Happy 4th of July

Questions from the Congregation

In February and March I asked the Turpin congregation for questions. This is a practice I started where I get questions from the church and then preach on the subjects of their questions. I have been working on them from March until now.

This week I will begin to answer those questions. The first series will be Tithes, Taxes, and Tips. We will examine the biblical subject of tithing and what that means for modern followers of Christ. The question that sparked this series was: Do you go with 10% of your gross income or do you give to Caesar and then tithe on that?

Here are the other sermon series that I will be preaching based on the questions that I received.

Do pets go to heaven? - what happens to our beloved companions
Stereotypical or stereotyped Christians - how do we respond to being lumped together
The Return of the King - what does the 2nd coming mean and when will it happen
Mysteries of Genesis - creation, Cain's wife, Nephilim, Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah
Faith in Families - how to grow the Faith in a family setting
Death of Loved Ones - coping with the loss of family members, redeemed or lost
Paranormal - Ghosts, Spirit Communication, angels and demons, aliens and life out there
Is It All One God - world religions
What About Sin - dealing honestly with sin
What About Salvation - what does salvation mean
Why We Do What We Do: Holy Communion
Why We Do What We Do: Worship

I will try to post a recorded sermon on this blog. But I will also be occasionally be putting in something different: the sermon that didn't get preached. This will include information that didn't make it into the preached sermon. It may be material I found or things I left out of the sermon.

But I will be posting a little more frequently now. Feel free to join in with the comments and other questions.

Annual Conference '09

So I'm back with absolutely nothing enlightening to say.

Or do I???

Annual Conference is the most frustrating and most rewarding most-of-a-week I have every year. It is frustrating because of the amount of 0 interactivity that is involved. Come on. I'm a web geek and RPG computer gamer. I don't like the complete lack of interactivity. I know that the stories and progress reports are signature feature of the conference experience. But there is so much sitting and listening that I lose all sense of reality.

But AC is also the most rewarding because we there is interactivity, it is usually lively conversation about pressing topics with good friends and colleagues. I've seen conferences where factionalism reigned supreme. I have seen people eye each other with skepticism and a lack of charity. But I try to avoid those circles of interaction. Instead I look for chances where people of differing opinion and world view can sit down and really express their opinions with respect for one another and listen to the differing viewpoints.

No I won't change my mind because we talked about a given subject. But the next time we do meet, I will have a deeper respect for you.

But then there is also time for conversations that contribute in no meaningful way to anything healthy or uplifting whatsoever. And only true friends can handle that kind of conversation.

Nostalgia day

There are some days when the past just haunts your every move. Today it is music.

I've been wandering around the house with old favorite country CD's in the stereo, '80's metal hair bands on VH1 Classic, and now this.



This is Ralph Macchio doing for guitar music what he did for karate and the martial arts in "The Karate Kid". This from "Crossroads", an excellent movie about a Julliard-trained guitar prodigy who wants nothing more than to be blues guitarist.

This is the climactic guitar duel scene.

Update

Lisa's Dad died at about 7:30 April 1st.

His funeral will be Monday at 10:00 at 1st United Pentecostal Church in Ada, OK.

Prayer Request

Lisa's dad, Marvin, is in serious condition. He had quadruple bypass surgery about 4 weeks ago in Oklahoma City. Since then, he has remained in ICU. His current condition seems to be multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. He is having problems across many of his bodies systems. His heart is not operating properly, he is on dialysis because his kidney's are not functioning, his lungs are not processing oxygen into his cells, and the doctors are claiming he also has leukemia. There is fear that his brain functions have been compromised as well.

The doctors are not confident about any reversal. They wanted the family informed of how serious Marvin's condition truly is. Lisa's mom, Lois, also needs prayer. She does not handle a crisis well.

Lisa is struggling emotionally and spiritually. She is currently at the hospital and we don't know when she will come back home.

Our desire is that Marvin will be blessed with a miracle. He needs an intervention and we hope for God's power to bring him the balance and restoration of the organs and systems of Marvin's body. Our desire is that Lois will have the emotional fortitude to face this crisis. And that all of the kids will be able to face this difficult time.