A wonderful meditation from one of the members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Frederick, MD. We have been doing the study written by Mike Slaughter: "Christmas Is Not Your birthday."

Enjoy it!!

Dear Prayer Warriors

Thank you for all your prayers for our church.  The atmosphere at Trinity has been building  in intensity from an exciting autumn with a successful stewardship drive and a fabulous Operation Christmas  Child  to The fourth week of Advent.  This week culminates in the birth of Jesus, the Messiah and Redeemer for all mankind. This is a time of jubilation for all Christians.  However, we all know there is a secular, cultural side of Christmas which sometimes threatens to overwhelm
the religious celebration.

Our author Slaughter reminds us that Christmas is not our birthday.  It is Jesus' birthday.  Thus His wishes should be a Christian's concern.  And Christ made His wishes known in Scripture:

"In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven."   Matthew 5: 16

Or  "And the crowds asked him, 'What shall we do?' "And He answered them, 'Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none and whoever has food is to do likewise.' " Luke 3: 10-11

God gave us the greatest gift--Jesus, who came to redeem us.  Then Jesus taught us how to live in His way.  That is, we are to do His work on earth before we take the place He saved for us in Heaven.  That is the gift He asked of us, for His birthday and all days.  Let your Advent celebration include Christ's gift--  help for those in need.

Prayer-- Dear Lord, we praise you and rejoice in your sending Your greatest gift of all: Your Son.  In addition we thank you for providing abundance in our lives.  In our joy of celebrating Our Redeemer's birth, let us remember your wishes for us.  Help us to love you by loving the least of these in tangible ways this Christmas.  Please bless the poor, the oppressed, and the sick at this time.  Give our world leaders wisdom in their decisions;  let them benefit the world.  In Jesus' name we pray.

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.  Expect unexpected things above all that we ask or think."      Andrew Murray

"He has told you, O Mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."      Micah 6: 8

Teaching the Truth About America's History: Only the Truth Can Make Us Free | Marian Wright Edelman

Powerful article on the importance of teaching a history that is going to bring truthful information to our children and to our people. Do not let those who want only to focus on the positive, and triumphalistic aspects of our history to high-jack our right to know and understand the truth about OUR history. As you know history is a complex compilation of our past experiences and the drama of the lives that lived through it. Read and share.

Teaching the Truth About America's History: Only the Truth Can Make Us Free | Marian Wright Edelman

Prayer warrior message no. 4 - valentin.castanon@gmail.com - Gmail

At my current appointment in Frederick, MD, we are having our stewardship campaign using a new resource prepared by Jim Harnish. As part of that program we have a team of folks leading our church in prayer as we study Wesley's use of money: Earn. Save. Give. Here is the meditation #4. Enjoy it!



Dear Prayer Warriors



Thank you for your continuing prayers for our Trinity's Annual Commitment to Ministry.  I am invigorated with the thought of our prayers ascending daily to God's attention. We know he hears and ANSWERS prayers.  A successful campaign will be so exciting.  So keep those daily prayers coming.



The topic-- EARN, SAVE, GIVE-- from John Wesley's sermon ("The Use Of Money") is the focus of the campaign for the month of October. His sermon focused on wise management of money and putting it to the best, most Christian use.   Peter Storey said, "By far the most important element of Wesley's engagement with social issues was his development of a Gospel-shaped behavior toward money and riches that was predicated on his commitment to the poor."  The wisdom involved in managing money was a strong emphasis for those early Methodists and provides us a good example.  Harnish reminds us "How we use our money is no small matter.  It goes all the way to the heart of our relationship with God and our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ."



Prayer--Dear Lord, thank you for all the love and kindness you so abundantly bestow on us.  Help us to be good stewards of your bounty.  Open our hearts to the urgent needs of others.  Move us to provide for those needs through our campaign for the ministries.  Be with all those around the world in need of your help, the Christians, the refugees, the poor and sick everywhere.   Give us the loving and giving hearts you deserve. Help us to remember that through your love, you gave us your son to ensure our salvation.  In His name we pray.



"The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity.  If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!"

                                                                              J. Hudson Taylor



"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"  Acts 20:35

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: U.S. Territories (HBO)

Excellent report from John Oliver about the reality of the colonial status of U.S. territories. Watch and share.

Welcome To Church

Great video about the impact of Churches around the world. We have done, as a church, some bad things but we have done some amazing things as a church as well. Like in most cases there are no simple one dimensional responses to complex and challenging questions in the human experience. Enjoy the video.

America's Changing Religious Landscape

This is a sobering report from the Pew Foundation about America's religious landscape. Indeed, looking at the stats in this report tells us something about the general attitude towards religious affiliations in the USA. Indeed, the Report shows that the "nones" are the largest group growing in America's "religious" landscape; meaning by that a group that feels no connection to any particular religion (including the growth of atheist). For those who are constantly decrying the loss of membership in the United Methodist Church, this report shows that we are not alone. This is not to say that lost of membership is not an important matter to address, but I believe that it is a phenomenon that needs to be address with more than gimmicks (i.e., flashy concert style contemporary worship, offering door prices for folks attending worship, the "I am ok, you are ok" type theology, cheap grace theology, etc.). The America's Changing Religious Landscape report I hope will challenge us to think deeper, to go beyond the surface, and really begin to look at ourselves and the challenges of a contemporary society that is not concern with our doctrines and religious ideologies. Reach and share with your colleagues.

Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050

It's been a while since I post anything on my blog so I decided to share some of the things that I have been reading, which I believe relate to the general topic on my blog. The article on this link will shed some light on the growth of different religious groups around the world if their present rate of growth (or decline) continues at its present rate. Check out the information and share with your friends and colleagues. Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050

Enjoy the reading!

Race Matters

I think that this speech by Cornell West should heard and shared broadly. http://youtu.be/cRZcfEToN-A. Cornell West is one of the preeminent intellectuals in American society, he brings his profound intellectual acumen in the most simple and popular style. He speaks to the intellectuals in the audience, and to the common folk in the audience (I feel I am part of the later). He certainly makes the point on how race STILL matters in American society. Listen and share. You will not be disappointed. There is hope when people do what is necessary to change the world. Enjoy it!

2015 National Gathering - Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice

I thnk this is a conference worth attending. If you are interested on justice issues, public policy, or simply how to impact the political process for the well being of the peopole, this is the conference to attend the focus this year is on "Mass Incarceration & Systems of Exploitation." Check it out. 2015 National Gathering - Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice

Upcoming Events | BioLogos

Check this website:Upcoming Events | BioLogos, and some of the events they are sponsoring like the ones you see bellow. Truly there is a great dialogue taking place on the intersection between science and faith, and we should be part of that conversation. Check it out.

Conference and Call for Papers on Re-Imagining the Intersection of Evolution and the Fall

The Colossian Forum, ECF Recipient

March 26, 2015
Evanston, IL

The Colossian Forum will be hosting a conference on “Re-Imagining the Intersection of Evolution and the Fall” on March 26-28, 2015. This conference will be held at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary nearNorthwestern University in Evanston, IL. This conference will feature multiple speakers including BioLogos Senior Advisor for Dialogue, Darrel Falk and Joel Green. Darrel Falk’s lecture will be on “Human Origins: A Summary of the Scientific Backdrop for Theological Discussion” and Joel Green will speak about “Reframing ‘Original Sin’: A Frontier for Theology and Science.”

Read more about this conference on The Colossian Forum’s website. This conference is part of the ECF grantfrom BioLogos. Register now for this event.

ECF 2015 Public Conference

Ted Davis, Ard Louis, Jeff Schloss, Mary Schweitzer, John Walton

June 30, 2015
Grand Rapids, MI

BioLogos will be hosting its first ever public conference. This Evolution and Christian Faith conference is geared for scholars, pastors, and teachers and will consist of learning, fellowship and worship. This event will be held at the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids, MI, on June 30-July 2, 2015. We are pleased to announce an exciting lineup of plenary speakers including Ted Davis (Historian of Science at Messiah College), Ard Louis(Biophysicist at Oxford University), Jeff Schloss (BioLogos Senior Scholar and Biologist at Westmont College),Mary Schweitzer (Paleontologist at North Carolina State University), and John Walton (Old Testament Scholar at Wheaton College).

Registration for this conference will begin on February 20, 2015. Please sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about the conference. Click here for more information on the conference including a CALL FOR PAPERS. Submissions need to be sent in by January 23, 2015.