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Have an episode idea or feedback? Text us here!Join Heather and special co-host Jenn as they continue their mini-series focused on fundraising considerations from ethnically diverse backgrounds. In this episode, they are thrilled to speak with Dennis and Evangeline Chow, who are currently serving in the Philippines. The Chows share their unique journey from college days at Penn State to their impactful ministry at Faith Academy, where they support missionary kids. They delve into the challenges and joys of fundraising within Asian American communities, highlighting the cultural nuances and relational dynamics that shape their support-raising efforts. From overcoming initial fears to embracing a partnership development approach, Dennis and Evangeline offer invaluable insights and practical tips for thriving in support-based ministry.Tailored FundraisingIt would be so helpful if you would take a moment to rate and review the show - thanks in advance!Have an idea for a guest or topic? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!Contact us!on Instagram @ its.not.about.the.money.podemail us: provisio at provisiofundraising.comTHANKS FOR LISTENING!
The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. Judson Stone is a retired pastor who has also served as a corporate chaplain in charge of corporate giving. He has served on several community boards and in volunteer activities, and he is currently involved in prison ministry in Florida. Stone recently released his book, “A Modest but Crucial Hero” about his ancestor, George Stone, a young man who passed away in Oman in the late 1800s while serving as a missionary. Highlights of the podcast: 1:07 What a seven-day practical faith means to Judson 2:38 How his life changed after accepting Christ 7:36 Why he says “Everyone's story is worth knowing” 11:05 Opening up people's lives through sincere interest in them 12:13 Why Judson decided to write “A Modest but Crucial Hero” about his missionary ancestor, George Stone 15:06 How long it took to research and develop the book 16:26 The spiritual influencers on Judson's life 20:15 Importance of relationships in Christian faith 22:08 The hardest part about putting faith into practice 23:41 Judson's tips for living a seven-day practical faith 28:14 How to find Judson's books You can learn more about ”A Modest but Crucial Hero” by Judson I. Stone by searching on Amazon.com or by visiting www.JudsonIStone.com. Stone has also written “A Last Chapter of the Greatest Generation”, which can be found on BookBaby.com and on Amazon. Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering for Cecil's free monthly newsletter on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time. Cecil has a new, free video lesson for small groups, churches, and individual learners, entitled “The With-God Journey: A Powerful Re-Imagining of Holy Relationship.” By registering for the video lesson and monthly newsletter at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/Request-With-God-Journey, you'll gain access to the video lesson (streaming, download, or DVD versions), a leader guide, and a sermon guide. It's a great way to try out Cecil's Instant Content or just fill a gap in your small group programming. For more free content from Cecil Taylor Ministries, visit https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content. Cecil's books and video studies can be found and purchased through https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com. Every video study's first lesson can be seen for free via the Free Content link above by clicking on “Sample Lessons.” Cecil's Instant Content portfolio of books and video studies includes: - “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom” (book available now; six-week video study and guides available in June 2024). Cecil explores a dozen Bible studies of Jesus inviting people out of their comfort zones into their trust zones and how to apply these stories to our lives today. You'll uncover your own comfort zones and learn how to deepen your faith by getting uncomfortable for Jesus. - “The Next Thing: A Christian Model for Dealing with Crisis in Personal Life” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). “The Next Thing” supplies a four-part model for dealing with crisis. You'll find the model to be flexible and applicable to many crises. - “Live Like You're Loved: Living in the Freedom and Immediacy of God's Love” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). “Live Like You're Loved” affirms that God loves you, forgives you, sends you, and walks with you in eternal relationship. You'll learn how to embed each of these scriptural truths into your daily life. - NEW: “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” (book available now from Store.CecilTaylorMinistries.com and available in Sep. 2024 at booksellers online and in stores; video studies and workbook available in Sep. 2024).
The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. Patti Smith, publisher of GO! Magazine, joins the podcast to talk about dealing with fear in our practical faith walks. This topic is one that Smith struggles with herself, but through faith and courage, she has been able to overcome fear to respond to God's calls throughout her life. The genesis of GO! Magazine, a Christian magazine based in Florida, is a prime example. Highlights of the podcast: 3:16 What a seven-day practical faith means to Patti 5:01 How Patti overcame fear when launching GO! Magazine 9:47 How overcoming fear affects Jesus followers daily 15:13 Why does God want us to “fear not?” 17:51 Inspiring stories from GO! Magazine 20:36 The hardest part of putting faith into practice 22:24 Patti is still working on mastering fear herself 23:38 Patti's best tip for living a seven-day practical faith 25:44 More on GO! Magazine and how to participate in it You can learn more about Patti's GO! Magazine at https://gochristianmagazine.com/. Readers can peruse every issue for free by clicking on the Local Magazine tab and selecting the digital edition. Writers are encouraged to submit their ideas at GOMagazine2819@gmail.com. Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering for Cecil's free monthly newsletter on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time.
Practical Faith Academy, Season 4 of Cecil Taylor Ministries podcasts, presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. This episode with guest Keon Lindsey focuses on his view of how the Bible is relevant to our daily lives and to our seven-day practical faith journey. Lindsey has authored two Christian books; he is a project management professional and a former Navy pilot. Cecil asks Lindsey about his motivation for writing, his heart for new Christians, how the Bible informs our daily walk, the centrality of the church and spiritual disciplines to a full spiritual life, and more. Highlights of the podcast: 2:44 What is a seven-day practical faith? 5:41 Our plans vs. God's plans 8:29 Basic foundation of faith 10:20 How the Bible is relevant to our daily lives 11:55 The problem for people who are spiritual but don't attend church 15:59 God wants to walk with us today 18:05 Best tip for living a seven-day practical faith You can learn more about Lindsey's ministry at https://www.keonlindsey.com/ where you can review his books, blog, and interviews with fellow authors. Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering as a free subscriber on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time. You'll also receive his free monthly newsletter. For more free content from Cecil Taylor Ministries, visit https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content. Cecil's books and video studies can be found and purchased through https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com. Every video study's first lesson can be seen for free via the Free Content link above by clicking on “Sample Lessons.” Cecil's Instant Content portfolio of books and video studies includes: - “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom” (book available now; six-week video study and guides available in June 2024). This book has won Finalist status in the International Book Awards (Christian Inspirational), The Bookfest Spring 2024 award (second place, Christianity), 2024 Oasis award (second place, Nonfiction), and 2024 Living Water award (third place, Nonfiction). - “The Next Thing: A Christian Model for Dealing with Crisis in Personal Life” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). This book has won the 2024 international Christian Indie Award (third place, Christian Living) and the 2023 Living Water award (second place, Nonfiction). - “Live Like You're Loved: Living in the Freedom and Immediacy of God's Love” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). This book has won the 2023 Oasis award (first place, Nonfiction). - NEW: “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” (book available now from Store.CecilTaylorMinistries.com and available in Sep. 2024 at booksellers online and in stores; video studies and workbook available in Sep. 2024).
The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. This episode introduces you to Joyce Zook, a life and wife coach focused on a practical approach to marriage, to life, and to faith. She has a lot to say about applying faith and Biblical principles in life situations. Highlights of the podcast: 2:09 What a seven-day practical faith means to Joyce 6:08 How Joyce brought her husband to God 8:00 The role of faith in a marriage 11:32 She provides practical ideas with a background of scriptures and focuses on next steps 14:25 The role of self-care in being an effective Christian on a daily basis 18:41 The hardest part of putting faith into practice 23:39 Joyce's best tip for living a seven-day practical faith 24:53 More on Joyce's ministry You can learn more about Joyce's ministry at https://www.joycezook.com/. Joyce has two new offerings coming up: - Any day now, she will introduce “7 Days to Marriage Success,” a series of short videos and more. - In August, Joyce is reviving her “12 Keys to Marriage Success” live coaching class, which will meet weekly deep into the fall. Participants will also receive study guides, videos, and more. Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering for Cecil's free monthly newsletter on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time. Cecil has a new, free video lesson for small groups, churches, and individual learners, entitled “The With-God Journey: A Powerful Re-Imagining of Holy Relationship.” By registering for the video lesson and monthly newsletter at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/Request-With-God-Journey, you'll gain access to the video lesson (streaming, download, or DVD versions), a leader guide, and a sermon guide. It's a great way to try out Cecil's Instant Content or just fill a gap in your small group programming. For more free content from Cecil Taylor Ministries, visit https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content. Cecil's books and video studies can be found and purchased through https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com. Every video study's first lesson can be seen for free via the Free Content link above by clicking on “Sample Lessons.” Cecil's Instant Content portfolio of books and video studies includes: - “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom” (book available now; six-week video study and guides available in June 2024). Cecil explores a dozen Bible studies of Jesus inviting people out of their comfort zones into their trust zones and how to apply these stories to our lives today. You'll uncover your own comfort zones and learn how to deepen your faith by getting uncomfortable for Jesus.This book has won The Bookfest Spring 2024 award (second place, Christianity), 2024 Oasis award (second place, Nonfiction), and 2024 Living Water award (third place, Nonfiction). - “The Next Thing: A Christian Model for Dealing with Crisis in Personal Life” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). “The Next Thing” supplies a four-part model for dealing with crisis. You'll find the model to be flexible and applicable to many crises. This book has won the 2024 international Christian Indie Award (third place, Christian Living) and the 2023 Living Water award (second place, Nonfiction). - “Live Like You're Loved: Living in the Freedom and Immediacy of God's Love” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). “Live Like You're Loved” affirms that God loves you, forgives you, sends you, and walks with you in eternal relationship. I show how to embed each of these scriptural truths into your daily life. This book has won the 2023 Oasis award (first place, Nonfiction). - NEW: “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” (book available now from Store.CecilTaylorMinistries.com and available in Sep. 2024 at booksellers online and in stores; video studies and workbook available in Sep. 2024).
The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. This episode focuses on how an everyday person went viral for picking up a TV personality, and how the event allowed him to share his faith here. Gordon Holmes is known as “My Guy,” a driver who offers a wide range of services. When he gave a ride to Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame, and Mike posted about it on Facebook, Gordon's life changed immediately. Cecil contacted Gordon to share his thoughts on this podcast for putting faith into practice. Highlights of the podcast: 2:57 How Gordon met TV personality Mike Rowe 4:24 Reaction to Mike's post and ensuing fallout 8:55 How Gordon almost didn't accept Mike's ride 10:30 The pursuit of money interfered with Gordon's life 12:59 What does a seven-day practical faith mean to Gordon? 15:21 On experiencing depression 17:48 The hardest part of putting faith into practice 20:45 How Gordon loves people by helping them 25:48 Gordon's best tip for living a seven-day practical faith If you want to hire “My Guy” Gordon Holmes or otherwise contact him, text him at 214-803-3980. Don't call him; he won't answer! Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering as a free subscriber on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time. You'll also receive his free monthly newsletter.
Practical Faith Academy, Season 4 of Cecil Taylor Ministries podcasts, presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. This episode is about joy, and guest Season Bowers is the Joy Bringer. Her book is called “The Joy Bringer Challenge.” Bowers is a pastor, radio host, author, speaker; her daily Joy Bringer radio feature is heard on radio stations across the country. Cecil asks Bowers about the importance of joy in our seven-day practical faith, the importance of the present in living with the Holy Spirit, the difficulties of putting faith into practice, her own personal testimony, and more. Highlights of the podcast: 1:14 What is a seven-day practical faith? 3:56 What amazes God 5:55 Season's definition of joy 12:10 Joy is for you 14:40 Four components of the Joy Bringer Challenge 17:24 Her transition from acting to ministry 23:53 Cecil and Season talk about God's preparation and creative power 27:33 Core values of the Joy Bringer Challenge 30:04 Best tip for living a seven-day practical faith You can learn more about Bowers's ministry at https://www.seasonbowers.com/ where you can find her Joy Bringer podcast among other items. Her book, “The Joy Bringer Challenge”, is available on all major online bookseller sites. Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. You can learn more about Cecil and what he offers at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering as a free subscriber on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time. You'll also receive his free monthly newsletter.
Practical Faith Academy, Season 4 of Cecil Taylor Monthly Podcasts, presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and ideas for living a seven-day practical faith. In this episode, Lyvita Brooks joins the podcast. Brooks is the host of the Hanging Out with Jesus podcast, author of nine books, and the founder of The Me Project Academy. Brooks urges podcast listeners to act with intentionality, prepare a plan, and then implement that plan in order to live a seven-day practical faith. Cecil asks Brooks questions about her faith development, her faith journey through a divorce, and how she has kept a solid faith through her life struggles. You can learn more about Lyvita's ministry at LyvitaBrooks.com. You can learn more about Cecil at http://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com, at https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries , https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciltaylor/ , and the Cecil Taylor Ministries YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHP_khu3r77ubl5jvHsf5-w . By registering as a free subscriber on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page, you'll receive a free devotional guide, “30 Minutes Over 30 Days.” You'll also receive his free monthly newsletter. Cecil's books and video studies are: - “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom” (book available now; six-week video study and guides available in Apr. 2024). - “The Next Thing: A Christian Model for Dealing with Crisis in Personal Life” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). - “Live Like You're Loved: Living in the Freedom and Immediacy of God's Love” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant's Guide). - “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” (book available now from Store.CecilTaylorMinistries.com; video studies and workbook available in Aug. 2024)
A round table discussion with Bishop Joshua Holder and Pastor Dick Braswell. This is part 4 of the incredible story of the Holder Family in Ghana, West Africa. And the Establishment of a Christian School in the Village of Daboase. Bishop Joshua Holder's StoryChapter 4- Joshua Holder- Tim Skelton- Dick Braswell- Woody GodwinCheck out our app, Life Church Live:Available on Google Play & App StoresGiving: life-church.org/givingBaptism: https://www.life-church.org/ihavedecidedYouTube ChannelMobile Campus FacebookHurley Campus FacebookInstagram
Coach Matt Seymour began his coaching career in 1995 at his alma mater, Baker High School. In 1997, Coach Seymour arrived at UMS-Wright as an assistant baseball coach. While at UMS-Wright, the Bulldogs won two State Championships in 1997 and 1999. In 2007, Coach Seymour joined the baseball coaching staff at Faith Academy and has served as the head coach since 2014. We are forever thankful for his leadership and devotion to our student-athletes, and we know you will enjoy catching up with Coach Seymour in this episode of The Wright Way Podcast. Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog! Visit your favorite podcast platform, search "The Wright Way," and click subscribe so you don't miss out on any upcoming episodes! Have someone you would like to hear on the podcast or want to be a guest yourself? Drop a line in the comments or email asmith@ums-wright.org.
AlabamaSen. Tuberville discusses Space Force and first line of attack from ChinaState senator offers bill that gradually decreases grocery tax on essentialsAL senate to consider amended bill from House spending $1B from ARPAMobile teacher at Faith Academy arrested for sex with 16 yr. old studentAL woman sues Norfolk Southern for death of husband in 2022Huntsville city councilman to be in court May 10th for shoplifting chargesNationalFinancially troubled Silicon Valley bank donated $73M to BLM groupCA governor fails to mention connections to SVB in asking for WH helpKY congressman says new Biden family member part of China wire transferMAGA PAC accuses Ron DeSantis of running shadow presidential campaignGallup poll shows only 1 quarter of Americans trust national news outlets
The Alabama High School Association Class 7A championship will be played Nov. 30 in Auburn. The championship finalists for the other classes will be decided this week. Here are the final scores for the third round of the AHSAA playoffs and the championship game scores for AISA. AHSAA CLASS 7A SEMIFINALS Auburn 14, Central-Phenix City 13 Thompson 40, Hoover 10 CLASS 6A Mountain Brook 49, Hartselle 30 Muscle Shoals 38, Gardendale 7 Saraland 57, Homewood 56 (OT) Theodore 28, St. Paul's 0 CLASS 5A Charles Henderson 19, UMS-Wright 16 Faith Academy 20, Gulf Shores 14 Pleasant Grove 41, Arab 38...Article Link
Get prepped for round three of the playoffs with Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
9-18-2022Tim SkeltonHeadmaster Faith Academylife-church.org
Mark and Lee are on location at Faith Academy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Mark and Lee are on location at Faith Academy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Mark and Lee are on location at Faith Academy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
The Thomasville High School Lady Tigers varsity and junior varsity teams had a tough Saturday, Aug. 20 in competition at the Mary G. Montgomery High School Tournament in Semmes, Ala. Both teams lost all their matches. Varsity scores are as follows: Vs. MGM 25-23, 14-25 and 13-15; Vs. Satsuma 23-25, 23-25; Vs. Faith Academy 11-25, 12-25; Vs. Alma Bryant 21-25, 20-25. Games were played at MGM High School. JV scores are as follows: Vs. Saraland 13-25, 15-25; Vs. MGM 25-16, 19-25 and 3-15 Vs. Cottage Hill 23-25, 25-21 and 10-15. Games were played at Semmes Middle School. “Despite...Article Link
Mark and Lee talk with all the coaches of Faith Academy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Mark and Lee talk with the coaches of Faith Academy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
This is Part 2 of our talk with Adam. In it, we go deep on our experiences at Faith Academy and how it has formed us.
Pigskin Pete, Dave Schultz and Charlie Harrison talk high school sports and Senior Bowl and are joined by McGill-Toolen girls basketball coach Carla Berry, former Faith Academy and Auburn star Unique Thompson and UMS-Wright track coach Pat Galle! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Martha Gore-Algernon is in her third season as the head girls' basketball coach at Faith Academy in Mobile, Alabama. She was the head women's basketball coach at the University of Mobile (AL) from 1995-2008 where she had a 241-156 record. She was twice named Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) Coach of the Year and took her teams to the NAIA National Tournament four times. She was MVP of the state tournament at French Settlement (LA) High School in 1986 and was a two-time all-conference selection at Louisiana College (now known as Louisiana Christian University) in Pineville, Louisiana. She started 111 straight college games at LC. Her contact information can be found here: https://www.faithacademy.us/athletics/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tim-rice4/support
Featuring Chickasaw's Ryan Little, Mobile Christian's Ronnie Cottrell, Baldwin County's Scott Rials, Orange Beach's Chase Smith and Faith Academy's Jack French! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Featuring Foley's Deric Scott, Bayside Academy's Phil Lazenby, Theodore's Eric Collier, Mobile Christian's Ronnie Cottrell and Faith Academy's Jack French! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Introduction We are in the Book of John. And as we have pointed out, belief is a huge theme. The word believe in it's various conjugations occurs over 110 times in the book. John wrote the book so that you might believe. Believe what? Believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. Why would he care if you believe this? Because by believing you may have life in his name. You want life, ZOA, meaning, purpose? Then believe what Jesus says about who he is. And in that moment of belief this MIRACLE happens. You are given life. It's a MIRACLE. John chapter 10 is going to end with that miracle of life-giving belief. But we are also going to see its ugly, dark cousin. We are going to witness the miracle of willful unbelief. And here's what we mean. The evidence for Christ's deity, power, and authority is so strong, the offer of love is so overwhelming, the offer of grace so limitless, it literally takes a miracle to refuse it.It is IRRATIONAL unbelief. We are going to see both ends of the spectrum. Those who believe and worship; those who disbelieve and try to stone him. And the absolute genius of John 10 is that Jesus is able to speak to both groups simultaneously. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. Parallel Let's recall the story from last week. You may remember that Jesus is teaching on the temple mount in Solomon's Portico. And I have an opportunity here to make a correction that was pointed out to me last week. Remember we talked about Antoniah's fortress was right here. And I said this was Solomon's Portico. This is actually called the Royal Stoa. Solomon's Portico is more accurately right here. So Jesus is teaching from this area beneath the watchful eye of Rome - the garrison is anxious for action peering over the parapet of Antonia's Fortress and the Pharisees dare him. Tell us who you really are. Do you have the nerve to put your money where your mouth is? Are you the Christ? Come on Jesus, just say it. What they are clearly trying to do is get him to say he is a political Savior (messiah) so they can go get him executed by Rome. The Jews didn't have authority to execute anyone. So if they are going to get the Romans to kill Jesus then they have to get Rome to care. And the only way Rome is going to care about Jesus is if they believe he's an insurrectionist. Rome has a system for taking care of seditionist. It's called the cross. Rome was all about Peace through force. You make trouble and you die. Other than that carpe diem. Live long and prosper. Whatever. We don't care. So the Jews say to Jesus tell us plainly, in other words, tell us in language Rome can interpret. Now, let me give you a insight into Jesus' strategy here. Jesus of course knows exactly what they are trying to do. Exactly. And he has no desire to help them. Jesus wants to be crystal clear to the Jews and vague to Rome. That's his strategy. He is always giving the Jews plenty of information to keep them enraged but not enough information for Rome to care. He's a master at this. He's doing this constantly in the gospels. Here's one of my favorite examples. When Jesus is standing before the high priest in the last week of his life. It's Thursday late… deep into the middle of the night and the Jews are waiting for daybreak getting ready to present him to Pilate. And they are trying to drag out of him a confession that he is a King. They want to accuse of him of sedition before Pilate so that Pilate will see the threat and execute him. Now look at how Jesus responds. At first he's silent. Now do you see the genius here. Confess that you are the political Messiah we have all been waiting for. He doesn't say, “Yes, I am.” Instead he says, “You have said so.” He says yes, without saying yes. Do you see that? It's genius. And then he quotes Daniel 7. From now on, you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Now to a Jew what Jesus said is crystal clear. He just quoted the most thoroughly Messianic parts of Daniel's prophecy and applied it to himself. We've nailed him. But you see, it doesn't help them at all to build their cause against him in the eyes of Rome. What are they going to do with that? Go to Pilate and say, “Pilate, this man claims to be seated at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Pilate would respond, “He must be smoking something.” What does Rome care about that? What in the world are you talking about? Why are you bothering me. Go back to your temple. So do you see Jesus' strategy here? He's clear to the Jews and vague to Rome. Now let's return to our text. So remember, the Jews come to Jesus and say to him, tell us plainly. Are you the Messiah or not? Jesus who are you? Tell us plainly. Jesus wants to be crystal clear to the Jews and vague to Rome. That's exactly Jesus' strategy here in John chapter 10 and that will really help you read our text today because it can be really confusing without the interpretive key. And Jesus responds by saying, “I've already told you who I am.” You don't listen because you aren't my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Nobody can snatch them out of my hand. And then he says this: I and the Father are One Now what do we make of this phrase, “I and the father are one.” Through our Trinitarian glasses this seems like crystal clear evidence that Jesus is divine. What could be more clear? However, it's not as clear as you might think. Bear with me, in a little technical discussion here. The Greek language is a highly inflected language which means that it has lots of endings that match in case, number and gender. For example, most people know a little Spanish. In Spanish the word for good could either be beuno or buena depending on if it's modifying a boy or a girl. beuno chico for a boy vs buena chica if it's a girl. That's inflection. In Greek, you have three gender options. A modifier can be masculine, it could be feminine or it could be neuter. So in Greek if I say, Now let's come all the way back to it. Now when Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” which do you suppose it is? If he were saying I and the Father are one person, you would have to use masculine. Because the modifier “one” is modifying both Jesus and the Father. But it turns out it's actually neuter. Because Jesus is actually saying here, that I and the father are on the same mission. We have the same purpose. We are unified in what we are doing. Probably the clearest parallel here is actually John 17. This will help. Here also, the word “one” is neuter. In the same way that the Father and son are unified in purpose (one in purpose) I want the church to be one in purpose. Do you see that? Here's the point. When Jesus says I and the father are ONE (neuter), you can't say conclusively that this is a reference to Jesus being the same being as the father because when we get to John 17 we'd have to conclude that being one as Jesus and the Father are one would mean that the entire church would have to be ONE and the SAME person. That doesn't work. The Greek construction is not a slam dunk trinitarian proof text. Do you see how even a declension of an adjective can be theologically interesting! Time out for a second. If this type of original language insight is interesting to you, in our Faith Academy session one, we have a beginner Greek class starting up taught by our resident Greek expert Larry Krum. Wouldn't you love to be able to read this text? Of course you would! Now, the class is not designed to make you proficient in Greek (although you could continue on to do that); rather it's designed to help you use the many great Greek tools we have for studying Greek and gathering these insights on your own! Now, let's come back to our text. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” What did your Greek lesson teach us? We can't, with a good conscience, use this as a proof text for Jesus' divinity. Jesus could have made it clear by providing an object and using a masculine modifier. He could have said, “I and the Father are one being.” But he didn't. He made the object implied and chose a neuter. The Response To Vagueness But that's not a problem at all; he did it on purpose. Jesus wants to be crystal clear to the Jews and vague to Rome. He's giving just enough to enrage his enemies but not enough to condemn him before Rome. It's genius. I and the Father are one. We are on the same mission of saving sinners. We synchronized in our eternal mission to redeem the lost. We are agreed and tuned to one another in our purpose to rescue lost sheep. Am I the Conquering Christ? Am I? You tell me. He said it but didn't say it. If ROME was listening they would shrug their shoulders. This guy is insane. But EVERY JEW PRESENT knew exactly what he was doing. And the Jews were divided in their response. Any Jewish person determined to SEEK God would have heard the message of the good shepherd and thought, “How in the World could Jesus, as the Son of God, DESCEND so low so as to die for the sheep?” And they fall on their face to worship. But any Jewish person determined to REJECT God would have heard the exact same message of Jesus and think, “How in the world could Jesus dare ASCEND so high so as to claim to be the Son of God?” And they accused him of blasphemy and picked up stones to murder him. Now I think you have to really envision the intensity of the moment. Jesus' life is on the line. This is a pretty critical moment. The modern equivalent would be someone raising a gun and pointing it at your head. Whoa. How is Jesus going to diffuse things? At first he seeks clarity. I've done many good works. For which of them are you stoning me? This is Jesus trying to ask for his rights to be read. I need a technical answer here as to what I've done wrong. Show me the law I've broken. When you murder someone, you get the death penalty. That bad work justifies the death sentence. Jesus says, “I've done nothing but good works. Why do I deserve to die?” And they answer that question. We are not murdering you for your good works. We are murdering you for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God. So now Jesus is going to respond to the charge of blasphemy itself. Now you have to understand what, in specifics, they are chafing against. They are chafing against this concept of Jesus referencing himself as the ‘Son of God' and this brazen claim that God was his father. It's actually not the phrase, “I and the Father are one that ultimately gets them.” It's the Father - Son relationship that is so problematic. We talked about this a little back in John chapter 5, but let's refresh on this point. Back in chapter 5 they were trying to pin him down (once again) by asking him directing, “Are you saying God is your father?” Yes, then you are saying you are equal with God. Now in our ears that's a pretty big jump. If I say I am the son of Dale (my father), you don't hear me saying, I am equal with my father. And the reason you don't hear that is because that's now what it means in our culture. But in a Jewish context, being a son meant more than being genetically connected; it's fair to say that might even be the secondary idea. Now to illustrate this, in the Jewish culture, when a male child was born, they would not say, "congratulations, here's your son." They would say, congratulations, here's your child. He did not become a son until when? Until his bar mitzpha. At bar mitzpha the boy became a man and then he was officially his son. And the idea is that after his bar mitzphah he became equal with the father. He had that full standing of equality as a man. So when you read son of God, it's not talking about progeny. It's talking about equality. This concept of EQUALITY is behind a lot of the idioms we of in the NT. The Bible talks about Judas as the son of perdition. He's not literally born of a person named perdition. He's one with perdition. He's one with evil. James and John were called sons of thunder. They are one with thunder. So that's what is meant by that title. So to say you are the son of God is blasphemous. You are one with God. Now Jesus is going to challenge this association they are making between using the term son of God and blaspheme by quoting from Psalm 82. So we are going to need to jump over to Psalm 82 in order to understand this more fully. Now here's how the Psalm begins. Now the immediate interpretive question that jumps out when you read the text is "who are these gods mentioned in verse 1? Now you have two basic interpretive options. Some people say these are angelic beings and demons, what the NT describes as principalities and powers in the heavenly places. So you may remember in Job… The sons of God in Job 1 here clearly refer to angelic beings and even Satan himself. So that's the first view. The second view is that this is actually a reference to human rulers. In the ANE the rulers of the world were almost always seen as being divine. So perhaps ‘sons of God' could be a reference to human kings. So that' the second view. Now it doesn't matter what view you take in order to understand Jesus' reasoning. Either way, God is pictured as sitting among these so-called gods, these heavenly beings or these human rulers and saying, “We are going to have a court trial.” And what is the subject of the trial? Injustice. God speaks and says, "How long will you judge unjustly and favor the wicked?" These rulers whether they by human rulers or angelic rulers are using their power to back the injustices of the world. They are using their power to actually create ON PURPOSE social injustice. And God is about to pronounce judgment on them for this. So in verse three God begins to speak to this assembly of ‘gods.' Here's what you should be doing. 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. And he pictures these oppressed people as wandering around in darkness. 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. And then after that incriminating judgment comes the part that Jesus quotes in our passage in John 10. I said, You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince. So the Psalmist is saying, even though you have this very exalted status as ‘gods' whether that be human kings or heavenly powers because of your sin, you are about to come crashing down because you have misused your authority and power. So that's Psalm 82 How is Jesus using this? Here's the first thing to say. Jesus isn't trying to write a commentary on the Psalm here. He's not trying to explain any deep meaning here. He's just extracting from Psalm 82 one simple point that relates to the charge against him. They want to stone him because he claims to be the Son of God and for them that is sufficient evidence of blaspheme. Jesus uses Psalm 82 to say, "Your reasoning doesn't make sense. If you are going to charge me with blaspheme, at least do it in a way that is consistent with the Scriptures. And shows this inconsistency by calling attention to the fact that in the Psalms the very term “sons of God” is used for beings less than God. And nobody accuses the psalmist of blaspheme? If the Psalmist can use ‘son of God' to refer to Satan or to angels or to human kings, why can't I? Now Jesus is NOT arguing that he is merely a human king or merely an angelic being like the ‘gods' of Psalm 82. It's really key to notice that he doesn't EQUATE himself with the beings of Psalm 82. In fact, notice he actually sets himself above them. Notice how absolutely perfectly he words it in verse 30 “Do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world,”you are blaspheming?" I am claiming to the one who God sent into the world. That's the claim. But how can you say that this is blasphemous on the basis of my usage of the term ‘son of God.' I'm not backing down an inch on the claim But you can't charge me with blaspheme because I used that title. You'll have to come up with something better than that. Here's a way to say it: He doesn't defuse the situation by reducing his claim to deity; He defuses the situation by expanding the term Son of God so that his enemies have to find another route for the blaspheme charge to stick. So after diffusing the charge of blaspheme, Essentially what he is saying here is this: You have charged me with blaspheme. The definition of blaspheme is where a man claims to be God. I am claiming to be God. So the only way that this cannot be blaspheme is if I am actually God. Make your choice. Now here's where all of John chapter 10 is headed. Make a choice. And make a choice based on the EVIDENCE. They saw Jesus perform miracles. Jesus says, "Fine, I realize my words are hard to believe. I'll give you that. That's completely understandable. That's why you have been mercifully given miracles. The miracles authenticate the claims. If you don't believe the claims, believe the miracles that point to the claims. Now, you might be saying, “I wish we had miracles today, so that I could believe.” Listen, I think what science has revealed about the created order in the past 100 years has revealed a world of such stunning complexity and design that in terms of the quality of evidence, it's on par with the miracles of Jesus' day. Anyone who cares to investigate the issue will bump up against a world so staggering in complexity, so marvelously designed that your mind will hurt to try to even conceive of it. Let me just give you one of my favorites: Now I'm not a scientist by any means, but I love this stuff because I can appreciate complexity and design when I see it. So you are likely familiar with the DNA double Helix. Every time a cell divides in your body every base pair in that double Helix, all 3 billion of them, has to be copied and there's a machine designed to do that. So this is an accurate representation of the actual DNA replication machine that's occurring right now inside all of our bodies. So it's like a production line where the double helix chain of nucleotides, unfolds, from the left-hand side and it pulls apart the structure like a zipper and makes an exact copy. So DNA comes in and hits the blue, doughnut-shaped structure and it's ripped apart into its two strands. One strand can be copied directly, and you can see these things spooling off to the bottom there. But things aren't so simple for the other strand because it must be copied backwards. So it's thrown out repeatedly in these loops and copied one section at a time, creating two new DNA molecules. Of course all along you have cellular proofreading and error-checking going on to ensure that no mistakes are made. Now you have billions of these machines right now working away inside you, copying your DNA with exquisite fidelity. It's an accurate representation, and it's pretty much at the correct speed for what is occurring inside you. This information is then used to build every mechanism at work inside your body. Does that not boggle your mind? And that's just one of the many, many processes that are at work inside your cells right now. All of which are so complicated and so precise it defies any naturalistic explanation. Now if you want to get lost in this, here's a page you can go to. The process synthesizing ATP will blow your mind (5 star review) The electron transport chain Muscle structure and function Listen, this week we were making some changes to our computer in the back and one little, tiny chip fell off the motherboard of the computer. I could barely even see it. And guess what? The entire computer stopped working. The whole thing shut down. Why, because it's all designed to work together. The same is true for every biological mechanism at work in all life on earth. The smallest corruption of data, the slightest alteration and the entire organism ceases to exist. I think if Jesus were here right now he'd say, "If you don't believe me, then believe the works. Look at the created order and marvel. Look at the design. Look at the created order and just marvel. What we experience today is a willful ignorance, a willful unbelief that parallels and maybe even rivals the unbelief in Jesus' day. Now by the way, when it speaks of Jesus crossing the Jordan, that detail is included to let you know he crossed into a different political jurisdiction. He's moving around very wisely, very intelligently avoiding trouble. Now speaking about some hardening their heart to Jesus and others opening their heart wide, there could not be a more current example of this than our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. This is a modern day example of this. You have some who have read the same words you are reading and have bowed the knee and confessed Jesus as Lord and it all resolves in worship. And then you have others who refuse to confess Jesus as God and will literally murder others who do. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The human heart does not change. announcements I want to close this morning by praying for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and many of the neighboring countries. I struggled to know what information to present this morning in this regard since it's so hard to find accurate information. In these early stages, the best information comes from those whose eyes are on the ground. Fortunately we have a connection. Tim Carns who attends our church here and preached a few weeks ago trains leaders internationally and works with several pastors in the region, one man in particular who lives in lahor, Pakistan which closely neighbors Afganistan regularly conducts ministry there and sent out an update to Time. I want to share and use it as a springboard for a corporate time of prayer: Listen, our world needs Jesus. What is going on in Afganistan is a stark reminder, it's not any more serious than what is going on with your next door neighbor. They need Jesus too. Bring a friend to church. Help your friends see Jesus.
Introduction So a few years ago, my friend Nate and I were experimenting with alternate forms of energy. I've been interested in this from my earliest days as a child. And one of the things we stumbled across was people making methane generators from cow manure. So we thought this would be a good idea to try. Now the first experiment was to just see if we could capture the methane gas. All we needed for the experiment was three things: We needed a container We needed a slurry of the material And, since methane bacteria don't like cold, we needed a way to heat it. So for the container we had one of those 5 gallon clear water cooler bottles laying around. For the slurry, we drove to a cow farm and ask the farmer if we could borrow some of his manure. He kindly said we could just keep it. We then filled our container to about 3/4 full with this slurry, and put a cork in it. We drilled a hole for a tube and put a balloon on the end of the tube to capture the gas. For the heat we decided to put it on the roof so that it would slowly bring it up to that 95 degree sweet spot. Well, what we didn't account for was the expansion of the material as the outgassing began to occur. And what happened was the slurry bubbled up and ended up clogging the tube. So Nate and I are sitting down eating lunch and all of a sudden we hear what sounded like a bomb going off and I look out the window and I see water bottle shrapnel ricocheting off the side of the building and it's literally raining cow poop. It was all over the side of the building. It had blown clear across the courtyard and onto the neighbors door and window. It was all over the roof. What caused the explosion, of course was that there was a reaction taking place inside that bottle. The byproduct of that reaction was gas. Under normal circumstances, that gas could have easily escaped into the atmosphere. But there was just no place for it to go. And so the pressure built and built until the bottle could not hold it any longer and it burst. Our text today needs a graphic analogy because today we are going to witness a pretty toxic, pretty nasty explosive spiritual reaction on the part of the Pharisees and religious leaders to the person of Jesus Christ. Now spiritual reactions happen the same way chemical reactions do. As we've worked through the book of John, we've seen this sort of mounting pressure. These strong emotional REACTIONS to the incarnate WORD rise to the surface, but there's no where for it to go. Jesus himself is the container. Jesus won't go away and he FORCES those who are in his presence to deal with him. His very existence was problematic. Here's an example. If you told me that you had the superpower melting steel in your hand, I'd say that's impossible. But if you stood there with a piece of angle iron in your hand and it started glowing red and went limp, I'd have to deal with that. Something about my understanding of reality is incorrect. And that creates a lot of tension. We don't like that. No matter how impossible I thought it was, my eyes aren't lying. Somehow it's got to be explained. My disbelief is challenged by the evidence I am witnessing. And that's exactly what was going on with Jesus. Jesus HIMSELF had to be explained. Imagine being a skeptic in Jesus' day. There are two things that you constantly run up against that you just can't escape: His Words and his Actions. Let's start with his WORDS: Jesus says the most audacious things: We are all children of God. But I am the one and only begotten Son of God His favorite title for himself was Son of Man which is a title reserved for God/Messiah in Daniel 7 I reveal God because I have come down from heaven To the woman at the well he says, “I am living water.” When the Christ comes he will show us all things. “I who speak to you am he.” I am the bread of life I am the the light of the world I am the Word made flesh The words are clear and for that reason troubling. You can't escape their meaning. You can't escape his WORDS. But they are doubly troubling because of his ACTIONS. You could write him off as a lunatic if it wasn't for his actions. Remember, John doesn't call the supernatural works of Jesus miracles. He calls them signs. That's a theological decision on John's part. They are pointing to who he is, who he claims to be. His ACTIONS (the signs) authenticate his WORDS (the claims). For example, you want to say he's a fake, he's a false Messiah, but then time and time again he does these miracles that nobody could possibly counterfeit. Not a single person could say, “Oh that was just a trick.” You want to say that his miracles are products of demons, but how could demons do miracles reserved for Messiah? Are we really going to say that demons are healing people? You want to say that he's a sinner, but you never see him sin. You want to write him off and ignore him, but then everyone is following him. The SIGNS Jesus is performing are irrefutably pointing in one direction. He's Messiah. How else do you explain what Jesus says and does? This was exactly the logic of the man who was healed of his blindness in John 9. Jesus heals the blind man and the Pharisees, say, “We do not know where this man is from.” They can't escape the logic. The hearts of the religious leaders, like that slurry of cow manure, were rotten, smelly and entirely displeasing to the Lord. Jesus as the incarnate Word is both the heat and the container. He speaks and acts and they REACT. And because they refuse to acknowledge the obvious implications, there's no where to go. If you acknowledge the obvious implications, it all resolves. The spiritual and emotional reaction resolves in worship. That's what happened to the man born blind. He falls on his face and he worships. All that evidence points in one direction and it all resolves in worship and there's satisfaction. But if you refuse to acknowledge, the pressure continues building. They try to explain him away and none of the explanations work and the tension just builds and builds. The pressure becomes unbearable. Now eventually, you want to know what your only remaining option is? When you can't explain the evidence, what do you do? You try to destroy the evidence. The human heart so desperately craves harmony and resolution, it would rather knowingly lie to itself, it would rather destroy the truth than live beneath the truth. Since we can't explain who Jesus is, the heart explodes with this violent intent to destroy him. John chapter 10 is that reaction. The Text At first blush you wouldn't think it. If you read the first part of John chapter 10 as a standalone, it almost reads as a hallmark card. On the surface, what could be more beautiful than Jesus as the good shepherd. It's pleasant. There's a silent deep creek with crystal clear water. You picture in your mind fluffly cartoon sheep. A freshly trimmed pasture. A shepherd with a hooked staff. And on that card is written, “No bad days.” The story as Jesus tells it is a pretty simple story; it's not very dramatic. But when Jesus tells this simple story, I can guarantee you that the pressure inside those listening hearts would have been so thick you could cut it with a knife. Here's why: even an idiot can plug the characters into Jesus' metaphor. There are three characters in Jesus' story. First there's the sheep. That's obvious. The Jewish people are the sheep. Second, there's the shepherd. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Clear enough. Which leaves only one role left for the Pharisees and religious leaders to play. What's the third character? The wolves and robbers. They are the wolves and robbers. To be so directly accused, their eyes are tearing up in bitterness and resentment and their hearts are boiling over with exasperation. What we are going to see in the passage today is the toxic hearts of the religious leader explode. Let's pick it up where we left off last week. So we are in John chapter 10. Let's pick it up in verse 17. We'll catch the climax of Jesus' words from Jesus' teaching on the good shepherd. Jesus just finished saying that the reason he's qualified to be a good shepherd is that he owns the sheep. The sheep know him. The sheep follow him. And he finishes with the ultimate evidence of his love. So that's the last sentence in his good shepherd sermon. Again, it's pretty innocent. It's Hallmarkish. Here was the reaction among the people listening. Why are they divided? What is causing the division among them? His WORDS and his ACTIONS. His WORDS and his ACTIONS are causing a reaction and the mere presence of Jesus Christ is forcing them to deal with their own heart reaction. If you worship, it all resolves. But if you refuse, the pressure builds. Now look what happens next. We have two key background details: Both help in setting the stage. Let's start with the Feast of Dedication. This was not a feast that comes out of the Bible. It actually is established during the period between the OT and NT. Which, by the way, we have a Faith Academy class starting up which covers this exact topic. If you ever wondered what happened during the 400 years between the closing of the OT and the opening of the NT, then come to this class. It's absolutely fascinating. The short answer is: a lot. Now let me let you in on something you should know about: we have two PhD level professors teaching our Faith Academy classes this fall - both current professors. I don't want to overstate, “How could you NOT sign up for one of these classes?” We are very privileged. All our teachers this fall are top-notch. So this Feast of Dedication is one of those things that was established during this inner-testamental period. In 167 BC the Syrian Antiochus Epiphanes overran Jerusalem and polluted the temple. He set up a pagan altar to displace the altar of Israel's God and in the temple sacrificed a pig out of spite. Now that's one way to get a Jew riled up. According to the Bible, this kind of action was a capital offense so many of the Jews revolted and tried their hand at guerilla warfare. Judas Maccabaeus (whose name means the hammer) organized and grew rebel band of fighters into a force strong enough to recapture the temple and he reconsecrated it to God on the 25th of Kislev (which is December - winter as the text says). There was an eight-day celebration and so they established an eight-day feast known as the Feast of Dedication or as we more commonly know it as - Hanukkah. Now here's a key point. The Feast of Dedication is a festival that celebrates REVOLUTION. Literally, REVOLT. Which brings us to the second piece of background information we are given: Jesus is teaching in Solomon's Portico. Where's that? Solomon's portico was an open aired gathering for teaching and assembling. But here's what I wanted to point out: look over to the right. This little structure up here is called Antonia's Fortress. The Jews were allowed to worship “freely” so long as you “freely” worship under the watchful eye of Rome. This is the perch from which they were watched! This is where the Roman Garrison in charge of keeping order would have been housed. So let's put this all togther. It's the Feast of Dedication which literally CELEBRATES a revolution. Which means at least two things: the garrison sitting in this fortress is on high alert, but like every garrison tasked with baby sitting, they are bored and are itching for some action. The Jews come and ask Jesus, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Are you the Christ or not? They are inciting him. They are daring him. What does the word Christ mean to a Jew during this period of history? It means SAVIOR. And it's almost universally understood to be political salvation. Think about it. Moses delivered Israel politically from EGYPT. King David was a politician who got things done through bloody warfare. Samson, if you read the narrative, was almost a Marvel character. Judas Maccabees was Israel's most recent favorite, but he got put down. So all eyes are you: “Tell us Jesus! We can't handle it any longer. Are you the Christ or not? Stop speaking in riddles.” Back to the text: the Greek behind this question is a little uncertain. It could be rendered, as in the NIV, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” Or, more negatively, “How long are you going to annoy us?” Depending on how you read it, both work in their own way. The CONTEXTUAL point is obvious. What they want at this moment is to obtain from him an unambiguous statement that would give them grounds for lynching. So all these religious leaders need to do is get a clear statement from Jesus that he is a MESSIAH like unto Judas Maccabeus (Jesus - the sledgehammer) and it's a simple matter of walking across the courtyard and knocking on the door of Antoniah's fortress and saying, “We have an insurrectionist in our midst.” This is a loaded and VERY dangerous question. Now look at how Jesus answers them. Very shrewdly, he won't answer their political question directly. But he addresses the spiritual question behind the political question. And the spiritual question Jesus addresses is just as much relevant for us as it was for them: In this small paragraph we get 3 counterintuitive realities all of which are helpful in understanding our own spiritual reaction to Jesus Christ. Jesus is addressing the spiritual chemistry of his hearers, literally the spiritual DNA of his followers. “You don't need different facts. You need a different heart. Who I am could not be more clear. By my WORDS and by my ACTIONS nothing could be more clear. Can a demon possessed man heal the eyes of a blind man? Can a lunatic heal a paralytic? Can a sinner perform miracles? What does all this mean? I AM the great I AM. That's what I've said all along. WHO I AM has been ESTABLISHED. It's fact.” The problem is your REACTION to the facts. It is not that I haven't told you who I am; you just don't like what you've heard. He doesn't say, “You don't listen to my voice because you don't understand and need a more clear articulation.” He says, “You DO NOT believe because you are not among my sheep. You are of the wrong flock. Your spiritual DNA is violently opposed to me.” And because of your spiritual chemical composition, you REACT. When you say, “Tell us plainly so we can believe,” what you really mean is, “Tell us plainly so we can kill you.” That's how you are reacting to me. And the offer of Jesus to the religious leaders, and by extension to us as well, is can I give you a new heart? Can I spiritually regenerate you so that you can react in a different way? In Jeremiah's words, can I change you from a heart whose chemical composition is stone into a heart whose chemical composition is flesh? Your big problem, says Jesus to the religious leaders, is that you don't see your need for that new heart. Remember Jesus' words at the end of John 9 “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,' your guilt remains,” (Jn. 9:41 ESV). Now there's this predestinarian note that is sounded here. My Father has given them to me. Once again, we are exposed to this idea of God's sovereign election. God chooses. And if you are among the elect, you hear his voice and respond. Otherwise you violently react. For many, this is a stumbling block to faith. That just doesn't seem fair. But don't ever be tempted to reduce God to simple equations like that. Yes of course it feels confusing. But we are forced to grapple with the clear statements in the text. Remember we already ran across this back in John chapter 6. Paul has dozens and dozens of statements on this in the epistles. There's no arguing over the clarity of what the Bible teaches in this area. And the Bible acknowledges both sovereignty and human responsibility. Let me illustrate. Which of these two statements sounds more biblical? First, “Come to Jesus in faith and believe and he will give you a new heart.” Does that sound biblical? Of course it does. That's all over the Bible. Second, “You can't believe in Jesus until he gives you faith by regenerating your heart.” Does that sound biblical? Of course it does. It's all over the Bible. Those are literally opposites. Which is it? The Bible's answer is yes. The Bible's answer is that those statements are both true however irreconcilable they are in our finite minds. It is almost as if those truths are in fact two sides of a single event. The point is not to understand it. The point is to obey it. In the same way that none of us fully understand how gravity works, you submit to it, because if you don't it will kill you. Submit to Christ. Listen to Christ. Go under the knife and let him give you that new heart. And if you do let Christ give you a new heart, your new disposition will be to follow him. Your new reaction to Christ will be to trust, to obey, to do what he says. The tension you feel, and perhaps even hostility that you experience will resolve in to worship. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Not only will you have a new disposition. You have a new destiny. Life. In the classical world, so we are talking Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, some of the greatest philosophical minds ever, they simplified the greatest philosophical question of all to this, “What is the good life?” How to I live with purpose, meaning, that will ultimately satisfy? And every philosophical and religious system that has ever existed presents an answer framed in terms of effort. The good life, the life worth living, is a matter of effort. But Jesus inverts that entirely. Life is a matter of GRACE. Life is not found; it's given. Jesus said back in verse 10, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish…” We talked about last week the fact that Jesus can solve the life problem. Let me remind you of something we talked in John chapter 6. Do you remember this? In English we only have one word for LIFE but in Greek there are multiple words. There's two main ones. The word BIOS. We get our term biology from it. The greek word BIOS speaks of the MECHANICS of physical life - a heart that beats, lungs that breath, etc. That bird is living. Jesus is Lord of the living and the dead. BIOS speaks of physical, mechanical life. But then there's a second word, ZOA that speaks of a quality of living. For example, when you kick your feet up at the beach and there's a breeze and the sun is just right and you have a lemonade in your hand and you are all alone you might say, “Man, this is living.” That's not to say you were dead 5 minutes ago. It's speaking of a quality of life. It's speaking of your soul being satisfied, filled, and brimming with a heart-level contentment. My favorite yogurt is called ZOI. When I eat that, man, I'm living. My soul is taken to another dimension. That's life! So we will represent this word with a yogurt container. So when Jesus says, I give them eternal life, what kind of life is he speaking of? Answer: ZOA. Quality of life. He's here to give you the good life. No human being has eternal BIOS. You will die. You didn't need me to tell you that. Being a Christian does not mean that you escape the grave. That's about as obvious as it gets. Everyone dies. But, being a Christian does mean you will be resurrected. Remember back in John chapter 6. Let me point out something Jesus says back up in verse 17. Jesus says, “I lay down my life, in order that I might take it up again.” That phrase, ‘in order that' should be read as a purpose close. In other words, I lay down my life IN ORDER to take it up again. Jesus' sacrificial death was for a purpose. The death was not an end in itself, and his resurrection, somehow, an afterthought. His death was with the resurrection in view. The resurrection was the goal, the prize, the ultimate end. He died IN ORDER TO rise, just as we fly IN ORDER to reach our destination. And he rose, in order that we might have life as well. Notice also that the consequence of his knowing his sheep, and of his gift to them of eternal life, is that they shall never perish. How could we perish if we have eternal life?! So belief is a matter of genetics not facts; life is a matter of grace not effort; security is a matter of power not strategy. We all want security. Why? Because we all recognize that life is unstable. Once I find green pastures (ZOA), who's to say that some calamity, disaster, catastrophe, or unforeseen circumstances will fall upon me and cast me once again into desert drought. Security is hedging against loss. Security is the assurance of eternal green pastures. Our inclination is to think that security is a function of strategy. In order to obtain financial security in this life, we have to strategize. You've got to make the right decisions at the right time, take the right risks and with a little bit of luck it might just pay off. But again, Jesus inverts this. It's not strategy you need. It's power. You need to have power over the forces that threaten to take away life. Here's what Jesus says. I am that power. No one can snatch them out of my hand. The wolf can't. The thief can't. The robber can't. Nobody. Why, because I have POWER over all those things. I can't fail in the assignment given to me by my father because the father has given me the power to do it. The father has given me the power to preserve. The ultimate security of Jesus' sheep rests not in the strategy of sheep but in the power of the good shepherd. If you really want to simplify it, ask yourself this question, “Who can steal from God? Who has strength or cunning or sufficient skill to overpower or outwit the sovereign Father?” You can't wrestle God and win. You want to try and take them out of my hand? Good luck! If you're going to be successful, then you are going to have to be greater than God. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. Jesus plainly tell us who we are. You want plain speech. Here's plain speech for you. God the Father and I the same person and therefore on the same mission. Now we will look at this section next week at this phrase and what follows in more detail. It's fascinating. There's actually been a lot of debate on how to read this phrase of Jesus (and again, we'll peek into some of this detail next week), but one thing is clear. It's clear how the leaders heard it. It's clear what their reaction was. And today we are focusing on reaction. And that's where we are going to stop today. But the sermon doesn't stop there because now focus needs to come on us. Communion Now today we've observed the reaction of the Jewish leaders. There was this violent reaction to who Jesus was and they wanted to kill him. The blind man in John 9 saw who he was and wanted to worship him. Can you have more opposite reactions? Here's the question. How are you going to react? Are you going to WORSHIP him or are you going to WAR with him? Are you going to harden your heart against him like stone or are you going to soften your heart toward him like flesh. How do you react to Jesus Christ? Today is communion Sunday. And one of the things the Bible says is to examine yourself so as not to take communion in an unworthy manner. What does that mean? To take communion in a WORTHY manner means reacting properly to Jesus. How do we react properly to the good shepherd of John 10? We actually have an exhortation from the Psalms today instructing us exactly how to react to our good shepherd. He goes on to describe the Israelites pictured in this Psalm as a flock of sheep. God shepherded them out of Egypt with his might outstretched hand. He led them toward the promise land with the intent to give them life. But many did not want to follow him, and consequently, they did not enter into His rest. The sheep that follow Jesus Christ will rest. They will have life abundantly. God himself will raise us up on the last day. Those who harden their hearts, who react with this desire to rid Jesus from their life, they will never enter into his rest. What we celebrate in communion today is the reason you can trust God as your good shepherd. It gives you a reason to react in worship. Consider the metaphor of Scripture once again. What does a good shepherd do? He lays down his life for the sheep. Why would a shepherd throw himself into the mouth of a wolf to save sheep? That's absurd. And yet, it's the point. Consider further, if you are sheep who belongs to a Jewish shepherd, how will you almost certainly die? On an altar. A sheep is a sacrificial animal. So listen to those words again. Jesus says, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” Is this not the most absurd thing you've ever heard? The shepherd's blood will be applied toward the life of the sheep. The shepherd crawls up on the altar instead of the sheep. He becomes the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And if that's not absurd enough, consider he's not dying for the innocent lambs. The sheep are doing the killing. They've got the knives. But of course this is all a metaphor that is pointing to a reality. The gospel message is not a message to tell you how to save yourself. Instead of saying, “This is what you must do,” Jesus says, “This is what I have done. I've died, I've risen, I've conquered death and the grave, and I will raise you up on the Last Day.” Who would have thought that a lamb could rescue the souls of men? The gospel message, the good news, is a message that says the good shepherd has shed his own blood for you. The Son of God has thrown Himself into the mouth of the grave to save you. The initiating kindness of God leads us to repentance.
Why and who suggested former Faith Academy football player Shemar James attend a high school in Florida. Featuring AuburnSports.com Brian Stultz, The Athletic's Will Guillory on what the Pelicans may do now, Chris Gordy Locked on SEC and Sports Talk 790 in Houston and Tim Benz previewing the Steelers. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wnsp/support
Coach Matt Seymore is a Mobile, Alabama native. Coach Seymour is the Varsity Head Baseball Coach of the Faith Academy Rams the 2021 6A State Champions. Coach is a true faith first baseball coach with a goal of developing young men. In this weeks episode we talk about Faith Academy and what T.E.A.M means, he walks us through the wild ending of the state championship game, relationships with fathers and sons and coaching your son, and as always faith, family, community, and giving back! Enjoy You can follow Coach Matt Seymour and the Faith Academy Rams on Instagram @faith_academybaseball & @faithacademyrams You can follow Coach Matt Seymour on Twitter @coachmseymour22 You can follow The Faith Academy Rams on Twitter @faith_baseball_
Dave Schultz and Stephen Root talk about Coach K retiring with John Feinstein, MLB with Joe Lucia, Faith Academy with coach Jack French then it's the Tide and Tiger Report with Charlie Potter talking Alabama and Justin Ferguson talking Auburn! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard talk to Coach Matt Seymour about Faith Academy's State Championship, Ben Thomas about the announcement of a new AHSAA director and spring football with Alma Bryant football coach Bart Sessions! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Dave Schultz and Stephen Root talk Faith Academy's state baseball championship with coach Matt Seymour, Chiefs and Draft with Jason Anderson then it's the Tide and Tiger Report with Rodney Orr talking Alabama and Jordan D. Hill talking Auburn! Also discussing NBA Play-in games, MLB and more! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard talk Faith Academy spring football with coach Jack French, Faith Academy baseball with coach Matt Seymour and all things high school sports with Ben Thomas! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
LIVE from Faith Academy. Lee & Matt McCoy recap the 2021 Draft and interview Faith Academy coaches. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard cover the latest high school sports news and are joined by Faith Academy baseball coach Matt Seymour and Saint Paul's football coach and Hall of Famer Steve Mask! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Bryan Harsin didn't wait long to make the Alabama-Auburn rivalry a lot more fun. Derrick Henry was asked how much he got paid at Alabama? His answer was perfect. Guests include Faith Academy's Chad Applin, Jesse Cole from the Savannah Bananas, Voice of Alabama Football Eli Gold, John Racciatti on the PGA Tour, Vikings DT and former Daphne Trojan Michael Pierce and Bob Baumhower. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard talk Faith Academy basketball with coach Chad Applin, all things high school sports with Ben Thomas and Baker softball with coach Lauren Walker! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Interviews include Daphne's Kenny King, Blount's Lev Holly, Mobile Christian's Ronnie Cottrell, Faith Academy's Jack French and UMS-Wright's Terry Curtis who were all victorious in the first round of the high school football playoffs! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Mark & Lee are LIVE from Faith Academy for Gameday. Guests include Head Coach Jack French, players Gabe Broadus & Taylon Rice, AD Woody Head and CBS Sports Brad Nessler. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
Craig has family connections with Asia which stretch back over five generations. His great grandmother was involved with the famous Chefoo School in northern China. Craig earned his BA degree in Intercultural Studies at Biola University, California, in 1984. He completed his M.Div. in Theology from the same university in 1986. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. His doctoral dissertation focused on the introduction of women's basketball to the Philippines by American educators, entitled The Social Construction of Bodies through Basketball during the American Occupation: 1906-1922, and was awarded the John F. Doherty, S.J. Award for Social Justice. Craig's research interests lie at the intersection of sociology of the body, gender, and sport. He currently serves as President of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Sociology of the Body. He started his teaching career as a High School Teacher in La Habra, California. From 1988-1992 he worked in community development in a Muslim majority area of the southern Philippines, where he learned both Tagalog and the local language, Maguindanao. From 1992 until 2004 he worked at Faith Academy, Manila, Philippines, first teaching Humanities in the High School, then as High School Principal and, for five years, as Superintendent of the entire school, guiding a team of 130 faculty staff and 700 students in K-12, one third of whom were boarding students. From 2004 until 2012 he was Chair of the Social Sciences and Humanities Departments at Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. He returned to Asia 2012-2016 to work as Deputy Dean and High School Principal at UPH University and High School, a flagship Christian institution in Jakarta, Indonesia with some 15,000 students at High School and University. From 2016-June 2019, Dr Cook was Dean of the School of Education at Simpson University, Redding, California, where he successfully led the school through complex accreditation procedures. Dr Cook is married to Jamie Williams, J.D. They met in Indonesia, where she was teaching International Law in the Faculty of Law at Universitas Pelita Harapan. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature and Letters from the University of Oklahoma and her Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School. A licensed attorney in the states of New York and Texas, she has practiced family, criminal, and commercial law. Prior to joining Woodstock, Jamie was a professor in the History and Political Science Department at Simpson University in Redding, California, where she taught Political Science and Criminology. She was also an adjunct professor teaching Restorative Justice and International Law at Le Tourneau University in Longview, Texas. In addition, she served as Program Coordinator for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a nonprofit organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the foster care system. In Craig's own words: “I have been an athlete and participant in vigorous physical exercise for the whole of my adult life, being a regular basketball and tennis player and a tennis coach for many years. We live at present in a mountainous area of Northern California, where we enjoy hiking on the many beautiful trails… The heart of Christian leadership is being a servant to others, as evidenced by Jesus' washing the disciples' feet and commanding us to do the same.” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/future-school-leaders/message
Pigskin Pete and Brian Genard recap Week 4 and look ahead to another big Friday night of High School Football. Guests include Ray Nelson from Satsuma, Eric Collier from Theodore and Faith Academy's Jack French. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schultz/support
How to walk in freedom: Message to High School FAITH ACADEMY DAVAO CITY “KNOWING THE TRUTH IS NOT THE SAME AS WALKING THE TRUTH” Listen in to this message we gave to the High school students of Faith International Academy in Davao City. We pray today that you too would come to know our Lord and savior Jesus Christ to live in true freedom. To find out more about Jesus don’t hesitate to message us below. Much love and blessings! WickTribe
Captured For Ransom in the Philippines - Part 1Captured For Ransom in the Philippines - Part 2Captured For Ransom in the Philippines - Part 3FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete. Love Finds a Way to the Philippines Guest: Gracia BurnhamFrom the series: In the Presence of My Enemies (Day 1 of 3) Bob: Martin and Gracia Burnham had served for years as missionaries in the Philippines. Back in 2002, they got away for a few days of rest and recuperation when, one morning, the door of the cabin where they were staying was kicked in. Gracia: We knew that we were in big trouble, and we knew that we were being kidnapped; but we didn't know by whom. And then, when we realized it was the Abu Sayyaf, we knew what was going to happen because everyone follows all those hostage situations. It's like one starts, and then it ends. Everybody breathes easy for a bit. Then another one starts, and another one ends; and here it was us in the middle of this. Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Wednesday, July 1st. Our host is the President of FamilyLife®, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. We'll hear from Gracia Burnham today about the events that led up to the kidnapping and the 12-month hostage ordeal that she and her husband went through. Stay with us. 1:00 And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Wednesday edition. It was back more than a decade ago that we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Gracia Burnham. Together, with her husband, Martin, Gracia had been held captive for more than a year by Islamic terrorists in the Philippines. Her story had been followed by the American media. It was a powerful, compelling story and a story of God's grace and His very real presence in the midst of suffering. We thought it would be good to revisit that story and listen back to what stands out for us as one of the most compelling programs we've featured on FamilyLife Today in our 20-plus years of ministry. 2:00Here is Part One of our interview with Gracia Burnham, originally recorded in 2003. [Previously Recorded Interview] Dennis: We are going to feature a story over the next couple of days, Bob, that, personally, I've been looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. I don't know that I've ever heard of a couple getting away for a romantic weekend that was interrupted in such a dramatic way. I mean, picture yourself in full-time ministry overseas and needing a break. Now, that occurs in missionary staff, and they need to get a break. So this couple decided that they would find a cool spot. They found a cool spot and were sleeping when there was a [knocking sound] at the door. 3:00 And the rest of the story is—man! It's a story of faith, of courage, of suffering that—well, I was riveted by the book, In the Presence of My Enemies, written by Gracia Burnham. And Gracia joins us on FamilyLife Today. Gracia: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Dennis: Gracia, I really have been looking forward to meeting you. Barbara watched me read your book; and she said, "That must really be good!" Bob: A page-turner? Dennis: It is. Gracia and her husband Martin served with New Tribes Missions for more than 17 years. Gracia: Yes. Dennis: They have three children. I want you to tell us about that romantic getaway. You really needed it; didn't you? Gracia: Well, yes. New Tribes Mission Aviation—Martin was a jungle pilot—had been after Martin to become their new chief pilot from the Philippines. He'd just been in the States two weeks. 4:00 The Palawan pilot's dad died. That pilot had to go home to the States for a funeral, which meant that there were Bible translators that needed to get from one village to another; and there were kids that needed to get home from Faith Academy—there was a busy flight schedule on Palawan. Martin called me from the States and said: "I'm not going to be able to come home. I'm going to have to go to Palawan and fly." So, I cleared up my schedule and went to meet him in Palawan. I got someone to take care of the kids where we live, but I knew that he would have jet lag and would need some time to rest. Bob: Right. Gracia: So I called our co-workers on Palawan and said, "Where is a good place where we can go for, you know, just even 24 hours, so Martin can rest, and sleep, and get ready for a heavy flight schedule?" They told me about Dos Palmas, a resort that was an island all of its own, off the coast of Palawan. 5:00 To get there, you had to take kind of a fishing vessel. I told my friends to book us in, and then they told me the price. It was right on the tip of my tongue to say, "Oh, could you just find us a place in town?" And I didn't say it because our anniversary was coming up; and I justified the cost by saying, “This will be our anniversary treat.” And we did. We went to Dos Palmas and had a wonderful time—a beautiful meal / it was really, really nice—and went to bed that night. Then, even before dawn the next morning, that knock on the door—the pounding on the door—woke us up. Three men with M-16s ran into the room and took Martin immediately out. Then a guy came over to me, and pointed his weapon at me, and said in English, "Go, go, go!" 6:00 I said: “No, no, no! I don't have clothes on.” I was just trying to grab something right there by the bed. I grabbed what I'd had on at the beach the night before—just shorts and a t-shirt. They took me right out the door. They emptied all the little cottages that we were staying in that were on stilts over the water. When they emptied all those out, there were 20 of us hostages—3 Americans and the rest were Filipinos. As we pulled away from the dock, they raised their weapons in the air. I guess there were about 15 of these guys. We knew, right away, it was the Abu Sayyaf. They're a Muslim terrorist organization which funds itself by kidnapping and ransom. Dennis: Yes. Gracia: But they'd never been known to be on Palawan. 7:00 We always avoided the hot spots in the Philippines. For some reason, the Abu Sayyaf chose Palawan and Dos Palmas. Bob: So, was it not until that moment on the boat, with the guns raised, that you knew who these people were and what the agenda was? Gracia: Yes, that's when we knew who they were. Bob: Prior to that, when somebody is in your bedroom with a gun pointed at you, what are you thinking? Gracia: Well, we knew we were in big trouble. We knew that we were being kidnapped, but we didn't know by whom. Then, when we realized it was the Abu Sayyaf, we knew what was going to happen because we read the newspapers. A year before, they had taken a bunch of European business people from an island down closer to Malaysia, and everyone follows all those hostage situations. It's like one starts, and then it ends; and here it was us in the middle of this. 8:00 Dennis: Let's leave the speedboat for a moment, and let's go back to when you and Martin met—all the way back to the beginning of your relationship. Gracia: Yes. Dennis: You both were really missions-minded from the very beginning; weren't you? Gracia: Yes, we were. Martin grew up on the mission field. His parents are tribal missionaries. When Martin was a little boy, they moved their family to the Philippines and started working with the Ibaloi tribe—a tribe up in the mountains, where there are no roads. To reach those people, they built a small airstrip. That's how they would get their supplies—a pilot in a bush plane would bring their supplies, and their medicines, and stuff to them.Dennis: Martin grew up with that? Gracia: Martin grew up there. He went off to boarding school at Faith Academy, which was a very common thing to do back then—people didn't really home school back then. 9:00 Dennis: Yes. Gracia: When he graduated from high school, he went to Calvary Bible College in Kansas City. That's where I met him. I was a Calvary student, and we got to know each other. I liked Martin because he was different. A lot of the guys I knew—you know, they really cared about how they looked and had to be—we didn't us the word, "preppy," back then, but they were—you could tell they were just trying their best to be preppy. [Laughter] Well, Martin truly wasn't. He loved jeans, and flannel shirts, and cowboy boots. He was just himself, and I just really liked that. We got to know each other and— Dennis: It started out as a friendship. Gracia: Yes; yes, for sure. Dennis: And then when did he ask you out? Gracia: Ha! Dennis: When it really became a relationship—you became an item for him. Gracia: Well, I broke up with this guy—you know the story—my heart was broken. 10:00 I had just broken up with this guy and thought: “You know, I will never date again. That's it—my life is ruined." And the very next day, Martin walked into the Dean's office, where I was the Dean of Students' secretary, and asked me if I wanted to go to the fall concert, of all things. Well, I decided to say, “Yes.” Dennis: Your broken heart was not healed, but— Bob: A little salve on it pretty quick. [Laughter] Did you, prior to knowing Martin, did you have a missions' orientation? Gracia: Oh, I did. My favorite books were the books about Amy Carmichael and Mary Slessor—you know, who went into tribes in Africa and told the chief off. Those were my heroes. [Laughter] I always had a heart for missions. 11:00 Bob: So, your friendship with Martin, which was beginning to grow and increase / his friendship with you, growing and increasing—both of you with a heart for the field—there had to be conversations, in those early days, about where you thought you were both headed in service to the Lord. Gracia: Yes, I'm sure there were. I just really fell in love with him, truly. I was thrilled that he was going to be a missionary; but if he had chosen to be an airline pilot, I would have been happy with that because I just wanted to be with him—if that makes any sense. Dennis: And you were married. Gracia: Yes. Dennis: And how long, then, before you headed off on your overseas adventure? Gracia: We crop-dusted for one summer in Nebraska so he could get some real good training for the mission field. Then we, right after that, we went into New Tribes Mission training; and their training is quite extensive. 12:00 You go to—they call it Missions Institute now—it used to be called Boot Camp. You go for a year of Boot Camp just to see if you can live in Spartan conditions—I guess is what you would call it. Bob: Well, I have to imagine a young bride at Boot Camp. Gracia: Oh, my goodness! Yes! [Laughter] Bob: You know—part of the romance of being married—you can think about: “The mission field will be exciting. It will be fun,” but about the 40th time you're carrying the slop water up the hill, did you have some doubts? Did you think, "Couldn't we serve the Lord in some other capacity?" Gracia: I had doubts about whether I could do it. There were several girls in my shoes—who had just gotten married and gone off to Boot Camp—and, you know, it came time to cook. I didn't know, really, how to cook yet. I remember buying a chicken—you know, if you buy a whole chicken, it's cheaper. I got the chicken home, and I didn't know how to cut it up. Bob: Yes. Gracia: So, you know, I had to go to the neighbor and say, "Could you teach me how to cut up a chicken?" 13:00 How good that was—you know, on the mission field, you end up catching your chicken, and plucking your chicken, and cutting up your chicken. [Laughter] So, you have to learn someday. Bob: But there was never any thought of "I don't know that I want to live for the next 10 years / 15 years in conditions like we're simulating here at Boot Camp"? Gracia: No, no, I was happy to do that. Bob: I mean, you're not talking about, “What kind of wallpaper do you want in the kitchen?” Gracia: No, oh, my goodness. Bob: You know, and a lot of young ladies grow up dreaming of that domestic life. Gracia: Yes; well, you know what? I really loved Martin. It might not make a whole lot of sense, but I was happy to do anything God had called him to do. Maybe I wasn't going to have that little house, with the white picket fence; but life was going to be good because I would be with him, and I would be doing what God had called us to do. 14:00Dennis: You then went to the Philippines, and Martin began to fly. And the reason I wanted to say that is—I want to read a paragraph from your book that struck me because it gives us a glimpse into the character of the man you married. You write: "Before long, Martin knew everything about every missionary. He knew who was struggling financially; he knew which husbands and wives weren't getting along; he knew who was discouraged with language study because they weren't catching on as fast as they had hoped; he saw the newborn babies; he got to congratulate missionary kids on their home school projects; he met villagers who had recently become believers. Martin was the perfect person to hear it all. He just had a heart for everyone he came in contact with, and everyone who knew him loved him.” He was more than a pilot! Gracia: Yes. Dennis: I really like that because, you know, we think sometimes that a pilot for New Tribes Mission is just going to be on a task—flying supplies in / flying people in and out. Gracia: Yes. 15:00 Dennis: And yet he took an interest in the people he served. Gracia: Yes. You know, Martin used to say: “We didn't think of ourselves as the ‘real missionaries.' In our minds, the real missionaries were the people in the tribe—learning the language, doing literacy, doing medical, learning a new culture, planting churches, doing Bible translation. We were just there to keep the tribal missionary in the tribe—that was our goal.” Dennis: In the midst of all these flights, in and out, God was growing your faith at the same time. In fact, there's a story you tell about a time when you were moved to pray for Martin during one of these trips. Gracia: Yes. That was one year just before Christmas. I think it was his last flight before Christmas break. 16:00 It was kind of an unusual flight for us because it was a businessman who wanted a flight to Davao. Martin took him and our buyer. The buyer is the person who buys everything for these eight to ten families that you service out in the jungle—he just buys, all day long, and boxes things up and makes sure they're in the hangar on the right day. Martin was about ten minutes into his flight; and he called me and he said, "We have a problem here.” Then there was silence. I waited and nothing happened for a minute. I called him back and said, “Are you going to tell me what your problem is?” And he said: “I'm losing oil pressure. Something's wrong here. I'm above the clouds—so I don't know what's below us." A few minutes later, he called and said, "I've turned the engine off because we were pumping oil overboard.” 17:00 Before the engine seized on its own, he turned it off. He had just broken through the clouds, and he could see the valley below him. Well, now, he was just gliding into the valley. Bob: And our listeners need to understand that, when you turn off the engine on a plane, you don't just go into a nose dive—you glide for a while. Gracia: You glide; yes. Bob: So he was able to control the plane and keep it flying— Gracia: Yes. Bob: —even though the engine was off. Gracia: Yes. We have an interesting photo—the buyer took a photo of the stopped propeller. It was so quiet in the cockpit and, especially, that businessman was very quiet. They started gliding into the valley, and Martin started looking. There was an SIL Wycliffe Bible Translators' Center down in that valley. 18:00 Martin said, "I'm going to try to make it to the SIL base"; and he did. He said he cleared their fence by about 50 feet—he said—and came to a dead-stick landing. He had called them ahead to tell them about the emergency. They said they had a hallelujah meeting when he got on the ground. [Laughter] Bob: I bet his wife, on the other end of the radio, was having a hallelujah meetin'. Gracia: She was. Oh, Martin!—you know, he always had a sense of humor. That day, when he came home—you know, it could have been a dramatic: “Oh! I was so worried about you!” He walked in the gate. He looked at me, with this twinkle in his eye—he glanced at his watch—and he said, “I told you I'd be home by 10:00.” You know, it was just— Bob: —just another day. [Laughter] Gracia: That's how he was—he just always saw the good. Bob: But didn't you, in the back of your mind, after moments like that, think, "We've done enough here"? 19:00 Gracia: No, I never thought that. In fact, that was the best Christmas we ever had because we were enjoying each other so much. We knew that things could have happened much differently, and we had the most wonderful Christmas. No, we never talked about not doing that again. We loved what we were doing. Bob: But the next time—he might not have made it to the base. Gracia: That's true. Bob: And that's just part of how you live. Gracia: These things happen, I guess; huh? Those things happen in America—you can go off to work, and you have no guarantee that you're going to come home at night. Dennis: Yes, the folks— Gracia: You just forget— Dennis: —on September 11th—you know, the same thing— Gracia: That's right. Dennis: —God has a plan for us. Gracia: Yes. Dennis: We just live under the illusion thinking we're in control. We're really not in control. 20:00 And you're going to hear a dramatic story, over the next couple of days, that, if you were in the middle of that story—as I had to put myself and my wife Barbara—and I had to think, "How would I have translated what was happening?" It was such insanity to think of being captured and kidnapped by a terrorist group and to watch the conditions under which Gracia and her husband lived for more than a year. Today, there are people listening to us who are living in circumstances—that may not be in a jungle spot in the Philippines—but they are in a jungle of their own. The God of the universe wants to reach out to you and let you know He wants to take the insanity and make sense of it. He wants to teach you to trust Him. Jesus Christ is alive from the dead. It's not a myth / it's not a story that somebody made up—He's here—He's alive / He can guide you even through the darkest moment. 21:00 [Studio] Bob: I think about the hundreds of thousands—really, millions of people who heard a testimony of your faithfulness back when this happened in 2002. In the years since then, Gracia has written a book called In the Presence of my Enemies. It was a New York Times best-seller that sold more than 350,000 copies. In fact, you have—since the book was published, you have gone back and revised it, and updated it, and included information in the book about a return trip to the Philippines that you have taken since all of this happened. We've got copies of the updated version of the book, In the Presence of my Enemies, in our FamilyLife Today Resource Center. If our listeners are interested, they can go, online, at FamilyLifeToday.com to request a copy. Go to FamilyLifeToday.com. Click the link in the upper left-hand corner of the screen that says, “GO DEEPER.” 22:00 You'll see information about Gracia's book right there. You can order it from us, online; or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY to place your order. Again, FamilyLifeToday.com is the website. The toll-free number is 1-800-358-6329. The title of the book is In the Presence of my Enemies, written by our guest today, Gracia Burnham. You know, I think one of the things that Gracia's story illustrates is the importance of us having a firm foundation, spiritually, in our lives because none of us knows what's around the corner. None of us knows what's coming tomorrow for us—what events / what circumstances we may have to face. The time to pour a solid spiritual foundation in your life is not when the storms are coming—it's before they come so that, when the storms come, you can stand firm and find your hope and your strength in Christ. 23:00 We're committed, here at FamilyLife, to helping you with that. Our goal is to provide practical biblical help for your marriage and your family, day-in and day-out. We want to effectively develop godly families who change the world, one home at a time. And we're grateful that there are listeners, like you, who share that burden and who have joined with us in this ministry as financial supporters. We're listener-supported. More than 65 percent of the funding that we need to operate this ministry comes from people making donations—either as monthly Legacy Partners or as folks who contribute, from time to time, in support of the ministry. In fact, if you'd like to make a donation right now, it's easy to do. You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com. Click the link in the upper right-hand corner of the screen that says, “I CARE,” and make an online donation. Or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make your donation over the phone. 24:00 Or you can mail your donation to us at FamilyLife Today, PO Box 7111, Little Rock, AR. Our zip code is 72223. Now, tomorrow, we're going to hear more about the 12-month ordeal as Martin and Gracia Burnham were in captivity, held by Islamic terrorists in the Philippines. We'll hear more of that story tomorrow. I hope you can tune in for that. I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of FamilyLife Today FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow. We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs? Copyright © 2015 FamilyLife. All rights reserved. www.FamilyLife.com
Amy explains to Randy and Janett how God has given her an awesome ministry in her practice and new teaching position at Faith Academy of Marble Falls.
Amy explains to Randy and Janett how God has given her an awesome ministry in her practice and new teaching position at Faith Academy of Marble Falls.
Amy explains to Randy and Janett how God has given her an awesome ministry in her practice and new teaching position at Faith Academy of Marble Falls.
Amy explains to Randy and Janett how God has given her an awesome ministry in her practice and new teaching position at Faith Academy of Marble Falls.
Amy explains to Randy and Janett how God has given her an awesome ministry in her practice and new teaching position at Faith Academy of Marble Falls.
April 15, 2019D Mark kicks off the show with the weather forecast (brought by The Opelika Observer); Tiger Woods wins the Masters; LSU reinstates Will Wade as Basketball coach; Cody Flournoy has accepted head coach position at 5A Jackson; A-Day games from last weekendMore on Tiger Woods winning the Masters; Coach Cody Flournoy (new coach at Jackson) calls into the Hamilton's Hotline, congratulations on the new position, coach's thoughts on the new job and opportunity at JacksonRobert on the Hamilton's Hotline, commenting on the cold front before Easter, Tiger Woods at the Masters, Nick Saban's hip troublesTiger Woods record vs. Jack Nicklaus record; Braves Report; SEC Softball & Baseball; upcoming Auburn High/Central High game coming up on Wednesday; Ryan Herring steps down from head coach position in Oxford, relocating to South GeorgiaEverybody makes mistakes, more discussion on Tiger Woods; Vanderbilt news & NBA G-LeagueCaptain Kilgore of Opelika PD retires after 29 years of service; Greg Williams (Auburn University Equestrian) awarded Coach of the Year; Jeff gives us an updated weather forecast; Auburn University Equestrian brings home SEC Postseason awardsYoung man was killed by a pet Cassowary bird; when will Coach Malzahn name a started quarterback; quarterback stats; Kentucky Derby Day at Storybook Farm coming up in May; Faith Academy has a new girls' Basketball coach
Amy Cozby Head of school at Faith Academy is here hanging out sharing the 5 year vision for the school and what makes Faith Academy Unique
Amy Cozby Head of school at Faith Academy is here hanging out sharing the 5 year vision for the school and what makes Faith Academy Unique
Amy Cozby Head of school at Faith Academy is here hanging out sharing the 5 year vision for the school and what makes Faith Academy Unique
Amy Cozby Head of school at Faith Academy is here hanging out sharing the 5 year vision for the school and what makes Faith Academy Unique
Today Russ and Matt have Zakk and Kindsley on to talk about the craziness of last Sundays NFL Conf Championships, along with a local update of the Faith Academy basketball team!
Today Russ and Matt have Zakk and Kindsley on to talk about the craziness of last Sundays NFL Conf Championships, along with a local update of the Faith Academy basketball team!
Today Russ and Matt have Zakk and Kindsley on to talk about the craziness of last Sundays NFL Conf Championships, along with a local update of the Faith Academy basketball team!
Randy and Janett interview the administrator of Faith Academy, Mrs. Amy Cozby
Randy and Janett interview the administrator of Faith Academy, Mrs. Amy Cozby
Randy and Janett interview the administrator of Faith Academy, Mrs. Amy Cozby
Randy and Janett interview the administrator of Faith Academy, Mrs. Amy Cozby
Randy and Janett interview the administrator of Faith Academy, Mrs. Amy Cozby
Jeremy Wentreck - New athletic director at Faith Academy gives his testimony and talks about his new postion at Faith Academy.
Jeremy Wentreck - New athletic director at Faith Academy gives his testimony and talks about his new postion at Faith Academy.
Jeremy Wentreck - New athletic director at Faith Academy gives his testimony and talks about his new postion at Faith Academy.
Jeremy Wentreck - New athletic director at Faith Academy gives his testimony and talks about his new postion at Faith Academy.
Jeremy Wentreck - New athletic director at Faith Academy gives his testimony and talks about his new postion at Faith Academy.
Dr. Stuart Nunnally visits with us about his dental practice, the power of the mind, starting Faith Academy, and his love for all things Marble Falls
Dr. Stuart Nunnally visits with us about his dental practice, the power of the mind, starting Faith Academy, and his love for all things Marble Falls
Dr. Stuart Nunnally visits with us about his dental practice, the power of the mind, starting Faith Academy, and his love for all things Marble Falls
Dr. Stuart Nunnally visits with us about his dental practice, the power of the mind, starting Faith Academy, and his love for all things Marble Falls
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