Redskins clinch playoff spot!!

Redskins quarterback Todd Collins connected with Santana Moss on a 42-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to put Washington ahead 27-3. Dallas added a field goal, but otherwise the quarter was uneventful as Washington sealed a 27-6 win and the NFC's final playoff berth. The Cowboys played their starters into the third quarter, but only rushed for a franchise record-low 1 yard (on 16 carries) as Washington controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Give the Gift of Safe

Who is this guy? Chris Pirillo is a geek among geeks: technologist, television host, magazine columnist, blogger, author, and entrepreneur. In short, he's a technology renaissance man for the 21st century. (See more of Chris's videos at YouTube, or subscribe to his RSS feed.)

Give your friends and family the gift of a safer Internet: OpenDNS. It's free and requires nothing to download or install.

Who will you give it to?

http://www.opendns.com/

Watch "Church Outside the Walls" Part 1 Online

Family Room Media recently decided to make the complete version of Part 1 of their "Church Outside The Walls" 4 part video series available online. The full quality DVDs are still available at their online store.

'Church Outside The Walls' is a four part video series with each video running about thirty minutes. Part 1 'The Dropouts' focuses on Christians who have left Sunday morning 'church' services and the whole religious system of doing 'church' in order to return to the simplicity of Christ.

You can watch it online at the following URL:

http://familyroommedia.com/Dropouts2.html

Ekklesia: Christ-centered, open participatory gatherings

New Testament documents were written to Christian communities that possessed a certain spiritual environment. For them, "church" was not filing into a building and sitting like a pillar of salt during a worship service officiated by a clergyman (pastor or priest). The modern "audience church" historically evolved (or devolved) from cultural elements that, in my view, replaced the organic expression of church life that the early Christians knew.

That said, I believe that understanding the grand narrative is only a piece of the puzzle toward rightly grasping Scripture (as well as the incredible Lord that Scripture presents). Another important piece is to live in the same spiritual context in which the early Christians lived. This includes face-to-face community as well as Christ-centered, open participatory gatherings.

For instance, try applying Paul's teachings in 1 Corinthians 14 to a typical church service. It can't be done. What congregant, for instance, sitting frozen in a pew is going to interrupt the pastor or priest during his sermon? And what pastor or priest will yield the floor to the person who interrupts? Hence, 1 Corinthians 14:30 has no relevance at all in such a setting.

However, if a group of Christians are living in a face-to-face community that practices, as the early Christians did, open-participatory church meetings, then that passages makes perfect sense and all of the instruction applies.

I believe there is a great need to freshly examine how we have been "doing church" since the Reformation. I also believe that a new look at the New Testament narrative along with the historical origins of our church practices can teach us a great deal about ecclesiology . . . if we are willing to be instructed by it.

Taken from the Present Testimony Ministry February 2007 newsletter: http://www.ptmin.org/february2007.htm

Lessons in Christianity

The folks at Valley Fellowship Community Church have been so kind in letting us use these brief but insightful videos on biblical truths to help us in our Christian walk. We'll be adding new videos weekly, so be sure to return often to view more 'Lessons in Christianity'.

http://www.familyroommedia.com/Videoclips.html