HC Family Conversation - Day 4

Here is a verse that is on my heart tonight,

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” (Ephesians 4:2–3, NLT)

Unity is never an accident. It requires purpose and very hard work. The more important an issue is, the harder we have to work to keep legitimate disagreement from resulting in disunity.

Disagreements are like sparks; our words are either like water or gasoline. Right words extinguish the fires of controversy; wrong words can cause explosions.

One measure of our spirituality is the way we disagree with others. Division is a sign of carnality (I Cor. 3:3) and God hates every person who sows it. (Proverbs 6:19)

You recognize a divisive person by the impact of their words and actions. Run away from them like they have the plague! (Romans 16:17) This can be hard if they are people you love, admire, or appreciate, but that verse is in the Bible for a reason.

Division is like an infection. It spreads through personal contact. We can pick up a spirit of division without even knowing it, just like we would some other germ.

When you receive this email, please pause for a moment and pray these words,

“Heavenly Father, Help me to walk in unity with my brothers and sisters at Hillcrest Church. Give me grace to listen as well as speak. Help me see things from other people’s point of view. Give me the courage to walk away from conversations that are divisive. Help me speak words that bring unity in the Spirit. Show us your will. Guide our decision. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

HC Family Conversation - Day 3

Emotions are squishy things, hard to wrap your thoughts around sometimes, yet very real and very powerful.

Confusion… Anger… Fear… Sadness… Joy… Faith… Love…

Feelings like these have shaped the flow of human history. Armies have marched, kingdoms have fallen, and continents have been explored all because of ideas...and because of feelings.

Important decisions sometimes provoke intense emotions. Those feelings are real and they are not wrong. As I have contemplated the prospect of selling our church campus over the past several weeks, I have often felt like I was riding an emotional roller coaster!

Through it all, here is what I have come to realize in a new way,

As people of the Spirit, God does not want us to deny our feelings. Neither does He want our lives to be governed by them. He calls us to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled so we can make decisions that are Spirit-led.

The Apostle Paul put it this way,

“…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ” (Romans 8:14, NIV)

When you receive this email, please pause for a moment and join me in praying these words,

“Heavenly Father, I thank you for the precious gift of your Holy Spirit. May He come and settle my heart by filling me today with His thoughts, His wisdom, His power, and His strength. Lead us your people as we make this decision. Help us to know your will. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever! Amen!”

HC Family Conversation - Day 2

Here is a verse that is on my heart today,

“If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm… ” (Psalm 37:23, NIV)

Here is the way it is rendered in a another translation,

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” (Psalm 37:23, NLT)

I recently noticed again how many verses in Scripture promise God will guide our steps. That gives me great comfort because when I think of steps I also think of decisions. God has promised to guide our steps so that means He has also promised to guide our decisions! If that is true for us individually, then it is also for us true corporately.

Let’s believe God together that He will guide our church through the decision we face. When you receive this email, please pause for a moment and join me in praying the following prayer:

“Lord, I thank you for promising to guide us through every moment of our lives. Please keep your hand upon us, your people, as we confront this vital decision regarding our church property. May your will be done so that your Kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.”

God has opened up a possibility for us to be debt-free...!

What Does Water Baptism Mean? (Family Day Sermon, September 5, 2010)

We are now streaming live video from our Sunday morning services

We have now started testing live streaming video from our Sunday 10:30am and Wednesday 7pm services. This is hosted by a free, ad-supported company so occasionally you will see some kind of ad pop up, some of which may not be totally in line with our values! To see a sample of what we are doing, please click on the image above. Today we made a change in the settings which seems to have greatly improved the video and audio quality. Please give us your feedback.

Hymn Lovers - It's Your Turn...!

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended a big city church. He came home, and his wife asked him how it was.

“Well,” said the farmer, “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”

“Praise choruses?” asked the wife. “What are those?”

“Oh, they’re OK. They’re sort of like hymns, only different,” said the farmer.

“Well, what’s the difference?” asked the wife.

The farmer said, “Well, it’s like this: If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you, ‘Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh Martha, Martha, Martha, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the cows, cows, cows are in the corn, are in the corn are in the corn, are in the corn, the corn, corn, corn’ – well, that would be a praise chorus.”

Meanwhile, a young Christian went to the country one weekend and attended a small rural church. He came home, and his wife asked him how it was.

“Well,” said the young man, “it was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs.”

“Hymns?” asked his wife. “What are those?”

“Oh, they’re OK. They’re sort of like regular songs, only different,” said the young man.

“Well what’s the difference?” asked his wife.

The young man said, “Well, it’s like this: If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn, well, that would be a regular song. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

‘O, Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God’s sun or His rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

‘Yea, those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.

‘So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn,
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.’

“Then, if I were to sing only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well, that would be a hymn.”

Author unknown.

(Courtesy of Moishe Rosen's blog at http://moisherosen.org/2009/09/08/hymn-lovers-its-your-turn)

City Plan Commission Denies Our Request for An SUP for Coram Deo Academy

I am sorry to report that this afternoon the Dallas City Plan Commission (CPC) denied "without prejudice" our application for the Special Use Permit (SUP) that we need in order to host the Coram Deo Academy Christian school (CDA) here at Hillcrest Church. This action was taken by the CPC in spite of the fact that the CPC staff had recommended our SUP be approved.

CDA is currently located a mere 600 yards or so up the street on Hillcrest Road on the premises of the Trinity Hillcrest Episcopal Church. CDA would like to move onto our facility in order to be able to grow from their current enrollment of approximately 90 students in grades K-6 to a maximum daily presence of 250 students in grades K-12. Their unique scholastic approach blends traditional classroom education with home-schooling, yielding outstanding results both academically and in the formation of the students' character. They have been a great neighbor and an asset to our community since they have been at Trinity Hillcrest and we would be thrilled to partner with them in the Christian education of children from our congregation and beyond.

Please pray that God would give us wisdom regarding any steps we should now take and that He would bless our neighbors and the members of the CPC.

Watch Real-Time Decisions for Christ from Around the World...!

My friend, Eric Celier, and his team over at Jesus.net have put together this real-time display of people who have just given their heart to the Lord Jesus somewhere around the world via one of their websites in various languages. If you have the free Google-Earth software installed, the second window below will display an even cooler 3-D version...!

Why Jews Hate Palin - Jennifer Rubin in Commentary magazine

Teresa and I have a special love and appreciation in our hearts for the Jewish people, but I found this article in Commentary magazine fascinating. It's entitled, "Why Jews Hate Palin." Author Jennifer Rubin details several ways in which Sarah Palin is the antithesis of much of what modern, secularized American Jewish women hold dear. Whatever one's views of Sarah Palin, Rubin's analysis is worth thinking about. I would love to hear your comments!

CLARIFICATION - How Sweet Is the Victory

A sweet friend just emailed me saying that she thinks that the words I have given are to a song that is already in circulation. I am SO thankful for that clarification...! Apparently, Dad heard them and wrote them down and was learning the song so he could sing it. Either way, it certainly expresses his heart and causes me to think that he sensed he was soon to go...

Celebrating the Life of Kenneth Brand

My Father, Rev. Kenneth F. Brand, went to be with the Lord last Monday afternoon. We are having the visitation this afternoon, Thursday, January 7th from 5-6pm and his funeral service tomorrow morning, Friday, January 8th at 11:00am in the auditorium of the first church he and Mom pastored, the Full Gospel Tabernacle at 1801 Guthrie Avenue in Paducah, Kentucky.

Dad will be interned on Saturday, January 9th in Edwardsville, Illinois. Due to the inclement weather and the size of the cemetary chapel, this ceremony will be private but our our family will host a reception for our friends in the greater Saint Louis area who would like to express their condolences to Mom immediately following from 2:30-4:30pm at Calvary Life Church at 4650 Maryville Road in Granite City, Illinois, thanks to the kindness of their Senior Pastor, Mark Maynard.

We request that in lieu of flowers consideration be given in his memory to the Hillcrest Church World Missions Fund, 12123 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, Texas 75230 for world outreach or directly to Mom for her ongoing care.

If you would like to stay in touch with Mom you can do so via the email address we have set for her at: VeraMaeBrand@gmail.com or by postal mail c/o Hillcrest Church, 12123 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, TX 75230.

Oh How Sweet Is The Victory

This afternoon, we have the visitation and tomorrow the funeral for my father, Rev. Kenneth F. Brand. He often wrote songs and always dated them when they were finished.

We found the following, handwritten words on his piano's music holder after he died. The paper was undated, which means it was still a work in progress. My brother, Jason, was in their home in the days leading up to Dad's heart attack, but he had never noticed the paper on the piano, even though it sits in a very prominent and visibile place in the living room. That makes us think that he had written it in the last day or so before he died. He was a very early riser and may even have penned the words early Christmas morning. Late that evening he was taken to the hopsital.

Unfortunately, we do not have any idea of the melody...

Oh How Sweet Is The Victory!

I.

Oh the storm has come and passed,

I can see the sunshine at last.

There's a rainbow appearing just for me,

Sure, I've suffered for a while,

But, He gave me a brand new smile,

And oh how sweet is the victory!

Chorus

Oh how sweet is the victory,
After the battle has been won,
Well, I've got the valley far behind,
Living on the mountain, walking in the sunshine,

Oh how sweet is the victory!

II.

Well the ole river was dark and wide,
But He was waiting on the other side,
Jesus has set me safely across the rolling tide.
There were many times I thought I'd drown,
But He was standing on solid ground,
And Oh how sweet is the victory!

(repeat chorus 2 times)

It's something...as I was just typing those words in on the computer, I had a melody come to mind that fits perfectly. It's as if I can hear him playing the piano and singing this song in my head...One thing's for sure, if he could speak to us now, this song expresses some of what I think he'd say.

"...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:57 NIV)

The Dusty Messiah

This...is what most compels us to follow the Man from Nazareth...We don't recognize him as Lord because he's the bearer of timeless, practical truths, or the beautiful lynchpin on which our complex theologies rest, or the mystical Divine who perplexes everyone but us. We call Jesus Lord because only the true God would stoop low enough to wander dusty Nazarene farms, eat broiled fish by the Sea of Galilee, and ascend the Temple Mount as one Jewish pilgrim among many—all to raise us up higher than the top of Mount Zion.

- Katelyn Beaty in "The Dusty Messiah."

On String Theory and Heaven - Dinesh D'Souza

In an interview over at Christianity Today's website, Dinesh D'Souza makes some very interesting statements about the connection between theoretical physics and the reality of life after death: Here's an excerpt:

The Christian view is that when we die, our souls are reunited to incorruptible, resurrected bodies, and that we live forever in another realm, heaven or hell. It's a pretty incredible assertion, because if the Christian view of the afterlife is viable, there must be other matter and other realms.

If we lived 200 years ago in Newton's time, all of this would seem impossible because space and time stretch indefinitely backward and forward, so what it meant to be outside of time was very hard to articulate. Also, it was hard to posit any other kind of matter.

But revolutionary discoveries in the past 25 years suggest that there is dark matter and dark energy that make up 95 percent of all the matter in the universe. All materialist generalizations about matter are immediately rendered partial, because how can you claim to know something if you've seen only 5 percent of it?

...Scientists now posit through string theory the presence of multiple realms, multiple dimensions. One of the implications of the big bang is that space and time had a beginning, and that space and time are properties of our universe. If that's true, then outside our universe or beyond our universe, there would be different laws of space and time, or no space and no time.

His words bring to mind what I often heard my Dad say when I was a teenager, "Son, true science and the Bible always walk hand in hand."

CBN Videos About Oral Roberts

Summary of his life and ministry:



2009 Interview with Scott Ross concerning how to hear the voice of God:



Life and Legacy of Oral Roberts, including 2002 interview with Michael Little:



Part II of Michael Little's 2002 interview:

Hope - Gay Thurman

While taping a "Word and Spirit" telecast today, my special guest, Gay Thurman, said, "Hope is like a beautifully wrapped package under the tree. I have not opened it yet, but because I know who it is from, I know it will be something good." 

Her statement reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:5, "...and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us..."

God is moving in Iran...!

This past Thursday, I was privileged to host Sam Yeghnazar from Elam Ministries on the Word and Spirit telecast. Elam is dedicated to sharing the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Iranian people.

Click on the window below to hear Sam share several powerful testimonies from Iran.

Richard Hilton - 25th Hillcrest Anniversary Communion Testimony

We recently celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Hillcrest Church. During that special service, we played the following videotaped testimony of how God used communion to redeem our church property. Richard Hilton, one of our charter members who is very involved in our prayer ministry tells the story...

There Is Hope For Prodigals

Raised in a Christian family with the most famous preacher of the 20th Century as his grandfather, Tullian Tchividjian ran from God as a young man. His lifestyle caused such serious problems in his family that his father actually had the police remove him from the family home at the age of nineteen and tell him he was on his own. A couple of years later, he came to know Jesus personally, enrolled in seminary, and succeeded Dr. James Kennedy as the Senior Pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in south Florida.

Click on the image below to watch a short video version of his testimony as shown on the 700 Club. To watch Tullian and his wife's recent interview with James Robinson on Life Today click here.

Former Palestinian Terrorist Encounters Jesus and Begins Loving Jews

Former Palestinian terrorist Tass Saada encountered Jesus and began loving Jews. Here is a clip of his testimony on CBN.