From: R & S Scarcella & Family [inbox@webpastor.com] Sent: Tuesday, 22 August 2000 11:16 PM To: Susan Scarcella Subject: CoGS Weekly Hits! 2000 Vol.8. No.4 =================================================== YOUR CoGS WEEKLY HITS! - FREE NETMAGAZINE =================================================== distributed by Rev. Rocco & Mrs. Susan Scarcella from Church of the Good Shepherd Bossley Park NSW Australia WEBSITE: www.webpastor.com ITEMS, JOKES ETC TO: hits@webpastor.com SUBSCRIBE: subscribe@webpastor.com UNSUBSCRIBE: unsubscribe@webpastor.com (Please write "no hits" in the subject frame) WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?: Go to... http://www.christianity.net.au HELP BLIMBINGSARI ORPHANAGE?: Go to... http://www.webpastor.com/miss&supp.htm *************************************************** Dear Netsters, This week we watched as the tragedy of the Russian submarine unfolded. On shore, wives and children waited as efforts failed to secure the safety of the men on board. But, there was still hope, said the newspapers, which begs the question... what is hope? READING FROM THE WORD OF GOD Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV) The words faith and hope have different meanings for different people. The meanings vary based upon a person's understanding of God himself. If we believe that God is impersonal or unknowable, then any faith or hope we have will be open-ended, always unsure, a sort of wish-list that we do not know whether or not will come true. But if we believe that God is a personal God, who makes his will known to humans, then our understanding of faith and hope will be completely transformed by this knowledge. Christians believe that God entered human history in the form of Jesus, that he lived, died and rose from the dead. We also believe that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. Therefore, our hope is based upon certainties, not possibilities or empty wishes. Our hope is that, through the death of Jesus, we have been reconciled with God, and that the promise of heaven is sure. Jesus has said so. We believe it. We have faith in an historical person, who achieved all that he set out to do, to pay for the sins of humanity. The proof of his claims is found in his resurrection. TESTIMONY "For the past fifteen years, I've been a worker in the church, serving on committees, but plagued with secret doubts about my salvation. I've prayed for God to show me if I had really become His child. My friend, who is a counselor, invited me to talk about what was bothering me. She questioned me until I yelled at her that I questioned the existence of God. After more questions we agreed that I didn't question God's existence, I questioned whether God existed in MY life. I could believe that Jesus came to save man from his sin, but I didn't believe that He came to save ME from MINE. That night I trusted Him as MY Saviour and now I KNOW THAT I KNOW HE IS IN MY LIFE." --Roneice. PRAYER POINTS **Thank God for the certainty of our hope in him. Thank him that we do not have to depend on legends or guesswork to know what he is like. **Thank God that he wants to be part of our lives, yours and mine, and that we can be reconciled through the death of Jesus. **Praise God for the safe delivery of Joseph Rocco, first child to Joe and Gina L. Keep praying for little Amelia Rae, Mark and Lynn's new little one, and David Eli, Warren and Trisha's young one, that they continue to grow and thrive, and that they come to a personal knowledge of Jesus, when they are old enough to do so. **Pray for those who are in turmoil at the moment, going through court cases and custody disputes, that these things may be resolved justly and life be restored to normal as soon as possible. **Pray for those who are in difficulties in their lives, especially within their marriages, that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. **Pray for those with ongoing health problems, that the Lord may lay his healing hand on them. Pray for asthmatics such as Rose T and those with pneumonia, such as Rosa S's mum. **Pray for those who have recently lost loved ones, especially Doreen F. and the Dugas family. THE "PROBLEM" OF PRAYER: TIMES RECORD NEWS, Wichita Falls, Texas: By: NICK GHOLSON This Prayer Thing... Some people, it seems, get offended way too easily. I mean, isn't that what all this prayer hullabaloo is all about - people getting offended? Those of us in the majority are always tiptoeing around, trying to make sure we don't step on the toes or hurt the feelings of the humorless. And you can bet there's a lawyer standing on every corner making sure we don't. Take this prayer deal. It's absolutely ridiculous. Some atheist goes to a high school football game, hears a kid say a short prayer before the game and gets offended. So he hires a lawyer and goes to court and asks somebody to pay him a whole bunch of money for all the damage done to him. You would have thought the kid kicked him in the stomach. Damaged for life by a 30 second prayer? Am I missing some- thing here? I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory of evolution. Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30 second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game. "But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. And we are in the Bible Belt. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect - somebody chanting Hare Krishna? If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer. If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha. And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome... "But what about the atheists?" is another argument. "What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer. Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations. Nor do I believe that not praying will result in more serious injuries on the field or more fatal car crashes after the game. In fact, I'm not so sure God would even be at all these games if he didn't have to be. That's just one of the downsides of omnipresence. If God really liked sports, the Russians would never have won a single gold medal, New York would never play in a World Series and Deion Sanders' toe would be healed by now. Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us just to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying. God, help us! And if that last sentence offends you -- well... just sue me. --Ed Schwing GLYAWSNDT http://orchided.home.texas.net (If you pass this story along to friends, please include the author's name and site address. Thank you!) --submitted by Jennie Graham HAHAHA CORNER ** First Day of Commuting The blonde wife came home from her first day commuting into the city. Her husband noticed she was looking a little peaked and asked, "Honey, are you feeling all right?" "Not really," she replied. "I'm nauseous from sitting backward on the train." "Poor dear," he said. "Why didn't you ask the person sitting across from you to switch seats for a while?" "I couldn't," she replied, "there was no one there!" --Anon. **There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented \by a good teacher." - Flannery O'Connor **EXPERT ADVICE The efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution. "You don't want to try these techniques at home." "Why not?" asked someone from the back of the audience. "I watched my wife's routine at breakfast for years," the expert explained. "She made lots of trips to the refrigerator, stove, table and cabinets, often carrying just a single item at a time. 'Hon,' I suggested, 'Why don't you try carrying several things at once?'" The voice from the back asked, "Did it save time?" The expert replied, "Actually, yes. It used to take her twenty minutes to get breakfast ready. Now I do it in seven." --Anon. **Three neighbors were discussing the proper position and attitude for prayer. One said, "You should be on your knees with your head bowed in reverence to the Almighty." The second man spoke up and said, "Remember that you were created in God's image. The position in which to pray is to stand up looking into the heavens into the face of God and talk to Him as a child to his father." The third man spoke up and said, "I don't know about those positions, but the finest praying I ever did was upside down in a well." --submitted by Pat Croisant ===================================================================== Rocco: There's only one thing you can say about that last joke. Sue: What's that? Rocco: Well,well,well.... And on that note we will bid you fareWELL....hahaha!!! Rocco and Sue. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++