HARMLESS THOUGHTS

I think...  I'm not sure, but I think that someone should buy this for me. It is the  Lenovo Chromebook Duet .  Ok... I don't actually think that someone should buy this for me. I don't feel privileged or entitled to such a degree to think that I deserve this in any way. I'm obviously just joking. At the same time... If a rich person sees this and feels generous, I wouldn't say no.

I originally found this on Facebook on a post from a guy named Joe DiVietro . I wanted to share this entire quote, so I was looking for the source... Thankfully, a friendly neighborhood Facebook stranger helped me out and pointed me to the original source material, which you can find on the Grace To You website .  QUESTION: “Do you believe it’s biblical when some pastors in America are continuing to hold services even though the government instructs them not to?” From Rich. Yeah, let me make very clear this question because it keeps coming up. If the government told us not to meet because Christianity was against the law, if the government told us not to meet because we would be punished, fined for our religion and our religious convictions, we would have no option but to meet anyway. And that takes you to the fifth chapter of Acts where the leaders of Israel said to the apostles, “Stop preaching.” And Peter’s response was very simple. He said, “You judge whether we obey God or me...

What happened Saturday morning. It started with me… wrestling with the scriptures this week. (Actually, the last several weeks.) This Socially Distant preaching has been difficult, but now I have an opportunity to preach to people directly, and it feels just as difficult, mostly because I’ve been away! (Out of practice.) Saturday Morning... I had already studied, read the commentaries, wrestled some more… but Saturday morning, I still felt unsettled in my choice of what to preach on. I had gotten up and while I was sitting in my chair, sipping my coffee, I prayed and started this way, “Lord, I wish you would just tell me what to say. Cause I would say it. Seriously. If you just told me what to say, I would say it.” A little secret insight on me: Sometimes I will pray and instead of asking for something, I will say, "I wish."  I do this when there is something that I would like, but I don't believe I necessarily ought to be asking for it... but I still want to ask for it...

Here is another Children's Church Lesson for anyone who would like to see it and/or use it. This time it is the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. This video is made for the littles to watch... I also have some coloring book pages for them.  Here are the Coloring book pages. David and Goliath on Edgewood's Site . Images are all drawn by me and the script and narration is by my wife! Feel free to enjoy and share this with as many as you would like. 

Mostly for fun, I decided to try to make a lesson for the littles that attend our church. I chose the Feeding of the Five Thousand from John 6:1-15. Here is the video: Granted, this is my first attempt creating something like this. I really enjoyed making it, and I will definitely be improving on the next one that will be made. I feel like I need more animations and a few more slides to view. I also think that I need to "trim down" my talking. I used too many words for the littles.  You can also find some printable coloring pages here . 

I just finished reading Five Points: Toward a Deeper Experience of God's Grace by John Piper.   This was a great little book. I highly recommend it for those who are interested in the "Five Points of Calvinism" but aren't sure where to start. This book lays out those five points in a way that is understandable.  Piper also uses a good logical flow to his presentation, not to shove these five points down anyone's throat, but ultimately because it is what he believes brings the greatest display to the glories of God's immeasurable grace.  And that is what this is really about. Most that I've met that know a little bit about Calvinism, assume that a Calvinist is an arrogant know-it-all... and granted, there are some who have given us that reputation. But I can truly say, in my experience that the Calvinists that I've met and read have been the most humble of Bible Scholars, with each of them, in my opinion, approaching to the truths of God's Word, not...

I know it's been a while... but here is episode 11:

Today is day number 50 of my personal time of Social Distancing. I have found that staying on track and keeping busy on one task is one of my biggest challenges. One of the ways I handle this is to create a To-Do List... but I don't just make a list, that is too boring for these unprecedented times.  My To-Do List for the Week By the way... I hope I don't hear anyone else say, "...in these unprecedented times"! I also don't want to hear one more company, simply add that statement to the beginning of their normal logo...  "In these unprecedented times, we've got the meats!" "In these unprecedented times, I'm loving it!" "In these unprecedented times, you're still in good hands with Allstate." Ugh.