Doug Van Pelt

Ice-say-"ah"

That's how some British speakers I've heard pronounce this prophet/author's name. Something interesting about this book in the middle of the Bible:

It's got 66 chapters to it.
The Bible has 66 books.

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are kind of "contemporary" for its time, or pertaining to God's people, their history, and God's actions with them.
The first 39 books of the Bible make up the "Old Testament," which covers the Law, God's people, their history, how God deals with them, Psalms, Proverbs, the prophets.

The final 27 chapters of Isaiah are "messianic" in nature, foretelling the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.
The final 27 books of the Bible are collectively known as the "New Testament," and tell all about Jesus and the New Covenant God makes with His people through Him.

Interesting, huh? What are the odds of that happening?

Our prayers are with our friends in London, as it recovers from a terrorist attack. I'm also praying for my parents and their hometown in Florida, which is bracing for Hurricane Dennis. They're planning on coming up here to Texas to "ride out the storm," so to speak.

This year's Cornerstone Festival was very special. It probably had the best weather in the festival's long history.

No Innocent Victim's set was exciting and nice 'n' heavy. Jason Moody mentioned at how encouraged they were when the band left off -- at seeing so much fruit amongst their fans and whatnot -- seeing prison ministries and Bible studies and such. He beseeched his audience to get off the side of the road and "get moving" (as if many had been hurt and were sitting around complaining about the conditions they faced instead of simply blessing those around them with loving actions. Great word.

Josh Scoglin of The Chariot made a cool speech about simply being kind and nice to others -- no matter the faith or belief. He knew (or assumed) that not everyone present for the last set of the fest was of the same mindset, worldview, or faith; but he encouraged the believers in Jesus Christ to respect and live at peace with those around them with differing beliefs.

Discover America was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting some cool, meandering emo tunes; but instead I got some Beatlesque rock songs that were straight up and really good.

I was excited to see Symphony In Peril, since they changed vocalists. They were great, and new singer, John Pope (formerly from Narcissus) was very powerful, animated, and just plain good. They seem to be carrying on the right way.

The Showdown were great, feeding the crowd tons of energy with their brilliant metallic attack. By the end of the show they had gained several hundred (or a few thousand) new fans. Awesome.

A band that should go out on tour with The Showdown was the metal band Aletheian. They simply smoked with their twin guitar jams. Wow.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at July 7, 2005 02:06 PM