Oct 2009
James Knoxx | Gideons International
Sunday/Oct/2009 13:10
The Gideons International, founded in 1899, serves as
an extended missionary arm of the church and is the
oldest Christian business and professional men's
association in the United States of America.
It's been nearly 100 years since The Gideons International placed the first Bible in a hotel room in Montana. Today, The Gideons are organized in more than 180 countries around the globe and print Scriptures in more than 80 languages. Through God's grace and to His Glory, more than 1.3 billion Bibles and New Testaments have been placed by The Gideons. In addition to their well-known hotel-room Bibles, the Gideons also distribute Bibles to members of the military of various countries, to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and students.
The organization describes its link to the story of Gideon himself: "Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads."
Today we welcome James Knoxx as our special guest.
Listen
It's been nearly 100 years since The Gideons International placed the first Bible in a hotel room in Montana. Today, The Gideons are organized in more than 180 countries around the globe and print Scriptures in more than 80 languages. Through God's grace and to His Glory, more than 1.3 billion Bibles and New Testaments have been placed by The Gideons. In addition to their well-known hotel-room Bibles, the Gideons also distribute Bibles to members of the military of various countries, to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and students.
The organization describes its link to the story of Gideon himself: "Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads."
Today we welcome James Knoxx as our special guest.
Listen
Pastor Rick Hudgens | How to Stay Calm under Fire
Tuesday/Oct/2009 18:12
In 1953, Austrian mountaineer Herman Buhl became the
first person to climb Nanga Parbat in the
Himalayas—at 26,660 feet, the ninth tallest peak
in the world. He climbed by himself, and not far from
the summit, was forced to spend the night out in the
open without a sleeping bag or tent. It was an
agonizing bivouac, but Buhl survived—in part, he
later wrote, because he sensed that he shared the
ordeal with a companion. "I had an extraordinary
feeling," he wrote, "that I was not alone."
In "The Third Man Factor," John Geiger, a fellow at the University of Toronto, presents many accounts of such experiences, and not only from climbers. Among those who have felt a ghostly companionship, he cites Charles Lindbergh on his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and the last man to walk out of the South Tower of the World Trade Center before it collapsed on 9/11.
"Over the years," Mr. Geiger writes, “the experience has occurred again and again, not only to 9/11 survivors, mountaineers, and divers, but also to polar explorers, prisoners of war, solo sailors, shipwreck survivors, aviators, and astronauts. All have escaped traumatic events only to tell strikingly similar stories of having experienced the close presence of a companion and helper.’” (By Michael Ybarra in a review for the Wall Street Journal)
This reminds me of a portion of our Scripture text for today:
Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, "Didn't we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?"
"That's right, O king," they said.
"But look!" he said. "I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!"
Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire. Daniel 3: 24-29 (The Message)
Listen
In "The Third Man Factor," John Geiger, a fellow at the University of Toronto, presents many accounts of such experiences, and not only from climbers. Among those who have felt a ghostly companionship, he cites Charles Lindbergh on his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and the last man to walk out of the South Tower of the World Trade Center before it collapsed on 9/11.
"Over the years," Mr. Geiger writes, “the experience has occurred again and again, not only to 9/11 survivors, mountaineers, and divers, but also to polar explorers, prisoners of war, solo sailors, shipwreck survivors, aviators, and astronauts. All have escaped traumatic events only to tell strikingly similar stories of having experienced the close presence of a companion and helper.’” (By Michael Ybarra in a review for the Wall Street Journal)
This reminds me of a portion of our Scripture text for today:
Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, "Didn't we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?"
"That's right, O king," they said.
"But look!" he said. "I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!"
Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire. Daniel 3: 24-29 (The Message)
Listen
