The Nativity Story

I am really excited about whats coming up. By this time we are inundated with Santa "c&@p" and told that the meaning of Xmas is giving. I am of course culturally bound to the celebrations surrounding Christmas and the giving of gifts. But here is something that is exciting; instead of the regular Chirstmas movies that come out depicting some misfit who is saved by Santa, or visa versa i.e. The Santa Clause (all very nice but well, I say no more). Here is a real Christmas movie about the real deal...Jesus (surprise, surprise). The Nativity Story will be released on the 8 December in South Africa, I just can't wait (oh and for those who have already baught the bootleg on the street corner at East Rand Mall, shame on you). I include the trailer:


May the Blessing of the Christ Child be with you all

Tayla the Chick Drummer

I'll never be without a drummer in my Worship Team

Liberation Theology?

Well it is always interesting how when a group of people develop a way to liberate themselves there is always someone else to oppress. Who are you oppressing? Check out this video...a commentary of Liberation.



Suspicious

This is absolutely freeking amazing!

Guitar Skills

If you don't find this amazing then...well you've got to be crazy. This is singularly the most amazing little bit of guitar skill I have ever seen. Tell me what you think.

What a day it was!

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day, I was able to perform the sacrament of Baptism on my own child...what a priviledge it was. The worship service was awesome and it was great to have all the family worshipping together in one place.

Just before I baptised Tayla in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I reaffirmed to the congregation why I believe in Paed Baptism. You see, I have never been one to get into a debate over the issue of whether or not it is right to baptise infants or not. I believe it to be a sterile debate since the practice of either Paed or Adult (Believer) Baptism does not elicit the wrath of the Almighty but rather the grace in every respect (there some debates of certain practices that some would say elicit God's wrath...I won't get into that, that's digitaldion's department, ask him).

In Paed Baptism, we welcome a child into the Universal catholic church (not the Roman Catholic Church and not the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God). So Tayla is not a member of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, she can choose to be a member when she is old enough to. For me, however, the most important thing about Paed Baptism is the recognition of Prevenient Grace. This is a Wesleyian principle that teaches that God's grace is already at work in a person's life before they are aware of it. The greatest image that scripture offers is in Psalm 139 where the psalmist portaits the Holy Spirit as a granny because he knits us together in our mother's wombs. That is to say that the Holy Spirit forms us, gives us life and begins to place in us all the wonderful gifts and talents which we now possess. The water that we use is a symbol of new life, cleansing and the Holy Spirit.

The litugy that we use best describes all of this:


The Baptism of Young Children

THE DECLARATION

Sisters and brothers, Baptism is a gift of God. It declares to each of us
the love and grace of God.In this sacrament we celebrate the life of Christ laid down for us, the Holy Spirit poured out on us, and the living water offered to us. God claims and cleanses us, rescues us from sin, and raises us to new life. He plants us into the Church of Christ and sustains and strengthens us with the power of the Spirit. Although we do not deserve these gifts of grace, or fully understand them, God offers them to all,and, through Christ, invites us to respond.
We recall the words of the risen Christ:
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the Gospel of Christ's resurrection. Those who heard the message asked what they should do. Peter told them: ‘Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls.’

...and later on in the liturgy


THE THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER

All stand.The minister stands at the font and says:

Gracious God, we thank you for your gifts of water and the Holy Spirit, for your sustaining, cleansing, and life-giving power. From the beginning your grace has been made known through water and the Spirit.
Your Spirit moved over the waters at creation and you led your people to freedom through a parted sea.In the fullness of time you sent Jesus.He was baptized in the waters of the Jordan and anointed with the Holy Spirit. He passed through the deep waters of death and lives for evermore. He offers living water and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The minister may extend her/his hands over the water.Pour out your Holy Spirit that those/the one baptized in this water may die to sin, be raised with Christ, and be born to new life in the family of your Church. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Cheers

Why didn't they teach this stuff at Seminary...

I remember once hearing this on the radio once and decided to Google it to see if I could find it...I did. I remember the valuable things I learnt from John Wesley College, especially from digitaldion. But why didn't we learn this stuff?

University of Washington exam question:

"Is Hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with a proof."
"Exothermic" means that the system gives off heat; "endothermic" means that it adsorbs heat.

About Boyle's law:
Most of the students' answers made reference to Boyle's law. This is a fundamental law in chemistry that describes how the temperature of a gas varies with its pressure. When a gas expands, it cools off. This can be observed when you open the valve on a compressed air pipe; the air released will cool down the the surroundings. When a gas is compressed, it heats up. This is why, when you pump up a tire with a hand pump, the gas is compressed and heats up the pump barrel.
Air conditioners work by first compressing a gas, causing it to heat up. Then the gas is allowed to cool. Finally, it is permitted to expand, thus cooling its surroundings.

The answer:
The student who received an "A" started his calculations by considering whether the total mass of Hell was increasing or decreasing with time. For this, he had to first calculate whether there was a net increase in the number of souls in Hell with time, or a reduction.From basic theological assumptions, no souls ever leave Hell. Hell is conceived of as a place of punishment where its inmates are tortured for all eternity. On the other hand, souls are continually entering Hell. The student observed that many religions teach that anyone who is not a member will go to Hell. Historically, Christians have taught that all non-Christians will go to Hell. And many non-Christians have believed that all Christians will go there as well. One might therefore assume that all souls will end up in Hell. Thus with souls continually entering Hell and no souls exiting, the total mass of Hell is increasing.
There are two possibilities:
If the volume of Hell is expanding at a slower rate than souls are entering, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will "clearly increase until all Hell breaks loose."
On the other hand, if hell is expanding faster than this rate, then the temperature and pressure will "drop until Hell freezes over."
The student recalled a postulate given to him by a certain coed during his freshman year. She said that "it will be a cold night in Hell before I sleepwith you." He noted that he had still not been able to engage in sexual relationships with her. He concluded that Hell is in no danger of freezing over. Thus Option 2 is invalid, the temperature of Hell is increasing, and thus Hell is exothermic.
Is Heaven hotter than Hell?
The temperatures of Heaven and of Hell are not given specifically in the Bible. That may be because the various temperature scales (Fahrenheit, Celsius, Rankin and Kelvin) were not created by the 1st century CE. However, there is sufficient data available to calculate the temperature of Heaven. The maximum temperature of Hell can also be determined.
Heaven's temperature: Isaiah 30:26 states: "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days." One individual interpreted this passage as meaning that the radiation received by Heaven from the sun is 7 times 7 or 49 times as much as the earth does today. 1 Added to that is the contribution of the moon which would equal the present amount that the earth receives from the sun. Thus Heaven would receive (49 + 1) or 50 times the radiation as the earth does today. The Stefan-Boltzmann law for radiation links the temperature of an object with the amount of radiation received. It would predict that the temperature of heaven would be 498 degrees Celsius hotter than the earth is currently. Thus heaven would be about 525 °C or 977 °F.
However, this temperature would only be the "steady-state" temperature. Presumably Heaven was created shortly after Earth so that it would be ready for its first inhabitants: Abel, Adam and Eve. Revelation 21:17 says that the walls of New Jerusalem are 144 cubits thick. This is about 66 meters or 216 feet. Such a thick wall would be an effective insulator. Heaven would thus have taken many months to reach its equilibrium temperature. But it presumably has reached about 525 °C today.
Hell's Temperature: Revelation 21:8 states "But the fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." Brimstone is sulphur. In order for sulphur to be molten, its temperature must be at or below 444.6 °C or 832 °F.
Thus heaven is at least 80 °C or 145 °F hotter than Hell. Assuming that the glorified bodies that the inhabitants have in Heaven are as sensitive to heat as our present earthly bodies, then they would suffer greatly; Heaven would become worse than Hell. Since that cannot happen, due to theological considerations, Heaven must have some very effective methods of air conditioning to handle the excess incoming radiation.

Amen, Amen...

Jesus said these words sometime in his ministry..."I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." What is scary is that there are people in this world who insite hate in children. I am certainly not anti-muslim, but any grouping has extremist among them. It saddens me, no it makes me down right angry that people are able to brainwash children to do this...(watch the video)