New lesson posted

I've just posted a second lesson from 1st Corinthians. It could be helpful to use in a personal quiet time.

Finals Begone!

Well, I've survived my first semester in seminary. I took my fifth and last final exam this morning, and I'm glad to be done. I may have gotten all A's, depending upon how well a couple professors liked my papers. To celebrate we had a 7-player Halo 2 deathmatch in our living room this afternoon. Nice! Next on the calendar: 6 weeks of death-by-Greek.

No more classes

Yesterday was the last day of classes! The only thing left is final exams; I took one early yesterday, and the other 4 are next week. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed my first semester of seminary. There is so much to learn, and most professors are really good at forcing me to re-examine God's Word to determine what I really believe (absolute truth cannot be determined experientially). Most of what I believed has been reaffirmed by my studies, but some viewpoints have been altered. There have also been a number of issues I just never considered before (e.g., what does it say if a seminary student preparing for the pastorate decides to accept welfare?). Next on the menu after finals: death-by-Greek! I'm taking 6 weeks of Biblical Greek (the original language of the New Testament) during summer school. Can you say "firehose?"

StudyMatch

A lot of the tests here at Seminary are short answer tests. One common way to study is to buy a pile of index cards, write the question on one side and the answer on the other, and then flip through them repeatedly until you learn them. Being the fiscally conservative (read: cheap) kind of guy that I am, I decided to write a piece of software that does this for me. For those who don't know, I used to write a fair amount of software while working at my previous employer, The MITRE Corporation. I wasn't a great programmer, but I was good enough to write this.

"StudyMatch is a simple application that mimics flash cards, where the question is on one side and the answer is on the other. It supposed to help you study for tests and quizzes, and it lends itself best to matching, true/false, short answer, and short list types of questions."

Download StudyMatch from my new software page.

Read the readme file; it will explain everything. If you have suggestions for improvements, please let me know: james @ garriss.org

Emmy's Birthday

Emmy turned four last weekend; my how time flies. We had a small party at a nearby park with some of her friends. Below she's opening some new accessories for her favorite bear, Peggy.

Dr. Al Mohler's Radio Program

I've recently discovered Al Mohler's radio program. Dr. Mohler is the president of Southern Seminary, as well as a theologian and cultural commentator. The program is billed as "your place for intelligent Christian conversation about the issues that matter." He makes some comments on current news, then tackles a current cultural issue from a Biblical point of view. You can listen online or download the program as a free MP3.

His website
His radio program

1 Corinthians Study Guide

I've started a study in 1st Corinthians. As I've studied, I've prepared a study guide with reading and questions (and even answers). If you're looking for something to help you study and learn God's Word, feel free to use it. I'll post a new guide every other week or so. Look for the link under the "Bible" section or click here.

Across the River

I wonder how many parents find themselves across the river from their children.

"This mother expressed it well when she said, 'It is as if we are standing on opposite sides of a river from them, and are looking across and desperately longing to be together'...Parents and children share a house, but live separate lives with separate activities, separate entertainment, separate work, and separate goals. Parents confine their children, constrain their children, and control their children, but fail to fellowship with them."

If you want to know how to fellowship with your children, read this excellent article (particularly the first half) from Michael Pearl.

Living Parallel Lives in the Same Space

Boring Church?

Is attending the worship service of your church boring? Perhaps your church isn't the problem; perhaps your worship of God is. Read Drawing Near to God, an article by John MacArthur on worship.

Adoniram Judson

Adoniram was the first US overseas missionary. I just finished reading his biography, To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson. The book is a wonderful read, tracing his story from his father (a pastor) through to his death in Burma. For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, Adoniram's story forces us answer a question: what am I willing to give up to tell someone else about Jesus Christ? Adoniram's first and second wives and several of his children died on the mission field, yet he never quit the work God called him to. That is the stuff true believers in Jesus are made of. I highly recommend this book.

To the Golden Shore (CBD)