Downward Slide in the United Church

From my inbox this Lord's Day morning. jnh

Interesting article here in the National Post. One statement in particular caught my eye, and I think it's ironic coming from a woman pastor in the United Church, and not from someone on the outside.

Connie denBok, a United Church minister in Toronto, is among those who despair that the church has become so much of the world, so focused on popular issues, that it is evolving away from the core of Christianity.

“In the 1960s and ’70s we became embarrassed about Jesus. And so we distanced ourselves from Jesus, and the point is without Jesus there’s no point in having a church. iTunes has better music and the NDP has better policies; everything else we do now somebody else does way better. The only thing we can do is this Jesus thing,” she said.

She's just about got it right.

David Harness, Jr.

Victory Baptist, Sherwood Park

Wednesday's weird and wacko worship- Heidelbery

Reform Theology has was been weird to me and now it is really wacko kind of worship.

Here is a rapper of their theology.





Below is from the Heidelbery Catechism.

74. Q. Should infants, too, be baptized?

A. Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God's covenant and congregation.[1] Through Christ's blood the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to adults.[2] Therefore, by baptism, as sign of the covenant, they must be grafted into the Christian church and distinguished from the children of unbelievers.[3] This was done in the old covenant by circumcision,[4] in place of which baptism was instituted in the new covenant.[5]

[1] Gen. 17:7; Matt. 19:14. [2] Ps. 22:11; Is. 44:1-3; Acts 2:38, 39; 16:31. [3] Acts 10:47; I Cor. 7:14. [4] Gen. 17:9-14. [5] Col. 2: 11-13.

btw, the calvinist are some of the biggest 'men worshipper' around, note that when Kevin D and C.J. are mention the crowd cheers.

A Deceptive Plan

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said,

"We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."
So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become

dissatisfied with their wives. "

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
"Give them headaches too! "

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. "

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"
"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Please pass this on, if you aren't too BUSY!

The Bible Test For Worldliness

1. Is it of the world?

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.


2. Is it to the glory of God?

I Cor. 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.


3. Can God’s blessing be upon it?

Prov. 10:21, 22 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.


4. Is it an offence to others?

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.



5. Has it the evil appearance?

I Thess 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.


6. Is it a besetting sin?

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,


7. Has it a wholesome atmosphere?

II Cor. 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

No, you can't compete with the world...

No Church can compete with the world when is comes to entertaining human beings. The world has millions of dollars to hire the most skilled of entertainers, and the world does its entertaining with no hold barred. The pastor who depends on some clever entertainment gimmick to draw people will not draw many people. And the few people he does draw will get very little good out of that service. But the pastor who fearlessly and faithfully declares the whole Word of God, and does it with intelligence and compassion, will usually have people there to hear him.

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The CHURCH walking with the WORLD

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD walked far apart
On the changing shores of time,
The World was singing a giddy song,
And the Church a hymn sublime.
"Come, give me your hand," said the merry World
"And walk with me this way!"
But the good Church hid her snowy hands
And solemnly answered "Nay,
I will not give you my hand at all,
And I will not walk with you;
Your way is the way that leads to death;
Your words are all untrue."


"Nay, walk with me but a little space,"
Said the World with a kindly air;
"The road I walk is a pleasant road,
And the sun shines always there;
Your path is thorny and rough and rude
But mine is broad and plain;
My way is paved with flowers and dew
And yours with tears and pain;

The sky to me is always blue,
No want, no toil I know;
The sky above you is always dark,
Your lot is a lot of woe;
There's room enough for you and me
To travel side by side."


Half shyly the Church approached the World
And gave him her hand of snow;
And the old World grasped it and walked along,
Saying, in accents low,
"Your dress is too simple to please my taste;
I will give you pearls to wear,
Rich velvets and silks for your graceful form,
And diamonds to deck your hair."
The Church looked down at her plain white robes,
And then at the dazzling World,
And blushed as she saw his handsome lip
With a smile contemptuous curled.
"I will change my dress for a costlier one,"
Said the Church, with a smile of grace;
Then her pure white garments drifted away,
And the World gave, in their place,
Beautiful satins and shining silks,
Roses and gems and costly pearls;
While over her forehead her bright hair fell
Crisped in a thousand curls.


"Your house is too plain," said the proud old World,
"I'll build you one like mine;
With walls of marble and towers of gold,
And furniture ever so fine."
So he built her a costly and beautiful house;
Most splendid it was to behold;
Her sons and her beautiful daughters dwelt there
Gleaming in purple and gold;
Rich fairs and shows in the halls were held,
And the World and his children were there.
Laughter and music and feasts were heard
In the place that was meant for prayer.
There were cushioned seats for the rich and the gay,
To sit in their pomp and pride;
But the poor who were clad in shabby array,
Sat meekly down outside.


"You give too much to the poor," said the World.
"Far more than you ought to do;
If they are in need of shelter and food,
Why need it trouble you?
Go, take your money and buy rich robes,
Buy horses and carriages fine;
Buy pearls and jewels and dainty food,
Buy the rarest and costliest wine;
My children, they dote on all these things,
And if you their love would win
You must do as they do, and walk in the ways
That they are walking in."


The angel drew near to the mercy seat,
And whispered in sighs her name;
Then the loud anthems of rapture were hushed
And heads were covered with shame;
And a voice was heard at last by the Church
From Him who sat on the throne,
"I know thy works, and how thou hast said,
`I am rich, and hast not known
That thou art naked, poor and blind,
And wretched before my face;'
Therefore from my presence cast I thee out,
And blot thy name from its place."


So the poor were turned from her door in scorn,
And she heard not the orphan's cry;
But she drew her beautiful robes aside,
As the widows went weeping by.

Then the sons of the World and the Sons of the Church
Walked closely hand and heart,
And only the Master, who knoweth all,
Could tell the two apart.
Then the Church sat down at her ease, and said,
"I am rich and my goods increase;
I have need of nothing, or aught to do,
But to laugh, and dance, and feast."
The sly World heard, and he laughed in his sleeve,
And mockingly said, aside
"The Church is fallen, the beautiful Church;
And her shame is her boast and her pride."

Beware ... of Gambling

BEWARE THE SEDUCTIVE FANTASY OF GAMBLING


The subject of gambling rarely is addressed within the church, but it must be in view of the popularity and widespread prominence of state lotteries and other increasingly popular forms of gambling.


What is gambling?


* It originated from the Old English word gammon - the basic concept of a game. Gambling is based on sheer chance and randomness - without skill or personal involvement. It's not like normal competition, in which you strive for a prize by producing something better, by accomplishing something sooner, or by doing something more efficiently.


* In the hope of winning something of greater value, a person risks something of value to the forces of chance beyond his or her control or rational expectation.


* It is accompanied by the notion that the longer you engage in It, the better your odds of succeeding. But sheer random chance never changes its odds, because there are no elements you can control to increase your likelihood of winning.


Recent trends of gambling:


* Annually, $1 trillion are spent on legal and illegal gambling.


* More than 10 million Americans are compulsive gamblers - more than the number of alcoholics.


* Gambling is growing rapidly in popularity and acceptability, and has become convenient - at grocery stores and gas stations, off-track betting parlors, and on the Internet.


The church's position on gambling:


* The church has spoken out very little and done virtually nothing in opposition to the presence and influence of gambling. Government, especially on the state level, is an advocate for gambling, and the church needs to take a stand, expose the evils of gambling, and declare how it's really at odds with the principles of Scripture.


Why gambling is wrong:


* Not justified by the casting of lots. In biblical times lots functioned much like dice. They were made of sheep's knuckle bones, and the roll of those bones indicated a certain meaning. When the people had to make an important decision and had difficulty determining God's will, He sovereignty intervened and caused the lots to fall in such a way as to tell His followers what to do. At no time did anyone ever put something of value at risk.


* Denies the reality of God's sovereignty. Chance, the major promise of gambling's outworking, is the fabric of a human imagination that wants to deny the existence of a sovereign God. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all (Ps. 103:19).


* Builds on irresponsible stewardship. The worst possible stewardship is for someone to throw God's resources away at the altar of a god called chance or luck. It's idolatry of the worst sort. Nothing we have really belongs to us; it belongs to God, and we should use all of it to His glory (Matt. 6:19-20).


* Erodes the biblical work ethic. We are to earn our bread by the sweat of our brows (Gen. 3:19) not from games of chance. The addictive wagering process saps the good that a decent salary can afford.


* Driven by the sin of covetousness. Gambling - and its accompanying greediness - violates the 10th commandment (Ex. 20:17). It assumes that God has not given us what we ought to have and that there is somehow more wealth that will finally make us happy.


* Builds on the exploitation of others. It exploits people who can least afford to be victims and violates the eighth commandment, You shall not steal (Ex. 20:15). For everyone who wins something at gambling, there are millions of losers - people who have been duped by the seductive marketing appeal of gambling and prompted to throw away large sums of money.

It Is Time To Repent!!!

Have you ever held a newborn baby? My heart melts as I smell their breath, feel the little squirms, and listen to the sounds! But America, rewind our history to the recent past and a president (and about half the country that endorsed him) said it is okay to tear them apart if it is ten seconds before birth! Friends, this is the kind of sin that makes Heaven and earth flee away from the wrath of God! We are no better that our baby-butcher cousins, Pharoah in the OT and Herod in the New! When politicians cannot be trusted in word or conduct here; how can we think to trust them abroad? Hillery’s key role as First Lady was to promote abortions, stopping growth in third world countries! It was not enough just here. Abortion at any stage is murder, only forgivable through another mutilated body and blood of another Child, the Son of God!

AMERICAN SINS

Picture a conduit draining American sin to the lowest point in the country, Death Valley:

From San Francisco (and others) flows the lousy perversion of sodomy.

From Las Vegas (and others) flows the filthy corruption of gambling.

From Washington DC flows a self-seeking, bipartisan hatred for anything godly.

From New Orleans flows euphoria with the depravity of the Mardi Gras.

From “Al Gore’s internet” flows the wickedness of every known kind of perversion to man.

Have you become irritated or inoculated to the wickedness in this place? More examples: Veto the Ten Commandments, an epidemic of child abuse, demonic music, psychic delusion, religious fraud, video violence, scandalous lawyers, twisted judges, the grip of the politically correct, “technicalities” in prosecution, irresponsible education, lobbying scams, Civil Liberties Union, racial profile spin, a fascination for the dark side . . . –- VERDICT: GUILTY! Vexes my soul!!!

Death Valley is a truly beautiful place but for illustration, American sin is flowing to the bottom side of hell! And then what? Hollywood pumps it back into the cable networks and beams it up to satellites in the skies and features it in movie theaters, corrupting people across the face of the earth! This Death Valley Programming from the cesspool, sewers, and septic of American sin is a stench before Almighty God!

BUT FRIEND, HERE’S HOPE!

Why does God bless America, as He definitely has! People claim, “God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah unless . . .” What a foolish remark! You better know God has to apologize to no-one, He will judge as He sees fit, and you’d better not misrepresent Him or hold Him hostage! God destroyed Sodom; yet there are major differences. I discover the sweetest, God-honoring Christian people from coast to coast who love God and actively turn from sin. Friend, that is in America! Sodom did not have that. And sometimes we fail, but our policy has been pro-Israel to this point. God has been blessing America. It's all of His grace! “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3)

I trust you hate the devil and that our sin vexes your soul, but never fail to love our American people! Someone has said that any old dead fish can float downstream with the current, but it takes a good live one to swim upstream. Swim for righteousness! Pray for this country! And the best way to love them is to show them a way out of our sin and its consequences; tell them of Jesus Christ!

Article submitted by Charlie Carle.

Roll up the rim to win!!!

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This month I have had over twenty(20) Tim Horton's large coffees. Every time I roll up the rim it says -

"Please Pray Again".

8-(

FROZEN FEET AND FROZEN SOULS

After living 16 winters in the north country and experiencing temperatures as low as 58 degrees below, I can tell of several people who suffered with frozen feet. Permit me to mention three such cases.

One man I met had his feet frozen badly while battling against a northern blizzard. His passion for gold had kept him in the wilderness until winter engulfed him. He did not pay the full price as some outdoor men have done -- he did not forfeit his life. He battled against the biting blizzard and gained shelter, but froze both his feet. One foot was later amputated.

That man had been seeking gold; but he failed in his objective and had his feet frozen. If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; … this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. Job 31:24-28

The next man had his feet frozen while walking in light socks and shoes to a dance. He never danced that night but was later given medical attention. Whether he lost his feet or pulled through, I do not know; but I saw the blackness of his flesh – the after effects f frostbite. I know that he did not dance for some time to come, if ever again. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. James 5:5

Contrast this verse with the following: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; (Hebrews 11:24, 25)

I met another victim of winter’s wrath who had been drowning life’s responsibilities and sorrows with the contents of a bottle. Half stupefied with drink, he retired for the night but failed to latch his cabin door. The wind blew it open. Feeling the cold, he pulled the blankets up over his head without realizing in his half-stupor that his feet were exposed. They tuned black and were almost as hard as granite. I banged my knuckles against his frozen flesh, and it was like banging one’s fist against stone. Both feet were later amputated. Solomon said: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

One man had his feet frozen while seeking gold; another man while seek pleasures; and yet another while ensnared by the bottle.

Frozen feet are bad enough; but along with frozen feet were “frozen” souls, and a “frozen” soul is far worse. To lose one’s feet is indeed a tragedy; but to lose the soul in eternal destruction.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (gold, pleasures, drink), and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

The above story was found in a booklet with out cover, and only held together with a rubber band. The author's name was not included, so I don't know who to get credit to, Bro. Jeff.