It’s Over

I usually listen to the George Klein show on Elvis radio on Friday afternoons on Sirius/XM Radio. Each week GK has some great interviews, and I always love them. Today he interviewed Jimmie Rodgers who recorded songs like "Honeycomb" and "Kisses Sweeter than Wine." If you click on the link I've provided above you'll learn a lot about one of the truly unique singers/songwriters of the 50s and 60s. My favorite song by Rodgers is "It's Over." I remember my dad had the '45 and I played it over and over again. Elvis recorded the song in the 60s too. He also featured the song in his "Aloha" special in 1973. Jimmie said that he wrote the song in New York after he spoke with a girl there who had just broken up with her boyfriend (I think they were engaged actually). He got up in the middle of the night and wrote the song.

He didn't say when, but Elvis one day called Jimmie up and asked if he could record the song. Obviously he gave Elvis his permission (who wouldn't!) There is no telling how many albums, CDs, DVDs, etc that "Aloha" has sold since 1973!! Good decision for sure!!

Anyway, I've heard several versions of this song. Rodgers' is of course excellent. The Elvis version is very powerful.

I really enjoyed heard the back story of one of my favorite all time songs! By the way, Jimmie Rodgers has had a lot of challenges in life. Some of those he discussed in the interview too. I particularly appreciated his Christian testimony. He mentioned that with all the challenges he has faced God has blessed him.

New Chapel

I'm so pleased to hear that the new chapel at Southwestern Seminary is named after Dr. J.W. "Jack" MacGorman. I have written several times in the past of Dr. MacGorman's influence on me. I had the privilege of being his last graduate assistant before his retirement in 2001. At 90, Dr. MacGorman still attends chapel and works in his office at SWBTS. The wonderful conference center is named after him too. His influence has been far-reaching and only God knows its full extent.

There is a neat live webcam that shows the progress of the chapel construction. It is going to be some kind of building. The dedication is scheduled for Dec 1 and the fall graduation is going to be there.

Warning from Church of England

Is this the church in America's future?

The Church of England's quickly aging congregations means the denomination will be almost extinct in 2020 unless something is done to attract young people back to the church. "The perfect storm we can see arriving fast on the horizon is the ageing congregations," said the Rev. Dr. Patrick Richmond, a Synod member from Norwich. "2020 apparently is when our congregations start falling through the floor because of natural wastage, that is people dying... Another 10 years on, some extrapolations put the Church of England as no longer functionally extant at all." According to the UK Telegraph, other Synod members compared the church's direction to a company's "perfectly and impeccably manage[d] into failure."

[This from Religion Today Summary…Crosswalk.com]

Best Thing You Can Do

JFK called on Americans in the 60s of the 20th century to ask what you could do for your country. What is the best thing you could do? The Apostle Paul, in the 60s of the 1st century wrote: “Therefore I exhort first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” [1 Timothy 2:1-2 NKJV]. The best thing you can do for your country is pray, especially for your leaders.

I find that we probably criticize more and pray less for our leaders. Paul taught that the opposite should be true. How should we pray for our leaders? I ran across an article written by Richard Land just prior to President Obama’s inauguration that gives some good guidelines on how to effectively pray for him as well as all other government leaders on every level. I adapted it for my Sunday message yesterday. I used the president as the primary example, but these guidelines could be used for the governor, mayor, etc.

 Pray for the safety of President Obama and his family
 Pray that he and other national leaders will look to God for His wisdom
 Pray that Christ would be glorified in the decisions made in the White House and in every level of government [national, state, local]
 Pray for policies and laws to be passed that will encourage moral behavior and justice for all Americans, especially the most vulnerable of us [unborn, children, the elderly, even the 'stranger']
 Pray that our leaders display exemplary character, good decision making, and will work together for the common good

But it’s not enough for the church to pray the above. Paul goes on to call on Christians to pray for the salvation of all people. He reminds us in verses 3-6 of 1Timothy 2 that God wants all people to be saved and sent His Son Jesus to die for all people. Our nation is not going to change with just good political decisions. Real change won’t happen until the hearts of Americans change. True change doesn’t happen without Christ.

I believe the real change America needs won’t happen from the White House, the Capitol, or the chambers of the Supreme Court. The real change America needs will happen at the altar and in the prayer closet as we cry out to God on behalf of our leaders and as we pray for the salvation of all people.

Praying this way is ‘good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior’ [1 Timothy 2:3].