Star Trek: First Contact (1996) MOVIE SUMMARY: The time is the 24th century and the ship is the newly-commissioned Enterprise-E. Its captain, Jean-Luc Picard, has been ordered not to interfere in a battle between a Borg Cube and ships from the Federation. However, seeing the Federation is about to lose, Picard ignore his orders and takes command of the defending fleet. With his knowledge of the Cube’s weak spot, they destroy it. However, a small part of it escapes... Read more
The Longest Ride The Longest Ride is a Christian movie review. The review connects the themes of the film to themes in the Bible. MOVIE SUMMARY: A college gal (Britt Robertson) bound for a lofty internship in NYC falls in love with a North Carolina bull rider (Scott Eastwood). With their careers tearing them apart, both find inspiration in the stories an old man (Alan Alda) they rescued from a car wreck tells them about the love of his life.... Read more
Nehemiah 9:1-5 How to BRING About Revival June Cerza Kolf recalls the following story: My family had gathered at my house for our yearly reunion. While we were in church singing the opening hymn, an earthquake hit. The building shook, and the overhead lights swung back and forth. In true California style we never missed a beat, even though we had to grab the pews in front to steady ourselves. Following the service, the pastor came over to greet... Read more
August 21, 2015 Year B Psalm 84:1-12 This psalm reflects the desire that eventually comes to everyone who follows Christ – the desire to be in God’s presence permanently. The reason is because being in God’s presence is pure joy. This joy is better than any drug, sex, or other enjoyable experience or place. We are happy because we are near God’s presence. Just as a child enjoys the home of their parents, we enjoy the dwelling of God (Psalm... Read more
Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning is a wonderful look into the love of God. The subtitle: The cry of the heart for intimate belonging, tells us very openly what Manning wants to achieve with this work. Manning takes us on a journey to this intimate belonging and the way to achieve it. His point is that God loves us and we should enjoy that love intimately. Manning describes his journey in the first chapter... Read more
Ezra 9:1-15 Preparing for a Spiritual Awakening As a country, as a Christian nation, as a church, how did we get here? What were conditions that caused us to get to this point? If we look at the Israelites during the time of what is called the Babylonian Exile, we can see a similar pattern to what we have today. THE CYCLE OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING The Jews became arrogant and did not depend upon God. They trusted their wealth... Read more
Cowboys and Aliens (2011) MOVIE SUMMARY A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way. MOVIE THEMES The movie starts with a man (Jake Lonergan) who has a piece of alien technology attached to his wrist. Jake walks into town and meets a man who sews up a wound. We discover that this healer is the local preacher... Read more
Matthew 6:24-34 Overcoming Worry In one of his skits, the comedian Jack Benny would pretend to be robbed. A thief would approach him with a gun and say, “Sir, your money or your life?” Jack Benny would always put his fingers up to his head and look puzzled. The robber would repeat, “Your money or your life?” After a brief moment of silence, the robber would ask again in frustration, “Your money or your life!?” Jack Benny would finally answer... Read more
The Importance of Christian Obedience August 11, 2015 Year B Psalm 81:1-16 “Trust and Obey” is a familiar hymn which reminds Christians how much easier life would be if we trusted God and obeyed Him. It rings similar to the praise at the beginning of this psalm (Psalm 81:1-3). God had establish a singular statute which was given to Joseph while the people of God were in Egypt before their slavery (Psalm 81:5). So this statute predates the Mosaic Law.... Read more
August 4, 2015 Year B 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 God placed people in the church to encourage and equip the body. He lists their gifts in this order: Apostles Prophets Teachers Miracle Workers Healers Helpers Managers Language Speakers Interpreters of Languages They are all important. However, God has placed people with these gifts to help the church. What does Paul mean when he talks about desiring the greater gifts? I believe he is speaking about the first three gifts. The reason... Read more
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