After a peaceful week of voting, the standards have been met and it appears that Sudan will split into two countries—the southern half will have the right to govern itself. This means increased freedom for our Christian brothers and sisters, who are under strict Muslim law created by the north at the present time. It also means a more equal distribution of wealth.

Unfortunately a peaceful vote does not guarantee a peaceful future for the two countries. While things will look up for the south section of Sudan, the north is not happy about the outcome of the vote, and may likely threaten violence in the future. A key border city between the two countries—rich in oil resources—has yet to vote on which country it will choose to be a part of. Mass migration of people from north to south or south to north will place a strain on the infrastructure and resources that provide food, shelter, jobs, and stability. A stable government must form in the south to lead the country through this transition, and substantial changes will likely occur in the north as well—which is already threatening rebellion against its current leaders due to their frustration with the governments inefficiencies.

If you want a full picture of the situation in this country, I suggest two articles to read:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110107/cm_csm/354830_1

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2042218,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Watch the video, enough said…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcHNQXB-EqQ[/youtube]

I should have posted it month ago when I read about it, but I didn’t! For those of you who are not aware, Sudan makes a historic vote just after the beginning of the year, one that will potentially leads to civil war!

This vote has been scheduled for a long time now, and represents the southern people’s opportunity to choose to be a separate country from the north–a choice that comes with profound economic, political, and social implications. North Sudan currently runs the entire country under Muslim law, but the south is mainly Christian.

Read the article here for more information, and please keep this country in your prayers. They may end up at war next year over the outcome of their vote.

My final sermon of the semester was on the text of Genesis – the birth narrative of Jacob and Esau. It’s a simple passage, but one that created a lot of controversy in my class. It’s a text with many meanings…

The birth of Jacob and Esau is preceded by the prophesy that the “older shall serve the younger”. In the immediate text, this response is given to Rebekah after she inquires of the Lord regarding the pain that she is enduring in pregnancy. The prophecy in this respect is comforting: God assures Rebekah that her pregnancy is going properly—she will certainly bear children.

However, in the larger context of Genesis and in the mind of the Israelite audience, this prophecy also indicates that God is going to work through the younger son—Jacob/Israel, instead of the older son. AND, in the larger context of the Bible through the prophet Malachi and the letter to the Romans, this prophecy emphasizes God’s sovereignty in being able to direct circumstances as He desires: having control over and a knowledge of the future.

I had a hard time preaching the second meaning of the text in my sermon this semester—I didn’t feel that it represented the meaning of my specific passage: Genesis 25:19-26. I wanted my audience to walk away from the sermon thinking: Genesis 25 teaches Isaac and Rebekah’s faith and God’s comfort. I felt that if they walked away thinking: Genesis 25 teaches God’s sovereignty, they weren’t really getting the main point of the text—they were instead getting the main point of the whole Bible’s treatment of the text, or the main point of another text. I just could not see God’s main point in Genesis as God wishing to declare, “I’m in control”—I think we hear that message in the book that long before chapter 25.

Don’t get me wrong: you can use Genesis 25 to preach God’s sovereignty, but I think the audience should really walk away thinking that your main text was something other than Genesis 25—they should hear your main text as Malachi 1’s prophecy, “I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau” or Romans 9’s quotation of the text as it says, “…there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER ." Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED , BUT ESAU I HATED."”

Anyway—you’ve heard this rant before…perhaps my sermon will convince you. I hope you like the fruits of my labors, shared below…

My Sermon Preparation Documents: (Click to Download) 

The specific way I chose to illustrate the passage – My Homeletical Sermon Outline

The final result: My sermon audio – Version 1 – Version 2
My sermon script – click below to read…

Read the rest of this entry »

Getting a new tech toy for me is like opening a whole new world. This past week has been one of those “new world” experiences for me, as I explore the land of the jail broken iPhone, and as I boot Google’s Android OS on it as well–double bonus fun!

Jailbreaking the iPhone sounds malicious, I know, but the FCC said earlier this year that it was legal and appropriate for those who purchase phones to be able to manipulate their software. It allowed me to start using some of the features of the iPhone that were only available to those who had the “latest and greatest” (and paid way too much money for their) iPhone: like multitasking and home screen wallpaper. Check out this blog that is all about jailbreaking for yourself, and contains an article on the legality of the task too! www.iphonedownloadblog.com/ (popup window)

After Jailbreaking the phone, I followed 5 more easy steps to install iDroid on my phone, a customized version of Android created to work on the iPhone. While the programming still needs some work to ensure that power saving, messaging and camera functions work appropriately, and Google is still in the process of allowing this OS to access its Android store, I am now able to boot my phone into Google’s OS and enjoy the features of this amazing operating system as well! Read the Lifehacker article by clicking here. (opens in a popup window)

I particularly like the graphic they chose for their customized OS:

What’s next? Well, I have high hopes that someone will create another iWin7 version to run on my iPhone too!