Dan Gould

Author: dgould77

  • Dallas Desperados

    Taking my small group of 8th grade boys to an arena football game tonight. Should be fun hanging out and getting to know two of their dads better!

  • 2 Kings 2:13-25

    “Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. ‘Go away, baldy!’ Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.” v. 23-25
    This groups of biys was from Bethel, the religious center of idolitry in the northern kingdom, and they probably were warning Elisha not to speak against their immorality as Elijah had done. They were not merely teasing Elisha about his baldness, but showing severe disrespect for Elisha’s message and God’s power. They may have also jeared because of thier disbelief in the chariot of fire that had taken Elijah. When Elisha cursed them, he did not call out to the bears himself. God sent them as a judgement for their callous unbelief. These young men mocked Gods messengers and paid for it with their lives. Making fun of religious leaders has been a popular sport through the years. To take a stand for God is to be different from the world and vulnerable to verbal abuse. When we are cynical and sarcastic toward religious leaders, we are in danger of mocking not just the person but also the spiritual message. While we are not to condone the sin that some leaders commit, we need to pray for them, not laugh at them. True leaders, those who follow God, need to be heard with great respect and encouraged in their ministry.

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • The Book On Leadership – Taking Charge

    I have to apologize, for my lack of discipline in getting through this book. The book started out really good, but then seems to be redundant as we glean in-depth insite to the passage. At times, I feel like saying “I got that already”. We are getting ready to look at what Paul says is leadership in the next couple of chapters in the book. So that will be nice. Here is what I underlined from chapter 4:

    *** True leadership is tested and proved in crises. The real leader is the one who can handle the stress. He is the one who can solve the problems, bear the burdens, find the solutions, and win the victories when everyone else is merely flustered, confounded, and perplexed.
    * Leadership Principle #7 – A Leader Never Compromise the Absolutes!
    *** When God has spoken, there can be no compromise.
    *** The person who refuses to compromise under any and every circumstance is obstinate, unreasonable, and selfish. That sort of strong-willed inflexibility is sinful and has been the ruin of many relationships and organizations.
    *** But when it comes to matter of principles – moral and ethical foundations, biblical absolutes, the axioms of God’s Word, God’s clear commands, and the truthfulness of God Himself – it is never right to compromise. The true leader understands that and knows where to hold the line.
    *** Too many people are timid and fearful of confrontation in circumstances like these. Not the real leader. Real leaders have a clear understanding of what is absolute and what is negotiable, and they hold the line on the principles that truly matter.
    *** For the spiritual leader, the absolutes are established by the Word of God. A leader who applies all the other principles of leadership can perhaps achieve a measure of pragmatic effectiveness. But this principle will test your true mettle as a leader. No one can be a truly effective spiritual leader unless he understands the essential truths of Scripture and refuses to compromise its absolute authority. This principle applies, I am convinced not just to pastors and church leaders, but also to Christians in any walk of life who desire to be good leaders.
    * Leadership Principle #8 – A Leader Focuses on Objectives, not Obstacles!
    * Leadership Principle #9 – A Leader Empowers By Example!
    *** Paul’s triumph was the triumph of great leadership. Tested in the crucible of crisis, he stepped up and showed how a true leader acts. He was decisive. He was determined. He was clear thinking and levelheaded. He took control when things were otherwise out of control. And God honored his efforts with amazing success. He didn’t compromise the absolutes, nor was he distracted from his objective by the obstacles. And he led by example.

    Taken from John MacArthurs book, “The Book On Leadership”

  • More Snow in Texas


    Yesterday, 65 . . . Today, 30 and snow. Some of the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen . . . and I have seen a lot of snow!

  • 2 Kings 2:1-12

    When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. . . . As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, ‘My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!’ And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. v.1 & 11-12
    Elijah was taken to heaven without dying. He is the second person mentioned in scripture to have this honor. Enoch was the first (Genisis 5:21-24). The other prophets may not have seen God take Elijah, or they may have had a difficult time believing what they had seen. In either case, they wanted to search for Elijah. Finding no physical trace of him would confirm what had happened and strengthen their faith. The only other person taken to heaven in bodily form was Jesus after his resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:9).

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible!

  • 1 Kings 22:29-40

    “An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. ‘Turn the horses and get me out of here!’ Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. ‘I’m badly wounded!’” v.34
    Ahab couldn’t escape God’s judgement. The king of Aram sent 32 of his best chariot commanders with the sole purpose of killing Ahab. Thinking he could escape, Ahab tried to disguise himself, but a random arrow struck him while the chariots chased the wrong king – Jehoshaphat. It was foolish for Ahab to think he could escape by wearing a disguise. Sometimes people try to escape reality by disguising themselves – changing jobs, moving to a new town, even changing spouses. But God sees and evaluates the motives of each person. Any attempted disguise is futile.

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • Texas Weather

    Well I thought Missouri weather was crazy! In the last five days Texas weather has been in the high 70 low 80, to Snow last night, to mid 50’s today. Here is a picture of the snow that was here for most of the morning!

  • 1 Kings 21

    “Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.’” v.28-29
    Ahab was more wicked than any other king of Israel, but when he repented in deep humility, God took notice and reduced his punishment. The same Lord who was merciful to Ahab wants to be merciful to you. No matter how evil you have ben, its never too late to humble yourself, turn to God, and ask for forgiveness.

    Taken from the NLT LIfe Application Study Bible

  • Why Student Ministry?

    This weekend we celebrated our Small Group Leaders with a video of some of their students saying thank you. Very encouraging and meaningful to them and me as a leader. As we watched the video it was obvious to all why we do student ministry, watch the video, I think its pretty obvious.

  • Weekend Review

    Started the weekend on Friday taking MS Students to Planet Wisdom. Great time with them learning from Mark Mattlock, Sean McDowell, The Skit Guys, and Addison Road.

    Started a new series this weekend called SHOUT! Great start to a three week series on evangelism. Here is a video we used to kick off the series.