RUSSJONES.US

Some churches are having 2 Good Friday services, a Saturday service, Easter Sunrise Service, 3 Services on Sunday, Easter Egg Hunts and much, much more. I have nothing against that, except to say that someone is going to be very, very tired monday morning. The question I have to ask is, "Does it have anything to do with Easter?" The resurrection of our Savior Jesus is the culmination of everything that we believe in and hope for. Without it we are doomed. No salvation, no healing and no hope. Jesus came and gave it all so we could have it all. (I don't mean of this world, but of eternal life.) If you knew that you only had 30 days to live. How would you live? What would you do? What would you change? Would you party like it's 1999 and go out in a flame of glory? Or would you prepare to live forever, starting today? A lot of people out there need to know the truth. It isn't necessarily what might make you happy, but it is what will take care of you no

I was reading an article about the success of SpongeBob, which you can read here. In the article two of the people who are the voices of said characters say . . . "Another key to the show's success is that the humor hits for all age groups, said Clancy Brown, who voices Mr. Krabs. "I think adults these days are very immature," Brown said. "We are keeping them immature." Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob himself, agreed. "Luckily, the infantilization of the American culture has worked for us," Kenny said." What is the infantilization of America? Simply put, keep people from growing up. Teens are children, adults are teens and so on. Why would someone want to do this? Well there are a number of reasons I can think of. But if you can keep people immature they will rely on others to tell them what to do, what to buy, what to wear etc. There is another phrase that comes to mind here too. Dumbing down. Low expectations so everyone can reach

So here is how this goes. 1) Bought a house and moved in. New address means new drivers license. 2) Installed new AC unit (myself), saved $4,000 dollars, because old unit was DEAD! 3) Received notice from the city that I had not pulled a permit for said AC. 4) Advised them that I had checked and was told that home owners didn't have to pull a permit, if they did the work themselves. 5) Was advised that I was wrong. 6) I think that the AC company (who said that they were helping me) simple steered me the wrong way because I wouldn't pay the extra $4,000 to them. Grrrr. 7) Go to city to get permit. 8) Oh, we don't have correct drivers licenses - you have get them updated. 9) Go to DMV and discover that we need our birth certificates or passports. 10) Go back to city to get extension on time allowed to file for permit. 11) Ordered birth certificates (RUSH order!!) 12) Wait - Day 1 13) Wait - Day 2 14) Wait - Day 3 15) Wait - Day 4 16) Receive birth certificates. 17) Go to D

As I was sitting at the tire store buying 2 new tires for my car, the inevitable happened. Someone asked, "What do you think of this new health care bill?" A mormon, a retired military man, a parts delivery driver, an administrative assistant and a small business owner all took part in the conversation. The driver thought it was a good idea. The military man asked him why the elected officials passed a law that 73% of Americans are against. (Don't know if his numbers are right.) The mormon asked him if he was willing to participate in a system where 43% of doctors were going to quit. The administrative assistant told everyone that should would not be able to get married because the insurance rates would be so high, she couldn't afford it. The small business owner though said it well. "We live in a country where people want something for nothing. As long as this mentality exists, we will see this and more of it in our future. Get a job, work for a livin

So the point of this article which you can read here is how a college professor changed the grading system from the old A - F routine to video gaming style scoring. Students start their class with zero "experience points," they'll perform "quests;" exams become "fighting monsters;" and assignments become "crafting." Students even team up into "guilds" to tackle group projects. So what can we learn from all of this? 1. If you underestimated the impact video gaming has had on our young people, you are now up to speed. 2. What use to motivate people to accomplish more and do better is changing. 3. "Points" are as valuable as money. Self value and worth is now being connected to video gaming. 4. Fun and work and not inseparable. If work isn't going to be fun, young people will not be interested. So what can the church do to incorporate this shift in our culture to reach young people for Christ? I have a feeling tha

This has been around a while. But if you haven't seen it - it is funny!

And that's what I just did with Anneka today. The first time she every flew a kite. She had a blast.

The last few weeks we have been studying about the Body, Soul and Spirit. We read in 1 Thess. 5:23 "23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Now for my dichotomist and trichotomist friends out there, this isn't about any of that stuff. If you didn't understand that last sentence, your ok too. What I do want to draw you attention to is this. We live in a world that is ALL about the body and the soul (psyche). I am very alarmed at the number of famous people committing suicide. Yet I don't hear anyone in media say, "This is wrong!" Don't do it! Instead we continue to push the boundaries of what the Body and Soul can tolerate until finally something snaps. But again, nobody stands up and says, "STOP IT!!" Why are peoples minds and hearts failing them? Why are they so prone to addictions? Even in the fac

Well I took a nap today. I honestly can't tell you when the last time I actually did that. Felt weird. But as I think about this mornings service there is a lot to reflect on. God is soooooo awesome. I believe we are going to hear some great reports from this mornings service. Many people told me that they needed to hear what was shared today from the message. That it really helped them. Praise God! We had 50 in this mornings service. Yea!!! The new Children's Church reveal was great! There is more to come in there too! Sunday School has some great discussion today. I hope that it helped some of think about what we are thinking about!! My Aunt Bev and Cousin Randy are headed back to Oregon Tuesday. Now that the weather is getting warmer, vacation is over. It's that the way it seems to work out! Got some great reports from those who attended DSOM yesterday! Didn't even get a chance to say something about that today! Ok, I know that Buddy Barrel is BIG. But

I am looking forward to tomorrows services at FFWC. I am starting a new series, A Rock and a Hard Place . Miracles and healing for the 21st century. I am looking forward to seeing God do some great things during the month of March. Then our new Children's Church will be revealed tomorrow! Wow! What a transformation! Also don't forget that on March 14th all clocks spring forward one hour! Daylight Savings time is here again! Then Easter is April 4th this year! We are working on having a powerful and wonderful week starting with Palm Sunday on March 28th.

Well after about 12 hours of frustration - I finally have a new look for my blog. Let me know what you think of it, and if you have any problems using it. I will be updating it over the next few days, so check back and see what is going on. Thanks to everyone who let me know that you missed my blog entries. I was really wondering if anyone was reading these things. I needed a couple of weeks though to work on the church building. Boy does it look GOOOOOOD!!! Sectional Council was here last Tuesday and we were able to serve our local AG ministers with a facility that was a blessing Stop by the church if you haven't seen it already. Tonight I am cooking Springfield Cashew Chicken for my mom (who lives here in Stuart) and my Aunt Bev and Cousin Randy who are visiting from Oregon. I will try to get some pics for everyone. See ya tomorrow!!