Memorial Day is the one day each year set aside to honor our nation's fallen soldiers. As is our custom at Valley View Baptist, the worship service closed with a patriotic hymn in honor of the occasion. The hymn chosen this year was "God of Our Fathers." I found it quite inspirational and wanted to bring it to your attention.
The lyrics were written by Daniel C. Roberts for the occasion of the nation's centennial in 1876. The music, a tune named "National Hymn," was written by George W. Warren specifically to go with the lyrics of "God of Our Fathers." The following is a rendition from bobf72450's You Tube Channel.
Enjoy the music, but please remember to pray that our country might return to it's Christian roots.
Note: In the interest of accuracy, I believe that referring to this as The National Hymn is a mistake arising from the title of the tune, since to the best of my knowlege it has never had any official sanction ...but perhaps it should.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
KHS Chopper Class Open House and Knuckle Shuffle
Question: Where is the place to be on the weekend of June 1-3 if you are a big fan of vintage motorcycles
Answer: The Kennedy High School Chopper Class Open House, and a supporting event, The Knuckle Shuffle.
Every year the Chopper Class opens its doors to the public to showcase both their shop and the projects to which Kevin Bass' students have applied what they have learned. This year that open house will take place on Friday, June 1st.
But it doesn't end there. One of the guys at S&S Cycle came up with the idea of helping to support the KHS Chopper Class by staging a little get together in the sleepy little town of Yuba Wisconsin, just down the road from S&S. Group rides to Yuba begin on Saturday June 2nd from various locations throughout the Midwest (check the link for one near you). Last year's inaugural event was a rousing success, and this one looks to be a repeat. Money raised from the event goes to support the KHS Chopper Class.
Answer: The Kennedy High School Chopper Class Open House, and a supporting event, The Knuckle Shuffle.
Every year the Chopper Class opens its doors to the public to showcase both their shop and the projects to which Kevin Bass' students have applied what they have learned. This year that open house will take place on Friday, June 1st.
But it doesn't end there. One of the guys at S&S Cycle came up with the idea of helping to support the KHS Chopper Class by staging a little get together in the sleepy little town of Yuba Wisconsin, just down the road from S&S. Group rides to Yuba begin on Saturday June 2nd from various locations throughout the Midwest (check the link for one near you). Last year's inaugural event was a rousing success, and this one looks to be a repeat. Money raised from the event goes to support the KHS Chopper Class.
This is a great little event combining a chance to support a worthy cause (keeping kids in school and teaching them useful skills) with some great riding through the scenic Wisconsin countryside, and an old fashioned biker get together. Or as the Knuckle Shuffle web site puts it "Hollister 1947 without the riot."
And did I mention the raffle of an S&S 93" Knucklehead motor .....?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Mother's Day 2012
Most of us remember the story of how the baby Moses was set adrift among the reeds at the edge of the Nile River. Since this weekend is Mother’s Day, I would like to consider his mothers part in this story. But first, here is some of the background to the story.
The children of Israel, who had originally come down to Egypt in order to survive a famine, eventually found themselves as slaves rather than just foreigners. But the Israelites continued to increase in numbers to the point that they were seen as a threat by the Egyptians. However a careful reading of Exodus chapter one reveals that the Pharaoh was not so much concerned that the children of Israel were becoming strong enough that they might overthrow his armies and take over the country, but rather he was concerned that they may become strong enough to escape from their captivity and leave Egypt. No more slave labor - can't have that. For this reason Pharaoh put out a command that every son born to the Israelites should be killed by casting it into the river. This is where we will pick up the story in Exodus chapter two.
Exodus 2: 1-10
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
It is interesting that in this passage, the name of Moses’ mother is not even mentioned. As I mentioned earlier, this story of Moses is a familiar one for most Christians. When we consider the story, we can’t help but put ourselves in his mother’s shoes. And yet how many of us even know her name? Later in the book of Exodus (6:20), her name is given as Jochebed.
Now, can you even imagine what this was like for Jochebed? She was expecting a baby, and she knew that if she delivered a boy, then there was a death sentence on him. And indeed it was a boy, so she did the only thing she could do. Jochebed hid the child for as long as she could, which the bible tells us was three months. Can you imagine what those three months were like for a mother. The joy of having a newborn son tempered by the terror of being discovered. We have to assume that if the child had been discovered, it would have been his death.
Its not so hard to see how Jochebed took the risk of hiding Moses for those three months, stressful as it must have been. After all, what other option was there? A mother’s love for her child comes naturally. But what she did next showed not only love, but it showed ingenuity and faith. The bible does not tell us how Jochebed came up with her plan to make an ark and place the baby Moses in it near where Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe. We can only speculate that she was led by God to do so. After all, Moses was the one chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. And if Jochebed was led by God to place her baby into that tiny ark, then she still needed faith that God would protect her son through it.
But then comes the best part of the story. Because Jochebed put her faith in God to protect her baby, God allowed her to act as the nursemaid for her own child, and to be paid for it to boot! When we think about the faith that it took for Moses’ mother to place her baby in that tiny little ark and set it afloat in the river, it is something to marvel at. But, when you think about it, many mothers exercise that same type of faith. They care for their babies from the time that they completely helpless. They do their best to teach that child to care for themselves. As the children grow, they teach them about God the Father and about Jesus his Son. They do their best to see their children develop a relationship with Jesus. But eventually, when those mothers have done all they can, they have to just let those children go, putting their faith in God, that he will watch over them, just as Jochebed did.
Of course there is another area of faith that applies to all of us, not just those who are mothers. That is the matter of putting our faith in Jesus. But just what does the phrase "put your faith in Jesus" mean? I think most of us have been around long enough, and know ourselves well enough to understand that we have each fallen short of God’s law. What we often don’t realize, though, is just how badly we have offended a holy God. If we consider the penalty paid though, it helps put it in perspective. Our sins are so offensive to God that it required the death of his only son to pay that penalty. Do you think your sins are just a little thing, and yet it took the death of Jesus Christ on a cross to pay for them? Once you do understand how serious your sin is, that is where faith comes in. Faith that Jesus paid for your sins. Faith that the payment was acceptable to God the Father. Faith that you are an heir to the promises of the Bible.
If you have never before done so, won’t you ask God to forgive your sins, and put your faith in Jesus the Christ?
The children of Israel, who had originally come down to Egypt in order to survive a famine, eventually found themselves as slaves rather than just foreigners. But the Israelites continued to increase in numbers to the point that they were seen as a threat by the Egyptians. However a careful reading of Exodus chapter one reveals that the Pharaoh was not so much concerned that the children of Israel were becoming strong enough that they might overthrow his armies and take over the country, but rather he was concerned that they may become strong enough to escape from their captivity and leave Egypt. No more slave labor - can't have that. For this reason Pharaoh put out a command that every son born to the Israelites should be killed by casting it into the river. This is where we will pick up the story in Exodus chapter two.
Exodus 2: 1-10
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
It is interesting that in this passage, the name of Moses’ mother is not even mentioned. As I mentioned earlier, this story of Moses is a familiar one for most Christians. When we consider the story, we can’t help but put ourselves in his mother’s shoes. And yet how many of us even know her name? Later in the book of Exodus (6:20), her name is given as Jochebed.
Now, can you even imagine what this was like for Jochebed? She was expecting a baby, and she knew that if she delivered a boy, then there was a death sentence on him. And indeed it was a boy, so she did the only thing she could do. Jochebed hid the child for as long as she could, which the bible tells us was three months. Can you imagine what those three months were like for a mother. The joy of having a newborn son tempered by the terror of being discovered. We have to assume that if the child had been discovered, it would have been his death.
Its not so hard to see how Jochebed took the risk of hiding Moses for those three months, stressful as it must have been. After all, what other option was there? A mother’s love for her child comes naturally. But what she did next showed not only love, but it showed ingenuity and faith. The bible does not tell us how Jochebed came up with her plan to make an ark and place the baby Moses in it near where Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe. We can only speculate that she was led by God to do so. After all, Moses was the one chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. And if Jochebed was led by God to place her baby into that tiny ark, then she still needed faith that God would protect her son through it.
But then comes the best part of the story. Because Jochebed put her faith in God to protect her baby, God allowed her to act as the nursemaid for her own child, and to be paid for it to boot! When we think about the faith that it took for Moses’ mother to place her baby in that tiny little ark and set it afloat in the river, it is something to marvel at. But, when you think about it, many mothers exercise that same type of faith. They care for their babies from the time that they completely helpless. They do their best to teach that child to care for themselves. As the children grow, they teach them about God the Father and about Jesus his Son. They do their best to see their children develop a relationship with Jesus. But eventually, when those mothers have done all they can, they have to just let those children go, putting their faith in God, that he will watch over them, just as Jochebed did.
Of course there is another area of faith that applies to all of us, not just those who are mothers. That is the matter of putting our faith in Jesus. But just what does the phrase "put your faith in Jesus" mean? I think most of us have been around long enough, and know ourselves well enough to understand that we have each fallen short of God’s law. What we often don’t realize, though, is just how badly we have offended a holy God. If we consider the penalty paid though, it helps put it in perspective. Our sins are so offensive to God that it required the death of his only son to pay that penalty. Do you think your sins are just a little thing, and yet it took the death of Jesus Christ on a cross to pay for them? Once you do understand how serious your sin is, that is where faith comes in. Faith that Jesus paid for your sins. Faith that the payment was acceptable to God the Father. Faith that you are an heir to the promises of the Bible.
If you have never before done so, won’t you ask God to forgive your sins, and put your faith in Jesus the Christ?
Friday, May 4, 2012
Lieske Wins at Bowling Green
Congrats to Joe Lieske for chalking up his first national event final round victory of the season last weekend at the AMRA Bowling Green Spring Rally and Races.
After Saturday's qualifying, things looked very good for lowering the V-Mod National Record yet again; his last pass of the day was quick enough, so all he would need to do was run within 1% the next day to back it up. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated overnight, slowing his V-Rod based Dragster just enough to leave his old record standing.
Everyone at Joe Lieske Racing has a smile on their face right now though. National records at the first event along with the win at the second event leave them at the top of the national points chase and feeling like they are on top of the world!
(and I must add that seeing "LEE'S SPEED SHOP" on Joe's leathers leaves me smiling too)
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