Outer Rim Territories

Our Reformation day service and especially Rev. Professor Pless’s sermon got to the heart of the matter. For those who are even slightly unsure why the Reformation happened and ultimately why it was necessary, focus on the words of Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and Rev. Pless’s homiletic treatment of Luther’s Bondage of the Will. Good stuff!

We are not free until we are bound to God under the cross of His Son.

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Male Contraceptive Drug In The Works, Injection Blocked Sperm Production For 20 Weeks In Rats - CBS News

Scientists have discovered a substance that can temporarily block the development of sperm without altering testosterone levels and without causing unwanted side effects.

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Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

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Leadership Blog: Out of Ur: The Oddness of Pews

We were in the middle of moving our church offices and worship gathering location from a very new contemporary building built about 6 years ago to a very beautiful brick church built in 1938. In preparation for moving we had been redecorating and remodeling of the children’s rooms, the offices, and turning the fellowship hall into a coffeehouse/art gallery. However, one thing was tormenting me—the pews in the sanctuary. I have never been part of a church that has pews, so these things were very confusing to me.

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Pr. Weedon posted a great summary of “alternative” absolutions. I’m not a huge fan of creating your own absolution or varying them week to week. Continuity is essential for the absoled to hear and trust in the words. When we hear foreign words, we hear a foreign absolution.

These are interesting for those who like to see a progression of practice and perhaps even the influence of theological focus on the practical. Go to his post for the full summary:Weedon’s Blog: On Absolutions
Here is one of the better. Compare and contrast to your own! (more…)

GIANT Magazine | Babel a Towering, Intense Trip

To understand what director Alejandro González Iñárritu is up to in his sweeping new epic, a trip back to Sunday school might prove useful. The Tower of Babel, according to the Book of Genesis, was humanity’s collective attempt to erect a building so tall it would pierce the heavens. The Lord, angered by humanity’s hubris, thwarted their efforts by muddling the language they spoke. Once humans could no longer understand one another, they stopped building and scattered around the globe, which resulted in diverse languages and races. With Babel, Iñárritu explores how the tower and its long shadow continue to darken the world and keep people apart.

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Imperial History

Sweet! Over 5000 years of Middle east history flashes before your eyes. Enjoy!

Once a Skeptic, Now Baptized Into the Mac - washingtonpost.com

Once a Skeptic, Now Baptized Into the Mac
By Scott Sternberg
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, October 22, 2006; Page F05

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