....McCain's war story on worship

Here's a link to McCain's "religious" story.....I pray that he will be baptized. It is interesting that when he was a POW he was made the "chaplain" of their group because he remembered the words to the Nicene Creed and Apostle's creed from his years in an episcopal school. Toward the end of the war, when the North Vietnamese lightened up a bit and put the POWs together in a room, the prisoners organized Sunday church services. McCain was the room chaplain, "not because the senior ranking officer thought I was imbued with any particular extra brand of religion, but because I knew all of the words of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed," the senator says. McCain conducted services and gave sermons, of sorts. "It was a topic, a talk," he says. "We had a choir that was marvelous…. The guy who directed it happened to have been previously the director of the Air Force Academy choir." McCain will always remember the first Christmas they were allowed to have a service together. They had never been able to have a Bible before, but shortly before this particular Christmas, the Vietnamese handed McCain a King James Bible, a piece of paper, and a pencil. He jotted down bits of the nativity story from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. "On Christmas Eve, the first time we had been together – some guys had been there as long as seven years – we had our service," he says. "We got to the point where we talked about the birth of Christ, and then sang 'Silent Night,' and I still remember looking at the faces of those guys – skinny, worn out – but most of them, a lot of them, had tears down their faces. And they weren't sorrow, they were happiness that for the first time in so many years we were able to worship together."

CND endorses McCain!

FYI, here is a link to the American Family Association VOTER GUIDE put out by Donald Wildmon. Hope it helps you make an informed choice from the field of presidential candidates! It’s a difficult decision, but for the record, since Fred Thompson (for whom we were originally signed on to run as delegates) has withdrawn, I am now voting for John McCain…primarily because I think he will be the best commander-in-chief and we have a son who will be commissioning this summer in the USMC. NATIONAL DEFENSE is, in my opinion, THE most important job of the federal government. I do like Huckabee’s Christian values, but I am not convinced that he would be the best choice for President. I believe Ron Paul’s foreign policy would be disastrous. I do not care to support Giuliani or Romney…..SO…………..

I think it was McCain’s mother who said something to the effect that “the country is just going to have to hold its nose and vote for John!”

Please don’t forget to go vote one week from today…..FEBRUARY 5th.

do you use Shaklee products?...maybe you can help Sylvia.

If you use Shaklee products, perhaps you would be interested in helping Sylvia Douglas as she is fighting to regain her health after radical surgery for cancer...if you buy through this link any profit on the items you purchase will go into Sylvia's shaklee products fund. Here's a note: In my attempt to care for my total health (i.e. good nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and rest), I have been able to find good nutritional products and am beginning to clear my home of chemical stressors. If you are interested on ways you can improve your family’s health, are curious about what I am doing, or at all interested in helping me with this part of my treatment, you can go to http://www.shaklee.net/sylviafund/aboutme and get more information. Every little bit of help adds up quickly, and is greatly appreciated! Keep us posted on what is going on in your lives. As we become aware of your situations you remain in our prayers. Sylvia

God's way...

If we confess our sins against God and our neighbor, he hears and forgives us! Praise the LORD! Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen. Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

enjoying Korean food with some of the Shaukus....yummmy!

excerpt from The Challenge of Jesus by NT Wright

"Christianity, as we shall see, began with the thoroughly Jewish belief that world history was focused on a single geographical place and a single moment in time. The Jews assumed that their country and their capital city was the place in question, and that the time, though they did not know quite when it would be, would be soon. The living God would defeat evil once and for all and create a new world of peace and justice. The early Christians believed that this had in principle happened in and through Jesus of Nazareth; as we shall see, they believe this (a) because Jesus himself had believed it and (b) because he had been vindicated by God after his execution. This is what early Christian eschatology was all about: not the expectation of the literal end of the space-time unverse but the sense that world history was reaching, or indeed had reached, its single intended climax." p 21-22

...Biblical Horizons

...if you are interested in theology for the future, check out the BH Blog!

TPC Lent and HolyWeek Schedules

Announcing Trinity Presbyterian Church Mid-week schedule Lent and Holy Week 2008 Tues., Feb 5, 6:30 PM Shrove Tuesday Pancake Feast Wed., Feb. 6, 7:00 PM Ash Wednesday Service Th, March 20.6:30 PM Maundy Thursday Feast Fri., March 21. 7:00 PM Good Friday Service

In worship, Jesus renews and transforms us by bringing us each week into the fellowship of the Holy Trinity. His Word calls us, judges us, consoles us, instructs us, and sends us out to fulfill His will. In response to His Word, we gather at His Table, and share in His life-giving sacrifice. It is to this assembly that we bring our praise and thanksgiving, our prayers and alms, and indeed our whole selves. Please join us.

Meeting at Berney Points Baptist Church facility I65/Alford Avenue exit 9AM Each Lord’s Day

Wulfstan

Wulfstan 19 January 1095 When William the Norman conquered England in 1066, he replaced most of the native Anglo-Saxon bishops with clergy from his own Normandy. The most conspicuous exception was Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (pronounced "Wooster"), who had been a supporter of the Anglo-Saxon King Harold, but who submitted to William after Harold's death, and became one of the King's most trusted advisors. He is best remembered for his opposition to the slave trade in western England. written by James Kiefer Prayer Almighty God, whose only-begotten Son led captivity captive and gave gifts to your people: Multiply among us faithful pastors, who, like your holy bishop Wulfstan, will give courage to those who are oppressed and held in bondage; and bring us all, we pray, into the true freedom of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

VMI at the Rose Bowl Parade

Aelred, 12 January 1167...thoughts on friendship and charity

Aelred 12 January 1167 Aelred was born in 1109 at Durham, and was sent to the Scottish court for an education that would ensure his future as a noble and courtier. He succeeded, to the extent of being made Master of the Household of the King of Scotland. Nevertheless, he found success at the court of an earthly king unsatisfying, and at the age of 24 he entered the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire. Bernard of Clairvaux encouraged him to write his first work, The Mirror of Charity, which deals with seeking to follow the example of Christ in all things. In 1147 he became abbot of Rievaulx, a post which he held until his death of kidney disease twenty years later at the age of 57. His most famous work is called Spiritual Friendship (both it and The Mirror have been published in English by Cistercian Publications). When Jesus was told that his family was waiting to see him, he replied, "All who do the will of my Father are my family." From this, some Christians have drawn the conclusion that the only kind of love permissible to a Christian is Charity -- that is: (a) the universal benevolence that wills the good of all persons, and (b) the bond that unites the Christian with Christ and through Christ with all other Christians. Note that Universal Belevolence is extended equally to all persons (we are to love Jones because God made him), and that the bond of Christian Unity unites us equally with all our fellow Christians who are in a state of grace (we are to love Jones because Christ dwells in him). Neither leaves any room for particular friendships, for liking Jones more than Smith because Jones shares our interest in hockey, or because Jones and we like the same sort of jokes, or come from the same part of the country and have similar childhood memories, or because Jones is an easy-going type and it is easy to relax and feel comfortable around him, or because Jones and we have a special bond of friendship, loyalty, and trust. Particular friendships are OUT! Some who do not think that every Christian must renounce particular friendships believe that every monastic must do so. In many religious houses, where the monks or nuns walk two by two into chapel or the dining hall or while pacing about during the daily hour of recreation, the superior will make a point of constantly shifting partners, lest anyone form a liking for one partner more than another. (This does not apply just to friends. It is sometimes held that no monk ought to allow himself any preferences in food or drink.) Against this view, Aelred wrote that it is compatible with the highest degree of Christian perfection to take special pleasure in the company of particular friends. He points out that we are told that Jesus loved John, and Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, and that this probably means that he found their company congenial. written by James Kiefer Prayer Pour into our hearts, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with your servant Aelred draw many to your community of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

introducing Junie Kim

Junie Kim is living with us now. She is originally from Suwon, Korea but has been living in Jackson, MS the past eleven months where she attended Mt. Salus Christian School. She had been living with her family in Jackson while her father studied in the DMin program at RTS. They all returned to Korea when he finished his studies, but Junie wants to finish her schooling in America. We are so glad she has come to Birmingham to be a part of our family! She will begin the 2nd semester of her Jr. year in high school next week at Glen Iris Baptist School here in Birmingham.

Tonight she cooked supper for us and it was delicious. We had Korean sticky rice, mando (dumpling with vegetables inside), broiled kimchi, seaweed, sesame leaves, and pork strips sauteed in soy sauce. I am looking forward to learning how to cook Korean food. We have an Asian food market very near our home and it will be convenient to buy good Korean food there! YUMMY....

Brightest and best Music-control panel orNew window (one verse introduction) Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid; star of the east, the horizon adorning,guide where our infant Redeemer is laid. Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining,low lies his head with the beasts of the stall;angels adore him in slumber reclining,Maker and Monarch and Savior of all. Shall we then yeild him, in costly devotion,odors of Edom, and offerings divine,gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,myrrh from the forest, and gold from the mine? Vainly we offer each ample oblation,vainly with gifts would his favor secure,richer by far is the heart's adoration,dearer to God are the prayers of the poor. Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid;star of the east, the horizon adorning,guide where our infant Redeemer is laid. Music: Morning Star James Proctor Harding (19th C) Words: Reginal Heber (19th C)Sequence: Dall Forsythe, Church of St. John the Evangelist

Christmas and New Year's Photos

I recommend the movie "The Inn of Sixth Happiness"

Gladys Aylward 3 January 1970 Gladys Aylward was born in London in 1904 (or a few years earlier). She worked for several years as a parlormaid, and then attended a revival meeting at which the preacher spoke of dedicating one's life to the service of God. Gladys responded to the message, and soon after became convinced that she was called to preach the Gospel in China. At the age of 26, she became a probationer at the China Inland Mission Center in London, but failed to pass the examinations. She worked at other jobs and saved her money. Then she heard of a 73-year-old missionary, Mrs. Jeannie Lawson, who was looking for a younger woman to carry on her work. Gladys wrote to Mrs. Lawson and was accepted if she could get to China. She did not have enough moneg for the ship fare, but did have enough for the train fare, and so in October of 1930 she set out from London with her passport, her Bible, her tickets, and two pounds ninepence, to travel to China by the Trans-Siberian Railway, despite the fact that China and the Soviet Union were engaged in an undeclared war. She arrived in Vladivostok and sailed from there to Japan and from Japan to Tientsin, and thence by train, then bus, then mule, to the inland city of Yangchen, in the mountainous province of Shansi, a little south of Peking (Beijing). Most of the residents had seen no Europeans other than Mrs. Lawson and now Miss Aylward. They distrusted them as foreigners, and were not disposed to listen to them. Yangchen was an overnight stop for mule caravans that carried coal, raw cotton, pots, and iron goods on six-week or three-month journeys. It occurred to the two women that their most effective way of preaching would be to set up an inn. The building in which they lived had once been an inn, and with a bit of repair work could be used as one again. They laid in a supply of food for mules and men, and when next a caravan came past, Gladys dashed out, grabbed the rein of the lead mule, and turned it into their courtyard. It went willingly, knowing by experience that turning into a courtyard meant food and water and rest for the night. The other mules followed, and the muleteers had no choice. They were given good food and warm beds at the standard price, and their mules were well cared for, and there was free entertainment in the evening--the inkeepers told stories about a man named Jesus. After the first few weeks, Gladys did not need to kidnap customers -- they turned in at the inn by preference. Some became Christians, and many of them (both Christians and non-Christians) remembered the stories, and retold them more or less accurately to other muleteers at other stops along the caravan trails. Gladys practiced her Chinese for hours each day, and was becoming fluent and comfortable with it. Then Mrs. Lawson suffered a severe fall, and died a few days later. Gladys Aylward was left to run the mission alone, with the aid of one Chinese Christian, Yang, the cook. A few weeks after the death of Mrs. Lawson, Miss Aylward met the Mandarin of Yangchen. He arrived in a sedan chair, with an impressive escort, and told her that the government had decreed an end to the practice of footbinding. (NOTE: Among the upper and middle classes, it had for centuries been the custom that a woman's foot should be wrapped tightly in bandages from infancy, to prevent it from growing. Thus grown women had extremely tiny feet, on which they could walk only with slow, tottering steps, which were thought to be extremely graceful.) The government needed a foot-inspector, a woman (so that she could invade the women's quarters without scandal), with her own feet unbound (so that she could travel), who would patrol the district enforcing the decree. It was soon clear to them both that Gladys was the only possible candidate for the job, and she accepted, realizing that it would give her undreamed-of opportunities to spread the Gospel. During her second year in Yangchen, Gladys was summoned by the Mandarin. A riot had broken out in the men's prison. She arrived and found that the convicts were rampaging in the prison courtyard, and several of them had been killed. The soldiers were afraid to intervene. The warden of the prison said to Gladys, "Go into the yard and stop the rioting." She said, "How can I do that?" The warden said, "You have been preaching that those who trust in Christ have nothing to fear." She walked into the courtyard and shouted: "Quiet! I cannot hear when everyone is shouting at once. Choose one or two spokesmen, and let me talk with them." The men quieted down and chose a spokesman. Gladys talked with him, and then came out and told the warden: "You have these men cooped up in crowded conditions with absolutely nothing to do. No wonder they are so edgy that a small dispute sets off a riot. You must give them work. Also, I am told that you do not supply food for them, so that they have only what their relatives send them. No wonder they fight over food. We will set up looms so that they can weave cloth and earn enough money to buy their own food." This was done. There was no money for sweeping reforms, but a few friends of the warden donated old looms, and a grindstone so that the men could work grinding grain. The people began to call Gladys Aylward "Ai-weh-deh," which means "Virtuous One." It was her name from then on. Soon after, she saw a woman begging by the road, accompanied by a child covered with sores and obviously suffering severe malnutrition. She satisfied herself that the woman was not the child's mother, but had kidnapped the child and was using it as an aid to her begging. She bought the child for ninepence--a girl about five years old. A year later, "Ninepence" came in with an abandoned boy in tow, saying, "I will eat less, so that he can have something." Thus Ai-weh-deh acquired a second orphan, "Less." And so her family began to grow.... She was a regular and welcome visitor at the palace of the Mandarin, who found her religion ridiculous, but her conversation stimulating. In 1936, she officially became a Chinese citizen. She lived frugally and dressed like the people around her (as did the missionaries who arrived a few years after in in the neighboring town of Tsechow, David and Jean Davis and their young son Murray, of Wales), and this was a major factor in making her preaching effective. Then the war came. In the spring of 1938, Japanese planes bombed the city of Yangcheng, killing many and causing the survivors to flee into the mountains. Five days later, the Japanese Army occupied Yangcheng, then left, then came again, then left. The Mandarin gathered the survivors and told them to retreat into the mountains for the duration. He also announced that he was impressed by the life of Ai-weh-deh and wished to make her faith his own. There remained the question of the convicts at the jail. The traditional policy favored beheading them all lest they escape. The Mandarin asked Ai-weh-deh for advice, and a plan was made for relatives and friends of the convicts to post a bond guaranteeing their good behavior. Every man was eventually released on bond. As the war continued Gladys often found herself behind Japanese lines, and often passed on information, when she had it, to the armies of China, her adopted country. She met and became friends with "General Ley," a Roman Catholic priest from Europe who had teken up arms when the Japanese invaded, and now headed a guerilla force. Finally he sent her a message. The Japanese are coming in full force. We are retreating. Come with us." Angry, she scrawled a Chinese note, CHI TAO TU PU TWAI, "Christians never retreat!" He sent back a copy of a Japanese handbill offering $100 each for the capture, dead or alive, of (1) the Mandarin, (2) a prominent merchant, and (3) Ai-weh-deh. She determined to flee to the government orphanage at Sian, bringing with her the children she had accumulated, about 100 in number. (An additional 100 had gone ahead earlier with a colleague.) With the children in tow, she walked for twelve days. Some nights they found shelter with friendly hosts. Some nights they spent unprotected on the mountainsides. On the twelfth day, they arrived at the Yellow River, with no way to cross it. All boat traffic had stopped, and all civilian boats had been seized to keep them out of the hands of the Japanese. The children wanted to know, "Why don't we cross?" She said, "There are no boats." They said, "God can do anything. Ask Him to get us across." They all knelt and prayed. Then they sang. A Chinese officer with a patrol heard the singing and rode up. He heard their story and said, "I think I can get you a boat." They crossed, and after a few more difficulties Ai-weh-deh delivered her charges into competent hands at Sian, and then promptly collapsed with typhus fever and sank into delirium for several days. As her health gradually improved, she started a Christian church in Sian, and worked elsewhere, including a settlement for lepers in Szechuan, near the borders of Tibet. Her health was permanently impaired by injuries received during the war, and in 1947 she returned to England for a badly needed operation. She remained in England, preaching there. In 1955, she returned to the Orient and opened an orphanage on Formosa (Taiwan), which she continued to run while she lived. Miss Gladys Aylward, the Small Woman, Ai-weh-deh, died 3 January 1970. In 1957, Alan Burgess wrote a book about her, The Small Woman. It was condensed in The Reader's Digest, and made into a movie called The Inn of The Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman. When Newsweek magazine reviewed the movie, and summarized the plot, a reader, supposing the story to be fiction, wrote in to say, "In order for a movie to be good, the story should be believable!" Phyllis Thompson wrote a biography of her in 1971. I do not know the title, but have some evidence that it may be The Little Woman in China. In 1997, Moody Press published a biography called The Little Woman, listing Gladys Aylward and Christine Hunter as co-authors. written by James Kiefer Prayer Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Gladys Aylward, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of China. Raise up in this and every land heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, that your Church may make proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

family life.....

from PJL www.leithart.com Theology: Exhortation [Print] [PDF] [Email] As soon as Adam sins, his marriage is disrupted, as he becomes Eve’s accuser instead of her guardian. In the next generation, sibling rivalry escalates to the first murder. The family is a fallen institution. It cannot redeem. It needs to be redeemed. The story continues throughout the Old Testament. The families of the patriarchs are often riven by rivalry between son and son, wife and wife, father and son. David’s sons compete and kill for the throne, and in the very last book of the Old Testament Malachi is still talking about divorce. The family cannot redeem. It needs to be redeemed. It can only be redeemed by incorporation into the family of God, the church. Families are independent. Fathers and mothers have real authority over their children, and elders do not micromanage family life. Each family has its own table, its own proper ways and habits and memories and hopes. But families function rightly only if they submit to the oversight of the elders in a church family. The family table is a place of joy and celebration only when the family also gathers together at the table of the heavenly Father. Marriages are healthy when they are engrafted into a network of marriages. We can raise our children well only with the assistance of the brothers and sisters, the aunts and uncles and mothers and grandfathers, the kin network of the church. This doesn’t happen by magic. It happens when we all take responsibility for the next generation. Through the Spirit, we are all members of one another, and that means that we need to be assisting one another in raising children. Whenever we have a baptism, we promise to assist the parents in the Christian nurture of their children. Are we keeping those promises? posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 7:22 am

December 31, 1977----December 31, 2007

30 years filled with many blessings!!!! We are thankful.