Theolexica

I use AI a lot. It’s hard to state how important AI is. It’s probably as important as the personal computer for general productivity. We’re currently living in Estonia, which is a western country with 95% English coverage. We can get by really easily. But there are always things that trip us up. Things that we just don’t know and that is second nature to everyone else. Being able to take a picture of something in the grocery store and get knowledge about what it is, how to cook it, and what would be similar in the US is a huge time saver. Something that would take 15 min with Google Translate and some searching around is done in 15 seconds. ...

Just heard about the Meggido Mosaic on “5 Minutes in Church History” Would make a great premise for a lecture on early church history. Pair with the excerp by Justin Martyr on an early church service. Lots of jumping off points and a good visual.

Memorizing the Bible is a key spiritual discipline. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee,” is a passage that I have memorized from childhood. Memorizing and meditating on the word of God is commended in the Bible and important for our well being. Tips: Set aside a fixed time and place to memorize. When reciting, your aim is to be able to say the verse as smoothly and as accurately as if you were reading it off of a page to a group of people. If you have to hem and haw or pause for a long time and think, then it’s not solid enough in your brain. Keep reciting and practicing. For reviewing, take 30-60 seconds here and there without diverting from regular life, and insert recitation into the short passive moments, like in the bathroom, driving, etc. Put a screenshot of the verse on your phone lock screen. Try the Bible Memory App Journal on the passage you are memorizing. My personal process: Initial memorization with verse memorizor tool I made. Add to anki Review in anki. Family process: When we memorize with kids, it is all oral since half our kids can’t read yet. ...

How to Play: Minecraft: Heroes of the Village Game Objective Work together to defend the village from advancing Illagers by exploring the world, gathering blocks, fighting mobs, and constructing three buildings before the Illagers reach the village. Setup Instructions Game Components Wooden Blocks: 25 blocks (6 wood, 6 sand, 6 stone, 3 redstone, 4 darkness) World Tiles: 32 tiles (18 world tiles, player, pet, starting, and “Illagers Path” tiles) Mob Tokens: 12 tokens used when fighting mobs Dice: One black Fight die and one white Illagers die Cards: 16 cards (4 inventory cards, 6 player character cards, 6 special ability cards) Color Bases: 4 for players, plus building and Illagers bases Pouch: For drawing blocks Setup Steps Choose your player and pet tiles. (Two sets. Make sure the set that goes in the base and the set that attaches to the crafting board match.) Wolf: When fighting mobs, add +1 to the roll. Cat: When collecting blocks, Block, you’re protected from the first Darkness Block you draw. If you draw a second Darkness Block in the same turn, that one applies normally. Fox: When collecting blocks, keep one additional block of any material that doesn’t match the tile’s Collecting symbol, except for Redstone. Panda: When fighting mobs, you are protected from the first illager symbol you roll on the Fight die; any subsequent such symbol does take effect. Horse: When exploring the world, you may lay out two World Tiles instead of one, adding the blocks from both tiles into the pouch. Llama: You gain one extra Inventory slot, which can be used for any material—including Redstone. Setup the board. Place the plus-sign starting tile. Attach the Illager path. Place the Illager figure on spot 9 or 11. Divide the world tiles into three stacks of six (block side up) Insert one of each block (wood, sand, stone, darkness) into the pouch. Take three building cards from the nine available (based on desired difficulty); return the rest to the box. Place the three Darkness blocks on spaces 5, 6, and 7 of the Illagers Path. Game Play Turn Structure Each player performs 2 actions per turn: ...

Link to rules for the kids

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Of God and the Holy Trinity Paragraph 3 In the modern evangelical world, this is probably one of the more controversial paragraphs. At issue is the relation of the persons within the single Being of God. The traditional orthodox understanding of begetting and procession are key trinitarian distinctions. I think we jettison this language at our peril. We should bring these terms back into our theological preaching. ...

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Of Gods decrees Paragraph 2 Seems an uneccesary distinction. God knows all possible worlds but chose decreed this world unconditionally. This strikes me as hairsplitting. On the one hand, yes God knows all things and all potentialities. On the other hand, there are no other potentials. The world exists as God decreed it. Paragraph 3 The focus on angels here and in a few other places, strikes me as interesting. While angels are not outside the sovereignty of God, the Scriptures deal with the salvation and decrees of humanity, not of the angels. Biblically speaking, the Bible does not speak of the election to salvation of angels. Angels are not saved in the sense that humans are. ...

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Of the Holy Scriptures Paragraph 1 I appreciate the logic that is presented about revelation in point one. Natural revelation is there pointing us to God, but it is insufficient for a true knowledge of God and salvation. Therefore, God has revealed himself out of his own good will in various ways for the good of his people. But due to the corruption, he has commited the message to writing. ...

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Preface Says very little with a lot of words. One thought here in our context, we are in an international church. Many of the people in our church speak English as a second language. The LBC is tough to read for a lot of native speakers.

Intro The church we are attending in Estonia, Grace Bible Church , that uses the Second London Baptist Confession as their statement of faith. I really appreciate a church using a historic confession. It keeps you grounded in the historic faith and connects you to a line of believers. In general, I think it is a bad idea for a church to draft their own statement of faith. It tends to be idiosyncratic and too narrow (both in failing to address things that it should and addressing things that it shouldn’t). ...