Mike Henderson

Thankful for Companionship

While there is always much to be thankful for I wanted to focus on just one thing: companionship.

First of all, being a Christ follower brings a companionship that is hard to always quantify.  Jesus is always there and you can pray constantly throughout the day.  He provides strength, grace, and wisdom as we go through life.

Another companionship that I am thankful for is my parents and family.  With Carol out of town until Wednesday night, I took the kids, Heather, Adam, Savannah, and Gabe (Rachel is at college) over to my parents for dinner.  My parents are in town just of the holidays, but my mom had us over for dinner and we had a great time.

But at the top is Carol.  After 26 years of marriage companionship is huge.  LIfe is certainly different when she is gone which is not much.  However, she has made two trips to Philadelphia to accompany her sister who is undergoing cancer treatments.  So she has been gone about 10 days over the last two weeks.

Needless to say life would not be good if one of us traveled for a living.  Now we love to travel...together!  In fact we are getting ready to go away for a week.  Many ask "Where are you going?"

To me the destination is not that important.  The big deal is that we are together.  In fact, we are going places we have already been to.  It does not matter.  Companionship is the key.

So this thanksgiving season I am so thankful for companionship.

Who's Got Your Back?

Recently I put Keith Farrazzi's book "Who's Got Your Back" on my iphone. Also he has done a webcast on a similar topic.  At any rate everyone needs people who have their back, big time.  That's the thrust of the book.

Sometimes you think someone has your back only to find out later the person did not.  Not good.

Reminds me of a story about a bird flying south at winter.  Before he got very far his wings froze up and he fell into a barnyard.  Along came a huge (huge to the bird) cow and placed a plop of manure right on him. Next thing the bird knows his wings are thawing out due to the warm plop of manure.

The cow was not his enemy after all.  The bird would soon be free.  But as he was making his way out of the warm manure along came a cat.  The cat helped him get out.  But....(you know it does not end well for the bird).

We'll the bird thought the cow was his enemy, but the cow was a 'friend' who actually helped him.

The cat, who the bird thought was helping him, actually was the one who did not have his back.  

The point is, not everyone who says they have your back does.  But you do need people who have your back, big time, through the tough stuff, through the trials of life, and also to enjoy the good times with you.

Who's got your back?

Part 4 Coming

This Sunday will be the final part to our series "What in the World is Going On."  The study of end time events is fascinating and loaded with tons of material.

As I wrapped up the series today I once again realized all the books and files I have collected on the subject of prophecy.

One of the things I struggle with is what to keep and what to toss.  But when you get into a complex subject like end times you have to deal with things like Islam, the economy, the world economy, Middle East events, Israel, the trends of religion, nuclear weapons, trends in the government of Europe, etc.

On top of that there is no shortage of material on the biblical texts especially in Daniel and Revelation.

The time studying has been so fun and rewarding I would like to perhaps do a 10-part series in 2011.

This week's message will deal with Armageddon and the Coming of Jesus Christ!  Quite the climax to a great series at New Hope.

Gauntanamo and Football

With all the talk surrounding Guantanamo Bay and the prisoners there one thing has been left out. Recently I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio.

Here's what he had to say.  In discussing the recruiting of high school football he commented how it was harder today to recruit players to Notre Dame.  Now Notre Dame you would think would be easy to get someone to come to. 

And it used to be.  There was a time when Notre Dame got a lot of TV time, so by going there you knew you could play on national TV.  That's what some guys want, TV time.

Fast Forward to today.  Everyone is on TV.  All the big programs in the South are on a lot.  And the weather is warmer.  Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the weather in South Bend is not a reason for living there.  Plus in the south you have good looking girls wearing less clothes year round. But that goes beyond this discussion and does not apply to the prisoners I want to talk about.

So why go play at Notre Dame.  It's not the same as it once was and the weather is less than desirable.

Now let's bring that into the current discussion of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.  Here's the reasons listed.

1.  Political.  Everything is political and I don't care to discuss that viewpoint.  Everyone has an opinion.

2.  Money and jobs.  If the prisoners are brought to a nearly empty prison a couple hours west of Chicago it will create a couple thousand jobs and bring in lots of tax revenue.

3.  Reputation.  This is debatable, but basically Guantanamo Bay has not gotten much good press lately, rightly or wrongly.  So many want to just put it behind us and move on.

4.  Better for the prisoners.  After all, they have been mistreated greatly at Guantanamo, or at least that's the story line.  True or not is not the point.

Here's where I am going.  Prison is prison.  Now if you had to chose where to spend the rest of your life, or at least several years of it, which would you chose? 

Choice #1-Two hours west of Chicago; lots of wind, cold temperatures, snow, not much sunshine, etc. You get the picture.

Choice #2-Cuba; year around temperatures in the 80's (and most of these guys are from warm weather climates).

If the prisoners move to the west side of Chicago I wander how they will feel?  They may think we have decided to torture them for life!

This Week

Carol left town Sunday to go with her sister to Philadelphia.  Her sister has cancer and they are at a cancer treatment center for the week.

That means I am operating at about 35%.  If you understand synergy you get why I did not say 50%. 

Monday night dinner was successful.  I barbecued some chicken and combined that with rice, broccoli, and mashed potatoes.  Don't feel sorry for me.  We all like peanut butter and jelly!

The upside is time flies so, Carol will be home before I know it. 

Gabe and I are planning to get 9 holes of golf in either Wednesday or Friday afternoon.

It's Tuesday so there are 4 days to go.  Glad time goes by quickly at times like this.  When Carol and I celebrate 26 years in a few days I want time to go by slowly.

Sunday Reflections

Sundays are always too short.  I think one thing I like about setting up and tearing down is that it lengthens the time at New Hope and being around others.

Coming early and hanging around afterwards gives us time to talk about life, catch up, and even get into some football talk.

Speaking on the End Times is always challenging and fun.  I love the subject, but it is more teaching than applying the Scriptures.  My passion is to have people wanting to come every week, engage with the Word of God, and then use that information for life change and life enhancement.

Because prophecy contains so many details it can seem daunting.  But all biblical truth is not grasped overnight.  Yes, salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ can be digested in a matter of moments. However, even that subject is like a swimming pool.  There is always deeper waters to explore.

This Sunday I will be wrapping up the series "What in the World is Going On" and tackling the subject of Armageddon.  Should be fun.

The End is Near...?

This coming Sunday I will be talking about one of the most popular topics of all time: Antichrist.  That word has been tossed around for ages.  Countless people have been identified as the Antichrist.

So hopefully I can answer some of the questions out there. Trust me, there have been a lot of fanciful ideas floated.  Even Ronald Reagan was identified by some as Antichrist.  Find out why this Sunday.

Also with the recent shooting at Fort Hood being labeled terrorism by this week's Time Magazine, due to the soldier's ties to Islam and Al'Qaeda.  His motivations seem to be very clear.  How does terrorism play out in the end times?  We will be looking at topic because it is in the Bible.

With Israel in the Land, nuclear weapons on the rise, radical Islam, and oil all in the news everyday thoughts of the END must certainly cross the mind.

This 4-part series has addressed all this and more and we seek to better understand what the Bible has to say about end time events.

Just two weeks left. If you miss a week go to New Hope and watch online, but getting the message live is a much better experience.

Critics

Over the past couple of months much has been written about and posted on the web on the topic of criticism.

One post was written by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers.

Another post was put up by Jason Curlee.  

Both posts are excellent so no need to duplicate what they so well said.

However, I did want to add some things that I have observed also.

One is that most critics are hurt-full.  That is they are full of hurt, so they retaliate.  For instance, if you have a bad day at work what do you do?  You come home and kick the dog, if you have one.  The point is you are full of hurt from work and are taking it out on someone else.

Another observation has been critics tend to be care-less.  They really don't care.  They just want to vent. They are not interested in seeing a solution, they simply want to chime in.

Finally, they tend to be cantankerous.  Rather than be kind they fall on the side of anger and mean-spiritedness.

At the end of the day most critics probably are clueless.  They have no idea how they are coming across. And they are unaware of all the necessary information that is needed to offer helpful criticism.  Of course lack of that information never stopped a critic.  One quick example.  I was watching the Giant-Charger football game and was critical of the Giant coaching at the end of the game.  Then on ESPN radio I heard former great Viking Chris Carter break it down in a way I had not thought.  Without going into details I realized that I needed to soften my criticism.  Lesson learned.

So why all the writing on critics?  I guess no one is immune.  Whether you are a team leader at work, a manager, a boss, a CEO, or owner you will be receiving criticism on a regular basis, and you must understand criticism and know how to handle it.

Sunday Reflections

Excited every week to experience another Sunday at New Hope.  The current series, "What in the World is Going On?" has been fun and rewarding to study for and preach.

Attendance has been very good and I am hoping we finish out the year strong despite the flu and traveling during this time of year.  

John hit it out of the park leading worship this morning.  His talent and heart came out today.

We have one more week to collect shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Dozens of kids around the globe will receive a box from New Hope and have a great Christmas.

Several new attenders attended our class for newcomers, which gives them a chance to hear about the vision, values, and mission of New Hope and the role they can play.  

Today we had several guests and new people volunteer to serve. That's huge because volunteers carry the bulk of the load.

And just think, we get to meet again in just seven more days.  Next week's message will be "Antichrist is Coming!"  

Next Sunday's topic certainly provides us all with a great opportunity to invite.  Most of us know formerly churched people who would be highly interested in prophetic topics.

As we enter this week let's ask God for opportunities to invite.

Operation Christmas Child

We are partnering with Operation Christmas Child right now to provide Christmas for children across the globe who might not otherwise have a Christmas.

Very simply, we are collecting shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies, and personal hygiene items.  You can fill a regular shoe box or a plastic reusable container.

Each box is to be filled with a boy or a girl in mind in the age groups 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.  If you are unable to get a box filled you can bring a bag of items this week and we will pack them for you.

This Sunday bring your boxes to New Hope and let's provide a great Christmas for some less fortunate children.