The Good Life

We talk about the "Good Life", but what is the Good Life today? Is it a life style of good times -- financial security, or something else?

In Calcutta, Mother Teresa lived a life of serving. Too her, this was the good life. She never complained, and never had a desire to change the life she lived. That life was a life of giving to others. She has been quoted to say, "God doesn't call me to be successful, but to be faithful. This was the Good Life in her eyes.

In Psalm 31:23, the psalmist says, "The Lord preserves the faithful". We have to say that Mother Teresa was truly faithful throughout her life. What is your definition of The Good Life?

Ed Unruh

Jealousy and Envy

Have you ever become jealous or envious? Envy will change your attitude unless you keep it in control.

Prior to Jesus' crucifixion, the high priests were envious of Him. Wherever He went, His reputation followed Him. He even claimed to be king of the Jews (Mt. 27:11). For this reason the high priests were afraid the Romans would take away the power they had over the Jews (John 11:45-48). Because of their envy, the high priests were the first ones at Jesus' trial to encourage His crucifixion.

Yes, envy can develop into a driving force that can kill and destroy. It's really something that needs to be in control at all times.

Ed Unruh

Home Invasion

by Rebecca Hagelin

Middle class moms and dads have long sought safety for their children in the nurturing haven of the cul-de-sac. Like a safe harbor at the edge of an angry sea, the suburban neighborhood is an environment of protection from the world and all its dangers. Or is it?

In Home Invasion, Rebecca Hagelin proves that in today's all-consuming culture of corruption there is nowhere left to hide-American homes have already been invaded by this insidious enemy that seeks to twist our minds and poison our hearts through the unmonitored Internet, television, magazines, and music that our families ingest on a daily basis. Speaking as a nationally known social commentator and as a mother of three, Hagelin shows through specific examples and alarming statistics how the enemy has infected the family van, our neighborhood schools and textbooks, the stores in which we shop, and even the churches in which we worship.

With warm words of encouragement and practical suggestions, she coaches parents on how to arm themselves with information, strategically plan the movements of their family members, secure allies in the battle, and most of all, muster the guts and the resolve to lead their families to victory against the great beast.

Is Peace Possible?

Today the world is looking for peace and is unable to find it. Perhaps they are looking in all the wrong places.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Prince-of-peace (Isaiah 9:6). And in Matthew 24:6 this same Jesus states that there will be wars and rumors of war on this earth. So, as hard as we try--peace will not come to us in this life.

The only real peace possible, will be in the life hereafter (Isaiah 2:4). Then and only then, when the Prince-of-peace returns to this earth will there be peace. Are you ready for Him to return?

Ed Unruh

Difficult Times

As we go through life, there will be difficult times and we won't know what to do, or which way to turn.

One answer is to turn to God's Word, The Bible and look at Proverbs 3:5 & 6. These verses say we are to "Trust in God with all your heart" and then it says, "if we acknowledge Him, He will straighten our paths". What does this all mean? It means God wants us to recognize Him for who He is -- the "God of all gods, the Great, the Mighty and the Awesome God" (Deut. 10:17).

Whenever you have a difficult time, acknowledge Him, for He is aware of that difficult problem you're going through and He'll get you through it each and every time.

Ed Unruh

Change

Sometimes there are changes in life, and regardless of these changes, we have the assurance that God is with us in all things (Psalm 139:8). We are also aware that He goes before us to make the rough places smooth (Isa. 45:2).

As we look back in the past, we can see where our Heavenly Father was with us in the good times and the bad times. And He will be with us in the future, as well (Mt. 28:20).

So, don't worry about any changes that will take place, they will come -- look forward to them. Psalm 46:1-2 reminds us of how God is our refuge and strength. He is our security and we need not fear what lies ahead of us.

Ed Unruh

Attitude

Do you know that your attitude right now will have an effect on every person you come in contact with? In the next few minutes, your attitude can be encouraging or discouraging to those around you. The outcome depends on you. Attitude is very important and we have to be on guard all the time.

What is your attitude right now?/ Will you have control over it tomorrow? We really don't know, but have to be aware of it all the time. If the nest person you come in contact with needs comforting, you will want to help them if you can. And you can if you have the right attitude.

It is important to know God works in and through us for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Knowing this, we will want to keep our attitude in control. We can't be perfect all the time, but, the right attitude is necessary at all times.

Ed Unruh

A Trouble-Free Challenge

If you put your trust in God, will you be able to live a trouble-free life?

It really doesn't work that way. In fact, the only trouble-free life that will ever be available will be for the people who make it to heaven. And, only the ones that make it there will be those who have taken the challenge to accept God's plan of salvation.

When Jesus Christ, God's Son, returns to this earth, He will take everyone who has accepted Christ as their personal saviour up to heaven with Him (see John 3:3).

Then, and only then, will a trouble-free life become a reality. Are you ready for the challenge?

Ed Unruh

Are You Pro-Choice?

When Adam and Eve were created, they were given the right of choice. Today we have the same right, except we call it pro-choice. So, pro-choice goes all the way back to the beginning of time.

God's Word, the Holy Bible, makes it clear that salvation is a matter of choice, and God's offer is good anytime. He personally desires that you will accept His offer.

When He says He does not wish for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance, (II Peter 3:9). He also says in Romans 10:13, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved". It's your choice!

Ed Unruh

Are You Different?

If someone asked you that question, what would you say? You would likely answer the question with a question and say, "different than what, or different than who? You would have a perfect right to ask the question, because, the question needs clarification.

Actually, everybody is different, no two people are identical. Even identical twins are different, because their desires and their thoughts are different. However, we don't have to share our thoughts with God. In Psalm 94:11 we read, "the Lord knows the thoughts of man". Yes, He knows our thoughts and He is the one who created each one of us to be different.

Ed Unruh

Blood Donors Wanted

Have you ever considered making a heart donation? It doesn't take that long to get signed up, because there are no forms to fill out.

This is how it is done. "If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). That's all there is to it.

If you follow that simple procedure, your heart will be donated to God before you know it. Because it's so easy to do, why not do it right now? Tomorrow may be to late.

Ed Unruh

Answers

When you pray does God always answer? The Bible says He does! In Isaiah 65:24, the Lord says, "Before they call, I will answer".

If you didn't receive your answer, it may be that God is answering in a different way then you anticipated. Did you know His thoughts are different than ours? That is what it says in Isaiah 55:8.

God knows the future better than we do, so, we may have to wait a little longer. However, the answers will come and when they do, you'll know it.

Ed Unruh

Always There

Whenever a new year begins, every day is the same which contains 1440 minutes. In 2001 there was a tragedy and many lives were lost in New York City. In just a matter of a few minutes, the two World Trade Towers came crashing down.

When that happened, God was there. How do we know this for sure? Because, His Word, The Bible, tells us in the book of Hebrews 13:5 that God never leaves us. So, He had to be there every minute on the 11th of September.

Now it is time for us to get on with our lives. You will want to look ahead with renewed energy - and when you do, be sure you include God in your plans. You will find He is ALWAYS THERE, regardless of what happens.

Ed Unruh

Internet Safety Pledge for Middle and High School

1. I will talk with my parents or guardian about their expectations and ground rules for going online. The rules will include the time of day I may be online, the length of time I may be online, whom I may communicate with online, and appropriate areas for me to visit online.

2. I will keep my identity private. I will never share my full name, mailing address, phone number, name of my school, photo or other information that someone could use to determine my identity.

3. I will never respond to any online communication that makes me feel uncomfortable. I will tell a trusted adult if I come across any information that makes me feel scared, uncomfortable or confused. I will never respond to messages that are rude or offensive. I will show the message to a trusted adult right away.

4. I will never meet in person with anyone I have first "met" online without discussing it with my parents or guardian. I won't meet in person with anyone unless my parents or guardian agree to the meeting and will go with me, and the meeting will be in a public place.

5. I will respect other people's rights while online. The Internet is a community and my online behavior affects others. I will always treat others in the way I would like to be treated. I will respect copyright laws and check on sources. When writing reports I will make sure that the online sources of information are credible and I will cite my sources.

More information is available from 1-800-THE-LOST or NetSmartz.org.

Media Discernment Resources

from the

Home Series: The Family Room

Here’s some additional resources from Sunday’s sermon. Email me at the address below if you have additional resources or would like to continue the conversation.

Pastor Mark

Internet Filters

www.internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com

Music, TV, Movies and Game Reviews

www.pluggedinonline.com

Michael Medvid

www.battlecry.com

Accountability

www.xxxchurch.com

Internet Contracts

www.netsmartz.org

More choices and information:

http://www.fosi.org/

http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/internetsafety1/a/safety01.htm

http://antivirus.about.com/od/contentfiltering/Content_Filtering.htm

http://www.back2school2007.com/articles/success-at-school/school-and- 

the-internet-what-you-should-know.html?gclid=CNu8_Y_C9I4CFRDFhgodAQg-LA

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/guidelines/rules.mspx

http://www.imsafer.com/

http://mashable.com/2007/03/22/imsafer/

http://www.intego.com/contentbarrier/

http://dansguardian.org/?page=introduction

Books

http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/resources-books-internet-protect-your-kids.html

Philippians 4:8: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Pastor Mark

Neighborhood Christian Fellowship

markbarg@yahoo.com

Internet Pornography Statistics
Pornographic websites	4.2 million (12% of total websites)
Pornographic pages	420 million
Daily pornographic search engine requests	68 million (25% of total search engine requests)
Daily pornographic emails	2.5 billion (8% of total emails)
Internet users who view porn	42.7%
Received unwanted exposure to sexual material	34%
Average daily pornographic emails/user	4.5 per Internet user
Monthly Pornographic downloads (Peer-to-peer)	1.5 billion (35% of all downloads)
Daily Gnutella "child pornography" requests	116,000
Websites offering illegal child pornography	100,000
Sexual solicitations of youth made in chat rooms	89%
Youths who received sexual solicitation	1 in 7 (down from 2003 stat of 1 in 3)
Worldwide visitors to pornographic web sites	72 million visitors to pornography: Monthly
Internet Pornography Sales	$4.9 billion

Children Internet Pornography Statistics
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography	11 years old
Largest consumer of Internet pornography	35 - 49 age group
15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures	80%
8-16 year olds having viewed porn online	90% (most while doing homework)
7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address	29%
7-17 year olds who would freely give out email address	14%
Children's character names linked to thousands of porn links	26 (Including Pokemon and Action Man)

Adult Internet Pornography Statistics
Men admitting to accessing pornography at work	20%
US adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites	40 million
Promise Keeper men who viewed pornography in last week	53%
Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home	47%
Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction	10%
Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites	72% male - 28% female

Women and Pornography
Women keeping their cyber activities secret	70%
Women struggling with pornography addiction	17%
Ratio of women to men favoring chat rooms	2X
Percentage of visitors to adult websites who are women	1 in 3 visitors
Women accessing adult websites each month	9.4 million
Women admitting to accessing pornography at work	13%

Why Internet Filter Software?

The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time. As our families become increasingly intertwined with it, the more active role we must take to protect our loved ones from Internet pornography. Although nothing can take the place of a well-informed parent that takes an active part in their children's online activities, Internet filter software adds a strong, additional layer of defense-giving parents an added measure of control and further peace of mind.

Internet filter software gives you the ability to control content displayed, block websites and set up passwords. Powerful services like email filtering, popup blocking and chat room monitoring are just some of the tools available with today's Internet filter software-each designed to protect against and counteract the tactics of aggressive online porn companies.

With so many Internet filter software choices available, researching and choosing the Internet filter that's right for your family can be complex and time-consuming-that's where we can help.

Within this site, you'll find articles about Internet pornography, recent news stories, side-by-side comparisons and comprehensive reviews on Internet filter software that will help you make a fast, informed decision. At TopTenREVIEWS - We do the research so you don't have to.

What to look for in Internet Filter Software

Even though the perfect Internet Filter does not exist in today's marketplace, there are a number of great solutions depending on your family's needs. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate Internet filter software:

• Ease of Use – The most important attribute an Internet filter program can offer is an easy-to-use design, making it possible for people with all levels of computer experience to easily install and use the filter to its fullest capacity.

• Effective at filtering – Top Internet filter software offers a good balance between filtering objectionable material and not filtering too much content. Another important aspect is the ability to customize the filter's sensitivity for each family member.

• Filtering algorithm – The best filter programs use a combination of filtering techniques, including URL filtering, keyword filtering and dynamic filtering.

• Activity reporting – The most useful Internet filter software offer reports on what each family member has been doing on the computer, which includes websites visited, chat room activities and so on.

• Client-Server based – Good filtering programs offer a flexible platform which allows users to decide whether their optimal filtering solution is client (home computer) based, server (Proxy or ISP) based or a combination of both.

• Foreign language filtering – Effective Internet filter programs offer the capacity to filter keywords in multiple languages. One of the tricks that many teenagers have discovered to bypass Internet filters is to type in the foreign language equivalent of certain keywords.

• Port filtering and blocking – Filtering programs should block or filter all major Internet protocols, including web access, chat rooms, email, peer-to-peer networks, bulletin boards and popup windows

With Internet filter software and proper supervision, parents can keep their families safe and sound from the ever-present problem of online pornography.

To read our top-ranked Internet filter software review, click here.

Harvest Time

In farmlands across the nation, fruits and vegetables are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall of the year. The farmer looks forward with anticipation to the time when he can reap the harvest and obtain his profit.

The Harvest Time, is sometimes referred to as Thanksgiving and it is at this time that we thank God for His provisions.

Yes, it is God who has provided the rain and the sun that made the crops grow. So, give the God of HARVEST TIME all the glory He deserves.

Ed Unruh

Angel Power

In this generation, angels seem to play a large part in our daily lives. In entertainment, in books and art. In some cases there have been personal encounters with them.

In 30 A.D., we read in the Bible that there was a severe earthquake which preceded an angel descending from heaven. The angel rolled the stone away from the tomb where Jesus had been buried after His crucifixion. This allowed several witnesses to see that the tomb was empty.

Isn't it exciting how God is in control of the angelic hosts, then and now?

Ed Unruh

Advantage & Disadvantage

If you want to talk to the president of the United States, the disadvantage is that you will have to ask permission first. However if you want to talk to God, you do not have to ask permission.

God's Word, The Bible, tells us that God desires our fellowship with both Him and His Son Jesus Christ (I John 1:3). So why not take advantage of every opportunity you have and talk to Him.

Another advantage we can expect from God, is that He keeps His promises (Mt. 28:20) and He does answer (Jer. 33:3).

Finally, the main advantage is that He's with us and never leaves us (Mt. 28:20)

Ed Unruh