Here is your official New England Church Weather Report for 2009:

    1) Wake up.
    2) Look outside.
    3) If it is snowing, it must be Sunday.

Oh well, at least that’s the way it seems to be working out so far this year. Maybe we’ll get a snow-free Sunday next week?

Here is a neat simulation from the BBC of last week’s US Airways crash landing on the Hudson River in New York (Airbus A320; Flight 1549). This simulation gives you the pilot’s view from the cockpit. (Update: I have added a second video below along with the actual audio from the flight.)

(Video length: 2:25)

UK Company Just Flight Recreates ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Landing For BBC And ITN Reports (Monday 19th January)

Millions of viewers around the globe watched incredible scenes unfold as Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger performed a miraculous emergency landing. Reports of this astonishing event were augmented by graphical footage provided by British flight simulator company, Just Flight.

Just Flight’s experts sprang into action to recreate the spectacular A320 landing manoeuvre for both BBC’s 6 O’clock and News at Ten bulletins last Friday – and then ITN’s 11pm news programme. They assisted with reports on the crash by providing a simulation reconstruction after a call came in from the BBC early Friday morning. BBC reporters then visited Just Flight’s offices to write their stories and the footage was constructed in time for lunch.

Using their software, Just Flight was able to simulate the incident in astonishing detail, including the full-engine failure and resulting fires at 3,000 feet, the dramatic turn at the George Washington Bridge at 1,000 feet when both engines had cutout and the final ditching opposite the 48th Street Pier on the Hudson River. This event recreation highlighted for viewers the heroic skills of Captain Sullenberger.

And here is another view along with the actual flight audio:
(Video length: 2:07)

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learned to dance.
‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
The sound must seem an echo to the sense.

(from Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism)

Josh Harris has some positive things to say to young men on the topic of “Don’t Waste Your Sexuality.”

(Video length: 2:54)

Don’t waste your sexuality … in just our modern world I think that most people would say that our sexuality is our own, it’s all about our own pleasure, our own desires. And yet when you realize that all of life belongs to God, it’s for God, it really transforms your view. And so I think to waste your sexuality is to think that it’s only about this moment, or it’s only about just satisfying an urge. But our sexuality is such a rich thing … as a single person your sexuality is telling you something. It’s telling you that marriage is a good thing, it’s driving you towards something.

And so I think about young men that I interact with, and you know, trying to be godly and holy when it comes to sex can feel like such a burden, like, “Does God have a bad sense of humor? He gives me all these desires and then he says, ‘But don’t do anything with it.’” And the truth is, no, he does call you to restrain yourself and to preserve yourself for marriage, and yet you are supposed to do something with it. And what you’re supposed to do with it is to allow that desire to drive you, to say first of all, “I’m going to get my life in gear. I need to get a job, I need to start working hard to be a man of maturity and spiritual insight and discernment so that I can lead a family, a wife …

And then you get married, and you realize that your sexuality and the joy of that in marriage is something that’s constantly bringing you back to intimacy, constantly driving you to the good work involved with preserving intimacy and just bonding a husband and wife together. All these [are] different ways that God uses this gift to fulfill his purposes and to direct us and guide us, and when we engage our sexuality for him, it becomes a beautiful thing. It has purpose … and it’s not just about trying to seek some greater and greater thrill.

Look at the emptimess of our pornography-saturated world, and just how it becomes more and more meaningless. It literally is wasted and poured out for nothing. And yet when you look at God’s plan, you see not only pleasure, but delight and purpose that ultimately points us back to the giver of that good gift.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy announces his retirement.

Dungy, 53, told his staff and some players on Monday morning after taking a week to discuss his options with his wife, Lauren. He will be succeeded by associate head coach Jim Caldwell.

Dungy coached the Colts for seven seasons, including the 2006-07 season when he became the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl. At the time, he said he was just as proud as being an evangelical coach in the big game as he was of making black history.

Dungy said he wanted to spend more time with his family in Tampa, where he coached for six seasons, and do more work in the community.

“I think I’ve got a responsibility to be home a little bit more, be available to my family a little bit more and do some things to help make our country better,” Dungy said. “I don’t know what that is right now, but we’ll see.”

I have really appreciated Tony Dungy’s testimony over the years. Whether winning or losing, he has shown a great attiude at all times and presented a strong testimony for Christ.

Related articles:

• Tony Dungy No. 1 on NYT Bestsellers List
• Tony Dungy: Asking ‘What’ Instead of ‘Why’
• Tony Dungy Speaks about the National Day of Prayer

Christianity Today reports on how the current financial crisis is affecting seminaries in the United States. Salt Lake Theological Seminary in Utah officially closed in October, although faculty and staff are continuing to work on a volunteer basis to allow graduating seniors to complete their degree programs. Larger seminaries are also feeling the pinch, including my own alma mater, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

With the stock market dropping 50 percent by November from its October 2007 peak, schools that rely on endowment income remain the most vulnerable. Dennis Hollinger, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, said the school lost $600,000 in endowment income in 2008. Some restricted endowment gifts have gone “under water,” meaning they are now worth less than the original gift, and the seminary cannot spend from the principal.

Hollinger said the Massachusetts school has cut close to $1 million from its budget of $20 million by canceling activities, realigning programs, and declining to replace departed staff. The school also closed its full-service bookstore, though a smaller shop will continue to sell textbooks.

Other schools discussed in the article include Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). Please continue to pray for families, churches, seminaries, students and businesses during this time of economic stress.

HT: Between Two Worlds

SMART AND STUPID CRIME EDITION.

STUPID. A Chicago bank robber wrote his bank robbery note on his pay stub, which of course had his own name and address on it. Police later arrested him at his home.

SMART (or not). 28-year-old Anthony Curcio wins the Lex Luthor Award for the Best Caper of 2008. Disguised as a gardener, Cursio “pepper-sprayed an armored car driver and ran off with a bag stuffed with $400,000 in cash. When police arrived seconds later, they found the sidewalk crowded with dozens of men decked out in the same attire as the perp: blue shirt, Day-Glo vest, safety mask and glasses. While the cops hacked through a forest of suspects, the real perp fled to a nearby creek and escaped in a waiting inner tube. Turns out the unwitting decoys had been lured to the crime scene by a Craigslist ad that promised construction work to those showing up in a ‘yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask … and, if possible, a blue shirt.’” Of course, even the smartest criminals are stupid for committing the crime. Anthony was caught and arrested a month later. (HT: Althouse)

Yesterday we began a new message series from the Gospel of Mark. Yesterday’s message was called Good News Starts Here, taken from Mark 1:1-8. The main idea of the message was how God used John the Baptist to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. Here is a brief outline of the message:

    I. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus (1)

    II. John the Baptist prepares the way (2-5)

    III. The messenger and his message (6-8)

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Ray Pritchard asks what will you leave behind in 2009? “George MacDonald … said, ‘The first thing in all progress is to leave something behind.’ … What are you going to leave behind in order to make progress this year? Remember that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Mary at Wide Margins shares her Big Picture/Little Picture Bible reading plan. “I’m looking for two things. The first thing I pay attention to in my daily Bible reading is God. What does the passage reveal about God’s character? What does He care about? Then I note what God might be showing me for my life. What can I learn from the passage? Big picture first; little picture second.”

Senator Ted Kennedy advocating his then pro-life position in a 1971 letter: “When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception.” (In case you haven’t been keeping up, Senator Kennedy has long since changed his position on abortion.)

Justin Childers quotes Richard Baxter on anger management. “”When anger rises, confess your sin without delay to those around. Take the shame to yourself. Shame the sin and honour God …” [Baxter goes on to suggest saying to those around you], “I feel a sinful anger rising in my heart and am tempted to forget God’s presence and act in a way that is not proper for his glory and speak provoking words that I know would be displeasing to him.”

Peter Mead quotes Richard Baxter concerning the effect of the preacher’s thought life on the congregation. “When your mind is enjoying heavenly things, others will enjoy them, too. Then your prayers, praises, and doctrines will be heavenly and sweet to your people. They will feel when you have been much with God. Conversely, when I am depressed in soul, my flock will sense my cold preaching. When I am confused, my preaching is, too. Then, the prayers of others will reflect my own state of preaching. If we, therefore, feed on unwholesome food, either of errors or of fruitless controversies, then our hearers will likely fare the worse for it, whereas if we abound in faith, love, and zeal, how it will overflow to the refreshing of our congregations and to the increases in the same graces in others.”

• If You Dropped a Corn Kernel From Space, Would it Pop During Re-Entry? Yes and no.
• Tyndale Bulletin Goes Online. Each issue of the Tyndale Bulletin for Biblical Research (1956-2007) is now available online.
• When Things Don’t Go As Planned. Has your church’s worship team ever messed up on a song? Bob Kauflin shows you what to do when the band suddenly finds itself playing in two different keys at the same time.
• New Tolkien Book. Harper-Collins will publish The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, J.R.R. Tolkien’s retelling of the Norse legend also adapted by Wagner to create the Ring cycle.
• Disney Nixes Narnia. Walt Disney Pictures has pulled out of the third installment of the Narnia films. Walden Media is now looking for a new financial partner to go forward with shooting for “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”
• Paradise Lost Heading into Production. Film director Scott Derrickson said, “I’m doing one more polish with the writer on the script [for Paradise Lost], and then we’re going to send it out.”

This watch marks the one appointment we all must keep.
 

Actually, it might not be such a bad reminder to carry around.

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

HT: Gizmodo