The latest from the AP via AOL & Luke Davis… click here
Hungary votes #prayForHungary
Hungary is voting today. The Economist previews it HERE.
Please pray for Hungary.
Filed under culture, things Central European
Noah – the movie
Intense, suspenseful, violent, at times pretty gruesome, but yes it was awesome.
While awesome, the artistic liberties taken by this film paint a non-biblical portrait of Noah and of God and of their relationship. I gotta admit, I knew there would be artistic liberties, but these did keep me from enjoying it as much as I might.
So, enjoy the movie, it is really an amazing thing to see, BUT PLEASE DON’T take your theological understanding of the flood, of God’s intentions, of the family situation (lack of two wives… wait… not gonna spoil it – too much of the suspense rides on this), of Noah’s psyche, of a lot of other stuff from this film.
It may be a blockbuster with an amazing cast (I really am glad I saw it on the big screen… it’s an amazing depiction of the flood itself), BUT after the movie, to get the real story, go read the Bible… in fact, here you go – CLICK HERE and then read for a few chapters.
Clearly my biggest concern is for the millions who will see this and may already have a negative view of God and limited or no biblical knowledge. They may walk away from this and not understand that the film does not paint an accurate picture. Amazing it is, accurate on the character of God it is not. This bugs me because, I fear this will flavor people’s perception of God. Hence, my lack of full enjoyment.
Filed under Uncategorized
Preparing to help Ukrainian orphans as Russia threatens
Sergey and Nadya are foster parents of six children and they have lived in Lugansk, a city in Eastern Ukraine, for many years… until everything changed for them a week ago. Their home is just twenty miles from the border with Russia. The crisis in Ukraine including the recent occupation of Crimea by Russia and the threat of further invasion has turned their lives upside down and filled their hearts with anxiety about the future of their family.
“We prayed, fasted, and talked about this situation a lot as we are worried for our children so much. Then we realized that we need to move with them to a safer place”, said Nadya. This family is among millions of people in Ukraine who pray for peace but prepare for war.
Learn more about how to get involved here…
preparing for the worst in eastern Ukraine #prayForUkraine
I got on Skype with a ministry partner in Ukraine this afternoon to follow up on a report I heard on a Christian radio station this morning. That report made some pretty scary statements that have not been (and may never be) verified about Russian munitions stored near orphanages during the height of the crisis in Crimea. Don’t freak out, that, if true, is most likely over… but one thing is for sure, now that Crimea is part of Russia, the Russian adoption ban applies to children in Crimea. I learned today that there are at least four adoptions that have been stalled and will probably stop now that Crimea is under Russian law. These adoptions were at a variety of stages as American families were working to give homes to children from Crimea.
With this fact in mind, our partners are preparing for the worst… further incursions of Russia into Ukraine. Should that happen, then other adoptions will be stopped, foster family arrangements may be thrown into question and certainly the funds that the Ukrainian government provides foster families will cease if Russia take additional territory from Ukraine.
Sound far fetched? Alarmist? What might you have said in December if I told you that Crimea would be part of Russia in March?? Remember, two weeks before Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, Putin told reporters that he had no intentions on Crimea. Yeah, right.
Therefore, it is only responsible and is important for leaders in Ukraine (who have committed their lives to the plight of at-risk children in Ukraine) to collaborate and develop a plan to make sure the plight of Ukrainian orphans does not get worse. They have done so and you can learn more AND GET INVOLVED by going to www.ceokids.org and reading a plan our partners are working on.
Please, please, PRAY for Ukraine.
historic churches
In the last two Sundays, I’ve worshipped in two historic American churches. The first, last Sunday, was Park Street Church in Boston. Its heritage being a key stop along the way for slaves fleeing their oppression in the earlier 19th century. The worship style was a traditional liturgy. It was a blessing to sing hymns that were rich in theological content and classical in style. The sermon was an excellent O.T. exposition which was illustrated with fascinating archeological facts seasoned with illustrations and humor.
Today we worshipped at the historic Falls Church in Falls Church, Virginia. The Falls Church is older than the USA. Among its historic parishioners is George Washington, who served as a vestryman. Falls Church is well known in some circles for its stand against the culture that has developed in the Episcopal church. Falls Church is now an Anglican congregation but lost their historic building in a court fight. The church now meets in a rented high school gym and has an amazing music ministry. You can’t really tell there is a leader, the music was contemporary in style and just flowed naturally in the service of worship. The music was worship of God without calling attention to itself. The sermon was well crafted: biblically sound, culturally relevant and punctuated with personal stories that supported the theme without distracting from the theme of the sermon. It was good to join the people in saying the Apostle’s Creed.
Two historic churches, biblical, gospel centered, diverse. The body of Christ is wonderful in its varied expressions.
kingdom travelin' 