Acts 4:23-31

Sermon I plan to preach at First CRC, Allendale this coming Sunday night (6/8).  The title is “The Believer’s Prayer.” Enjoy…

At some point in the mid-20^th century a now-common concept entered the evangelical scene: the believer’s prayer.  “The Believer’s Prayer” – as typically understood – is the first prayer a new convert will pray.  It usually goes something like this: “Dear God, you made the heavens and earth and all that is in them.  You delivered your people from the bonds of slavery in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land.  You have revealed yourself in your Word and have convicted me of my sin and rejection of your son.  Lord, forgive me for my sins.  Send your Spirit into my heart and make me clean.  I want to believe in you and I want to commit my life to your son as my Lord and Savior.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Now don’t get me wrong, this prayer isn’t bad.  In fact, I would encourage everyone here to have some version of this “Believer’s Prayer” ready for when God’s chooses to use you to lead someone to faith in Christ.  But this is not the prayer this evening’s text has in mind when it talks about “the Believer’s Prayer.”  By contrast, our text is referring to a prayer that the relatively small body of believer’s prayed in response to hearing Peter and John’s news about their trial.

And so, let me briefly describe the events leading up to this prayer…

Filed under: Bible Study, Christian Living, Culture, Sermon

Minor League Baseball at its Best!

Here’s an article I came across this morning.  This sounds like something straight out of Bull Durham or Major League.  And it’s an excellent example of why I like minor league baseball so much!

 

McALLEN, Texas (AP)—During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself.

That sure changed this week—he’s the guy who was traded for a bunch of bats.

“I don’t really care,” he said Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.”

For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price: 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style.

“They just wanted some bats, good bats—maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose Melendez said.

According to the Prairie Sticks Web site, their maple bats retail for $69 each, discounted to $65.50 for purchases of six to 11 bats.

“It will be interesting to see what 10 bats gets us,” Melendez said.

The Canadian team signed Odom about a month ago, but couldn’t get the 26-year-old righty into the country. It seems Odom had a “minor” but unspecified criminal record that wasn’t revealed to immigration officials before they scanned his passport, Vipers president Peter Young said.

Odom said the charge stemmed from a fight he was in at age 17. Although he thought it had been expunged from his record, it popped up during immigration.

Odom spent hundreds of dollars driving to the Canadian border and staying at a Montana hotel while the matter was sorted out. He then drove to Laredo after the trade.

Originally from Atlanta, Odom was drafted late by the San Francisco Giants in 2003. He pitched 38 games, all in Class A, from 2004-06, and was released by the organization this spring.

Laredo intends to activate Odom on Monday and have him make his first start Wednesday.

Odom said he was supposed to be traded for Laredo’s best hitter. But when that player balked at moving to Calgary, the bats entered the deal.

Laredo offered cash for Odom, but Young said that was “an insult.”

The bat trade wasn’t the first time Calgary came up with some creative dealmaking. The Vipers once tried to acquire a pitcher for 1,500 blue seats when they were renovating their stadium, Young said.

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press WriterMay 23, 7:51 pm EDT

Filed under: Humor

A Blessing to the Nations

Sermon to be preached the morning of June 8.  The text is Genesis 12:1-9:

 

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 

2 “I will make you into a great nation 

and I will bless you; 

I will make your name great, 

and you will be a blessing. 

3 I will bless those who bless you, 

and whoever curses you I will curse; 

and all peoples on earth 

will be blessed through you.” 

Filed under: Bible Study, Ministry, Preaching, Sermon

Early Signs of Senioritis

I’m starting to recognize “senioritis” tendencies seeping in to my attitude and life.  This is the last week of my first year at CTS – with just one more to go.  Miraculously, a Master of Divinity and ordination is coming into sight and my 5-year journey to the pastorate is entering the final stages.

This past year has found my wife and I in a church that is anything but spiritually nutritious and within myself, a growing irritation with all things West Michigan.  So it seems, this post is going somewhere other than where I expected it to go…

We tend to talk very critically about this place…it’s not our intention to paint everyone and everything in such a negative light, but this is not where we want to be.  Initially, I looked forward to moving out here – new experiences, new place, new people, new scenery…But now that we’ve been here for a year, I’m feeling like the CRC and Dutch culture are being so crammed down my throat that even Cold Stone Creamery Ghirardelli chocolate shakes are beginning to sour in my mouth (and if you know me, you that’s saying a lot).

Filed under: Random

Conservatives are Happier?

I apologize for the political post – but I so rarely do this.  Here’s an article I found on CNN.com that I personally think is a bit of a stretch.  Enjoy the laugh…

“Why are conservatives happier than liberals?“

Filed under: Random