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Erin Church's Daily Devotional : Give without Sparing 2007-10-04 09:54:00 Proverbs 21:26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. (NIV)
Recently, we’ve had to fix a major repair over at Erin Presbyterian church. Our current building is about 55 years old, and in this part of the country, that’s almost antique! I know that Scottish churches go back centuries, but over here the extreme weather conditions and heat causes buildings to Read more:Church
, Daily
Daily Devotional : Working in Us - letting go and letting God 2007-10-03 08:29:00 Hebrews 13:21 (May God) equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)
Our church has been growing steadily for the past four years. Through God’s blessings, we’ve managed to breathe new life into our congregation and we are beginning to outgrow ourselves. We’re at an Read more:Daily
Liberty rings as the people speak! Knox County comms guilty this week! 2007-10-02 13:51:00 Gotcha! The People Have Spoken!
Knox County
jurors have just found the commissioners guilty of betraying the Sunshine Law. Now let's vote them off the commission and replace them with real representatives.
No more carpetbagging, nepotism or freeloading. Knox County PEOPLE RULE! Read more:people
, speak
Daily Devotional : Living Freely - why open government is good for everyone 2007-10-02 10:07:00 1 Peter 2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. (NIV)
Our town, Knoxville, Tennessee, has been rocked by the corrupt practices of our local government. Our local newspaper, the News-Sentinel, has at last lived up to its name by bringing a law suit against the Knox County commissioners who made backroom deals with regard to replacement Read more:Daily
, Living
, everyone
130 year old and still growing strong 2007-09-30 08:27:00 130 years old – and still growing strong
Despite being a part of the liberal PCUSA, Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville is still growing. Why? It’s because we preach and practice the Gospel. The denomination may be trying to appease the politically correct and losing its identity through endorsing multi-cultural beliefs, but we hold dear the basics of Presbyterian and Reformed Christianity:
They'll be celebrating 130 years of Scots-Irish at Erin Presbyterian Church today 2007-09-29 20:59:00 West Knoxville’s oldest Scots-Irish
church, Erin Presbyterian
, off Lockett Rd at Kingston Pike, near Papermill Drive, celebrates 130 years of preaching the Gospel today. It was chartered on Sunday September 30, 1877 and was originally situated where Kingston Pike meets Northshore Road.
‘Erin’ is the old Irish name for Ireland and means ‘the beautiful isle.’ The current pastor of the church is Read more:Church
Daily Devotion: Burma's burning and the UN is full of doormats, not diplomats 2007-09-28 07:36:00 John 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; (NIV)
I wonder how many of us today would stand up and risk our lives for our faith? It’s so easy to condemn the people of the past for not wanting to show their faith in Jesus. They didn’t want to lose their Read more:Daily
, Devotion
, Burma
The Statue - Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's Dream 2007-09-27 08:37:00 Daniel 2:31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. (NIV)
When I was in fifth grade, or Primary 7 as we called it back in Scotland, a Bible exhibition came to Glasgow. I think it was run by the Philadelphian Bible Society in Britain. It was fascinating because many of the exhibits were models of buildings and places in Read more:Statue
, Interpreting
, Dream
Daily Devotional: Seeing Jesus - the work of the church is to bring others into God's Kingdom 2007-09-26 08:36:00 John 12:21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus
."
This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible because it encapsulates the work of the church. Congregations can get caught up in building programs, financial campaigns, and missional projects, but in the end, if no one comes to see Jesus, then they’re busy doing Read more:Daily
, Seeing
, Kingdom
Daily Devotional: Defying Dictators - Why Lee Bollinger was right 2007-09-25 08:04:00 Audio version here
Daniel 2:18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. (NIV)
A lot has been made of yesterday’s visit by the President of Iran to Columbia University in New York. I watched the live debate yesterday because it was an historical moment. Right from Read more:Daily
, Defying
Erin - a beautiful isle of faith for 130 years 2007-09-24 04:27:00 Daniel 2:4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic,"
O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it." (NIV)
I studied Aramaic for a year at seminary. It’s a bit like Biblical Hebrew, but not quite as lyrical or refined. It was fascinating to me to read the old language because scholars believed that Jesus Himself actually spoke Aramaic. You’ll perhaps
Knoxville's Only Celtic Christian Bothy Band playing at Dandridge Scots-Irish festival tomorrow 2007-09-21 13:03:00 Glenfinnan are playing tomorrow
at the Dandridge Scots-Irish
festival. All the musicians and singers live in Knoxville
. They've played at many festivals in and around this region. They are due to perform at 10.30AM, 4.00pm, and 6.15pm.
As usual, they'll be playing their standard Scots-Irish songs like Loch Lomond, Kelvingrove, Star of the County Down, Green Grow the Rushes, the Water is Wide, Read more:Celtic
, Christian
Daily Devotional - Doctrine - a dirty word or a sure way to salvation? 2007-09-21 08:42:00 1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (NIV)
Doctrine is a word that we don’t use very often these days. We tend to associate it with the word ‘dogmatic’ and so it has some negative connotations for a society full of free-spirited people. The New Testament Greek word for doctrine is Read more:Daily
, dirty
, dirty word
The Pirate's prayer - or How Blackbeard would have written the 23rd Psalm 2007-09-19 09:57:00 Today is speak like a Pirate
Day. Aarg! I wonder how Blackbeard would have written
the 23rd psalm....
Pirate psalm
Aarg! The Lord is me Cap’n
And I ain’t wantin’ nuthin’.
He shivers me timbers,
And sails me through blistering barnacles.
He refreshes me rum
And guides me To Spanish galleons
For his booty. Aarg!
Even though I walk the plank
Over shark-infested waters,
I ain’t afeared,
For my Cap Read more:Psalm
Vision Decisions or How casting aside vital opportunities can cause churches to decline 2007-09-19 08:04:00 Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV)
It was Rear Admiral Grace Hopper who coined the phrase “It’s better to ask for forgiveness afterwards than to wait for permission.” She also initiated the term ‘computer bug” after literally finding a bug in one of the Navy’s large computers. Years ago, Read more:Decisions
, aside
Your very own Yom Kippur - or why every day is a Day of Atonement for Christians 2007-09-18 07:50:00 Leviticus 23:28 Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. (NIV)
This coming weekend, Jewish people commemorate the Day of Atonement, which they call “Yom Kippur.” It is a holy day that goes back to the times when the Hebrew children were wandering in the wilderness, more than three thousand years ago. Both religious and Read more:Christians
, every
Impartiality - or How the socially and politically correct thing is not Biblically correct 2007-09-17 13:33:00 Audio version here
Leviticus 19:15 Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. (NIV)
I am terrible about judging competitions. I tend to root for the underdog, instead of dealing with things fairly. In the past I’ve judged Halloween costume contests, cutest pet awards, and cake tasting competitions. A couple of years ago Read more:politically
, politically correct
Weekend Screensaver - Mayflower Meanderings 2007-09-15 23:50:00 On September 16, 1620, the Pilgrims left the shores of Plymouth, England to travel across the Atlantic on the Mayflower to start a new life in America.
An abstract stained glass design to commemorate the historic event. Read more:Weekend
, Screensaver
Keeping Connected - or how the Internet has become our latest spiritual domain 2007-09-14 07:47:00 Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you--better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. (NIV)
Audio version here
The Internet
is an amazing vehicle of communication. Two Sundays ago, my new niece Eve was christened. I couldn’t fly over the Atlantic to be there, but my brothers took Read more:Connected
, domain
How the innovative worship style at a local Knoxville church influences other churches throughout the world. 2007-09-13 11:20:00 Aaron's Beard
Psalm 133:2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes.
Audio version here
Every week, I write the prayers for our Sunday worship
services. This usually takes place on Monday mornings because I like to have them done before anything else takes place during the week. It’s a good discipline Read more:Knoxville
Champion of Light 2007-09-12 10:18:00 James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)
There’s a new fantasy movie coming out in October called “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising,” which is all about a teenage boy who is chosen to defend the forces of light against the warriors of darkness. It looks like a modern version of the
Preaching Heresy - Mega Churches & the Prosperity Gospel 2007-10-16 10:36:00 Luke 12:31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)
A lot of Americans are buying into what has been coined as “the prosperity gospel.” Its message goes something like this: God will be good to you, if you believe in His promises; God will make you successful, if you ask Him. It ties up the American dream with the Christian faith, and a lot of mega-churches are Read more:Heresy
, Churches
, Gospel
Tertullian Revisited: Chapter 4: Tolerating Heretics destroys the Church 2007-10-15 15:13:00 Some people find it difficult to call others in their midst, “heretics.” We live in a culture where tolerance is the panacea to all our troubles, and intolerance is anathema to peace and unity. But it was Jesus Himself who pointed out that heretics would be in our midst. We delude ourselves if we believe that He is totally tolerant of those who would twist His words and bend the truth of the Read more:Revisited
, Chapter
, Church
Erin Church Devotional - One Hour: Choosing to use our time for God 2007-10-15 11:41:00 Audio Version here
Luke 12:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (NIV)
“So much to do, so little time to do it in.”
Do you ever have the feeling that time is running out and all the things that you have planned are never going to be accomplished? I guess I’m at that stage in my life right now, when I have to decide what I am going to specialize in for the rest of my days Read more:Church
, One Hour
Tertullian revisited; Chapter 3 - Heretics Makes Themselves Unwelcome in the Church 2007-10-12 23:12:00 Chapter 3: Heretics make themselves unwelcome in the Church
False assurance and a smug attitude bedevil the heretic. He is so enchanted by his own twisted logic that he loses the ability to doubt his feelings, turning his faith into a fierce fanaticism that seeks to devour the weak and make more converts to his side.
The Church must ask itself: how does this happen? How could faithful people be Read more:Chapter