Holy Land Photos

This website offers thousands of photos of biblical sites. You name it, they’ll have it, and much, much more. But here’s the best part. For use in ministry or teaching contexts, you can use these fantastic photos for free. (Commercial uses require special permission, as do some website uses.)

Holy Land Photos is the brainchild of Dr. Carl Rasmussen, who is Professor of Biblical Studies at Bethel College, Minnesota. Carl is an expert in biblical archeology. He contributes both photos and commentary on this excellent website.

Presbyweb  (also, Church and World.com)

Presbyweb collects valuable news stories of interest to Presbyterians. It now includes a United Methodist edition as well. There is no better place in the entire world to keep on on what’s happening in the PC(USA). Presbyweb, which is updated daily (except Sundays), is truly, literally “fair and balanced.” It includes stories from different sides of the church, treating all with respect.

Presbyweb and associated websites are the work of Han Cornelder, who is a PC(USA) pastor.  He’s been doing this work for over ten years. Now I should mention that Presbyweb and the other Church and World sites are subscription sites. After a free trial, you’ll need to make a donation to the work. But, in my opinion, this is some of the best subscription money I pay each year. If you’re a leader in the Presbyterian or United Methdist churches (pastor, minister, elder, deacon, etc.), you need this invaluable service. (By the way, I should mention that I do not receive anything for this promotion. Hans is not a personal friend, though we have exchanged friendly emails and I have a great appreciation for his work. He does link to my website when he thinks I have something worthwhile for his audience, but we have no official quid pro quo.)

The High Calling of Our Daily Work

If you read my website very often, you know that Laity Lodge (where I work) and The High Calling.org are siblings. We share the same parent organization, the Foundations for Laity Renewal (formerly, the H.E. Butt Foundation). Moreover, you may know that I contribute to The High Calling.org, writing the Daily Reflections that appear on the site and are emailed to thousands of people each morning. So I am not fully objective about this website.

But, I should add that I was a fan of The High Calling.org before joined the staff of Laity Lodge. In fact, my excitement for this work was one of the major factors that God used to draw me to Texas. The High Calling.org seeks to use the Internet to encourage Christians to live our their faith in daily life, especially in their workplace. This is “the high calling of our daily work.”

The High Calling.org features content that changes weekly, at least. My Daily Reflections change daily. The content includes Bible studies, interviews, thematic articles, etc.  And because The High Calling.org is supported by Foundations for Laity Renewal, it is able to give away its material (almost all of the time). So if you’re looking for some excellent resources, either for yourself, or a small group, or an adult Sunday School class, check out The High Calling.org. You’ll be glad you did.

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Worship Team Training was begun by Branon Dempsey, a mature, visionary worship leader whom I met when teaching in the Southern California Worship Institute some years ago. Branon had enrolled in the Institute to develop his talent as a worship leader, especially to grow in his theological understanding of worship. Since our first meeting, Branon and I have continued in dialogue over a theology of worship. When I moved to Texas, where Branon lived, we were able to reconnect at Laity Lodge.

Right now the Worship Team Training website features a couple of Laity Lodge related items. The first is a video interview of Brian Moss that was done in the Great Hall of Laity Lodge. Brian is a gifted songwriter/musician/worship leader, who is now serving as the Chapel Coordinator for Regent College in Vancouver. Here’s the link to the Brian Moss interview.

The second item on the Worship Team Training website is an interview Branon did with yours truly a couple of months ago. We talk about the theology of worship among other things.  My interview is part of an hour-long podcast, which you can stream or download from the Worship Team Training website, or from iTunes. My part of the podcast begins at about 32 minutes in.

If you’re a worship leader, I highly recommend that you check out the resources at Worship Team Training. If you’re not a worship leader but know someone who is, please tell them about this fine ministry. As you can imagine, I’m especially thankful for the high value placed on biblical theology in this ministry.

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I’ll admit to a not-so-hidden agenda. I want to commend this the tradition I describe in this post to you as something you might wish to add to your yearly Thanksgiving repertoire. I guarantee that it will pay rich dividends in delight and expanded gratitude.

I can boast about this tradition without hesitation because it’s not something I invented. Rather, I inherited it when I came to Irvine Presbyterian Church. It was a choice fruit of the ministry of my predecessor, Ben Patterson. What am I talking about? A Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service.

When I was an associate pastor at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, we had a Thanksgiving day service. From 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning we gathered for prayer, song, and a brief sermon. Though I loved this service, the timing was inconvenient for many, who missed the service because they were cooking or driving to grandma’s house. Thus, in my first year as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, I was pleased to experience the tradition of a worship service on the night before Thanksgiving.

For the seventeen years I participated in that service, and it was one of my favorite events of the whole year. Why? Well, for one thing, because of the timing of the service, my celebration of Thanksgiving began in earnest at 7:00 on Wednesday evening. Thus my celebration of Thanksgiving was longer and fuller than when it started on Thursday morning. Moreover, I liked beginning my personal Thanksgiving celebration by remembering God. I have nothing against watching the Macy’s parade, eating turkey, and getting together with family, mind you. But I was glad to give God first place in the festivities. It seemed as if I was finally getting things in the right order when it came to Thanksgiving.

Another thing I enjoyed about our Thanksgiving Eve service was the multigenerational, family dimension. We included children from about four years of age on up. Many of them had a chance to participate, as I’ll explain in a moment. The presence of children meant that we had to plan a service with their interests and capabilities in mind. We included music that they knew. The sermon was short and relatively child-friendly. It usually involved interaction with the congregation, sort of a whole-congregation children’s sermon, if you will. With children present, the sanctuary was a little noisier than usual. But there was something wonderful about having the whole church family together on Thanksgiving Eve.

The content of our Thanksgiving Eve service was pretty simple. In the hour-long service we sang hymns (including “Now Thank We All Our God” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness”) and songs (including Matt Redman’s “Blessed Be Your Name” and “Let Everything That Has Breath”). There were Scripture readings and prayers.

Perhaps the central element of the service was an “open mike” time when we asked members of the congregation to share briefly that for which they were thankful. Children expressed their gratitude for their parents and pets. On the other side of life, I remember when one man thanked God for fifty years of marriage. Usually there were moments of laughter, like several years ago when my five-year old daughter thanked God for paper. (She was serious and upset when people laughed. She did have a point!) There were often tears as well, as when an elderly woman once thanked the Lord that her recently deceased husband was in heaven and suffering no longer.

Our other special tradition involved writing on a small piece of orange paper shaped like a pumpkin. We received our “pumpkin” when the service began. Then, throughout the service, we wrote down on the paper things for which we are grateful. Near the end of the service we brough our pumpkins forward and placed them on the communion table as part of a giant cornucopia. In this way every person participated tangibly and actively in shared corporate gratitude.

Following the worship service we had an informal reception, with hot cider and snacks prepared by folks in the church. It was a pleasant time of conversation and shared gratitude.

I would strongly recommend that all churches consider adopting the tradition of a Thanksgiving Eve service. I realize that some churches already do this. But many are missing out on a fantastic experience.

If you’re a lay person in a church and you’d like to encourage your pastor to adopt the Thanksgiving Eve Service tradition, you might send this post to your pastor. If it turns out that your pastor is unable to do this service because of family plans or whatever, it could easily be led by others.

I have lots of pastors who read this blog, so here’s my personal word to my colleagues: Our Thanksgiving Eve service was not only one of the best things we did as a congregation, but it was also one of my favorite services of the year. I got out of it far more than I put into it (partly because my sermon was short, and partly because the service was so rich). Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to make your life busier and crazier. But I am convinced that a Thanksgiving Eve Service promises returns far greater than the investment of time required for planning and leading.

If you don’t have time to plan a Thanksgiving Eve Service for this year, put it on your church calendar right now. You’ll be glad you did!

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Earl is well-known as one of the finest Bible teachers in the world. He brings to the text, not only his extensive knowledge of Scripture and biblical languages, but also an incisive understanding of the world in which we live. Plus, Earl is perhaps the most enthusiastic Bible teacher I’ve ever heard. (He might tie for this honor with Dale Bruner.)  When Earl speaks, I am never, ever bored!

Since his retirement, Earl has continued his speaking and writing ministry through Earl Palmer Ministries.  One of his key efforts is providing leadership for The Kindlings Muse, which are “live, local events taped for podcast and featuring a live audience and round-table of thoughtful creatives and gadflies discussing ideas, beliefs and values shaping life today.” You can access these delightful podcasts from the Earl Palmer Ministries website as well as from iTunes.

During one of his lectures this weekend, Earl was talking about how the basics of the faith enable us to withstand the power of Satan. As an example, he recited The Apostles’ Creed in world record time. If you want to hear proof, check out this YouTube video:

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READ Psalm 83:1-18

Utterly disgrace them
until they submit to your name, O LORD.

Psalm 83:16

Psalm 83 is one of those psalms we don’t know what to do with. It was written in response to the schemes of Israel’s enemies who sought to wipe out God’s people altogether. Thus this psalm calls upon God to protect Israel by defeating his enemies, destroying them (83:9-10), scattering them (83:13), terrifying them (83:15), and disgracing them (83:16).

Yet in the midst of a call for God to wipe out his enemies, Psalm 83 contains hints of redemption. Verse 16, for example, says, “Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O LORD.” The Hebrew could be translated more literally, “Fill their faces with shame so that they might seek your name, O LORD.” In other words, God’s judgment is not merely punishment of Israel’s enemies or protection for God’s chosen people. Rather, it is also an occasion for those who oppose God to begin to seek him.

The glimmers of redemption in Psalm 83 become brilliant rays in Jesus Christ. He came to take upon himself God’s judgment in the cross so that all might come to know God. The shame that should fill our faces as sinners fell upon the bruised face of Jesus. I am reminded of the words of the classic hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”:

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
How pale thou art with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn!

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain;
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Out live my love to thee.
Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you pray for those in your life who oppose you? How do you pray for those who oppose God’s work in the world?

PRAYER: Gracious God, how I thank you for your redemptive purpose in history and in my own life. Your judgment upon sin leads us to seek you. And when we see how Jesus bore our shame, we are drawn to you in humble gratitude.

Today I want to pray for those who oppose you. O Lord, may those who speak against you discover the folly of their words. May they be confronted with your judgment and comforted by your mercy. May they see in Jesus the perfection of love and be drawn to you. May their sorrow over the things they have said to dishonor you lead them into a profound experience of your amazing grace.

All praise be to you, God of justice and redemption. Amen.

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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.

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First, the Guadalupe River as it passes through Mo Ranch, a Presbyterian conference center near Hunt.

Cibolo Creek in the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne.

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