This is the church that came out of our house church. It used to be a house church, but out grew the living room. They purchased the former Jaycees building. That is a cell tower right behind the building. We attend here when our house church doesn’t have a meeting.
I am already thinking that today is too full. I have BSF and then I am going out to lunch with a friend and then I am babysitting my granddaughter for an hour or so. That will get me home around 3:30 when I will be ready for a nap. So I may skip tonight’s meeting.
I keep thinking of Mumsee and Mike and the care of the grandpas. It is hard to lose sleep like that, but they persevered for weeks. May the Lord bless you for your loving care. You and Chas are our examples of what loving care looks like and what it costs.
We arrived for my treatment at 7:30. I got in at 9:00 after an hour and half wait. They had machine problems today. As we waited and waited I finally asked Art why I had gotten up at 5:45😀
He still wanted me to cook eggs when we got home so it was a very late breakfast.
Good morning. Hope everyone with terrible ice can just stay home. We will be out and about for the regular music jam. Husband plays four times this week. The last gig is Saturday and is for a Finnish sliding festival. Thankfully, the weather is going to be average, so it will be a bit warmer. We usually attend this festival, at least one of the days, anyway. Four days gets to be almost like a job, however. Nevertheless, it is a blessing for both musicians and audiences, so I will be grateful.
Morning all! Sky is blue and the temps are warming up to 35?!! Thankful that January is over with and we are onto February….hoping for a kinder weather pattern ⛄️ 🧊 ☀️ 🌴 💐
Busy day around here and we are going to dinner with our neighbors tonight.
Lunch is now, so soon after breakfast!😀 My appetite has remained intact. I think that is a real blessing although not desiring to eat is an easy weight loss plan.
My dad’s favorite show is Lawrence Welk. Any idea how many beleivers were part of that? And how many songs with a clear Christian message were sung? He is being exposed daily to the Gospel through his choice.
Sidenote: yes, I know some were Mormon and some were Catholic.
~ An open statement of the truth
Three places to start “living not by lies”
You may have wondered in recent days, “When did I become a bigot?” Not that you are likely a bigot, but that the world now considers you one. Beliefs that used to be obvious—to Christians and to almost everyone else—are now called hate speech, while practices and spectacles that wouldn’t have been whispered in private have become public celebrations.
Recently, I traveled across the country to preach at another church. On one of my flights, I overheard the male flight attendant talk loudly and boisterously about “his husband.” During my trip I went into a local bookstore and the two women next to me talked at length about lesbian volumes on the shelf and their own experiences with lesbianism. While walking through the downtown of that same city—a city with a reputation for being conservative and Christian—I noticed that most of the restaurants and shops were flying rainbow flags. I couldn’t help but feel that my beliefs—and not just my beliefs, but the truth of God’s word—were now the very beliefs that should only be spoken about behind closed doors.
The world wants to press us into its mold, and that mold is getting very tight very quickly. You don’t have to go looking for the sexual revolution. It will find you.
What, then, is an orthodox, biblical Christian to do?
Lots of things. We can pray and plan. We can invest in our church, in our communities, and in our families. We can be involved in politics, media, education, entertainment, or law. We can be good neighbors. We can love. We can worship. There are as many things to do to “live not by lies” as there are ways to be salt and light in the world.
But if you need a place to start, try these three things: be cheerful, be clear, and be confident. …
… (cheerful) The Christian life allows for many and complex emotions. But here’s what the Bible does not allow: the Christian must not lose heart. …
… That’s what I mean by cheerful. Not absentminded or oblivious. But joyful, happy, hopeful. We must never revile when reviled. Nor is there ever a time to return unrelenting cynicism for cynicism. After all, people are supposed to ask us for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), not for the abject sense of utter despair. …
… (clear) People need to hear the truth, and they need to hear it from us open and unashamed. Just because shouting would be rude doesn’t mean you have to whisper. Tell people what is. When asked and in the right setting, tell them what you think. …
… (confident) “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). I find in too many Christians today—and I can find the sentiment creeping into my own heart—a lack of trust in the word of God. Look, the gospel is going to be veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3). We shouldn’t be happy about that, but neither should we be surprised. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4). That’s true. But it’s also true that the ruler of this world has already been judged (John 16:11).
Let’s be less anxious and less apoplectic. God still saves. God still changes hearts. God still speaks light into existence where all seems dark. To riff on the old gospel maxim: the world is much more sinful than we imagine, but God is bigger and better than we dare to believe. ~
___________________________
Being in the Baptist denomination now, I have thought several times about how it seems many of my friends in my former church have pastors as dads or uncles or brothers. It has made me realize how much it has depended on those family ties to keep it going. I have thought that there is not much “new blood” in some of the smaller Baptist churches. My current church seems an exception to that from my limited view as it appears to appeal to a wider sphere of people by reaching out more to all races, social status groups, and nationalities. That is where growth will be found.
“die off” is an interesting term used in that tweet and I’ve heard that said about the Christian faith (and even all religious faith) in general lately — based mainly on young people turning away, so it goes.
Couple thoughts, though, I think young people not uncommonly leave the faith of their youth but often return to it once they’re beyond the 20-something, young adult stage.
Churches also have always been occupied by those who are not believers — they attend out of family tradition or to make business contacts or a host of other motivations. In that sense, some churches already may have been smaller than they “appeared.”
I wish churches were more racially diverse. It seems to be a tough goal to reach, possibly because worship styles are often culturally rooted and very different? I don’t know. We have some racial diversity in our church, but I’d like to see more. My last Presbyterian church was in a very racially mixed neighborhood so we had more diversity there. Perhaps the growth of interracial marriages and families will start to bridge those gaps.
We do have a healthy number of young people (and young families) in our church.
I think our present culture does present new challenges, young Christians have in many cases been successfully wooed by the new openness to alternative sexual identities and relationships. There’s a general cultural acceptance of gay marriage, something that’s grown quite quickly in a very short time.
I grew up in an era when everyone had some kind of religious tie, whether they took it seriously or not. Now, many of my contemporaries and those younger have no particular pull to maintain that when raising children. Families no longer consider that an important tie; certainly not a morally needed one. It’s no longer culturally expected. It no longer seems to matter.
But the tweet does curiously leave out a more overriding factor in all of this, which is God and his providence. The church will prevail, we are assured. What forms or very specific “denominations” it takes may change; but the church itself will remain, large or small, persecuted or embraced.
Wandering Views 
This is the church that came out of our house church. It used to be a house church, but out grew the living room. They purchased the former Jaycees building. That is a cell tower right behind the building. We attend here when our house church doesn’t have a meeting.
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Morning all, sun is getting ready to rise here.
I am already thinking that today is too full. I have BSF and then I am going out to lunch with a friend and then I am babysitting my granddaughter for an hour or so. That will get me home around 3:30 when I will be ready for a nap. So I may skip tonight’s meeting.
I keep thinking of Mumsee and Mike and the care of the grandpas. It is hard to lose sleep like that, but they persevered for weeks. May the Lord bless you for your loving care. You and Chas are our examples of what loving care looks like and what it costs.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Amen, Jo.
In the “Yikes!” department is this lengthy warning/article by Rod Dreher based on an article by Russ Douthit: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/psychonauts-plinths-re-paganizing-pop-culture/
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Good morning, all. A beautiful day here as the sun continues its journey behind the clouds. Warming up around here.
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Good morning for about 30 more minutes!
We arrived for my treatment at 7:30. I got in at 9:00 after an hour and half wait. They had machine problems today. As we waited and waited I finally asked Art why I had gotten up at 5:45😀
He still wanted me to cook eggs when we got home so it was a very late breakfast.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good morning. Hope everyone with terrible ice can just stay home. We will be out and about for the regular music jam. Husband plays four times this week. The last gig is Saturday and is for a Finnish sliding festival. Thankfully, the weather is going to be average, so it will be a bit warmer. We usually attend this festival, at least one of the days, anyway. Four days gets to be almost like a job, however. Nevertheless, it is a blessing for both musicians and audiences, so I will be grateful.
LikeLiked by 3 people
That is great, Peter, to hear that your house church resulted in a church plant.
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Morning all! Sky is blue and the temps are warming up to 35?!! Thankful that January is over with and we are onto February….hoping for a kinder weather pattern ⛄️ 🧊 ☀️ 🌴 💐
Busy day around here and we are going to dinner with our neighbors tonight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lunch is now, so soon after breakfast!😀 My appetite has remained intact. I think that is a real blessing although not desiring to eat is an easy weight loss plan.
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Coffe is now, here.
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My dad’s favorite show is Lawrence Welk. Any idea how many beleivers were part of that? And how many songs with a clear Christian message were sung? He is being exposed daily to the Gospel through his choice.
Sidenote: yes, I know some were Mormon and some were Catholic.
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And Christianity was socially embraced by the mainstream so seeing it in programs was pretty common.
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“Christianity” was sometimes in word (and for show) only, of course, too.
But the faith had a common “cultural” embrace.
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And now, Catholic children can be kicked out of the Smithsonian for prolife beanies.
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And speaking of the cultural change that’s swept in around us (@1:18), this was a good read, I thought:
https://wng.org/opinions/an-open-statement-of-the-truth-1675255640
__________________
~ An open statement of the truth
Three places to start “living not by lies”
You may have wondered in recent days, “When did I become a bigot?” Not that you are likely a bigot, but that the world now considers you one. Beliefs that used to be obvious—to Christians and to almost everyone else—are now called hate speech, while practices and spectacles that wouldn’t have been whispered in private have become public celebrations.
Recently, I traveled across the country to preach at another church. On one of my flights, I overheard the male flight attendant talk loudly and boisterously about “his husband.” During my trip I went into a local bookstore and the two women next to me talked at length about lesbian volumes on the shelf and their own experiences with lesbianism. While walking through the downtown of that same city—a city with a reputation for being conservative and Christian—I noticed that most of the restaurants and shops were flying rainbow flags. I couldn’t help but feel that my beliefs—and not just my beliefs, but the truth of God’s word—were now the very beliefs that should only be spoken about behind closed doors.
The world wants to press us into its mold, and that mold is getting very tight very quickly. You don’t have to go looking for the sexual revolution. It will find you.
What, then, is an orthodox, biblical Christian to do?
Lots of things. We can pray and plan. We can invest in our church, in our communities, and in our families. We can be involved in politics, media, education, entertainment, or law. We can be good neighbors. We can love. We can worship. There are as many things to do to “live not by lies” as there are ways to be salt and light in the world.
But if you need a place to start, try these three things: be cheerful, be clear, and be confident. …
… (cheerful) The Christian life allows for many and complex emotions. But here’s what the Bible does not allow: the Christian must not lose heart. …
… That’s what I mean by cheerful. Not absentminded or oblivious. But joyful, happy, hopeful. We must never revile when reviled. Nor is there ever a time to return unrelenting cynicism for cynicism. After all, people are supposed to ask us for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), not for the abject sense of utter despair. …
… (clear) People need to hear the truth, and they need to hear it from us open and unashamed. Just because shouting would be rude doesn’t mean you have to whisper. Tell people what is. When asked and in the right setting, tell them what you think. …
… (confident) “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). I find in too many Christians today—and I can find the sentiment creeping into my own heart—a lack of trust in the word of God. Look, the gospel is going to be veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3). We shouldn’t be happy about that, but neither should we be surprised. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4). That’s true. But it’s also true that the ruler of this world has already been judged (John 16:11).
Let’s be less anxious and less apoplectic. God still saves. God still changes hearts. God still speaks light into existence where all seems dark. To riff on the old gospel maxim: the world is much more sinful than we imagine, but God is bigger and better than we dare to believe. ~
___________________________
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I really liked that, dj. Thanks for posting.
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Thoughts?
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Being in the Baptist denomination now, I have thought several times about how it seems many of my friends in my former church have pastors as dads or uncles or brothers. It has made me realize how much it has depended on those family ties to keep it going. I have thought that there is not much “new blood” in some of the smaller Baptist churches. My current church seems an exception to that from my limited view as it appears to appeal to a wider sphere of people by reaching out more to all races, social status groups, and nationalities. That is where growth will be found.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“die off” is an interesting term used in that tweet and I’ve heard that said about the Christian faith (and even all religious faith) in general lately — based mainly on young people turning away, so it goes.
Couple thoughts, though, I think young people not uncommonly leave the faith of their youth but often return to it once they’re beyond the 20-something, young adult stage.
Churches also have always been occupied by those who are not believers — they attend out of family tradition or to make business contacts or a host of other motivations. In that sense, some churches already may have been smaller than they “appeared.”
I wish churches were more racially diverse. It seems to be a tough goal to reach, possibly because worship styles are often culturally rooted and very different? I don’t know. We have some racial diversity in our church, but I’d like to see more. My last Presbyterian church was in a very racially mixed neighborhood so we had more diversity there. Perhaps the growth of interracial marriages and families will start to bridge those gaps.
We do have a healthy number of young people (and young families) in our church.
I think our present culture does present new challenges, young Christians have in many cases been successfully wooed by the new openness to alternative sexual identities and relationships. There’s a general cultural acceptance of gay marriage, something that’s grown quite quickly in a very short time.
I grew up in an era when everyone had some kind of religious tie, whether they took it seriously or not. Now, many of my contemporaries and those younger have no particular pull to maintain that when raising children. Families no longer consider that an important tie; certainly not a morally needed one. It’s no longer culturally expected. It no longer seems to matter.
But the tweet does curiously leave out a more overriding factor in all of this, which is God and his providence. The church will prevail, we are assured. What forms or very specific “denominations” it takes may change; but the church itself will remain, large or small, persecuted or embraced.
LikeLiked by 4 people