Adam Sandler in Don't Mess With The Zohan
Meet Dave 
I was scheduled to bring the final sermon at a church that was one week away from welcoming its new pastor. My first thought was to pull out a message I had used before with other congregations that would be apt for this occasion. Then, an idea occurred to me.
Why not ask the incoming pastor what he'd like me to say to the church?
In reply to my e-mail, an hour later I had his answer. One would have thought he had been waiting for someone to ask him that very question since he was so prompt in responding.
He said, "I would love to come into a church that was unified, where everyone loved each other, and they all prayed for the pastor." He even gave a text for each point from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians.
The more I reflected on it all week, the more I realized any pastor coming into a new church would give a month's salary for these three gifts.
UNITY: Ephesians 4:11-16
"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God...."
The passage ends, "...Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
Kent Hughes says anyone preaching on Christian unity starts with this passage, and, we add, for good reason. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul covers the subject as well as we can find it anywhere.
In surfing the net on the subject of "Christian unity" and "disharmony in the church," I ran across a sermon from a fellow of another denomination--one of those convinced they alone are going to Heaven--who said that Christian unity is all of us speaking the same thing, doing the same thing, believing the same way, and such. My main reaction to that is: baloney.
The kind of unity pictured in Ephesians 4 is not the lifeless unity of a brick or a stone, but that of a living body. Our bodies have hundreds of different parts, none of them resembling the others, but each doing its own work and all working together. The result is not sameness, but harmony. When a body functions as it was intended, the result is a beautiful unity.
Think of a congregation singing a hymn in unison. Everyone sings the same notes. There's a certain beauty about it, but by the third verse, it's boring. How much better for some to sing the melody, and others to find harmony lines of bass, tenor, alto, and variations of each. We end up with a full-bodied chorus of voices, some coming in from left field, some booming up from the dugouts, some hovering above in the atmosphere, and others flowing in from the grandstands--all joining in to produce a magnificent blend.
That is not uniformity--which is what the internet preacher was calling for--but unity.
It's the unity of a great football team. Only two or three fellows play quarterback and they alternate with each other. The rest hold down positions with names like end, guard, center, tackle, running back, cornerback, and linebacker. We have punters and kickers and head coaches and offensive coaches and quarterback coaches, trainers and gofers and cheerleaders and front office people. When everyone does his job well, you have unity, even though no two are doing the same thing in the same way.
That's how God has set up His church. It's just fine to have disagreements and we even welcome them, because no one person on a team or in the church has a monopoly on all wisdom. Disagreements helps the leaders to hear all sides of issues and force them to think matters through.
What this means, of course, is that a key ingredient in unity is maturity, one aspect of which is the ability to appreciate all views on a subject and to find the appropriate action for a situation. Immaturity fears dissent and panics at the first sign of a disagreement.
Christian unity finds its strength in each member of the body being true to his assignment.
LOVE: Ephesians 4:25-32
"Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer.... Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth.... Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption... Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
Interestingly, the word "love" is not found in that passage. And yet all the actions Paul commands of the Ephesians comprise the very definition of love. In the Scriptures, we recall, love is never an emotion but always an action.
Love is something we do.
So, what does love in a congregation do? Love tells the truth, controls its anger, works instead of steals, speaks kindly, is kind, sweet-spirited, and forgiving.
Turn it around, then, and ask, "When love is missing, what do we find?" The answer is here, to Lies, rage, stealing, harshness, ugliness, mean-spiritedness, and lack of forgiveness. All of these grieve the Holy Spirit and bring our effectiveness to a grinding halt.
In his commentary on Ephesians, Kent Hughes tells of a rancorous church fight which drove both sides to lawsuits in a public court. The judge threw out the suits and urged them to take the matter to a church court of their denomination. There, the panel decided in favor of one side and ordered the other group out of the facilities altogether. That group went across town and started a church of their own.
Hughes reports that the church court was able to go back and find the very beginnings of the dispute: at a church dinner, one of the elders was upset because a child sitting next to him received a larger slice of ham.
Just so are churches split, the cause of Christ slandered, the mission fields neglected, and God's people diverted from service.
If a key element in unity is maturity, we suggest a key ingredient in love is humility. To love is to put people at least on an equal level with ourselves, if not above.
Actually, love is the glue that bonds the church in unity. Love for Christ and love for each other. There's a tiny line in Colossians 2:2 that reads: "their hearts having been knit together in love." It's the same verb Paul uses in Ephesians 4:16 and means "joined together" the way the ligaments and tendons hold the joints of the body together.
That's what love does, knit us together and hold us there. There will be a lot of movement in this body, so the ties have to be strong.
PRAYER: Ephesians 6:18-20
"With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
We note in the context for this passage that it follows the full layout of the armor Christians wear for the spiritual warfare they conduct in this world. After being adequately alerted and suitably armored, we are ready to pray.
You know the old jokes about the old maid English teachers. Well, I used to be an English teacher and I can tell you, any such instructor would have handed verse 18 back to Paul and said, "Simplify this. It's too complicated. I'm not sure what you're saying." But, we have it the way he said it, and will have to try to negotiate our way through it.
John Bunyan called this "all prayer," meaning that prayer is the first, the best, the most, the greatest, and we do well to infuse everything we do with this spiritual discipline.
"Pray at all times in the Spirit." Spiritual warfare demands that the believer stay close to the Lord and abide in Him for strength and direction.
"For all the saints." Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Paul says. That instruction reminds us we're not praying just for the members of our group or our congregation. You drive past a church, pray for its members. You read something about a congregation, pray for its people. You meet a pastor of another church or hear one on the radio, pray for him and his people.
"And pray for me." And what shall we pray for you, Paul? Bear in mind that most likely, he is in prison in Rome (he calls himself "a prisoner in chains"). So, he wants out, right? Wants better treatment? A good lawyer? Leniency from the judge? Decent food. Protection from some bully? Nope. None of those things.
"Pray that I'll be able to preach the Word boldly with effectiveness." That's all he wanted.
The new pastor of our church could produce quite a list of prayer needs, no doubt, including the Lord's protection as he relocates his family to our city, provision in selling his old house and purchasing one here, and wisdom in the many decisions he will make as he begins his ministry. But pre-eminently, I believe he would say with Paul that his first prayer request is for his preaching, that every time he stands he will have God's message and declare it faithfully and forcefully.
Unity, love, prayer. We recall what great concerns these were with the Lord for His disciples in all His teachings, but, never more than in His final hours with them in the upper room. While there was a finality about His words that night, a new and exciting chapter for the disciples was about to begin. Therefore, nothing would be more important than that they stay together, love one another, and be faithful in praying.
"The Upper Room Discourse" covers chapters 13-17 of John's Gospel. In His final words with the disciples before He goes to the cross, we find Jesus emphasizing these concerns again and again throughout....
Chapter 13. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Verses 34-35) Love, Unity.
Chapter 14. "If you love me, keep my commandments.... He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved my my Father.... He who does not love me does not keep my words...." (V.15, 21, 24) Love.
Chapter 15. "Just as the Father loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love." "This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." "This I command you, that you love one another." (V. 9, 12, 13, 17) Love, Unity.
Chapter 16. "Truly, truly, I say to you, that if you ask the Father for anything in my name, He will give it to you....ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." (V. 23, 24) Prayer.
Chapter 17 is not part of the discourse proper, but appears to have been prayed in the Upper Room with the disciples that evening. Scholars call it "the great high priestly prayer" of Jesus. Notice the direction of His requests in this prayer. After asking repeatedly that the Father would "keep them in your name," Jesus said, "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you Father are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me." (vs.20-21.) Unity.
"...that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent me, and loved them, even as you have loved me." (vs. 23) Unity, love.
"...I have made your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them." (vs. 26) Love, unity.
Stick together. Love each other. Look to Jesus in prayer.
Interesting that He emphasized unity and love far more than prayer. Maybe because those are harder to achieve? Contrary to their independent natures? Require more effort?
In the early part of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the disciples were "all together in one place" and praying (Acts 2:1), "were together and had all things in common" (Acts 2:44), "and the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32).
They had learned their lesson well, it seems, from the Lord Himself.
On the internet, I ran across an excellent devotional from the First Baptist Church of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, dated October 4, 2003. A church member by the name of Dan Burns shared on the subject of protecting the unity of the church. He writes:
"Unity in the church is so important that the New Testament gives more attention to it than to either heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other. Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ's body."
"Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than His church. He paid the highest price for it, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict, and disharmony. If you are a part of God's family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity of where you fellowship. Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
Mr. Burns had six suggestions on how to protect the unity of the church.
Burns ends with this: "We challenge you to accept your responsibility to protect and promote the unity of this church. Put your full effort into it, and God will be pleased. It will not always be easy. Sometimes you will have to do what is best for the body and not yourself, showing preference to others. That's one reason God puts us in a church family, to learn unselfishness. It is your responsibility to protect the unity of this church."
Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt. Used with permission.
SUBANG JAYA: Travellers are in for a treat with AirAsia offering 300,000 free tickets and Malaysia Airlines offering six million tickets at up to 70% discount.
The AirAsia promotion was launched yesterday and within 12 hours, some 75,000 tickets had been booked.
The promotion is available for the travel period Feb 26 to May 15 as a gesture of appreciation to loyal clients.
Offered exclusively through online bookings (www.airasia.com) until Feb 3, the highly popular destinations include Phuket, Bangkok, Hanoi, Kuching and Macau.
The free seats are offered from all its hubs in Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.
Meanwhile, MAS will put six million seats on offer during the Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair (MATF) to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching from Feb 22 to 24.
MAS commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said the deals are to thank customers for their consistent vote of confidence which saw MAS winning awards like “5-Star Airline” and “Best Cabin Staff 2007”.
“It is also to thank our customers’ patronage which enabled us to return to profitability in record time,” he said.
Among the other deals offered is the “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” promotion on business class seats for routes to Asean cities, Xiamen, Kunming and Macau as well as discounted Golden Holiday packages for both domestic and international travel.
The offers will also be available at all Malaysia Airlines ticketing offices and its 24-hour call centre at 1-300-88-3000. Those interested can also visit www.malaysiaairlines.com.
| Thanks to you, May marks the first anniversary of Bloggers Unite and this time we're launching an awareness campaign chosen by BlogCatalog members. On May 15, let's unite for human rights and make a statement that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms - life, liberty, and justice! On May 15th 2008, let's come together and all blog about Human Rights. There are dozens and dozens of human rights issues that you can write about. The one you choose is up to you. |  |
 | Topics to Consider
|
There are many organizations that promote human rights and work to protect people. We've picked three to help you learn more and find breaking topics.
We have an entire group discussion dedicated to Bloggers Unite (http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/bloggers-unite) where you can add more organizations that you think are worth including.
To join, simply visit the Bloggers Unite page (http://unite.blogcatalog.com/) to get more information. Then, on Thursday, May 15th, write a blog post that shares awareness about human rights.
Your blog post could:
If you have any questions, please e-mail bloggersunite@blogcatalog.com. And please, don't forget to tell your friends to blog about this too. Together, I know we can raise awareness and prove bloggers can do good!
It appears that every business you encounter has a tip jar. Here is a guide to assist you in knowing when and how much to tip. The word “tip” is an acronym for “To Insure Promptness.” Remember, the amount of the tip is always based upon the level of customer
service.
I love you.
You are my best friend.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you,
to laugh with you, and to comfort you
in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.
I promise to cherish you,
and to always hold you in highest regard.
These things I give to you today,
and all the days of our life.
A free Cafe Press shop is one of the easiest ways to build an extra income online. With
a few images and half an hour, you can be making money by the time you go to bed tonight.
You may want to print out this series of articles, to follow as you set up your first Cafe Press shop.
Open a free Cafe Press account
The first thing to do is to set up a free account at Cafe Press. There are no set-up fees,
no printing expenses… You need nothing more than an image to use on your designs. If you are an artist or a photographer, you already have images to use. Just upload them to your personal image basket at Cafe Press, and you’re all set!
After choosing a username and password, you’ll be ready to open your own Cafe Press shop, for free.Next, select a shop name
Choose a name that’s easy to remember. Use your own name if you like! Later, you can upgrade from a free shop to a Premium shop with the same shop name. We’ll talk about Premium shops in another article. When you’re starting out, I recommend creating a free shop while you see how Cafe Press works.
You can have as many free shops as you likeYou can have more than one free shop, with just one Cafe Press account (username/password).
So, if you want a shop that features photos of your dog or cat, you can have one with just
those images. You can open a second shop that features photos or drawings of your goldfish.
And so on.
The only restriction on a free shop is this: Your shop can feature different designs on different tee-shirts, but you can’t select just one product design–say, a Jr. Hoodie–and offer it with a variety of different designs in one shop.
In my Premium shop, I can select one product–like a bumpersticker–and offer it with
several different designs.
Choose your first image
If you have an image or photo that you’ve already created, you can put it on a Cafe Press product. Or, if you have a copyright-free images (such as the ones on my image CDs), you can use any of them on your Cafe Press products, too.
You may want to mix an image and a clever quotation or slogan, or the name of your business. (The first Cafe Press product I ever saw was owned by my son. It was a baseball cap with the name of his favorite website.)
When you’re designing the images that you’ll put on your Cafe Press items, you may want
to use the templates that Cafe Press provides. If you’re designing a wall clock, this can be handy.
Or, you might prefer to know the precise dimensions of each product, so that you can create a graphic to fit it exactly. These sizes (and links to templates) are listed at http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/help_image_sizes.aspx.
Remember to make your graphic at least 100 pixels/inch, and preferably about 300 pixels/inch.
Cafe Press provides some helpful information about images in their Help pages, if you want
more guidance. (Personally, I try to make images that are at least 150 pixels/inch, and I
upload them as PNGs or JPGs.)
Once you’ve created an image that you’d like to use on Cafe Press products, upload it
into your Media Basket (listed under “Sell Online”).
| PRIZES | |
1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom T-Shirt 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Cap 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Leather Key Chain Holder 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Phone Dangle 2 X Second Prize 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom T-Shirt 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Cap 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Leather Key Chain Holder | 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom T-Shirt 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Leather Key Chain Holder 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Phone Dangle 1 X Fourth Prize 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Cap 1 x Limited Edition The Forbidden Kingdom Phone Dangle |
| 1. | For entries by SMS, you may send as many as you wish. Each SMS sent will be charged RM0.50. |
| 2. | SMS entries are open to 012, 013, 016, 017 and 019 users only. |
| 3. | Participants below the age of 18 years are advised to get parental consent before entering our SMS contests. |
| 4. | For entries by post, you may send as many as you wish but only original contest entry forms will be entertained. |
| 5. | For entries by post, cut out the contest entry form, stick it on a postcard and send it to the following address: Cinema Online, No. 7A, Jalan SS4D/2, People’s Park, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. |
| 6. | For cut out contest entry forms, all items must be completed. |
| 7. | Winners’ lists will be available on www.cinema.com.my from the date stipulated in the relevant contest page. Notification of winners will ONLY be done online. Please check if you are a winner by using www.cinema.com.my or send an inquiry SMS (see contest page). |
| 8. | Prizes not collected within the stipulated redemption period will be forfeited. |
| 9. | Unless otherwise specified, collection of prizes for all contests will be at the Cinema Online office. Delivery of prizes by Poslaju is available upon request at RM10.00 (postage & packaging). For details, email: marketing@cinema.com.my. |
| 10. | The organiser is not responsible for prizes that are delayed or lost during transit. |
| 11. | Prizes are not exchangeable for cash. |
| 12. | The organiser reserves the right to replace any prize with another without prior notice. |
| 13. | Judges’ decision is final. No correspondence on winner selection will be entertained. |
| 14. | Winners of Cinema Online movie screening passes must bring along the latest unstamped copy of Cinema Online magazine to redeem tickets. (i.e One copy of March 2008 issue will entitle the holder to passes to one (1) Cinema Online Screening only). |
Google AdSenseSupplies are limited, so send your envelope soon! Then you can stick with AdSense wherever you go. (And one last thing to keep in mind: while we're flattered that you might want a whole box, note that we're only able to provide one or two per publisher.)
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USA
 | "Jumper" Contest Exclusive screening passes up for grabs! Closing Date: 22 January 2008 [enter] |
 | "John Rambo" Contest "John Rambo" Contest Closing Date: 22 January 2008 [enter] |
 | "The Lives Of Others" Contest Win double complimentary open passes! Closing Date: 27 January 2008 [enter] |
 | "CJ7" Contest Win exclusive merchandise! Closing Date: 31 January 2008 [enter] |
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