All My Links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* 2 Big Problems with Overly Simple Sermons -- "Many sermons are a lot like popular sitcoms."
* Cameras Catch Family Cat Taking on Dog That Bit Boy -- "Roger Triantafilo said his son Jeremy, 4, was riding his bike Tuesday outside the family home when the dog bit him on his left leg."
* Campaign to turn away same-sex couples moves ahead -- "Religious freedom is more than just private worship," the measure's filers wrote. "It involves public expression on moral and social issues."
* Eat Butter, Lose Weight -- "Meet ghee, a fat-burning, paleo- and elimination-diet-approved superfood that's derived from—yes—butter."
* Fire, Faith & Forgiveness: 2010 East Texas church arsonists explain why they did it -- "Two infamous church arsonists are explaining why they waged war on East Texas congregations in 2010."
* Giant boulder nearly collides with Massachusetts church -- "The Lord just kinda said, 'That's enough.'"
* Gym Banishes Breastfeeding Mom to Bathroom -- "Two dozen mothers staged a 'nurse-in' outside an LA Fitness club to support a fellow mom who was recently asked to leave the women's locker room for breastfeeding her baby."
* Pope Francis shocks world by saying the devil exists -- "On Monday, May 12, Lauren Barbato of Bustle wrote an article stating that Pope Francis talks more about Satan than Catholic Church leaders have since 1987..."

* Pope says baptism is for everyone, even Martians -- "Pope Francis on Monday declared that everyone has the right to be baptised, even aliens should they come knocking on the church's door."
* Rod and Staff Music Programs -- Workbooks, Teacher's Guides, etc. in shape notes
* Supreme Court puts its legitimacy at risk -- "...there is little doubt that the results demonstrated that the American people are becoming more disenchanted with the nation's highest Court."
* Why Theological Study Is for Everyone -- "Every Christian must be a theologian."

Philpot Devotional

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" -- Romans 8:35

      

      Be this never forgotten, that if we have ever been brought near to the Lord Jesus Christ by the actings of living faith, there never can be any final, actual separation from him. In the darkest moments, in the dreariest hours, under the most painful exercises, the most fiery temptations, there is, as with Jonah in the belly of hell, a looking again toward the holy temple. There is sometimes a sigh, a cry, a groan, a breathing forth of the heart's desire to "know Him, and the power of his resurrection;" that he would draw us near unto himself, and make himself precious to our souls. And these very cries and sighs, groanings and breathings, all prove that whatever darkness of mind, guilt of conscience, or unbelief we may feel, there is no real separation. It is in grace as it is in nature; the clouds do not blot out the sun; it is still in the sky, though they often intercept his bright rays. And so with the blessed Sun of righteousness; our unbelief, our ignorance, our darkness of mind, our guilt of conscience, our many temptations--these do not blot out the Sun of righteousness from the sky of grace. Though thick clouds come between him and us and make us feel as though he was blotted out, or at least as if we were blotted from his remembrance, yet, through mercy, where grace has begun the work, grace carries it on: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

Guiding Link

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* Benham Brothers Speak Out on HGTV Show Being Canned: We're Committed to Biblical Principles -- "Our faith is the fundamental calling in our lives, and the centerpiece of who we are. As Christians we are called to love our fellow man. Anyone who suggests that we hate homosexuals or people of other faiths is either misinformed or lying."
* Doctrinal Statement -- "Poinsettia: a new flower in the soteriological garden"
* Five items Congress deleted from Madison’s original Bill of Rights -- “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person.”
* Four foods that lower blood pressure -- "...consuming foods that are proven to produce significant cardiovascular benefits is a great way to prevent and treat the disorder naturally."
* Mel Brooks on Blazing New Comedic Trails in 'Blazing Saddles' -- "Politically correct is absolutely wrong. Because it inhibits the freedom of thought."
* Mohler Mistaken About N.C. Marriage Law -- "...recently (Tuesday, April 29) on his daily broadcast called “The Briefing,” Mohler erroneously maligned North Carolina’s Marriage Protection Amendment."
* New bid to topple Obamacare in court: Did Harry Reid bend the rules? -- "Senate majority leader Harry Reid violated the Constitution in his maneuverings to pass Obamacare, a conservative legal fund argues."
* More Hispanics are leaving Catholic Church: survey -- "A growing number of U.S. Hispanics are turning away from the Roman Catholic religion of their youth and now identify as Protestant or unaffiliated with any church..."
* Racial Diversity Seems to Have Become an End in Itself -- "I've thought of racial diversity initiatives as a means to an end, but Justice Sotomayor seems to view racial diversity as the desired end of public policy."

Totem Quot'em

"A love spread around: There, beauty is found." -- Shirley and Moe (elderly married couple)

"The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder." -- Ralph W. Sockman

"Feed your faith and starve your doubts." -- copied

"So many lives have touched mine during our years of singing; I feel blessed." -- Martha Beverly

"Music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startles out wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Music is the universal language of mankind — poetry their universal pastime and delight." -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

"The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit." -- Johann Sebastian Bach

"It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself." -- Johann Sebastian Bach

Not an hireling

The horseleech has her daughters that still are crying, Give:

You must pay us for preaching, or else we cannot live.

You must give us ten dollars for every sabbath day—

It is no more than reason that we should have our PAY.

We have to write our sermons, and read them off to you—

We cannot work for nothing as the Old Baptists do.

It takes us time to study, and that you know full well—

We must be paid for learning attained at Waterville.

And now if you will give us five hundred by the year,

We'll try to read our sermons, and from work keep clear.

But if you will not pay us, we'll read no more to you;

But we will take a mission and see what we can do.

This looks not like a minister that Jesus Christ has made:

He never preached the gospel, and made of it a trade.

But when I see a preacher that will not preach or pray,

Unto the church of Jesus unless it be for pay.

It looks just like the lawyer, as I have heard them say,

Who pleads well for his client if he is sure of pay.

Now if I go to college and there do learn my trade,

In order to get money, what difference can be had,

Between me and the lawyer, I surely none can see.

And now if there is any, pray point it out to me.

But we want no such preachers to come along this way,

To peddle out the gospel, and gather up their pay.

The gospel of salvation we know was freely given,

Not to be bought with money, but freely sent from heaven.

Verses which were composed by Elder James Stewart; From a letter sent by Betsey Quint to THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, October 17, 1842.

Brumbelow on same-sex marriage

The following was written by Pastor David Brumbelow, author of the Gulf Coast Pastor blog.

I believe Christians should oppose same-sex marriage for a number of reasons. They should do so while “speaking the truth in love.”
1. The Bible condemns it.
2. Legalization gives the practice governmental legitimacy. The government is placing its stamp of approval on homosexuality.
3. It encourages further homosexual activity and experimentation.
4. It is taught as normal and legitimate in public schools.
5. Christians are forced to give their approval of same-sex marriage or suffer the consequences. We thereby lose Religious Liberty.
6. Children struggling with sexual identity are encouraged toward homosexuality; or at least it‘s presented as a normal lifestyle. They can thereby be seriously harmed.
7. Children in homosexual marriages suffer and struggle.
8. The true meaning of marriage is re-defined.

David R. Brumbelow, by permission, originally posted HERE.

Mother's Day quotes for you

"The carnations on Mother's Day could easily represent all the babies the world will never meet." -- Sarah Arthur

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -- Tenneva Jordan

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” -- Jill Churchill

“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” -- Robert Browning

"Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." -- Erich Fromm

“The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.” -- Jane Sellman

"When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway." -- Erma Bombeck

Twins, Forgiveness, News and Views

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* 19 years after Murrah bombing, grandmother shares story of loss, forgiveness -- "The blast on April 19, 1995, killed her grandchildren -- Chase, 3, and Colton, 2."
* A Mother's Grief and Mercy -- "That has to be the most gracious victim statement I've heard in this courtroom. And I'm not so sure I'd be able to be as gracious as you are, ma'am."
* Abortion Survivor Finds Doctor Who Aborted Her Twin Brother -- "To the average observer, Claire Culwell is a beautiful, vibrant young mother who is full of life. But she carries deep down inside her an unimaginable heartache. She is an abortion survivor, who survived the same abortion that took the life of her twin brother."
* High court ruling favors prayer at council meeting -- "Government may not mandate a civic religion that stifles any but the most generic reference to the sacred any more than it may prescribe a religious orthodoxy."
* Is It Time to Change Our Views of Adultery and Marriage? -- "In my work as a Hollywood life coach and spiritual teacher, I see many clients who are divorcing and cite adultery as the main factor."
* Michelle Knight: I forgive Cleveland kidnapper -- "One of the three women held captive in a Cleveland house before escaping last year said she forgives the man who kidnapped and tortured her for nearly a decade."
* Mother of Amish school shooter shares amazing story of forgiveness -- "Is there anything in this life that we should not forgive?"
* Twin sisters reunite after 78 years apart -- "Both women were born in Aldershot, England, in 1936. Their mother, a domestic servant, decided to give up one of the girls after their birth father fled."

More church singing

Steve Cackley called attention to the following song by posting a link to it on Facebook. It is Stream of Death from The New Harmonia Sacra, or A Compilation of Genuine Church by Joseph Funk. It is on page 276 in the 1923 19th edition. Listen. It's good. (Only has the last 3 stanzas.)

1 There is a stream whose narrow tide
The known and unknown worlds divide 
Where all must go.
Its wavelces waters, dark and deep,
'Mid sullen silence downward sweep,
With moanless flow.

2 I saw when at the dreary flood, 
A smiling infant prattling stood
Whose hour had come.
Untaught of ill, he near'd the tide
Sunk, as to cradled rest, and died,
Like going home. 

3 Followed, with languid eye, anon, 
A youth diseased, and pale, and wan,
And there alone.
He gazed upon the leaden stream, 
And feared to plunge—I heard a scream,
And he was gone. 

4 And then a form, in manhood's strength, 
Came bustling on, till then at length, 
He saw life's bound. 
He shrunk and raised the bitter pray'r,
Too late—His shriek of wild despair,
The waters drowned. 

5 Next stood upon that surgeless shore
A being bowed by many a score
Of toilsome years. 
Earth-bound and sad he left the bank, 
Back turned his dimming eye, and sank,
Ah, full of fears. 

6 How bitter must thy waters be, 
O death! How hard a thing, ah me,
It is to die!
I mused, when to that stream again,
Another form of mortal man,
With smiles drew nigh.

7. "'Tis the last pang," he calmly said,
"To me, O death, thou hast no dread;
Savior, I come! 
Spread but thine arms on yonder shore
I see, ye waters, bear me o'er,
There is my home."

[Miscellaneous Selections, Published as Supplement to the Connecticut Courant, Volume 5, 1838 credits this poem to "E. W. B. C." and the Cambridge Chronicle, Volume IV, Number 22, 31 May 1849 credits it to E. W. Channing.]

The Church Singing

9Marks Journal for May–June 2014 (Volume 11, Issue 2) deals with the topic of "The Church Singing." Here are links to some of the articles. I have decidedly distinct opinions on music, and I don't endorse all of what is written in the Journal. But the articles contain thoughtful reflection on the subject of music in the churches, which often isn't the case. It seems like a lot of church music is on auto-pilot and no one is giving it any thought!

* Five Qualities of a Congregational Song -- Matt Boswell
* Music and Meaning: Some Forms Are Better than Others -- Ken Myers
* My Congregation Barely Sings; How Can I Help? -- Jonathan Leeman and David Leeman
* Rediscovering Jesus’ Hymnbook -- Joe Holland
* Who Should Pick the Music? -- Michael Lawrence
* Why We Sing -- Jonathan Leeman

"A diet of unremittingly jolly choruses and hymns inevitably creates an unrealistic horizon of expectation which sees the normative Christian life as one long triumphalist street party..." -- Carl Trueman

Also saw this and thought it might have some interesting posts:
* Word and Music -- All things Biblical and musical – and quite often both

The Armadillo

Even baby armadillos are cute.

I've lived in the rural countryside for most all of my nearly 57 years. Yesterday morning I saw a sight I've never seen before. The baby armadillo. As I left for work, at the bottom of the hill maybe a 100 yards from my house, I saw something moving in the dim light. As I got there in my vehicle, a mother armadillo moseyed across the road with four identical little ones obediently trailing behind her. With little sight and apparently even less fear, they worried not that the driving machine might pose any threat to them. I yielded for a minute or so as they sniffed, stopped, sniffed, stopped, and stepped their way across. I'm sure the hussy was taking her children up the hill to train them in how to ravage my yard...but for now I've given them a free pass.

Biological gene replicators

"...atheism believes humans are merely biological, gene replicators trying their hardest to pass their genes on to the next generation in order to survive. What's with all the moral outrage over a female gene replicator being told to reproduce exclusively with an exceptionally aggressive male gene replicator? These two individuals are just a couple of highly evolved hominids. Do atheists get morally outraged with alpha male primates that 'rape' young female primates and add them to the 'harem' as it were?"

Fred Butler

The Link and the Linkless

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* How the 'Jesus' Wife' Hoax Fell Apart -- "The media loved the 2012 tale from Harvard Divinity School."
* Jesus' Wife and her Ugly Sister -- "Jesus' Wife Fragment: the Forgery of the Associated Fragment"
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics -- "Moral outrage is exhausting. And dangerous."
* Mysterious Buried Artifacts Discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings -- "The Valley of the Kings was used to bury Egyptian royalty during the New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 B.C.) period."
* Solved! How Ancient Egyptians Moved Massive Pyramid Stones -- "The ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids may have been able to move massive stone blocks across the desert by wetting the sand in front of a contraption built to pull the heavy objects, according to a new study."
* The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Papyrus. Final Considerations -- "...I suspected the forgery from the very moment I saw this fragment in September 2012 in Rome, a few minutes after Karen King introduced it to us during her presentation. Ever since, my only worry has been that the scholarship might become 'infected' by such a forgery. Otherwise, I am not interested in the implications this fragment might have for contemporary Christian beliefs, had it been genuine."
* What Causes Old-People Smell? -- "The older we get, the more nonenal we produce...So if someone gives you a gift certificate to Mirai for your birthday, take the hint."

New York State Historical Newspaper Pages

A man's hobby turned into a catalogue of old newspapers.

* Fulton, NY papers -- "Search Over 26,108,000 Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages"

In memory (1922-2014)

Mr. Bill Aplin of Samson, Alabama passed away early Monday morning, May 5th. He was born April 22, 1922, and was 92 years old. His funeral services were held today (May 7) at the First Baptist Church in Samson, Alabama. Burial was at Eight-Mile Cemetery (aka Mt. Gilead) in Geneva County, Alabama.

Bill was an avid Sacred Harp singer and supporter. He served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Sacred Harp Book Company for 40 years.

Obituaries can be read HERE and HERE.

That Beautiful Land on High

Pippin, Eveleta/Evaleta (December 18, 1891—May 18, 1974) was the daughter of Reverend Martin Franklin Pippin and Ella C. Deal. She married Edward R. Phillips, Jr. in 1914 in Dale County. They are buried at the Union Cemetery in Ozark. (“Evaleta” is the spelling on her tombstone). Listed "as sung by Miss Eveleta Pippin" and added to the book in 1909.

503       That Beautiful Land On High

There's a beautiful land on high,

To its glory I fain would fly,

When by sorrow press'd down,

I long for my crown,

In that beautiful land on high.

Chorus:

In that beautiful land I will be...

From earth and its cares set free;

My Jesus is there,

He has gone to prepare

A place in that land for me.

There's a beautiful land on high,

I shall enter it by and by,

There with friend, hand in hand,

I shall walk on the strand

In that beautiful land on high.

(Chorus)

There's a beautiful land on high,

Where they never shall weep or sigh,

For my Father has said,

That no tears shall be shed

In that beautiful land on high.

(Chorus)

The words are by James Nicholson, 1870 (or earlier; slightly altered). Printed with 6 stanzas in Hallowed Songs (newly Revised): For Prayer and Social Meetings by Philip Phillips with a tune by W. U. Butcher).

News from Sandy Valley: a chicken tale

Widow Alma Popper invited the Reverend Peacock and his wife to dinner. They knew the poverty in which she lived and didn't expect much. They were flabbergasted with the vast array of dishes she put before them. The old sister had fried chicken, baked chicken, chicken dressing, and just about any other chicken dish a minister could think of. They ate until they could hold no more, then rested & visited awhile before giving the parting hand. Rev. & Sister Peacock thanked Widow Popper profusely as they left. As they walked toward the gate, two chickens wobbled around the corner and fell to the ground convulsing.

The preacher called for the widow and screamed, "Sister Popper, something's wrong with your chickens!"

The Widow Popper replied, "I know. They're dying faster than I can cook 'em."

One Life to Link

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* Do Probiotics Really Work? -- "...when that equilibrium is thrown off--thanks to anything from taking antibiotics (they kill all bacteria) to stress, age, even exercise--you start feeling lousy."
* 'Mummy Lake' Used for Ancient Rituals, Not Water Storage -- "...the so-called Mummy Lake — which isn't a lake and has never been associated with mummies — likely held ancient ritual ceremonies, researchers say."
* Mummy Lake Photos: An Ancient Ceremonial Structure -- Photographs
* So Are Chia Seeds Really All that Great? -- "...studies on the weight loss benefits of chia are slim (pun intended) and don't show any payoff."
* University of Alabama athlete, honor student killed in storm was ‘true southern gentleman’ who sacrificed himself -- "John Servati, who was member of the University of Alabama's men's swimming and diving team, was killed Monday night when violent storms and a tornado struck the Tuscaloosa area."
* Yes, The White House Did Tell Susan Rice To Lie About Benghazi -- "No, the story is not going away."

As the World Links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* 100-Year-Old Woman Reflects on Her Late Husband -- "A photographer is helping a 100-year-old woman tell the world about her late husband on YouTube."
* Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Dissent: Why We Must Have Both -- "...we are concerned that recent events, including the resignation of the CEO of Mozilla under pressure because of an anti-same-sex-marriage donation he made in 2008, signal an eagerness by some supporters of same-sex marriage to punish rather than to criticize or to persuade those who disagree. We reject that deeply illiberal impulse, which is both wrong in principle and poor as politics."
* Freshman Shames Ivy League College with His Personal Story About ‘White Privilege’ -- "The phrase, handed down by my moral superiors, descends recklessly, like an Obama-sanctioned drone, and aims laser-like at my pinkish-peach complexion, my maleness, and the nerve I displayed in offering an opinion rooted in a personal Weltanschauung."
* IRS awards bonuses to 1,100 who owe back taxes -- "More than 2,800 workers got bonuses despite facing a disciplinary action in the previous year, including 1,150 who owed back taxes, said a report by J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration."
* Jars of Clay Frontman at Odds with Evangelicals Long Before Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Support -- “...Haseltine acknowledges that he has felt out of place with evangelical Christianity for some time...'I am pretty weary from years of pretending to be more of something than I am. I am tired of carrying evangelical expectations on my shoulders.'”
* New clues cast doubt on 'Gospel of Jesus' Wife' -- "It seemed real; it seemed fake; it seemed real again; now we’re back to fake."
* North Carolina's New Gay Marriage Lawsuit Could Turn 'Everything On Its Head' -- "It's not yet clear how the North Carolina case will ultimately affect the debate over religious liberty."
* Opposing Gay Marriage Doesn’t Make You a Crypto-Racist -- "Lots of people compare the opposition to gay marriage and the resistance to interracial relationships. It’s a flawed analogy. Here’s why."
* Questioning the Unanswered Cadence -- "I think of these endings as unanswered questions (What is the key? Is it the bass note, or the final chord?).  Since a sequence of chords that ends a musical phrase is called a cadence, I’ve dubbed this ending an unanswered cadence."
* Shibboleth. Casuistry. Recondite. -- "Bubble vocabulary: the words you almost know, sometimes use, but are secretly unsure of."
* The Folly of Same-Sex Theology -- "God did not create humanity and then leave us alone to engage in unbridled sexual activity with total abandon."

Philpot devotionals: Endure hardness

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3

The child of God is not always petted, and fed upon love-tokens. He is not always carried in the warm bosom, or sucking the breasts of consolation, but he has to learn lessons to fit him to be a soldier. The soldier, we know, has to endure hardships. He has to lie all night upon the wet grass; to be pinched with hunger, parched with thirst, and nipped with cold; to make harassing marches; to hear the roar of the cannon and the whistling of the bullets, "the thunder of the captains and the shouting;" to see the flash of the sabre uplifted to cut him down, and the glitter of the bayonet at his breast, aye, and to feel painful and dangerous wounds. So with the spiritual soldier in God's camp.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)