Recently, we received a letter from Stalker Reed, a member of Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City, GA, and pilot for Delta Airlines, explaining that on a recent layover in Madrid, Spain, several members of the hotel staff took up a collection for Katrina relief for our church!
What an encouragement to know that our great God and Savior provides for us and meets our needs, even using people we do not know from the other side of the world, people who, as far as we know, have no connection with any church but simply wanted to help! I am reminded of passages like Proverbs 21:1, God holds the hearts of all men in His hands, and He directs them as He pleases!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Hebrews 11:27
Last night, at Camp Hope, I led a brief devotional from Hebrews 11:27, which I indicated referred to the first time Moses left Egypt (after killing the Egyptian) rather than the second time (after the 10th and final plague). A church member later asked me why I thought this was the case. So, let me try to explain my thinking:
1. First, let me say that there is nothing in Hebrews 11 or in Exodus 2 that explicitly tells us whether the first or second exodus is referred to in Hebrews 11:27. It could be either. So, I don't believe that we should be dogmatic either way. But the text in Hebrews does seem to suggest that it's the first rather than the second.
2. Hebrews 11:27 says that Moses left Egypt "not fearing the king's anger" (NIV). There clearly was reason for Moses to fear the king's anger the first time he left Egypt. Exodus 2:14 even tells us that Moses was afraid when he learned that what he had done (in killing the Egyptian) was discovered and that the king tried to kill him for it. But would there have been any such reason for Moses to fear the king's anger in the second exodus? Pharaoh commanded Moses and the Israelites to leave Egypt after the final plague and only later reconsidered and chased them down.
3. Hebrews 11:23ff seems to follow a progression in Moses' life, from his parents to the crossing of the Red Sea. This would suggest that v. 27 should probably preceed v. 28 chronologically (the leaving of Egypt would be before the Passover event and the final plague).
4. Hebrews 11:24ff implies that the events of v. 27 is part of Moses' refusal to be "known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter" and his choosing, instead, to be "mistreated along with the people of God" (NIV).
4. There is no necessary contradiction between Exodus 2:14 and Hebrews 11:27 (referring to a first exodus). Just because Moses was afraid when he learned that people knew what he had done doesn't mean that he acted out of fear (specifically fear toward the king) in leaving Egypt for Midian.
Well, there it is, take it for what it's worth! Comments?
1. First, let me say that there is nothing in Hebrews 11 or in Exodus 2 that explicitly tells us whether the first or second exodus is referred to in Hebrews 11:27. It could be either. So, I don't believe that we should be dogmatic either way. But the text in Hebrews does seem to suggest that it's the first rather than the second.
2. Hebrews 11:27 says that Moses left Egypt "not fearing the king's anger" (NIV). There clearly was reason for Moses to fear the king's anger the first time he left Egypt. Exodus 2:14 even tells us that Moses was afraid when he learned that what he had done (in killing the Egyptian) was discovered and that the king tried to kill him for it. But would there have been any such reason for Moses to fear the king's anger in the second exodus? Pharaoh commanded Moses and the Israelites to leave Egypt after the final plague and only later reconsidered and chased them down.
3. Hebrews 11:23ff seems to follow a progression in Moses' life, from his parents to the crossing of the Red Sea. This would suggest that v. 27 should probably preceed v. 28 chronologically (the leaving of Egypt would be before the Passover event and the final plague).
4. Hebrews 11:24ff implies that the events of v. 27 is part of Moses' refusal to be "known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter" and his choosing, instead, to be "mistreated along with the people of God" (NIV).
4. There is no necessary contradiction between Exodus 2:14 and Hebrews 11:27 (referring to a first exodus). Just because Moses was afraid when he learned that people knew what he had done doesn't mean that he acted out of fear (specifically fear toward the king) in leaving Egypt for Midian.
Well, there it is, take it for what it's worth! Comments?
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
New Handbells for FPC!
The Hudson Valley Handbell Ringers in New York held a benefit concert on April 29, to raise money in an effort to replace the handbells that we lost in the hurricane. Each year at the Hudson Valley Handbell Festival around $500 is raised for a specific cause. This year the festival was so successful--with FPC Gulfport as the beneficiary--that they were able to provide us with an entire 3 octave set of Schulmerich handbells (worth approximately $10,000)!!
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, several of the festival organizers flew to Gulfport to present the church with the new set of bells, along with cases in which to store them, gloves, music folders, and a check for $1200 to go toward the purchase of bell tables and pads and additional music. Thanks be to God for this incredible gift!
We continue to be overwhelmed (and encouraged) by the generosity of Christians from around the world, people who do not know us at all and, yet, want to help us in our hour of need. What a tangible expression of the love of Christ! I pray God's blessings on the Hudson Valley Handbell Ringers and on every group like them who has stood by us and encouraged us and loved us because God first loved them. May the world around us take notice...soli Deo gloria!
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, several of the festival organizers flew to Gulfport to present the church with the new set of bells, along with cases in which to store them, gloves, music folders, and a check for $1200 to go toward the purchase of bell tables and pads and additional music. Thanks be to God for this incredible gift!
We continue to be overwhelmed (and encouraged) by the generosity of Christians from around the world, people who do not know us at all and, yet, want to help us in our hour of need. What a tangible expression of the love of Christ! I pray God's blessings on the Hudson Valley Handbell Ringers and on every group like them who has stood by us and encouraged us and loved us because God first loved them. May the world around us take notice...soli Deo gloria!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Continuing Needs
Having just returned from General Assembly in Atlanta, GA (n.b., I must say, it was great to see many people I haven't seen for a number of years!), where I was asked about our ongoing needs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I would like to post some of our more pressing current needs, broken down into three categories:
1. People. We are always looking for more volunteers who are willing to come down and work on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Currently, we have space available for teams in the Fall and Winter and beyond. Please contact Gorton Marsden at 302-547-2849 to schedule your trip.
ALSO, because Heritage Presbytery (who has helped us start and run our Camp Hope Ministry rebuilding homes on the Coast) will be phasing out and handing the work over to us full time within the next few months, we have a need for at least two full-time people to help with scheduling and managing the teams that come in each week and with following-up with the homeowners that we have already helped. If you are interested in this or know of someone who may be, please contact us directly at 228-863-2664.
2. Prayer. We believe, more than ever, in the power of prayer. Please continue to pray for us and for our rebuilding work. Pray that hearts will be prepared to receive the good news of the gospel. Pray also for the success of the gospel as it goes out by word and deed. Pray that the Lord will build His Church here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
3. Support. Our Camp Hope ministry seeks to provide all necessary labor and materials to homeowners in need in order to get them into their homes. On average this costs us about $8,000 per home (depending on the amount of work required). All the work we do is funded by the generous contributions of Christians from around the world. We are committed to helping families in our community to rebuild as long as their is a need and as long as we have the people and financial resources to do so.
Many people have asked about our church facility (before & after photos above) and about our plans for the future. I will seek to give more detail here in the coming days.
Friday, June 16, 2006
For my inaugural blog, I'd simply like to cite one of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis:
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
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