Give Thanks

This is Tovia Ann Sumpter at 8 months. She's our wonderful miracle grandbaby, born premature at 2 lbs, 2 oz. She's our third grandchild. This morning at our Thanksgiving Worship, a brother led the congregational prayer giving thanks for various kindnesses and blessings in the past year of 2008, and he offered specific thanks for God's goodness to this little one. I was more than a little moved emotionally as I heard this man pray for Tovia. God is good in so many, many ways.

G. Mark Sumpter

We Want To Be Covenantal Christians

When we get introduced to the issues that gave rise to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, it’s not too long and we come to learn about God’s way of relating to His people. The biblical term customarily used is covenant. Many times in the Bible, a consistent pattern emerges that guides us on how He relates to His own people.

The pattern includes: 1) an introduction about God’s person and name, “I am the Lord,” 2) the provision of access to Him “…through the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…,” 3) an expectation of us to follow His commandments, “I am the Lord…You shall have no other gods before Me,” 4) the drawing on and heeding His on-going, sufficient and accountable presence, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that may cling to Him for He is your life…” and 5) the prospect of living under the blessing of His triumph, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Covenantal Christians live out their daily faith:
1. Yes, God is our God. He made us, He owns us, and He’s our Savior.
2. Yes, God is holy and we need Christ through whom we may worship and live in the Spirit’s enabling power.
3. Yes, His ways, God’s laws, are our reliable guide. We fear Him.
4. Yes, He’s always with us, both comforting and correcting us in discipleship.
5. Yes, God is the Alpha and the Omega, faithful to us and to those coming behind us. We are forward-looking.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices
Who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices
Who from our mothers’ arms, hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
Trinity Hymnal, p. 86

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.4

“When you come to a fork in the road,” as Yogi Berra put it, “take it."

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.3

If you are afraid of men and a slave to their opinion, go and do something else. Go and make shoes to fit them. Go even and paint pictures which you know are bad, but which suit their bad taste. But do not keep on all your life preaching sermons which say not what God sent you to declare, but what they have you to say. Be courageous.

Philip Brooks, 1877 Yale Lectures on Preaching

G. Mark Sumpter

Free Will

Christian inquirer asks: “I don't understand predestination when Jesus said ‘Jerusalem…How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen…. but you were not willing,’ doesn't that imply we have free will?”

Answer: Two important Bible doctrines as backdrop to your question must be kept in mind. The Bible teaches both of these truths.

First, the Bible teaches God's Sovereignty. God is in complete control of every action and reaction of men and things; His will unfolds according to His pleasure and plan (Ephesians 1:11). He grants salvation to all whom He chooses, on the basis of His good pleasure, not because of the exercise of man’s faith or good deeds foreseen (Ephesians 1:4-5). Also, importantly, the Bible teaches that God is a personal being, not a force or impersonal power. He's named Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Second, the Bible teaches man's responsibility. Man has the responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent and serve the Lord. (“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13.) Man must call on the Lord. That's his responsibility, this includes repentance from sin and to turn in faith to Jesus Christ to love Him, and in that turning to Christ, man then follows in discipleship living out His commandments. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my command-ments” (John 14:15). This faith and repentance is God’s gracious gift (Eph. 2:8-9).

Both of these doctrines are taught in the Bible. They must be taught with equal weight, with equal proportion. If we neglect one, we damage both. If we try to present halvs-ies of each, (God’s part and man’s part), we lose both. The Bible holds these two truths as mates, as parallel points, and equal in importance. They are set in Scripture side by side.

And they work together in such a way, that only God knows their finest, detailed inner-workings; this is mysterious. In this, we're taught that God is big enough, wise enough, to figure out their exact relationship; we cannot. We leave the finer inner-workings of these things to Him (Deut. 29:29).

Now, specifically to answer your question: In the case of Matthew 23:37 as you quoted, Jesus issues His offer to save Jerusalem. The offer is genuine, well-meant, gracious and loving. It's tender. The Lord is seen here as a hen, a mother. This indicates warm-hearted affection. Yet in His offer, He remains the Sovereign Savior, the One in complete control of Jerusalem and the actions of this city's men and women. Some might see our Lord’s offer in light of Jerusalem’s refusal as disingenuous, that He only looks as if He’s desirous of her repentance. But the Bible doesn’t use language in Matthew 23:27 indicating an appearance or surface exhibition of His will to save. Rather, the duplication of Jerusalem, with the sigh, “O Jerusalem,” indicates sincerity. Here, the two important truths from above line up side by side: His Sovereign will desirous to save, man’s responsibility to repent.

Jerusalem's unwillingness to be gathered to the Lord is their choice. The freedom they choose to exercise as an unwilling people is freedom that they themselves express. From this, we learn that men and women have a will, and they have the ability to choose what they desire. Joshua 24:15 says, “…choose for yourselves...”

These ones of Jerusalem, however, are unwilling to be gathered to Him (Matthew 23:37), because they do not have the desire to come to Jesus. They don't have the desire to repent, and that's what the Bible teaches about sinful man being in bondage to his own sin and how he is dead in his sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-2). Unless God makes the sinner alive to Himself, he will never have a desire to come to Christ.

The whole human race, apart from God's work, has no desire for the Lord, and it cannot come to Christ (Romans 8:8). Man is lost, dead and turned away from Him. It's this very desire, interestingly, that shows such freedom and it keeps men and women away from Christ. Sinful man has freedom to choose what he desires and freedom to refuse what he doesn’t; and he is constantly refusing to come to Christ. It’s precisely as Jesus tells the residents of Jerusalem, “but you were not willing.” They were not willing because God had not given them a desire for Christ. Their sinful ways—in this case, their spite and hatred for the prophets—showed their hardness, and God had given them what they wanted: coldness about Jesus.

So, what does God do to bring some to salvation, to bring them to desire salvation? He decides, He determines that for some of the lost He provides His work of predestinating grace. Before the beginning of time, He put His love on those He wills to save. In the course of their human existence, He works in them to change their desire about Christ and His saving love. This is the work of grace. It’s grace at work in the inner man. The Bible teaches that God's way of controlling men and women and their choices, actions, and decisions does not violate their freedom, but it does change their freedom to a freedom that chooses Christ. Their will is not coerced or manipulated or controlled as like a puppet on a string. But it is made free drawing the lost sinner, nurturing the lost sinner to come and take freely of Christ. God must give him a new heart, with new desires, and new choices.

How does God work in the heart and will of a man changing his desire and choice and willingness---without coercion or manipulation? I do not know. The Bible presents the fact that God works this way, but how? I do not know. But what we can say is that the Bible teaches that it’s done in such a way that God remains completely in control, and man's freedom is genuinely his freedom (see for example, Phil. 2:12-13). God works in the heart, man is acted on, and that same man is freely made willing without coercion. This is the mysterious part. God remains God drawing the sinner to Himself (John 6:44); and man freely chooses to come, and freely, he takes of the water of life (Revelation 22:17). Again, a mystery of God's gracious ways!

“...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13). What a verse! It’s the blend of man's responsibility and God's complete, sovereign, work.

Is this sovereign way of God fair? We often wonder about fairness. We must remember to ask, does God owe anyone anything? He's the Sovereign One. He's the Creator. He's the One who is in charge of all things and all men and women. Particularly we wonder, if God is willing to work grace in the hearts of some men and women and change their desire to choose Him, why doesn't He do that for all, for every last human? We have to answer, “We don't know why He's that way; it’s His good pleasure.” And this points us to grace. He gives grace because He wishes to give grace. We must note this: Just because He determines to grant grace to some does not require Him to supply saving grace to all. Grace is grace. Grace is never required; grace is God's good way of giving a new heart to whom He will. Amazing grace! The apostle Paul taught in speaking of God's determination to work in some and not in all: “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy” (Romans 9:15). God answers to no one.

As Jesus cried out to men of Jerusalem in His day, still He cries to all today, “Come.” And the Bible summons all, requiring all to repent and believe in Him. Anyone who calls on Him shall be saved. God so works His will for salvation and in His working, sinful man freely wants it. Come, take of the water of life this day! Amen!

This has been super long. Your question has been seen in Christendom as a crucial one; it’s a question for the ages, and needs thoughtful work from the Bible. I hope this helps.


G. Mark Sumpter

Part Time Pop Christian Culture Scholar

We’re glued to the tube. We look and listen with interest. We, of the evangelical and reformed wing, take note of the popular Christian in the culture. Bono from U2 interviews with Christianity Today yet another time about world hunger and the church’s impotence, and like three heads on the park bench that slowly turn to watch the obese granny bend over to give her toy poodle a treat, we stop, stare and hold our breath.

Next it’s Andy Pettitte, presently a pitcher with the New York Yankees, who speaks into the microphone in the post-game wrap-up and we listen for the favored morsels of testimony, "The Lord Jesus gave me the overpowering curve and other stuff tonight."

Why are we so enamored with the center-stage Christian speaking into the culture? Maybe it’s because we sympathize with them and the anti-Christ pressure they feel in their places of limelight. They’ve earned their stripes, we think. What they have to say is well-forged, well-tested, and tried and true. They’re in the trenches of the real battle. "Listen in fellow Christian," we say to one another, "their life counts." Or maybe we pay attention to the commentary of the testimony and verbiage of Christian witness via the popular Christian personalities of entertainment because we measure success by such persons and their standards. They’ve made it big, and we want to make it big. Big? How? They are talented at what they do, we long for the same talent. They’ve worked their fannies off, we wish we had their energy. They get handsomely rewarded monetarily, yes, there’s seeming security when carrying around a few Gs in the pocketbook. They have a following, we wouldn’t mind the attention. They have a stage with a little glitz for speaking for Christ, and ours is almost altogether obscure. When a Christian makes it to the World Series or the Olympics, or sings mezzo-soprano with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, we pay attention to their walk and talk. They are in some way our teachers, and we want to be like them.

Should we take our cue from such Christians? We’re grateful for the popular teachers, but a faithful cue can be found close, right at home. There’s biblical reinforcement for the witness of the obscure life of Joe Christian Plumber. What’s the reinforcement, the equipping we need? It’s public worship, not public testimony. The world is, as Reformer John Calvin argued, the theater of God's glory. The heavens do declare the glory of God and the firmament does show forth His handiwork. The world is His theater; we can see the work of His hand, in additional to the wonders of creation around us, in the variety of persons, popular Christian ones at that. But in scripturally-mandated worship He’s the Actor within a theater of the public assembly of His people. It’s not near as lime-light fancy.

But listen to Mike Horton:

"Imagine the worship service as a magnificent theater of divine action. There is the pulpit, lofty and grand - this is God's balcony from which He conducts the drama. Beneath it is the baptismal font, where the announcement, 'the promise is for you and for your children' is fulfilled. Also prominent is the communion table, where weak and disturbed consciences 'taste and see that the Lord is good.' That which God has done to, for, and within his people in the past eras of biblical history he is doing here, now, for us, sweeping us into the tide of his gracious plan...

God has promised to save and keep his people through the means he has appointed and through no other; the ordinary means of grace are limited to the preached Word and the administered sacraments; God's rationale for these means is made explicit in Scripture. There are many other things that are essential for Christian growth: prayer, Bible study, service to others. However, these are not, properly speaking, means of grace but means of discipleship.

…God is savingly present among us through Word and sacrament. We need props to strengthen our faith, but we dare not invent our own, as Israel did at Mount Sinai, when Aaron's lame excuse for the golden calf was, "You know how the people are." Only in glory will we no longer need faith, since hope will dissolve into sight. There will be no more promises, no more anticipation. But for now God has given us his means of grace to ensure that the method of delivery as well as the method of redemption itself is his alone. Here in the wilderness God has given us both the preached Word and the visible Word (baptism and the Supper). Here is God's drama, the liturgy of life, in which God acts in saving grace and we respond in faith and repentance. Even our architecture is to be conscious of this mission to proclaim God's method of grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, delivered in the church alone, through the means of grace alone. Donald Bruggink and Carl Droppers offer a charge that could apply to any Reformation church: 'To set forth the God-ordained means by which Christ comes to his people, the Reformed must give visual expression to the importance of both Word and Sacraments. Any architecture worthy of scriptural teaching must start with the Christ who calls men unto himself through the Word and Sacraments.' In the divine drama, the 'set' is not insignificant."

See Horton’s chapter, "Setting the Stage" from A Better Way, Baker Books, 2002.

The popular witness of the Christian via countless marketplace and entertainment venues, made visible and attractive in many ways by various stories, ads, and wear, have a place for effective testimony, but they work on us causing a shrinkage of the priority and importance of public worship. God has His theater for His own attention-getting witness. He comes to be Actor each Sunday when Christians gather. He tells His own wonders through their praise, prayer, reading, teaching and by meeting with them to host His meal. Such a corporate testimony makes outsiders stop and take notice (1 Corinthians 14:25). It is God’s primary witness before the watching world. Psalm 8 has it, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger."

G. Mark Sumpter

Faith OPC Grants Pass, OR

G. Mark Sumpter

Olson Preface Review, Part 1

I have too many books going right now. The little kid, being candy-store-showcase height, staring in at 19 different colors of jellybeans comes to mind: which one or two or three candies do I choose to devour? I've been thinking about settling into one for study and note-taking. The one book I've chosen is Roger E. Olson's 246-page Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities from Inter Varsity Press, copyright 2006.

I spoke for while with a Methodist minister last week, met him over in Medford. Grants Pass sets slightly north and west of Medford, about a 30 minute drive. I told him that I was raised a Methodist as a young boy down in South Louisana, and then later up in Anchorage. I enjoyed speaking with him about his seminary days and the different parishes where he served. He had had several pulpits along the way, and now is a retired man. As he spoke, my appreciation grew for his many years of working with people. I could tell by his gracious and wise speech that his life had been seasoned with people and their pain. We hit it off a little when we shared a few stories of our Methodism.

Running into this Methodist minister stirred me to give another look at Olson's book. I had been dabbling in it since September but hadn't given it the kind of attention it deserved. I imagine that this study through Arminian Theology will take me a good season or two of life, about like a pack mule carrying victuals and other provisions from St. Louis to Seattle, let's say in the year of 1859. I plan to be here awhile.

Let's get a start. On the opening page of the preface we read a little of Olson's childhoood:

I have always been an Arminian. I was raised in a Pentecostal preacher's home, and my family was most definitely and proudly Arminian. I don't remember when I first heard the term. But it first sunk into my consciousness when a well-known charismatic leader of Amenian background rose to prominence. My parents and some of my aunts and uncles (missionaries, pastors and denominational leaders) distinguished between Armenian and Arminian...I recall sitting in a college theology class and the professor reminded us that we are Arminians, to which one student muttered loudly, 'Who would want to be from Armenia?'

Two comments.

1) This book is written by a red-church-punch drinking church-kid who's dad was a preacher. Olson was the proverbial PK who would be found downstairs in the fellowship hall right after the evening service putting his little grubbies on 5 or 6 sugar cubes so that he could put one in his mouth and drop the other five in his red punch. He also says, "my family was most definitely and proudly Arminian." OK. This is good for me. It's high-time to read about and study Arminianism from a man who's been around Arminian theology all of his life. More on this later.

2) Note well Olson's italicized print in the quote above. There's a world of difference between the two words, Arminian and Armenia. I heard folks all the time getting them confused when I worked for Evangelical Bible Book Store at Westminster Seminary California back in the 80s. Listen how Olson addresses this commonplace confusion on page 13 of his Introduction, "Arminianism has nothing to do with the country of Armenia. Most people mispronounce the word as if it were somehow associated with the central Asian country Armenia. The confusion is understandable because of the purely accidental similarity between the theological label and the geographical one. Arminians are not from Armenia. Arminianism derives from the name Jacob (or James) Arminius (1560-1609)...Arminius...was a Dutch theologian who had no ancestral lineage in Armenia." So, Olson himself straightens out the mix up about the country and the theology. He's spot on helping us to get off on the right foot.

G. Mark Sumpter

A Soldier, Faithful and True

James Shelvy Jones
Home with Jesus
November 13, 2008

Dear Kelly, Willow and Holly,

God brought me into contact with your beloved husband and wonderful father in the summer of 2006. He caught my eye as he was ministering to people with gospel literature in a crowded area at Riverside Park in Grants Pass. I watched him with great interest. He was that soldier, with satchel strapped to his side, carrying munitions, the truth, to those in the battlefield of the world. When he looked as though he was finished, I sauntered over to him.

"Hi," my name is Mark Sumpter. "I'm Jim, Jim Jones."

"Jim, may I have one of your booklets?"

"Notta problem, in fact, take 10 or 15 and give them away," Jim's face brightened as he gave me the tracts.

That started my relationship with Jim Jones, a blessed fool for Christ and a soldier-ambassador.

Jim and I met for the next 3-4 months, nearly every Saturday, going downtown in Grants Pass talking to people about the Lord Jesus Christ, just as we see him doing in the picture above. He was my mentor. He helped me to keep an eye on that most-needful work of gospel witness to the lost of Grants Pass.

God so wonderfully and generously gifted Jim with humor; he genuinely was able to put people at an emotional rest for 20 or 30 minutes in order for the gospel to be clearly explained. I was stunned with his disarming ways. He was witty in his witness, and he was a straight-shooter about man's law-breaking ways; and he was a straight-shooter with respect to gladly telling sinners where solid, lasting hope and joy may be found. He boldly and clearly presented Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jim's way of opening the message of Christ, I saw it on several occasions, was to be in the Bible, literally, to open the Word and read and teach and explain. In his way of cracking open the Bible to teach the Scriptures, he drew in inquirers.

Kelly, I cannot reach through this screen to offer a hug. And Willow and Holly, I cannot share your physical tears at this moment. Jesus alone, the one of Whom Jim spoke so confidently, never will leave you, and never will forsake you. The Lord is your Shepherd, He will lead you beside quiet waters and into green pastures. He will watch over and keep you soul. Our love through Jesus Christ is yours. We pour out intercessory prayer for you, for your comfort in your loss.

Your husband and father, and our brother, has gone home to be with His Lord, the Captain of the fight. My blessed Christian friend, Jim Jones, will be long-remembered in my heart. God gave the church of the Lord Jesus Christ here in the Rogue Valley a tremendous gift in Jim for these years. God gave to me Jim's example of fervor and zeal for preaching Christ. I will never forget his life and ministry. God is so very good.

O may thy soldiers faithful, true and bold
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Blessed be the glorious name of our God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our great God gave Jim Jones and He has now taken him home to glory.

Through Christ, Who is our Living Hope and Blessed Redeemer,

G. Mark Sumpter, Pastor
Faith Presbyterian Church/Grants Pass

Calvin Face to Face

Back in 1981, I read these words: "the average local church in the U.S. barely has one nostril out of the water...and with Reformed churches in most cases, [they are] experiencing the same nosedive."

What's gone wrong? Why the nosedive?

That quote comes from Jack Miller's Evangelism and Your Church. Miller goes on to address what he calls a theology of missionary expectancy. And from what example does he draw to showcase missionary expectancy? Why, it's that staunch, crusty and doctrinaire Professor of Sacred Scripture-guy named John Calvin. It was the lofty scholar and trumpeter of Sovereign Election.

Miller writes, "Calvin was not slow to translate his own missionary vision into action. During the years 1555 to 1562, 88 men were trained and commissioned by Calvin as pastors to France. Additional works established in Holland and Scotland by men trained by Calvin were greatly blessed. In Scotland, the response to Christ was so overwhelming that one contemporary observed that 'the sky rained men.'"

88 men trained for church ministry, church planting and missionary work.

Contemporary British pastor Erroll Hulse corroborates:

"There may have been more than 88. Historical research is hampered by the fact that everything in that period was done in a secretive way for security reasons. Also we must account for many short term missions into France. Those who were ordained and sent out as church planters were exceptionally gifted men…Of these missionaries those who were not already accredited pastors were obliged to conform to rigorous standards set up by Calvin. The moral life of the candidate, his theological integrity and his preaching ability were subject to careful examination. With regard to moral discipline a system was established by which the pastors were responsible to each other. There was an exacting code listing offences that were not to be tolerated in a minister. Offenses in money, dishonesty or sexual misconduct meant instant dismissal…Only when Calvin judged a man to possess the necessary fiber and stamina would he be sent into France to preach and plant churches. Each church began by a group gathering in a home, and then out of that a fully disciplined church would be constituted. Such was termed 'a dressed church'. In 1555 there was only one 'dressed church'. Seven years later, in 1562, there were 2150 such churches!"

See the article by Hulse, “John Calvin and His Missionary Enterprise.”

Pray for your pastor to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be under the influence of the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ, and to preach and shepherd with the vision of missionary expectancy. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." May 2 Corinthians 5:20 be our signature.

G. Mark Sumpter

Road Stories

THE LOVES OF HIS LIFE

Even before she told Jim Bryant, "I do," on their wedding day in March of 1999, Vickie Bryant knew there were facts of life she would have to accept as the wife of an owner-operator. She knew she'd go days without seeing her husband. She'd also have to help him make ends meet by managing his road expenses. And she knew full well that she would have a rival for her husband's affections, a Peterbilt Model 379...See story here:
http://www.peterbilt.com/roadstories.aspx

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.2

There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.
-Anonymous



G. Mark Sumpter

Old Testament Archaeology

Archaeologists found this old Hebrew script near the O.T. Valley of Elah, near the place of David's conquering of Goliath. The news about this ancient text hit the world's papers about 10-12 days ago. The activity of digging up old ostracon like this one gets big-time attention! Ostracon is a broken potsherd that was used for ancient Syria-Israelite writing. See the full BBC story about this discovery here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7700037.stm One OT scholar says it appears the script comes from the time of David, and that it is the oldest Israelite inscription yet found. Like all archaeological findings, accuracy on dating and matters of the relative importance of the discovery get top-shelf attention. Let the debates begin! This inscription was found about 12 miles south-west of Jerusalem.

G. Mark Sumpter

Front Door Youth Ministry

Front Door Youth Ministry accents the importance of public worship for discipleship for covenant children, youth and their families. It means that our worship elements of singing, prayer, preaching, reading of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments all express a nuturing role in their discipling influence so that each one, great and small, enthrone the Triune Lord with worship from body and soul. In America, it's been the black church that has led the way in Front Door Youth Ministry, and largely it's been the choir that's been the practical training vehicle for this. You look around at evangelical African-American churches on the US landscape, and you'll note that their choirs have most faithfully served as the means through which every-generation worship is offered. It's young and old, skilled and less skilled, wiser and less that lead the way, and it's the choir that's winsomely modeled the make-up of the church. It's worship-based, front-door ministry. For the past three or four generations in our country this has been the youth group of choice for our black brethren. Here, too, our brothers have much to teach us.

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.1

"Everyone flatters himself and carries a kingdom in his breast."

Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life
John Calvin


G. Mark Sumpter

Issachar Commentary.1

1 Chronicles 12:32
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

[E]xit poll of voters showed single women were a decisive factor in Barack Obama's historic victory. If not for the overwhelming support of unmarried women, John McCain would have won the women's vote and with it, the White House," said the international research firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. Tuesday night, unmarried women supported the Democratic candidate by a stunning 70 to 29 percent margin, the firm said in a summary of its calculations, based on the Edison/Mitofsky National Election Pool published by CNN. From World Net Daily

Why did President-elect Obama carry the unmarried female vote? I went over to the intersection in Grants Pass at the corners of Imagination Boulevard and Probably Avenue, here's what women had to say:

1. "He's got charisma."


2. "He's about me and the Hollywood camp of the young and restless."


3. "Hey, my body is my body...he says he'll protect me and my reproductive rights."


4. "The greatest generation had their day, and Viet Nam, well...Barack shows me a different kind of bravery."


5. "It's not about pro-life, it's not about homosexuality, and it's not about same-sex marriage. It's about getting along...he wants to get along."


6. "He reminds me of the famous line in Twilight, 'Forever. Begins. Now.'"


7. "Any President who can text message and sign it, 'Barack,' gets my vote."


8. "This is our moment, our time."


9. "I don't know, I just did it."


10. "He'll take care of my kids...he'll take care of me."


G. Mark Sumpter

Liturgy and Life

Covenant Seminary Prof, Jack Collins rightly conveys from Genesis:

"God made a good world as the arena for man to live out his relationship with his Maker. Though mankind has fallen, the goodness of the creation remains the arena for man's life--but now it is the arena for redemption. The ordinary activities of life, such as eating, working, procreating, and breathing are good. Any pain that man finds in these stems not from from badness of the activities but from the sinfulness of man. Physical ordinances are a fitting means for God to work out his purposes for his people: he ordains sacrifices, beautiful garments for his priests, and an elaborate shrine for corporate worship, with 'smells and bells' in the liturgy. The people use their bodies, bowing, kneeling, prostrating themselves, raising hands, and so forth, in their act of worship."

"Indeed, the three main festivals of the liturgical calendar are connected with the agricultural calendar: Passover with the barley harvest, Pentecost with the wheat harvest and the first fruits, and Tabernacles (or Booths) with the autumn fruit harvest. It is no contradiction, however, that they are also connected with events in redemptive history: Passover with the Exodus from Egypt, Tabernacles with the wandering in the wilderness, and--later; anyhow--Pentecost with the giving of the law at Sinai. The God who created is the same God who redeemed Israel and made a covenant with her; and faithful adherence to the covenant enables God's people to enjoy the creation."

From his book, Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary and Theological Commentary, p. 244

G. Mark Sumpter