Thursday, September 18, 2003

TheOoze - Making Sense of Church

Found the link to this on Wendy Cooper's Blog

Haven't read it (the book or the site) yet cause I gotta go, but it looks good.

Here's the welcome blurb:

Why the Site

In a world of paper and plastic, you read a book, close the cover and quickly move on to something new. If it was really good, you may pass it along to a friend—but sooner or later, it ends up a shelf somewhere.

But what if finishing a book was actually the beginning of a journey—and not the end? What if you were able to keep interacting with the content in fresh new ways? What if new chapters were being written and new ideas constantly coming to the surface?

In a world of hypertext and DSL lines, that experience is possible...

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

THIS MUST BE STOPPED!!

'Latte tax' vote looms in Seattle

"The world's caffeine capital is getting itself in a stir as voters are set to decide whether to levy a 10 cent 'luxury' tax on premium coffees served in Seattle."

It may start in Seattle, but just like Starbucks, it'll spread here too!
Any real coffee drinker knows that latte is NOT a luxury.
WISE CHOICES

PROV 23:19-21 Msg

Last night at bible study we talked about how to go about making wise choices--about the criteria involved and the cost of outcomes (we were looking at Genesis 9, where Noah gets drunk, ends up naked in the tent, is seen and tattled on by his son Ham; in the end, Ham's character is shown to be towards godlessness, and the price is to be paid by his son and his descendents).

I'm thinking this passages says it well--"point your life in the right direction." Before we make decisions--before I make decisions--do we consider the outcome? Do we think down the line, through the logical consequences or do we just cater to our own pleasure? Do our decisions point us towards godliness or towards godlessness?

Sometimes--quite often, actually--truth bites!

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

MARK 1:14-20

According to the American Heritage Dictionary (definition 2), the Kingdom of God is "The eternal spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ." In other words, where God is obeyed, God's kingdom exists. It existed in the angels before the worlds were created. It exists in Jesus' followers. It extends in Jesus' followers as they grow in maturity and obey him more fully.

Notice that Jesus did not call his first disciples to salvation; he called them to follow. He called them--he calls us--to the kingdom. He calls us to follow. This is what church is all about. Since Pentecost, circa 33 AD, the church has been the realm where God's kingdom exists on earth. The kingdom, though, is the same kingdom because the King is the same King--God.

What is to be obeyed? Repent--change kingdoms--and believe--know and act on what is known.

There is no opting out of this kingdom-building project. We are either good kingdom builders or bad kingdom builders.

Here's the real question: what does this look like in the programs and policies of the local church?