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Pray90X: Praying for Boldness: Part 1
Ever wondered what to say when you pray? Sometimes it can help to see what examples of prayer we are given in Scripture. in Acts 4, the believers prayed for boldness: “And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).
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Pray90x: Boldness Part 1
How would you react if you were arrested for your faith tomorrow? What if armed men formed a firing squad before you and demanded you recant your faith or die? How would your children respond if police or soldiers stormed their bedrooms and asked them whether they believed in Jesus Christ? For many believers around the world, this is recognized as a real possibility, and they do what they can to prepare themselves and their children as much as possible. We in America cannot afford to downplay the real possibility that we, or our children, could face such a scenario one day. We teach our children to be kind,…
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Pray 90x: Boldness Part 2
Ovid, who lived around the time of Christ, records an ancient Greek myth called “Baucis and Philemon” in the eighth book of his famous Metamorphoses. Baucis and Philemon are husband and wife, and unknowingly entertain the gods Zeus and Hermes; when they realize the identity of their guests (after the performance of a miracle), they beg indulgence for being unable to provide better for their gods. Zeus and Hermes punished the people who had not welcomed them with hospitality with a flood and reward husband and wife for being hospitable, unlike their neighbors. Their hospitality was considered an example in the ancient Greek and Roman world. The desire…
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Pray90x: Praying through the Biblical Virtues for Your Children
I watched the movie “Brave” with several children while waiting for their parents to pick them up. The message of the story is that the daughter learns to respect and value her mother (while the mother also comes to appreciate her daughter’s point of view)—their strained relationship is healed at the end of the movie, and the daughter treats the mother more lovingly in the end. One of the girls’ mothers approached her older daughter. “Does this movie give you ideas about how to treat your mother better?”
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Valentine
Valentine. Good names usually have a story behind them. Had everything gone according to our plan, my family would never have bought her. But God’s plan was different. Our plan was for us to purchase a pup from the litter before her litter was born. Shortly before we were to pick up our pup, we had a call from the breeder. Another buyer had picked up a pup from that litter, and when that pup became seriously ill, she returned it to the breeder. All the pups in that litter died.
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The Longest Sabbath…
It was the Sabbath. This Sabbath was unlike any other. Jesus had just been killed. Peter had denied Jesus with his words, the rest with their silence. No, this was not a normal Sabbath. Fear and confusion were everywhere. Peter denied Jesus because he was afraid. He was afraid for his own life and for the lives of his friends. But more than that, Peter was afraid because all he had believed and understood was coming into question. How could Jesus be both Messiah, and crucified? How could Jesus be both King, and dead?
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The Importance of Touch (Part 2)
The Importance of Touch, Part 2 How best to bring about a happy infant? I encourage churches to promote holding and cuddling of infants. Babies have historically been held close by their parents for millennia; this allows the infant to observe what his parents are doing and assures him that he is safe. A stroller, a bouncer seat, and all other infant paraphernalia do not bring the same reassurance, though they may temporarily quiet down an infant. . Why do babies want to be held and comforted so frequently? Young babies do not realize that they are a separate individual from their caregiver. They are convinced Baby and…
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The Importance of Touch (Part 1)
What’s this? Who are you handing me to, Mom and Dad? Who are these people? I’m scared. I want to stay with you. Why aren’t you listening to me? Mom! Dad! Help me! Oh. You’re holding me. You’re rubbing my back. You’re warm. I like it when you hold me close, my tummy against you.
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Clackamas Town Center, Sandy Hook, and you…..
I've been away from my blog for a while now. I just finished fifteen weeks of physical therapy after rotator cuff surgery. It proved difficult to type much with the use of only one arm. I learned a lot of lessons in the past fifteen weeks. I'll share some of them soon. But like many of us, I can't get past the senseless shootings in the news recently. But what do they have to do with children's ministry? I'm glad you asked. I live in Salem, Oregon, and shop at the Clackamas Town Center, in Portland. I really like
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Not a Tame God
It is a common misconception that God can be kept out of certain institutions or establishments. The superstition is an ancient one—that a deity is only present if its symbols are present. To the mind of ancient man, it was devastating to have his god’s temple or sacred shrine ransacked or pillaged, or to have public statues or memorials to the god devastated, because the removal of these lessened the power and authority of the god. But is that the God we serve and worship?