Currently Reading All About Jesus By Roger Quy see related

NEW OFFICE

Whew! What a whirlwind week! I spent a good portion of the week painting, cleaning and preparing my new office. LifePoint is growing! We hired an administrative Assistant prompting office moves. My new office was the "children's playroom".....now it's the "Pastor of insane details playroom"!

<<----Here's the room before I started work on it. Yes....the mural had to go.......

<<--- Ah.........painted.....A/C installed....furniture moved in.....

Now I can get busy and catch up with all the work I missed and put on the back burner last week.......

Currently Reading The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English By L. C. L., Sir Brenton see related

The Bible That Jesus Read: The Septuigant

Pastor Phil has started a series titled, "The Bible That Jesus Read". So.............what were the Scriptures that Jesus and the Apostles read?

It might be surprising to know that Jesus and the Apostles did not primarily read the Hebrew Scriptures in their original Hebrew...but that they read the Greek translation of these Scriptures called the Septuagint.

How do we know this? Because most of the quotes by both Jesus and the apostles from the Greek Scriptures (The New Testament) are quotes from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew Scriptures (Paul usually quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures).

What is the difference? Translation. The Septuagint was the Bible of early Christianity before the New Testament was written. After the New Testament Scriptures came on the scene, they were added to the Septuagint to form the completed Scriptures of Christianity.

What is the Septuagint? The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament).

Why were the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek? Many Jews had moved into Egypt and other places outside of Palestine, and as a result, were unable to read or speak Hebrew. So a translation was prepared in the common Greek language of the day.

Why is it called The Septuagint? It is often abbreviated as the "LXX" (the Roman Numerals for 70). In fact, the word "Septuagint" is Latin for "seventy". Its alleged seventy-two translators (six from each of the twelve tribes) is traditional, the number seventy apparently being an approximation for seventy-two; or the number seventy may have developed in the course of tradition. Note that Exodus 24:1, 9 refers to the seventy elders of Israel, and the membership of the Sanhedrin was composed of that number.

Where was the Septuigant translated? It was translated piecemeal in Alexandria, Egypt.

When was the Septuigant translated? Between 250 and 150 BC

TIDBITS:
-- The Hebrew Scriptures were the first book (library of books) as far as I have been able to determine, known to be translated into another language. This was the Septuagint.
-- It is important to note that the Septuagint is based on a Hebrew text one thousand years older than our existing Hebrew manuscripts.
-- Codex Sinaiticus—This was an ancient manuscript of the Greek Septuagint, written approximately a.d. 330. The Codex Sinaiticus contained 199 leaves of the Old Testament and the entire New Testament.
-- The New Testament book of Hebrews quotes from the Old Testament about 100 times....... from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text.

Below is an example of the translation differences:

(MT) The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (called the Tanakh). It defines not just the books of the Jewish canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism.
(TNIV) Today's New International Version of the Holy Scriptures

Here is Matthew 1:23 (TNIV) quoting the Old Testament Scripture Isaiah 7:14:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Here is Isaiah 7:14 (TNIV) :
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin [or young woman] will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.[which means God with us]

Here is Isaiah 7:14 (According to the Masoretic Text):
14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

And finally, here is Isaiah 7:14 (According to the Septuigant):
14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel.

Currently Reading God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know: Finding Self, Spirituality and Ultimate Meaning (The Kushner Series) By Lawrence Kushner see related

www.lifepointchurch.com
www.lifepointaudio.com

Sunday Night Live: A great place to "Grow your Faith"  

Last night was the first night of our 10 week fall session for Sunday Night Live. Sunday Night Live is our offering of exciting small groups coming together to grow their faith as well as fellowship with each other and get to know new people. One of the great things is that we are centralized at the YMCA and are able to accomodate childcare.

We had almost 117 people in attendance which is quite remarkable in a church of 200-300. It is so exciting seeing friends and family come together for the common good of learning, sharing and growing together as a body as well as in our individual walks. The SNL lineup for this ten weeks is:

Financial Peace University: This 13-week sign up group is offered to anyone interested in learning how to manage money God's way. Very practical, very doable....based in Gods wisdom from Scripture. Learn more here. If you didn't get signed up for this class, there will probably be another one offered in January 09. Most people who attend this group describe it as a "life changer".

sHe-The Book of Philippians:  This is a six week women’s sign-up group studying the book of Phlippians. The key to the letter to the Philippians is joy. The book of Philippians is made up of four chapters designed to teach us how and why we should rejoice. In studying this book we discover who we are in Christ Jesus and the difference it should make in our lives. In it is the secret to “happiness” and the steps we can take to not let circumstances govern our Hope, Faith, or Love.

Following this six week group will be a four week group titled, "God's Amazing Book- A Study all about the Mighty Word of God and its Author"

sHe-Women's drop-in group: Last night the topic was a study based on thoughts from "The Sacred Romance", a book by John Eldridge. In the coming weeks you will see topics such as "The Proverbs Woman", "Assurances", "Breaking Down Barriers- The Image of God", "Forgiviness" and "sHe Serves- A Card Project".

Deeper-A coed drop-in group: This is a drop-in group for everyone. The topic for the next four weeks is, "Stephan- A Historical Retrospect". Other topics will be introduced throughout this ten week session.

Roots is our teen group that meets each Sunday at the the YMCA in the Gym. For the next four weeks the Roots Teen Group will be studying Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace for Teens called "Generation Change". There are also exciting and relevent topics  each and every Sunday. It's a great place for your teens to get involved.

Additionally, there will be other periodic groups meeting on subject such as
"Cybersafety for Parents", "Discover LifePoint, "Scripture Study Techniques", and more.

Come check us out! Sunday Night Live is a great place to Grow your Faith as well as grow in friendship through thoughtful study and fun fellowship.
(Childcare is available)

Currently Reading The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church (Voice) By Chris Seay see related

www.LifePointChurch.com
www.LifePointAudio.com

Baptism......An Outward and Visible Sign of an Inward and Spiritual Grace

Last Sunday I had the honor of baptizing my good friend Sean Cunningham. What an exciting day! Sean has been a faithful attender at LifePoint since it's beginning in 2002. A month ago he called me with the great news that Jesus had been stirring in his heart and that he wanted to be baptized. What an honor....God bless you Sean

Matthew 28:18-20 (TNIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

From the times of the early church, baptism has been regarded as the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, and signifies the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Acts 2:38-42 (TNIV)
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Sean Cunningham Baptism Celebration from Phil Ayres on Vimeo.

Currently Reading They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations By Dan Kimball see related

Grace and Grits AND GLORY

Welcome to another night of "Grace and Grits AND GLORY"

Every Wed night at the Sanford Civic Center, Sanford, Florida

ACTS 17:16-33

It's rather easy, as Christians, to hang out and follow Jesus in "The First Place". This is where we meet people that are believers, right in our churches....people who are like us. The Apostle Paul speaks of this place in Acts 17:17 when he ministers in "the synagogue".

It's also not so hard to hang out and follow Jesus in "The Second Place". This is often where people are not as much like us, many are unbelievers.....these people are often found where we work or in our schools or just "out in the world" where we do our shopping, driving, etc. The Apostle Paul speaks of this place in Acts 17:17 when he ministers in "the marketplace". 

But Jesus ministered and cared for people so very often in "The Third Place"........... this place is not so easy...this place is probably where people need Him most....among sinners, prostitutes, addicts, pagans, scoffers, the marginalized in society. The Apostle Paul ministered eloquently in The Third Place as recounted in Acts 17...this is where he went to minister to the "Epicurean and Stoic philosophers" in Acts 17:18.

As Christian leaders....as well as followers of Jesus....I believe that it is important not to spend all of our time in The First Place. We should spend time in The Second Place and......as followers of Christ...we should spend some of our time in The Third Place.

Loving people, caring for people, sharing Jesus......allowing the holy Spirit to move....

<<-- My wife, Kelly and some other ladies did the cooking (appropriately...Shepherds Pie).

<<-- Our guest have arrived and seated in the dining hall. Our servers are preparing their trays of food

<<-- Our honored guest

<<-- Serving our honored guest

<<-- The Vicar Bry Band (This is Kevin and I. Bry was not able to be here this particular night). Kevin plays keys and bass (sometimes both simultaneously), I sing and play guitar (and sometimes harmonica and percussion).

<<-- This is Linda...she does some awesome Janis Joplin!

<<-- This Richard...awesome songwriter and awesome singer!

<<-- Linda and Richard

<<-- Desert anyone?

<<-- Wow...these folks are hungry!

<<-- My friend James

<<-- My friend Mike

<<-- Sharing some laughs together w/ Marcia on the right.

<<-- Marcia and her husband ask for prayer

<<-- Pat and Donna ask for prayer too.

<<-- The LifePoint Drama team performed a drama called "Everything" by LifeHouse

<<-- "AND GLORY" is our church service afterwards. Marcia prays before the service.

 <<-- Communion prayer

<<-- Yes......Our worship band at LifePoint Christian Church is louder than yours!

<<-- Tonight's sermon at Grace and Grits AND GLORY: "Climbing Down to Reach the Top"

<<-- thank you Lord....Amen.

Thank you LifePoint...for meeting with us in "The Third Place".