As we came up to thanksgiving this year, i wanted to take some time to get into scripture and see what it offered on thanksgiving. We first find it in the book of Leviticus chapter 7, in what it describes as "the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings."
I wanted to look at this passage of scripture Leviticus 7:11-15.
One of the first things that stands out to me is that it is called the "sacrifice of thanksgiving," which to me means that giving thanks can sometimes be a sacrifice. You will not always fell like it but you can do it.
In Leviticus the sacrifice of thanksgiving was not a separate offering but was kind of like a peace offering. For us today we can see how this peace offering was made by Christ for us so that we could be with the Father. Also we can picture the inner peace that we can have through Christ. This peace is like what Philippians 4:7 speaks of, a peace that passes all understanding.
We have to have this peace in order to truly be thankful. If we gripe and complain we worry about what we want, we will forget what He has given us. When you complain you can not have the true peace of Christ.
Next we see that the offering of thanksgiving is a multiple offering. In the old testament we see it made with unleavened cakes, wafers, and other cakes of fine flour. These different types of bread were not offered as options but were commanded to be offered together. This for us let us know there are many different ways to give thanks. You can do it through your giving but also by serving others, there are many ways to give thanks. How many can you come up with?
This next one i like, God made an unusual requirement for this sacrifice. He commanded "Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (verse 13). Leaven (which means it has yeast in it), you will find many times in scripture and is always representing something negative, false, impure, or sinful. So how can something negative be part of the thank offering? Well......we have to give God thanks for ALL things. That includes the bad things as well as the good. We don't always know what God has in store for us, we just have to trust Him and realize He knows whats best for us.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Give thanks in ALL things
Mathetes is the greek word for disciple, to disciple is the calling of the church
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving For Thousands
Many years ago our church, Dagsboro Church of God, started something amazing. It all started as our church body wanted to serve people on Thanksgiving Day, so we cooked food and served it in our church to anyone who needed a meal. We did this for a few years and wanted to expand the outreach. So we partnered up with a local chicken company here in Delaware and started making boxes that were a complete dinner that could be cooked in others homes.
Well this project of feeding thousands has been going on for over17 years now and here are some pictures of this years out reach.
Every year on the week of Thanksgiving, early that Monday morning volunteers from all over Sussex County come out to a huge warehouse in Selbyville, DE and pack a complete meal in a box. From chickens to veggies and cranberry sauce, enough to feed around 6 people. This year we packed over 6400 boxes.
The next day we distribute them to people all over Delmarva! Some more pictures.
This is a great event and a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone one who helped make this outreach possible.
Mathew 25:35 "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,"
Well this project of feeding thousands has been going on for over17 years now and here are some pictures of this years out reach.
The next day we distribute them to people all over Delmarva! Some more pictures.
Mathew 25:35 "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,"
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Be Happy and Give Thanks
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
I must say that for several years i have noticed a trend in our culture, a tendency to go from Halloween to Christmas. The issue i see is we are skipping something vary important, something critical that we must do..... Give Thanks. As soon as October comes to an end santa pops up everywhere, people listen to Christmas carols for two months, but we never stop long enough to say thank you to our God. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in a fest like fashion ever since 1565 in Florida, to 1607 in Virgina, and 1621 in Massachusetts. It was a time to celebrate the harvest they had been given and take time to thank God. But now we live in a society where companies want you to go from spending money on candy to buying presents fro each other. All because they don't make that much money on Thanksgiving.
Take extra time this month to show appreciation to others, show how grateful a christian can really be.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
If we show others the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, they will get a real glimpse of Jesus. Give God even more praise than you normally give him, realizing every day is a gift from him. Rejoice always,17 pray without ceasing,18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Pastor's Advice on corporal punishment
I don't know if you read the recent story about Tennessee pastor Michael Pearl, who wrote a book about corporal punishment for children "To Train Up a Child." "In their self-published book, Pearl, 66, and his wife Debi, 60, recommend the use of "the rod" to teach young children to submit to authority. They give instructions on how to use a switch for hitting children as young as six months, and describe how to use other implements, including a quarter-inch flexible plumbing line. Older children, the Pearls say, should be hit with a belt, wooden spoon or willow switch, hard enough to sting. Michael Pearl has said the methods are based on "the same principles the Amish use to train their stubborn mules.""
The only problem i see with this is that children are not mules!
"There are 670,000 copies of the book in circulation, and it's especially popular among Christian home-schoolers such as Larry and Carri Williams of Sedro-Woolley, Wash. In September, local prosecutors charged them with homicide by abuse after their adopted daughter Hana, 11, was found naked and emaciated in the backyard, having died of hypothermia and malnutrition. She had been deprived of food for days at a time, and made to sleep in an unheated barn.
Hana, originally from Ethiopia, also had been beaten with a plastic tube, as recommended by Michael Pearl. Carri Williams had praised the book--which advises that "a little fasting is good training"--and had given a copy to a friend, local authorities say.
The Pearls aren't being charged. But Dr. Frances Chalmers, a state pediatrician who examined Hana's death, suggested to the Times that their teachings may have played a role in Hana's death. "My fear is that this book, while perhaps well intended, could easily be misinterpreted and could lead to what I consider significant abuse," she said."
There are at least 3 other children that have died with parents/gardens who have had connections to this book.
"The Pearls, along with some conservative Christians, say the Bible calls for corporal punishment. "To give up the use of the rod is to give up our views of human nature, God, eternity," they write in the book.
And Michael Pearl rejects the notion that his teachings bear any responsibility for the childrens' deaths. "If you find a 12-step book in an alcoholic's house, you wouldn't blame the book," he told the Times."
But other like blogger Crystal Lutton and myself disagree. I want to state that i have two children who do on rare occasion get a spanking. I don't do it everyday, every week or even every month. There are several ways to punish children and spanking is always my last resort.
I know there are scripture about spanking your children;
Proverbs 22:15 "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."
Proverbs 23:13 "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die"
Note it says he wont die, because your not doing it to torcher them, it is only to be used as disciplinary action when needed.
But i also know scripture says to love like Jesus loved us. Did Jesus have some hard words or his followers yes, did he beat them to death.......no.
I love having fun with my kids and i do it everyday, but i also remember that i am their father and the one who disciplines them not because i like punishing them but because i know they will benefit from it.
I encourage you to spend a little more time than you normally would loving on your kids, or grand kids this week. Do something with them that will bring them joy, and show them how much you love them.
Find more on this story from Zachary Roth from The Lookout at
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/pastor-corporal-punishment-advice-scrutinized-child-deaths-160004793.html
The only problem i see with this is that children are not mules!
"There are 670,000 copies of the book in circulation, and it's especially popular among Christian home-schoolers such as Larry and Carri Williams of Sedro-Woolley, Wash. In September, local prosecutors charged them with homicide by abuse after their adopted daughter Hana, 11, was found naked and emaciated in the backyard, having died of hypothermia and malnutrition. She had been deprived of food for days at a time, and made to sleep in an unheated barn.
Hana, originally from Ethiopia, also had been beaten with a plastic tube, as recommended by Michael Pearl. Carri Williams had praised the book--which advises that "a little fasting is good training"--and had given a copy to a friend, local authorities say.
The Pearls aren't being charged. But Dr. Frances Chalmers, a state pediatrician who examined Hana's death, suggested to the Times that their teachings may have played a role in Hana's death. "My fear is that this book, while perhaps well intended, could easily be misinterpreted and could lead to what I consider significant abuse," she said."
There are at least 3 other children that have died with parents/gardens who have had connections to this book.
"The Pearls, along with some conservative Christians, say the Bible calls for corporal punishment. "To give up the use of the rod is to give up our views of human nature, God, eternity," they write in the book.
And Michael Pearl rejects the notion that his teachings bear any responsibility for the childrens' deaths. "If you find a 12-step book in an alcoholic's house, you wouldn't blame the book," he told the Times."
But other like blogger Crystal Lutton and myself disagree. I want to state that i have two children who do on rare occasion get a spanking. I don't do it everyday, every week or even every month. There are several ways to punish children and spanking is always my last resort.
I know there are scripture about spanking your children;
Proverbs 22:15 "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."
Proverbs 23:13 "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die"
Note it says he wont die, because your not doing it to torcher them, it is only to be used as disciplinary action when needed.
But i also know scripture says to love like Jesus loved us. Did Jesus have some hard words or his followers yes, did he beat them to death.......no.
I love having fun with my kids and i do it everyday, but i also remember that i am their father and the one who disciplines them not because i like punishing them but because i know they will benefit from it.
I encourage you to spend a little more time than you normally would loving on your kids, or grand kids this week. Do something with them that will bring them joy, and show them how much you love them.
Find more on this story from Zachary Roth from The Lookout at
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/pastor-corporal-punishment-advice-scrutinized-child-deaths-160004793.html
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Count Your Blessings
Many know the song "Count Your Blessings" and many other hymns but often we don't know the story behind them. This song which if you know and start to sing it once will be stuck in your head for a wile was written by Johnson Oatman in 1897. He was a Methodist pastor ran a mercantile business and also served as an administrator for a New Jersey insurance company. But he had a passion for writing hymns, he wrote over five thousand hymns during his life time. "Count Your Blessings" is one of his best know. The music was written by Edwin Excell who travel the country as a singing teacher.
When it was introduced it became a favorite in American and elsewhere. During a time of revival in England it was said to be sung at almost every service. The London Daily said "in south London, the men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep on this hymn."
Let this song stick with you for a wile today, think about how true this song is that was written over a hundred years ago. Count your blessing and realize that God has done a lot for you. That does not mean that you don't have problems, we all do. But realize that God has given us so much to thank Him for.
From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.
John 1:16
When it was introduced it became a favorite in American and elsewhere. During a time of revival in England it was said to be sung at almost every service. The London Daily said "in south London, the men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep on this hymn."
Let this song stick with you for a wile today, think about how true this song is that was written over a hundred years ago. Count your blessing and realize that God has done a lot for you. That does not mean that you don't have problems, we all do. But realize that God has given us so much to thank Him for.
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessing, name them one by one,
Count your blessing, see what God hath done!
Count your blessing, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.
John 1:16
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