tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79567382024-03-07T16:05:05.267-06:00Revitalize Your ChurchMark O. WilsonMark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.comBlogger4397125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-46089195731555761692023-07-27T06:13:00.007-05:002023-07-27T06:14:59.852-05:00Purple Fish Podcast: People Are Not Projects <div id="buzzsprout-player-13297528"></div><script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2120854/13297528-people-are-not-projects.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-13297528&player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-56147838702778617312022-08-09T20:40:00.002-05:002022-08-09T20:40:16.775-05:00My Updated Ordination Succession <p> I made an error when I listed my ordination succession a few weeks ago. </p><p>I was ordained by Earle Wilson and he was ordained by William Neff.</p><p>I had thought that Neff was ordained by early Pilgrim leader, Seth Rees, but upon further investigation, he was actually ordained by Winfred Cox. Thus, my ordination line takes a fortunate turn.</p><p>It was a struggle reconciling Rees anyway. I had taken a leap saying that he was ordained by the Nazarenes -- when, in fact, he was originally "recorded" (not ordained) by the Quakers, and the Nazarenes claim they never ordained him. I find that hard to believe -- especially when, according to historian, Kostlevy, he participated in ordinations for the Metropolitan Church Association, a forerunner of the Pilgrim Holiness Church.</p><p>Anyhow -- deepest apologies for leading anyone astray and here is the updated ordination succession for Earle Wilson and anyone ordained by him (including former Wesleyan GS, JoAnne Lyon).</p><p>I was ordained by Earle Wilson in 1987 in the Pacific Southwest District.</p><p>Earle Wilson was ordained by William Neff (Pilgrim Holiness)</p><p>William Neff was ordained by Winfred (W. R.) Cox (Pilgrim Holiness)</p><p>Winfred (W. R. Cox) was ordained by George Kulp (International Apostolic Holiness Church)</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">George Kulp was ordained by Stephen Merrill (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Stephen Merrill was ordained by Thomas Asbury Morris (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thomas Asbury Morris was ordained by Robert Richford Roberts (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Robert Richford Roberts was ordained by Francis Asbury (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Francis Asbury was ordained by Thomas Coke (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thomas Coke was ordained by John Wesley (Anglican)</span></p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-10770110764374635342022-07-12T07:24:00.004-05:002022-07-12T07:24:34.466-05:00Wayne Schmidt's Wesleyan Ordination Succession<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BsIdmDNckwjOqKt_cx3JEQvNNgSaNgiSbG8vOb2WvhOE4ms6xMyOjYdA40rCFttr-Fmwgw1dqrHzK3tG00RRfW6zGUjAIs8W9QzXD8tLSowx8Qg4kPG2A8-4vJOfLghgM3ZgJ5hjGgADKYFLOjJ8nYSDERMrilBMxeSZtzV0rXI0MoCRNw/s225/Wayne%20Schmidt.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BsIdmDNckwjOqKt_cx3JEQvNNgSaNgiSbG8vOb2WvhOE4ms6xMyOjYdA40rCFttr-Fmwgw1dqrHzK3tG00RRfW6zGUjAIs8W9QzXD8tLSowx8Qg4kPG2A8-4vJOfLghgM3ZgJ5hjGgADKYFLOjJ8nYSDERMrilBMxeSZtzV0rXI0MoCRNw/w256-h256/Wayne%20Schmidt.jpeg" width="256" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><br />When Wesleyan General Superintendent, Wayne Schmidt, officiates ordination services, he is continuing a long, historic line of ministerial calling/leadership as the mantle is passed to the next generation.<p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Wayne Schmidt was ordained by O. D. Emery (Wesleyan Church)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">O. D. Emery ordained by Louis Willard Sturk (Pilgrim Holiness).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Louis Willard (L. W.) Sturk ordained by George B. Kulp (Pilgrim Holiness)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">George Kulp was ordained by Stephen Merrill (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stephen Merrill was ordained by Thomas Asbury Morris (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Thomas Asbury Morris was ordained by Robert Richford Roberts (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Robert Richford Roberts was ordained by the renowned circuit riding evangelist, Francis Asbury (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Francis Asbury was ordained by Thomas Coke (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Thomas Coke was ordained by a renegade priest named John Wesley (Anglican)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Wesley was ordained by John Potter, Bishop of Oxford (Anglican).</span></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqnSV690k1cu1gz0o5O1ODPWP9nFDmYwU8ubwXUDBIp3MmVbCQJYNRsE5mo8Cde2g2_xzADb24IxRL017Jj2pxM4lkBBsPQI-5v60Q0qwhC_Cqyi8jBJgizsMCGzCHAtGV6bYHg/s1600/John_Wesley1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136036907011177778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqnSV690k1cu1gz0o5O1ODPWP9nFDmYwU8ubwXUDBIp3MmVbCQJYNRsE5mo8Cde2g2_xzADb24IxRL017Jj2pxM4lkBBsPQI-5v60Q0qwhC_Cqyi8jBJgizsMCGzCHAtGV6bYHg/s200/John_Wesley1.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" /></a></div><br /><div>From Potter -- there's a trail all the way back to St. Peter! (<a href="http://www.theistic-evolution.com/succession.html">You can see the Anglican list here.</a>) (Potter is #163)</div><div><br /></div><div>And the Word marches on -- proclaimed from one generation to another!</div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-32312097673244328572022-07-09T06:01:00.009-05:002022-08-11T06:52:26.013-05:00Wesleyan Ordination Succession (Updated) <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqnSV690k1cu1gz0o5O1ODPWP9nFDmYwU8ubwXUDBIp3MmVbCQJYNRsE5mo8Cde2g2_xzADb24IxRL017Jj2pxM4lkBBsPQI-5v60Q0qwhC_Cqyi8jBJgizsMCGzCHAtGV6bYHg/s1600/John_Wesley1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136036907011177778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqnSV690k1cu1gz0o5O1ODPWP9nFDmYwU8ubwXUDBIp3MmVbCQJYNRsE5mo8Cde2g2_xzADb24IxRL017Jj2pxM4lkBBsPQI-5v60Q0qwhC_Cqyi8jBJgizsMCGzCHAtGV6bYHg/w159-h200/John_Wesley1.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="159" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">JoAnne Lyon and I share the same Wesleyan line of ordination succession.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I was ordained by Earle Wilson in 1987 in the Pacific Southwest District.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Earle Wilson was ordained by William Neff (Pilgrim Holiness)</p><p style="text-align: left;">William Neff was ordained by Winfred (W. R.) Cox (Pilgrim Holiness)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Winfred (W. R. Cox) was ordained by George Kulp (International Apostolic Holiness Church)</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">George Kulp was ordained by Stephen Merrill (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stephen Merrill was ordained by Thomas Asbury Morris (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Thomas Asbury Morris was ordained by Robert Richford Roberts (Methodist Episcopal)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Robert Richford Roberts was ordained by Francis Asbury (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Francis Asbury was ordained by Thomas Coke (Methodist)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Thomas Coke was ordained by John Wesley (Anglican)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">John Wesley was ordained by Anglican Bishop (of Oxford) John Potter.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From Potter -- there's a trail all the way back to St. Peter! (<a href="http://www.theistic-evolution.com/succession.html">You can see the Anglican list here.</a>) (Potter is #163)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the Word marches on -- proclaimed from one generation to another!</div></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-68905998813433044882022-04-11T14:29:00.003-05:002022-04-11T14:29:54.354-05:00Hayward Wesleyan Palm Parade<p> </p><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="435" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmark.wilson.7568596%2Fposts%2F10166611306040193&show_text=true&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-43443160401836679222022-01-07T06:11:00.001-06:002022-01-07T06:11:16.481-06:00The Christianity Described in Matthew<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew 7 stands against a censorious Christianity. "Judge not that ye be not judged"</span></span></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mattew 13 stands against a coercive Christianity. "Let both wheat and tares grow together until the harvest."</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Matthew 18 standS FOR a conscientious Christianity. "If your brother sins against you. . ." ensuring that the church of Matthew 7's and 13's accomodation does not wink at sin.</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Matthew 7 & 13 keep the church from being puritanical, while Matthew 18 keeps the church from being epicurean.</span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">-- Reggie Kidd quoting Emil Brunner</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-35691509425834620642022-01-05T05:36:00.005-06:002022-01-05T05:36:58.279-06:00Something Greater<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Something greater than the temple is here." -- Matt. 12:6</span></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">"Something greater than Jonah is here." -- Matt. 12:41</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">"Something greater than Solomon is here." -- Matt. 12:42</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Here, Jesus claims that. . .</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He is the place where people meet God -- the center of sacrifice and worship </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He is the point of the Old Testament prophets and the fulfillment of their prophecies.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He is saying that he is . . .</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Greater than your worship tradition (your preference)</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Greater than your political stance (your perspective)</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Greater than your leadership skill (your performance)</div></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-13283795671128765652021-06-29T18:39:00.003-05:002021-06-29T18:40:38.546-05:00Doorbell Praying<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfrnXCkvTk1yD2J5DP0Xw4KQgow7VDSLfhS0ghLA2-GVH7C5x1YSGuT05vVcAkF5p4kYNtzxjyHj2PA64cFcB32Ec-QEuTc0iIklYwtS2bTQzCY2QgKKDm9qr0V0_L3j5Bj53/s300/doorbell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfrnXCkvTk1yD2J5DP0Xw4KQgow7VDSLfhS0ghLA2-GVH7C5x1YSGuT05vVcAkF5p4kYNtzxjyHj2PA64cFcB32Ec-QEuTc0iIklYwtS2bTQzCY2QgKKDm9qr0V0_L3j5Bj53/w200-h133/doorbell.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> "Much of our praying is like the little boy who rings the doorbell, but runs away before the door is opened."<p></p> --<a href="http://www.ravenhill.org/"> Leonard Ravenhill,</a> <b><i>Why Revival Tarries</i></b> (quoted in Herald of His Coming, Sept. 2012.)Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-7049333470424209872021-06-07T10:19:00.001-05:002021-06-07T10:19:39.073-05:00The Big Difference Between Pity and Compassion<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1XQVM54vRUfRs-DhrqBy6ZB_fZdzOpDCgIEC2jaQCi8I4Mi4fXKgTgDCn233G-GwuXkWNrktf-h3sef82KC_11CE6HaPJBSslmkdK5lrw72A-dmVx4HhE20CpO84iZWkIC9s/s1600/ethiopia+beggar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1XQVM54vRUfRs-DhrqBy6ZB_fZdzOpDCgIEC2jaQCi8I4Mi4fXKgTgDCn233G-GwuXkWNrktf-h3sef82KC_11CE6HaPJBSslmkdK5lrw72A-dmVx4HhE20CpO84iZWkIC9s/w320-h240/ethiopia+beggar.jpg" width="320" /></a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px;">"What in the world am I doing here in Ethiopia?" I wondered, as I bounced in the jeep with missionary doctor, Harold Adolph.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Our motor vehicle was the only one in sight. Slowly, we navigated our way through a sea of pedestrians, ox carts, and chickens, down the deeply rutted dirt road into in the village of Soddo. It was just as if I had been plucked from the northwoods and plopped into a National Geographic documentary on Africa.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Arriving at the clinic, we emerged from our Jeep, and were immediately swarmed by hundreds of needy people seeking medical attention. Most had been waiting for hours to see the good doctor. Many would have to wait much longer. I observed a grieving mother, holding a lifeless infant in her arms. She looked at me with pleading eyes. I looked away.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The immensity of poverty and human suffering was absolutely overwhelming. Never, in all my life, had I witnessed such need, and felt so powerless to do anything about it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A grotesque begger approached me. One eye and most of his teeth were missing. The horrible stench was almost unbearable. He reached a gnarled, upturned hand towards me. I looked away, pretending he wasn't there.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Dr. Adolph, observing our interaction, came up beside me. He smiled, reached in his pocket and gave the poor man a few coins. Then, with a caring touch, he spoke a few kind words of blessing. The beggar beamed, as if he had just been touched by Jesus.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Perhaps that's what happened.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Perhaps I had witnessed a miracle.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Later, back in the Jeep, I questioned Dr. Adolph. "How do you do it? How can you find the strength to deal with this every day?"</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">He answered, "I just remember what our Lord said, 'When you've done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me'." </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Allerta; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">And that day, I learned the difference between pity and compassion. Pity emphasizes the distance between people. Compassion, on the other hand, is a bridge of blessing that brings humanity together.</span>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-46067779122031148762021-01-01T08:07:00.000-06:002021-01-01T08:07:02.897-06:00Advice Entering 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6RPddelCh6FfhI35JgH5aT_Nql7Vnn8M3N5VlJCEbEZRvfS90qtJeg5gNdzeBeqC5YF6R88i4a_qpFHywJlY1SwUe8_Kv73JodZBwTXEnryXVxZSyEOrxA_A4XRc67YbmTtM1/s341/Mark+Hiking+in+Woods+Life+is+a+Journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="269" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6RPddelCh6FfhI35JgH5aT_Nql7Vnn8M3N5VlJCEbEZRvfS90qtJeg5gNdzeBeqC5YF6R88i4a_qpFHywJlY1SwUe8_Kv73JodZBwTXEnryXVxZSyEOrxA_A4XRc67YbmTtM1/w315-h400/Mark+Hiking+in+Woods+Life+is+a+Journey.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-30004327472565259492020-12-31T05:27:00.002-06:002022-12-23T16:57:03.044-06:00Wesley Covenant Renewal Service<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-color: initial; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-style: none; border-top: medium none; border-width: medium;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kz1cRJVCx42rBy0bnlg6NYoPmCKOfZBlvz2sTHhoEmJ-BWK2QVm80L6TiFoL3-8mN8NUqCagcMOffgtIVfW2SuXT36q12HQhjzsI5soyIcxWwOKIWfSEmO3ZEEjt4-08Az7R/s1600/wesley+old.bmp" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kz1cRJVCx42rBy0bnlg6NYoPmCKOfZBlvz2sTHhoEmJ-BWK2QVm80L6TiFoL3-8mN8NUqCagcMOffgtIVfW2SuXT36q12HQhjzsI5soyIcxWwOKIWfSEmO3ZEEjt4-08Az7R/s200/wesley+old.bmp" width="158" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/covenant-service-directions-for-renewing-our-covenant-with-god/wesley-covenant-service-1998-jeren-rowel/">.</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">A few years ago I developed a version of John Wesley's Covenant Renewal with updated language for my church based on the works of George Lyon and Jeren Rowel. We used it the first Sunday of the New Year.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Wesley Covenant Renewal</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 8pt;">An Adaptation by Mark O. Wilson from versions of the Covenant by George Lyon and Jeren Rowel </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Introduction:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Historical background of John Wesley, and the purpose for the covenant renewal.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Hymn:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIwZsewiSyI">“Come Let Us Use the Grace Divine”</a> written by Charles Wesley especially for the covenant renewal. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2usFe_PSo">Another version is found </a>here that could be used in churches that rely videos, rather than live musicians, for congregational singing.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: "Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant which will never be forgotten" (Jer. 50:5, <i>RSV</i>). </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy name through Christ our Lord. <b>Amen.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Let us now pray together the Lord’s Prayer.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER and PEOPLE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>The Lord’s Prayer</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">THE SCRIPTURE LESSON:</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> John 15:1-8</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> My dear friends, fix these three principles in your hearts: (1) that things eternal are more enduring and real than things temporal; (2) that things not seen are as certain as the things that are seen; (3) that upon your present choice depends your eternal destiny. Choose Christ and His ways, and you are blessed forever; refuse Him, and you are undone forever. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">And then, my friends, make your choice</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Turn either to the right hand or to the left; Christ with His yoke, His cross, and His crown; or the devil with his wealth, his pleasure, and his curse. Then ask yourselves, "Self, you see what is before you; what will you do? Which will you have, either the crown or the curse? If you choose the crown, remember that the day you take this, you must be content to submit to the cross and yoke, the service and sufferings of Christ, which are linked to it. What do you say? Would you rather take the gains and pleasures of sin and risk the curse? Or will you yield yourself a servant to Christ and so make sure the crown?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Do not delay the matter. If you are unresolved, you are resolved. If you remain undetermined for Christ, you are determined for the devil. Therefore, follow your hearts from day to day. Do not rest until this matter is settled once and for all. And see to it that you make a good choice. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Next, begin your journey with Christ</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Adventure with Him. Cast yourselves upon His righteousness. You are exiles from the presence of God and fallen into a land of robbers and murderers. Your sins are robbers, your pleasures are robbers, your companions in sin are robbers and thieves. If you stay where you are, you perish. Christ offers, if you will venture with Him, to bring you to God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Will you say now to Him, "Lord Jesus, will You take me? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Will You bring me to God and bring me into the land of promise? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With You I will risk myself. I cast myself upon You, upon Your blood, upon Your righteousness." </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">This is coming to Christ as your Priest.</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";"> And by this you now renounce your own righteousness. Do you deeply sense your need of God’s grace in Christ? Whether we are already forgiven sinners, or still far from God, let us confess together our total dependence on Him. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">CONFESSION</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">PEOPLE</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">We acknowledge a deep sense of our need. We see ourselves as sinners in need of a Savior. The Spirit of God has awakened us, for we have cried out, “Lord, where am I?”</b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Is there no hope of escaping from this wretched state? I am but dead, if I continue as I am. What can I do to be saved?" </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: Being made aware of his sin and his danger, a sinner will look for help and deliverance, but he will look everywhere else before he looks unto Christ. Nothing will bring a sinner to Christ but absolute necessity. He will try to forsake his sins. He will go to prayers, and sermons, and sacraments and search out if there is salvation in them. But all these, though they be useful in their places, are of no help. His duties cannot help him; these may be numbered among his sins. Ordinances cannot help; these are but empty cisterns. They all tell him, "You knock at a wrong door; salvation is not in us." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Do you now utterly despair of your own goodness, or do you trust in anything but Christ? </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">PRAYER</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">PEOPLE</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lord, be merciful to me. What shall I do? I dare not remain as I am, and I cannot help myself. My praying will not help me. My hearing will not help me. If I give all my goods to the poor, if I should give my body to be burned, all this would not save my soul. Woe is me. What shall I do?</b> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">: You must let your sins go. You must let your righteousness go. Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to seek and to save those that are lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Friends, will you now risk yourselves for Christ? You have this threefold assurance: </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">First</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";">, God’s initiative. He has taken the first move. God the Father has appointed and sent Christ into the world to save sinners. Jesus Christ is the One whom God the Father has made our Savior. He is redeeming and reconciling the world to himself. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Second</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";">, God’s command. This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Third</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";">, God’s promise. "Behold, I lay in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Zion</place></city> a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and whoever believes on him shall not be disappointed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, because we have this threefold assurance of God’s initiative, command, and promise, we may now be bold to risk everything for Christ and to make ourselves totally available to Him. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">The leader and people shall pray together:</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">LEADER and PEOPLE:</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"> Lord Jesus, here I am, a lost creature, an enemy to God, under His wrath and curse. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Will You, Lord, take me as I am, reconcile me to God, and save my soul? </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Do not refuse me, Lord, for if You refuse me, to whom then shall I go? </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">If I had come in my own name, You might well have ignored me; but since I come at the command of the Father, do not reject me. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Lord, help me. Lord, save me. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I come, Lord. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I believe, Lord. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I throw myself upon Your grace and mercy. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I trust Your saving death alone to save me. Do not refuse me. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">I have nowhere else to go. Here I will stay. I will trust You, and rest in You, and risk myself for You. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">On You I lay my hope for pardon, for life, for salvation. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">If I perish, I perish on Your shoulders. If I sink, I sink in Your ship. If I die, I die at Your door. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Do not bid me to go away, for I will not go.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Leader: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants. Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him. <br /><br />Christ has many services to be done. Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful. Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both. <br /><br />In some we may please Christ and please ourselves. But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. <br /><br />It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ. Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">People:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Let me be your servant, under your command. I will no longer be my own. I will give up myself to your will in all things.</b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Leader:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">People:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lord, make me what you will. I put myself fully into your hands:<br /><br />put me to doing, put me to suffering,<br />let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,<br /><br />let me be full, let me be empty,<br />let me have all things, let me have nothing.<br /><br />I freely and with a willing heart<br />give it all to your pleasure and disposal.</b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Leader:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Confirm this by a holy covenant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">First, set apart some time, more than once, to be spent alone before the Lord</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";">; in seeking earnestly God’s special assistance and gracious acceptance of you; even if you have already given your life to Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Consider what your sins are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict and spiritual they are, and whether you, after having carefully considered them, are willing to choose them all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Be sure you are clear in these matters; see that you do not lie to God.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.</span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Third, claim God’s covenant</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";">, rely on God’s promise of giving grace and strength, so you can keep your promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust not your own strength and power.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fourth, resolve to be faithful.</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have given to the Lord your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have opened your mouth to the Lord and you have dedicated yourself to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">With God’s power, never go back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">And last, be prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Open your hearts, then, to the Lord as we pray:</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Covenant Prayer:</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">O righteous God, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done your will, for you have promised mercy to me if I turn to you with my whole heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I do here covenant with you, O Christ,<br />to take my lot with you as it may fall.<br /><br />Through your grace I promise<br />that neither life nor death shall part me from you.</b><br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I make this covenant with you, O God,<br />without guile or reservation</b>.<br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">If any falsehood should be in it, guide me<br />and help me to set it aright.</b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine, and I am yours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So be it!</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">And Let this covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amen.</b><span style="color: #404040;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Lord’s Supper shall be served<span style="color: #404040;">.</span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Congregation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">“O For a Thousand Tongues”</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Benediction:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Jude 1:24-25, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wide God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forevermore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen.”<span style="color: #404040;"></span></span></div>
Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-29651562164381149802020-12-15T12:22:00.000-06:002020-12-15T12:22:26.391-06:00The Wilson's 2020 Christmas Letter<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93675SUH-GOzDKcXzPIJKTa-M6-ZrypCEwxntJA0RwSmGAESJucWoDRgWXyVBV73JBwC8Lc37BypsDvhMte9quHG6HCyOqJzHuKO8BxgoLg_02NIXDnUIMmJnKe7Tw7aBmNlo/s960/Christmas+2020+Wilsons.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93675SUH-GOzDKcXzPIJKTa-M6-ZrypCEwxntJA0RwSmGAESJucWoDRgWXyVBV73JBwC8Lc37BypsDvhMte9quHG6HCyOqJzHuKO8BxgoLg_02NIXDnUIMmJnKe7Tw7aBmNlo/w150-h200/Christmas+2020+Wilsons.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Merry Christmas from the Wilson's! What a strange and challenging year we've all had. Yet, God is faithful and sees us through life's perplexing challenges.<p></p><p>Normally, our lives are full of busy activities, but the pandemic changed all that, as it has done for most people. Despite the adjustments, we've been able to figure out a new (temporary) normal.</p><p>Fortunately, Southern Wesleyan University was able to start and finish the fall sememster in person, due largely to herculean precautions on the part of everyone to stay safe. It has been a challenging year for the university, but everyone has pulled together to make the best of a difficult situation.</p><p>Hannah has completed her junior year of college and remains on the dean's list, majoring in Early Childhood and Family Studies. She also works every afternoon at The Growing Place Daycare Center.</p><p>Cathy is involved in many projects at home and in the community. Both Mark and Hannah are grateful for her encouraging support along the way.</p><p>Hannah and Cathy continue to play (violin and viola respectively) for Chamber Strings at Southern Wesleyan University, although performances were limited in the fall semester. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mark.wilson.7568596/videos/10164755354005193/">Here's a link to their outdoor rendition of Star Wars.</a></p><p>Mark continues to serve on the religion faculty at SWU and successfully defended the research proposal for his doctoral project at Wesley Seminary. His project is <i>Preaching for Congregational Vitality </i>and he anticipates completing it in August 2021. Although his travel was significantly reduced, he still had several opportunities throughout the year to speak in various venues -- especially online.</p><p>Adam, a physicist specializing in heat transfer, has been quite busy researching and publishing. His work has appeared in several scientific journals and other publications. He and his wife, Alexandra, live in Columbia, Maryland. Alexandra provides administration for GrayBug, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases of the retina and optic nerve. She is also pursuing further education in business administration.</p><p>Ryan recently assumed a larger leadership role at <a href="https://hwc.church/">Hayward Wesleyan Church</a> where he serves at the Pastor of Worship and Discipleship. Stacy continues to teach third grade at Hayward Elementary School. Beckett (age four) and Andy (age one and a half) bring much delight. Beckett started pre-school this year at Northern Lights Academy. During the pandemic, Ryan wrote a beautiful song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_80bcGC0Lz8">Sojourner's Hymn,</a> which has brought encouragement to many.</p><p>Luke and Emily live in Hayward, Wisconsin. Luke uses his culinary skills as a cook at the Sawyer County Jail while Emily provides an extra measure of care for Lily at home. Lily's health has been improving significantly and she is slowly being weaned from her feeding tube.</p><p>Wes and Jeweleeann, who live in Stone Lake, Wisconsin, are in the early<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/something-beautiful-wilson-family-adoption?fbclid=IwAR34e_Sum8qQmZRVX-Au8kZRNjKZv4EUhx56UHuNqtKwvW3O3EZIlrjJNfk"> stages of the adoption process.</a> They long to bring a little one into their home and we are praying with them that God will open up the doors for this to become a reality. They will certainly provide a warm and loving home for a precious child. Jeweleeann provided vocals for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRVWtGLLrRs">You are A Gift from God </a>(a wonderful video/book project). Wes serves as the Perkins and Project Success Grants Coordinator for LCO Community College and began a Masters in Counseling program at University of Wisconsin, Superior this past fall.</p><p>Sadly, due to covid, we are unable to make our normal pilgrimage to Hayward for Christmas and must remain in South Carolina. However, times like this make us cherish our loved ones all the more and we look forward to the day when we can once again see each other face to face.</p><p>At the conclusion of Passover Seder, our Jewish friends declare, "Next year in Jerusalem!" This is the sentiment of our hearts: "Next year, in Hayward!"</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-6991121199118678272020-12-15T12:21:00.003-06:002020-12-15T12:21:59.665-06:00Jesus Was a Small Town Preacher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The majority of protestant churches are in small towns and rural communities. Many pastors, upon graduation from seminary, find themselves in one of these "ends of the earth" assignments.<br />
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Their attitude is "I'm stuck here in this one horse town until I learn the ropes; then, I'll move on and do something important."<br />
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Today, as Christmas approaches, I'd like to challenge the assumption that small places are insignificant.<br />
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Jesus, God in human flesh, came to the earth on a mission from heaven to transform humanity. He looked the whole world over and picked the perfect place to launch his global and eternal enterprise. Where did he go? What was his strategic missional selection? A small town!<br />
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"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)<br />
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You won't get any Christmas cards with pictures of Rome, Athens, or Jerusalem on them -- It's the little village of Bethlehem that takes center stage each December.<br />
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Of course, if you want to go further -- Jesus also grew up in a small town (Nazareth), spent most of his ministry in Galilean hamlets, and headquartered in rural Capernaum. He literally changed the world from end of it!<br />
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If you have been chosen to serve in a small place, take heart! Be encouraged! You're in excellent company. Jesus was a small town preacher too!<br />
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I pray that in days to come, small town and rural churches will rise up, reclaim their heritage, and play a significant role in the coming worldwide revival.Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-62664767530474141552020-12-03T15:24:00.001-06:002020-12-03T15:24:35.821-06:00Are You Ready for Christmas?<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/De78Us8h7tM/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/De78Us8h7tM" frameborder="0"></iframe>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-37198268147485215502020-12-02T09:05:00.001-06:002020-12-02T09:05:58.759-06:00The Lord IS Come<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmark.wilson.7568596%2Fvideos%2F10164826631510193%2F&show_text=false&width=560" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-77494424293029016812020-11-25T07:07:00.001-06:002020-11-25T18:26:57.611-06:00A Hymn Penned in a Plague: Now Thank We All Our God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;">During the Great Pestilence of 1637, Martin Rinkart, age 31, found himself in a distressing situation as the only clergyperson in Eilenburg, Germany. The plague had broken out in this war torn community, and all of the other clergymen had either died or departed. </li>
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;">Left alone to meet the vast spiritual needs of the entire community, Rinkart officiated 4480 funerals (40-50 per day) including that of his first wife. </li>
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;">A severe famine followed the epidemic, and the good pastor rose to this challenge, working with town leaders to provide relief and organize assistance. He also led negotiations to secure peace with their enemies.</li>
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;">In the darkest hours of the epidemic, young Pastor Rinkart served as a beacon of light and hope for others. It was during this time that he wrote the beloved hymn "Nun dankket alle Gott" (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skdWLWF6Ttw">Now Thank We All our God</a>), which is now often sung in Thanksgiving worship services around the world.</li>
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<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,</i></li>
<li class="first" style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;<br />Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way<br />With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.</i></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><i>Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,<br />With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;<br />And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;<br />And guard us through all ills in this world, till the next!</i></li>
<li style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 1em;"><i>All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,<br />The Son, and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven—<br />The one eternal God, Whom earth and Heav’n adore;<br />For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.</i></li>
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Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-53169904105980229922020-10-28T09:00:00.002-05:002020-10-28T09:27:37.653-05:00Navigating Change and Transition in Ministry<p> This is the PowerPoint of my Global Partners presentaion: <a href="https://swuedu40627-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/mwilson_swu_edu/EQqlUIYOp5VIsTJz6vk-2q0BqK7NhKstMHl_BHL2CU4j7g?e=Me0qzu">Navigating Change and Transition in Ministry.</a></p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-75534702493818123342020-09-18T07:58:00.002-05:002020-09-18T07:58:41.714-05:00A Prayer for Serenity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPRz-p0A3U7S-OLzI5qQXeUybyUWPd2oKkHotK4wchc0FbQsC7CBg2re5HreZ4OUsmi-N5szGuLuf8agnzS7Q1RdBkfsTZF0L4iKf7Z4yGKa05abCr5OwfzpCa3KpFGEUUD-B/s4032/20200816_123920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPRz-p0A3U7S-OLzI5qQXeUybyUWPd2oKkHotK4wchc0FbQsC7CBg2re5HreZ4OUsmi-N5szGuLuf8agnzS7Q1RdBkfsTZF0L4iKf7Z4yGKa05abCr5OwfzpCa3KpFGEUUD-B/s320/20200816_123920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">God, grant me the serenity</div><div style="text-align: center;">to accept the things I cannot change,</div><div style="text-align: center;">the courage to change the things I can,</div><div style="text-align: center;">and the wisdom to know the difference.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Living one day at a time,</div><div style="text-align: center;">enjoying one moment at a time;</div><div style="text-align: center;">accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;</div><div style="text-align: center;">taking, as Jesus did,</div><div style="text-align: center;">this sinful world as it is,</div><div style="text-align: center;">not as I would have it;</div><div style="text-align: center;">trusting that You will make all things right</div><div style="text-align: center;">if I surrender to Your will;</div><div style="text-align: center;">so that I may be reasonably happy in this life</div><div style="text-align: center;">and supremely happy with You forever in the next.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Amen.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Reinhold Niebuhr</div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-47954377793946945672020-09-16T05:27:00.000-05:002020-09-16T05:27:19.531-05:00Beauty from Afflictions<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt6Bvoc7EAjZWLBUKpaIgUxujy-TSV48SEKgbPL2FSpsJNzaNqx9HDNn2t-O9EPCfgP4JnKQO11tmBCBCXSAnZqayvhBqYQZciwPHSiZM0vabURjh-w0pnQjSAxQ5zQlAjBTM/s960/Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="715" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt6Bvoc7EAjZWLBUKpaIgUxujy-TSV48SEKgbPL2FSpsJNzaNqx9HDNn2t-O9EPCfgP4JnKQO11tmBCBCXSAnZqayvhBqYQZciwPHSiZM0vabURjh-w0pnQjSAxQ5zQlAjBTM/s320/Rose.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">“The thorn is one of the most cursed, and angry, and crabbed weeds that the earth yieldeth, and yet out of it springeth the rose, one of the sweetest-smelled flowers, and most delightful to the eye, that the earth hath. Your Lord shall make joy and gladness out of your afflictions; for all His roses have a fragrant smell. Wait for the time when His own holy hand shall hold them to your nose...”</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">-- Samuel Rutherford</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Photo credit: Cathy Wilson, who took this picture of a rose blooming in our yard.</span></p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-63064698512552157612020-09-11T06:28:00.005-05:002020-09-11T06:30:27.693-05:00For the Beauty of the Earth<p><br /></p><div data-block="true" data-editor="5svtv" data-offset-key="3oq2n-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3oq2n-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3oq2n-0-0"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24xIYFNs6wDBw1Z6Z9oVEHmHywptEP4SVFPE7PwVbpKynWvigdBrX-NWFSqfMTYzNcqNUy8zczH41deAX3aBFI7nS0TY_xABFnvST5f-m2icYiUUAdYMlJwxrfyKT4VkAnWWU/s4032/20200816_123234.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24xIYFNs6wDBw1Z6Z9oVEHmHywptEP4SVFPE7PwVbpKynWvigdBrX-NWFSqfMTYzNcqNUy8zczH41deAX3aBFI7nS0TY_xABFnvST5f-m2icYiUUAdYMlJwxrfyKT4VkAnWWU/s320/20200816_123234.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For the beauty of the earth,</div><div style="text-align: center;">For the beauty of the skies,</div><div style="text-align: center;">For the love which from our birth</div><div style="text-align: center;">Over and around us lies,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Chorus:</u></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lord of all, to thee we raise</div><div style="text-align: center;">This our hymn of grateful praise.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For the beauty of each hour</div><div style="text-align: center;">of the day and of the night,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hill and vale, and tree and flow'r</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sun and moon, and stars of light,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For the joy of human love,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Brother, sister, parent, child,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Friends on earth and friends above,</div><div style="text-align: center;">For our gentle thought and mild,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-- written by Folliott Pierpoint (1835-1917)</div></span></div></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-75584739135919858762020-09-10T05:02:00.004-05:002020-09-10T05:02:53.881-05:00The Wrestling Match: Winning by Losing<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvReSZQm4SV1YOQZXMz4Sn7eyn0belK1Uww04fisVr5eFfRvSovYOQ9Aa4aw3sv6rtTcsTptJBJL5FFWx_VvHcuFL_t8s8f5CDKFPF0yWMlSiJUXoOL7acwgXacAcHgHmEKsT/s1200/Wrestling+Jacob.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvReSZQm4SV1YOQZXMz4Sn7eyn0belK1Uww04fisVr5eFfRvSovYOQ9Aa4aw3sv6rtTcsTptJBJL5FFWx_VvHcuFL_t8s8f5CDKFPF0yWMlSiJUXoOL7acwgXacAcHgHmEKsT/s320/Wrestling+Jacob.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">How small that is, with which we wrestle,</div><div style="text-align: center;">What wrestles with us, how immense;</div><div style="text-align: center;">Were we to let ourselves, the way things do,</div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Be conquered thus by the great storm--</div><div style="text-align: center;">We would become far-reaching and nameless.</div><div style="text-align: center;">What we triumph over is the small,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And the success itself makes us small.</div><div style="text-align: center;">The eternal and unexampled</div><div style="text-align: center;">Will not be bent by us.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is the Angel, who appeared</div><div style="text-align: center;">To the wrestlers of the Old Testament:</div><div style="text-align: center;">When his opponent's sinews</div><div style="text-align: center;">In that contest stretch like metal,</div><div style="text-align: center;">He feels them under his fingers</div><div style="text-align: center;">Like strings making deep melodies.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Whomever this Angel overcame</div><div style="text-align: center;">(who so often declined the fight)</div><div style="text-align: center;">He walks erect and justified</div><div style="text-align: center;">And great from that hard hand</div><div style="text-align: center;">Which, as if sculpting, nestled round him.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Winning does not tempt him.</div><div style="text-align: center;">His growth is this: to be</div><div style="text-align: center;">Deeply defeated by the ever-greater One</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Marie Rainer Rilke, "The Man Watching")</div></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-78799596775903034552020-09-06T06:44:00.006-05:002020-09-06T06:44:49.397-05:00A Prayer of a Minor Prophet<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm8u17Y4udCggklX-8UNOpCx-37JJtqk1Zp-vvsxa53u1IBU6txgOQ7N-htEHVmkILL5-UTWnBYrzhBawu2mVtmnTzzH4KQbx_LjeVDH0Bma8d7Rl4IfpU6hGdmBy_O619NVA/s526/young+tozer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm8u17Y4udCggklX-8UNOpCx-37JJtqk1Zp-vvsxa53u1IBU6txgOQ7N-htEHVmkILL5-UTWnBYrzhBawu2mVtmnTzzH4KQbx_LjeVDH0Bma8d7Rl4IfpU6hGdmBy_O619NVA/s320/young+tozer.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A Prayer of a Minor Prophet </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">by A. W. Tozer (revised/updated by Mark O. Wilson)</div><br />This is the prayer of a man called to be a witness to the nations. This is what he said to his Lord on the day of his ordination. After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on him he withdrew to meet his Savior in the secret place and in that silence, farther in than his well-meaning brothers and sisters could take him. And he said:<br /><br />O Lord, I heard your voice and was afraid. You called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. You are about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, our Lord, you have stopped to honor me to be your servant. No humans take this honor upon themselves except those called of God as Aaron. You have ordained me your messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected You, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.<br /><br />My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfitness for the work. The responsibility is not mine but yours. You have said, “I knew you—I ordained you—I sanctified you,” and You has also said, “You shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shalt speak.” Who am I to argue with You or to call into question your sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Yours. So be it, Lord. Your will, not mine, be done.<br /><br />Well do I know, You God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor You You wilt honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor You in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.<br /><br />It is time, O God, for You to work, for the enemy has entered into your pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Your flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech You, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to distinguish the false friend from the true. Give me vision to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like your own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow You.<br /><br />Lord Jesus, I come to You for spiritual preparation. Lay your hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet; not a promoter, not a religious manager—but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from the bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Your terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that I could make my life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I expect opposition and shall try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falls out to Your servants, I shall have grateful gifts pressed upon me by your kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that it will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in your permissive providence honor should come to me from your church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Your mercies, and that if people knew me as intimately, as I know myself, they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.<br /><br />And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to You; let them be many or few, as You will. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Your servant to do Your will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven. Though I am chosen by You and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a human, made of dust and ashes, with all the natural faults and passions that plague the human race. I pray You therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with your power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in your strength and tell of your righteousness, even yours only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.<br /><br />Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and number me with your saints in glory everlasting. Amen.<span id="docs-internal-guid-f0738db8-7fff-7c18-37f6-8f4ad7f4a3c7"><br /></span><div><br /></div><div>Original prayer is found in A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer by Lyle Dorsett (Chicago, IL: Moody, 2008), pp. 65-68.</div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-83152298789651303572020-08-22T06:47:00.004-05:002020-08-22T06:47:37.537-05:00Each Step I Take<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspR25sI-BM6Rk4p3rQK5yCg8J3NVrd8ICKxLyoKtm9EFaxw4YGQDdMg_0A7neD4LbJv6JRLkURYWiHiVxLWKg7Af2CK0OT1__7-D8X_T9TUVoQCKYz1cl9pV1_nEifV3KHKmn/s4032/20200719_154018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspR25sI-BM6Rk4p3rQK5yCg8J3NVrd8ICKxLyoKtm9EFaxw4YGQDdMg_0A7neD4LbJv6JRLkURYWiHiVxLWKg7Af2CK0OT1__7-D8X_T9TUVoQCKYz1cl9pV1_nEifV3KHKmn/s640/20200719_154018.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Each step I take my Savior goes before me, </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">And with His loving hand He leads the way. </div><div style="text-align: center;">And with each breath I whisper, I adore Thee;</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">O what joy to walk with Him each day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">At times I feel my faith begin to waver, </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">When up ahead I see a chasm wide. </div><div style="text-align: center;">It's then I turn and look up to my Savior, </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">I am strong when He is by my side.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Each step I take, I know that He will guide me; </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">To higher ground He ever leads me on.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Until someday the last step will be taken. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Each step I take just leads me closer Home.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I trust in God, no matter come what may, </div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">For life eternal is in His hand,</div><div style="text-align: center;">He holds the key that opens up the way.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">That will lead me to the promised land.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-- Elmo Mercer</div><span id="docs-internal-guid-d97297fc-7fff-ee76-76e2-6067cee94b7c"><div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-3772950487589018742020-08-18T19:55:00.000-05:002020-08-18T19:55:00.940-05:00The Relationship Between Emotional Health and Organizational Vitality<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxB4l0mfLmJ5fDFyoPObQ8159B9ihQ6zYvmnv5kYf2fS9eOekdFU1kgc9N7sGo2jUg6it2LGP8QgUVu0cbsECy6J0DgiSe1ar6Gwm8hb7zRVocoGX4nb17NZZaaZbA7Kb2yXq/s300/country+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxB4l0mfLmJ5fDFyoPObQ8159B9ihQ6zYvmnv5kYf2fS9eOekdFU1kgc9N7sGo2jUg6it2LGP8QgUVu0cbsECy6J0DgiSe1ar6Gwm8hb7zRVocoGX4nb17NZZaaZbA7Kb2yXq/s0/country+church.jpg" /></a></div>"When emotional dynamics are healthy, organizations are vibrant, creative, risk-taking, and highly adaptable, being able to meet any challenge with ease while retaining the essence of their identity. When the emotional dynamics are poor, organizations are rigid and reactive, trying to ignore or dismiss the need for change, and unable to cope with conflict." -- Clara King<p></p><p><i>A Preliminary Look at Flourishing Congregations in Canada: What Church Leaders are Saying </i>p. 68.</p>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7956738.post-61269551482074162512020-08-17T05:13:00.003-05:002020-08-17T05:13:43.792-05:00A Prayer for College Students<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeRz2z7K9YQkM8BshHv_wB8grPegNNhryHUyAJq-MNWPDh-3_GrNoZCK4xpOOHS5l52uBb0GvgHFt3EJ31IT3tFFtBsoYWPELR-zYEtdUs4ACYaIW_E1fJtqI1RxzE5foWMaQ/s512/SWU.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeRz2z7K9YQkM8BshHv_wB8grPegNNhryHUyAJq-MNWPDh-3_GrNoZCK4xpOOHS5l52uBb0GvgHFt3EJ31IT3tFFtBsoYWPELR-zYEtdUs4ACYaIW_E1fJtqI1RxzE5foWMaQ/s0/SWU.png" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, bless those embarking on this journey of higher education. Keep them safe, strong, and sensitive to your Holy Spirit. As they venture forth, may they sense your presence and follow your guidance daily: discerning the difference between knowledge and wisdom. May their character be shaped through a posture of curiosity rather than criticism; humility rather than haughtiness; and diligence rather than halfheartedness. M</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ay they be conscientious while avoiding the scourge of stressful perfectionism, and seek to understand those who look at life through a different lens. May biblical faith be their sure foundation of education. May they love to learn -- but more importantly, may they learn to love. Amen.</span>Mark O Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08410639184488515086noreply@blogger.com0