Live long and prosper?

I have no idea who John Piper is, but this is the most powerful video about the prosperity gospel I have ever seen.

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Mountains and Valleys

Have you ever had anybody preach to you about mountains and valleys? Mountaintop experiences?
Ever since I was a teenager, it’s been a favourite pull-it-out-of-the-drawer-and-dust-it-off sermon for many who grace the church platform.
I have come to the very considered opinion that it sucks.
When you’re on a “mountain”, enjoying God, loving life, on top of the [...]

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UnChristian – a final review

For part 1 of this review see this post.
I finally finished UnChristian a couple of weeks ago.  I thought I’d wait a while before posting this review to let it sink in.
The second half of the book starts with a chapter that is close to my heart: Sheltered.  I’ve done many posts on the Christian [...]

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Oh My Dear Lord (again!)

This is scary.  Sad.  Hilarious.  Weird.  I don’t know.
WARNING: Put down the drink before watching this video.  Your keyboard will thank you.

I love the leaps of logic here:  “So just like Moses, as a sign of honour, as a sign that you are removing the things that separate you from the [...]

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UnChristian – a first review

I’m still in the middle of Unchristian: What a new generation thinks about Christianity …and why it matters by David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons.  What a book!  I can’t just read it straight through like a novel because it contains so much information that I need some time to digest it in between readings.
Since reading [...]

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The Chair-O-Great-Authority

This cracked me up.  Then I sighed.  Then I cracked up again.
Compare to Authority Umbrellas.
*sigh*
*giggle*
[Via Barb then Bill]
[Edit: Just found Brant's post and thought it fit well here]

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Directions

After all the discussion about vision statements, my own community has just come out with something of a statement that I believe warrants some attention.
It’s been dubbed “Our Values”, and it’s been put forward to us to ponder and discuss.  It’s just up for discussion at the moment – nothing has been implemented, but we’re [...]

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Reconstructing the Deconstruction

I’m wondering…
With the deconstruction that’s happening in most of our lives, we (me very much included) seem to know exactly what is wrong with the institutional church.  So now it’s time for a little reconstruction.
What three concepts or ideas do you think the institutional church needs to embrace in order to go back to true [...]

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Toxic Churches

OK, I beat around the bush in my last post about a church’s vision statement.  This time, since they’ve plastered themselves across Youtube with a big banner at the bottom of the video with their web address, I might as well name them.  They seem proud enough of what they do to jump to their [...]

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Oh. My. Dear. Lord.

While looking for some information on something today, I came across this.  I won’t link to the church’s website, because I know people will instantly stone me for touching the “anointed” - but here is the text.
A warning – this is a Vision Statement to end all Vision Statements.  Yes, it should be capitalised.  With contents like [...]

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Hymns Part 6 – Jesus is my boyfriend

<<  Back to Part 5
As promised, here is the last instalment.  This one’s not so much about hymns as about those awful, insipid songs that promote Jesus as the doting boyfriend, the product of a schoolgirl crush.  You know the ones – you could just as easily subsitute the word Jesus (if it’s even mentioned) for the name of your significant [...]

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Hymns Part 5 – Showers of Blessing

<< Back to Part 4                                                      Forward to Part 6 >>
One would think that somewhere in the Bible, God had described himself as a nice, hot shower ready to rain on the faithful.  Yes, there is one instance where God said he would send showers of blessing to Israel.  This was in the middle of a warning [...]

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Hymns Part 4 – The Grand Old Book and the Old Dear Faith

<< Back to Part 3                                                      Forward to Part 5 >>
Now, please don’t take this the wrong way.  I read the Bible, I love the Bible.  I think it contains the keys to discovering God through Christ.  I love the faith that I have, that has brought me this far.  I love that it’s the very same faith in Christ [...]

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Hymns Part 3 – The Self-rightous Elect

<< Back to Part 2                                                      Forward to Part 4 >>
I find it amazing how some hymn-writers held a false sense of holiness above all else.  Far from the grace described in Romans, these rather self-righteous words proclaim impossible levels of behaviour, exclude on the basis of actions, or lift the singer to a level where they feel that they’re above [...]

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Hymns Part 2 – This Weary World

<< Back to Part 1                                                      Forward to Part 3 >>
This world that God created, far from being a wondrous place, seems to have become a weary and tiring one.  Lots and lots of hymns pick up the refrain that thankfully we don’t have much longer in this dark and dreary place.
That bothers me a little, because although it is absolutely [...]

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Hymns Part 1 – Onward Christian What?

Forward to Part 2 >>
I was looking at some words of old hymns today, and I decided to do a series of posts about them.  I know many people who revere these old hymns as almost canonical.  Don’t get me wrong, many of them are wonderful and profound, ageless songs written by people who followed [...]

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Wordle-ordle-ordle

Some people have been Wordling this week.
I’m probably horribly behind, but I’d never discovered Wordle before.  I like!
Since I felt compelled to play, here is my effort, based around Community.  Enjoy!  Or ridicule.  Whatever. 
Oh, and for the record, I did mine before I saw Jamie’s and Cindy’s, but after I saw Makeesha’s and [...]

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The Lines

On Sunday my husband, our girls and I sat down and watched Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium together.  It’s a beautiful movie, but one thing stood out to me.
Early on, Molly Mahoney is colouring in with a child in the store.  She whispers conspiratorially to him:
“No matter what they tell you, you don’t have to stay inside [...]

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Oh my.

“I hate all your show and pretense – the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.  I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.  I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.  Away with your noisy hymns of praise!  I will not listen to the music of your harps.  Instead, I want to see [...]

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Funnels

Oh this sooooooo illustrates my last post.  Just imagine the funnels are baby bottles   
Jon @ Asbo Jesus is a legend.

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