I ran across a few great links this weekend. I think it has been a few months since I've found some internet sites besides my friend's blogs that I actually thought were useful.
The first really has me geeked. This site, the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, has hundreds of the classic writings of Christianity on it, many of which I have been wanting to read. Some of them you can download for your Palm Pilot. Now I can save some money and stare at computer screens for extremely long periods of time.
Have I ever mentioned my aversion to Palm Pilots? I lost my $30 day planner enough. Imagine if I had a smaller one. And it seems like it takes longer to actually plan something on a Palm Pilot than it does in a day planner. What if I want to view a whole month at a time? I just don't see how a Palm Pilot could actually make me more efficient. Now, I would be able to play games and read Christian Classics if I carried it around with me. Maybe that is the whole appeal. Here is something that makes it look like you are doing business and being professional. When in actuality, you are actually just wasting time in the lobby of the doctor's office.
***
Another great website, The Movie Spoiler, came in handy when preparing my Sunday School lesson this week. As many of you have probably heard, National Treasure was the top-grossing movie the previous two Sundays and was again this weekend.
I was writing a lesson on 1 Timothy 4:4-16. One verse in the section dealt with something I felt National Treasure dealt with from seeing the commercials. Verse 7 reads, "Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives' tales. Train yourself in godliness."
Many times we turn Christianity into a mysterious treasure hunt similar to the gnostics of ages past. One in which you have to discover one mystery after another in order to truly know God. I wanted to teach the teens that this isn't the case. What it takes to be a Christian is actually pretty simple. What it takes to grow as a Christian is even simpler. It just takes denying oneself and allowing God to change us so that we can be an example on the things that Paul told Timothy to be an example in.
Anyway, this brought me to National Treasure. By using themoviespoiler.com I could tell if the movie had the point I could use to express what I was teaching in a more memorable way by using the movie as an illustration. I think I will use this handy dandy tool more frequently in sermon and lesson writing in the future.
The only problem appears to be that it takes the joy out of the movie watching. However, I don't watch movies all that frequently any more, so I would much rather have the information than the joy. It will also prove handy in my job. People are always asking me about movies, especially comic book and fantasy related. Now I can have somewhat intelligent conversations with them without spending my time and money watching many movies that I wouldn't enjoy in the first place.
They also have a companion site, The Book Spoiler. I think I'll read the DaVinci Code spoiler some time this week. The Book Spoiler would also be a great tool for pastors and dishonest college students.
***
And a great thought to leave you with from John Wesley's A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.
"Simplicity of intention, and purity of affection, one design in all we speak or do, and one desire ruling all our tempers, are indeed 'the wings of the soul,' without which she can never ascend to the mount of God."
Watch out for the potholes.
