sin

3 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, w sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For x I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with y the law, that it is good. 17 So now z it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells a in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.19 b For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.20 Now if I do what I do not want, c it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Christology Notes

Christology                                    Dr. Canham

January 6, 2009________________________________________________________________________

Broken down into two parts

1. Person of Christ

2. Work of Christ

Person of Christ

                A. Humanity of Christ

                B. Deity of Christ

                C. Christ as the God-Man

Humanity- The importance (john 1:14) “word became flesh”

Gospel AD 85 > Deity                    (1 john 4) (2 john 7-11) (Hebrews 2:14)

Epistles AD 90’s > Humanity

Revelation AD 95

Incarnation important for his works

Six indications of Christ’s humanity  (Luke 2:52) (Romans 1:3) (Phil 2:6-8) (1tim 2:5, 3:16) (Heb 2:9-16)

1. Human parentage (Gal 4:4) (matt 1:18) (gen 3:18)

2. Human names (son of man, Jesus of Nazareth) (son of David) ( a man)

3. Human appearance (Samarian woman recognized him as a Jew)

4. Possessed elements of human nature (intellect, emotion, will) (Luke 2:46, 52)

5. Sinless human infirmities (hunger, thirst, tired, slept) He had the ability to be tempted, and could die

6. Had a human development (Luke 2:40) (Heb 5:7) Does not suggest imperfection

Two things that Christ did not posses that we associate with our humanity

1. Sin- not an essential part of humanity; an intrusion into humanity. Christ showed us how to be truly human by living the most human life. Jesus passed test that Adam and Eve failed (temptation, gen 3, Matt 4)

The more human you are, the less sin you have.

2. Jesus did not posses human beauty (Isa :2) In his incarnation, NOT his glorified state.

Jesus’ commitment to prayer shows his more perfect humanity than that of ours.

Means of his incarnation

1. Conception of the virgin birth.

Supernatural part of the Holy Spirit (deity)

Natural part of Mary (humanity)                   (God-Man)

Three main verses for virgin birth argument (Gen 3:15) (Isa 7:14) (matt 1:18-25)

Gen 3:15- “her seed” unusual because women not only do not have seeds, but it is the only mention of a woman’s seed in the bible

Isa 7:14- Hebrew language has no word for virgin but for young woman “Lord himself will give you a Sign” 1. Ahaz’s son not named Immanuel 2. Septuagint uses word for strict virgin (Isaiah written 700 BC, Septuagint written 250 BC)

Matt 1:18-25- (v. 22) Quotes Isaiah 7:14 from Septuagint

January 13, 2009______________________________________________________________________

Eight indications from Matthew  of the virgin birth

1. (v.16) Other women mentioned because of role as “co-begetters” Jacob- Joseph husband of Mary of whom (fem pronoun used) Jesus was born. Importance – Mary begot Jesus, Not Joseph.

2. (v.18) “In this way” – ESV “as follows” – NKJV Implies  that it was unusual “before they came together”

3. (v.18) “from the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:35)

4. (v.19) Joseph’s reaction; knew it wasn’t his (John 8) “we were not born of fornication” Mary’s reaction as well (Luke 1:34)

5.  Joseph’s struggle (v.20)

6. (v. 22-23) Quotes (Isa 7:14) Angel quotes OT, quotes from the Septuagint

7. (v.24) Joseph did not have sex with Mary until, she had Jesus

8. (v. 25) He called Jesus, Jesus

Important passages – (Luke 3:23, John 8:41, 1:14, Rom 1:3, Gal 4:4, Phil 2:6, 1Tim 1:15,3:16, 1 John 3:5)

Gal 4:4/ Gal 4:23 (gk) ginomai/ gemao   Become/ Born    Jesus became, he was not born

Why is the doctrine so important?

1. Truthfulness of scripture; Bible teaches virgin birth (matt) If virgin birth is false, Bible is false.

2. Deity of Christ (Isa 9:6, Mic 5:2, John 3:6) – human + human = human

3.The virgin birth protects (is necessary) humanity/ sinlessness

We are not saying!

1. Immaculate conception – Mary was not sinless (Luke 1:47) “God my savior” This would mean that Mary’s mother would have to be sinless and so on. Mary’s family was not sinless

2. Perpetual virginity of Mary (matt 13:53) Jesus had brothers and sister (Luke 2:7) “firstborn”

Reasons for the incarnation

1. Demonstrates God’s love (Rom 5:8)

2. Reveal God to man (john 1:1, 14, 18) Jesus is the exegesis of the father

3. Reveal man to man – Christ was the most human, human

4. Came to destroy sin (Heb 2:14, 1 John 3:8)

5. To be the perfect mediator between God and man (C. (1) (2) on p.12) (I Tim 2:5)

6. God’s promise that one of David’s sons would reign forever (2 Sam 7)

January 20, 2009______________________________________________________________________

Titles of Christ that indicate his divinity

Alpha and Omega (John 1:41)

Christ (messiah) (Isa 9:6, Matt 1:23, John 1:1, Rom 5:5, Tit 2:13, Heb 1:8, Acts 2:28, 2 Pet 1:1, 1 John 5:20)

OT – YHWH NT – Christ (Matt 3:3) speaks of YHWH in OT but Christ in NT, using same exact verse/ passage

Holy One, Immanuel, King, Lord

Preeminent one (Col 1:15)

Son of God – we are sons by adoption Christ is “only begotten” “one and only”

Divine Attributes – qualities of Jesus that are possessed only by God

1. Eternality and self existence (John 1:1) “was” (Isa 9:6, Mic 5:2, John 8:58)

2. Creator (john 1:3, Heb 1:2-3)

3 Angel of the LORD (YHWH) (Gen 22)

God (v. 1) (from me) > Angel of the LORD (v. 11) > I know that you fear >back to God (trinity in the OT)

(Isa 48:10) Jesus speaking say God and spirit (Zech 3:1) Defends Joshua (Imputation of Christ’s righteousness on his people)

4. Immutability (Heb 1:12, 13:8) the same yesterday today and forever

5. Incomprehensibility (Eph 3:8)

6. Omniscience (John 1:48)

7. Omnipotence (Matt 1) King 100% man 100% God (matt 2) Born king Exousia (gk) – Authority (power of word) (Matt 7, 9:2-8) (v. 6,8) exousia

8. Omnipresence (Eph 1:23, Matt 18:200

Communicable Attributes

Holiness, Righteousness, Perfection, fidelity, Love, and mercy

Divine Activities

1. Perogatives

                a. Judges (john 5:22)

                b. Forgiver of sins

                c. Worshipped (John 5:23)

2. Works

                a. Creator

                b. Live-giver

                c. Head of the Church

Divine Awareness

Christ recognizes himself as God when he is a child (Matt 2)

Divine Affirmations – Jesus’ deity of affirmed

1. Subjective (john 8:58, 10:30) all of the “I Am” statements

2. Objective (from others) (John 10:33)

January 27, 2009______________________________________________________________________

Who is Jesus? (Matt 16:13-17) Jesus clearly attributes knowing Christ to being revealed to them by God

(Matt 11:25-27) Why does he need to be revealed? It brings the glory to God

Christ, the God-man

Challenge of the hypostatic union

Hypostatic union is a way of saying that Christ is fully God and fully human; explains the way that the persons interact

(1 John 4:1-3) Cults are defined from the departure of knowing the nature of Jesus.  Jesus Christ has come (implication of deity) “in the flesh” (hb) means flesh and blood (implication of human nature)

(2 Cor 10:3-6) The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but of the spirit

Denial of the humanity of Christ is denying the full essence of his glory.

The fact of the hypostatic union of two natures in Christ

To say that Christ is not fully human or divine is heresy. Christ has two distinct natures, yet is one person.

Christ is one person, never looked at himself as a personal duality. He always referred to himself as “I” and there was never a conflict between the son of man and the son of God.

Hypo – comes from the Latin for “under”

Static – or stasis for “standing” in place

(1 Tim 3:16) He was manifested in the flesh

The Necessity of the Hypostatic union

(Mark 13:32, Matt 24:36) No one knows that hour in which Christ will return, Not Even the Son

(Phil 2:1-3) (v. 6-8) Who being in the “form” of God (v. 7). He was equal with God, Yet did not consider it something that he should hold onto (something to be grasped) But he emptied himself (he made himself nothing) By assuming a human nature (the “form” of a servant) being born “in the likeness of men”.  He says this not to say that he was like A MAN, but that he was like MEN, in that he was sinless unlike us. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death (Heb 2:14) (v. 17) He had to be made like his brothers in every respect (EXCEPT FOR SIN) so that he could be our high priest.

His divine nature was absolutely in obedience to the Father, but in submission to the Father it explains his limitations in knowing the hour in which he will return. (Matt 11:25-27) It had to be granted to him by the Father while he was in his incarnation.

February 3, 2009_______________________________________________________________________

Could Jesus have sinned? Either Christ could have sinned or he could not have sinned, it is the same as asking is Jesus God or is he man? The answer is yes.  God cannot sin, but in his humanity could he? There is a definite parallel between Jesus and adam. Part of being fully human requires having the ability to sin. God cannot be tempted, and God cannot die. Jesus had peccability in humanity, and was impeccable in deity, and both coexist at the same time is the person of Christ in a mysterious way.

The Work of Christ

1. The life – His perfect life authenticates him as the messiah

2. His offices –

                a. Prophet – He is able to represent God to man. We need a perfect prophet (prophetic books)

                b. Priest – The law showed the need for the perfect priest (the Pentateuch)

                c. King – We need a perfect king (prophetic books)

3. His death

Why is the death of Christ important?

1. Incarnation - The eternal destiny of our souls is dependent on this work. Important to Christ’s incarnation (there would have been no need). Removal of the sin of the world (when Jesus was named - he will save his people from their sins). The son of man did not come to be served but to serve. (Gal 4) Made under the law to redeem those as adoptions as sons. He humbled himself and became obedient to death. (Heb 2:9) He partook of the same flesh and blood as we have in order to destroy Satan. He was revealed to us to take away sin. (Heb 10:12, 10:4)

2. Ministry – was always focused on the fact that he was going to die.

3. To scripture – the works of Christ was prophesied in the OT.

The OT- Continuously prophesies the coming of Christ

b. The law - To fulfill the law, this drove the people to Christ because they could not do it on their own.  (Rom 3:19-20) we are without excuse.  (Heb 10) The sins were not taken away by the law

a. Prophets – Pointed to the Messiah. (John 12:38-41) he saw the Lord high and lifted up.

The Gospels – 20% is given the events surrounding the death of Jesus

The Apostles – The first recorded sermon of both Peter and Paul focus on the death of Christ, and his suffering

4. To those in heaven – Only once was it recorded that he had contact with those in heaven. (Luke 9:31) focused on his death. (1 peter 1:11-12) even the angels desire to look at these things

The rationale of the death of Christ

1. The holiness of God – especially eminent, it is constantly mentioned (Lev 19:2) God’s holiness will not allow him to look at sin.

2. Sinfulness of man – (Rom 3) describes our condition (v. 10) we are all unrighteous. God solves this by giving us Jesus’ righteousness (imputes it to us). (Rom 3:11) renews our mind (12:2) transformed

3. The love of God – man would not be saved apart from God if he demands that he punish all sin, and if our sin demands that he receive the full penalty. (Rom 5:8)  Christ died for us while we were STILL sinners. The love of God works in harmony with holiness.

Definition of the death of Christ

Jesus was both the sacrificer and the one being sacrificed

1. A sacrifice – 1. Every sacrifice was a reminder that sins have been committed, could not remove sin! (Priests never sat down because their work was never finished; Jesus sat down at the right hand of God) 2. The sacrifice must be one approved by God Himself (it pleased the father to bruise the son)3. Sacrifice had to be a male without blemish

2. It was a substitute – stresses the offering itself, highlights the relationship with the offender (us) (Isa 53) “He for us”

3. Sinlessness is also required of a substitute for sin

4. The substitute must be of equal or greater value

5. The substitute is often sent to do something that person cannot do

6. p. 29 (6.)

He is a ransom – The son of man came to ransom his people

1. OT - God ransomed the lives of the people of Israel who were slaves

2. NT – 1. (Matt 20:28) 2. The price of the ransom was the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28) 3. The ransom secured the deliverance of the people of God from the power of Satan (Gal 1:4)

He is redemption

P.30- 31

Propitiation– comes from the verb meaning to appease wrath

February 10, 2009______________________________________________________________________

(Heb 9:5) (v.9) the tabernacle is described as a parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning) all of the tabernacle stories/ parts of the tabernacle (mercy seat (propitiation)) refer to Christ

(Heb 11:19) received Isaac back from the dead as a parable

1. Christ’s death was propitiatory

2. God initiated the sacrifice

3. The first effect of the propitiatory sacrifice is upon God himself (that he might be just in his forgiveness of sinners)

4. The justice of God is the underlying necessity of the propitiatory death of Christ

5. As a result of the propitiation man may be justified

Jesus plays all the roles: Lamb, mercy seat, high priest, he is the veil in which the priest must go in order to offer the blood on the mercy seat.

A satisfaction – to fully meet the requirements of the claims of God

God gave us the righteousness of him

An atonement – The total work of Christ on the cross

How do we define atonement? It is never mentioned in the NT, which is why we have to go back to the OT. OT meaning = “to cover”

A reconciliation – One of the effects of the death of Christ

Implies that a formally amicable relationship between two persons no longer exists; a process of restoration of friendship

We have peace with God (Rom 5:1), access into grace and into his presence (Rom 5:2), and being drawn near to God (Eph 2:13)

Actively removing the barrier between Christ and man, passively in that it refers to the resulting union between God and man.

Who is responsible for the death of Christ?

It was our sins that handed Christ over to the cross.

God the father handed Christ over in (Rom 8:32)

He handed himself over  (Gal 2:20) (Isa 53:12)

Exaltation

His resurrection – the vindication of the person and work of Christ

(1 Cor 15) Christ died > buried >rose again > seen

If you deny the resurrection, you are not a Christian (Rom 1)

Without the resurrection there could be no Christian faith

(Implications)

1. Christ is not raised

                i. the work of Christ

                                a. Tie into OT priest offering blood on the alter

                                b. There is no meaning of the death of Christ without the resurrection

                ii. The person of Christ

2. Our Gospel is false

                i. The OT prophets are liars

                ii. Jesus is a liar

                iii. Apostles are liars

3. You are still in your sins

                i. We would not be justified

                ii. We would not be regenerated

                iii. We would not be sanctified

                iv. We would not be resurrected/ glorified

                v. The Holy Spirit could not come unless Christ has been exalted

4. This is not a ghost coming out of the tomb, Christ had a bodily resurrection

5. The nature of the resurrection body

                i. there is continuity with our human body (John 20:20)

                ii. also discontinuity (Luke 24:13-35)

                iii. It was physical, and it was related to the body that he had before his death burial and resurrection.

6. Who raised Him?

                i. God

                ii. Spirit

                iii. Himself

7. Proofs of the resurrection

It is a fact of history as well as a fact of faith.

It was predicted, it was verified.

Ascension of Christ – Ended the earthly first advent of Christ

1. ended the period of his humiliation

2. marked the first entrance of resurrected humanity into heaven

3. Made the descent of the Holy Spirit possible

Present work of Christ

1. Building his church

2. Intercedes for his believers (john 17) (Jesus prays for us)

3. He is preparing a place for us (john 14:1-3)

4. He produces fruit in the life of the Believers (john 15:1-7)

 

 

 

 

 

George W. Bush

"A Fairer Verdict On Bush

Victor Davis Hanson, 01.20.09, 04:40 PM EST

A reassessment of the 43rd president has already begun.

Critics are tallying the Bush administration's pluses and minuses, and some consensus is emerging that in time George W. Bush, like Harry Truman, will be seen in a far more favorable light than his current low poll ratings reflect.

Three great crises marked the Bush administration: Iraq; the "war on terror" following 9/11; and the mid-September 2008 financial meltdown. Yet as critics debate his performance amid these ordeals, lost in the controversies are a number of other lasting achievements.

Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Alito have proved superior appointments--far more inspired than any made by Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush. The HIV-relief package of some $15 billion to Africa saved millions of lives and exceeded any AIDs effort by any past president,Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton included.

While Bush the caricatured cowboy remains unpopular abroad, the governments of most key allies and neutrals--Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany and India--remain pro-American and appreciate Bush's stance on free trade, collective security and multilateral efforts post-Iraq.

What then about Iraq, the war and the economy? Bush--in the uncertainty of a post-9/11 landscape--completed the earlier efforts of Bill Clinton to halt the Hussein Regime. He inherited no-fly zones and legislation calling for regime change, but then got a majority of the Congress to authorize the military removal of Saddam.

Most of Congress subsequently canonized him after the brilliant three-week victory over Saddam, abandoned him when the insurgency took more than 4,000 American lives, and ignored him when--against the advice of the Iraq Study Group, most of the joint chiefs and grandees of his own party--he gave the go-ahead to David Petraeus and the surge.

Millions in Iraq today enjoy the opportunity of consensual government unimaginable in the era of Saddam. Iraq, in short, is Bush's Korea: a messy and controversial war against authoritarian evil that in time will be vindicated by the growth of a constitutional society in place of a monstrosity.

There remain three great truths about Bush's so-called "war on terror." First, the American mainland has not been hit by a major terrorist attack in the last seven years, when almost every expert warned us that it most assuredly would be.

Second, our enemy, al-Qaida, is depleted and scattered, now largely isolated to the wild lands of Waziristan. Bin Laden's popularity and support for suicide bombings have plummeted throughout the Middle East.

Third, reforms in the CIA and FBI, changes in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act's wiretaps accords, and the Guantanamo detention facility were derided as a veritable shredding of the Constitution. That slur ceased with the election of Barack Obama, who apparently thinks such measures were efficacious rather than unconstitutional, and the media has reacted similarly, seeing such decisions as complex and problematic rather than fascistic.

And the debits? The Bush administration spent too much money during the first term, running up deficits and discrediting the revenue enhancements that accrued from his tax cuts. That said, Bush's instinctual worries about closer monitoring of Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) andFreddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people ) were right; their defenders in Congress were wrong.

His rapid federal infusions of capital to shore up tottering financial institutions probably helped stave off a general collapse. He was about as culpable for the American banking and stock crises as are the leaders in Europe for their own economies, presiding over even greater and more unforeseen economic disruption.

For all the talk of the dismal world that awaits Barack Obama, Iraq is quiet, a policy of containment of, and victory over, radical Islam is in play and federal intervention to restore financial credit and trust has already begun.

Why then such Bush vitriol? The contested election of 2000 for the first time in history required the Supreme Court to adjudicate the outcome, giving the victory to a candidate who did not receive the popular vote. In reaction, Bush was easily caricatured by our influential cultural elite as a bible-thumping, Texas-twanged, inarticulate incompetent. In the euphoria of brilliant victories in Afghanistan and over Saddam Hussein, he strutted and accentuated such stereotypes instead of, as was true later, nuancing them with reflection and humility.

Finally, Bush placed an inordinate amount of faith in less than competent loyalists. A Michael Brown or Scott McClellan would have been over their heads as small-town bureaucrats. Others such as Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Meyers and Karen Hughes were simply unable to overcome media charges that they were mediocrities.

Unmentioned has been Bush's character of both honesty and resoluteness. He ran one of the most corruption-free administrations in memory, something we are already beginning to appreciate as we compare the prior scandal-ridden Clintons and the Chicagoesque ambiguities that already swirl around Barack Obama and his cabinet appointments.

In time, historians will come to a fairer verdict of George W. Bush; in the meantime such a favorable reassessment has already begun.

Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University."

I like this.......

Emergent Church

Well i started writing this blog about an hour ago... i was writing it about the emerging/ emergent church. I was about half way through it, and i deleted it all. I don't think there is a need for me to ramble on about how it and it's leaders make me angry, there are more important issues out there.

I think what i would like to talk about today instead is something that i heard Piper say in a sermon the other day. He was talking about how believed that we should not be teaching our children to love God, but that first we should be teaching them to trust him. He said this was important because we cannot love unconditionally. We will screw up and fall down, and there will be a time where we don't love God. So if we are taught from a young age that the most important thing we do is just to love God, what happens when we don't? 

We as humans tend to not feel loved when we aren't loving others. If I stop loving you, i feel like you have stopped loving me. If we let our kids grow up thinking that all they need to do is love God, and never teach them to trust God first, then as soon as they are having a bad day, and just aren't thinking about the things of God... It can all come crashing down. Learning to trust God first allows them to know that He is there, and that all things happen for good for those who are called according to his purpose (romans 8:28).  They may not understand why they don't feel loved, or why they feel like the world is against them, but if they trust in the Lord they will know that He is still there.

I thought that was a pretty super dooper statement, I don't have any kids obviously, (cept for my cat) but i'm glad i learned this now, because that is what i will teach my kids.

Can't think of a good title...

So the other day i was at Tyis' house, and Jim brought up a very good point while i was there. Shayna said she needed to go get her toothpaste, and Jim said "why is it called toothpaste if you brush all of your teeth with it? Shouldn't it be called teethpaste?" I basically decided then and there that from now on i am calling toothpaste, teethpaste.  

Thats the only intro that i could think of for todays blog...

Today during church i was realizing how when i was a kid, sitting through a sermon used to be a chore, unless Mr. Storrer was preaching because he gets pretty excited. But it used to seem like they would take hours, and i would never be able to sit still because i was so bored. 

Now I am finding myself wishing that sermons would go on longer (even Mr. Shrout's) and they seems as if they go by within 10 mins. I try to listen to as many sermons as i can during the week, but I am running out of the ones that i like to listen to.  But today is sunday! and that means another Piper sermon will be on itunes today. So i have 50 mins of some point this next week taken care of.

Well tomorrow Grace School of Theology opens back up, and tuesday class starts. Hopefully my application will go through, otherwise it looks like i will be spending the next quarter working, sleeping, and playing golf.... that would be terrible. 

I can't really think of anything profound to say today so i think i'm just going to leave it at that.

Live long and prosper

Wes

First Post

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Wes, today is January 1st and the first day of resolutions. 

I have many resolutions, some i'll talk about, and some that won't be talked about. 

First as of a few weeks ago i made the decision to switch my major to Biblical studies rather than medicine, and i wanted a place that i could ramble on about things of God. I needed a place more mature than myspace or facebook, a place where i make the page look how i want it to look, and I do the posting on my page, and others can (if they choose) respond appropriately. So here I am.

Ok so onto resolutions, other than the typical get in shape, run, be healthy, be a better person stuff that everyone does. I'm going to list my other resolutions.

1. I am going to read through my Bible at least once this year, Im trying for two times, but i don't know that i'll make it, so for now its just once, but the plan is to be done at least by august. This means about 7-8 chapters a night, and of course splitting psalm 119 up.. that would be crazy to include that as a chapter. If i keep this rate up i can do it twice in a year, if i slow it down a little i should be done by august.

2. A's in all my classes... I got 3 C's last semester. I think because i am working full time, had a full time class schedule, and really just didn't like the subject/ teachers anymore. It just got boring.

3. I don't know that this would necessarily be counted as a resolution or not... but its going here anyway. ITS MY BLOG! In my entire golf career (6 months) I have hit one birdie, not just any birdie mind you however, This birdie was amazing, par 4, drove it about 250 and then 7 iron landed 6 inches from the pin. Anyway onto the resolution... I would LOVE to hit an eagle this year, but if that doesnt happen, I'm going for 5 birdies. Now if i were to try and fit this goal into a math equation i should be able to do this. I figure 1 birdie in 6 months, that makes 2 within the next 6 and then 4 the next (if it were an exponential function) so i guess we'll see if all of my calculus was worthwhile.

4. I'd also like to read say like 4 books a month. Thats roughly 52 books a year, you know one a week i think thats doable. 

5. This one is a good one.. i'm trying to keep a minimum of 300 dollars in my checking account at all times this year (unless i need something big (like a car..)) this means dumping everything else into savings. If i can keep this up by the end up the year i will have a happy bank account.

6. TITHE!!

I think that is a pretty good list for right now. I don't know how often i will be able to post in here. Hopefully alot. I have alot to talk about, so we'll see where this takes me. 

Oh and soon, dont know how soon. but soon, maybe i'll start posting some mini sermons in here. practice. practice. practice. I have some ideas for some topics, but some of them will require alot of work so we'll see how long it takes me to get it in here.

Wes Wade