Webcastaway III

The webcastaway II blog has grown in case you haven't noticed. Scroll down.

For those that may not know...

mon·er·gism - mon-er-jiz-uhm]
–noun Theology.
the doctrine that the Holy Ghost acts independently of the human will in the work of regeneration. Compare synergism (def. 3).
[Origin: 1865–70; mon- + Gk érg(on) work, deed + -ism] —Related forms
mon·er·gist, noun
mon·er·gis·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

As you may have figured out, I did not know what monergism means. Sorry.

.j.

Prayer Request

All -- I just received an email from a dear brother in Christ. He is a fellow bi-vocational pastor who was laid off from his secular job effective immediately because of a low need for his position. This has cost his family their greatest source of income and also their health insurance.

I am not sure who all he wants to know so I am simply asking that you pray for this man. Pray for him as a brother in Christ, a husband, father and a pastor.

I'm For Abortion.

James 1:14-15
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

I don't know about anyone else, but this passage says an awful lot. Correct me if I am misunderstanding what James is saying...

Even though I have been born again by the Spirit of God, and have that Spirit living through me, the wicked seeds of selfishness, idolatry, pride,and the like still exist in my heart. And within my heart, there lives a longing to have the manifestation of these 'desires' come to life. I pray that at the onset of conception, the Holy Spirit would destroy the wickedness that tries to rule my heart. How could a fleeting glimpse of false beauty ever compare to the magnificent glory that is Jesus Christ. But, somehow, I know at times that I seem to be enamored by the false beauty. How pathetic am I, and how merciful is Almighty God that He would still allow me the opportunity to receive the grace and beauty that lasts forever.

Wake up, self.

Confession. My little video escapade makes me a little sick. Seems all I do is ramble about stuff that in reality, I don't have a lot of conviction about. I'm so easily persuaded in different directions sometimes, it's ridiculous. I already feel differently about a few things from the last 'webcastaway' venture.
Problem is, I spend too much time coming up with opinions sometimes, and not enough time seeing what scripture says. So, no more. I look forward to reading different posts and learning as I always do from everyone. I don't know if I should put away the milk just yet.
The one thing I know...is that Jesus Christ is the salvation that was promised by God, born of a virgin, lived a completely sinless life, has power over life, death and everything in between, gave His life in obedience to His Father, and was raised again the third day, and now He sits at the right hand of Almighty God interceding for a very imperfect Jason Stewart (and others).
I don't know how I believe, or exactly when I first truly believed, but I believe. Jesus is all I have.

Webcastaway II - Male/Female Roles in Church

Sorrrrrrry,

This is about 12 minutes long, probably because I ramble. So watch it if you want. It's a smaller 'screen' because NSBR said the last one looked like a godzilla movie or something. And no I did NOT capitalize the g in godzilla! Funny, NSBR looks like a new Bible version.

.j.

He's Alive!!!!

It is my prayer that no one needs to be reminded of this, but Jesus Christ is risen. Why do so many seek the living amongst the dead? We have so many books, stories, documentaries and tales that analyze the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Through His death I am justified but through His resurrection I am glorified. Through His marvelous work in me may He be eternally glorified by my words, my deeds, my life.

1. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection – John 20:11-18

2. Also to the other Mary – Matt 28:9-10

3. Appeared to Peter – Luke 24:33-35

4. Luke 24:13-32 – Two disciples on the road to Emmaus
   

5. Ten disciples - Judas and Thomas - Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25

6. John 20:26-31 – to Thomas and the other ten disciples in the upper room

7. 7 Disciples – John 21 at the sea of Galilee

8. 500 believers – Matt 28:16-20; 1 Cor 15:6

9. James - 1 Cor. 15
   

10. 11 Disciples – Luke 24:44-49

11. 11 Disciples – Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:4-11

12. The Apostle Paul - Acts 9, 1 Cor. 15
    

Jesus Christ was preached to me and I believed. As a result of His grace, mercy and power I have been regenerated by the washing of the word. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rm 1:16).

What's you story??

Lead Notch on the Bible Belt

According to a survey Alabama leads the nation in biblical knowledge!

"The poll showed that Alabama residents know more about the Bible than other Americans."

We love us some Jesus (and football)!

Click here for the article.

Children's Ministry Without the Crucifixion??

Understanding that children are extremely impressionable should lead us to teach them in methods with absolute truths. After all, this is how they see and understand things.

Children of pre and elementary school age typically do not understand rhetoric, sarcasm and/or the like. They see things in black and white (not literally!) and have not yet developed the ability to understand "gray areas".

For example, often in my frustration I will sarcastically say, "I'm gonna punch you in the mouth". I mean this as a slang term to express my frustration, but my son would react with, "we don't hit people in the mouth daddy".

All this said, our children are now under the subtle attack of generalization and liberalism in the fact that it is being said that they are too young to understand such complicated subjects like the crucifixion of Christ.

My thought is this, "They don't have to understand it, they just need to know it". As my buddy Brian said, "There are grown men who don't understand it".

Just because someone doesn't understand something doesn't mean that we quit teaching it. Unfortunately one producer of children's Sunday School curriculum sees this differently.

Check out Two Institutions Blog for detailed information and for a copy of the letter from the editor of the material with their explanation.

Our children must learn about the crucifixion of Christ. I am not talking about giving them a historical study on the art of crucifixion and scourging and the violence of the death. What I am talking about is simply letting them know that Jesus did in fact DIE on a CROSS for OUR SINS.

As it is in many cases, to be subtle is to be deceptive.

We Got a Shout Out on Clan McGraw

My old buddy Brian has given Grafted In a shout on on his blog Clan McGraw...WOOHOO!

Be sure to check out clanmcgraw.com and look for the Are You Awake video!!!!

Simplification of the "URL"ization

We are now on graftedinatthebranch.org

Should we even have an order in worship services?

I believe the answer to this question is yes.

Three times in the introduction of his gospel account Dr. Luke refers to either giving an "orderly" account or to things being done in a proper order.

The apostle Paul also referred to the order of things in his first letter to the church at Corinth.
1Corinthians 14:40 (NKJV)
"Let all things be done decently and in order"

The adjective "all" does not leave an opening for us to do anything in an un-orderly way.

While we always adhere to the leading of the Spirit of God and must be willing to yield to the Spirit's direction, we must also strive to maintain decency and order.

So, whether it is our checkbook, our vacation planning or our worship services within our local fellowships; let it all be done decently and in order.

Webcastaway

Guys (girls),

I would like to introduce my first ever web-cast! Informative? Possibly. Hilarious? Certainly. Ridiculous? Without a doubt. I would love some input about the message. You may also make fun of me as much as you like. Small children seem to have no problem with that.

Love you guys,

j

How do I feel about the American prosperity gospel?

How do I feel about the American prosperity gospel? HATRED!

A shout out to my brother in Christ Brian McGraw (clanmcgraw.com) for passing this along to Grafted In.

Seriously, though.

If heat rises, and the higher you go in the sky (daytime), the closer you get to the Sun; then why do the highest mountain tops always have snow on them?

Why Does GOOD Exist?

We hear questions like, "Why does evil exist?", "Why does God allow bad things to happen?", etc. The real question is "Why does God allow good to happen?"
Think about it like this. In your life, have you ever done something wrong, made a mistake, (don't play the Rom 3:23 card, please), and the ripple effect from it had major implications in a bad way? Assuming you said yes, put that with the fact that there are more than 6.5 Billion people in the world. Chances are, our ripples should be running into each other, as they have been since the foundations of the world.
Mankind is selfish and prideful. Even our 'good' is motivated by selfish desires at it's core. These qualities are evident before we even break out the Bible. So, in a world of 6.5 Billion selfish, prideful people; how can any good exist?
Does God allow evil, or does He prevent perpetual evil?
Again, just looking for some thoughts...
.j.

The Calling

Salvation. If I understand correctly, God calls. I think this is pretty much understood, however it begins to deviate from here (in different circles). Can the sinner resist or not? Many say the call is irresistable, that when God calls,you can not help but respond in faith (that He gives as a gift), repent and believe. If this is the case, does that mean that people that will spend eternity in hell just weren't called? I'm not saying they're innocent (Rom. 3:23), just clarifying. If this is the case, is there a chance that there are those who were not called simply because no one told them about Christ (Rom. 10:14)?

Just looking for some views...

.j.