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Jesus Is Here--quick, Call Security!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:48 PST

rjagilbert posted:

I first noticed him as I raised my head from prayer. He was walking slowly, deliberately down the center aisle, straight toward the pulpit where our pastor was just beginning his Sundaymorning sermon.I had never seen this man before. His skin was bronze. His hair was bushy and unkempt. He wore a bulky, leather jacket and clutched his Bible close to his left side with a stiffness that put me on edge. His head was down as he walked purposefully forward.As a member of my churchs security team, my first thought was: A shooter!It was the Sunday after Easter. Our little church campus was bustling not only with members but with many new faces who had come for our annual Easter message and returned this week, liking what they had experienced. There were a lot of people I didnt know, but they did not leave as unsettling an impression as...

Do Zombies Belong In Sunday School?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:18 PST

rjagilbert posted:

There doesnt seem to have been a single Sunday school session this year where zombies havent made their way into the discussion. It doesnt help that I teach a class of junior high boys. These are not disruptions by boys who are living in a fantasy world or with overactive imaginations. These are discussions of real fears imparted to our youth by a Media devoted to spreading doom and dread to all. It does no good to address these disruptions simply by disciplining the disruptor since most times every boy in class has something to contribute to the flame.I know the Bible says nothing about zombies, but it has become apparent that I (and other teachers around the country, I assume) might want to arm up on a little knowledge about this most prolific topic of discussion among young men. Here is what I have to say about zombies.To my...

The Fruit Of Eve...a Poem

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:00 PST

rjagilbert posted:

In Eden God once put a treeBearing knowledge of how things should be.Not of Evil and Good,Nor a literal foodBut of man knowing better than He.Now Eve bought the lies of the Snake.The forbidden fruit she did partake.She said I know the plan,Better than the I AM.I am certain that Hes made a mistake.Adam, you should be wearing some pants. (she said)And you should not work hard like the ants.And in birth and in rainI should never feel pain.Now I must hide from God in the plants.Then God came to Adam and his wife.Said He, Why have you brought on this strife?Though I yearn for you stillYouve rejected my willAnd youll wrestle with me all your life.Now Adam, I AM said, As for you,I can tell that you ate the fruit too.Now you must build a houseAnd provide for your spouse.For I speak not in should be but do. When...

Communion Meditation -Distracted By The Preparations

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:26 PST

rjagilbert posted:

Luke 10 tells a story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, whom Jesus visited while in their village. The Bible says that, during that visit, Martha became distracted by all the preparations, while Mary was focused on fellowship with Jesus. When Martha spoke up, Jesus answered that Marthas concerns were many, but only one thing is needed, and that Mary had chosen it.Historians can tell you how important fellowship is: every culture, no matter how ancient, had customs and methods of gathering together in fellowship with one another. Jesus himself said, Where two or more have gathered in his name... Clearly there is a blessing from gatheringeven more so when gathered in Christs name. Naturally, with a gathering of any length comes hunger; the larger the gathering, the more mouths to feed. Thus, Archaeologists find the custom of slaughtering a large animal during a fellowship gathering in most ancient civilizations...

Communion Meditation -The Bummer Lambs

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:16 PST

rjagilbert posted:

It was after dark when we returned to the farm from where we had borrowed two lambs for the churchs Easter petting zoo. The farmer had requested we return them to the pen in which they kept the other Bummerslambs who had been rejected by their mothers and required more attention than the others in the flock. My daughter and her friends had named the 5day old ewe Lilly, the slightly older ram had been dubbed Willie.By headlight I approached the pen. Just outside the gate I spotted a little lamb, then another. I counted five in all, limbs akimbo and bodies sprawled in the hay. I watched them for a moment...none of them were breathing. They were dead; all bummers who had not survived their mothers abandonment. Their bodies had not been there the night before when we had come to pick up our two lively lambsthe farmer must...

Communion Meditation-Schroedingers Cats...not Really

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:08 PST

rjagilbert posted:

I have three cats at home with three distinct personalities. Each morning I open my front door and greet these three cats. The first cat sees me and rushes forward to rub himself affectionately between my legs. The second cat scurries under the porch in fright. The third cat begins meowing insistently at me to feed him and let him into the warm house.I am only myself; one entity. I have not behaved any differently toward one cat more than another. Yet each cat behaves differently toward me. Clearly their behavior is dictated by their perception of me. The one who believes that I am loving rubs between my legs, while the one who believes I am wrath will flee from me.One of the most prolific components of most world religions is the idea that there must be something we can do, some way to cut a deal, so that...

Communion Meditation-The Rubiks Cube Of Salvation

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:58 PST

rjagilbert posted:

Matthew 19 tells a story of a rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?To this question Jesus replied. ... If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. He then listed the commandments from scripture.All these I have kept, The young man said. What do I still lack? Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.What must I do to be saved? This question is asked in several places throughout the scriptures. Jesus answer in each instance is never exactly the same and is never simple.Over the years, theologians have attempted to combine Christs answers to this question as if constructing a puzzle from its pieces. The result is...

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