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The views represented on this blog are not necessarily those of Higher Things, nor does Higher Things necessarily endorse them.
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Posted At: 8:40pm by Bloghardt
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If you haven't visited the Higher Things Forums lately, you don't know what you are missing!
We have online forums for Lutheran youth. Discussions take place on everything from "Is Harry Potter ok to read?" to "What exactly is angel-morphic Christology?" There are even forums for Lutheran College students.
Have a theological question? You can ask them on the Forums! Got something just nutty to say? Talk about it on the Forums! Why not check them out right now?
Oh ... and vote Borghardt in the "Cage Match!"
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Posted At: 4:30am by Sandra Ostapowich
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Over the past year, Higher Things has provided Reflections for personal,
family, small group, and congregational devotions.
Starting with a printable booklet of daily Reflections for the upcoming
2005-06 Advent and Christmas seasons, Higher Things will be providing daily
Reflections for the entire year
(1-year Lectionary). Each season's
Reflections will be available to download in
a printable booklet format about four weeks before the start of the next
season. Throughout the actual
season, Reflections will continue to be posted daily on the website and
distributed via email. Reflections
are available free of charge, a gift from Higher Things to you.
If you'd like support all that we do at HT with a donation, you may do
so at our website at http://higherthings.org/html/support.html
or by mailing a check to: Higher
Things,
P.O. Box 82
,
Hamel
,
MN
55340
. Copies may be made of the
Reflections booklets, we only ask that they be reprinted in their entirety
without alteration.
DOWNLOAD ADVENT/CHRISTMAS
BOOKLET
Have a blessed Advent and Christmas!
Sandra Ostapowich
Higher Things, Secretary and Internet Services Team
Edited on: November 02nd, 2005 4:33 am
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Posted At: 11:28pm by Stan Lemon
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In remembrance of the Festival of the Reformation, Higher Things Internet Services is proud to gift you with a Higher Things Reformation. After three years our web site is getting a face lift.
For the past two months Higher Things Internet Services, led by the Rev. George Borghardt III has been working on a number of changes to the Higher Things web site. Our new look is a new approach to the web for HT, and from here it only gets bigger and better. HT Internet Services has been working extremely hard to give you a sharp new look for the web, and thanks to the talented and impressive design efforts of Mrs. Sandra Ostapowich we are pleased to present you with a gift, the new Higher Things web site, or as we call it, a Higher Things Reformation.
So without further adieu, here it is. All it's glory and gift, for you. Pax Christi!
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Posted At: 2:16am by Bloghardt
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Would your pastor do THIS to help your group get to "The Feast?"
Registration opens November 15! Start planning today!
Edited on: October 27th, 2005 2:20 am
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Posted At: 9:56pm by Rev. Todd Peperkorn
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Serenity: Good ole'Sci-Fi with a New Twist
I just saw Serenity last night. This movie is kind of the culmination of a minor sci-fi cult following in a series called Firefly. There are fan clubs, forums, more geekiness than you can imagine, unless you have ever been to a Dr. Who convention (been there; done that). So what makes a movie like this tick? Do you have to be a part of the in-group in order to watch the movie?
No. that was one of the things I really enjoyed about the movie. I hadn't seen any of the TV series before seeing the movie last night, but it didn't matter. It was well written, with a good balance of dialogue and action. AND there wasn't a lot of insider stuff that sci-fi flicks are often known for. It is a good action adventure that most anyone should be able to pick up on, strap in and enjoy.
So let's apply the Clint Eastwood rule to Serenity and see how we do:
The Good
The action was good. It moved well. As a techno-nerd, I enjoyed the ships and guns, and just enough fight scenes to really keep my interest and keep things movie. In the same way, there is a level of depth to the characters that goes beyond your typical Steven Segal or Alien vs. Predator type movie.
The Bad
There wasn't any really offensive language that I remembered, which is unusual and very good. Probably the most offensive part to the movie was the positive portrayel of the "companion" character named Inara Serra. A companion is a prostitute. My problem with the character is that prostitution is really held up as a noble and honorable profession, because it "services" the natural urges of humanity. Ugh.
The Ugly (that is, the parts that really make the movie tick for the Christian)
Probably the two parts to the movie that I enjoyed the most were first of all the positive portrayal of a (presumably) Christian pastor known as Shepherd. He is a fairly minor character, but he is depicted as having a firm sense of right and wrong, of self-sacrifice, and as providing a kind of moral compass in the midst of dark times. Obviously Shepherd is no Lutheran, but that is a twist in a sci-fi flick to me. He is also martyred, which is a nice touch.
The second really enjoyable part is watching Captain Mal Reynolds. Reynolds struggles with whether his vocation as the captain of his ship is to take care of his crew and pasengers, to himself, or to larger needs of humanity (I don't want to say more without giving up the plot).
The bottom line is that it is a good flick, it moves well, and that it would give some good opportunities to talk about vocation and sacrifice.
I give it an 8 of 10.
Enjoy!
Pr. Todd Peperkorn
Pastor
Sci-Feek Geek
New Firefly Fan
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Posted At: 2:55pm by Bloghardt
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We've been trying new things on the HT webpage. In fact, we want you to have something new every time you visit!
So, we're going to take our own stab at reviewing movies. Always ready to poke fun at ourselves, we'll call this column "Higher Movies." (smile). If you'd like to submit a review for our weekly movie review, you can submit it to me.
This review is provided to you by our our resident Batman expert, Pastor Petersen.
"Fan Boy Bliss"
Batman Begins began last night. I couldn't wait for the weekend. Jacqui and I went. I read Batman comic books ever month and have for years. Being more than a casual fan I expected to be disappointed despite the good reviews. But I loved it, loved it, loved it. It may be the best comic book turned to movie ever. Jacqui even liked it.
What was good? For the fanboys: great casting, great origin story, great use of the Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow, great use of Lucius Fox and explanation of how Batman gets his gadgets, very low level love interest/story (thanks for that! I hate it when these get sappy.) and lots of great effects. The ultimate fanboy kick? The best, absolute best, batmobile ever and the best entrance to the batcave.
Only two minor disappointments: no pearls on the street in a pool of light after the Wayne's are killed. That is a classic comic panel and they could have paid homage there. At that point in the movie I thought they would and was bummed when they didn't. That would have been a very nice touch visually just to let us fanboys know they were paying attention. They also failed to show Batman as much of a detective/scientist. I know there are a lot of different Batmans in the books, but I've always been prone to the thinking batman.
For the non-fanboys? It is a good action flick. There is plenty of dialog, plot and character development, to supplement the “ooh-ahh” effects. It is just a good story. There is nothing deep here: just fun. I highly recommend it.
Rev. David Petersen is pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, IN, and a member of the Higher Things Editorial Board. This review was taken with permission from his blog, CyberStones.
What do you think? Tell us on the Higher Things Forums.
Edited on: October 22nd, 2005 4:44 pm
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Posted At: 1:22am by Bloghardt
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One of the cool things that we'll be adding to the Higher Things website is media! We'll be achieving your favorite HT authors on Issues, Etc., in sermons, and podcasting our Daily Reflections.
We are going to give you a little preview of our Media Section with a little taste of the Fall 2005 Edition of Higher Things and some lagniappe from Pastor Cwirla.
Check out HT Media now!
Edited on: October 19th, 2005 3:46 pm
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