So “why Catalyst,” you ask?

Posted by Rod Hamilton

There are plenty of things I could have called this blog, and some would be quite clever. But I have found over the last 7-8 years that if I could categorize “worship” as anything other than worship, I would call it a catalyst for change. Worshiping God is serious stuff, and to do so demands a lot from us in our lives. It demands a life truly set apart. It demands daily walking with our God. It demands a level of forgiveness that the world cannot understand. It demands a sincere level of humility that doesn’t take credit for any of the good things that we do, but bears the burden of accountability for our words and deeds.

One definition of the word “catalyst” is: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change. Speaking from life experience, aside from the initial giving of myself to Christ, nothing else precipitated change in my life like the act of worship has and continues to do. In fact, through the Worship Ministry at Valley View, I have seen many lives changed by the simple act of a person’s giving his/her time and talent back to the One Who gave it in the first place. This is the stuff that precipitates radical change.

I encourage you to check in from time to time at this blog and see what’s going on at Valley View. I also encourage you to visit our church if you aren’t currently plugged in somewhere else. If you are a Valley View person and know that God has gifted you in worship, I encourage you to get involved in the worship ministry and I challenge you to view your involvement not as a new activity, but as a link to God in a way that will change your life.

Sin is a painted pony and a bonk on the head.

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Apr 14, 2009

Today, as I had lunch with a friend in downtown Louisville, there stood outside the window of the Bistro 301 a tall, multi-colored statue of a racehorse. Oddly enough, over the course of an hour, no fewer than three people walked right into the thing, the third person (a man) who hit his head so hard on the steel horses head that we actually heard it above the noise in the busy restaurant.

At a table nearby, four ladies were remarking laughing at the third guy, but amazed that anybody could possibly walk into this statue to begin with. After all, it doesn’t blend in with anything (see pic). One lady said “do you think they should put a warning sign up about the horse?” To which I responded “What are you gonna put on the sign” ‘ Watch out for the 6’ 1” tall, multi-colored horse directly in front of you’”? That might work, but where do you hang it? On the horse? Apparently that wouldn’t do any good. Do you put it on the ground in hopes that they’re looking at the ground as they walk? (which has to be the case) Or, do you put the sign on the ground all along the sidewalk and tell people to please walk with their heads up so as not to run into anything at all that may be standing in the way of pedestrians?

John MacArthur - The Truth War

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Apr 08, 2009

OK, so I finished “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” and decided to pull John MacArthur’s “The Truth War” off the shelf. It’s not necessarily light reading, but it is necessary reading in this slippery-slope age of reason and “truth.” If you know me, you know that I’m not a fan of “post-modern” anything, especially when far too often churches who, bent on catering to the “post modernists,” cater themselves completely out of the truth of the Gospel and the boldness with which it must be preached. Post modernity exists largely because the Church Universal has lost it’s zeal for the truth and its passion for the Great Commission.

If you get some time, you might want to check into this book, “The Truth War - Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception.”

How much do you have to hate someone to NOT tell them about Jesus?

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Mar 01, 2009

We interrupt this series on the power of music to bring you this, and this from an atheist. Penn from Penn & Teller shares an account of a “good man” giving him a Bible after one of their shows. Listen to Penn speak about the man who gave the Bible to him, the exchange they had and Penn’s feelings about the man and his mission. We should all be so bold!

Warning: the following link takes you to youtube.com . I am not responsible for any material you choose to view outside of this specific link!

Penn and the Bible

OK, maybe there is a little too much pressure on President Obama!

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Feb 22, 2009

So you’re the new president. Of course comparisons will be drawn between you and your predecessors. Contrasts between your leadership style and theirs, your personality and theirs, your believability and theirs...even your wardrobe and theirs are an unavoidable part of the spotlight. But can anyone live up to this?!?!

(mind you, this is both a sad commentary on America and a funny survey all wrapped up in one.)

Americans Pick Obama as Personal Hero; Jesus Comes Second

President Barack Obama’s popularity overwhelms that of Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa, according to a new poll that shows Obama as the person Americans named as their hero. American adults (age 18 and over) spontaneously named President Obama as the person they admire enough to call their hero in a Harris Poll that did not provide a list for respondents to choose from.

In the top 20 list, God held the No. 11 spot while evangelist Billy Graham tied with former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for the 13th slot.

Make no mistake about it; what’s closest to your heart comes first from your lips (or pen, in this case).

Read the whole article here.

It’s no secret, YOU are charismatic!

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jan 09, 2009

Are you charismatic, really? I am, and I’m going to say that you are too. “What? I’m a died in the wool Southern Baptist. I am not a charismatic” you might say to yourself. There is a difference between being charismatic and being ”a” charismatic, however.

When you read the New Testament, particularly in Paul’s epistles, nearly every time you read the word “gift” as it applies to the spiritual gifts, the Greek word from which gift is translated is the word charisma. Each one of us has been given at least one spiritual gift (Ephesians 4:7), therefore each one of us, being gifted, are charismatic.

Yeah, but are we all “spirit filled?” You betcha! Each of us, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, are filled with the Holly Spirit; the Bible is very clear about this.

So maybe you never thought of yourself this way, but today you are a Spirit filled charismatic believer in Christ! Enjoy the distinction, it was given to you by God!

HO HO HO! Where will you go?

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Dec 16, 2008

“He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice...he’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice! If Santa used the Ten Commandments for his standards, how would you do? Let’s find out,

Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? (no matter the value.) Ever used God’s name in vain? Ever hated anybody? The Bible says “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.”

If you are guilty of these things, it shows that in your heart, you are a lying, blasphemous, murderer-at-heart. Many people don’t know that God will use the Ten Commandments to judge the world. Forget about Santa and “naughty” and “nice.” How will you do on Judgment Day? If you are found guilty you will be sentenced to an eternity in Hell.

2,000 years ago, God sent Jesus to the earth to pay for your sins. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment that you deserve for breaking His Law, the Ten Commandments. God’s wrath came down on Jesus instead of you. The Bible says “God commands all men everywhere to repent, because God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness.”

Remember: if you try to get to Heaven on your own, you must keep every commandment in thought, word and deed! Jesus paid the penalty for your sins on the cross. Then He defeated the power of sin and death when He rose from the dead. Repent (turn away) from your sins. Place your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you. God will grant you eternal life. Read your bible daily and obey what you read.”

This is a tract from Ray Comfort @ The Way of the Master. Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron offer some excellent training on how to effectively witness to the lost in the one way that convicts, the Law.

Many attributes of the life of a believer - deliverance, joy, peace - may seem to be reasons for another to accept Jesus Christ, but the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross was to save our mortal souls from the eternal death we deserved, not to make us comfortable. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the fruit of the Spirit of a person truly transformed. These things ought to attract the unbeliever to the believer, but are not reasons to accept Christ on their own. The fruit of the Spirit, a Spirit filled life, a life transformed; these are all bi-products of a redeemed soul, once bound for Hell but now set apart for God, to do His work and to live out His will and to retire from this place to eternity in Heaven with the Almighty. If our abiding thanks to God is not first for what He has done for our eternal souls, our worship is out of line.

The Law shows even the unbeliever that he is sinful and worthy of eternal death. In Romans 7:7 the Apostle Paul said “...I would not have known what sin was except through the Law.” In Galatians 3:24 (KJV), Paul refers to the Law as “our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.”

Jesus is our Redeemer, our King and our Lord. This Christmas the best thing we can offer the unbelieving world is the true message of salvation through Jesus Christ. It starts with the Law and ends with His grace.

eHarmony? ePandering.

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Nov 20, 2008

Wow! Talk about endless treasures!

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Nov 09, 2008