The Joy of Grammar

Before we get back into the thick of things with classes, I thought you all might enjoy reading one of my TBI assignments made into a story on creating different types of propositions in order to better understand an author's thought process. In parenthesis are the different types of propositions (disregard if not understood). It's not all fun and games around here........but it is sometimes......Enjoy!


________________________
Timmy jumped out of bed because his duck alarm was quacking. (GROUND)
He went into the bathroom in order that he might take his morning bubble bath and in order that he might thoroughly cleanse himself. (ACTION-PURPOSE)
Timmy finished his bath in record time to the end that he still had time to play G-I-JOE. (ACTION-RESULT)
Wherever Timmy went that day, he remembered his super fun bubble bath. (LOCATIVE)
"Baths are delightfully enjoyable," thought Billy, "therefore, I'll tell everyone they should take one." (INFERENCE)
Billy's excitement for baths was spread all over school, and the whole school caught the passion he was spreading. (SITUATION-RESPONSE)
Little girls giggled with glee, and boys beautifully behaved, and teachers taught with tears, and the principal pleaded for patience, until he could get home to take one. (SERIES)
Yet Timmy asked, "Should a passion be spread for what cannot satisfy?" May it never be! (QUESTION-ANSWER)
Timmy decided to clarify this passion, that is He thought about its content and considered its purpose. (IDEA-EXPLANATION)
Timmy resolved to refine his passion, in that he began to believe that bubbles and G-I-JOE where gifts of the most-happy and all-powerful God. (ACTION-MANNER)
The next day at school Timmy's refined passion was embraced by some, while others thought it too good to be true. (ALTERNATIVE)
"Do not hate your own joy, but love the One who is its Source," Billy begged. (NEGATIVE-POSITIVE)
"As baths make the skin soft, so the grace of God is to soften the heart toward God," he preached. (COMPARISON)
When you take baths, you should sing praise to Jesus with a softened heart," Billy explained. (TEMPORAL)
There is temporal joy in taking baths, yet there is eternal joy in realizing why we take baths. (CONCESSIVE)
If you embrace Jesus as your Maker and Treasure, then God will show you what a clean heart looks like. (CONDITIONAL)
Let the school be glad and sing for joy, for our common washing is our joy and Your glory; let all the kids and teachers praise You, Jesus! (BILATERAL)

Why is SINCERITY of upmost importance in ministry?

Please allow me to let Thomas Watson and Richard Baxter, two 17th century Puritan pastors, answer this question:

Thomas Watson (exerpt from The Godly Man's Picture, p. 97-102)
"The godly man (of sincerity) is what he seems to be... A hypocrite is not what he seems. A godly man answers to his profession as the transcript to the original... The hypcrite thinks of nothing but self-interest, the sails of his mill move only when the wind of promotion blows....The only way to be safe is to be sincere...Sincerity is what the devil attacks most. Satan's spite was not so much at Job's estate, as his integrity; he would have wrested the shield of sincerity from him, but Job held that fast (Job 27:6). The thief does not fight for an empty purse, but for money. The devil would have robbed Job of the jewel of a good conscience, and then he would have been poor Job indeed. Satan does not oppose profession, but sincerity. Let men go to church and make glorious pretences of holiness. Satan does not oppose this; this does him no hurt and them no good; but if men want to be sincerely pious, then Satan musters up all his forces against them. Now what the devil most assaults, we must strive most to maintain. Sincerity is our fort royal, where our chief treasure lies. This fort is most shot at, therefore let us be more careful to preserve it. While a man keeps his castle, his castle will keep him. While we keep sincerity, sincerity will keep us.

Sincerity is the beauty of a Christian. Wherein does the beauty of a diamond lie, but in this, that it is a true diamond? If it is counterfeit, it is worth nothing. So wherein does the beauty of a Christian lie, but in this, that he has truth in the inward parts (Ps. 51:6)?...The hypocrite is an impudent sinner. He knows his heart is false, yet he goes on. All the plagues and curses written in the Book of God are the hypocrite's portion, hell is his place of rendezvous (Matt. 24:51). Hypocrites are the chief guests the devil expects and he will make them as welcome as fire and brimstone can make them."

Richard Baxter (exerpt from The Reformed Pastor, p. 61-72)
"Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives, what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors... He that means as he speaks, will surely do as he speaks. One proud, surly, lordly word, one needless contention, one covetous action, may cut the throat of many a sermon, and blast the fruit of all that you have been doing....It is a palpable error of some ministers, who make such a disproportion between their preaching and their living; who study hard to preach exactly, and study little or not at all to live exactly. All the week long is little enough, to study how to speak two hours; and yet one hour seems too much to study how to live all the week....A practical doctrine must be practically preached. We must study as hard how to live well, as how to preach well....Take heed to yourselves, lest you live in those sins which you preach against in others, and lest you be guilty of that which daily you condemn....O sirs, how many men have preached Christ, and yet have perished for want of a saving interest in him! How many, who are now in hell, have told their people of the torments of hell, and warned them to escape from it!"

What a year!

Brothers and Sisters,
An update for sure is way overdue as to what's going on up here in the frozen twin cities. Well to begin, it's really cold and really frozen! But it's actually supposed to get above freezing tomorrow.......can you believe it?!!!

In my first semester here in TBI the Lord has taught me many wonderful things including:
*How true Christian liberty is to express itself
*Why the freedom and love of God are at the heart of the gospel
*Why the soverignty of God is such a gift to the church
*Why sincerity is of upmost importance in ministry and Christian living
*Why biblical gender roles must necessarily be clearly defined and delighted in
*Why faith in the grace of God is always future-oriented, though strengthened by the past
*What it means to be truly compassionate and "for" people's joy
*How and why God's glory and man's joy are maximized in unison
*That my quickness to speak stems from pride, discontentment and the fear of man
*That my view of God determines my view of myself
*That the presence of God is the secret to faithfulness and perseverance in ministry
*That God reveals certain specific sins of ours to others in the body of Christ in order to humble us and to encourage us to welcome correction and help from others
*Why everyone is not encouraged by the same things
*That my concern need not be on how the message was presented, but how it was received

These are the ones that popped into my head, and I would love to talk about them with you next time we talk. I also wanted to include some pictures from the fall and Christmas so that you can put faces with some of my dearest friends and family members. In the new year may the Lord provide overwhelming opportunities to bless His name and to grow in the knowledge of Him and in love for Him!
Blessings, jason
__________________________________________________________________








My mentor, David Livingston, my accountability partner and TBI brother, Johnathon Bowers.
















My TBI Dean and friend, Tom Steller










My friend Tyler and I after a few late nights of studying













I think my brain is about to explode from all this studying














My family away from home, my small group














The 2007 Calcote Family Christmas photo














My brother Bernie, a.k.a. Da Sklew,
and sister Wendy, a.k.a. Weiner















My nephew, Hayden Evans, a.k.a. "The Little Naked", who here is neither little anymore nor naked