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Peyton Manning is a Bronco and other reasons I cheer for him

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Rick Reilly recently wrote an article for ESPN about Peyton Manning thanking him for the way he’s done things; not showing up in the tabloids, saying sir and ma’am, not getting in fights, to name a few.  Reilly does a great job listing the many ways that Manning is at the very least a great role model for America’s youth.  I like the article and like Manning so I’d love for you to go read it.  I’m sure most people would agree that Manning has shown himself to be a class act throughout his career and especially now as he transitions to the Denver Broncos (as a longtime Broncos fan I couldn’t be more excited; his press conference photo with John Elway and Pat Bowlen is my current desktop background, much to my wife’s dismay). As much as he’s been in the spotlight over the years I really do not know that much about Peyton Manning’s personal life or beliefs.  In a video clip of him talking to kids at a football camp and a small snippet from a radio interview Manning stresses the importanc
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The Problem with Church - Randy Newman

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This is a link to a great post by one of my good friend's dad.  Check it out and I hope you are encouraged by it. http://integrationpoints.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/the-problem-with-church/
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CNN: I'm a Criminal

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Interesting article Putting the article's political agenda aside, this article made me think a lot about how I view sin in my life. Also how when she confronted people with the "So are you" statement, that most people don't view themselves as sinners. I am a criminal. A criminal saved by Grace, and redeemed, but a criminal nonetheless. It also made me think about how we view people in jail or homeless people, or whatever. We tend to view them differently, just because the effects of sin on their life are more "visible", when in fact we all have sinned. For example, using the drugs scenario from the article. How many of us know people who have done drugs in the past, and are no longer users? There are probably some very important people in our lives that fall into that category. How do we treat them? We love them despite their past, don't we? Then think about how we would react / treat someone who we knew went to jail for drug possession. Grant
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No Confidence in the Flesh

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A number of years ago, I came across some sermons that changed me, and of which I need constant reminder. In the 80's and 90’s, Pastor Lon Solomon of McLean Bible Church taught on living by grace. I have an old cassette tape album called “Living By Grace” which includes the message “No Confidence in the Flesh”. In “No Confidence in the Flesh", Lon Solomon says that most Christians are saved by faith, but live by works. This describes much of my Christian life. And I’m sure others fall into this as well. So here’s an outline of Lon Solomon’s message ... ---------- Phillipians 3:1-7 (NIV) 1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself ha
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Follow up on why celebrate Good Friday

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This is a post by Bob Thune of Coram Deo in Omaha, Nebraska. I really like this reason for celebrating Good Friday and the idea of fasting between Good Friday and Easter. The blog can be found at http://www.cdomaha.com/blog/ Lamentation Before Celebration It seems that American Christians are all about celebration. In fact, some churches have intentionally chosen the adjective “celebratory” to describe their worship style. Everything has to be upbeat, positive, encouraging (“Positive, Encouraging K-Love…”). After all, life itself is discouraging, depressing, and difficult enough; shouldn’t church be uplifting? The Bible does indeed encourage us to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). However, true celebration takes into account the gravity of mourning and suffering. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that lamentation is good for us: “The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure” (Ecc. 7:4). And the Apostle Peter reminds u
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Good Friday....Easter

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Well I am a few days late with a blog post but I decided I would still write one. We have an opportunity to share our personal thoughts about life, God, church, etc on this blog. Please understand that this post is not supposed to come across as complaining or wanting to cause an uproar....this is my own humble opinion and I will continue to submit to the direction and leadership of the church. (now you may be excited to see what I write) Lets start with Good Friday. This is very special day in our Faith. This is the day that our God whom we worship was murdered on a cross. This moment changed history FOREVER! Jesus' death paid for the sins of the world and so much more. (On a side note, I am reading Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper . My goal is to read one reason a day from easter to Pentecost, the birth of the church.) I think we should celebrate this with a special service on Good Friday, much like a Christmas Eve service. It would be an opportunity to
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Networking

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I came across an extremely though provoking quote in an article regarding the prostitution of underage girls in Phoenix, Arizona. I will let the quote speak for itself. "I've always wondered why the criminal world can network so well, and we can't. You see the government agencies doing their stuff autonomously, churches and parachurches doing their stuff autonomously. What if we could network as well as the criminal world? We would be awestruck at what God would accomplish." -Pat McCalla Churches within the Phoenix area have been working with each other and local government to protect these young girls. It is not everyday that you hear the call for the church to emulate organized crime.
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