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• GodTube Changes Name. Christian video and social networking site GodTube.com is now Tangle.com. Tangle.com will focus more on being a family-friendly site rather than a specifically Christian site.
• Free Tax Preparation at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is offering free tax prepararion services for taxpayers earning less than $56,000 per year.
• 800,000 Lives Saved. “The Washington Times estimated last week that former President Bush’s pro-life administration limited abortions so much, that perhaps 100,000 lives were saved in every year he served.”
• What Does the Bible Say About That? Carolyn Larsen’s new book helps 8-12 year olds understand what the Bible says about a variety of topics.

This is a good cartoon.

Here is a great feel-good story out of Milwaukee:

Milwaukee Madison senior Johntell Franklin, who lost his mother, Carlitha, to cancer on Saturday, Feb. 7, decided he wanted to play in that night’s game against DeKalb (Ill.) High School after previously indicating he would sit out.

He arrived at the gym in the second quarter, but Franklin’s name was not in the scorebook because his coach, Aaron Womack Jr., didn’t expect him to be there.

Rules dictated Womack would have to be assessed a technical, but he was prepared to put Franklin in the game anyway. DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman and his players knew of the situation, and told the referees they did not want the call.

The referees had no choice. But Rohlman did.

“I gathered my kids and said, ‘Who wants to take these free throws?'” Rohlman said, recounting the game to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Darius McNeal put up his hand. I said, ‘You realize you’re going to miss, right?’ He nodded his head.”

McNeal, a senior point guard, went to the line. The Milwaukee Madison players stayed by their bench, waiting for the free throws. Instead of seeing the ball go through the net, they saw the ball on the court, rolling over the end line.

“I turned around and saw the ref pick up the ball and hand it back to the player,” Womack said in the Journal Sentinel. “And then [McNeal] did the same thing again.”

Said Rohlman: “Darius set up for a regular free throw, but he only shot it two or three feet in front of him. It bounced once or twice and just rolled past the basket.”

“I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal told the newspaper. “It was the right thing to do.”

Update: Here is the video report (length: 6:24).

 
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Yesterday in church we viewed one of my all time favorite mission videos: The Taliabo Story. The Taliabo Story tells the story of how God used two New Tribes Mission families to bring the gospel to an unreached people group in Indonesia.

Stephen & Mary Lonetti and Darryl & Kyla Palmer went to live with the Taliabo people in order to share Christ with them. After four years of learning the Taliabo language and culture, they began to share with them the “great story,” beginning with God and creation in Genesis.

Working chronologically forward through the Old Testament, they taught them key concepts about God, man, sin, death, judgment, mercy, and grace. All of this was in preparation to teach them about Christ. After six months of teaching, they were finally ready to share with them about Christ’s death and resurrection. You will just have to watch the video to see what happened then!

Do you have a favorite missions video? Share about it in the comments. (You can purchase The Taliabo Story along with its sequel on DVD here: The Taliabo Story and Delivered from Darkness DVD.)

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Related post: Don Carson’s Overview of the Bible

Oh, that would be me. One of these days, I will enjoy a simple, pain-free process in upgrading my blog. Today is not that day. Oh well, until I get it all figured out, I apologize for the strange layout problems you may be viewing (wide-stretched theme, misplaced sidebar, double photo in header, etc). Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor energy to fix it right now.

Update: I have temporarily switched over to the WordPress Default theme until I can get things fixed on my regular theme. The default theme does not display the links to the pages, so here they are if you are looking for them.

Blog Pages:
Archives / Profile / Resources / Sermons / Stats / Top Posts / Writings

Update 2: Fixed. It turns out there was a bug with K2 RC7 and WordPress 7.1. Here is the link if anyone has the same problem: WordPress 2.7.1 and K2 1.0-RC7 I just uploaded the new info.php file, and everything worked fine again.

Colin Adams shares the following six excellent goals for pastors (from Being a Pastor, by Derek Prime and Alistair Begg):

1. to feed the flock (John 21:15-17)
2. to proclaim the whole will of God (Acts 20:27)
3. to present everyone perfect in Christ (Colossians 1:28-29)
4. to prepare God’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:12)
5. to equip God’s people to be fishers of men (2 Timothy 4:5)
6. to keep watch over oneself until the task is complete (1 Timothy 4:16)

I have often marvelled at the sheer magnitude of Paul’s purpose statement as expressed in number three above, i.e. “to present everyone perfect in Christ.” Wow!

Check out this nifty budget calculator. Simply enter your monthly take-home income, and the calculator instantly gives you a pie chart breakdown of suggested allocations. For example, the following chart is based on a monthly take-home pay of $2500.

The calculator is based on CNBC personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich’s budget advice. I noticed Carmen does not have a category for giving. So, if you are a Christian committed to regular, proportional giving, then let me suggest that you take your giving out of the take-home pay first, and then enter the remainder into the budget calculator. All in all, this seems like a pretty simple device to help a family or individual get started with a spending plan.

HT: Lifehacker

Multiple churches from around the world recently completed an Online Missions Trip with the purpose of sharing the gospel on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter. You can track the follow-up to the event here.

This sounds like a great idea if approached with wisdom and sensitivity. What do you think about reaching out with the gospel online? What would you recommend, and what cautions would you offer?

Yesterday’s message in the Gospel of Mark series was called Teaching with Authority, taken from Mark 1:21-28. The main idea of the message was that Jesus taught with authority. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. Jesus’ authority in his teaching (verses 21-22)
    A. The people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
    B. Jesus taught as one with authority, not as the teachers of the law.

II. Jesus’ authority over the demonic (verses 23-26)
    A. Jesus is confronted by the evil spirit.
    B. Jesus drives out the evil spirit.

III. The people’s response (verses 27-28)
    A. They were amazed at Jesus’ authority.
    B. News about Jesus spread quickly.

Application points:
    1) Read the gospels.
    2) Claim Jesus’ authority over Satan.
    3) Spread the news of Jesus far and wide.

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

Mother Teresa on trials: “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

Dan Phillips on the existence of God:
      – Challenge: I don’t see God.
      – Response: [hold hands over eyes] I don’t see you.

Mark Dever on conviction of sin: “The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian: when a non-Christian is convicted of sin, he sides with his sin. When a Christian is convicted of sin, he sides with God, against himself.”

Trent at the Simple Dollar discusses financial success and sacrifice. “What I discovered is that giving up all of those things wasn’t a sacrifice — it was a trade. I gave up all of those bad spending habits, but in return I was able to knock down that scary pile of debt, start saving for my children’s college education, build up a big emergency fund, and buy a house.”

Ray Pritchard concludes his series on preparing for ministry. “There is one final thing necessary in preparing for the ministry. You might state it in a dozen different ways because it has to do with what happens inside your heart. Here’s how it comes out for me. Get to know the character of God … Get to know the Lord. Nothing matters more than this. You might even say that the whole purpose of our earthly journey is for us to get to know what God is like. This is where the ministry begins and ends.

Following Jesus is not the same as Twitter. Twitter is a service that allows you to “follow” other people online as they post brief messages throughout the day (similar to Facebook status updates). It is a relatively simple and painfree way to keep up with friends, relatives, or business associates. Following Jesus does not mean simply keeping up with him or checking in on him periodically.

Rather, the call to follow Jesus is the call to discipleship. It means that you put Jesus first, that you give him your complete loyalty, obedience and trust. Just as the disciples left everything to follow Christ, you re-orient your entire life around Jesus. He is your Master; he is your Lord; and he calls you to follow him.

“Come, follow me.” It is a simple, absolute call. There is no wiggle room; there are no other parameters. You are either a follower of Jesus or you are not. (From Sunday’s sermon: When Jesus Calls)

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:16-18)

If you came here after searching for “What is love?” you are not alone. According to Google*, “What is love?” is the top “What is …” search in all of America. So, what is love? Here are three of my favorite answers straight from the Bible (and just in time for Valentines Day!).

Romantic Love:

Love is as strong as death,
    its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
    it would be utterly scorned. (Song of Solomon 8:6-7)

The Nature of True Love:

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
    it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
    always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

God’s Love:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:1-10)

Related post: A John 3:16 Valentine Message

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(*Google Stats 2008; Google Stats 2007)