Our youth group is starting a 7 week series tonight called “What’s the difference?” We are going to be looking at various world religions and the differences between them and Christianity(hint: it’s Jesus). The goal is not for them to know more about other religions but to know what and why they believe better. Here are two of the main resources I’m using for this study. Fritz Ridenour’s book has some great stories about the various founders. It’s as informative as a text book, but is a fun read because of the style.
![718982: So What"s the Difference? How World Faiths Compare to Christianity, Revised and Expanded](http://ag.christianbook.com/g/thumbnail/7/718982t.gif "718982: So What"s the Difference? How World Faiths Compare to Christianity, Revised and Expanded") |
So What’s the Difference? How World Faiths Compare to Christianity, Revised and Expanded
By Fritz Ridenour In easy-to-understand chapters, the author explains the basic beliefs of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, New Age and a dozen other belief systems of the world. It will help you recognize the real differences and make it easier to explain and share your faith with others. Completely revised and updated. |
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Christianity, Cults & Religions: Compare 17 Religions and Cults with Biblical Christianity
Compare the beliefs of 18 world religions and cults at a glance, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and more! Learn what each group believes about God, Jesus, salvation, and other basic points of Christianity. Laminated pamphlet measures 5.5″ x 8.5″ and unfolds to 33″—ideal to keep in your Bible or briefcase. From Rose. |
In April and May, we’ll be studying the 10 commandments to continue the process of strengthening their faith foundation. More and more I am finding that many students’ Biblical knowledge is sorely lacking. There are several factors for that but I believe the main culprit is the breakdown of the family unit in our society(more on all that later). The church’s responsibility to make disciples often falls on the local organized body, but I believe that Christ intended for every believer to be and make disciples. I’m not sure when showing up for an hour on Sundays started passing for being a disciple.
Here’s the latest music out this week.
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Beautiful Things CD By Gungor Michael Gungor’s musical creativity and passion for worship are on full display with Beautiful Things, a thirteen-song set of refreshing original compositions. Featuring a guest appearance from Israel Houghton, Gungor breezes through alternative worship styles on tracks like “Dry Bones,” “Please Be My Strength,” “People of God,” and others. |
Gungor also at 
Ohio Avenue at
Vicky Beeching’s new EP at
Saw the preview for this book. Just had a conversation with someone about this very thing.
![316888: Why Is God Ignoring Me?: What To Do When It Feels Like He"s Giving You the Silent Treatment](http://ag.christianbook.com/g/thumbnail/3/316888t.gif "316888: Why Is God Ignoring Me?: What To Do When It Feels Like He"s Giving You the Silent Treatment") |
Why Is God Ignoring Me?: What To Do When It Feels Like He’s Giving You the Silent Treatment
By Gary R. Habermas * Have you ever cried out to God when you were in trouble and felt like he’d abandoned you? Sharing personal experiences, heartfelt insights, and biblical truth, Habermas asks tough questions, shares wise answers—and reveals where we can find our heavenly Father in the midst of suffering and sorrow. 256 pages, softcover from Tyndale. |
The Wait is Over!
The day has finally arrived! At 9 am on October 7, 2009 this site has officially launched. At this very moment(9 am on October 7 when this posted), I am on the Techology Show announcing the start of something big. I want this to be a movement. This site is designed to provide resources and encouragement that will help you discover and pursue your purpose, passion, and possibilities. I want “chase your lion“, “chase my lion”, and “lion chaser” to become a part of the vernacular. I want people to associate those words and this site with a life of adventure and meaning. A few thank you’s before we go any further. First, to Christ for making my life and all this possible through his grace, love, and sacrifice. To my parent’s, who didn’t tell me how to be an astronaunt but loved, pushed, and supported me to where I’m at. To Matt Rhodes, for the logos. To everyone who has prayed for, loved, and supported me on this journey and to the Soulgloer’s who are showing me that raising the bar can be the norm. To my wife, Karen, who puts up with my ADHDADD and pushes me to be a lion chaser everyday. This would not be happening without her. She is wonderful soul mate to me and mother to our 3 kids, Milena, Charis, and(The)Drake. And finally, to Mark Batterson, whose book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
A few things before you go:
1. I would be honored if you subscribed to my blog by hitting that big orange button on the right.
2. Sign Up for the Newsletter as well. It will be different from the blog and come every week or so. Aweber has a strict no spam policy so you’re info is safe. Keep your ears open because there will be contests for subscribers and the first prize is going to be a certain book which provided the inspiration for this site. That’s right. I’m going to give away 10 copies of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
3. Join the Revolution and follow on Twitter, Facebook, and all the other social media stuff that causes Deborah Rhodes to want to plan an intervention for me. Retweets and @mentions are greatly appreciated to spread the word.
4. Join me in praying that lives are changed through this site. I want it to help people find meaning and have eternal value.
Thanks for your support. I look forward to getting to know many of you. Have a blessed Day.
Where Purpose Begins
One of the goals of this site is to introduce people to Jesus Christ. I believe that it is only through a relationship with him that we can truly discover who we were created to be. For people who “don’t go for that sort of thing” or are looking for other ways to find fulfillment the resources here will still be helpful to you. However, if you’re here and you’re searching for something more than this life has handed you-welcome to the Revolution. Purpose begins when we realize and recognize that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Ephesians 2:10, NIV) You will never find peace, joy, and contentment if you are not pursuing these things. So, what does that even mean? Have a relationship with Jesus? Where does this dude live? Dr. Martin Labar does a better job than me explaining all of this in his “How to be Saved” post. Dr. Labar is a retired professor from Southern Wesleyan University where he taught in the Science department. He is a true man of faith with a dry wit and an encouraging spirit. He was “chasing his lion” before it was even cool.
Remembering Columbine
I was in my office on April 20th, 1999 when the mother of one of my teens walked in to drop something off at the main office. On her way out, she stuck her head in my door and asked if I had heard about the gunmen who were shooting students in Colorado. At that point, authorities had no idea how many gunmen or victims there were. I went home and watched CNN the rest of the day. Later in the day it was released that two students had planned and executed the massacre before taking their own lives. There seemed to be a rash of school shootings in that 2-3 year period. I remember one in Kentucky in particular. I remember our youth meeting that week. There were alot more questions than answers. Sometimes we can never no why things happen. USA Today has been doing a series of articles on the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy. Here’s the link. Turns out we were wrong about some things. The story about one of the killers asking a female student if she believed in God and then killing her after she answered “Yes”: not true says the FBI. Here’s the wikipedia story on Cassie Bernall. Waco, Oklahoma City, the Lincoln Assassination, and Columbine all happened between April 14-20. Puts a downer on an April 18th birthday. In a world that has seen such atrocities as the Holocaust, we still seemed to be shocked by evil deeds. Evil is not some entity floating around picking and choosing its targets. It’s in me and it’s in you. It’s that spirit of the evil one, the adversary, the accuser, the devil that we are born with and but for the grace of God it would destroy us all. It’s the sin nature. Another Columbine won’t be prevented with lectures, marketing, student summits, rallies, or awareness although these are all good and proper. Evil is prevented only by the transforming power of Jesus Christ working in our lives. It’s about every Christian sharing that power through the telling of our stories and the actions that bear the fruit of them. We tend to shy away from using the word,”evil”, unless we’re talking about someone far away or a long time ago. We like to call it “kids being kids”, “sowing your wild oats”, “choice”, “preference”, “lifestyle”, “bias”, “mistakes”, etc. As long as we treat evil as a joke, he will continue to get the last laugh.