Advent readings, part 1

Today's advent reading, Gen 22

Genesis 22:14

"So Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."

Oh wow, God, you DID provide!

Amen! God help us keep this festival for Your Glory

Let us celebrate and keep this festival of our church, with joy in our hearts: let the birth of a Redeemer, which redeemed us from sin, from wrath, from death, from hell, be always remembered; may this Savior's love never be forgotten!

But may we sing forth all his love and glory as long as life shall last here, and through an endless eternity in the world above! May we chant forth the wonders of redeeming love, and the riches of free grace, amidst angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, without intermission, for ever and ever!

And as, my brethren, the time for keeping this festival is approaching, let us consider our duty in the true observation thereof, of the right way for the glory of God, and the good of immortal souls, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; an event which ought to be had in eternal remembrance.

--George Whitefield, in a sermon entitled The Observation of the Birth of Christ, the Duty of all Christians; or the True Way of Keeping Christmas

Advent Poetry, 10am Sunday!

The Poetry of Advent Description: For three weeks we will be taking a look at encounters with Christ as told in the story of the nativity. Over the centuries writers, painters, performers, and musicians have dramatized these encounters in compelling ways. Our focus will particularly emphasize the rich poetic heritage of advent by examining a few of the Christ encounters as they have been imaginatively represented in verse. As companion pieces to the poems, we will read passages from the Christmas story to help us understand the messages and meanings from both the literature of the Bible itself and the literature it has inspired. Our hope is that these writings will urge us to more fully reflect on the profoundimpact that the coming of God's son into the world has hadon both our cultural heritage and our eternal condition. 


Session 1: November 28, 2010 Topic: Mary Poems: Yeats, "The Mother of God"; Shaw, "Mary's Song";Donne, "Nativity" Biblical Text: Luke 1: 39-56 (Read Mary's song inAuthorized Version) 


Session 2: December 5, 2010 Topic: The Magi & the Shepherds Poems: Crashaw, "A Hymn of the Nativity, sung by the Shepherds"; Madeleine L'Engle, "The Wise Men" Biblical Text: Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:8-20 


Session 3: December 12, 2010 Topic: Ourselves Poems: Southwell, "The Burning Babe" and "The Nativity of Christ"; Milton, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"; MacDonald, "That Holy Thing" Biblical Text: Luke 2:21-39

VerkDay

Work-em-day

Workday

Thanksgiving Prayer

 103rd psalm, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives ... heals ... redeems ... crowns ... satisfies ... works righteousness...." and more!

And may your prayers reflect the sentiments of such as we find in The Valley of Vision, when the puritans prayed,

"O my God,
Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou has created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express
for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.
Amen.

Tomorrow, mañana

Inside outside, they've got work to suit your fancy.

7 b'fast
8:00 work

What do we do with these plagues?

The key to applying the plagues is found in struggling with the
theology of the plagues and how the significance of that theology is
given fuller expression in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

--Peter Enns

Crazy thing like Nile turning to blood is so practical!

When the great gods of the Nile failed, the Egyptians were left to their

own resources. This is what always happens [when we] worship false

gods. Sooner or later their gods fail, and the people are left scrambling to

make life work on their own.

--Phil Ryken

Here's a video on idolatry--under 2 minutes--by Tim Keller.  Watch it:
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hEtdMKjohR8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hEtdMKjohR8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

What is our "Nile"?

2010 Americans-- what would have similar impact on us?

To understand how distressing this was for the Egyptians, one has to

appreciate how dependent they were on the Nile. The river was their

lifeblood, the basis for their entire civilization. The Egyptians used the Nile

for almost everything, and without it, their land would have become a desert.

The river provided the transportation system that helped them move goods

from place to place. It formed the irrigation system that enabled them to grow

their crops. It was their water supply, and also their food supply, because

fish was one of the staples of the Egyptian diet. The river's annual floods

set their calendar and gave them fertile topsoil. In short, the land of Egypt

was the gift of the Nile. The Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-c. 425 B.C.)

claimed that "even though a man has not before been told, he can at once see,

if he have sense, that that Egypt to which Greeks sail is land acquired by

the Egyptians, given them by the river."

--Phil Ryken

Saturday workday!

Work inside or out!

Give what time you can!

7am big breakfast
8:00 get to work!

Why the plagues?

God--in the plagues--turned things believed to be the specialty of
"the gods of Egypt" against the Egyptians, and showed Himself in
control of all events and powers they would have attributed to the
objects of their faith.

Exodus 12:12 states the summational purpose of the plagues:

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will
strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and
on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.

--Douglas Stuart

Plagues

In order to understand these plagues we need to understand that they were

directed against the gods and goddesses of Egypt and were intended to

show the superiority of the God of Israel to the Egyptian gods. There were

about eighty major deities in Egypt, all clustered about the three great

natural forces of Egyptian life: the Nile river, the land, and the sky. It does

not surprise us, therefore, that the plagues God sent against Egypt in this

historic battle follow this three-force pattern. The first two plagues were

against the gods of the Nile. The next four were against the land gods.

The final four plagues were against the gods of the sky, culminating in the

death of the firstborn.

-James Boice

Prayer of Thanksgiving

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies,

we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks

for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all people;
{particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises & thanksgivings for your recent mercies given to them}

 

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for your inestimable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace,

and for the hope of glory.

And we ask of you, give us that due sense of all your mercies,

that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,

and that we show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives;

by giving up ourselves to your service,

and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom with you and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory,

world without end.  Amen.

6pm communion tonight

Scripture, prayer, and Eucharist

Workday Saturday

7am breakfast
8am work-time

Come when you can, leave when you must.

That Long-Expected Day

Isaiah 33:17

Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar. 

The more you know about Christ, the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of Him; and the more deeply you study His transactions in the eternal covenant, His engagements on your behalf as the eternal Security, and the fullness of His grace that shines in all His offices, the more truly will you see the King in His beauty. Learn to look at Him this way. Long increasingly to see Jesus.

Ch spurgeon

His ways are not our ways

If it were possible for me to alter any part of his plan, I could only spoil it. ---John Newton

Rob Pendley

Lord, have mercy

Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. http://ow.ly/38rhy

Rob Pendley

Bread & Wine

"Y'all are mine," saith the LORD.

6pm tomorrow, a half-hour communion service. No childcare, they join
us and we love it.

This looks great!

The Poetry of Advent

Description: For three weeks we will be taking a look at encounters with Christ as told in the story of the nativity. Over the centuries writers, painters, performers, and musicians have dramatized these encounters in compelling ways. Our focus will particularly emphasize the rich poetic heritage of advent by examining a few of the Christ encounters as they have been imaginatively represented in verse. As companion pieces to the poems, we will read passages from the Christmas story to help us understand the messages and meanings from both the literature of the Bible itself and the literature it has inspired. Our hope is that these writings will urge us to more fully reflect on the profoundimpact that the coming of God's son into the world has hadon both our cultural heritage and our eternal condition.

Session 1: November 28, 2010

Topic: Mary

Poems: Yeats, "The Mother of God"; Shaw, "Mary's Song";Donne, "Nativity"

Biblical Text: Luke 1: 39-56 (Read Mary's song inAuthorized Version)

Session 2: December 5, 2010

Topic: The Magi & the Shepherds

Poems: Crashaw, "A Hymn of the Nativity, sung by the Shepherds"; Madeleine L'Engle, "The Wise Men"

Biblical Text: Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:8-20

Session 3: December 12, 2010

Topic: Ourselves

Poems: Southwell, "The Burning Babe" and "The Nativity of Christ"; Milton, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"; MacDonald, "That Holy Thing"

Biblical Text: Luke 2:21-39

American/Egyptian; tomaytoe/taMAHTo

The average
American is not very different from an ancient Egyptian. We still worship
the same gods — only the names have changed. What we count on, what
we work for, what we play at, what we dream about — these are the gods that
we worship. And what matters most to most of us is personal prosperity.
We depend on our economy every bit as much as the Egyptians depended
on theirs. They worshiped the Nile; we follow the NASDAQ — they are
just two different names for the same god. Rather than trusting in God
alone, we depend on economic growth, rapid transportation, and prepackaged
foods. We even have our own creation myth. Believing in Darwinism
is really just another way to worship Hapi. In much the same way that the
Egyptians praised the river as their creator, many Americans believe that
we have come from a random stream of genetic material.

Phil Ryken

Where it is felt most keenly

Why do the plagues begin with the river? Why does God begin with the Nile? Well, we know from a lot of sources from this period of time in Egyptian life, that the ancient Egyptians looked upon the Nile as the primary source of their existence. We have quotes from Greek historians and others who will say things like this. "All know that Egypt is the Nile, and the Nile is Egypt." The Egyptians saw the Nile as the source of all their prosperity; and of all the richness of their soil and their growing capacities and, in fact, they even thought the Nile to be divine. And so the plagues begin with the Nile, and as they do so, we see the Lord striking at the very heart of Egypt's existence. It's that place that Egypt would feel it most keenly.

Ligon Duncan

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3

The International Day of Prayer for the   Persecuted Church.

The following groups are actively serving the persecuted Church. We urge you to use the links below to get more information about these groups and to visit their Web sites. They are your key to active involvement with the persecuted Church. 

Christian Freedom International
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Christians in Crisis
Compassion Radio
Fishhook International
Gospel for Asia
Greater Calling
International Christian Concern
Iranian Christians International

 

Jubilee Campaign
Mission India
Open Doors
Persecution Project Foundation
The Voice of the Martyrs
World Bible Translation Center
World Evangelical Alliance
The Last Harvest

  


Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3 

How Shall I Get Faith?

But How Shall I Get Faith? by Walter Marshall

Question. But how shall I get faith?

Answer. Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), and by the gospel (Romans 1:15-17). Faith comes by hearing the gospel preached (Romans 10:17), and that comes in working faith, not in word only, but in power (1 Thessalonians 1:5), beyond what can be done by natural or human attainment (John 6:63). Therefore, if you have no beginning of it in you, your only way is to attend to the gospel and to meditate on your sin and misery and Christ's excellency, that so you may be inclined in your heart to believe (Song of Solomon 1:3; Galatians 2:16; Psalm 9:10), for this is the way God uses to beget faith (Isaiah 55:3). But if you have a desire and inclination to fly from yourself to Christ, in the bent of your heart, so that you prefer Christ above all, then the Spirit has begun and will carry on the work, so that now you may pray confidently for faith (Song of Solomon 1:4; Luke 11:13; Mark 9:24).

From his sermon: The Doctrine of Justification Opened and Applied found in the Appendix of:
The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union with Christ by Walter Marshall

Isaiah 64:8

When we see tomorrow that--our God is in the heavens, He does as He
pleases it can be tempting to see His absolute control of all things
to be a "distant" truth. Let it not be so! Remember, that great
Potter is OUR Father.

As isaiah says:
But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our
potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Chart of bible contradictions?

A (misinformed) Chart of Bible contradictions is hitting media soon. Here is some help to where the chart has blind spots.

http://theresurgence.com/2010/11/12/why-fast-company-sam-harris-need-to-do-their-homework

http://theresurgence.com/2010/11/12/why-fast-company-sam-harris-need-to-do-their-homework

Rob Pendley

Remember this

Remember this: If any other condition had been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.

---Spurgeon, evening nov 11

Hard truth about hard hearts

10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may
believe what is false,
12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Jesus, come show CCC the liberating truth of:
---what you paid because our hearts were hard
--- how great your heart transformation of us truly is

A mystery to be adored

"The paradox of divine sovereignty and human responsibility is not a
puzzle to be solved but a mystery to be adored."

---phil ryken

Pharaoh hard heart

Grace Moves

Paul David Tripp The move of grace is not to deliver you from hardship, but to use hardship to deliver you from sin.

Tears

"The Bible was written in tears, and to tears it yields its best treasures." A.W. Tozer

God makes a way

Psalm 77:19

"Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen."

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://read.ly/Ps77.19.ESV

30 children sponsored y'day; props to CCC

Compassion Intl (@compassion) Does your sponsored child have expectations of you? http://ow.ly/2XVs5 #fb

Rob Pendley

"As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord." Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving- an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God.

The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours His salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us-a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that His life is only a history to us now!

By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, He becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of Him. All this is to receive Christ-to take Him as God's free gift; to realize Him in my heart, and to appropriate Him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received CHRIST JESUS Himself. It is true that He gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; He gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ Himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received Him, and appropriated Him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain Him!

CHS

Exodus 7:7-13

"This battle pitted Jehovah, the true God, who moved Moses and Israel,
against all the false gods of the Egyptian pantheon, backed by a host
of fallen angels who turned from God as a part of Lucifer's original
rebellion."

--James Boice

God's truth always gobbles up the Haters

William Blake

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau

Mock on, mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau: Mock on, mock on: 'tis all in vain! You throw the sand against the wind, And the wind blows it back again.  And every sand becomes a Gem, Reflected in the beam divine; Blown back they blind the mocking Eye, But still in Israel's paths they shine.  The Atoms of Democritus And the Newton's Particles of Light Are sands upon the Red Sea shore, Where Israel's tents do shine so bright.    

Donut on a string

Sunday @ CCC

Compassion Intl  Help awaken others to the children around us http://ow.ly/2Z6eY #1min

Fall Festival, Saturday 3-6pm

We ordered some cold weather for the occasion.

At the church property on Parker Road.

God goes for the jugular

The fact that God would choose to overpower Pharaoh's snake is no small thing.  He is going for the jugular.

“the serpent-crested diadem of Pharaoh symbolized all the power, sovereignty, and magic with which the
gods endued the king"   --John Currid


By finding his security in the serpent-god, Pharaoh was actually making
an alliance with Satan. The ancient manuscripts are explicit about this.
When Pharaoh first ascended the throne of Egypt, he would take the royal
crown and say,
O Great One, O Magician, O Fiery Snake!
Let there be terror of me like the terror of thee.
Let there be fear of me like the fear of thee.
Let there be awe of me like the awe of thee.
Let me rule, a leader of the living.
Let me be powerful, a leader of spirits.

With these words, Pharaoh offered his soul to the devil.

Here is King Tut's death mask:

Pray for our brothers & sisters

Massacre shatters Christians in Iraq. http://ow.ly/33lBl

Rob Pendley

Book Rec'd

Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God: Here's a book that families should ... http://bit.ly/aoz2EW

Rob Pendley

Guys, Perkins' @ 6:30 tomorrow

All welcome

Fall festival

Saturday 3-6pm

Get in there.

Timely Tim Keller

On Election Day, some thoughts from Tim Keller on Christians & Politics: http://ht.ly/33goE

Rob Pendley

He is our anchor

It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of life, there is One whom change cannot affect; One whose heart can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no furrows. All things else have changed-all things are changing. The sun itself grows dim with age; the world is waxing old; the folding up of the worn-out vesture has commenced; the heavens and earth must soon pass away; they shall perish, they shall wax old as doth a garment; but there is One who only hath immortality, of whose years there is no end, and in whose person there is no change.

He is unchanged in His love. He has loved His people with 'an everlasting love'; He loves them now as much as ever He did, and when all earthly things shall have melted in the last conflagration, His love will still wear the dew of its youth. Precious is the assurance that He changes not! The wheel of providence revolves, but its axle is eternal love.

---spurgeon

Far far

  "As far as the heavens are above the earth, so far is God's mercy above our sins. "

Thomas Watson

Blessed Defeat

C. S. Lewis Let us always long to hear the stories of grace in others' lives. Every conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.