Thursday, February 17, 2011

Some Thoughts on Book "Heaven is for Real"


This book maybe a good read and a fascinating read. It may be well written and an interesting story. What concerns me is that for me, the title infers that now we know heaven is real because of the experience of this boy. From what I see in Scripture, experience is not the proof that Scripture is accurate or false because it is very possible to misinterpret our experience/s. Jesus said in Luke 16:31 "... If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead" (NASB). Peter writing in 2 Peter 1:19 says that we "have the prophetic word more sure, to which you do well to pay attention..." (NASB). I realize that there is some discussion over what that means precisely, but a very good understanding is that the Word of God is more sure than personal experience (e.g. Mount of Transfiguration referred to in 2 Peter 1:16-17).

I recall reading a number of years ago an editorial from a Time magazine editor who was involved in a horrific car accident in Australia and he was not a believer at all. He claimed to have had an out of the body experience, and saw a bright light, etc., and found it to be a very calming experience. His take away, no worries about the afterlife, everything will be fine. People who subscribe to false cults claim the same experiences. The book "Heaven is for Real" may be a good story and told very well. But for me, the bottom line is that we know heaven is for real because "the Bible tells me so."

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valley Grace Ministry trip to Urban Hope 1/28-30, 2011


Thank you for your support for the ministry team from Valley Grace to Urban Hope. It was a great weekend. Note: apologies for the thumbnail, that was automatically selected by youtube and I am not sure how to change it!)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Monday Morning Reflections ~ 1/17/2011

Thanks to all for a great weekend.

Saturday: Tremendous job of hospitality for the Memorial service for Mrs. Edna Stickler. Thanks to those who prepared and served food, clean up, etc. A great ministry to the family.

Sunday: Thanks to all who ministered on Sunday - Sunday School & Children's Church teachers, praise team, and music ministry. The challenge from God's Word was to live a life of purpose as directed in Titus 3:9-15 (esp. v 14). A reminder that "The Good News should produce Good Life."

We received into membership: George & Peggy Mongan, Susan Mongan, Jodi Ramsey, Ashley
Taylor. We look forward to continuing to serve the Lord together at Valley Grace.

Thanks to those who planned and hosted the youth group on Sunday evening.

Friday, December 17, 2010

A Christmas Opportunity


Top Five Times People Are Open To Considering Matters Of Faith…
  • #5 – After the birth of a baby (28%)
  • #4 – After a natural disaster (34%)
  • #3 – After a major national crisis i.e. 9/11 (38%)
  • #2 – During the Easter season (38%)
  • #1 – During the Christmas season (47%)

Our prayer is that we will EMBRACE this opportunity (because found people find people). Research ALSO shows that the #1 way a person will receive information about a church is through the PERSONAL INVITE from a friend or family member. Let’s pursue them like Jesus pursued us!!!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Amazing iPhone and iPad Band Playing Christmas Carols


This is a pretty cool use of technology. Wonder if I get an iPad if I could play like this?

The Danger of Live Animals in Christmas Pageants!


It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Teaching Generosity at Home

Christmas is an ideal opportunity to be reminded of the opportunity to learn generosity. Dr. Tim Elmore has provided a guest post on how to help children learn to be generous at Christmas. He suggests the following:

1. Start a new tradition with your children in helping them create a list of gifts they plan to give away to others. These may include gifts which they purchase with their own money or something which they treasure.

2. Suggest that for every gift they put on their wish list, they get to plan to give one of their own toys or electronic device (which is fully functional) to another less fortunate child.

3. The author shares that one set of parents he knows had their children go through all their toys one December and make two piles -- one pile to give away and the second they felt worth keeping. Then the parents talked about sacrificial giving and suggested that the children give away the pile of toys they had planned to keep.

As parents and adults, what are the ways that we can practice and model generosity in the name of Jesus this Christmas season?

Thanks to so many of you who have been involved in sharing with your neighbors, Operation Christmas Child, through the ministry of Valley Grace and in many other ways. May we continue to learn generosity and what it means to give!

PS - if you would like to read the full blog post from Dr. Tim Elmore, you can find it here.