Two Dozen Basic Management Principles — Pt. 20

Posted by on Feb 27, 2015 in Blog | 0 comments

Chapter 18 Graduation   The biggest moment of Lopez life did not take place in Beijing. His greatest moment came true nearly three years after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To fully appreciate why December 16, 2011 was the greatest moment of his life, you must go back with him to Kimotong (Sudan) and Kakuma. His village in Sudan was and is very poor by American standards. No one owns a car. No one has electricity. And there is no school in Kimotong. Very few people can read and write because there is no place to learn and no one there to teach them. When Lopez was a boy, his father occasionally talked about sending him to Kenya for school – but that required money. Even if they had, Lopez would have only gotten a basic high school education. Lopez arrived in Kakuma poor and hungry. It was there, that by God’s grace, he started school. There were no books, lessons were sung, and sticks and dirt served as pencil and paper. Encouragement came in the form of swats with a stick. Even after ten years of school, he wrote and did math at a first or second grade level. Never once did Lopez ever think that one day he would move on from the camp and go to college. Thus, the greatest moment of his life came when he walked into the Sky Dome on the campus of Northern Arizona University carrying the banner of the W.A. Franke School of Business. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” These words sound like God wrote them specifically for Lopez. He lived through disaster. He lived through hardship and death. Yet God never left him. He changed Lopez from the lost boy into Joseph. And just like Joseph in the Bible, He took what was once intended for evil and transformed it into good. Receiving his college degree along with the future that degree represented the ultimate expression of God turning disaster into a future and a hope for Lopez.  ...

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Biblical Theology 101

Posted by on Feb 22, 2015 in Community Group | 0 comments

Biblical Theology 101 Introduction Early in the 21st century, a British police officer went to visit a primary school, where he was asked to tell a story. He began by asking: “Who knocked down the walls of Jericho?” There was a long silence as the children shuffled nervously on their seats. Eventually, a little lad put up his hand and said: “Please sir, my name is Bruce Jones. I don’t know who did it but it wasn’t me.” The police officer thought that reply to be cheeky, so he reported the incident to the head master. After a pause, the head master replied: “I know Bruce Jones. He is an honest boy. If he said he didn’t do it, he didn’t.” The police officer was exasperated. The head master was either rude or very ignorant. The police officer wrote to the School Board to complain and received this response. “Dear Sir. We are sorry to hear about the walls of Jericho and that nobody has admitted causing the damage. If you send us an estimate, we will see what we can do about the cost.” It is a silly story but it does make a point. A few decades ago everyone would have known about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Today, the average non-Christian is almost completely ignorant of the contents of the Bible. Unfortunately, the knowledge of Christians is often not much better! We may know of many of the major stories and even key doctrines, but we do not understand how to use the Scriptures. This morning we will consider the Scriptures from 50,000 feet while explaining what Biblical Theology is and its usefulness.   The Scriptures The Bible is a diverse collection of different writings. It contains sixty-six books, written by about forty human authors, over nearly 2,000 years. It has two main sections (the Old Testament and the New Testament), is written in two main languages (Hebrew and Greek), includes a mixture of literature types. The Scriptures do not tell the story of how God decided to send Jesus to earth only after his first plan had failed (e.g., Adam, Israel). The Scriptures are not a book of quotations....

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Faith and Academia

Posted by on Feb 16, 2015 in Sermons | 0 comments

Daniel Faith & Academia   1. Habakkuk Many speakers had lamented the wickedness of America. Some had warned of the need for repentance. Others had stressed the need for a spiritual revival. “Repent 2015” had been a rousing success. Nearly 500 religious leaders had agreed that the time for spiritual change in America was overdue.   Rolly went home with a heavy heart. The conference had highlighted the plight of America. And as he bowed to pray that evening before going to bed, the fervency from the event poured out. Channeling his inner “Joe Wright,” he prayed:   “Father, I come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your guidance for this country. We know Your Word says: “Woe to those who call evil good” but that is exactly what this nation has done. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Lord, when will you move to correct this situation? When will you bring this nation to repentance? When will you bring revival?” [6]   At that moment, his prayer was interrupted. The audible voice of God spoke. “Rolly, do not worry. I have a plan to answer your prayer. I plan to raise up ISIS to begin a large scale purging of the United States. It will start with the bombing of movie theatres, the pillaging of schools, and the closing of all churches. They will then use many of the same methods that they have used in Syria and Iraq including public executions, beheadings, marrying off young girls to soldiers, and the forcible removal of children….”   God continued to...

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