Commenting on the Blog

A couple people have asked about how to put comments on the blog. It is very easy to do, and it is a fun way interact. You do not need a username and password to leave a comment. All you need is something to say.

So here are the steps.

STEP 1: At the bottom of each article, you can click on the blue word “comments” (which is usually preceded by a number). When you click on that link, it will let you read the comments that other people have posted. It will also allow you to comment on the article.


STEP 2: If you want to comment, type your message into the space provided on the right, under the heading “Leave your comment.” Then under “Choose an identity” click “other.” You can then type in whatever name you like. You can also enter a website, or you can leave that field blank.

STEP 3: Then, enter the word shown (usually in a bright color and bubbly font) in the “Word Verification” slot. This prevents unwanted comments (spam) from being posted on the blog.

STEP 4: Finally, click “Login and Publish” if you are ready for your comment to appear. You can also click “Preview” if you want to see what it will look like before it goes up (and becomes permanent).

(Note: You can click on this image to make it larger.)

Hope this helps. I look forward to reading your thoughts as you put them on our weblog.

- Nate

My AWANA Cubbies Car

Those of you who were at Bible study last Thursday are sure to remember the Cubbies Car that Dave built for Emma. If not, it pretty much looked like this... It had a steering wheel, personalized license plates, and dry ice hooked up to the muffler (so smoke came out). Put simply, it was all a three-year-old Cubby could dream of (for the annual Cubby drive-in night).

So what did yours truly put together for his three-year-old road warrior? Well, let's just say I didn't realize how much effort and creative energy the Cubby cars were supposed to receive. I pretty much thought, "It's supposed to be a box that looks a little bit like a car." In retrospect, I should have thought, "It's supposed to be a car that someone, upon close inspection, might be able to tell is made of cardboard."

Anyway, here's my "box-car." (Don't laugh too hard... I'm new at the Cubby-car-building-thing.)
Yeah... I know... it's pretty bad. My poor daughter, Ashley, had to sit in that all night while hundreds of her three- and four-year-old friends sat in their cool, colorful, creative Cubby cars.
I guess my car was more of the "homeless-chic" look. It's a good thing that Ashley is only three (I think the embarrassment of something like this would have proved detrimental to a Junior Higher).

Anyway, if I had it to do all over again, I would have done something a little more like this:

Thankfully, I'll get a chance again soon enough. Isaac will be two in June, so I've got just over eighteen months (or so) to start on his Cubby car.

Then again, I might just borrow Dave's.

- Nate

Shepherds' Conference Notes

Hi Guys,

For those who are interested, you can now read my Shepherds' Conference seminar notes (which are more or less a transcript). All of the seminar session notes are available here.

Also, our pastor is away this week at the Together for the Gospel Conference. You will be able to follow the conference on the web at this site.

Alright, well I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for your prayers for me. My Bible Knowledge exam went well (though I have not yet received the results).

We'll see you guys on Friday night (at our family night).

- Nate

Scheduling Stuff

In case you didn't get the email we sent out yesterday... please note the following calendar items.

1) This Friday is our Bible study family night. We will be meeting at Cheeseborough park in Northpark at 6:00. (That's the park on McBean Pkwy right before you get to Copperhill. It will be on your right hand side if you are heading north on McBean.) Bring dinner for your own family (picnic or fast food). We'll be staying there until it gets dark or until the kids need to go to bed! Bring some park toys and get ready for a fun time of fellowship!

2) Ladies, the first women's meeting will be at the Norton's on May 4th at 7:30 pm, not this coming Thursday. Beth will be giving your books to you on Friday. Sorry for the mix-up. (Men, plan to babysit for your wives on that evening.)

3) Bible Study will meet on May 11 and 25 at the Norton's.

4) Also, the men will have their next morning men's meeting on the 4th (to complement the women's meeting that evening). Thus, there will be no men's meeting this coming Thursday.

Test Today

Hi Everyone,

I'd appreciate your prayers today. At 1:00 this afternoon, I will be taking my first doctoral exam, on Bible Knowledge. It's a 3-hour written exam.

Thanks!

Nate

My New Favorite Song

Okay... so I love finding good worship songs, downloading them to i-Tunes, and listening to them over and over and over.

Here's my most recent favorite: "I Look Upon Your Hill" by a band called Seven Places (from their CD called Hear Us Say Jesus.) You can download it at i-Tunes. It is definitely worth the $0.99.

You should recognize the song from Cornerstone. We sing it there every few weeks.

See you all on Sunday.
- Nate

Witnessing to Witnesses

Melissa Nesheim asked me for some information on how to witness to Jehovah's Witnesses. I thought I'd share these links with everyone. It's a lot of helpful information... stuff you can use the next time you hear that knock on your door.

- Nate

Resources for witnessing to JWs:

- Alpha & Omega Ministries
- C.A.R.M.
- Contender (Chart)
- Monergism (on Cults)
- Watchman Fellowship

There are also some good books on the subject, such as this one.

Da Vinci, and a Couple Other Things

Hi Everybody!

Thanks for a great study tonight. It was tons of fun to hang out with everyone, and to set a vision for our group. For those of you who weren't able to make it, we definitely missed you.

There are a few things I'd like to respond to in this post:

1) Ben asked about resources for The DaVinci Code which will be out soon in movie form. Below (at the end of this post) are a list of links (that I copied and pasted from www.monergism.com) which should be helpful.

2) Tim asked about a good book on the myth that Jesus went to India. The book I would recommend is Jesus in an Age of Controversy by Douglas Groothius. Here's a pretty helpful article on the topic (by a guy named Philip Johnson, but not our Philip Johnson). The book by Groothius, however, is really good on this.

3) Dave and Tim were asking about the Together for the Gospel Blog, and also about the Pulpit Live Blog. Both of these are definitely worth bookmarking and reading regularly. (Tim, the posts on gambling can be found here. There are several of them, about half-way down the page.)

4) Finally, remember to praise the Lord for how well Tom's trip went to visit his son. Continue to pray for Tommy in the midst of his situation.

Well, it's late... I think I better go to bed now. See you all later.

- Nate

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Da Vinci Code Resources:

James White Series On The Da Vinci Code *Part I *Part II *Part III *Part IV *Part V *Part VI *Part VII *Part VIII *Part IX *Part X *Part XI *Part XII *Part XIII *Part XIV *Part XV *Part XVI *Part XVII *Part XVIII *Part XIX

The Da Vinci Dialogue (Website by Darrell Bock) Darrell L. Bock, author of Jesus According to Scripture and Studying the Historical Jesus, has written a lead piece for The Da Vinci Challenge, a new website for Christians pertaining to The Da Vinci Code movie. The site is sponsored by Sony Pictures, the studio releasing the movie, as a forum for Christian writers, scholars, and leaders of evangelical organizations to respond to the book's theological and historical claims about Christianity.

The Da Vinci Code (by Christian History Institute)

The Da Vinci Code: Of Magdalene, Gnostics, the Goddess and the Grail (Leadership U) Series of Esaays by Ben Witherington III, Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D., Dr. Ron Rhodes, Sandra Miesel

Dan Brown: Looking Behind the Code (by Tom Price)

The Da Vinci Code: Of Magdalene, Gnostics, the Goddess and the Grail (Leaderhsip U)

Panel discussion on the Da Vinci Code with Andreas Kostenberger, Norman Geisler, Richard Hays, and Bart Ehrman at Southeastern Seminary's 20/20 Conference (MP3)

Breaking The DaVinci Code (by Dr Darell Bock) MP3 Audio 28.38 Megabytes

Cracking the DaVinci Code Interview with Peter Jones (Windows Media) Part I Broadband ; Part II broadband ; Part III broadband ; Part IV broadband

Decrypting the Da Vinci Code (by Fred Butler) MP3 Audio

Bibliology: The Doctrine of the Written Word: on How We Got Our Bible and Its Trustworthiness @Monergism.com

The Dating of the New Testament (by Dr Norman Geisler)

Crash Goes The Da Vinci Code (by Dr. Ron Rhodes) Master apologist and recognized author Dr. Ron Rhodes painstakingly deconstructs the major errors of The Da Vinci Code in a question and answer format. The inclusion of direct quotations and page numbers from the novel provide a real aid for those seeking proof and answers. Very comprehensive.

Deciphering 'The Da Vinci Code' (by Al Mohler)

Was Jesus Married? Answering the New Gnostics (by Al Mohler)

An Exercise in Pure Narcissism (by Ben Witherington III) Like the modern public, 'Da Vinci's' heroine seeks saving insider knowledge so she can understand her own identity. Excerpted from the forthcoming The Gospel Code: Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Da Vinci with permission of Intervarsity Press

The Da Vinci Code's Shaky Foundation: Gnostic Texts Gnosticism is now in vogue. But people who treat the Gnostic gospels as history are buying into liberal revisionism. (By Dr. James Hitchcock)

Discussionon the DaVinci Code 9by Mark Bailey, Dr. Jeff Bingham & Dr. Darrell Bock (Dallas Theological Seminary)) The Da Vinci Code contains many other false claims about Christianity's historic origins and theological development. The following dialog, hosted by Dr. Mark Bailey, took place with Drs. Jeff Bingham and Darrell Bock, both of whom participated in the ABC special. Listen in to their discussion about the text, the opportunities that it has created, and the problematic theology proposed within its pages.

Was Jesus Married? All the available evidence points to an answer of "no." (By Darrell L. Bock)

The Da Vinci Code Special Section Chrsitianity Today

Thanks to THE DA VINCI CODE evangelism will never be the same (by Peter Jones)

The Da Vinci Code: Of Magdalene, Gnostics, the Goddess and the Grail

Is Da Vinci Convincing? Joel McDurmon

Some Fun Photos

Well... I found a few photos from our Cornerstone Cookout last fall that I thought I should share with everyone. Enjoy...


(Above: Northpark Shepherd Emeritus, Jimmy Stitzinger, and his lovely escorts. Below: Welcome to Mr. Widders's neighborhood.)

*****

(Above: The very picture of both grace and wisdom. Below: Wasn't there a "Dan and Dave" ad campaign back in the 1980s? Hmmm....)


Anyway, we'll see you all tomorrow night. We're meeting at the Norton's at 7:30. Who knows, maybe I'll bring a camera and see if we can get some more Northpark candids.

- Nate

The Duties of Husbands and Wives

Here is a great article that Jimmy Stitzinger gave us men about a year ago. If you haven't read it, it's worth a look. (Don't let the fact that it was written by a Puritan in the 1600s scare you off. The truth of God's Word is still the same, and apparently so are many of the issues in marriage. Also, the English has been "modernized," to make it easier to read.)

Enjoy!

- Nate

The Gospel of Judas

Hey,

Some of you had been asking about "The Gospel of Judas" and how Christians can respond to that sort of thing... Here's an article I found that might be helpful in showing that "The Gospel of Judas" is absolutely no threat to the truth of the biblical gospel.

Hope it helps!

- Nate

Pray for Tom This Weekend

Just a reminder that Tom left this morning to go visit his son, Tommy, for three days. Please be in prayer for him during this time.

Also, if you would like to read the transcript from last night's Larry King episode (of which our pastor was a part), click here.

See you all tonight!

- Nate

The Christ-Like Love of the Godly Husband

To All of You Men!

This morning at our men's meeting, we began talking about what it means to be a godly husband. Well, here are links to the articles I was talking about by Matt Waymeyer. If you get the opportunity to read these, I think you will find them to be a great blessing to you.

The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 1)
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 2)
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 3)
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 4)
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 5)

Enjoy and be convicted!

- Nate