Pressing In - a place to go deeper

Brazil's President praying for Obama

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:22:34 +0000

I thought this was a cool testimony...
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CNN.com

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ... also expressed his admiration for Barack Obama, saying he told the new U.S. president at a recent White House meeting that he prays more for the American leader than for himself "because although I face many problems, he has much more delicate problems than I."

Rich Hockett on Transformational Revival in 2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:48:34 +0000

[I really liked the email Rich sent out to our home group, so I'm reposting it here (with his permission) for us to discuss. - Ernie P.]

The "Invitation" is the night of the first Sunday after New Year's. I know not much has been said about this in church so far, so I want to explain it a little from my own perspective. For many years (decades?) I have heard people talk about revival, and God's plan for California, or the Bay Area, and I know that many people have been praying for revival for a long time. At the same time, John Isaacs and a few other pastors in the Bay Area have been working together for several years to promote unity among the churches of the South Bay. This lead to the "Transformation Alliance of Santa Clara County" (TASCC), which is made up of pastors and intercessors from quite a number and variety of South Bay churches seeking to work together to bless (and transform!) our communities.

The Shack/Barney's message

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:30:47 +0000

Hi,

I wanted to discuss Barney's message in light of the book The Shack. I especially would love to hear from Anne as I know she is a fan of the book.

To me what was offensive about The Shack was not so much that God was represented by a woman, but that they called her Papa. I REALLY didn't like that mixing of genders. Also, the name of the main character - Mackenzie - is usually a female name - that bothered me too. It made me think that in the author's view - gender didn't matter. To me, gender matters very much.

Perspective on the Financial Crisis

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:55:27 +0000

I couldn't figure out how to put an image into this post, so I attached it as a file and here's a link to my blog to see it:

http://jorbratko.blogspot.com/

Framing Stories...

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:49:26 +0000

I'm curious to hear some responses to this short article by Brian McLaren: Why I'm Voting For Obama, and Why I Hope You Will Too: Reason 1.

Topic for Test Posts

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:52:42 +0000

This is a practical topic for people who want to test post their sigs, pictures, etc.

the gift of tongues

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:59:05 +0000

I was recently engaged in an interesting discussion regarding the gift of tongues. It started because of a reaction I had to a live worship CD on which the lead singer could be heard singing in tongues during one of the songs. My initial reaction to hearing this was something like, "Gosh, why in the world would they not edit that out?" It seemed to distract me more than anything else. Instead of being brought more into focusing on God, I instantly found myself focused on the singer.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

n/a

Who "Owns" Our National Sin?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:10:13 +0000

[I notice we evangelicals worry a lot about the sin in our society. I've often wondered, though, whether that is a "fear reaction" (or even a pride-reaction!) rather than a God-reaction.

My cousin had another excellent article on this topic...]

My Faithful King

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:23:16 +0000

[verse 1] When trials come, when darkness falls When sorrow grips my soul Your grace is known, Your light breaks through Your joy restores my soul [chorus] And I'll trust in You 'cause You will never fail And every word You speak will come to be And You are good, and You will never change Forever You will be my Faithful King [verse 2] When I give up, when I fall down When all my walls come crashing down You give me hope, You pick me up You set my feet on solid ground

Can Somebody explain why my thinking is wrong?

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:05:19 +0000

Ok here are some topics that I have never gotten a satisfactory answer to.
If Christ dwells in us upon the “birthing” why are prayers said by many
in the body that makes the request “Lord come be with us” ?

[How] Should the Church Pray about Politics?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:55:23 +0000

Hi all,

Let me venture in where angels fear to tread. :-)

It feels like several our of our recent Congregational Prayers were about political rather than theological issues. I am of two minds about this, as I believe we need to be in the world but not of it. What I am certain of is that there is plenty of room for grave mistakes.

So, how do you think we can/should best handle political issues as a congregation, particularly on Sunday morning? What do we need to achieve? What must we avoid?

God's Love In Us is What Brings His Kingdom

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:37:28 +0000

[Some more great thoughts from my cousin John Dayalan Edward. Agree? Disagree? -- Ernie P.]

The force of influence that God has chosen to bring His kingdom to people is Love. The Love (of Christ) that is displayed through our lives, words and actions. This is what births the kingdom in people.

What God cannot do?

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 06:09:40 +0000

So here's a question for anyone who'd like to ponder with me. I've been pondering this idea for a couple of years now and it has some interesting implications but, due to the fact that I'd like to avoid any heretical beliefs, I'd love to get some feedback on it.

Essential Truths

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:01:18 +0000

In (another) "Epistle" from my cousin, he does an (IMHO) brilliant job of summarizing the foundational truths we need to build our ministry (and our theology) around.

-- Ernie P.

Why Revival Tarries, Part 2