I just read this sentence in The Hobbit:
The feast that they now saw was more magnificent then before
and I am leaning on the verge, the very cusp of losing all faith in J.R.R. Tolkien. I am shocked to the bones at the inappropriate use of the word “then.”
Search your libraries! Tell me, is this a one-off publisher error, or is this a typo that has sat unnoticed for 50 years?
It’s easier to apply this quote to Corinth than to us, because we know our history and the history of our church. But is there any other reason than God’s grace that Crossroads Church exists in Hinesville?
We covered a lot of hard concepts – Submission, Sovereignty, Glory…
I found this anecdote by William Tuning in a 1981 collection of science fiction stories edited by Isaac Asimov. I take it to be a true story.
Several years ago there was a great deal of talk about what was thought to be a new molecular form of water — a long-chain molecule of H2O which had silicates present in it and, it was theorized, formed directly from gases and solid components in crevices of quartz rocks.
This material was called polywater, and it excited a great deal of scientific inquiry at the time. The interest in polywater was, of course, involved with what was thought to be the peculiar nature of its formation and some odd properties which it seemed to possess.
Needless to say, a number of research laboratories were conducting quite a bunch of experiments–hoping for some kind of polywater breakthrough.
It was during this period that I had occasion to visit a chemist friend who was in charge of some of these polywater experiments in his laboratory. He went on at some length to enthusiastically explain all the benchwork in progress under his supervision.
Since I have no knowledge of science, I was not greatly interested in the conversation and I soon grew bored. As a polite means of getting shut of all this talk about polywater, I suggested that we might adjourn to a local water-hole for some lunch.
My friend expressed his regrets, explaining that he could not leave the lab unattended, since he had to monitor all these tom-fool experiments that were in progress.
“So you can’t go to lunch,” I said.
“That’s right,” he replied. “I’m on polywater duty all the day.”
Men can say tough things to each other that they can’t say to women. Women may be able to say tough things to men, depending on the situation and the relationship. I have no idea if women can say tough things to each other.
Psalm 133:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
Like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
Like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.
It’s in the wee hours, and I wish I had the energy to say this with the lyricism that it deserves, but I would like to urge you, dear brother or sister, to consider the beauty of the saints assembled. How many times have you heard someone say that they can worship God better alone, out in the wilderness somewhere, surrounded by trees or enjoying some scenic vista? The reasoning usually goes that God created the wilderness and we can worship him by admiring His handiwork. If that’s you, I’d like to urge you to reconsider. You may have been catechized by 19th century romantics, rather than God’s word.
Go back to the scriptures. Do a survey, and tell me where, by instruction and by example, we are taught to find God’s presence. I’m sure you will find a prophet alone on a mountain or two, but overwhelmingly you will see people worshiping God together, in His temple, in the midst of the congregation. And where is His temple today? The saints assembled.
You say you don’t like church, you don’t care for crowds, the music annoys you, all preachers are more ignorant than you. I understand. No really, I do. I’ve had entire church movements turn to stale water in my mouth. I joined a church once and spent the next six months regretting it as the pastor preached up to the verge of heresy at least once a fortnight. Sometimes you don’t join for you. Sometimes you don’t get anything out of it. Sometimes, what God intends for you to get out of it is not the sort of thing you would have ever asked for. But life comes from the interconnectedness of the Body of Christ. You cannot be a Christian alone. You may find that you are like the appendix in the body of Christ – no one knows what you’re there for, and they’ll only let you stay if you don’t cause any trouble. Stay. Try not to cause any unnecessary trouble. If you’re hurting, ask for help. But remember: You cannot honestly say you love God if you can’t stand to be with the brethren.
Psalm 68:15-18
Mount Bashan is God’s towering mountain;
Mount Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks,
at the mountain God desired for His dwelling?
The Lord will live there forever!
God’s chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary
as He was at Sinai.
You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;
You received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious,
so that the Lord God might live there.
I stole this outline for prayer from Larry Lea, who didn’t seem to be currently using it. This is the basic format we followed at morning prayer meetings when I was in high school. It’s an easy method for covering all the categories of things you need to pray for, and if you use it in a group setting, it makes it pretty easy to keep the meeting at about an hour.
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| Matthew 6 | Pray: |
|---|---|
| Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. |
Adoration and singing |
| Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. |
|
| Give us this day Our daily bread. |
|
| And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. |
|
| And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. |
|
| For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. |
Adoration and singing |
| Amen. | |
“Hey! That’s my weg!”
“Ethan, say ‘leg’. la-la-la-leg”
“La-la-la… weg.”
neumatikos 