The Scoop from Jesus on Givng

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 6:38

The Marketing of Evil

"The Marketing of Evil is a serious wake-up call for all who cherish traditional values, the innocence of children, and the very existence of our great country." —Dr. Laura Schlessinger, talk-show host and author
"It's often said that marketing is warfare, and in The Marketing of Evil, David Kupelian clearly reveals the stunning strategies and tactics of persuasion employed by those engaged in an all-out war against America's Judeo-Christian culture." —David Limbaugh, syndicated columnist and author

Crown Financial Seminar this Weekend!

Check out the link to Crown Ministries in the top right hand of this page. Great resources are availble for your kids and students.

Man Faces Death for Christianity

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial, a state prosecutor said Wednesday.
Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. His trial started last week and he confessed to becoming a Christian 16 years ago. If convicted, he could be executed.

"We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," he told The Associated Press.

"Doctors must examine him," he said. "If he is mentally unfit, definitely Islam has no claim to punish him. He must be forgiven. The case must be dropped."

A Western diplomat in Kabul and a human rights advocate — both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter — said the government was desperately searching for a way to drop the case because of the reaction it has caused.

President Bush said in a speech that a young democracy is growing in Afghanistan, but he's concerned about the case.

"We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom," Bush said. "I'm troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That's not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship."

Positive Influence

The Creator designed the flower to lean toward the light...the positive influence.
A flower that "stares" at the darkness, or faces the negative influence, wounds itself, doesn't it?

What Influences You? Comment Below

in·flu·ence (ĭn'flū-əns)

A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort:

Power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position.

To produce an effect on by imperceptible or intangible means; sway

Gethuman.com

This web page prints the telephone numbers of insurance companies, utilities, government agencies, etc. which let you talk with a human. If you don't have time to sit through electronic voices guiding your through 15 menu items, book mark gethuman.com

God's Plan for the Family?

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese-led research team said it had made a seeing, hearing and smelling robot that can carry human beings and is aimed at helping care for the country's growing number of elderly.


The RI-MAN humanoid can already carry a doll weighing 12 kilograms (26 pounds) and could be capable of bearing 70 kilograms within five years.

"We hope it will care for elderly people or work in rehabilitation," said Toshiharu Mukai, one of the research team leaders.
RI-MAN is equipped with sensors that show it a body's weight and position.

It can also distinguish eight different kinds of smells, can tell which direction a voice is coming from and uses powers of sight to follow a human face.

"In the future, we would like to develop a capacity to detect a human's health condition through his breath," Mukai said.

Japan is bracing for a major increase in needs for elderly care due to a declining birth rate and a population that is among the world's longest living.

The population declined in 2005 for the first time since World War II as more young people put off starting families.

Who are We?

Creative, spirit filled people, free to dance?

KIA Will Be Our Neighbor

Next door to us, KIA arrives. Troup county will measure the impact of KIA on the economy. Individuals will think $$$, the holy trinity of the God's of Madison Avenue. But the local church must think "s a c r e d t r u s t." Families who re-locate need altars of real worship; authentic community; and small groups with Jesus at the center of them. Before the bulldozers come, we need to plan our response to the sacred trust of so many newcomers.

CONVERGE

A signficant weekend. 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship is led by our youth.Thanks to our host families!

Flipping out over the Oscars

In the wake of the notoriety of Brokeback Mountain at the Oscars (and failure at the box office), three options face the Faith Community.
1.Ignore. 2. Snicker. 3. Thoughtfully respond. I, for one, am not willing to concede the territory of cinema to the hawkers of films like Brokeback. As there already exists an intelligent, spiritual community which attempts to read the culture, explore the sentiments of Hollywood, and discern the drift of America, I think we need to join them. Why? As cinema goes, so goes most of our young, and so goes the country.

Sherri and I spent part of "Oscar evening" clicking back and forth between re-runs of Barney ( 1950's nostalgia) and snippets of the Oscars (2006 reality). I expect our experience parallels that of many believers. We yearn for our children to grow up with what we had in 1950, and we mourn leaving them alone with what they have in 2006.

For a truly cynical view of the Oscars, make sure you read Ann Coulter's recent article. Google it. It is enjoyable. But it does little to help us understand how a film such as Brokeback could enjoy such celebrity. Many Christian authors presently explore cinema, critiquing its persuasive power. These believers challenge the faith community to engage Hollywood and enter a conversation with culture that gives Christ a voice. In the first set of comments below I highlight some major resources for Faith and Film.

Chip Monk

Casino chips in the offering plates. Click comments, share thoughts.