Amazing Grace - Il Divo

Sometimes nothing else need be said:




I think I will be stopping to pick up this CD.

Scouting Religious Awards

Do you know about the God and Me Program? PRAY publications puts out a curriculum for scouts and other youth organizations to earn their religious awards. In the Protestant faith, there are four levels: God and Me, God and Family, God and Church, and God and Community. Participants range from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Adults can particpate as councelors or can take their own faith journey as an adult mentor. The length of the programs depend on the ages.

We ran this program 4 or 5 years ago under the auspices of the Board of Christian Education and DH is running it again as part of his Wood Badge for Scouts. Ideally, children would participate at all four levels so they receive the most complete overview of their religion. Our children will be participating for the second time. DD at the God and Community level and DS, at the God and Church level.

Although this program can be time consuming, I have found it very useful in assisting children along their faith journey. Your minister has to oversee the program, but does not have to run or teach it. I encourage you all to look into it and see if it is a program that you may wish to offer at your church. There are actually religious awards in both Girl and Boy Scouts for almost every conceivable faith, PRAY only covers a portion of what is available. Check with your local councils for more information.

Be Inspired by Jesus' Ministry

Did you know that Jesus' ministry was between 2-4 years long (depending on scholarly opinions & interpretation). I have to admit that I did not. I had never really thought about it and certainly had never timed it out. I always assumed that it was much longer than that. Take a minute to think about that, Jesus' ministry - 2-4 years.

For me, this idea has huge implication: Two to four years of Jesus' life have reverberated and impacted people for more than 2,000 years around this entire earth. While clearly none of us are the Messiah, we are God's wonderous creations. What can we accomplish if we devote ourselves to a cause? What impact may we have?

This idea of micro & macro effect struck me. Jesus, one man in a very small area of our vast world, preached for a relatively short time and he changed the world. What seed did God plant in your heart? What gifts? How can your actions inspire others?

2 years, 2,000 years ago changed the world
What can you do with 1 hour a month?
a week?
a day?

Man Arrested for Stealing Communion Wafers

Last night, I saw the most disturbing news story on the news. It was reported that a man in Florida was arrested for stealing communion wafers in a church. He was actually physically held down by parishioners until the authorities came.

I guess I may have a warped view of this, as I have thought it before when I have heard about church robberies, so forgive me for spouting, but I figure that if someone has the gaul to come into a sanctuary and take something that they know is for the worship of God then perhaps they need it more than the church does. Specifically I think to several scriptures:

Matthew 12: 1-8

"1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (NIV)

1 Samuel 21

1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"
2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."
4 But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women."
5 David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6 So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. (NIV)

Matthew 25: 31-46
31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)

I am sure that I could go on and on, but you get the point. I am also sure that there is more to this story than the briefing in the news, but if a man has to steal wafers, should we not hand him the whole bowl?

Parable of the Mustard Seed and Leaven Lesson Plan

Grade: 3-5


Pray: Dear God, Thank you for bringing us all together today to study Your Word. As we read, let our mind and hearts be open to hear. Amen

Activity: Create dough for bread using yeast. Leave some yeast in warm water with sugar aside to view shortly. Put some prepared dough in the oven to cook and enjoy later in the lesson.

Find: Matthew 13:31

Read: Matthew 13:31-33 (NIV version below)

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
"31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

Discuss: Show the students a mustard seed & a picture of a mustard plant.
Discuss what this comparison might imply?

Look at yeast mixture and the dough that you put aside. What has happened? What might Jesus be saying about heaven?

Explain and Create: Review the idea of a simile (comparisons using the words like or as). Have students make a few silly similes. Then reorder and brainstorm a list of similes about heaven. Record on large sheet or chalkboard.

(Extra activity if time: Have students illustrate one simile and post around room)

Discuss -why do you think Jesus spoke in parables. (Fulfilling prophecy, illustrative ideas to help people understand difficult concepts, intrigue people into asking more questions)

Enjoy fresh baked bread.

Close with Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for feeding us today both in Your word and with substance. Watch over each of us this week as we return to our daily lives. AMEN

Homework: Have students look through New Testament to find another parable that they can share with class next time.

Having Faith to Walk Across Water

“Time Warp”on discovery Channel reviewd the physical elements of oobleck, technically a non-newtonian liquid. It was cool to watch as they made an entire cement mixer of the substance. They batted it with a bat, rolled a blowling ball on it, and then walked on water. As I watched I thought of Jesus and Peter. Jesus walked across the water with ease and then Peter sunk. “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31KJV)

Here too on the oobleck, if you did not keep the faith and the action, you would sink into the muck. Maybe the lake was a large non-Newtonian material to which Jesus knew the secret. Others could have followed if they believed with their heart and not their head. But even one moment of hesitation would cause you to sink.

Obviously I don’t believe that Jesus walked across a sea of oobleck, but even if they found a scientific explination would it lessen the impact of the lesson. Would the need for faith be any less?

This video is not the Time Warp version, I could not find it to share with you, but it is the same idea. You can also find a similar version from Mythbusters.



If you are interested in making oobleck with your children and studying its properties, check out this

Be Careful Where You Sit in Church

If you are not careful where you sit in church, you may get drafted into doing things that you don’t expect. Of course, I’m sure that most people will not sit less than 4 ft from their minister during a service, but in our church that is where the choir sits. I sit in the closest seat toward him as I am the tallest soprano. As we are taking communion this morning, suddenly I am being handed the tops to the bread baskets. He whispers, “Please put these somewhere” and then as the offertory comes in, I can see that there is no where to put that either. Communion is spread across the table. I again help out. However, trying to take the plates from him is easier said than done, as his fingers were getting caught between the plates. We did manage though.

Last week, we had a comical go round within the choir about when we should begin our recess. Usually we recess on the last verse of the last hymn, but one of the tenors always signals the number at the beginning of the hymn. The particular hymn last week was short and only had three verses. Murray coded two to which one of the other sopranos coded back three. He coded back three in confirmation / realization of the error to which the minister caught funny, coded “5”. This led to a flurry of hidden finger signals which ended with a very stern three signal. Then all I could think of was 3.1459 . . . which I thought would be a unique place to stop. Of course, I’m not sure how I would have signaled this, but it had me giggling inside all the way through the recession.

So as you choose your seat next week, you better choose wisely ; ) You never know what may be in store.