beautiful May day!
Do you know what time it is?
Are you waiting for a " secret rapture " to whisk you& a few select friends out of this tribulation? Didn't happen yesterday for those folks who placed their faith in man/not God.
Is it looking more& more like Matthew 24 out there to you?
While no man knows the day or hour( sorry to everyone who was dissappointed 5/21/11 wasn't their flight day )----we WERE told of signs- that we may know the season in which we live.....
Todays earthquakes,hurricanes,tornadoes,poisoning of the planet,high-speed communication,&preaching of the gospel to all 4 corners of the world were foretold by a poor carpenter from the wrong side of town 2000 yrs ago--- & there's more ..... please follow my blog to join me in an exciting new biblestudy!..."The lost teachings of Christ& other good news"
Could lead codices prove ‘the major discovery of Christian history’? - Yahoo! News
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s83/sh/04a4f3c9-66f7-45ee-a420-6e75adb1190a/e4f66607720487b2c4b13386817bf3ae Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of their righteous descendants, you created the universe and all the splendor that fills it. The sea obeys your command and neve...
Death is not " God's plan" , it is the enemy who steals,kills,destroys....ours is the LIVING GOD- He has the keys to hell& the grave in His hand as He sits next to the Father,interceding for US. Death feels unnatural& wrong because it is... but He will work good through the evil,we are given this blessed assurance. He died to make men holy,let us die to make men free.....have u shared the light of God in this dark world today? Jlrgrace Sent from my HTC Aria™ smartphone on AT&T A Word for Death
Researchers believe they have come up with a questionnaire that can measure a person's chances of dying within the next four years. According to one of the test's designers, it is reported to be roughly 81 percent accurate among those who are 50 years or older. Their report, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, claims the assessment will be useful to doctors in offering prognostic information and to patients who want a more determined look at the future. Regardless of the questionnaire's effectiveness, however, the headline still strikes me as ironic: "Test Helps You Predict Chances of Dying."(1) It brings to mind the lines of Emily Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me." We don't need a test of course to tell us our chances of dying. British statesman and avowed atheist Roy Hattersley writes in the Guardian of an experience at a funeral. It was a funeral, he said, which almost converted him to the belief that funeral services—of which he has disapproved for years—ought to be encouraged. His conclusion was forged as he sang the hymns and studied the proclamations of a crowd that seemed sincere: "[T]he church is so much better at staging last farewells than non-believers could ever be."(2) He continues, "'Death where is thy sting, grave where is thy victory?' are stupid questions. But even those of us who do not expect salvation find a note of triumph in the burial service. There could be a godless thanksgiving for and celebration of the life of [whomever]. The music might be much the same. But it would not have the uplifting effect without the magnificent, meaningless, words." I had never been to a funeral until I was the seminary intern for a small rural church in Oklahoma. I had attended a visitation once and a few memorial services years earlier, but I had never watched a family move from planning to wake to service to burial, until I assisted more families through the entire funeral process than seemed possible for the small congregation. The number of deaths seemed to me grossly disproportionate to the number births in the church that year. Something happens when you are given the opportunity to be an observer at that many funerals. The reality of the sting of death became like a running commentary on the futility of life and fleeting nature of humanity. "For who knows what is good for a man in life during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow?" asks Solomon. "Surely the people are grass," writes Isaiah. I had never been more aware of my own transience. But there was an incredible paradox in this looming experience of death's repetitive sting. With each new grave came the unnaturalness of the process all over again—a body at the front of the altar, a hole dug deeply, a coffin lowered. Yet as death continued to rear its vile head in our small community and life stood futile to stop it, the words spoken over the body again and again did not become futile themselves; they did not seem more trite, whether in repetition or as an obvious attempt to lessen the blow. On the contrary, they did not lessen the blow; they did not remove the callous enemy staring us in the face. And yet, the words somehow grew all the more resounding. I came to realize that things we say are not spoken to soften the blow at all, but rather, to affirm the offense, to acknowledge the sting of death in all of its aberrancy—and to name the one who came to reverse it, having gone through it in all its ugliness himself. We are the only creatures in this world who speak words over bodies, who bury our dead, and insist we take them all the way to the grave. Why does death never cease to seem unnatural even despite the worldview we bring to the funeral? What is it about this spirit that will not stop, that refuses to be reconciled to loss and give death the last word? What is it that makes us cry out to someone or someplace beyond the self? "If only for this life we have hope in Christ," writes Paul, "we are to be pitied more than all people" (1 Corinthians 15:19). His words are not an attempt to undermine hope in this lifetime; they are not a spiritualized quip inviting the separation of the sacred from the secular, the physical and the spiritual, or this present world from a heavenly hope. Far from it, Paul is emphatic that Christ's heroic confrontation with death so radically shakes our present reality that we can hardly bring ourselves to imagine what it has done for the next. Hattersley concludes his observations with a comment of which we would all do well to plumb the depths: "Dull would he be of soul (or the humanist equivalent) who is not moved to tears by the exhortation, 'He died to make us holy, let us live to make men free.'"(3) Such were the final, magnificent lines the statesman uttered at a funeral that moved him, though, he would insist, without meaning. What if the inherent logic that brings us to the graveside with words and longing hints of a transcendent memory that life was never intended to be cut short and that death can somehow be overcome? What if the last farewell is not the final word? What if this life in all its beauty, in all its despair, is being made new? Indeed, what if the words we speak over our dead were never intended to be our own: I am the resurrection and the life. He who comes to me will live, even though he dies. Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. (1) "Test Helps You Predict Chances of Dying," Forbes News Online, February 14, 2006, accessed March 10, 2006, http://forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2006/02/14/ap2526211.html. (2) Roy Hattersley, "A Decent Send-off," The Guardian, January 16, 2006, accessed March 10, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/16/religion.uk2. (3) Ibid.
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It's not always about what you know.... Sent from my HTC Aria™ smartphone on AT&T To Pant for Knowledge Among my toughest audiences in apologetics are undoubtedly my two little boys. From the time words started forming on their lips, questions of various kinds have been a staple around our home—the most formidable one being, "Why, daddy?" More than any other of our appetites, I strongly suspect that thirst for knowledge and the occasional thrill of discovery have played the greatest role in shaping history. From the vast machinery of the news media to the intricate systems of the educational enterprise, from specialized research institutions to the multifaceted world of religious devotion, human hunger for knowledge is the oil that greases the mill of civilization. So pervasive is this drive for knowledge that it can become an end in itself, opening up a rudderless detour along even the journey to God. This is true in religious systems that claim knowledge for a select few, with secretly guarded rituals forever hidden from the uninitiated. Gnosticism, from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge, was built upon the premise that there exists a category of knowledge privileged to a select few. Most Eastern religions insist that the problem with humanity is not sin but ignorance; hence, their solution to the human predicament is enlightenment, not forgiveness. Similarly, scientific naturalism stakes its fortunes on the bare, cold facts of particles and quarks; to know them is to know ultimate reality—never mind the minor detail that, logically, there is a gaping missing link between knowing how something works and the conclusion that it was not made. But according to the Bible, at the end of our incessant pursuit of knowledge lies a Person, not an ideology or impersonal reality. God is not only the beginner of all that is; God has also revealed Himself in the earthliest of terms. Jesus was born in circumstances accessible to the lowliest of the shepherds as well as to the most majestic of kings. He spoke to large crowds in public places and was crucified outside the city walls, thereby silencing forever the voices of self-appointed guardians of alleged esoteric knowledge. In biblical terms, no pursuit of knowledge is ever complete without the discovery of him who is the Truth; to know him is to know not only ultimate reality but also ourselves. For the Christian, then, it is a solemn thought to remember that reducing apologetics to a contest in the abstract can actually keep us from knowing God. Determined to demonstrate the consistency of our beliefs, we can easily find ourselves on endless rabbit trails—pursuing every form of ism, striving to tie each and every loose end in our belief system, finding comfort when we succeed and frustration when we fail—all the time unaware of the beckoning arms of our loving Father who is Himself the treasure we so diligently seek and hope to show others. Like Jewish leaders of old who diligently searched the scriptures but failed to recognize the one to whom they point when he stood before them in human flesh, we can perfect the art of dissecting biblical and philosophical truths with little progress in our knowledge of God—so enamored with the map that we never take a step towards the destination. As C.S. Lewis observes, "There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself...as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist!"(1) The God we meet in apologetics is mostly a subject to be studied, a case to be argued, a conclusion to be drawn—a far cry from the God who has revealed Himself both in the Scriptures and ultimately in the Person of Jesus Christ. When the pursuit of knowledge becomes an end in itself, the conclusions we accept are decidedly driven by our most cherished passions. Just as it is possible to pursue knowledge simply to satisfy our belief in God without much concern for God Himself, it is also possible to seek it passionately precisely because we disbelieve in God. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: In our thirst for knowledge, "intent is prior to content."(2) Our finitude guarantees that there will always be gaps in our knowledge which only omniscience can fill, but God has put enough content in the world to satisfy any honest intent to find Him. Is it pointless then to pant for knowledge? Far be it from me to suggest such a thing! This very piece of writing is an attempt to convey knowledge! And, besides, "It is God's privilege to conceal things and the king's privilege to discover them" (Proverbs 25:2, NLT). Whenever I am tempted to disparage the passion for painstaking attention to the seemingly minutiae, I am reminded of the faithful souls who have labored for years to sift through ancient manuscripts and translate them into a language that I can read. We are all beneficiaries of the dedication of others in almost all areas of our lives. Worshiping at the altar of ignorance is no more pious than worshipping at the altar of mental abundance. But those whose pursuit of Truth is infused with the purity of spirit discover that, all along, the Father has been seeking such to worship Him.(3) J.M. Njoroge is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. (1) C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), 71. (2) Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 98. (3) See John 4:23.
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A Slice of InfinitySent from my HTC Aria™ smartphone on AT&T
Food for the Hungry
When summer comes and city corners are full again of kids with bikes and basketballs, my mind returns to a particular playground. For several summers I worked at a church with an outdoor recreation ministry, whose intent was to serve the neighborhood, meeting the kids and building relationships. We played games, read stories, jumped rope, and organized basketball tournaments. One year a volunteer came and helped the kids make pottery, so we commissioned them to create some new communion plates and chalices for the church to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Many of these kids had never taken communion before; many had never heard of the Lord's Supper or been told the story of Jesus and his disciples in the upper room. So with muddied hands we told the story, and together that summer several sets of communion plates and cups were fashioned by kids eager to see them in use. I have never seen more colorful, misshapen objects grace the altar of a church. Nor have I ever seen so many wide-eyed children come to life at the communion table. The elders held the lopsided plates and cups, inviting the church community to come and remember the one who shapes us. The children had a physical reminder of their place at the table, and the rest of us were reminded again that we are children being nourished by the king. In the Christian faith, the table is a place, like the foot of the cross, where we are welcome—rather, summoned—to come forward as we are: the poor to a benevolent giver, the sick to a physician, the sinful to the author of righteousness, and children to the Father of life. He has given us this sign and seal specifically with us in mind. When Jesus gave us the command to take the bread and the cup in remembrance of him, he gave us a sign of his presence that is both visible and physical. Fourth century preacher John Chrysostom suggests this is because we ourselves are physical, as is the body of Christ himself: "Were we incorporeal, he would give us these things in a naked and incorporeal form. Now because our souls are implanted in bodies, he delivers spiritual things under things visible." That is to say, we are given a sign to hold, a memory of Christ that literally nourishes both body and soul. In the act of remembering, we are given the assurance of a real and present Christ: "Lo, I am with you always even unto the ends of the earth" (Ma
Never forget the first evangelist- the first to share the good news, was a woman.....& it was no accident! Jlrgrace Sent from my HTC Aria™ smartphone on AT&T
Unlikely Witnesses
A careful reading of the four evangelists' remembrances of the resurrection reveals many different emphases and details. Matthew, for example, tells us that a great earthquake occurred as an angel of the Lord descended and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. Mark, on the other hand, tells us that a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe was inside the tomb to announce Jesus's resurrection. Luke tells us that two men suddenly stood near the women in dazzling apparel and John, the beloved disciple, reports his own discovery of the linen wrappings abandoned in the empty tomb.(1) There are many other differences in the retelling of the resurrection appearances of Jesus, but there is one feature that is the same in all four accounts: the resurrection announcement is made first to the women who followed Jesus (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55-24:5; John 20:1). Many reasons have been offered as to why women serve as the immediate witnesses to the resurrection: the women stayed with him through the crucifixion, so he appeared first to those who stuck with him to the last; women traditionally carried out the burial rituals in first century Judaism, so they were witnesses by default. Others suggest that the first women witnesses represent Jesus's elevation of the status for women of the first century, and for women in general. While all of these are plausible reasons, there is another strategic, indeed, apologetic reason why the women were the first witnesses. Women were the witnesses because no man in his right mind would give credence to a woman's testimony in the first century. They simply were not credible witnesses in court, or anywhere else, for that matter. Why then did the gospel writers report them as witnesses? If women were not credible witnesses, why would the gospel writers insist that they were witnesses, indeed, the first witnesses for the resurrection? Wouldn't it have made more sense to offer some credible, male testimonial? Anglican priest and physicist John Polkinghorne answers this question with a resounding "No!" He writes: "Perhaps the strongest reason of taking the stories of the empty tomb absolutely seriously lies in the fact that it is women who play the leading role. It would have been very unlikely for anyone in the ancient world who was concocting a story to assign the principal part to women since, in those times, they were not considered capable of being reliable witnesses in a court of law. It is surely much more probable that they appear in the gospel accounts precisely because they actually fulfilled the role that the stories assign to them, and in so doing, they make a startling discovery."(2) In this sense, the women offer the strongest apologetic for the witness of the gospel writers. It is the very fact that they were not considered reliable witnesses that makes credible the accounting of the evangelists, for who would make up a story like this with women as the central characters in its dramatic conclusion? This example gives witness to God's unexpected apologetic. God continually uses those whom we least expect in ways that are profoundly remarkable. Of course, this is God's apologetic throughout redemption history: Deborah, a woman, judge over Israel; Gideon, the least and the youngest in his tribe and family to defeat the Midianites; David, the youngest of his family and a simple shepherd to be king; Jael, a non-Israelite woman to defeat the Canaanite king Sisera; Josiah, king of Israel at only eight years old, to reform the nation; Amos, a simple sheepherder, to be a prophet among the people of God; and finally, tax-collectors, fishermen, and women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, Martha, and Salome as key witnesses to the ministry of Jesus. God chooses those we might be tempted to overlook or ignore—those who were the last and the least in their society—to bear witness to the great work of God to transform the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of the Lord! All of these witnesses are unexpected in their day and time for a variety of reasons. But they serve to remind us of an unexpected apologetic: God uses and chooses those we least expect, and would not anticipate, to give witness to God's work in this world, and in our lives. Who might you be overlooking? Margaret Manning is member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington. (1) cf. Matthew 28:2; Mark 14:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:5. (2) John Polkinghorne, Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), 86-87.
| | Your privacy is extremely important to us. We will never sell or distribute your email to any third party. If you have questions or comments, email slice@sliceofinfinity.org. | | | | Copyright (c) 2011 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries ( RZIM) | | A Slice of Infinity is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who would enjoy receiving A Slice of Infinity in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up on our website at www.rzim.org/Slice |
Dancing with Grace ~ spring 2011 wednesdays @rumc 2:30-3:30 ADVANCED Modern, Jazz & Contemporary Christian 3:30-4:15 Lyrical & Contemporary (ages 13 – adult) 4:15 -4:45 Teen Ballet & Pointe (ages 13&up) 4:45 – 5:30 Tap, ages 13 & up 5:30-6:15 Beginner Ballet (ages 4 – 7) 6:15 – 7:15 Ballet/Jazz Combo (ages 8-12) 7:15 -8:15 RUCB WORSHIP TEAM (teen & adult)*Beginner – advanced* includes lyrical, contemporary & Davidic dance styles as well as sign language *this class will regularly participate in Sunday Worship services at RUCB EGISTRATION FEE $10/STUDENT The following are one time fees for this session….PAYMENT IS DUE AT FIRST CLASS Checks made payable to : Jennifer Grace REGISTRATION FEE $10.00/STUDENT PERFORMANCE FEE $15.00/FAMILY 6 WEEK SESSION TUITION: $45.00/45 minute class … $55.00/1 hr class… $70.00 family/student unlimited
DRESS CODE: DWG utilizes REVOLUTION DANCEWEAR, SHOES & COSTUMES We are able to get all leotards, tights & shoes at discounted prices delivered direct to us! Students need to wear a leotard, tights and ballet or jazz shoes for class. Black is preferred, dance shorts/pants/skirts are allowed.
ALL DWG STUDENTS WILL NEED TO PURCHASE A TEE SHIRT $15 These will be worn for performances & as cover ups over leotards.
ALL DWG STUDENTS WILL NEED TO PURCHASE ONE COSTUME. The SAME costume will be utilized for all classes/students/dances & performances over the next year, possibly longer. Costume cost including tights, tax & shipping Child $49.99 Adult $53.99 |
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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES: Wolcott Strawberry Festival- June Recital at Rose Community Building- Sunday in June RUMC Sunday Service, 11am –TBA Oasis Cove Church-Palmyra, TBA AGLOW meeting Saturday am TBA, Newark Summer Festivals in Fair Haven, Clyde & Rose *you will be given a performance schedule in the next couple weeks!
→Please try to be at every one of our 6 classes this session! If you have to miss class, please give me a callJ
→We will take a break from classes in July, although we may meet to prep for a community performance/parade.
→We will do a 3 day DANCE INTENSIVE at RUCB this AUGUST! AWESOME Special guest teachers!!!
→Fall session will start in September, BRING & FRIEND, if they enroll, you receive 1 months tuition FREE!!!
Dancing with Grace ~ spring 2011
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