2012 Annual Meeting – Audio & Slides
January 30, 2012 by Luther95
Below is the audio recording from our Annual Meeting held on Sunday 1/29/2012. We have also made the slides available as a PDF.
Listen here:
Download slides here:
Book Reivew: Day of War
January 19, 2012 by Luther95
I recently read “Day of War” by Cliff Graham, the first in the Lion of War series, after seeing a recommendation of it on a Christian blog written to provide encouragement for mothers of boys. “Day of War” is a fictional account of David (before he became king) and his warriors, based on 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11. It is chiefly a story of Benaiah, David, Uriah the Hittite, and the Three (Josheb, Eleazar and Shammah).
The book starts out telling of Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, when he “went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.” Although I would classify this as a “guys’ book” from the very beginning, it had me riveted. Great story-telling, great imagery.
What interested me most about “Day of War” is that – although fictional – it paints a seemingly realistic picture of life as a warrior in Old Testament times. I’m not a history buff or a student of wars, so this account helped me understand why David and his army faced and endured what they did – and how so much killing could occur in the name of Yahweh.
Though rough men with distant, abandoned families and haunting pasts, they shared a trust and deep-seated belief in God (most of them, anyway). When preparing for battle and in the midst of adversity, David and his men speak this prayer to Yahweh: “Cover me in the day of war.”
Most of us don’t face war and battle like the characters of this book. And – I would venture to guess – most of don’t fully appreciate the freedom that we have to comfortably live our lives peacefully in Christ, knowing that we have that choice and will not be persecuted or slaughtered because of it.
But in one way or another, we all have our own days of war. Our own struggles and conflicts. We would do well to remember David and his mighty men, and ask God to cover us in our days of war.
meet the reviewer: kristy wright
Kristy Wright is a born-and-raised Minnesotan, spending her first six years of life in St. Paul before moving to the northern metro with her family. She spent four years in Marshall attending Southwest Minnesota State University and earning a Bachelor’s degree in English/journalism with a minor in literature. Kristy moved back to the Twin Cities in 2000 and settled in Cottage Grove with her husband, Jeremy, in 2003. The Wrights have two young children, Jesse and Alex, and spend most of their time playing with the boys and being with friends and family. Kristy has a background in writing, working as a reporter for two years and in communications for 11 years. She currently works as a Vice President at a St. Paul-based credit union trade association, a position she has held since 2011.
theVibe 01.06.12 – New Teaching Series: Pursue
January 6, 2012 by Luther95
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Book Review: Indescribable
Book Review, submitted by Jon Schommer
INDESCRIBABLE
By Louie Giglio and Matt Redman
Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO (2011)
Louie Giglio is the pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta and Matt Redman is a songwriter and worship leader based in Brighton, England. In this book, they take the reader on a journey to the furthest known reaches of the universe, describing stars, galaxies, the sun, the moon, distance, light, and astronomical principles. They weave together Bible verses with scientific thought and paint a picture of a Creator who is beyond comprehension.
As I read this book, I became lost in wonder. On one hand, I was overwhelmed with how many Bible verses there are that relate to our Creator and the role of His creation in worship of Him. This book does a great job in aligning Bible verses in a way that leads one to worship God! On the other hand, I was overwhelmed with the enormity and grandeur of even the small part of creation we can now describe through scientific inquiry. As Ralph W. Sockman pointed out, “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder!”
Giglio and Redman conclude the book by pointing out that the psalmist wrote, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6). But just when be might be tempted to believe that God is too big to be concerned with someone as tiny as you or me, we read, “From heavens the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place he watches all who live on earth – He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do” (Psalm 33: 13-15).
Looking up to the heights of the cosmos increases our sense of the glory of God. At the same time, it helps us realize just how extravagant His divine love is. The same hands that flung the stars into space, also surrendered to the cruel nails of the cross to bring us salvation. Oh, such indescribable love.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” — 2 Corinthians 9:15
Book Review: The Power of a Praying Parent
November 28, 2011 by Luther95
Book Review, submitted by Jon Schommer
THE POWER OF A PRAYING PARENT
By Stormie Omartian
Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon (1995)
Being a parent …. It is the best of jobs. It is the most difficult of jobs. It can bring the highest highs and the lowest lows. No area of your life can make you feel more like a success and no area of your life can make you feel more like a failure.
In raising children, the most important things we can do for them is to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), live as examples for them (Proverbs 20:7), and pray for them (Lamentations 2: 19) in all situations and in all aspects of life.
In this book, Stormie Omartian begins by giving great insights about how to become a praying parent and how we can release our children into God’s hands. Then, she provides useful chapters that focus on topics that we can pray about. There are 28 topics (one in a chapter), so it takes just over half a year to pray through the book. When you reach the end of the book, you can just start over again!
Each chapter ends with a written prayer that can be prayed out loud and a number of Bible verses that relate to that chapter’s topic. It is a practical, useful tool for being a praying parent. There is even a chapter that focuses on insights for how we can pray for our adult children.
This is a practical book for helping us to do something that is extraordinary.
“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5: 17
