Passion of the Christ

The Washington County Ministerial Alliance sponsored the showing of the Passion of the Christ last night (Sunday). The crowd was small, but the movie was again unbelievable. It was the third time I have seen the movie. The movie is a powerful presentation of what God and Jesus did for us. Christian art has done us a disservice by painting and depicting Jesus a being "pretty" on the cross. This movie reminds us of the brutality, harshness and even the evil that was heaped upon our Lord.

May God forgive us when we take communion without grasping this reality. In fact, I believe that it has changed the way I view communion. The images are burned in my being. May they never leave.

Sid

My Son, Andy

I will be going to Martin, TN tomorrow to participate in a going away party for my son, Andy. He is going to the Officer Basic Course (OBC) at Ft. Leonardwood, MO. This will complete his initial training and possibly subject him to deployment. We are proud of him. He has truly grown into a good young man. His training - basketball, college and ROTC have help mold him into this man. We are thankful for Amanda coming into his life. His wife has truly been a blessing. We pray for Andy in his training and in where God leads him we ask him to be God's man.

His Dad,
Sid

Bad Thinking

I was eating at one of our local cafes for breakfast and am always amazed at the thinking of people. Discussion centered around the local hospital's unbelieveable situation. Did the board violate an open door law? Why would we pay $165,000 for someone to run our hospital and hire four staff members for one year in an area that is not bubbling with economic growth? And there was a discussion from the employees of the cafe about a new waitress and her situation.

What shocks me is the numbness in which the discussions take place. There is no feeling or expectation to make things different. People just accept it. Oh! they may complain, but do something about it - never.

Maybe the whole world is that way, but I am not going to be a cynic. God can use, even people in this community, to do great things. That is why I am ministering here. I want to help make a change and show people God is powerful, but merciful. Pray for us.

Sid

Tsunami Relief

I am proud of our church (Southern Hills Church). We took a special contribution and raised over $1,300 for the relief. We are sending our relief to Partners In Progress. Bill McDonough is a longtime friend (met him in Germany in 1979) and he is the director of PIP. He is now in Indonesia and has borrowed $100,000 to help in the relief effort. His web site is partnersinprogress.org. Help him if you can.

Sid