We are on a slippery slope

I have some thoughts to share following up on what Simon Hunter said during his presentation at the Movie Night, and also to jq's post.

Simon mentioned that the next big thing coming out of Hollywood is pedophelia (movie Hounddog) which is one of the last taboos Hollywood hasn't really ventured into.... yet.  Another one is bestiality.  There's a documentary that premiered at Sundance this year called Zoo. Of course, Hollywood elites hailed it as ground-breaking. But the subject, we know, is sick.

This is not the only case where pedophelia and bestiality are being rolled out by the "sexual freedom" agenda.  Outside of Hollywood, a Dutch court ruled last year that pedophiles can form a political party to push their agenda, which is to reduce the age of consent to 12. This is not surprising considering that the Netherland is one of, if not the most, liberal countries in the world today.  However, this kind of thing is popping up everywhere. Also last year in Massachusetts, USA, legislators introduced a bill that softens the crime of bestiality!

How did we come to this point? How did we come to being on the verge of accepting even these kinds of horrific sexual depravity?  Many argue, at least in the area of human sexuality (and I agree), that it's been a natural progression since society accepted homosexual behaviour.  Once we legally (and socially) accept same sex unions as normal, we abandon any standard or reference point by which to gauge any issue of sexuality, and we are on a slippery slope.  If marriage and sex between a man and a woman isn't the "normal" and morally good  standard, there must be none.  When there's no absolute, we have no reference point to refer to or judge things by.  Everything becomes relative.  If homosexuality is ok, then what's wrong with polygamy, pedophilia or bestiality?  Even if we don't want to allow them, how can we raise any objection?  Nothing can be really wrong anymore.   So it's only a matter of time before everything becomes acceptable.

Film, TV & Christians

That was the theme for last night's movies night. Thanks for all those who come and those helped out. It was a great night and a big eye opener for many.

Simon showed us couple clips on subliminal advertising and mind control to show how easily the media can manipulate us. You can see the clips here. The second one is really funny.

He gave us a quick and
insightful run through of what shaped our TV, films and music industries today. He then went on to show us a documentary "merchant of cool" about teens/young adults and pop culture and the giant machine that's creating and propelling it.

At the end of the night, some people indicated that they want to hear more. So, tell us what you think of the night. If there's enough interest, we may get Simon back for another round.

Mobile phone & worship

We often sing songs during our small group. Last week, I found a new song but didn't have time to format it nicely on paper and print it out. So I decided to make use of our technology today.

I looked up the lyrics from the internet, sent it to my phone. Then beamed it to everyone's phone. There we go, worshipping God with a mobile phone. ;-)

In another small group, we didn't have the song sheets. But someone has songs on her phone. So we were all singing to a familiar tune from the mobile. How's that?

Decisions & consequences

Psalm 51 is a plead from David after he had an affair with Bathsheba. After studying that in our small group last week, the thing that kept coming back to me in the past week is the magnitude that our decisions has on future events.

I think of Abram who agreed to his wife's proposal, which is perfectly acceptable socially and culturally at his time. I also thought of King David's moment of weakness. In Abram's case, his one act has led to centuries of turmoils in the middle east. David's one act has led to the split of his own kingdom.

We're no different today. It's easy and often logical and reasonable to follow our own instinct, knowledge or experience to do things that are acceptable in our society today. But how often do we think of the possible consequences when making decisions or including God in the picture?

What is acceptable in our culture today doesn't mean that it's right in God's eyes. Shall we put God's consideration last when we make decisions?

AGMF? Anyone?

Thinking or planning to go to AGMF this year? Someone in my small group is. There's The Lads, Planetshakers and Michelle Tumes this year, plus a new attraction Cirque de AGMF. Check out their website at www.agmf.com.au.

It's only 3 weeks away and there's group discount for 10 or more people. So, tell us if you're interested and see if we can get the tickets together.

Movies, anyone?

Does anyone out there like movies?! I can imagine many hands going up.

Movies certainly entertain us, but they can also really challenge and inspire us. Mostly, the ones that go beyond entertainment make it into our top ten lists, because they leave some kind of lasting impression. But because of such potential to impact us, some movie makers end up trying to indoctrinate their audience with their own particular worldviews.

We have a film industry insider from our own church, Simon Hunter, who's actually got great insights into all this stuff. Simon knows exactly what's going on behind the scenes, and is able to spot many things hidden to most of us. In fact, there are so many tricks to the trade used to persuade us, that a chat with Simon might just change the way you watch movies forever!

And that's the idea behind the Ignite movie night. Come and join us at the church, whether you're a serious movie buff, or you just enjoy renting the latest DVD for a night in. The details are right here:

What: At the Movies with Simon Hunter
Where: Gold Coast Christian Family
When: Saturday 24th March, 7pm

There is absolutely no cost involved. We'll even throw in a couple of biscuits and drinks after the movies, if you want to stay around to chat!

So, we look forward to seeing you ... at the movies!

Focus on the issues

I had an idea couple days ago.

I was thinking about church camp and the youth camp that's going to happen alongside. And thought, why not having something for the young adults too. Since Ignite plans to have talks on specific issues of interest to the young adults such as relationships, identity, money etc. this year, why not do some of them as break out sessions for the young adults at the church camp?

What do people think of this?

The most hated woman

A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a documentary on Madalyn O'Hair, the famous atheist that took prayer out of America's classroom and dubbed as the most hated woman in America. It was a fascinating story of her life, but also a very sad one seeing someone with such hatred towards God and so little peace and happiness in her life time.

I was actually surprised to find that there are atheist rallies and conferences around the country. And was doubly surprised to find so many atheist and humanist sites during my brief search for this video.

Back to the story, it was ironic how one of her sons, who was brought up and nurtured to renounce God and embrace atheism would later turn his back to become a born again Christian and the head of a Christian organisation. I couldn't help but think that God really does have his humor. The very thing that Madalyn took out from the schools, her son is campaigning hard to put back in.

Streaming music

Worship Together, the site that I subscribed to, just launched a new song jukebox. You can listen to new songs every week. I'm listening to it now.

The songs this week are:
For Your Glory - Matt Maher
In The Cross Alone I Glory - Brian Petak
Everlasting God - Brenton Brown
Be Lifted High - Michael W. Smith
Yesterday Today and Forever - Vicky Beeching

Just go to their site and click on the new song jukebox on the top left.

Worship?

I found this satire video on Youtube through a link from an article about current trends in worship. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I do feel that when we worship God, we actually think about ourselves more than we do God. Like the style of music we prefer, or the songs we personally like, or something that would be appealing to the whole crowd (congregation!) as a whole. It can end up being more of a performance for our entertainment, rather than a real heartfelt adoration of God.

I'm not saying that worship shouldn't be enjoyable, or that worshipping God has no benefit for us. But if it starts to become about us, then should it really be labeled worship?

Anyone want to share some thoughts on this?

Small group experiences

It was great time at our small group last night. This time, it's not the study or singing or good food that took centre stage. It was God's work and His power that thrilled us. Half of the group was sharing how God has answered their prayers in the last week. And we aren't talking about trivial things, but life changing events that the group has been praying for some time.

I've seen God answering prayers, but not so many and so big all at once. It almost blew me off balance. And we just couldn't help but praise God, for His goodness and faithfulness. Truly, what a great God we serve!

And what a privilege to be involved in a small group. It's an oasis in our busy lives. A place where we can unwind in God's presence, share one another's ups and downs, grow together and learn together.

I remember how much I look forward to my small group each week when I was in Tokyo. I would go to work early so that I can leave early to go. One day, my coworker asked me what have I got on that evening and I was able to tell him what bible study is. So faithfully going to a small group can also be a great witness.

My experience has made me think that everyone should be in a small group. So if you're a young adult and not in one, you may want to check out the many groups on offer during the week.

Popular views

I was reading Caleb recounting the story of his spying with others on the land that God has given them. He and Joshua were the 2 out of the 12 that did not get scared and discouraged from what they saw.

It daunts on me that the men of conviction in this story and those who see things from God's perspective are in the minority. And I thought, isn't it the same with today's church and christian community.

Often, popular views are taken after the world's ideas based on humans who are limited and sometimes ungodly. Views that come out of seeing things God's way or from conviction through His words are often rejected because they clash with our own experience and thinking, or our understanding of the world.

Chinese lunch and Christian Fellowship

So the first Ignite lunch of the year has been and gone. And it was great! The food was delicious: especially when we shared it all around (Yumcha Delight, Peking Shredded Steak, Vietnamese Pork, Teriyaki Chicken, and the list goes on...). But the winner was the fellowship.

The 'get to know you' part of the afternoon revealed some fascinating hidden secrets. Like, someone jumped off the rooftop when he was younger (with a cape made from a towel) thinking he could fly. Or another daredevil (a woman, I might add) has absailed off a 120m cliff face!

If you missed the fun, don't worry. There are more lunches and other events to come. Pick up a flyer from the church info table to find out more. Or keep checking this blog.

Gay Christians march at the Mardi Gras

This piece of news is from The Australian website.

Church on the march

ORDAINED Assemblies of God minister Anthony Venn-Brown, who has preached at the Hillsong church, will lead the first openly gay Pentecostal marchers in this weekend's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney. The dress theme will be denim, said the Christian, who still worships at Hillsong, but there will be no choreographed dance steps. And, so far, there has been no objection (or indeed any reaction at all) from his church. The most vociferous opposition to the parade has in the past come from the ardently Christian NSW politician Fred Nile, who usually prays for rain.

Please pray that this abomination will not happen.


Update!!

Read a statement from Hillsong regarding this matter here:

http://www2.hillsong.com/media/default.asp?pid=1325