Nipawin Jeopardy (Round one)

A: When the cows come home.

Q: What happens in the fall?

I'll keep you posted as I learn more...it is great how much we are learning here as we get to know more of everyone. It is a lot of fun.

Cyber-Saints (From Army Barmy)

Winning the World for Jesus, Starting on Second Life...For those of you who are not up on the latest crazes, Second Life is a virtual world - an internet simulation game - on which you can create avatars and "live" an alternate life. It sounds like an enormous waste of time, and surely it is, but the game has 8 million "residents" who spend millions of dollars (virtual dollars and actual dollars) every month. That would make it one of the bigger cities in the world, and there are many people who identify more with their lives on Second Life than in real life (or IRL).

So what is the response of the Catholic Church? Send in missionaries, of course!Why not? Missionaries have been sent to a lot more dangerous places before. And you're pretty certain not to wind up with "rice Christians" as a result of this mission activity.It's all kind of weird, but if this is where you feel called, maybe it's time to set up a Training College in Second Life. Or perhaps a 614. But remember, if it's a 614 it has to be in one of the poor Second Life neighbourhoods. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070727/tc_nm/religion_secondlife_dc

Posted by Aaron at www.armybarmy.com/blog.htm

Open Air in Tisdale; Radio in Nipawin

We had an open air in Tisdale Sunday. We grabbed our flag, our songbooks and headed out onto the street. It was great fun.

In Nipawin we had a wonderful meeting as well. I was blessed by hearing more than one story of how the Lord is working in people's lives. In Nipawin we are further blessed with Andrew, a great pianist. This truly is a blessing. Thanks be to the Lord.

Also in Nipawin there is a great Christian radio station (I believe Andrew was one of the founders of it); I hope that we can do some work with it in the future; you may wish to check it out on-line (www.lighthousefm.ca).

I have also posted a version of this Sundays sermons on-line at www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_Sermons.htm ; both sermons were different from each other and from that which I had written on my paper... (-:

Michael

-----------
web: www.sheepspeak.com
Comics and Rations: www.sheepspeak.com/drwas.htm

Social Justice in a Cup - Prison

I have been thinking about Social Justice a lot lately not only relating to the new TSA portfolios, the Warrior's Song Cafe, and 'Social Justice in a Cup'...

It seems to me that one of the areas that both the Bible and Booth were very concerned about was social justice around captives and those in prison. In our society, people still go in and out of prison - in and out. I was thinking...

It seems silly to me that when people are so ill adjusted to society that they commit crimes against society, our solution is to give them a time-out and then return them to society. While they are on their time-out society changes; so, if they were ill-equipped before how much more ill-equipped will they be after their time in prison?

I was wondering if there would be anyway that one condition of one's release would be that one hold down a job. I was also wondering if one could start that job slowly: an employment counsellor could find it for them. As they could spend their first three months working there, they could return to prison to sleep. After that, a counsellor could help them secure a place to live (so that they do not need to return to the same social crowd that they were a part of when they got into trouble in the first place) and they could gradually be integrated into society.

Of course, there would also need to be specific programmes offered for the people in prison to help them acquire the appropriate skills. It seems to me that something like this would offer more justice for society and for the captives than there is at present...

let me know what you think?

blog@sheepspeak.com

Michael

-----------
web: www.sheepspeak.com
Comics and Rations: www.sheepspeak.com/drwas.htm

Happy Birthday Susan!

Luke 16

So as I have been studying Lukan parables again and have been concentrating on their interconnectedness, I find very interesting Luke's comments about serving both God and money (Luke 16:13). One cannot serve both God and money; this is true.

This statement seems to be a bridge between the parable of the 'shrewd' manager and comments about some specific people's love of money (v.14). As well as serving as a literary transition, it also seems to shed a further light on the preceding parable. One reading the parable of the 'shrewd' manager out of the context that is provided for it in the Lukan account, could draw the erroneous conclusion that the 'God figure' was condoning a goal of obtaining 'unrighteous' funds and using them for 'eternal' purposes. This comment that "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (v.13)," serves to discourage that misinterpretation and further narrows the possible meanings and consequences of this parable.

Michael

-----------
web: www.sheepspeak.com
Comics and Rations: www.sheepspeak.com/drwas.htm

Food for thought

Food for thought from DR Was: www.sheepspeak.com/drwas.htm



Let go, you're in good hands.

_____________________________



Where will you be after you pass through this world?

Shrewd manager and the Prodigal Son

Ever notice how the 'prodigal son' "squanders" the wealth from the God
figure in the story but is totally forgiven and the 'shrewd manager'
"squanders" the wealth of the God figure in the story but is fired?

Initially, it seems to me - as the parables follow each other in the Lukan
account, that after hearing the story of the 'prodigal son,' Jesus'
disciples may have been thinking that, "since we will be forgiven if we
stray from the Father and 'squander' what he has given us, why shouldn't we
go out and enjoy some 'wild living'?"

This would make sense particularly as the second parable is spoken strictly
to the disciples and I think it can be shown that it is not uncommon for
Jesus to explain a parable with a parable (cf. Luke 8, the parables of the
Soils and Lamp under a Bushel).

I submit that - as this section of Luke, recording what Jesus taught on the
road to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:57), should be considered as a whole - that
in the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus often uses one parable to explain the
previous one.

If one accepts this premise of mine, and consider the preceding and
following parables as further explanations of each other intentionally
answering related but tangential questions from those before them, then I
think that one will find that the parable of the shrewd manager need not be
as controversial as it seems to be amongst scholars: forced apologetics,
which in my opinion are applied way too often, certainly would not be needed
for possible interpretations of this parable - for when the context is fully
considered, its probable meaning becomes narrowed immensely.

Okay, I have to go to bed...

Michael

-----------
web: www.sheepspeak.com
Rations and Comics: www.sheepspeak.com/drwas.htm

AC DC in Concert

We were in Beaver Creek today to meet and officially greet our new Area Commanders and Divisional Commander. It was good.

Pray for Susan she is doing both leads and preaches tomorrow and we are being installed. I am leading the children.