MOUNTAIN MANNA

To the Editor:

The Presbyterian Church USA has opened the door for ordaining gay ministers, deacons and elders. The church’s constitution used to have a requirement for its leaders to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” However, recently the PCUSA has dropped that stipulation and now nebulously requires church leaders “submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life”–whatever that means!

In doing this the PCUSA contradicts the Bible’s clear teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman: i.e. Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve (Genesis 2:24), its own definition of marriage in its worship book as being between one man and one woman and okays sex outside of marriage. If that is so, then is it okay for heterosexuals, as well. Right?

What is next? Changing the Ten Commandments to the Ten Suggestions?

Pastor Terry K. Hagedorn
Calvary Baptist Church
PO Box 282 Reedsville, WV
Ph. 304-864-3870

http://mountainmanna.com

“Pointing Mountaineers to Mount Calvary.”

Why didn’t the Dominion-Post give equal front-page coverage to the churches that were approached by PETPEEV (People for the Ethical Treatment of Plants and Every Edible Vegetable) demanding to have their propaganda included in their Sunday bulletins?

PETPEEVers and other meatans (people who only eat meat, take vitamin supplements and drink mineral water) ask, “If God wanted us to eat vegetables, why didn’t He make them out of meat?” What better place to ask that question than in a church service?

PETPEEV founder I. M. Nutz declares, “Plants, as other non-human persons, have rights! And, they do not deserve to be yanked out of the ground, cut down, cut up, baked, boiled or pureed! Research scientists at the prestigious Zarr Chasm Medical Center have proven that plants, including vegetables, feel pain when subjected to trauma such as being yanked out of the ground, peeled, cooked, and eaten. Veggies and plants initiate a massive hormone and chemical barrage internally when they suffer any kind of injury. This response is akin to the nerve response and endorphin release when an animal is injured. Only a vegan bias could cause one to ignore the similarities.”

Other agencies and the sum total of the world’s hard-core vegetarians (known as vegans) registered formal complaints against the research. Their team of lawyers has already submitted a motion to have the results of the research destroyed or sealed. Others fear the damage has already been done. A spokesman said, “This is bad for us. Most of our members haven’t eaten anything since hearing about the results. Our lawyers are looking into suing God, but concede that the suit will probably get nowhere.”

One pastor, who was approached by PETPEEV to have their literature given out in his church’s bulletin, asked, “One wonders, if they would include, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 in all their literature–with contact information to Gospel preaching churches?

Why is the Muslim World So Resistant to the Gospel?
AlbertMohler.com | April 8, 2011 | Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.,

The future shape of the world appears to be a worldview competition between Christianity, Islam, and Western Secularism. For Christians, both of these worldviews represent real and lasting challenges to evangelism. Neither of these is a particularly new challenge, and the Christian encounter with Islam is now over a millennium in duration.

1. Islam is Younger than Christianity

Having borrowed from both Judaism and Christianity, Islam “has just enough Christianity in it to inoculate it against the real thing.” As with Mormonism, Muslims claim a later revelation that corrects and supersedes the Bible. This represents a very real challenge to the Christian, who will base the argument for the Gospel on the biblical revelation.

2. Islam Denies the Deity and the Death of Christ

Islam not only denies the deity of Christ, it finds the idea abhorrent. “If a missionary but mentions the deity of Christ the fanatical Muslim is likely to spit on his shadow to show his utter contempt for such a blasphemous suggestion.” Furthermore, the Qur’an denies that Christ actually died on the cross, thus taking away the very act of our atonement. “There appears to be no way around these two obstacles,” Kane lamented. “The Christian missionary can find many points of similarity between Christianity and Islam, and certainly he will want to make full use of these; but sooner or later he must come to the central theme of the gospel — the cross. At that point he runs into a stone wall. He can remove many offending things, but he can never do away with the offense of the cross. That and the deity of Christ are hurdles that can never be removed.”

3. Islam’s Treatment of Defectors

“All religions, including the broadest of them — Hinduism — look with disfavor on the devotee who changes his religion,” Kane advised. “But it remained for Islam to devise the Law of Apostasy, which permits the community to kill the adherent who defects from the faith.”

For Islam, “conversion is a one-way street.” Even when death is not a real threat, losing the bonds of community and family are huge costs.

4. The Solidarity of Muslim Society

Even where Muslims are not in a majority, such as in Western nations, they often concentrate in specific areas or communities where this solidarity can be approximated.

Under such an arrangement, efforts by Christians to evangelize meet a unified resistance, and a decision to leave Islam can be construed as an unpatriotic act, tantamount to rejecting one’s nation and people.

5. The Public Practice of Religion

Often overlooked by many Christians is the fact that a faithful Muslim demonstrates that faithfulness in a public pattern of prayers and observances. A convert who ceases these observances becomes immediately evident. This system of public prayer and ritual represents a powerful support for Islam and a powerful deterrent to conversion to any other belief system.

6. The Memory of the Crusades

As Kane explains, “To Christians in the West the Crusades were a bad dream, of which we have only the faintest recollection; but to the Arabs they are the greatest proof of the Christian hatred for Islam.” Christians bear the burden of a long and intensely bitter Muslim memory. Though atrocities were common on both sides, the atrocities committed by Christians were uniquely a repudiation of central Christian teachings.

In the mind of many Muslims, the Crusades feel like a living memory. To many within the Islamic world, Christians remain Crusaders, and evangelism is just another way of continuing the crusading mission.

Professor Kane’s breakdown of these obstacles is not only interesting and helpful, it also serves as a reminder that these issues are hardly new. At the same time, Christians must evangelize, no matter the obstacles to Christian witness.

Christians must remember that the Holy Spirit can break down the greatest wall of resistance and the Word of God is, as He says, like a hammer that shatters a rock. Dr. Kane’s arguments help us to understand the challenge, but were not meant to suppress evangelism. To the contrary, he wanted the church to be better informed as we fulfill the command of Christ.

10 Habits of Ineffective Christian Leaders

Pastor Terry Hagedorn, Calvary Baptist Church, Reedsville, WV

1. Ineffective leaders lead by word only—not by word and example:
“Do as I say—not as I do!” (What you are speaks so loudly people cannot hear what you say.)

2. Ineffective leaders do not have clear objectives:
By establishing clear goals, you establish a purpose and sense of direction. Remember the hunter’s adage: If you don’t aim at something, you won’t hit it.

3. Ineffective leaders are inconsistent:
When all is said and done by the inconsistent, more is said than done.

4. Ineffective leaders never praise good work—just condemn the wrong:
Make a point of only telling people when they do something wrong. Or, praise them in a vague way, “Well, you did the best you could–I think.”

5. Ineffective leaders do not communicate effectively:
Good communication breeds good communication. So ineffective leadership causes people to not understand you–so, they respond accordingly.

6. Ineffective leaders discourage ideas and initiative:
Innovation and creativity are essential requirements for every organization to move forward. Therefore, ineffective team leaders should look to discourage team members.

7. Ineffective leaders see any change as dangerous:
An ineffective leaders makes certain he or she is unaware of the changes in dynamics in the team and do not regard change as an opportunity to improve.

8. Ineffective leaders neglect the development of team members:
This prevents members from growth and motivation. In turn, this will also stymie and stall the team as a whole.

9. Ineffective leaders do not treat team members as individuals:
All people are alike. What works for one team member will work for all—after all, they are sheeple.

10. Ineffective leaders do not learn from experience or advice:
Change means that you were wrong—else you would not need to change.

As 2010 nears the end, I want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of recovery.

I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can’t sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed. And, was it ever really washed?

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public restroom.

I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s Novena has granted my every wish.

I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains..

I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.

I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.

AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face,disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan ..

THANKS TO YOU I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can’t ever pick up a coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a s * x molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.

I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back,
causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician . .

Oh, by the way….. A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse. Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

P. S.: I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.

NOW YOU ALL HAVE YOURSELVES A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

Ten Reasons Islam is Dangerous

One

Islam teaches that Jesus Christ, the Crucified, Risen Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords was not the Son of God, nor was he crucified (the latter a well documented historical fact that only Islam denies). This teaching removes the possibility of salvation and eternal life in heaven for all Islam’s believers. They face eternal damnation in hell if they do not repent.

You may be a peaceful, westernized Muslim who rejects Islamic Sharia Law and violent jihad, who openly condemns terrorism. Or you may be a devout Muslim who does plan to blow himself up and honor God, to get into paradise, but you are still in danger. You are lost and cannot be saved by your ‘good’ deeds alone. No one can. Salvation comes only through grace in Christ.

Two

The Koran does not have an eternal origin, as Muslims claim. It is not recorded in heaven. The Almighty God, Creator of the World, is not it’s source. It is not holy. It’s writings are human in origin, a concoction of old and new teachings originating from a false prophet. The idolatry of the Koran itself, that it can, supposedly, only be understood in classic Arabic, that it should only be spoken in that language, is a man made limitation dictated by the prophet’s followers to perpetuate control and fear.

Three

Islam’s teaching includes Arabian idolatry, paganism, rites and rituals. These are demonic, an ongoing Satanic stronghold under which Muslims and the world suffer, especially in Islamic lands. It is not simply a void, a lack of reality and truth. The personal, grace-filled relationship with the Living God of the Christian Bible is not found in Islam. In its place is a very convincing and power-filled darkness. When you reject the life of God through Jesus Christ, you, unwittingly or not, accept the power of the devil over your life.

Four

The earliest writings that are known to exist about the Prophet Mohammad were recorded 120 years after his death, most much later amid many disputes. All of the Islamic writings (the Koran and the Hadith, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe Mohammad never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet Muslims follow the destructive teachings of Islam without question.

Five

Mohammad’s life and message cannot be respected. The first Meccan period of his leadership seems to have been religiously motivated and a search for the truth. But in the second Medina period he was “corrupted by power and worldly ambitions” (Ibn Warraq). These are characteristics that God hates. Power and worldly ambition, all lost in eternity, never motivated any of God’s true followers. They also led to political assassinations and massacres which continue to be carried out by his followers today.

If you offend Muslims by questioning their beliefs, their prophet, their writings, their ambitions, their laws, they become aggressive, call down the curses of Allah against you, threaten and plan to kill you. We have received thousands of aggressive calls and letters from Muslims here at Dove World Outreach Center. We have received hundreds of violent and specific death threats against leaders, men, women and children. We have not harmed a soul. We have simply spoken words of truth and salvation. We will continue to do so.

Six

Islamic Law is totalitarian in nature. There is no separation of church and state. It is irrational. It is supposedly immutable and cannot be changed. It must be accepted without criticism. The father, the men, are sovereign in their own homes. Backed by Sharia Law, they are responsible for discipline and order, often harshly and violently administered. This is not isolated in Islamic lands. Immigrants in the West do not find it easy, or are simply not willing to abide by Western laws. And increasingly in the West, Muslims are not prosecuted in the same manner as Westerners because judges, law enforcement agencies and governments do not want to offend and anger Muslim immigrant communities.

Seven

Islam is not compatible with democracy and human rights. The notion of a moral individual capable of making decisions and taking responsibility for them does not exist in Islam. Everything is subject to the laws of Allah as interpreted by the local imams and mullahs.

The attitude towards women in Islam as inferior possessions of men has led to countless cases of mistreatment and abuse for which Muslim men receive little or no punishment, and in many cases are encouraged to commit such acts, and are even praised for them. Individuals are obligated first to family honor, to clan and society law. Astonishingly, Islamic states are heavily represented at the United Nations and on the the Human Rights Council, yet Western governments seem powerless, helpless or unwilling to challenge their atrocious human rights records.

Eight

A Muslim does not have the right to change his religion. Apostasy is punishable by death. Western governments rarely speak about this problem and are reluctant to believe it exists. Where is the freedom of religion in Islamic homes, societies and countries? Why do Western governments make it so difficult for ex-Muslims to find asylum in our lands?

The current US Administration is generous with immigrant visas to Pakistani Muslims, for instance, but Pakistani Christians with family members here ready to support them, and in danger every day of persecution and death just for being Christians in Pakistan, find it almost impossible to come here. Christians are dying and being persecuted regularly in Egypt, yet the US Government does not challenge that government’s lack of protection for the Christians. Churches are burned regularly and cannot be rebuilt in Indonesia. Christians are executed every Friday in Saudi Arabia, but the media does not care, Western governments do not react.

Why? We must stand up, America, and demand a change. Is a friendly relationship with these governments more important than religious freedom and the eternal souls of men, women and children?

Nine

Deep in the Islamic teaching and culture is the irrational fear and loathing of the West. This has been repeated by many ex-Muslims who have written and spoken about their faith. They are raised with this fear and mistrust, with a religious legalism which judges everything in it’s path based on the Islamic ideal. Yet the Islamic ideal itself is not followed within Islamic homes and societies. Muslims are well known for sexual immorality, homosexuality, violent and corrupt behavior, for lying. It is hidden by the heavy hand of Sharia policing, but it is there. In Christian lands we have the same problems, but Christian teaching does not condone these things, and our land’s laws criminalize much of the most oppressive behaviors that are not criminalized under Islam: lying is called fraud; corrupt governments are removed; honor killing, rape, pedophilia, polygamy, all receive heavy convictions.

Ten

Islam is a weapon of Arab imperialism and Islamic colonialism. Wherever Islam has or gains political power, Christians, Jews and all non-Muslims receive persecution, discrimination, are pressured or forced to convert. Islam condones massacres (Mohammad participated in them) and churches, synagogues, temples and other places of worship are destroyed.

–copied–

“Behold, a Branch is Growing”
by Unknown, c. 1500

Translated by Harriet R. Spaeth, 1845-1925; stanzas 1-4
Translated by John C. Mattes, 1876-1948; stanza 5

1. Behold a branch is growing
As of loveliest form and grace,
As prophets sung, foreknowing;
It springs from Jesse’s race
And bears one little Flower
In midst of coldest winter,
At deepest midnight hour.

2. Isaiah hath foretold It
In words of promise sure,
And Mary’ s arms enfold It,
A virgin meek and pure.
Through God’s eternal will
This Child to her is given
At midnight calm and still.

3. The shepherds heard the story,
Proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of Glory,
Was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped
And in the manger found him,
As angel heralds said.

4. This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True Man, yet very God;
From sin and death He saves us
And lightens every load.

5. 0 Savior, Child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
Savior, King of Glory.
Who dost our weakness know,
Bring us at length, we pray.
To the bright courts of heaven
And to the endless day.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #645
Text: Is. 11:1-2
Author: Unknown, c. 1500
Translated by: Harriet R. Spaeth, 1875; stanzas 1-4
Translated by: John C. Mattes,1914; stanza 5
Titled: “Es ist ein’ Ros’ entsprungen”
Tune: “Es ist ein’ Ros’”
1st Published in: _Alte geistliche Kirchengesaeng_
Town: Cologne, 1599 

• Santa lives at the North Pole …JESUS is everywhere.

• Santa rides in a sleigh …JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

• Santa comes but once a year …JESUS is an ever present help.

• Santa fills your stockings with goodies …JESUS supplies all your needs.

• Santa comes down your chimney uninvited …JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited.

• You have to wait in line to see Santa …JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

• Santa lets you sit on his lap …JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

• Santa doesn’t know your name, all he can say is “Hi little boy or girl, what’s your name?” …JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

• Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly …JESUS has a heart full of love.

• All Santa can offer is HO HO HO …JESUS offers health, help and hope.

• Santa says “You better not cry” …JESUS says “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”

• Santa’s little helpers make toys …JESUS makes a new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

• Santa may make you chuckle but …JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

• While Santa puts gifts under your tree …JESUS became our gift and died on a tree.

It’s obvious there is really NO comparison.