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July 29, 2005
FRANK DENNEY + RIP
With deep sorrow I would like to inform you of the demise of Mr. Frank Denney tonight, Friday 29th at 10pm. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Pat Denney, Carole Denney, Patrick and Catie.
Tonight I had an opportunity to visit with him around 8:30pm. Frank was in his last hours and had struggled with lots of suffering from the cancer that was getting the better of him. Let us remember to pray for the dear departed. We will notify the funeral arrangements as soon as we hear from Carole Denney. Let us reassure the family of our prayerful support at this time of sorrow and keep them close to the Lord in prayer.
Frank was a faithful Christian, suffering servant who participated in the passion of our Lord through his own suffering. He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and his health began to deteriorate more rapidly in the last couple of weeks, during which I had the opportunity to visit with him and be there for their family. During these moments of pains, he never complained once, accepting it with total Christian resignation. Mr. Denney is a great example for us all, having endured untold pain and passing into the arms of our loving Savior. For us all, the faithful, life is changed NOT ended.We will all meet with him someday in heaven, our final destination. Till then let us comfort their family and each other with love and empathy and prayers. This has been the second loss within a short time for our church. May the good Lord strengthen us all with His peace and blessings.
Eternal Rest Grant unto Frank's soul O Lord
And let your perpetual light shine upon him
May His soul and all the souls of the faithful departed
Through the MERCY OF GOD, REST IN PEACE, Amen.
Posted by frleo at 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Our own Dr. Phil responds
If you love the Lord and His body the church, you cannot but speak up.Here is the respnse of our own Dr. Phil to the heretical vendetta of Lowell Grisham's Roots and Wings column, Growing in Scriptures..
Apostate. Heretic. We don’t hear these words much anymore. I dare say,sir, that you would consider them insensitive and intolerant. But after reading your column “Growing in the scriptures,” I can think of no more appropriate words.
Perhaps a better title for your piece would have been “Growing away from the scriptures.” It seems fairly obvious that you consider current wisdom superior to the faith of the Apostles, Saints and Martyrs.Never mind that the first three-quarters of the editorial was built on some of the worst logic I’ve ever seen in print. You consistently confused culture with theology. To use your own example of slavery in New Testament times, the very fact that Paul admonished Christian masters and slaves to love one another as brothers does more than condemn slavery. It was a challenge to the very institution of slavery.How preposterous it must of seemed to a 1st century slave owner to be told to love a piece of property as a member of his family!But the most egregious portion of your editorial was saved for the
last. First, you bring up the role of women. However, I noticed that
you were particularly vague in this regard. Are you talking about the role of women in the home? The Church? The workplace? The bedroom? I suppose it better serves your purpose to keep things vague so that your readers can assume any number of trendy hot-button issues about which to get worked up.And secondly, about the issue of the place of homosexuality in today’s church. I have read many times in your columns that Jesus never addressed homosexuality. Thus, you feel comfortable in subscribing to the modern day views about the gay lifestyle. However, Jesus had quite a bit to say about marriage did he not? And without fail, when he spoke of marriage it was in the context of the union of a man and a woman,the bride and the bridegroom. It would stand to reason then that anything that does not conform to the model that Jesus proclaimed would be contrary to his teachings.
Which brings us to the rub I think. The more I read your words, the
more I question if you even believe in Christ. You are awfully fond of the phrase “the spirit of Jesus.” But frankly that is a phrase I can hear from just about any New Age quack in the self-help section of the local bookstore. The very fact that you are open to “discussing whether our religion is the only one true religion” makes me fear for your eternal soul. Even a cursory reading of Church history and the Church Fathers would reveal how far you have strayed from the faith once given. And what, may I ask, do you say about the Scriptures themselves and the very words of Jesus that state unequivocally that He is the only Way? As the estimable C.S. Lewis wrote Jesus was either who He claimed to be, or He was a lunatic and a liar. There is no middle ground to His claims.I noticed in your example of your friend’s testimony regarding John
3:16 that you never got around to the part of the verse “whosoever
believes in Him.” I supposed that part of the verse is just too rigid for you and your friend’s tastes. I can think of no other reason why you ignored that one portion of the verse.You are entitled to your views, sir. But I think it’s high time you
consider calling yourself something other than Christian. Your views
are an insult to every drop of blood shed for the cause of Christ, from Jesus himself all the way down to the modern-day martyrs of Asia and Africa. You preach a cheap grace, sir. One that says nothing of sin or repentance.Apostasy. Heresy. These are the words that describe what you’ve been
writing. And every faithful Christian who reads or hears your words
should denounce you as apostate and heretic.Sincerely,
Phil Gilbreath
Posted by frleo at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 26, 2005
Faith with neither roots nor wings
My friend emailed me this morning asking if I read Lowell Grisham's Roots and Wings column this Monday, that does not smack of liberalism...
Unfortunately this man cannot see for himself the damage that he does while underestimating scriptures and putting forth his liberal agenda in unmistakable terms.
Growth in scripture means to be impacted by God's word in totality. He sees it otherwise as he refers to John 3:16 and says that one of his folks seemed to have picked on its meaning, piece by piece defined by a different context each time. Here is an excerpt:
When he was growing up in a hellfire church, the compelling words were may not perish. More secure in his teen years, his heart was touched by the words God so loved. In seminary his heart’s attention was the phrase that he gave, as he realized that all of life and salvation is a gift from God, freely given, unmerited. Now, he finds the most compelling words are the world. God so loves all people, all places, all conditions. The words haven’t changed, but he has. He has grown in the Spirit. So may we all of us.
Its true the Scripture has not changed but neither its meaning. We need to change our lives in accordance with God's WORD. God loves the whole world yes. He did not approve of a sinful world and that's why He sent His only Son to redeem the world. This is what you and I have learned and come to embrace. The only paradigm of this is the woman caught in adultery. Jesus is very clear in forgiving the woman and saying, "Go and SIN NO MORE". God's mercy is richly available. At the same time there is our part (response to His mercy) that we refrain from sin and embrace grace and God's love.
ROOTS AND WINGS is another example of the third stool of Anglicanism, REASONING gone haywire in Northwest Arakansas. For this priest friend of mine, everything seems to be okay, even the way one conveniently interprets scriptures. His interpretation lacks distinction between sin and grace. Does that not lead us to question the very economy of salvation - the very purpose why God sent His only son? If the world were perfect why would Jesus undergo passion and death? My friend doesn't get it.
Posted by frleo at 3:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2005
He misses the point again
Sorry, it's been a while before I could get back to the blog world. We have had some crisis situations to which I as a pastor needed to respond to. In fact, I would appreciate your prayers for Mr. Frank Denney, who is in his last days. The cancer is getting the better of him and he is in terrible pain.
Sometime back, I received a response from my ECUSA priest friend who justified his stance with regard to his interpretation of the TEN COMMANDMENTS as not necessary for salvation, and misinterpreting Pauline Theology.
What I wrote about the Ten Commandments was solid, orthodox Pauline theology. Thoroughly Biblical and true to the heart and message of St. Paul. I wasn't trumping my own thoughts, except with the hermenutical interpretation that Paul would have been consistent in his "justification by faith through grace" focus if he were alive for a 21st century conversation about the place of the Ten Commandments in the public square.
St. Paul would never had compromised the Word of God even if he were in 21st century. Sorry folks, perhaps it might take the Second Coming of Jesus to teach us of the essentials of our salvation, what sin is and what grace is not. Until then people like this pastor will continue trumpeting their own ideology. He is nominated Hero of Justice and Peace in his town. So, I guess what he says will be the gospel truth to his hearers. One of the Baptis ministers I ran into the other day said of this zealous promoter of contemporary watered down Christian precepts: "I have known him for years. Let me put it this way. It is good for boat to be on the water. But if water gets into the ship, can it still be afloat?." Well said sir.
Posted by frleo at 10:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 7, 2005
Our heartfelt condolences...
We extend our heartfelt condolences to all the victims of terrorism in London. Our thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their families. We are with you at this difficult time.
Terrorists seemed to have lost all sensibilities. Perhaps they no longer even bother to think what they are fighting for! It is total apathy to humanity: all done in God's name, inflicting pain and suffering on the innocents. We should not let them control our lives and our quest for liberty. Following the scriptures' teaching would mean to live and love in terms of the Kingdom values or the great things one's religion and scriptures teach. Unfortunately, these fanatics have lost sight of not only all that is divine but also what is human.
Posted by frleo at 7:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack