TGIF

History broke into life again this week with the passing of Edward Kennedy. Whether you agree with his politics or not, he had a huge effect on this country during his time as senator.

Other stuff happened this week, some of it in the blogosphere. Here are the links for this week:

Stop taking the Bible so seriously! Amy writes about waiting. Jared Wilson has 5 ways to feel Scripture. Sometimes things happen that change all your plans. Kids these days. Jonathan Brink on questioning authority. Jeff McQ interviews himself on his 500th post. Do you think he needs help? I'm just sayin'. God the cosmic janitor. Dan Edelen on simple genius.

McKnight on Bonhoeffer. The Beloit College mindset list for the class of 2013 (HT: Scot Mcknight). A little while ago, some imonk readers received free copies of Andrew Marin's book, Love Is An Orientation. Here are some of their reviews. Unbelievable. A great explanation of simple church. Lessons from the bush.

Have a great weekend.

Three Years

It's been three years since my mom was freed from her world of disease and pain. There is still sadness as I think back on that time. I know that she will never leave my heart or my thoughts, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I still miss her. I probably always will.

The longer I live and the more I learn, the more I realize how profound Mom's life really was. Dan Edelen writes here about the genius of ordinary, simple saints. That got me thinking about the influence that Mom's simple deep faith had on me. She didn't have any seminary training, yet she knew Jesus. It was obvious in the way she loved my sister and me, and in the way she loved other people. Her life was hard growing up but I never saw any bitterness or hardness in her. You could see in her that she knew her Savior, and that she wanted to be like him. We always went to conservative churches where there was a certain amount of legalism and judgementalism, but I didn't see that in Mom. While she was by no means perfect, she was one of the closest to being like the Master that I have ever known. Mom was a wonderful example of simply living her faith out, and that went a long way to shaping me into the person I am now (at least the good parts).

World Vision Wednesday

Did you know that just $6 provides 2 insecticide treated bed nets that can keep a child from getting malaria? World Vision is one of the organizations that is working to end malaria around the world.

For more information about the program, look at this site.

Light

Sunday morning we were talking about 1 John 1:5 , where John declares that God is light. That verse is one of the few times where Scripture says God is something. It's hard for me to imagine pure light with no darkness at all. God is light, and that light is so pure that it is impossible for one of us to see God and live. Maybe taking the idea of staring at the sun and multiplying it by infinity might approach the idea of God being light, but probably not.

Now think of Adam and Eve in the Garden before the Fall, spending their time in God's presence. They walked and talked with their Creator. Were they pure enough to be able to see the glory of God and still live? I think that they were, even though I can't wrap my tiny brain around that. Unfortunately, that purity and close relationship was broken by sin, and people could no longer stand to see God. Moses only saw the afterglow of God's presence and had to put a veil on because the people couldn't even stand to look on that reflection of God's glory.

Then along comes Jesus, the One called the Light of the world. He revealed the Father to us and abolished the barrier between us and God by his death, burial, and resurrection. Now we are the light of the world. Think about what that means. If people are to see the glory of God, they will see it in those of us who follow Jesus. Jesus said that people don't take a light and hide it, but rather allow it's light to shine. In the same way, we are not to hide the light of God that is in us, but we are to live our lives in such a way that people see God in us.

I believe that we let our light shine by taking it where the darkness is. If you light a candle outside on a sunny day, there is not much light seen from that candle. In the same way, if the only time we shine is when we are with other followers of Jesus, our light is not going to be as bright. We also can't sit behind walls and lob "truth grenades" at those outside and expect any light to be seen. We need to shine where those living in darkness can see God's light in us.

And So It Begins

This morning marked the first meeting of St. Thomas Community Church. We had 25 people and filled the room. Frank talked a bit about why we were there, and why we decided to start another church in Rock Hill. We aren't doing this because Rock Hill needs another institution with "church" on the door. We do believe that our city needs more of the body of Christ, and needs for that body to get out and love others as Jesus did. We sang a song, spent some time in prayer, had the Lord's Supper, and spent time hanging out and talking.

It'll be interesting to see how the Father leads in the future. We have plans to do things beyond the Sunday morning time, so we'll see what happens.

TGIF

Now that summer vacation is over and the alarm is waking me up every morning, TGIF means a lot more. We've finished one week of school and there have been a few challenges, but God is gracious. Sunday marks the start of what I hope will be a new community of faith that embodies the grace of the Father in Rock Hill. If you think about it, please pray for the Spirit to guide us and work in us.

Here are some of the links for this week:

From truth to truth. Tim Hill mourns the American icon. This is a great song. Life lessons from Sarah Fujimoto. Who knew parking could be so spiritual? iMonk on evangelical worship settings. Scot McKnight on John Piper and tornadoes.

Alan Knox on spiritual gifts. Learn how to take a photo with and without flash (HT: Brother Maynard). Here is a new way for churches to raise money. A lesson on forgiveness (?) This sounds like some of my camping trips. Is Jeff McQ becoming agnostic? The wisdom of crowds.

I hope you have a good weekend. If you're a surfer, I hear there's going to be some killer waves on the east coast this weekend. :)

World Vision Wednesday

“Because World Vision has set an example, I [hope] to pay back by doing social work in order to advocate for the poor and for vulnerable children like me,” says Mayungo.

You can read more of this success story here.