scientific strengths or scientific weaknesses” pertaining to “controversial” topics. The bill would protect teachers from “reassignment, termination, discipline or other discrimination for doing so.
The Oklahoma Senate bill, SB 554, provides that teachers and administrators be free to inform students about “relevant scientific information regarding either the scientific strengths or scientific weaknesses of controversial topics in sciences,” where such topics “include but are not limited to biological origins of life and biological evolution.” The bill also ensures that teachers not be disciplined for teaching science in this manner.

Oklahoma’s House Bill, HB 1551, sponsored by the Religious Right favorite Sally Kern, an avid anti-evolutionist, requires that teachers be permitted to teach the “scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories.”
And why is it that teachers shouldn't be permitted to teach "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories"?
Missouri’s HB 195 uses similar “academic freedom” type language, calling on teachers to encourage students to explore “scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about controversial issues, including biological and chemical evolution.” The bill also requires teachers to find “more effective ways” to teach scientific controversies.
And why is it that teachers shouldn't encourage students to explore "scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately..."?
Kentucky’s HB 169, the first anti-evolution bill of 2011, would allow teachers to “use, as permitted by the local school board, other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner.”
And why is it that teachers shouldn't be permitted to "help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner?
Most of these bills are similar to legislation introduced in past years that have failed to become law. The bad news is that those who want our public schools to adopt poor science standards just won’t go away.

If you live in any of these states, let your state legislators know you want strong science standards in your home state.
"Strong science standards" apparently means everything occurred "accidentally". If it didn't occur accidentally then it is not to be considered science.

As “The Science Guy” said, “”Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back.”
I doubt that anyone is claiming they "don't believe in science". Here again they are twisting the truth to propagate their agenda. An agenda that is a direct attack on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Creator and sustainer of all life. How can we as believers bury our heads in the sand and pretend that Satan is not at work in this world?
The information in this post came from the following link...
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/science-guy-bill-nye-anti-evolution-crusade-horrible

Criminal

2011-02-05T17:08:00.000-06:00

I can't help it, I had to laugh.

The Fire Department has been given a hard time the last couple years, even to the point of being called "Union Thugs". Politics aside, that was the first thing I thought of when I saw this cartoon...

Ye Have Wearied the Lord

2011-01-30T10:12:00.004-06:00

Have you ever done something that just brings you frustration and anger, yet you find yourself doing it every couple of days anyway? I do. In fact, I did it again this morning. I read the newspaper.
On the front page of the Midlands section of the Omaha World Herald there was an article titled "Bill would require comprehensive sex ed". Believe it or not, though the title piqued my interest, I regret reading it. I feel sick...
"Nebraska public schools would have to offer comprehensive sex education, which some districts already teach, under a bill introduced by an Omaha lawmaker.
Schools would have to include instruction in the proper use of all contraceptive methods approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has OK'd a variety of devices and medications, among them the 'morning after' pill that prevents pregnancy after intercourse."

Does it prevent pregnancy or end pregnancy?
That aside, what are we doing? The article states that the purpose of this sex education is to reduce the rate of STD's in the state. The article also says that the bill "would require schools to teach the benefits of abstinence." So, we teach them how to use contraceptives, then we tell them it is also beneficial to be abstinent? Is there a contradiction here? A mixed message?

By the way, how is the morning after pill going to prevent STD's?

The article goes on to say...
"The Omaha Public Schools has provided students with comprehensive sex education, including contraceptive education, since the mid-1980's.
Even so, Council, a former Omaha school board member, said she doesn't believe the message is reaching kids."

I guess that if we legislate it, it will be more effective? There is a reason that Council doesn't believe the message is reaching kids, it's because the STD rates are climbing...

http://www.ketv.com/health/18780006/detail.html

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1370126.html

The article gets worse...
"The [current] OPS curriculum does not discuss abortion, she [Karen Spencer-May, the districts supervisor for family and consumer sciences and human growth and development] said. When the curriculum was written, she said, 'there were certain things that our community didn't want us to talk about, and that was one of the things'.
The curriculum also does not discuss issues surrounding sexual orientation, she said.
OPS teachers are trained not to deviate from the curriculum. When students raise questions beyond the scope, teachers are to refer them to counselors."

Now we are getting to some of the real reasons behind the new bill. Obviously this is not about reducing STD rates...

"Council's bill, however, would authorize sex-education instructors to 'answer in good faith any questions initiated by a student that is germane to the material of the course.'"
Listen to this...
"The bill would require that instruction materials not 'promote bias' against sexually active students or students of any sexual orientation or gender identity."

We are going to teach our kids that evil is good and good is evil. Not only are we going to teach it to them, we are going to make it a law that we must teach it to them!

Malachi 2:17 "Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?"

Just so you know, "Officials with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland support the effort."

Folks, don't be confused. Satan wants to destroy the family!
Remember, whoever is teaching your children is discipling your children. Who do you want your children to be a disciple of?

Sneak Peak

2011-01-29T19:51:00.000-06:00

As a special gift to the readers of this blog, I am going to share a sneak peak of our new church website. I can't resist because I am so excited about the changes!

It is so nice to have such talented people in our church. Janna Selander has been working on the graphics and the layout while Karl Hake has taken on the ministry of web administrator. What Janna has put together is beautifully contemporary and up to date, even to the point of designing a new logo!

Karl is working on transferring our church calendar, adding the new emails, and finding a way to upload sermons every week. What a neat feature it will be to have a sermon archive with our weekly messages available online.

So, without further ado, and with unending gratefulness...

www.Vvbc.net

Comment

2011-01-17T09:58:00.002-06:00

The following comment was intended to be left on the previous post, however, possibly due to it's length, it never uploaded, though it was sent to my email. I have pasted it in its entirety...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WHAT I DONT kNOw!":

Some thoughts from my studies today in regards to church ministries (sunday school,youth group etc.) And the failure of these programs according to National Center for family integrated churches confession

The following are some articles from their Articles of Confession
*see complete confession at website www.ncfic.org

Article I — Scripture is Sufficient
We affirm that our all-wise God has revealed Himself and His will in a completed revelation—the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments—which is fully adequate in both content and clarity for “everything pertaining to life (salvation) and godliness (sanctification)” including the ordering of the church and the family (2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 Tim 3:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
We deny that God’s people should treat His Word as inadequate for church and family life by supplementing His completed revelation with principles from humanistic psychology, corporate business models, and modern marketing techniques.

Article VI — The Church is a Family of Believers that Includes Families

Article XI — The Biblical Pattern of the Church Reflects Age and Family Integration
We affirm that there is no scriptural pattern for comprehensive age segregated discipleship, and that age segregated practices are based on unbiblical, evolutionary and secular thinking which have invaded the church (Deut. 16:9-14; Josh. 8:34-35; Ezra 10:1; 2 Chr.20:13; Nehemiah 12:43; Joel 2:15-16; Luke 12:42-47; Col 4:14; Acts 20:7; Eph. 6:1-4).
We deny/reject that corporate worship, discipleship and evangelism should be systematically segregated by age, and that it has been an effective method for making disciples.

So, in referring to Sufficency of Sripture (Sola Scriptura) The following is from: www.GotQuestions.org

Question: "What is sola scriptura?" * not a full text quote, see website
Answer: The phrase sola scriptura is from the Latin: sola having the idea of “alone,” “ground,” “base,” and the word scriptura meaning “writings”—referring to the Scriptures. Sola scriptura means that Scripture alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of the Christian. The Bible is complete, authoritative, and true. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:1

The Word of God is the only authority for the Christian faith. Traditions are valid only when they are based on Scripture and are in full agreement with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. Sola scriptura is the only way to avoid subjectivity and keep personal opinion from taking priority over the teachings of the Bible. The essence of sola scriptura is basing your spiritual life on the Bible alone and rejecting any tradition or teaching that is not in full agreement with the Bible. Second Timothy 2:15 declares, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Sola scriptura does not nullify the concept of church traditions. Rather, sola scriptura gives us a solid foundation on which to base church traditions.
Again, traditions are not the problem. Unbiblical traditions are the problem.© Copyright 2002-2011 Got Questions Ministries.
________________________________
In closing, do we blame our church programs for the failures?, toss them aside. Or, do we take personal responsibilty , confess our failures to God, seek forgiveness and ask for His help to teach our families according to his standards ?

Remember, we all must appear before the judgement seat of Christ ? (2 Corinthians 5:10)
God Bless,
Daniel Moore dd_Moore60@yahoo.com
member VVBC

WHAT I DONT kNOw!

2011-01-06T14:36:00.004-06:00

This has been a great week for reading! I just finished a book this afternoon that challenged many of my assumptions regarding church ministries.
Before today, I didn't know...

Plato (428-347 BC)
"All those in the city who happen to be older than ten they will send out to the country; and taking over their children, they will rear them - far away from those dispositions they now have from their parents - in their own manners and laws that are such as we described before. And, with the city and the regime of which we were speaking thus established most quickly and easily, it will itself be happy and most profit the nation in which it comes to be."
Allan Bloom, The Republic of Plato, Translated, with notes and an interpretive essay. 2nd ed, (New York: Basic Books, 1968), 220*

Plato actually asserted that for best results, the city or state should own or rear the children away from the influence of the parents.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788)
"If there are laws for adult life, there should be laws for childhood, which teach obedience to the others; and just as the reason of each man is not left to be the sole judge of his duties, so too the education of children should not be left to their fathers' capacities and prejudices, especially since it is even more important to the state than to their fathers; for in the natural course of things the father's death often deprives him o f the ultimate benefits of having educated his child, but his country will sooner of later feel the effects of what he has done: the state remains while the family is dissolved."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "Discourse on Political Economy," in Discourse on Political Economy and the Social Contract, trans/ with Introduction and Notes by Christopher Betts (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994), 23*

In 1848 the Quincy Grammar School in Boston, Massachusetts was formed. Prior to this time there was no such thing as "grade levels" but students all learned at their own pace even though common schools (which later became government schools) had formed. However, at the Quincy Grammar School, they had twelve classrooms of equal size.

Charles Silberman quotes Frederick Burk, the first president of what would become California State University at San Francisco...
"It [graded schools] is constructed upon the assumption that a group of minds can be marshalled and controlled in growth in exactly the same manner that a military officer marshalls and directs the bodily movements of a company of soldiers. In solid, unbreakable phalanx the class is supposed to move through all the grades, keeping in locked step. This locked step is set by the 'average' pupil - an algebraic myth born of inanimate figures and an addled pedagogy. The class system does injury to the rapid and quick-thinking pupils, because these must shackle their stride to keep pace with the mythical average. [But] the class system does a greater injury to the large number who make slower progress than the rate of the mythical average pupil...They are foredoomed to failure before they begin...Could any system be more stupid in its assumptions, more impossible in its conditions, and more juggernautic in its operation?"
Crisis in the Classroom: The Remaking of American Education (New York, Random House, 1970), 166.*

Then there is this quote from Charles F. Potter...
"Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday-schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?"
Charles Francis Potter, Humanism: A New Religion (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1930), 128.*

Then, 53 years later, John J. Dunphy writes...
"The battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level --preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new--the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of "love they neighbor"will finally be achieved. Then perhaps, we will be able to say with Tom Paine that "the world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion" It will undoubtedly be a long, arduous, painful struggle replete with much sorrow and many tears, but humanism will emerge triumphant. It must if the family of humankind is to survive."
John J. Dunphy, The Humanist, Vol. 43, Issue 1 (Jan/Feb 1983), 23-26*

Scott Brown, referring to the aforementioned paragraph, says...

"And it worked! Christian parents uncritically trusted this system, placed their confidence in it, and sent their children into these pagan indoctrination centers. Their children came out walking, talking and thinking like pagans."
Scott T. Brown, A Weed in the Church ( The National Center for Family Integrated Churches, October 2010), 105*

These quotes were brought up in order to ask this simple question, "If man's wisdom invented age-segregated learning away from the instruction of the fathers, why are we doing the same thing at church?"

Is the Bible silent of this issue? (Hint-kNOw!)

*Disclaimer- I am not giving a blanket endorsement of Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Charles Silberman, Charles Potter, John Dunphy, or Scott Brown. However, the words of each of these men have challenged many of my assumptions regarding church ministries.

Already?

2011-01-03T12:46:00.001-06:00

Well we're into a new year! I don't know that I am ready for it yet. I still have plans for the summer of 2010.

Huh. Now that I think about it, I am still working on things that were planned before that. In fact, I am so far behind I wouldn't be able to know which year I originally planned to do things if it wasn't for the receipts! Do you know what I am talking about? Let me illustrate...

Last Thursday, December 30th, I finally got around to putting new brake shoes on Karen's Honda (I noticed we were at 97,000 miles and it still had the original brakes). I knew that I had purchased them so that I could change them at my convenience. I looked around the shop for less than 30 seconds when I spotted them sitting right at the edge of the workbench waiting to be installed.
I pulled her car in, jacked up the front end and pulled the front tires. It didn't take long to remove the old shoes. However, when I went to install the new ones, I noticed that they were a different size. Huh, I'd bought brakes for a V6 but we owned a 4 cylinder. I guess that makes a difference in the brakes.

Fortunately, thinking ahead, I had left the receipt in the box! As I was thinking about making a quick trip in to town in order to make an exchange, a check of the receipt told me where I had made the purchase.

That check of the receipt also let me know where I was on my "to do" list. In other words, it had a date of purchase on it.

Since our car had no tires or brakes, I decided to take the motorcycle to town. It does better on fuel anyway. Besides, it was the last opportunity I would have to drive it in 2010. With such great weather Emily decided to come along...

Oh, did I mention the date on the receipt?

3-12-2009

I told you I wasn't ready for 2011!

Special Music

2010-12-23T18:42:00.000-06:00

I secretly took a video of a couple ladies practicing for this Sunday's offeratory. I can't resist sharing it here!

Stress Free Decorating

2010-12-23T18:19:00.000-06:00

I was recently sent a picture that I truly enjoyed...

This family must be busy, but not too busy for humor. Gotta love it,

Merry Christmas!

Colossians 1:12-20

2010-12-23T12:48:00.000-06:00

I want to take a minute to pray that everyone appreciates their blessed Christmas this year! I don't know what each person's situation is this Christmas but I do know that through Christ we have a hope that is far better than anything that the world can offer. It was wonderful to be with the church family last night and celebrate the birth of Christ together. It was wonderful to commune together and hear and sing songs of praise.

I trust that you will take the time this year to enjoy the blessings of the Lord in your life. I trust that you will constantly remember that all good things come from our wonderful Creator. I trust that you will recognize the breath that you have comes from Christ and that by Him all things consist.

Gifts, cookies, and even family aside, take the time to talk with God. Let him talk with you. Open your Bible and see what he has shared...

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!

Store Bought Meat

2010-12-15T18:18:00.000-06:00

Genesis 9:3 "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

As we taught through creation, one of the things that stood out to me was the fact that (pre-sin) God made all creatures herbivores. Even man was to be vegetarian. God had given man the green herb for meat.
However, as we get to Genesis chapter 9 and post flood instruction, God gives a new command. Now man is free to eat animals for food. Imagine being on the ark and having to feed all the animals month after month but not being allowed to eat any of them.

I can understand not being tempted by the chickens... they're fowl.

Today I spent several hours making Italian sausage out of the deer I harvested last week. I threw some in the frying pan and ate it for lunch.

All of these things remind me of a newspaper article I shared a couple of years ago...

Ladies, Christmas Dinner!

2010-12-09T10:25:00.000-06:00

I had to take some time this morning to leave my office and go down to the church kitchen to show a couple ladies how to make the dessert for the Ladies Christmas Dinner. I know the men are supposed to make the meal and serve the dinner but we had some ladies volunteer to make the dessert. Unfortunately, Kurt (the chef?) didn't like the dessert ideas that they had come up with (I guess it didn't go with his menu) so he specified what dessert he felt should be served. Last night he dropped off all of the ingredients so that the ladies could "bake" this morning.
I know. You're wondering why I should be the one to show them how to make it? Funny right?
Well in answer to your question, Kurt tested this dessert on the men at the station last week. Obviously it met approval.

If you don't come to the dinner for any other reason, at least come for dessert.

Maybe that's not a good selling point.

What if I can get Pastor Dan to be a server? Rumor is...

Shotgun season

2010-12-06T20:04:00.002-06:00

Thought I'd share a picture from opening day. I know that I haven't had time to post recently so for those of you that are bored of deer pictures, hunting season is coming to a close this week.

Thanks for humoring me...

What are you Thankful for?

2010-11-19T15:45:00.000-06:00

We are coming up on Thanksgiving week. I must confess, from a personal standpoint, I am so thankful to have next week off. I look forward to spending valuable time with family!

This Sunday is our Thanksgiving potluck at church. It is always a special time eating together and sharing testimonies about what God has done in our lives and in our church family throughout the year. I trust that you are already thinking about these things so that you can come prepared to glorify our faithful Lord.

Last year, about this time, I was praying for the salvation of a man that I had become friends with through work. We had also spent a week together last October looking for meat to fill the freezer. As I think about it now, I know that there have been many times that my testimony has been poor. I know that he has seen me sin. In fact, there have been a few times that I have needed to go to him to ask forgiveness. In spite of that, this Thanksgiving, I can praise the Lord for his salvation! The last six months have been a wonderful time of watching the Holy Spirit work in his life.
Last night, while I was at the station, he called me so that we could share prayer requests. I would say "what a difference a year makes" but that wouldn't be the whole story. Rather,

"What a difference our God makes!"

I look forward to hearing from the rest of you this Sunday...

What a Couple!

2010-11-18T20:02:00.003-06:00

No, the title does not refer to Kurt and his deer but to Kurt and his dear. Maureen may have gotten her buck first but Kurt is not to be outdone! What a great bow season our church family is having this year. You know what this means for our church potlucks!

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Proverbs 31

2010-11-16T08:30:00.003-06:00

My wife tells me when we are running low on venison and I have to go out and fetch some.
Kurt's wife fetches it herself!

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. ¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. ¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life... ¹⁵She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household...¹⁷She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

Way to go Maureen!

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I Corinthians 9:27 (Totally out of Context)

2010-11-14T08:31:00.001-06:00

We had a great time as a church family last night at our Chili cook off and Pumpkin dessert contest! I never received a count on how many were there but the night was well attended. Thanks go to Don and Pam for opening up their home, decorating, providing a great bonfire, and taking the group on hay rack rides. The facilities were wonderful with plenty of room inside for people to eat and visit in a warm dry place. There were so many people to visit with, so much chili, and so many pumpkin desserts that I never even had the chance to play a game of ping pong. Every time I walked by the game room though I could see that it was non-stop competition.

Speaking of competition, we had 14 different pots of chili on the table. I can't list the names of all the chili but we had quite an assortment - everything from white chili to pumpkin chili. Unofficially, #9 - Tailgator chili was my favorite. Officially, it came in third. Top honors went to Steve Carper with his Boilermaker chili. In fairness to Steve, I had tasted almost every other chili entered in the competition before I tried the Boilermaker. In fact, I didn't try it until I received word that it had won. You see, I gave it my best shot to eat half a cup of every chili entered. I kept this up until I had tasted ten of them. I then decided that rather than continuing to eat a sample of each, I'd just get a bowl of what I had liked the best. It was only after doing so that I found out #5 had won and I hadn't even tried it. Sacrificially, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection..." so I had a cup of Boilermaker.

I must confess, I didn't have much room left for pumpkin dessert. Yet I did have two pieces of Sara Moore's pumpkin dessert. I should have written down the name of the dessert so that I could share it here but I was too busy enjoying the taste to concern myself with names. Yes, she was the official first place entry.

Thanks to all who worked so faithfully to make this event a special evening. Your hard work was much appreciated!

The Bible Says...

2010-11-10T15:57:00.001-06:00

Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

And make me savoury meat, such as I love,

and bring it to me, that I may eat;

that my soul may bless thee...

Genesis 27:3-4

Have you ever randomly opened your Bible and placed your finger on a page to see what God had for you? Neither have I, I purposefully looked for these verses!

I know I posted these pictures earlier this week but Karen told me to keep this blog biblical.

Still Bow Season

2010-11-09T13:35:00.001-06:00

Third post in three days! This morning the honors belonged to my station captain. Enjoy!

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Picture

2010-11-08T19:16:00.001-06:00

Another one

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What a morning

2010-11-08T13:02:00.002-06:00

Praise the Lord! Of course there is a story to go with this...

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Bow

2010-11-07T18:27:00.001-06:00

One picture is never enough, we need to see the shooter too...

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It's Here

2010-11-07T18:24:00.001-06:00

I can't help but acknowledge that hunting season is here. What a wonderful time of year. Bow season.

I have been out a few times enjoying the mild fall weather and the onset of the rut but I have not been successful in my harvest attempt. That will not prevent me from taking this opportunity to showcase the hunting prowess of my brother-in-law though!
Great job Chad,

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Renewable Clothes

2010-10-29T08:14:00.002-05:00

How can we please God?

Maybe I should ask, "How do we become acceptable to God?"

Last week in the morning service we saw how displeased God was with Adam's sin. Adam and Eve had clearly disobeyed the word of God. They made themselves coverings and hid in the bushes as the voice of God walked through the garden. Our focus last week was the curse resulting from their sin.

This week we will examine how God viewed their attempt to make themselves acceptable. In studying this week I couldn't help but wonder how Americans try to make themselves acceptable to God. Better yet, how do American Christians seek to make themselves acceptable to God?

Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

Let me share this Barna Poll with you...

http://www.adherents.com/misc/BarnaPoll.html

I want you to notice in particular the graphs at the bottom of the linked page. Do you see how many Baptists believe that good works don't earn you heaven? 43%

The flip side then is that 57% of Baptists think that good works play a part in making them acceptable to God. What have you tried?

Spend some time thinking about the title to this post, then tell me; What is your apron made of?

A Radical Departure

2010-10-25T10:30:00.004-05:00

Many of you that know me well, know that I prefer to read the Bible more than any other book. I pray that never changes. Due to this fact, I rarely recommend reading material other than scripture. Today however, may be an exception.

Technology is amazing. It is through modern technology that I am able to listen regularly to one of my favorite preachers. I download his sermons to my phone and listen to them while in the car, or even while sitting in my office. We have included some of his DVD's in our church library, and I have even recommended them from the pulpit. This week, I have been reading through one of his books...

"Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham Jr.

The subtitle of this book says "Doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God". I must warn you, anything that you read (or listen to) will challenge your view of the culture, and hopefully, your view of the church and family.

The following is an excerpt from his book...

[The question is not whether or not our children sin later in life. The question is, do we have a biblical obligation to train them before they leave home? Is there an biblical validity to the idea that Christian parents should allow their children to experiment with ungodliness?

Many families have been lulled into what I like to call a full-screen view of parenting. We look at the biblical mandate and compare it to societal norms, and there appears to be something missing. We believe that somehow we are depriving our children of experiences that will make them more liked, more respected, more normal. Hence we trade in the biblical standard for a cultural norm that hovers just below mediocrity. All of a sudden our desires for our children change. Now all we want for our kids is what "every other parent" wants for their children.

The result is a generation about whom Christian Smith has written, "Religion seems to become rather compartmentalized and backgrounded in the lives and experiences of most U.S. teenagers."*
This compartmentalization is completely understandable in light of the minimal weight given to spiritual matters. Smith explains:

This is not surprising. It simply reflects the fact that there is very little built-in religious content or connection in the structure of most U.S. adolescents' daily schedules and routines. Most U.S. teenagers' lives are dominated by school and homework.*

He continues:

Many are involved in sports and other clubs besides. Most teens also spend lots of time with their friends just hanging out or doing things like going to the mall or bowling. In addition, most teens devote a great deal of life to watching television and movies, e-mailing or instant messaging friends, listening to music, and consuming other electronic media. Boyfriends and girlfriends sometimes consume a lot of teenage time and attention as well.*

It seems there are a few things that we deem more important for our children than growing in grace.]

*Smith, Soul Searching, 130-131

Mr. Baucham then proceeds to share three of the things that he feels we deem more important than growing in grace; making the grade, making the team, and making time. And this is just part of chapter one, "The Lay of the Land". Wait till you get to the last chapter, chapter 10 "A Radical Departure from the Norm".

Something's Fishy

2010-10-22T18:18:00.001-05:00

Well, I am once again amazed by the stupidity of evolutionists. Yet the Bible clearly says that "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..."

I don't know what else to say.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39619699/?gt1=43001

Oh, let me make it easy. I'll include the transcript here, but if you want to see pictures you'll have to follow the link.

Fish had sex first, fossils suggest
Discovery Channel

Fish were the first to have intimate sex, suggests new research based on well-preserved fossils of extinct armored fishes from the Gogo Formation of Western Australia.
Intimate sex by copulation likely first happened in the early Devonian Period around 400 to 410 million years ago, scientists say.
This was "not just spawning in water, but sex that was fun," according to project leader John Long, who also thinks that jaws evolved in conjunction with mating.

"Jaws might not have first evolved for feeding, (then how did they live long enough to have sex? Are they serious? Jaws evolved for sex, not eating?) as widely presupposed, (I wonder why they presupposed that?) but to facilitate copulatory mating," said Long, who is vice president of research and collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "In many sharks the jaws are used to hold on to pectoral fins of females so copulation can take place."

The scientists studied fossil embryos — still in good condition — from Late Devonian ptyctodontid and arthrodiran placoderm fishes, which were similar to modern sharks. While these remains date to 380 million years ago, the overall fossil record for the fishes suggests they evolved the ability to have intimate sex by copulation at an earlier period.
Long and his colleagues made headlines a few years ago when it was announced that one of the fishes, an individual from the genus Materpiscis, was the world's first mother, since a female's fossil still retained a single embryo connected by an umbilical cord. (Time out. What? The world's first mother was a fish? The proof is that they found an umbilical cord? Who birthed the momma fish? Did she have a belly button? Wait, do fish have belly buttons?)

The discovery represents the oldest evidence of an animal giving birth to live young.
"Our finds show that these extinct armored fishes, the placoderms, had intimate copulation with males inserting claspers (a structure that is part of the pelvic fin) inside the female to deposit sperm," Long told Discovery News.

..The find "is significant because it means that an advanced form of reproduction involving copulation and live-bearing was more widespread than previously thought."

.Recent genetic analysis of the fish fossils indicates that the same genes responsible for making our limbs, and the pelvic fins of fishes, also played a role in developing the sexual organs of our very distant ancestors. (??????) These genes also control development of fish jaws. The origin of the pelvic girdle of the ancient fish and the origin of their jaws even seems to have happened around the same time (creation), based on the genetic evidence.
"It seems that limbs and genitals developed via the same developmental pathways, so fossils showing the oldest evidence of pelvic fins (the placoderms) also showing the oldest expression of sexual organs (claspers) might not be such a coincidence," Long explained.

Long and his team announced the determinations today at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's 70th Anniversary Meeting in Pittsburgh.
Steven Salisbury, a lecturer in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Queensland, believes the ancient fish fossils, including the fossilized embryo, are a "spectacular" discovery that have "important implications for our understanding of the evolution of live-bearing in vertebrates.

Make love not war may even help to explain the origin of intimate sex since Salisbury added, "The large size of the embryo relative to the mother indicates that the young of this fish were born well-formed, a strategy that may have evolved to counter predation from other larger fishes."

I've been reading this for a week and I'm still speechless. I don't even know where to begin. See if you can find a single true statement anywhere in there. Good luck,

Time?-Share Birthday Dinners

2010-10-21T12:52:00.004-05:00

Last night we had the opportunity to attend Spring Hill Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio. My cousin Mark is the Student Pastor there. We had a great time at church and then went back to their house for a late dinner. Like all good Baptists, we ate and visited at the same time.
As our plan was to drive through the night (a 13 hour drive), we left their home a little before 11:00 p.m.

We weren't on the road but a few minutes when Emily requested the use of my phone. She said she wanted to practice with "Swype", something we just discovered on Tuesday evening. I handed her my phone and instructed her to send her mother an email.
The following email is what Karen received when we arrived home...

Vacation
So I went on this crazy vacation
and ate hamburgs from hamburger station
Climbed rocks with a thousand foot drop and stood on the Chimney Tops.
Went to dinner at TGI Friday's;*
and had way too many goodbye-days.
Got lessons from great uncle Bill:
Now that I can play, I will.
Had my hair pulled by cute little cousins
Ate sweetened foods by the dozens,
met people I didn't know before
Slept multiple times on the floor.
No one even said that I snore.
Drank pop (and cold apple cider)
Told my sister I didn't want to fight her
Asked Papa to "swype" the word phloem
And lastly composed this dumb poem!

* On a personal note - The dinner at TGI Friday's was gifted to us (as a bribe) to encourage us to sit through a two hour time-share presentation. We received a $30.00 dinner voucher and a $30.00 visa card. This fed our family of five, bought Kaylin's birthday brownie, covered the taxes (10%) and the tip, and left us + $4.91 on the card!

Welcome Home

2010-10-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

What a humbling welcome home we received this morning! After driving straight through the night this was a wonderful gift to come home to. We're not sure who to thank, so we thank you all!

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Creation 3

2010-10-15T12:45:00.000-05:00

Tired of them yet?

Creation 2

2010-10-15T12:41:00.001-05:00

More pics

Creation!

2010-10-15T10:28:00.001-05:00

We're here! We've heard so much about this place and enjoyed their minstry so much, we knew we had to come. And what a day, it's Kaylin's 14th birthday.
For those of you that know us well, you know that every day we have with our children is a gift from God- The Creator God! It has been six years and 4 days since the Lord spared her life. We can't think of a better way to spend our time together as a family than praising him with our time.
Hopefully there will be more pictures to come...

Sign

2010-10-14T08:24:00.001-05:00

We came upon this sign in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I stopped to share a picture with you all.

A Real Blessing!

2010-10-13T19:09:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful opportunity we had this past week to spend some time with my Uncle Bill Blessing in Tennessee. For the last 10 years (give or take) he has been a missionary with Forgotten Millions Ministries. He travels almost daily to various nursing homes and care facilities in the states of Georgia and Tennessee and shares the love of Jesus with everyone who will listen (and even some who won't).

My family was invited to share with him in his ministry. Karen, Kaylin, and Audrey were able to play special music during his service. I didn't video the girls, but I did take this short video of Bill preaching a message with his guitar. It is apparent that the Lord has gifted him for this particular ministry. He was treated like a celebrity by both the staff and the residents. They all look forward to his monthly visits! He quoted scripture, prayed, preached, and sang. The gospel was clearly shared and the guitar never stopped. What a joy.

As we visited in the evening, I couldn't help but pray that the Lord would send him someone he could mentor in this important ministry. He only has a short time with the people he meets, but it is the most important time of their lives. Only the Lord knows the number of their days. I thank the Lord that Uncle Bill and the Lord Jesus Christ get to be a part of a few of them.

I know a video can't capture the moment, but I trust you'll enjoy what you see...

This is the 4th day that I have been working on getting this video to upload. Some of this content may be old by the time it is posted. Additionally, I had to lower the resolution in the video in order to get it to upload. I apologize for the fuzzy picture, I will continue to try and upload this video in better quality

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

2010-10-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

$.39 coffee, priceless

2010-10-13T06:54:00.000-05:00

On a personal note, today is my father's birthday. We are sitting together at McDonalds this morning enjoying their free wireless high-speed (more or less) internet service. Dad likes to get up early and eat breakfast at McDonalds. I suspect this is mostly due to the senior discounts they offer.
$.39 coffee

Dad has computer work to do this morning. I knew that before I came. In fact, I came along so that I could work with my computer as well. To everyone else, we're just a couple of old guys sitting at our computers in a public place. We probably don't look like we're visiting much. To me though, this is quality time.
I have so much to be thankful for. God has appointed our days, I'm so grateful that this day has been appointed for us. Each day we spend together as family is a gift from our great God. Many people forget that each breath we take is at the will of God. By him, all things consist. Thank you Lord.

I don't know what the next year of my father's life will bring. I don't even know what the next year of my life will bring. Yet I am confident that, like each year before this, my dad will continue to be an example of a godly man. He will love his wife, he will continue to rear his children in the nurture an admonition of the Lord, he will pray, he will read his Bible, he will be involved in his church, he will spend time with his grandchildren, and he won't sit still.
In fact, he's supposed to be sitting across from me working on his computer. He's not. He couldn't sit still this long...

I love you Dad,
HAPPY 68!

Chimney Tops

2010-10-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

We love Smoky Mountains National Park! Today we hiked 4 miles on a trail to Chimney Tops. I took some pictures with my phone that I will try to share here.

Last night I spent 3 hours trying to upload a video to this blog so that everyone could share in the nursing home ministry we were blessed to be a part of last week. Unfortunately I could not get that to work. I will keep working on it in the days ahead.

This email connection is through my phone so I'm not sure if these pics will upload. We will give it a shot...

Okay, an hours gone by, let's try this again...

Here we have Emily (after our hike) posing by the warning poster at the trailhead!

It's wonderful to be blessed with parents that can still make the strenuous hike to the end of the trail.

Karen probably won't be thrilled that I am including this picture since we were tired and sweaty by this point. We had already been to the top and were half of the way back down at this point.

Unwanted

2010-09-30T16:33:00.000-05:00

There is a liar in our midst. Unfortunately he has deceived a lot of people and most of them don't even know they are deceived. He has been tireless in his desire to destroy the church and the people in it.
Did you know that he has a track record of accomplishing destruction in other churches? Apparently he's very powerful and we're not the first church he has tried to abolish.
I don't think I've ever seen him but I hear he is good looking. In fact, he has been described as beautiful to look at. Yet when he opens his mouth and poison comes out, he sprinkles just enough truth in with what he says that people follow him. However, without a doubt, he is an enemy of the Lord and of our church.

Not only is he a liar, I have heard that he is a murderer as well. An unrepentant murderer. Yet he still has followers. In fact, many people appear to love him. They have even invited him into their homes. I think he's been in my house too. I guess I don't know for sure. If I had known he was coming I hope I would have tried to keep him out.
That doesn't sound hospitable does it?

Just so that you've been warned, I'm planning on naming him in front of the church this Sunday.

I wonder if he'll be there?

I hope not.

Mobile blogging

2010-09-19T14:25:00.002-05:00

I have been reading on mobile blogging in an attempt to save time and assist in keeping this blog up to date. I have had no success (unless you are finally reading this blog).
I have attached a picture because that's one of the greatest advantages to mobile blogging. There have been several times in the last couple of months that I would have liked to quickly post a lighthearted picture. Since you're here, isn't Audrey beautiful?

Posted with Droid

Ha! It finally worked! I hope I'll remember how to do this the next time.

By the way, if you took the time to read this post, don't stop here. I would hate for you to miss the two posts below this one just because this post is superficial.

Pulling us Down

2010-09-19T12:28:00.003-05:00

I must confess that there are a few secular things that I enjoy reading every month. Field and Stream, American Rifleman, and Popular Science. I doubt that the first two come as much of a surprise to many of you, however, you may not have known that I am an avid pop sci guy. I'm definitely not a "techno geek" yet I do enjoy keeping up with what's new. Unfortunately I can't recommend the magazine to anybody. Popular Science continues to teach a false religion month after month.
If you're reading this blog you probably know that I unashamedly share my faith. I pray like the Apostle Paul that the Lord would continue to give me utterance as I talk with those around me. I don't feel like I need to apologize for this because it is not a hidden agenda. If you talk with me for any length of time, you'll hear about my faith. I put my faith in the truth of the Bible.
John 1:1-2, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the same was in the beginning with God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Popular Science is in the business of sharing their faith as well. The unfortunate thing is that they try to disguise their faith as "science". The October 2010 issue of this religious magazine is no exception.

On Sunday mornings we are trying to build a firm foundation for those who profess to know Christ as their personal Savior. Our strategy has been to go through history, from creation to Christ, in chronological order. In order to do that we needed to start at the beginning.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

How can we believe that statement? I believe it is true because the Bible is a collection of 66 historical books written in 3 different languages on 3 different continents by 40 different authors over a period of 1600 years. It was written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitness and records supernatural events which took place in fulfillment of specific prophecy and claims to be divine rather than human in origin. See II Peter 1:16-21
To hear Voddie Baucham on this subject...
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=530914253

Popular Science, October 2010, "Decaying Gravity" on pages 29-31.

"No one has ever quite nailed down gravity. Newton saw that bodies appeared to attract each other even at a great distance, and from this observation was able to construct a mathematical formula that predicted the motion of the planets with astonishing accuracy. Einstein improved on that definition by stating that massive objects attract lesser ones by bending the space around them-like how a bowling ball deforms the surface of a trampoline so that a marble will roll toward it-and based on this insight was able to construct his theory of general relativity, which proved to be even more elegant and predictive.
But not perfect. Einstein's theory posits that the universe is expanding such that each object is moving away from everything else, which Hubble Space Telescope observations have confirmed. Yet for this theory to hold, it requires a far more complicated conclusion: If everything is moving apart as it goes forward in time, then at some moment everything in the universe must have been gathered into a single point."

Do you see the problem yet? Here they assume that if Einstein is right-and things are moving apart- then that means that at some point everything had to have been together at a single point. They will not allow the consideration that things were created and put in motion. They go on...

"The problem, which has challenged theorists for nearly a century, is that Einstein constructed several specific mathematical formulas from his general theory, and they have proved accurate in describing nearly everything-except the proposed origins of the universe itself..." *

There is a lot I can say here but I want to keep it short and simple. If you start with the wrong presupposition, you will end at the wrong conclusion. I am going to leave off some of the "babbling" and pick it up at the declaration of an out and out lie!

"Ferreira and Banados were able to replicate Einsteinian gravity in normal situations, and they were also consistent with the conditions scientists have observed about the origins of the universe." *

WHAT? Scientists observed the origins of the universe? Does throwing the word "about" before "the origins of the universe" make this any less of a lie? Do they think it is okay to give people the impression that they have observed things scientifically regarding the origins of the universe?
Romans 1:19-22
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...

The article continues...

"The recent appearance of so many theories may be a sign of a field on the verge of a breakthrough. Indeed, Erik Verlinde of the University of Amsterdam argues that gravity is not a force at all but rather an "emerging condition". As he told the New York Times in July, "For me, gravity doesn't exist." " *

WOW. That's science?

Apparently it's POPULAR ~~SCIENCE.~~

*Emphasis added

Some Have, Some Haven't

2010-09-16T13:34:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, as I was reading through the book of Revelation, I came across a passage that (in the past) I hadn't taken a lot of time to think about. Sometimes the Lord reveals great truths in this way, yet this time, it wasn't what was revealed that struck me. It was what had been left out.

Revelation 10:1-7 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: ²And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, ³And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. ⁵And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, ⁶And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: ⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

I'm not sure who the mighty angel is, it could be Jesus Christ (based on the description), or it could be another created spirit being like we see in chapter 9. In his hand he holds a "little book", his feet stand on the earth and the sea (Hebrews 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him), and his voice is like the roar of a lion (Hosea 11:10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west). See also Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2; Isaiah 5:29

Obviously we can't be sure that this instance is what the prophets are speaking of. However we can be sure of one thing, whatever the thunders (thunder usually indicates judgment) uttered, it is not for us to know. John was about to write what he heard when a voice from heaven told him to keep it to himself. We do know that when the seventh angel begins to sound, the mystery of God will be finished.
Imagine hearing from the Lord but being asked to keep it a secret. I wonder if it was difficult for John to keep this secret to himself? I would like to know what John heard. Would it change my life? Would I even understand it? Would it cause me to fear?
Job 37:1-5¹At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. ²Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. ³He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. ⁴After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. ⁵God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

As we continue building a Firm Foundation, know this; Everything that God wants us to know is revealed in the Bible. Some things are fascinating to think on, yet The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law Deuteronomy 29:29

As I get ready to preach on Sept 26, I will be preaching on something that has been revealed and belongs to us; The creation of woman. I think it's ironic that such a beautiful thing can be so divisive in our culture today. With all the things that haven't been revealed, why should we struggle with the things that have?

Now you're interested!

GOOD work NIGHT

2010-09-16T12:41:00.000-05:00

Last week we started a new monthly ministry opportunity for those that have the gift of service. I wish I could come up with a clever name for this monthly work night. For those of you that aren't aware, the trustees of the church meet the first Tuesday evening of each month. Their meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. so this gives the rest of the congregation the chance to come in at 7:00 p.m. and help out around the church while the trustees are there to give help and advice.
We had a good turnout last week with approx. 20 people there to help. Many different small projects were tackled during this time. I wish that I could recognize everyone that we there to help out but there were so many things going on that I'm not sure what everyone did. I did however snap a few pictures with my phone to share with you. Unfortunately, many of the people who were working turned their back on me when the noticed what I was doing. I'll refrain from posting the pictures of people's backsides.

Karen and the girls scraping the parsonage picture window


Matt Brennan and the youth removing bushes from the front landscape while Pastor Dan power washed the front of the church building and the sign

Thank you to everyone who gave up their Tuesday evening to serve the Lord and his church!

Real Men Don't Retreat

2010-09-07T11:21:00.001-05:00

Well, regardless of the title, we have a Men's Retreat scheduled for this weekend at Whispering Cedars Baptist Camp. Lord willing, we will have at least 8 men from Valley View attending this event. Don't let the name scare you, we don't really plan to "retreat" from anyone, we're "retreating" from the busyness of life. Ironically, the schedule is so packed I'm not even sure we can say we're "retreating" from busyness. It should be a good time of fellowship, football, and fun though. Pastor Phil is even talking about getting the paintball equipment out, this means that "retreat" is totally out of the realm of possibilities!

Men, if you haven't signed up yet but would still like to attend, please let me know by Wednesday evening. This is open to all men, not just Valley View members. Pastor Dan and I would love to have you along.

One last thing, in small print on the poster we had in the foyer it stated "Bring your shotgun!" (This is not for the paintball game or I would retreat). It looks like we'll have the opportunity for a little skeet shooting. I look forward to seeing you there,

It's always nice to hear "bring your guns" in reference to a church event.

Wholeheartedly

2010-09-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

What a great church retreat we had last weekend! On Friday night we had 78 people who came out for our singspiration and smores. Not everyone that came out Friday evening stayed and camped but there were several families that did. We enjoyed our time around the campfire (two of us sat by the fire and visited until 12:30 a.m.) and the fellowship was wonderful.
The weather was beautiful on Saturday and we enjoyed a cookout, blind volleyball, 3 legged races, water balloon games, water balloon volleyball, and flag football. One of the deacons (his initials are Matt Fjare) managed to sneak up behind me as I was watching the festivities and hit me in the shoulder with a water balloon. Ten minutes later it warmed my heart as I rewarded his effort by cascading an icy water cooler over his head.
I came away from the weekend with a bloody forehead and bloody shins. It appears that flag football can be a very physical game when played with someone as competitive as Pastor Dan. I've learned that in any sports related activity, Dan plays with all his heart! Actually, only my left shin was skinned up in flag football, the right one was injured playing horseshoes with Allen Hatfield. I know, realizing I drew blood playing horseshoes made me laugh too! It turns out that even if you are playing a mild game like horseshoes, you still need to watch where you're walking.

Speaking of funny incidents, yesterday Pastor Dan thought I was having a heart attack during my sermon. I have been struggling with a cough all week and I had been praying that the Lord would prevent it from being a distraction while I taught. Unfortunately, in the middle of the message, I started getting a tickle in the back of my throat. I tried to ignore it for a few minutes while I continued to preach. Suddenly I realized that a coughing spell was imminent. In a panic, I quickly reached to shield my mouth from the microphone I was wearing. The hasty movement dislodged the microphone from my ear and knocked it over my shoulder. Realizing I could not catch the microphone in time, I scrambled to find the mute button on the transmitter hooked to my belt. After my coughing spell, I turned back to the congregation to see them all looking at me wide-eyed.
That minor catastrophe aside, it thrilled my heart to hear the church sing the closing hymn this week. I quietly praised the Lord as I enjoyed hearing the lifted voices singing "The Wonder of it All". On the way home Karen, who was playing the piano during the closing, mentioned to me that she thought the congregation was truly praising the Lord for his wonderful creation. She said that from her perspective at the piano it sounded louder than she had heard in quite a while. What a joy it is to stand among believers when they sing praises with their whole heart!

This Wednesday will be the start of our new children's program "Kids4Truth". I thank the Lord for those in the church that have committed to this new ministry. We look forward with anticipation to what God will do in the hearts of the children that attend this program. As we look at our purpose statement to "Introduce, Instruct, and Inspire" we are excited about the opportunity Kids4Truth gives in instructing children in Christlike maturity. Please continue in prayer regarding this important ministry.

Retreat

2010-08-24T12:14:00.001-05:00

I am excited about the things that we have going on this week at church! Not only do we have our second week of Kids4Truth training tomorrow evening but we also have an all church retreat at Botna Bend State Park this weekend.

The "official" church retreat begins on Friday evening after dinner but several families from church will be going out Thursday afternoon or evening. I am looking forward to canoeing, cycling, cooking over the campfire, and reading. (I'm sorry I couldn't alliterate that last one) I'm not sure of the Friday evening schedule but I'm sure it will include singing and smores.

Saturday I have the opportunity to speak before lunch. Now a couple of weeks ago I told the church that I thought I needed to do a better job of teaching the proof of scriptural truth. I shared with those of you that read this blog that many children are leaving the church when they get out of the home because we have taught "Bible stories" at church but we have not taught the Bible as an accurate "historical account".
In other words, most children and adults alike are familiar with "Jonah and the whale". To most people it just sounds like a cute story for kids. Nineveh? Who ever heard of Nineveh in real life? Have you ever picked up the paper and read about current events in Nineveh? Shouldn't Nineveh still be around? Didn't God spare Nineveh because they repented? Okay, few people read about world news in the paper. Yet Nineveh isn't even talked about on T.V.

Why?

Is it even that important? Does it matter if Nineveh was a real place?

Well, if it doesn't matter to you today, I trust it will matter to you this coming Saturday. I hope to see you there!

Kids4Truth

2010-08-18T13:50:00.001-05:00

Tonight we are going to be starting the training for the leaders and teachers who would like to serve in our Wednesday evening children's program. For many years we have used AWANA curriculum, however, this year we really have a desire to focus on the "instruct in Christ-like maturity" part of our purpose statement. The strength of the new program is in the area of discipleship and doctrine. If you haven't yet looked at the program that we will be offering, I encourage you to go to following website and check it out for yourself:

http://kids4truth.com/Home.aspx

Additionally, I ask that you pray for spiritual growth in each person involved in this new program. Not just for the children, but for everyone who will be involved. May the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified through each of us!

Already Home

2010-08-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

Last week our family attended Family Camp at IRBC. We had a good time but the weather was hot! We were so thankful that this year we had taken a camper with air conditioning. Up until the week before we left we had planned on staying in one of their cabins without A/C. What a blessing it was that we changed our plans. With the high heat and humidity we had last week I doubt that I would have gotten much sleep if it weren't for the A/C. As always, the week flew by and we're already home.
In fact, due to the heat, I spent more time in the camper than I typically would have spent in a cabin. This allowed me to get more study and reading done than in previous years. I tell you this because one of the books that I read caused me to re-think some of my ideas about teaching and preaching in church. The book that I am referring to is called "Already Gone" by Ken Ham. The following is borrowed from the web address at the bottom of this page...

Statistics reveal a huge disconnect taking place between our children and their church experience

Nationwide polls and denominational reports are showing that the next generation is calling it quits on the traditional church. And it’s not just happening on the nominal fringe; it’s happening at the core of the faith.

In the first scientific study of its kind, the “Beemer Report” reveals startling facts discovered through 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of a thousand 20–29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis, but have since left it behind.

The results are shocking:

■Those who faithfully attend Sunday School are more likely to leave the church than those who do not.

■Those who regularly attend Sunday School are more likely to believe that the Bible is less true.

■Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend that abortion and gay marriage should be legal.

■Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend premarital sex.

In this powerful book, popular author Ken Ham and consumer behavior research/analyst C. Britt Beemer combine to reveal trends that must be dealt with now . . . before we lose another generation!

The trends are frightening, but Already Gone shows how to win back our families, our churches, and our world!

I don't do this very often, however, if you are looking for something to read that will challenge you to reconsider how and what you are teaching, this book may give you pause.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/product/Already-Gone-Book,6131,224.aspx

Cold Pork

2010-08-05T23:00:00.002-05:00

Ha!

Tonight I think I'll share something that is just for fun.

At the fire station today we were dispatched on a call to cool some overheated pigs. That doesn't really sound like a job for the fire department does it?

As it turned out, a semi carrying a load of hogs had overturned on the interstate. The pigs were trapped inside and it was going to take several hours to offload the 175 pigs that were in the double decker trailer. The trailer was mangled and laying on it's side. The pigs couldn't be removed from the trailer until another trailer was hauled in to take them away safely. The interstate was shut down for over 5 hours.

This turned out to be a huge event. Not only were there a plethora of police officers on scene, but there were multiple veterinarians, tow truck drivers, animal control officers, firemen, and the Nebraska Humane Society. Everyone was concerned about keeping the pigs comfortable.

Our job was to keep them sprayed down with water so that they didn't overheat in their cramped quarters. After all, nobody likes dry pork chops...

The above photo is Kurt keeping the pigs damp. Below are two pictures of the firemen on top (which is really the side) of the trailer spraying the pigs that are trapped in the trailer below them. These pictures were taken as I was looking north.

The pictue below shows some of the aforementioned helpful bystanders. This was an all agency emergency! This picture was taken looking south. As you can see, we were under an overpass. This provided a nice shaded staging area.

Oh, and here's a picture of my good friend (and Captain)...

Got pork?

A Morning Miracle

2010-07-31T19:53:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are! I know I haven't written in a while but it hasn't been purposeful. We have just been out of town. The places that we stayed promised wireless Internet but they didn't all deliver. Many times the connection was slower than dial-up. I tried several times to share pictures and stories about our trip but it was to no avail. A couple of times I even got the post written, yet when I hit the "publish post" button, it disappeared.

I don't yet have all of our pictures downloaded on the computer but I will try to post some of the pictures that we have. Our trip took us to Denver, Grand Junction (CO), Moab (Utah), the Grand Canyon (AZ), Mesa Verde (Colorado), Ouray (CO), Gypsum (CO), and Ogallala, Nebraska. We saw many incredible views and spent days admiring the handiwork of our Lord. I want to thank those of you that prayed for our safety and refreshment. The Lord was definitely good to us.

As enjoyable as it is to take a vacation, my girls were saying today how much they are looking forward to being with our church family tomorrow morning. Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

By the way, did you know that the Grand Canyon is on Pacific Time during the summer? Our first night at the Grand Canyon our phones had changed to Mountain Time. Karen and the girls wanted to see the sun rise over the canyon the following morning so we looked up what time the sun would make it's appearance.

5:21 a.m.

The free shuttles that run inside the park were to make their first stop at our campground at 4:30 a.m. (they run at 12-15 minute intervals). Karen decided that they would try to catch the 4:45 shuttle so that they could hitch a ride to the rim and be in place to see the sunrise shortly after 5:00 a.m.
Morning came quickly that first night. Karen awoke and saw that it was 4:45 a.m. She scrambled to get the girls up, not allowing them to brush their teeth or anything, and rushed them down to the shuttle stop. She kept telling them to hurry or they would miss the sunrise. When they made it to the shuttle stop at the entrance to our campground it was still pitch dark. In their rush the girls hadn't grabbed any jackets. They huddled together (in shorts) waiting impatiently for the shuttle to arrive and pick them up. Without the heat of the sun it is rather cold in the desert. However, fearing they would miss the shuttle (and hence the sunrise) they refused to return to the camper for warmer clothes.
In their own words, they "waited forever". When the shuttle arrived, they scrambled on, anticipation mounting. After they were seated, the driver turned off the interior lights and all was dark. Too dark.
Karen was confused as to why there was no hint of the sun. They had woken late, they had waited for over a half an hour for the shuttle, the sun should be rising, and they weren't even to the rim of the canyon yet. It was at this moment that she looked at the clock in the front of the shuttle...
4:30

How could this be?

Pacific Time.

Our first morning at the Grand Canyon my family, excluding myself, was up at 3:45 a.m.
An hour and 36 minutes later they saw the sun peek over the rim. Yep, the Lord is always on time. He does it so often it hardly seems like a miracle. No, the miracle was that without any help or encouragement from me, my family was early!

Additional pictures...

A picture to verify the story

My nephew Jordan playing praise songs on his guitar. He played his guitar in every state they passed through during the trip!

We spent a few hours hiking along the rim. All of us wore water packs because of the dry air and the heat.

My three girls with their cousin Justine.

Praises

2010-07-15T20:01:00.000-05:00

Wow! Did you know that Internet service and telephone service is not available everywhere? For the last several days I have wanted to give an update and share some pictures but I haven't even been able to make a call, let alone post something on the blog. Let me get you up to date...

We spent last Sunday evening in Moab (Arches National Park) after spending the morning in a little Baptist Church in Grand Junction, Colorado. The church was friendly and the sermon was a good reminder that as believers we have been granted privileges but not "rights". The promises we have from the Lord may seem like rights because he has promised them to us, yet they are still privileges. The text he used was from Luke chapter 1.

Arches National Park was beautiful. We were continually praising the Lord for his creativity...

Monday morning we headed to the Grand Canyon. I took a lot of pictures with my phone so I'll show one here...

Wednesday we drove to Mesa Verde National Park. We had a great time on the tours that we took but the road construction was horrible! Even though we camped inside the park it still took an hour and a half to drive the 15 miles to the place that we wanted to tour. This means we left the campground at 7:30 to take the 9:00 a.m. tour.

I took some pictures on the tours and I have some good pictures of the cliff dwellings but I haven't downloaded them from the phone to my computer. I hope to get that done in the next couple of days so that I can share more here. Till then...

A Smashing Success

2010-07-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

We (Jon, Karen, Emily, Kaylin, and Audrey) were riding in the truck today on our way across Colorado. What beautiful scenery! We remarked over and over again how thankful we are that our Lord created (or caused through the flood) mountains. We started out the morning just east of Denver and drove to Grand Junction on the western side of the state.
When we started traveling down the western slopes (Karen had her eyes closed) the girls started talking about rattlesnakes. We had watched the terrain change to a mixture of rocks and sand. As they discussed their dislike of rattlesnakes Emily remarked that if she saw one she would just smash it's head. Her sisters laughed at her but she stated again...

"Seriously, if it comes down to the snake bruising my heel or me smashing it's head, I'm gonna smash it's head. That's Biblical!"

The conversation then turned to speculation on how they would each accomplish this task if they stumbled across a snake. Emily wanted to knife one if she could but she realized the knife would have to be tied to a stick. Kaylin joined the conversation but she wasn't really into the whole "how to" part of the plan. After Audrey considered the various methods that Emily was desiring to employ, she just piped up in a very practical voice, "I'd just throw a rock on it's head".

After setting up camp in Grand Junction (and eating a quick lunch in the camper) we set off on an afternoon bike ride. The trailhead was about 5 miles from our campground so the girls took the truck with the 4 bike rack and I road my bike through the traffic and met them there. We biked for several hours along the Colorado river but none of us saw a snake. I would guess that mainly had to do with the fact that not one of us ventured off of the paved bike path. After all, talking about smashing a snake's head is a lot more fun than actually having to do it.

Let's see if I can find a picture on my phone...

Ignore the dust covers (for the camper wheels) that are on the dashboard, that's another story...

I guess they don't like posing for pictures. 93 degrees and dry, dry, dry. I would have gotten the river in the background but the sun was in the way.

See, no snakes.

4th of July Exercise

2010-07-03T14:38:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July! I know that I have been preaching about the terrible direction that this country is headed, yet I have been talking about society and the culture, not our Republic. Though Christians are beginning to be persecuted for teaching (and practicing) holiness, we still live in a republic where we have the freedom to worship as we choose. Many men have given their lives to allow us this freedom, I need to remember to be thankful for that sacrifice.
A couple of weeks ago our family sat down and watched a DVD on the history of the church. The DVD was titled "A Lamp in the Dark". It was a good reminder that, as believers, we haven't always enjoyed the freedoms that we have today. Many Christians were martyred in their attempts to not only worship freely but to pass on the written word of God to others. Today we have so many copies of the Bible that we begin to take it for granted.

This evening we will be celebrating together at the home of one of our church members. I am looking forward to enjoying the freedom to fellowship and worship with our church body. We will celebrate without fear. We are not concerned about government interference, we are not concerned about other religious zealots, and we don't have to fear interruption from the civil authorities. God has been good to us but it is a good reminder not to take it for granted. As we celebrate tonight, we must remember that their are hundreds of missionaries around the world, that though they are U.S. citizens, they don't have the freedom in the countries they are ministering in to worship our Creator freely.
This thought also leads me beg each of you to continue exercising the freedoms that we have. Through constant exercise we may continue to enjoy these freedoms into the next generation. When the church doors are open, exercise your freedom to attend. When your family is together in the evening, exercise your freedom to study the Bible together. When you are in the workplace, exercise your freedom to witness! When you go out to dinner, exercise your freedom to pray. As parents, exercise your freedom to educate your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!

One of my favorite verses...

I Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Yes, exercise holiness this week. We enjoy no greater freedom!!!

Pun Intended

2010-07-01T17:15:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday was the end of our 3 week series on creation. When I started preparing the first message I never dreamed that it would take me 3 weeks to complete. However, once I started writing the sermons, I quickly realized how much ground there was to cover.

This caused me to divide up the things that I wanted to teach. The first week I preached the morning message and then combined the adult Sunday School classes into the auditorium for the second hour so that I could keep preaching. That was the most creative solution I could sea to sharing the material I had prepared.

However, even after spending two hours on the topic that first Sunday morning, it still took me two more Sunday sermons, and one Adult Bible Fellowship hour in order to finish the series. Additionally, we spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings on the doctrine of creation at Vacation Bible School . By my count, that makes six days of creation.

This coming week Pastor Dan Herman will preaching. I know many in the church have been looking forward to hearing what he has prepared. I am excited for him to have the opportunity to preach as well. You see, after six days, my next should be a day of rest.

Two Thumbs Up

2010-06-30T23:26:00.040-05:00

Yesterday I wrote a post on my phone in order to keep everyone up to date on what had been going on in our lives. It took me 90 minutes to write the post on the phone keyboard. In truth, I was interrupted by a couple of emergency calls (I was at the fire station) so I didn't actually spend quite that much time typing. It did however give me a new appreciation for the speed with which many people text. As I was all thumbs last night, I have decided it is much faster to type with 8 fingers. Last night I had titled the post "Thumbs Up". Today I have edited the title (you'll see why in a minute).
The most disappointing aspect was that when I finally finished typing and tried to publish the post, the post published a blank page. Seriously, the only thing that showed up on the blog was the title. The body of the post was blank.
Today I am sitting in my home office with a little time to try it again. This time I am using my home computer, my chair is reclined, my feet are on the desk (sorry mom), and I am typing with a full size wireless keyboard in my lap. This is not only more comfortable than typing on my little phone keyboard, it also is done with very little use of the thumbs. My left thumb goes unused and my right thumb hits the space bar between every word. Believe it or not, I never noticed that before.
Now that you've read this post you know how I felt last night after my posting attempt failed. I felt like the previous few minutes were a total waste of time...

All Wet

2010-06-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

I left our men's Bible study last night around 10:00. It was fascinating to stand outside and watch the light show that the Lord was putting on! I stopped to get some fuel on the way home and the rain started with a fury. Many of you know exactly what I am talking about because it seems to be raining almost every day here in the Midwest.
On my way to work this morning it was still a blinding rain outside. I was driving about 20 mph BELOW the speed limit. Many places in the road were covered with several inches of water because the storm drains couldn't keep up. Through it all I couldn't help but be reminded of the power of our God.
The news these days is full of stories about local flooding. People are posting pictures and videos of the high water. As a believer it can't help but make one think of the Biblical account of the flood in Genesis. I know the water we are experiencing is nothing compared to the fountains of the deep being broken open and the water standing 15 cubits above the highest mountains, yet even this relatively little water is a wonderful way for God to emphasize his glory. I had no thoughts on my drive in about the rain being a hassle or even an inconvenience, only thoughts about the greatness of our God. What an awesome God we worship!

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

My Father's Day

2010-06-20T08:01:00.001-05:00

As I leave for church this morning I can't help but think of my father. I am so thankful for the dad that the Lord has given me. A dad that loves Jesus and lives out his beliefs. I am thankful that I never had to wonder if dad really believed the things that he taught us because he modeled it every day. The Bible instructs parents to rear their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. What a blessing it is to the children whose dads faithfully follow that instruction!

I look forward to this Father's Day. I still have the blessing of being able to spend time with my earthly father. In fact, all four of his sons (my three brothers and I) will eat lunch with him this afternoon. As I reflect on our experiences together, a favorite memory of mine comes to mind. You are welcome to read it by following the link (or copying it and pasting it in your browser) at the bottom of this post.

Happy Father's Day Dad, I love you,
Jon

http://inintegrity.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

It is UNBELIEVABLE what NONBELIEVERS have to BELIEVE in order to be NONBELIEVERS

2010-06-19T11:47:00.001-05:00

Due to the fact that I am posting so much on the area of creation, I thought I should include this opinion as well...

Evolution theory and faith

A June 15 editorial, “Right tone on standards,” interested me. The editorial indicated it was wise for the Nebraska Board of Education to include only the theory of evolution and give no place to intelligent design in its state science standards.

Scientists say that spontaneous generation (nonliving matter producing living matter) cannot now occur. Yet, they are forced to believe it did occur ages ago without any intelligence involved and that it produced the complexities of the DNA we have today.

Someone said it is unbelievable what nonbelievers have to believe in order to be nonbelievers.

Sorry, but I don’t have enough faith to be an evolutionist.

Harold J. Berry, Holdrege, Neb.

Here is what all of the hubub in the next two posts (and this one) is about...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100615/NEWS0802/706159999

Still Barely Readable

2010-06-19T11:41:00.001-05:00

Aha! For those of you that had trouble reading the article in the post below, I found a copy of it online. I copied it so that I could paste it here. I must warn you though, even though the print will be much clearer, it's not any easier to read!

Evolution is a safe curriculum

A June 13 news story, “Standards keep evolution on books,” amounted to this: Evolution is the undisputed unifying theory of biology, but let’s retread old emotional and religious debates about how intelligent design is not even in the conversation (thankfully).

Why not focus on how the stork theory of reproduction hasn’t been proposed as a standard lately? Or how about the smite theory of disease? Or even the geocentric model of our solar system? The best quote in the story, “I’ve had zero contact from anyone (regarding intelligent design),” came from a state standards committee member.
It’s best that those offering opinions and news coverage on this issue try to adhere to an old saying: Only speak if you can improve upon the silence. Rattling fundamentalist cages isn’t helping school board members or biology teachers. It just wastes time and taxpayer money.

John Morley, Omaha

Oh, and the second article? Well, before I share it clearly, I hope you'll enjoy the article that prompted it. Here it is...

I object to Nebraska standards

Never mind whether intelligent design should be taught in the public schools. It should not. The question is whether neo-Darwinist theories, which are based more on theory than fact, should be taught.
There are numerous gaping holes in the current evolutionary theories, which are most often glossed over or never mentioned to high school biology students.
Why is it still being taught that the first life on Earth simply assembled itself at random from some kind of self-replicating molecule in an unspecified chemical process?

There are no self-replicating molecules outside of living organisms! No scientist on Earth has a single shred of factual evidence showing how a lifeless chemical could have evolved into a living organism.

So isn’t that faith, or a philosophical belief system, now being taught in the public schools? I certainly object to the Nebraska state scientific standards as they are written.

Glenn Simonsen, Omaha

Now for the article that I have pictured in the next post...

Evidence supports Darwinism

I believe Glenn Simonsen’s June 16 letter contains factual errors, as well as a misrepresentation of scientific methodology.
He falsely claims that neo-Darwinism is based more on theory than on fact. Charles Darwin’s observations of nature have been conclusively proven accurate by the science of genetics.

Simonsen also falsely claims that “no scientist has a single shred of factual evidence showing how a lifeless molecule could have evolved into a living organism.” The formation of organic compounds using natural conditions present on primordial Earth has been achieved numerous times in the lab.

I understand that it must be frustrating for believers to be bombarded with empirically derived knowledge that conflicts with literal interpretations of their faith.
But faith is not a requirement in scientific study, which relies on objective observation and experimentation. Faith is only necessary when there is insufficient evidence to continue believing. Darwin’s findings do not fit into that category.

Larry Claassen, Lincoln

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...

Barely Readable

2010-06-19T10:52:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow we will again be focusing on the doctrine of creation. The Lord has brought this topic up in many different ways this past week so I am excited to have the opportunity to share some of the things that he has shown me. I won't go into details on all of the ways that he has brought up the subject of creation this week, however, most creatively, his latest tool was the newspaper!

In addition, I received a second dose this morning!

It's a Start

2010-06-17T23:22:00.002-05:00

What a week! In addition to the VBS program that we put on the first four nights this week, yesterday was Pastor Herman's first day in the office. He has officially begun as an elder here at VVBC. He started the day with a pretty lofty goal of putting his office in order. I should have taken a picture of the boxes of books that he had strewn over his office floor. Even if I hadn't walked into his office at 10:30 a.m. I doubt he would have gotten it done. However, once I showed up, he didn't have the opportunity to put a single book away.
We spent the rest of the day talking together about philosophy of ministry ideas and sharing teaching ideas and topics. In addition, there were some important things we got settled as well. For instance, in our first unified decision, we decided that regular Folgers would be the coffee of choice around the office.

Fortunately (for Pastor Herman) I was at the station today and I was not available to interrupt his time in the office. He was broken in easy with a constant bombardment of calls from salesmen, exterminators (scheduled termite treatment), requests for rent assistance, etc...
I must confess, I got a little chuckle each time he called today. You see, yesterday Pastor Herman was asking me how the phones in the office worked. I guess he found out today - they work pretty well! I am so thankful that the Lord has provided another elder to help meet the needs here at Valley View.

I ask you to pray that the Lord would bless our ministry together. It is with great excitement that we fulfill our calling in His church and it is with joy that we look forward to working together. Please pray that the Lord would help us in our growth and that we would continue in unity together. It's starting well, he likes Folgers too!

Photo Service

2010-06-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

What a great week we had this year in VBS! I have included many photos of the youth drama presentations along with a photo of some of the children leading the assembly in their favorite song-"I've got DNA"

We praise the Lord for dedicated workers and are very thankful for their hearts of service!

A Visual Post

2010-06-14T21:03:00.006-05:00

I would like to thank those that took a video of the drama presentation tonight! I was able to take a few snapshots and show them here. This is just to give those of you that have missed it a glimpse of our Vacation Bible School activities.

Pastor Jon

A Creative VBS

2010-06-14T10:04:00.006-05:00

Wow!

What a day we had yesterday. I praise the Lord for all the people that have worked diligently over the last couple of months to prepare for our Vacation Bible School. We had a great kick-off last night and served dinner to over 115 people. The decorations looked great and the fried chicken was delicious. The curriculum this year is "Answers in Genesis". If you missed out last night I encourage you to come tonight.
The youth have worked really hard on their drama presentations for the assembly times. I won't give away any of the story line but I do know that on the last night there will be a surprise ending. It is with joy that we have been able to see the youth group serving in the VBS ministry this year.

On an additional note, I spent some time in the morning service previewing some of the things that we would be discussing and learning as adults this week. The thrust of the morning sermon was on the importance of the doctrine of creation. We looked at Romans chapter 1 where God reveals what happens to those who reject this doctrine...

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. 20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:^... they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²²Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools... ²⁴Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves...

It is obvious from this verse that God's eternal power and Godhead are revealed through the things that he created. Yet people rejected that, because even though they had knowledge about the things that God had made...

... for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: ²⁷and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

It is equally clear that a rejection of creation and acceptance of such foolishness as evolution has led to an increase in homosexual behavior in this country and around the world. Not only that but...

God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ²⁹Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Are these the behaviors that we want to exhibit? Are these the behaviors that we want our children to exhibit? Romans chapter 1 clearly teaches that this is where a rejection of the doctrine of creation leads. If you haven't put emphasis on the doctrine of the creative acts of God, I beg you to personally examine this text. I implore you to emphatically share with others (and your children) the creative power of our God.

Creativity

2010-06-12T14:11:00.001-05:00

I had an enjoyable day at church this morning. I was working on my sermon for most of the morning but I stopped and took a break at 11:00 a.m. As I wandered down the hall I could hear the youth working on their skits for Vacation Bible School this week. The kids had done a great job of memorizing their lines and working on their props. I decided to take a few minutes to see how the practice was progressing. A few minutes turned in to a couple of hours.

The kids have five skits that they have learned for our “Answers in Genesis” VBS. The skits are clever, funny, and full of information. I think it will be a big hit this week. Like always though, volume was an issue. We tried to distribute wireless mics but that turned into a real hassle. After trying several things, the mics were scrapped and it turned in to a “pep” rally. I did my best to get the kids to yell their lines without losing their expression. After 30 minutes things had improved considerably!

If you live in the area, I encourage you to come by the church for our VBS program this week. The times are posted on the calendar page of our website. www.vvbc-online.com

The theme this week is on the creative work of God. The sermons this month will reflect the importance of the doctrine of creation. If you want a head start, read Genesis 1-3, Romans 1, II Timothy 3, and Acts chapter 17!

We hope to see you here,

Pastor Jon

A Welcome Note

2010-06-11T20:48:00.000-05:00

I just want to take a minute to welcome new readers to the blog! Actually, I am welcoming everyone, including myself, because this is a new blog for all of us. Many of you may not know, but I have been blogging for several years. Unfortunately I haven't been as faithful to it for the last several months for a variety of reasons. I trust that with this new "public" endeavor I will find the time to keep you up to date.

The intention with this blog is to keep you up to date with the ministries that are going on in our lives. I hope this blog will be personal, challenging, and edifying to both those that read it, and those that write. Most of all I pray that the person of Christ (my Lord and Saviour) will be evident to all who visit. All readers are invited (and encouraged) to comment as they have opportunity.

I look forward to hearing from you either today or in the future,

God bless,