Tumbalalaika – Amsterdam

This is the Sephardic Synagogue in Amsterdam. It is entirely lit by candles.

It was built several hundred years ago and never "electrified."

The arc, seats, bema, etc., were all hand-made by ship-builders.

During WW II the Nazis somehow missed it and never entered it so it is entirely intact and original.

It is a real beauty. This concert was done in the sanctuary and is very rousing.

| Tumbalalaika |

The Church: Different From the World

July 23

The Church: Different From the World

Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." --2 Corinthians 6:17

The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes.

This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course,
where the world is too, too sinful....

Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go over to them. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise. No one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between the dead and the living. The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!" and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is extreme and final. The message of Christ is a call across a gulf from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to God. The Set of the Sail, 35,36.

"Lord, help me to be willing to be different. Forgive me for the sin
of blending in. I pray that our neighbors would see something
different in our church and our people and be drawn to the Savior. Amen."

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Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers

God Thinks You're Wonderful!

God Thinks You're Wonderful!

...It may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name...but He does.Written on His hand. Spoken by His mouth. Whispered by His lips. Your name.

You have captured the heart of God. He cannot bear to live without you.

God's dream is to make you right with Him. And the path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.

It is not our love for God: it is God's love for us in sending His Son to be the way. If you want to touch God's heart, use the name He loves to hear. Call Him "Father".

He thinks you're wonderful!

I have written your name on My hand. Isaiah 49:16

Excerpted from the Book, God Thinks You're Wonderful! by Max Lucado »

Fairview Alliance Church, Spring Garden Clean Up

Sugaring off with the FAC Youth Group

The Holy Spirit: He Can Be Grieved

February: The Holy Spirit

In my sober judgment the relation of the Spirit to the believer is
the most vital question the church faces today.
Keys to the Deeper Life, page 15

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February 8
The Holy Spirit: He Can Be Grieved
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. --Ephesians 4:30
Because He is loving and kind and friendly, the Holy Spirit may be grieved.... He can be grieved because He is loving, and there must be love present before there can be grief.
Suppose you had a 17-year-old son who began to go bad. He rejected your counsel and wanted to take things into his own hands. Suppose that he joined up with a young stranger from another part of the city and they got into trouble.
You were called down to the police station. Your boy--and another boy who you had never seen--sat there in handcuffs.
You know how you would feel about it. You would be sorry for the other boy--but you don't love him because you don't know him. With your own son, your grief would penetrate to your heart like a sword. Only love can grieve. If those two boys were sent off to prison, you might pity the boy you didn't know, but you would grieve over the boy you knew and loved. A mother can grieve because she loves. If you don't love, you can't grieve. The Counselor, 51-52.
"Lord, I think I take Your love for granted and consequently forget how grieved You are when I sin. Overwhelm me today with Your love, so that I might be more careful to not grieve You. Amen."

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Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers

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This Insight for Leaders devotional is also available in a print-friendly format here on the LMI web site.

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No Crib for a Bed

 "...and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough." - Luke 2:7

Read it again. This is the New Century version of the most familiar pieces of scripture in the Bible. What’s that? Not quite the way you recall the story? You ask, “What happened to the soft, swaddling clothes and the quaint little manger?”

It’s easy for us to sanitize the reality of the situation, and thereby remove some of the irony. The fact is the Savior of Mankind, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was wrapped in rags and set to rest in an icky trough that was used to feed pigs and cows.

Why would a mother allow this for her child? Well, she had no choice, because there was no room for them anywhere else. Perhaps a better question would be, “Why would our Father permit His Child to be treated in this manner?”

Well, in addition to prophecy being fulfilled, maybe God also knew that His Child had to experience humanity. He needed to know what it was like to be homeless, helpless, and in poverty. Later, He needed to understand hunger, the death of loved ones, persecution, and even death itself. Jesus needed to experience mankind – as He came to die for mankind.
And that, my friends, is the real, unvarnished Christmas story.

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