We had six show up on Tuesday. Better than the last two meetings but still pretty weak. Three of us stayed for Bible study. We discussed Luke 23:7-25; Pilate sends Jesus to Herod who sends him back to Pilate. Neither of the Roman officials find any fault in Jesus yet the Jewish leaders demand his death. Why did the multitude turn on Jesus? (verses 18 and 21 say they cried out as one, or all at once)
I found the following on the web and believe it provides a good explanation as to why. What do you think? We need to think about this stuff. That's why it's in the Bible. Pilate and Herod, two non-believers who cared little for Jews and less for their religion, stand out in this passage because they do the right thing (find no reason to convict Jesus) even when Jesus' own people are wanting him dead. What message is in there for us?.............

5. JESUS RETURNS TO PILATE

When the guards had brought Jesus back to Pilate, he went out on the front steps of the praetorium, where his judgment seat had been placed, and calling together the chief priests and Sanhedrists, said to them: "You brought this man before me with charges that he perverts the people, forbids the payment of taxes, and claims to be king of the Jews. I have examined him and fail to find him guilty of these charges. In fact, I find no fault in him. Then I sent him to Herod, and the tetrarch must have reached the same conclusion since he has sent him back to us. Certainly, nothing worthy of death has been done by this man. If you still think he needs to be disciplined, I am willing to chastise him before I release him."

Just as the Jews were about to engage in shouting their protests against the release of Jesus, a vast crowd came marching up to the praetorium for the purpose of asking Pilate for the release of a prisoner in honor of the Passover feast. For some time it had been the custom of the Roman governors to allow the populace to choose some imprisoned or condemned man for pardon at the time of the Passover. And now that this crowd had come before him to ask for the release of a prisoner, and since Jesus had so recently been in great favor with the multitudes, it occurred to Pilate that he might possibly extricate himself from his predicament by proposing to this group that, since Jesus was now a prisoner before his judgment seat, he release to them this man of Galilee as the token of Passover good will.

As the crowd surged up on the steps of the building, Pilate heard them calling out the name of one Barabbas. Barabbas was a noted political agitator and murderous robber, the son of a priest, who had recently been apprehended in the act of robbery and murder on the Jericho road. This man was under sentence to die as soon as the Passover festivities were over.

Pilate stood up and explained to the crowd that Jesus had been brought to him by the chief priests, who sought to have him put to death on certain charges, and that he did not think the man was worthy of death. Said Pilate: "Which, therefore, would you prefer that I release to you, this Barabbas, the murderer, or this Jesus of Galilee?" And when Pilate had thus spoken, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin councilors all shouted at the top of their voices, "Barabbas, Barabbas!" And when the people saw that the chief priests were minded to have Jesus put to death, they quickly joined in the clamor for his life while they loudly shouted for the release of Barabbas.

A few days before this the multitude had stood in awe of Jesus, but the mob did not look up to one who, having claimed to be the Son of God, now found himself in the custody of the chief priests and the rulers and on trial before Pilate for his life. Jesus could be a hero in the eyes of the populace when he was driving the money-changers and the traders out of the temple, but not when he was a nonresisting prisoner in the hands of his enemies and on trial for his life.



Upcoming Outdoorsmen events

Outdoorsmen Duck Hunt @ Freezeout Lake, October 23-25 --- this has been postponed/cancelled

Is there any interest in a duck decoy carving demo/instructional seminar instead? Let me know. (hint: that means you should reply)


Outdoorsmen Big Game Hunt @ Mizpah Christian Retreat, November 5-8
Two cabins are being reserved at Mizpah. We may have a couple of guys heading over to do some scouting around this weekend.
Contact Joe Hayes for information.


Outdoorsmen Christmas Tree Cut-and-Give
We are planning on another Christmas Tree cut-and-give this year. We'll be looking to cut and distribute a few more trees then last year. If you have ideas of businesses, organizations or families that could really benefit from a free Christmas tree and stand please let us know. We'll plan on a cutting event sometime around the first week of December. We'd like to have a few more people show up to assist with the Salvation Army event this year.
Christmas Tee Cut is being scheduled for either Dec. 12th or 19th
depending on when the Salvation Army (and other organizations) will be holding their distribution event. We want our tree cutting event to take place approx. 10-12 days before the distribution event.
Christmas Tree Give Away
will take place on either Dec. 19th or 26th. Last year three of us (and Glenn's dog) participated in this event. The temp. was in the low teens and it snowed most of the day. We were outside for a majority of the event and we had a great time. We assisted families with getting their items to their cars and also assisted with loading. We gave away a tree and brand-new tree-stand to any family that wanted one. The distribution event is an organized, coordinated effort of a number of local charitable agencies that provides toys, clothing, bikes, food and more to needy families just before Christmas. Families received goods based upon family size, number of children, etc. Many recipients were very emotional and it was obvious the distribution represented a huge benefit to them. To be able to receive a tree and stand as well was icing on the cake for some of them.
There are 67 of us receiving this e-mail message (maybe 60 of you delete it when you receive it?). Surely we can put forth a better effort this year. This is an opportunity we need to embrace.


Now accepting reservations to help out at the Outdoorsmen Wild Game Feast
Yes, this means you! We want to grow this event and bring in more non-Outdoorsmen, non-Hannaford goers, etc. To be successful requires a group effort. There is work to be done leading up to the event but we really need commitments from individuals to work at the event on January 16th.


Outdoorsmen BattleZone class
We have decided to plan for a BZ class beginning the first week of February 2010. We will hold an introduction meeting on Tuesday January 26 and begin the classes on Tuesday February 2. We chose Tuesday nights so you won't have to find/free up another night each week (assuming you are already attending Outdoorsmen meetings on Tuesdays). The course runs for ten weeks and we will suspend regular Tuesday Outdoorsmen meetings during this time. A number of you have expressed interest and this will hopefully allow you enough time to plan/prepare. The cost is $50 for the course book (and you need the book). You will be required to study/prepare a couple hours before each weeks meeting. We are planning on starting the meetings at 6:00 PM (possibly at 5:30 PM) so we can get home at a decent time after 2 - 2½ hour meetings. I'll provide more info. as we develop it.


Next Outdoorsmen Meeting and Bible study
Sunday November 1, Starbuck's on Prospect, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
Luke Chapter 23:26-43

Tuesday November 10, Smith's Place Cafe in East Helena, 7:00 PM
Luke Chapter 23:44-49

Note: For those who don't know, HSBC is Hannaford Street Bible Church and it is located at
830 N Hannaford St.
Helena, MT


John Noble outdoorsmen@hannaford.org
HSBC Outdoorsmen