fireworks

Parade 3

Parade 2

Parade Time

Happy Independence Day

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy independence day. As we celebrate today, we should be thankful for the freedoms we have in this nation as well as the freedoms we have as believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Also, remember to pray for our nation's leaders and the upcoming November elections.

When it rains, it pours....sometimes literally

Have you ever had one of those months where things just keep popping up that eat into your bank account?  Last month we had to replace a tire on our van.  Less than a week later, we got a flat tire and had to buy another tire.  Fortunately, it was not the same tire.  We're also in the midst of a bathroom remodeling project that has had some additional expenses we didn't count on.  To top it all off this morning, I came down to my office and found a pool of water on my desk.  Apparently, there was some water left over from an art project earlier yesterday, which the cat knocked over during the night.  The water went all over the floor and with gravity's help, made it's way to my desk in the basement.  The casualties on my desk were a stack of business cards, a cell phone, & my laptop.  The laptop is the painful one.  The good side of that is the laptop is 3 years old.  The bad side is I was hoping to make it last for another year or so.  Depending on the extent of the water in the laptop, it may work for a short while after it dries out.  Being well-versed in laptop repair, I know that in the next few months, all of the copper connections on the motherboard affected by the water will turn a beautiful shade of green as they corrode.  At this point the laptop will be permanently dead.  I will have to diagnose this further tonight.  I'm pretty sure the hard drive is OK, so I should be able to retain all of my data.  While all of this is very frustrating, it's not the end of the world.  If anybody knows of any good sales on laptops....let me know.  :  )  Have a great 4th of July weekend!

The Very First Christians by Paul L. Maier

Author: Paul L. Maier
Illustrator: Francisco Ordaz
Hardcover: 32 Pages
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
Publication Date: August 2001
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0570071755
ISBN-13: 978-0570071754

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the kind folks at Concordia Publishing House for sending me a review copy of Paul L. Maier’s The Very First Christians.

Paul L. Maier is the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. His areas of research include manuscript and text analysis, archaeology, and the comparison of secular and sacred sources from the first century A.D. Dr. Maier also serves as the second vice-president of the Lutheran Church –Missouri Synod. Two of his more well known, recent publications are More Than a Skeleton (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003) and (with H. Hanegraaff), The Davinci Code-Fact or Fiction? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2004). In addition to these works, Dr. Maier has written over 250 scholarly articles and has nine other books to his credit.

Francisco Ordaz is an accomplished illustrator. He has worked in the movie industry with George Lucas’ Company, Industrial Light and Magic illustrating for the films E.T. and Return of the Jedi. Francisco has also worked with Dr. Maier on both of the earlier books in this series, The Very First Christmas (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998) and The Very First Easter (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

The Very First Christians is the third book in the “Very First” series that began with The Very First Christmas and was followed by The Very First Easter. This story begins with the familiar character of Chris who we find fishing with his Grandfather. His Grandfather is described as a professor who knows a lot about ancient history, not unlike Dr. Maier. Chris asks a simple question about the fish over his Grandfather’s license plate, which leads into his Grandfather recounting the story of the early church. One of the things I thoroughly enjoyed about this story is that it’s told in the context of a conversation between Chris and his Grandfather. Chris comments and asks questions, while his Grandfather answers the questions as he shares the story. The story touches on the following important events found in the book of Acts:

• The arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
• The preaching of Peter
• The martyrdom of Stephen
• Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch
• The Conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus
• Paul’s missionary journeys

This and other children’s books by Dr. Maier have become a treasured favorite amongst my own children. Christian parents and grandparents will appreciate the integrity with which the story is told as it stays true to the accounts of the early church found in the book of Acts. That is what makes this book a quality resource for parents who want to introduce their children to either the book of Acts or the life and story of the early church. The conversation between Chris and his Grandfather is sure to draw both adults and children into the story. Also, Francisco Ordaz’s beautiful illustrations are nearly lifelike and make the story of the early church come alive like never before. Like Dr. Maier’s other children’s books, this too is a story that is a joy to read and visually a beauty to behold. For more stories of this quality, please see Dr. Maier’s other children’s books listed below:

• The Very First Christmas (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998)
• The Very First Easter (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999)
• Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004)
• The Real Story of the Creation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007)
• The Real Story of Flood (St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 2008)

A PDF of this book review is available here: LINK.

Greg Boyd - The Return

Greg Boyd preached a sermon titled The Return on 6/22/08. The text for the sermon is Luke 12:35-48. This sermon talks about the cultural obsession we've seen with the end times during the past few decades. As Christians try to predict the day, the hour and the circumstances of the end of the world and the return of Jesus they may lose sight of what Jesus talks about in this text. You can download the audio of the sermon here: LINK. You can also get video, presentation slides, and study notes for this sermon from the Woodland Hills Church Resource Page.

The Dead Sea Scrolls And The New Testament - Peter Flint

I recently came across a lecture in the Logos Lecture Series by Peter Flint titled The Dead Sea Scrolls & The New Testament. If you're at all interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and original languages, I'd suggest giving it a listen. You can download the lecture here: LINK. He has a number of books on the topic of the Dead Sea scrolls, so be sure to look him up on Amazon.