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First Sunday of Christmastide-Jan 1

28 Dec

Twelve Days of Christmas

Now that the commercial Christmas is over, we can relax and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas. Most people don’t realize that Christmas isn’t over, it actual runs for twelve days from Dec 25th to Jan 5th (few people think about the words in the song-“Twelve days of Christmas”). This time is called Christmastide and is a good time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas occurs on the shortest day of the year to remind us that when things were darkest and it seemed there was no hope, God came down to us in the form of a baby and dwelt among us. God revealed Himself to His people and He is with us. His presence changed the world forever. He isn’t someone up there in heaven, who is unreachable. He cared enough to come to us in our time of greatest need and is still here when we need Him

 

 

Christian Calendar

28 Dec

Why the Calendar  Many question why I use the Christian calendar for my messages. I am often accused of being tied to ritual, but I am not. I have very little interest in or use for ritual outside of Communion. Communion is special because God ordained it and commanded us to continue it. Even with Communion I am not tied to one tradition. I celebrate however those around me do, as long as it includes the basic elements instituted by Christ. (most who celebrate it sincerely do, though they celebrate them in a multitude of different ways) I use the Christian calendar for three reasons. (1) It ensures that I cover all the major Christian teachings in a year. (2) It ensures that I do them in an orderly way, each one building upon another so it is easier to understand. (3) It is an order widely accepted by other Christians, which reminds me we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, despite our differences. Though many holidays were added by men, the basic elements of the Jewish calendar and the Christian calendar were commanded by God and the fact that many churches today do not celebrate them (outside of Christmas and Easter) is one more indication that the church today no longer takes God’s Word seriously. (for more on the Christian holidays, see “Understanding the Path We Walk” which I published in 2015 or my course on the holiday celebrations on Udemy.

 

 
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Video-New Year’s Day-intro

28 Dec

 

Video-Value of Time, Truth, and Education-study course

22 Dec

Available at Udemy at

 

Schooling-education-D-AN

20 Dec

Voters Beware-Liberal State Education Associations are promoting what they call “Fair Schooling Acts” but they are anything but “fair”.  Recently Ohio passed legislation which expanded Ohio’s program to give vouchers to families whose children attend failing public schools to allow them to transfer their kids to higher quality schools nearby. The Ohio Education Association and far-left politicians fought it because they were afraid of losing more of their monopoly on teaching Ohio’s students. They fought back by trying to deceive voters into thinking they care about quality education and that the private schools are providing inferior education, so they could promote their radical agenda. The public schools have seen an increasing decline in education, but the National Education Association and State affiliates continue to dumb down education standards to hide their declining levels of education, while most private schools are not seeing a decline. Parents should be free to move their children to better schools when their local school fails to adequately teach their children. In addition, competition would force the public schools to improve their level of education to prevent losing more students. With a virtual monopoly on education, they can continue to push their liberal agenda, which devalues life leading to more school shootings, promotes sex education which promotes sexual promiscuity and leads to more abortions, and attacks the family where moral values are taught. Parents should have more freedom to choose the best school for their children, not less.

 

 
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Schooling-Education-D-AM

20 Dec

The National Education Association continues to proclaim that the bills extending school vouchers to kids in failing schools are stealing money from the public schools to fund private schools. They make it look like greedy private schools are seeking to gain access to the public treasury. They miss the whole issue. American public education was developed with the principle that the schools would be controlled by parents and local voters. Liberal politicians have seized control of the local schools by funneling federal and State money to local schools which has enabled them to dictate what is taught and how it is taught. Parents and voters are becoming increasingly upset with the way the government is using their tax money to control the schools and indoctrinate students in liberal policies in order to further its own political agenda. Parents and voters are demanding that the schools either listen to them or they will fund other schools that will. If parents cannot mold the public schools to give their children the kind of education they feel is best, they must find a way to send their kids to schools that will.  These bills are the public’s way of trying to regain control of their schools. It is a question of whether we remain a free country where parents are free to choose the kind of schooling that is best for their kids or the government forces them to send their kids to schools that indoctrinate them in liberal philosophy and trains them to be obedient slaves to the government.

 

 
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Schooling-Education-D-AL

20 Dec

I received the following copy of a newspaper clipping from 1937 from a friend of mine.
Nazis take parents away from children
Nov. 29, 1937 In Waldenberg, Germany, a court has taken parents away from their children because they refused to teach them Nazi ideology. The parents are pacifists, members of a Christian sect called International Bible Researchers. The court accused them of creating an environment where the children would grow up “enemies of the state.” The children were delivered into the state’s care. The judge delivered a lengthy statement reading in part, “The law as a racial and national instrument entrusts German parents with the education of their children only under certain conditions, namely, that they educate them in the fashion that the nation and state expect.”
Quoted from “Chronicles of the 20th Century,” 1987 edition,  p 475 Chronicle Publications, Mt. Kisco, NY.

The same philosophy is being promoted by liberal politicians in this country. Numerous liberal States are moving against parents who homeschool to shut them down. In some instances, children have been taken away from their parents under the pretext that the children aren’t getting an adequate education. Liberal State governments are putting pressure on private schools to teach the same liberal doctrines on sex and gender being taught in many of the public schools. Liberal politicians are now calling on the FBI to label parents who speak out in school board meetings as terrorists and investigate them because they claim the parents pose a threat to society. When parents looking out for the welfare of their children becomes a threat to those in power, those in power are a threat to society.

 

 
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Sanctity of Life-G-G

20 Dec

We are now hearing of a university in Pennsylvania that is harvesting organs from babies while they are still alive. That is shocking to us who value life but is a natural conclusion for those to whom the only value that life has is in dollars and cents. While the debate in America focuses on abortion because the majority of Americans value life, they are more open about their intentions in Canada and Europe. There are standard practices in Europe and Canada developed by Hitler to dispose of those who are sick, disabled, or merely old and to harvest organs from living people. While this university got caught, I imagine it is going on in other American universities as well. It is  illegal, but they feel the law doesn’t apply to them and what you don’t know won’t bother you. While many people in America rush to get universal health care provided by the government, they need to realize that health care will only be given if a government board feels that health care is worth the investment based on what you contribute to society. The old, the critically sick, the disabled, the unborn, have no protection.

 

Video-Christmastide-intro

20 Dec

Since Christmas falls on Sunday this year, it is the first Sunday of Christmastide, as well as the first day of Christmastide.

 

Violence and Social Strife-2-Z

16 Dec

The Maltz Museum had a section on Hate. They included information on Hitler’s attempt to exterminate the Jews and a section on the American Civil Rights movement. I remember the Civil Rights movement well. Segregation like occurred before the Civil Rights movement breeds suspicion and fear. If you don’t know someone, you believe what others tell you about them. We have come a long way in race relations as Whites and Blacks have mingled and got to know each other.  It has done a great deal to break down old stereotypes and fears. However, President Obama did a great deal to stir up fear of Whites by Blacks and turn Blacks against Whites by drawing attention to every time a White police officer killed a Black person. He was aided by the liberal media that trumpeted every little incident like it was an earth shaking incident. In spite of the fact that Blacks are far more likely to be killed by another Black person then they are to be killed by a White person and the chances the White person will be a police officer is very small. That fear of Whites caused some Blacks to attack White people, particularly police officers. That stirred up increasing fear of Blacks by Whites. It is the old game of divide and conquer that the devil loves to play. It’s his favorite game. It is a game that Democrats are openly playing today. They are constantly accusing President Trump of every little thing and launching senseless investigations to discredit him and turn his supporters against him. They are also constantly attacking and demonizing Christians and Jews, just as Hitler did to the Jews in the 1940’s. Christians tried to ignore what Hitler was doing to the Jews until it was difficult to do much. Christians and Jews must not continue to ignore the current move in the same direction because it is becoming increasingly difficult to do much as liberals gain more power .