An Earthly Sanctuary

We are Moving...

2011-03-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ok not "we" as a family but this blog. In an attempt to condense some of my blogs into one location I am moving this blog here. I have been working on it for the last 3 weeks and still have some work to do like transferring blog list, websites, etc. So hope you enjoy it and feel free to email suggestions.

How to Think Good Thoughts: Mind Mapping Philippians 4:8

2011-03-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

A great post by Competent Counseling website on how to think biblically through Phil 4:8 and the application there of. Find it with a pdf by clicking here.

Rob Bell

2011-03-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

Kevin DeYong has done a great job once again expaining the problems with Rob Bell's new book, "Love Wins". See the PDF here.

Distinguishing Marks of a Quarrelsome Person

2011-02-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Keving DeYoung post a great article on the marks of a quarrelsome person. You can read the entire article here. Here is a snippet....

Quarrels don’t just happen. People make them happen. Quarrels, at least in Proverbs, are unnecessary arguments, the kind that honorable men stay away from (17:14; 20:3). These fights aren’t the product of a loving rebuke or a principled conviction. These quarrels arise because people are quarrelsome. Some Christians have a lifeline to Speedway and love to pour gasoline on every tiny spark of conflict.

Egypt's Hidden Piramid

2011-02-18T04:44:00.000-08:00

Pyramid's have a way of hiding themselves for hundreds of years only to be discovered, dug up and restored. What we see unfolding in Egypt seems to be much more then just liberating a people over a regime that was less then favorable. It seems to be pointing toward a Islamic up rise that will inevitably lead to a destruction of any gained liberation that has been made prior to the dismissal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the mid 70's. Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser placed this organization in the forefront of world history when he used the organization to aid him into office.But this partnership was only bitter sweet. Gamal quickly understood that they wanted full control of his regime so in order for him to stay in power and have some say in what happens he had those in leadership thrown in jail. His then successor Anwar Al Sadat was a key figure in there movement. Being more symptomatic to there cause in undoubtedly feeling the pressure to release them did just that in 1971.Unfortunately this would prove to be fatal to Anwar. Just 10 years later this same regime was responsible for the killing of Anwar on October 6th 1981.

This now brings us to the last 30 years and the power struggle that Hosni Mubarak has had trying to walk both sides of the aisle. But in doing so both sides have begun to throw rocks at him. It had bought him 30 years in power in addition to aiding the American government by allowing for peaceful oil exchange and tourist security for some of the most amazing pyramids in the world. That is not to say that all has been well with Mubarak. He has had his far share of misusing his power and neglecting his duty to uphold justice.

But the one thing Egypt's recent protest as well as the ousting of the Mubarak regime is creating is the awareness of what Islamic teachings really is. The months proceeding 9/11 the approval of the Muslim religion actually went up to record levels in America leaving most liberal and conservative news stations to conclude it is a peaceful religion. That if we love the Muslim religion they will therefor love us. Almost with a self accusation that it was our fault they killed thousand of Americans due to our unlawful actions.

What the western world has failed to recognize is that there are only liberal Muslims in the west. They do not exist in the middle east. The one's that are more liberal and tolerating of other worldviews are either being deceptive or would simply never stand a chance of survival in the east. Several examples have come up over the past few weeks. One of which is CNN correspondence Anderson Cooper and his attempt to record the footage on site in Egypt. Moments into his attempted coverage he is attacked and suffers some injuries. Here is the video of that occurrence. More occurrances came even after Coopers run as Lara Logan a reporter from CBS who recently went to Egypt to report only to be sexually assaulted on the streets of Egypt.

The obvious Muslim leadership in the streets of Egypt will undoubtedly play a big roll in the rebuilding of the Egyptian government. How big is yet to be seen. The White House has seen first hand now the result and has attempted to react. President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his removal from office "Must begin now". This statement was retracted weeks later in a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak might not be able to quit his post as early as being demanded by the protesters as the transition process will take some time to roll out. One has to wonder what the roll of the Muslim Brotherhood has in all this but one thing will become clear, the Islamic religion is one based on sharia law and that law cannot coincide with any other religion. By nature it demands conformity from a society to its teaching. It is a religious movement but more then that a political dominating worldview. No liberal Muslim in America will be able to come to the forefront and defend there position because it simply is not dependable from a religious perspective.

So as the water subsides in Egypt and a vacuum for leadership is left, time will tell what will come of the new forming government. Our prayers must be for the people of Egypt who truly have been seeking liberation. Let us pray for a government to come in place that will protect those rights not remove them. Let us also pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are undoubtedly under sever pressure during this trying times. And most of all let us pray for true liberation that comes only from Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at gandcmorris@gmail.com or feel free to leave a comment below.

Follow me at facebook @ facebook.com/Evidenceofgrace

Body and Soul Renewal?

2011-02-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

"It is a physical and spiritual make-over kind of". Those are the words in the recent Grand Blanc View paper from Heidi Stoor, the Event Coordinator at Faith Lutheran Church of Grand Blanc, Michigan. Amanda Braniecki writes the article titled, "Spa day at Faith Lutheran to renew 'bodies and souls'." In an effort to "reach more people in every life stage" the Faith Lutheran Church of Grand Blanc will be pampering women and at the same time pampering the souls of those women in the community. What struck me as a bit disturbing about this article is two of the ways they will attempt to reach the women of the community is by offering Yoga classes as well as Pilates classes. These methods both once again point to a mind neutrality that simply does not exist. Dr Albert Mohlers article last year on the issue of blending these lines seems very appropriate given this subject matter. Furthermore we have all seen the issue of yoga coming up again and again as the lines of universalism are becoming more and more blurred.

I understand the concept behind this event and I appreciate Heidi Stoor for making efforts to reach her community. My biggest concern here is that as she stated in the article, "Whether you are coming for one aspect or for the whole thing, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed." One has to wonder if the gospel will be preached. Will she be able to reach the community with true spiritual renewal? My guess is no. For one Spiritual renewal is not a term in scripture. New Birth is the only true renewal and that is a gift of God. Second we know that the preaching of the cross is foolish to those who are not saved (1 Cor 1:18). So although Faith Lutheran may be reaching there community they will seem to be doing it using other means then the one given in scripture.

One has to wonder how much longer can the lines of spirituality and of Biblical Christianity stay so blended and at the same time so contrary to each other? My guess is they wont and as we have seen local Christian Schools offer Yoga classes after hours it would seem that the lines of Spirituality and Theology are becoming more and more blended at the cost of Theology every time.

I wonder how many Buddhist Temples preach the Gospel to reach Christians?

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at gandcmorris@gmail.com or feel free to leave a comment below.

Follow me at facebook @ facebook.com/Evidenceofgrace

Baby Bryanna Gabrielle

2011-02-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

Our new addition arriving in at 7lbs and 12oz - 19long. The Lord has been good to us!

Who pays for your spouse’s sin? Your spouse or Christ?

2011-01-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Great article by Counseling Solutions for our marriages.....

Christians understand the point of the Gospel: Christ paid for our sins. The profundity of the Gospel capsulated in five words. When Adam chose to walk away from God in the garden by believing a lie, God instituted a plan to redeem Adam and his fallen race.

In order to do that there had to be a payment for sin. Sin could not go unpunished. Even the pagan world understands this. Last week there was a horrible slaughter in Arizona where six people were mercilessly murdered. President Obama made an impassioned speech and talked about how these murders would not go unpunished.

And he is right. What kind of world would it be if there were no justice? As you know, the justice in our world is inconsistent at best. Thankfully, the hope for the Christian is not in the justice of this world. We serve a God who is The Judge and He demands justice for sin. Imagine a God who did not demand justice.

God’s justice is only the beginning of the good news for us. Yes, sin demands a punishment and every sin will be punished. However, in the infinite wisdom of the Father, He decided to make a way for you and me (assuming you are a Christian) to not be punished for our sin.
Here comes the Judged

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son and whoever believes in the Son will not receive the punishment for sin that he/she justly deserves. (John 3:16) However, for those who do not accept the Gospel, he/she will be punished for his/her sin. (John 3:36) All sin will be punished. Either Jesus Christ will be punished for you or you will be punished eternally for your sin. It’s your choice.
Who pays for your spouse’s sin?

Let’s suppose my wife, Lucia, sins and I get angry with her as a response to her sin. In such a case, which sadly is how it goes in our home from time to time, I would be punishing her for her sin. I would be acting as “God” by demanding justice, while completely missing the Gospel. Christ bore the Father’s wrath, died, and rose from the grave in order to accomplish salvation for anyone who authentically believes this story. Thankfully, Lucia was regenerated by the grace of God many years ago. Her sin, past, present, and future has been paid for because of the Gospel.

When I respond in anger to her sin, I am making her do what Christ would never do. I am punishing her.
Sacrifice or Punishment?

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. – Ephesians 5:25-26 (ESV)

Christ did not make me pay for my sin. He sacrificed for my sin by giving His life for me. If I truly understand the Gospel in the moment of my wife’s sin, my response would be a Gospel-motivated sacrifice rather than self-centered punishment.

Therefore, rather than choosing anger (punishment) as a response to her sin, I must choose an attitude of forgiveness (sacrifice) when she sins against me. Too often I choose anger and when I do, it distorts our relationship. Rather than serving my wife, by helping her get to Christ where she can be forgiven, I convolute the situation by sinning in response to her sin.

I become the judge and, thus, feel justified to make her pay for her sin. This is an emasculation of the Gospel. It mocks Christ’s death. I am saying in essence,

I don’t care that You died for her sin. She has sinned against me and I am going to circumvent what You did on the cross by making her pay right now. Sin demands a punishment and I feel it would be better if she received my punishment rather than allowing her to experience the cleansing power of the Gospel. Yes, You were bruised for her iniquities, but right now I feel the need to bruise her for her iniquities. (Isaiah 53:6)

However, when I am practically applying the Gospel in the moment of her sin I am living out Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:25-26. Our relationship is not distorted by my sin, while my wife is being sanctified, cleansed, and washed by God’s Word. Rather than me forcing sanctification through fear and intimidation, she experiences the freedom, favor, and power of the Cross in her life where true cleansing happens.

My goal is for my wife to walk in holiness. However, when I punish her rather than forgiving her for her sin, I am making it harder for her to accomplish the very thing that I desire the most for her.
Do you punish your spouse?

It’s time to put your Christianity to the test: When your spouse sins against you, do you punish or sacrifice? Let’s suppose you have discovered your husband’s porn addiction. Is the Gospel real in that moment? What governs your heart when he sins: a desire to punish him or a desire to help him get to Christ where he can be forgiven and changed.

When your spouse disappoints you for the umpteenth time, what is the ruling motive of your heart? Can you rest in God the Judge, or are you compelled to be your spouse’s judge?

When you sin…again…are you tempted to punish yourself through a stringent moralism, or do you appropriate the releasing forgiveness that is found in Christ’s work on the cross?

Dear Church, if our Gospel means anything, then it must be real in the moment of our sin, whether it is yours or mine. Otherwise, there is no redemptive purpose in His sacrifice.

The Story of Christmas - An Animation

2010-12-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

A great Video that is 12 minutes well spent.

Year End Random Resources and Such

2010-12-29T08:44:00.001-08:00

So as the 2010 year comes to a close and one step closer to the Lords return I wanted to put up just some random resources I have ran into this week that have been helpful to me in hopes they will bless you.

1) Is a free 30-page, downloadable eBook titled Gospel-Centered Parenting that the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) posted on there facebook this week. I have been going over it and it is packed with some very practical information on biblical parenting verse pragmatic parenting and a bunch of other articles and resources at the end that I will spend some time chasing down. You can get the pdf. by clicking here.

2. Next is a great resource Kevin DeYoung posted at The Gospel Coalition Blog giving a review on a book by Chris Brauns titled, "When the Word Lead Your Pastoral Search: Biblical Principles & Practices to Guide Your Search" and the link provides a full chapter for reivew that I have not tackled yet but look forward to doing so. This is a non addressed area of ministry from a literature presepctive as far as I have seen so this comes in at a great time of theological church growth. Keving DeYoung says this about the book,

"Chris Brauns’ book is the only resource of its kind that I have ever seen. If your church is searching for a pastor, or if you are a pastor seeking to equip your congregation to follow biblical guidelines when that day comes, I highly recommend this thoughtful, practical, biblical work to you."

3. The third thing I have is a recent 9 Marks Audio done by Shai Linne on the subject of Christianity and the Arts. This audio was extremely helpful not only from the artistic genre of vocation but all areas of vocation both business and cultural design. Shai Linne had some helpful and practical insight on how parents should encourage there children in secular work/art to glorify God not by staying away from cultural vocation but by being in it and doing it well as we point to Christ in all we endeavor to accomplish. Shai Linne said at one point that the goal of an artist is not to smuggle John 3:16 into a leaf on a painting he is doing for a corporation but to paint the leaf in such a way that it points to the glory of God and pray God allows oppurtunities to share the gospel in those situations. You can find that info here.

4. Well I have one more thing to add and that is a Will Varner audio on the book of James. Will Varner is releasing a commentary on James soon that I am looking forward to. But in this audio he makes a case for James actually being the head of the Jerusalem Church that is very insightful. You can find the audio here and the outline here.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

The difference between the non-Christian and the Christian is the difference between a Christmas tree on which people hang presents, and a living tree that bears fruit. They have to put them on the Christmas tree; it does not and cannot produce anything. But in the case of the growing tree it produces fruit. The fruit is no longer imposed from outside; it is something produced from the life, the sap and the power that are in the living tree.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Spurgeon on Evangelism, Christmas, Family & Friends

2010-12-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Tony Reinke over at Sovereign Grace Ministries blog just posted some great comments by Spurgeon on looking and making opportunities to share Christ this Christmas season. The whole article can be read here. But I just wanted to lift a few remarks by Spurgeon for us all to keep in mind going into the season of celebrating our Emanuel (God with us) in the up coming weeks.....

Christmas is suited for sharing the gospel with family and friends.

Aim to share the story of God’s grace in your life.

By sharing we edify believers.

By sharing we reach lost friends and family.

Be alert for one-on-one opportunities to share your story.

Don’t expect this sharing to be easy.

Overcome this fear by sharing to honor your Savior.

Share your story with gratitude to God.

Share your story with humility.

Share your story truthfully—don’t embellish it.

Tell your story seriously—don’t share it flippantly.

Don’t neglect your personal devotions during Christmas.

Rest upon the Holy Spirit’s help to share.

Remember that this story you share over the holidays is the story that will be on your lips eternally.

I would only add to Spurgeons comments here that after sharing your personal story that you use that to segue to the gospel itself. The Story of Christ and His death, burial and resurrection. Sometimes the hardest thing for a Doctor to do is diagnose a fatal disease to a beloved patient. Scripture does not shy away from this and it has its proper place in evangelism. So in addition to sharing the story of Christ look to reveal the need for a Savior by pointing out some evidences of the disease (Sin). Do this in love and with a gentle Spirit. Use the law of God as a mirror and then heal with the loving glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

You who is not wounded.

2010-12-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

“Are we earnest enough about the souls of others? Christian men and women, do you love your fellow-creatures, or do you not? How few there are of us who make it our business to be constantly telling out the sweet story of Jesus and his love! I read, the other day, of a chaplain in the Northern army in the lamentable war in the United States, who, while he lay wounded on the battle-field, heard a man, not far off, utter an oath. Though he himself was so badly wounded that he could not stand, yet he wished to reach the swearer to speak a gospel message to him, and he though, “I can get to him if I roll over.” So, though bleeding profusely himself, he kept rolling over and over till he got to the side of the poor blasphemer, and on the lone battle-field he preached to him Jesus. Some of the other men came along, and he said to them, “Can you carry me? I fear that I am dying, but I do not want to be taken off the field. I should like you, if you would, to carry me from one dying man to another, all the night long, that I might tell them of a Savior.” What a splendid deed was this! A bleeding man talking to those who were full of sin about a Savior’s bleeding wounds! Oh, you who have no wound, who can walk, and possess all the faculties to fit you for the service, how often you miss opportunities and refuse to speak of Jesus! “Thou art now the blessed of the Lord,” and at this moment I would have you think that the blessed Lord lays his pierced hand on thee saying, “Go and tell others what I have done for thee.” Never cease to tell the divine tale, as opportunity is given, until thy voice is lost in death; then thy spirit shall begin to utter the story in the loftier sphere.” C.H. Spurgeon

Maybe Elvis Was Just a Carnal Christian

2010-12-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

An interesting article written by Todd Friel....

Maybe Elvis Was Just a Carnal Christian

Imagine trying to lovingly confront a high profile evangelical to share your concern that his Gospel presentation wasn't Biblical. Gulp. That is precisely what I did with Luis Palau several years ago prior to one of his mega-events.

I suggested he was giving the cure without explaining the disease of sin. Mr. Palau informed me that everyone has an overwhelming burden of guilt and it is not necessary for him to preach about their need for forgiveness.

Suspecting he might say that, I handed him a c.d. with a montage of people we interviewed on the street. We asked strangers, "Do you have an overwhelming burden of guilt?" The responses ranged from condescending disdain to outright laughter.

While Mr. Palau was very nice to me, he ultimately patted me on the head and said, "Be careful that you don't fall into that Lordship salvation trap. Christians can be carnal."

Carnal Christianity is the concept that says: you can live like the world and still be a Christian. It also teaches that sanctification can come some time after a person signs a car…er…asks Jesus into his hea…I mean gets saved.

Later that night at the festival, Mr. Palau's message included two profanities and proclamations like, "If Elvis had become a Christian, he would have been a rock star, but his life wouldn't have turned out so bad." He also informed the audience that if they would simply ask Jesus into their hearts, "The party starts right now." A woman from my church who just buried her seven year old son almost rushed the stage…and not to sign a card.

His Gospel presentation, as our British friends would say, was "a complete dog's breakfast."

It is no surprise that the follow up statistics to crusades are so tragic. The backslider rate (or Carnal Christian rate) hovers around 90%. It seems that Carnal Christianity and Gospel presentations that don't include sin, righteousness and judgment go hand and hand. In order to explain those statistics, the minister must:

1. Admit the preaching is inadequate and without Holy Spirit power.

2. Alter theology to explain how a decision-maker can name the name of Christ but live like the devil.

Option one is out of the picture. And so it is, since the early 20th century, modern day evangelicalism (thanks to Lewis Sperry Chafer and the Scofield Bible) has been proclaiming the oxymoron known as Carnal Christianity.

The support text for Carnal Christianity is I Cor.3:1-5. "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

Paul was warning the ignorant, sectarian Corinthians that they should not be divided into cliques. That's it. This text does not suggest that born-again believers can live like pagans. Paul was introducing them to new theology, not giving them license to sin.

With all credit to Ernest C. Reisinger's "A Carnal Christian," here are eight reasons why Carnal Christianity should be rejected.

1. In I Cor.1:2-5, Paul addressed his audience as "sanctified in Christ". So are they sanctified or carnal? In I Cor.2, Paul divides men into "natural" and "spiritual," i.e. un-saved and saved. By labeling some Christians as "carnal," Paul would be introducing a third classification of humans. Furthermore, this would violate every other presentation in Scripture that there are only two classes of people: children of God or children of wrath.

2. The new covenant of salvation includes two inseparable blessings at salvation: justification and sanctification. Carnal Christianity teaches you will be justified upon conversion, but sanctification is optional.

3. The Bible presents two types of faith: saving faith and spurious (false) faith (Lk. 8:13). Carnal Christianity does not recognize spurious faith. What a false assurance we allow the unregenerate to possess if we allow them to think their faith is valid when the Bible teaches it might be a false conversion.

4. Carnal Christianity excludes a necessary component of salvation: repentance. The unconverted sinner can just "ask Jesus into his heart" with no requirement to forsake sin.

5. How does a person know he is saved? Fruit in keeping with repentance. We are told to examine ourselves to see if we are in the truth. What a beautiful gift to the believer. If we can be carnal, how can we know we are saved? Carnal Christianity robs us of assurance.

6. Carnal Christianity may be a relatively new name, but it is merely a new moniker for an old false teaching: anti-nomianism. "Should we go on sinning that grace might more abound?" Carnal Christianity says, "Sure."

7. "Carnal Christian teaching is the mother of many second work-of –grace errors in that it depreciates the Biblical conversion experience by implying that the change in the converted sinner may amount to little or nothing." Dr. Reisinger goes on to point out that a second step is required to make a man a "spiritual Christian."

8. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, right? (Lk.2:11) Carnal Christianity divides Jesus and allows Him to be Savior but not Lord.

Listen to the words of A.A. Hodge. "Think of a sinner coming to Christ and saying, 'I do not want to be holy; I do not want to be saved from sin; I would like to be saved in my sins; do not sanctify me now, but justify me now.'"

That is ridiculous, isn't it? And so is Carnal Christianity. Even Elvis would agree with that.

Radical Christianity?

2010-11-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Over the years there are certain fads in the main stream Christian circles that come and go. Those that either Barna or "Christianity" Today will do a news article on. Many of them are dangerous and some are just down right silly. Being more from the reformed ilk these fads bounce around out there and the Church does a fairly good job at identifying these issues and keeping away from them. But on occasion there are those subjects that are just so close to biblical Christianity they mask themselves under a cloak of "truthyness" (yes I did just make up a word).

One of those issues I have seen that has alarmed me more and more has been the term "Radical Christianity". I see folks like Francis Chan making a bold commitment to leave his church to start something new with no clear calling under this "pull" toward "radical Christianity". I have read books, seen blogs and heard from friends who are just discontent with there day to day life and always looking toward this form of a radical lifestyle.

Now don't get me wrong, Jesus does call us to live a radical, God glorifying, separate from the world, cross carrying kind of life. But my question is what does that look like? Because I am getting more and more a sense that people are associating that type of call to a modern day hipster/monk who does not take a shower and hangs out with the homeless all day. Again, I am not saying that we are not called to live radical (I know there will be people who will take that from this post) but all I am asking is what does that look like?

My concern is that if this is not placed in the proper context and we are breeding discontentment among the church. Take for instance Titus 2:3-5,

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

What do we have here? Well we have older women having a standard of godliness as to set an example and to teach the younger women of the church to do the following radical things, love there husbands, love there children, to be pure/self controlled, to be busy in there home, to be kind, and to be subject to there husbands. Does that sound radical in the sense of the term we have seen lately?

What about the following, Ephesians 6:5-7

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.

What we have in this section is a call for a man to be working as if He was working for Christ. So this can be a dad who goes to work 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., pays his taxes, plays with the kids, loves his wife and is devoted to serving his local church. Is this radical?

My point is that more and more of the term is being redefined. And I am not trying to single France Chan out alone. In fact I dont know much about Frances (although I did post a great sermon he did aside from his ecumenical endorsements of Rick Warren). All that I have seen has been good up until this point. But that is irrelevant. Others are using it. Men who live among the homeless (by choice) and right a book, political movements, and other social and economical agendas. We have to understand the the Bible gives us clear direction as to our desire to live radical life's for Christ. But to the stay at home mom, that is radical. To the dad who is trying to pay the bills and study his bible, brother, that is the radical life. The NT gives such clear perspective declarations of how to conduct our self in the real world under real situations. To say that those are all irrelevant because God wants us to leave it all behind is simply not valid. Does that mean God does not call some to go into other countries? Of course He does. Does that mean God does not call some to (in a special way) minister to the homeless? Of course He does. Please hear me out, those things are in fact necessary. My question is are they any more radical then the mom trying to do the best she can and glorify her creator and go to here ladies bible class? Are they "more" radical then the dad who goes to work day in and day out and conduct a small bible study after family devotions? The New Testament I think would say no!

Heidelberg Catechism hip hop song!

2010-11-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

The First Ever Rap Song About the Heidelberg Catechism. Yes you read that correctly. A song about the Heidelberg Catechism. This was challenge presented by C.J. Mahaney to Curtis Allen at the 2010 Next Conference. As I have looked forward to hearing this song it stuck me. I am excited to hear a rap song about the Heidelberg Catechism. This is just another testimony of God's unspeakable grace to a sinner. He has indeed made all things new. Click here to listen to the song.

Lyrics

Verse 1

Yeah I'm on a mission like a couple spies, and that guys is the reason why I catechize. The good news we almost forgot I recognize, Heidelberg rediscovering the gospel prize. It's not scripture but the truth in it will mention he, introduction hide and seek the 16th century. Written in a time when your mind was the weaponry, this document is back into the populace shouts to Kevin D. Better than you think not as bad as you remember, purpose driven truth, from Frederick the elector. He would initiate, the 129 questions to illustrate truths like Christ propitiates. All in a document, whose purpose was to teach children, a guide for preachers, and confessions in a church building. And this is all fact The Heidelberg Cat has been around but now it's seem like it is coming back.

Hook

We believe in the cross, believe in his life,
We believe in his death, believe he's the Christ.
We believe that he rose from grave yes it is him
And we read the Heidelberg Catechism

We believe in the after life and we believe nothing's after Christ, so we stand our ground, cuz the truth's been around from the word to the Heidelberg.

Verse 2

Year of the Heidelberg resulting in renewed passion, and we could see it in our lives lights camera action. Let's take a gander and address a few questions from Heidelberg document then look at the answers. But before that make sure that, you know how it's broken down, in a Q & A format, a few sections. Suggestions how to read this not to sound promotional, but Kevin put it in his book to make it a devotional. Each question each answer has a bit of commentary, so the application of it is not some involuntary. Mystery, the history screams through rings true but I'll just leave that up to God, cuz that's between you. to believe, but to believe you gotta read you and then you meditate on all the truths that the Heidelberg will illustrate. What's that the catechism homey where you been the good news we almost forgot let's get it in!

Verse 3

From the word to the Heidelberg, we see that what's the comfort of life should come first. And in death that I with, body and soul but belong to the savior, commentary from me man, tell this to your neighbor. Moving on, how many things are necessary for thee, enjoying this comfort, to live and die happily? Three, my sin's misery, deliverance from sin, and gratitude for God is how the answer ends. Let's stretch it out the Lord's day 23 the grandaddy of them all, questions 59 and 60. What good does it do to believe in all this? In Christ I am right heir to the promise. Paraphrase, anyways I'm kinda limited I'm just trying to say a couple things my man Kevin did. On the Heidelberg, go and get you one, and by the way CJ homey this was fun.

2010-11-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

Thankful to a mom who had me at fifteen. I know it was hard. I love you! To other soon to be mom's who are scared. It will be ok. To us the church (Proverbs 31:8-9) lets help the mom's and defend those with no voice.

Read some comments by Randy Alcorn on the song here. *Disclaimer, I dont think the artist is of the "Christian genre" so in no way am I endorsing the individual. I am however thankful for the lyrics and story of this song.

2010-11-08T18:56:00.001-08:00

Francis Chan on Humility at the Desiring God Conference.

2010-10-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Pray like a Reformer Part 3, Avoid Vain Repetition (by Wretchedradio)

2010-10-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Lord's Prayer is the greatest martyr on earth. Everybody tortures and abuses it; few take comfort and joy in its proper use (Martin Luther, A Simple Way to Pray).

Luther is referring to a mindless and irreverent use of the Lord’s Prayer. There exists a temptation to recite the words without concern for their meaning. To do so is to fall into the trap of vain repetition, which is a violation of Christ’s instructions on prayer, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do” (Matthew 6:7). In order to avoid this trap, we must gain a clear understanding of the words in the Lord’s Prayer.

Thankfully, Luther has provided us a helpful resource to aid our understanding. Below is his exposition of the Lord’s Prayer from his Small Catechism.

Preface: Our Father who art in heaven. God would thereby with this little introduction tenderly urge us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.

1st Petition:Hallowed be Thy name. God's name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may become holy among us also.

When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead holy lives in accordance with it. To this end help us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches profanes the name of God among us. From this preserve us, Heavenly Father.

2nd Petition: Thy kingdom come. The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.

When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.

3rd Petition:Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious and good will.

4th Petition:Give us this day our daily bread. God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

5th Petition:And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor deny such petitions on account of them; for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them; but that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we daily sin much, and indeed deserve nothing but punishment. So will we verily, on our part, also heartily forgive and also readily do good to those who sin against us.

6th Petition: And lead us not into temptation. God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.

7th Petition: But deliver us from evil. We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

Conclusion: Amen. I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised that He will hear us. Amen, Amen; that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.

I pray that Luther's simple and memorable exposition will help you avoid the trap of vain repetition.

-Brainiac

Pray like a Reformer Part 2, the Lord’s Prayer (From Wretchedradio)

2010-10-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

When the Disciples beseeched Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11: 1), Jesus taught them to pray what we now call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; also Luke 11:2-4). When we desire to learn to pray, we can do no better than to return to Christ’s model as set forth in Holy Scripture.

Concerning the Lord’s Prayer, Luther said, “It is the very best prayer…It is surely evident that a real master composed and taught it”. He not only made use of this prayer but he also taught its use in A Simple Way to Pray.

Before we turn to Luther’s use of the Lord’s Prayer, allow me to review the structure of the Lord’s Prayer. It consists of three parts: a preface, six petitions and a conclusion. The preface is an address, it tells us to whom we are speaking. A petition is a request, appeal or entreaty, it tells for what we are asking. The conclusion is the end of the prayer, it finishes our prayer and enforces our petitions.

Preface: Our Father in heaven,
1st Petition: hallowed be your name.
2nd Petition: Your kingdom come,
3rd Petition: your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
4th Petition: Give us this day our daily bread,
5th Petition: and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
6th Petition: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil [1]
Conclusion: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen[2]

Now then, here is a summary of Luther’s use of the Lord’s Prayer.

First, pray the Lord’s Prayer. Then choose a section and repeat it. As an example, let us take the first petition “Hallowed be your name”. Think about that petition, consider what it means and pray for that, both for yourself and for others.

“Lord, you have made your Name holy; I pray that you would keep it holy in me and in the world… etc.”

Next, consider how God grants that request, as well as what things may hinder it, both in your self and others. Pray for those things.

“Lord, may your name be kept holy by the pure preaching of your word. Grant that my thoughts and actions would glorify your Name…”

“May your people honor your Name…”

“May your word go forth over all the earth and your Name be exalted above all else…”

“May you convert or restrain your enemies, that they will either hallow your Name or be silent…”

Now you can move on to another section and repeat the same process: (1) consider what it means and pray for that, both for yourself and for others, (2) consider how God grants that request, as well as what things may hinder it, both in yourself and others and pray for those things. You can proceed through the entire prayer this way, or, if you desire, you can remain in one section until you are content. The point is not rigid formality or empty words, but rather learning to pray as Christ taught, with sincerity and according to God’s revealed will. Luther’s words are extremely helpful here,

You should also know that I do not want you to recite all these words in your prayer. That would make it nothing but idle chatter and prattle... Rather do I want your heart to be stirred and guided concerning the thoughts, which ought to be comprehended in the Lord's Prayer. These thoughts may be expressed, if your heart is rightly warmed and inclined toward prayer, in many different ways and with more words or fewer. I do not bind myself to such words or syllables, but say my prayers in one fashion today, in another tomorrow, depending upon my mood and feeling. I stay however, as nearly as I can, with the same general thoughts and ideas. It may happen occasionally that I may get lost among so many ideas in one petition that I forego the other six. If such an abundance of good thoughts comes to us we ought to disregard the other petitions, make room for such thoughts…The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is far better than a thousand of our prayers. Many times I have learned more from one prayer than I might have learned from much reading and speculation.

Finally, remember, when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are praying the prayer that Christians have prayed for two millennia, all the way back to the Disciples and even the Lord Himself. May God grant you a fruitful time in prayer today.

-Brainiac

[1] Note: Luther divides the Lord’s Prayer into 7 petitions, seeing the conjunction “but” in v. 13 as introducing a new petition. I, however, following the Westminster Confession of Faith, have divided it into only six petitions. So, for Luther the 6th petition is “Lead us not into temptation” and the 7th petition is “but deliver us from evil”, whereas my division renders the 6th and final petition as “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The difference is not essential and you can adopt whichever convention you prefer.

[2] Note: If you are using a version other than the King James, the conclusion of Mt. 6:13 will be “Amen” rather than “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”. Luther did not include the longer conclusion in his Catechism, but the Westminster Catechism does; therefore, I have chosen to include it. Here again, I leave it to the reader to decide which convention to adopt.

Here I Kneel, Learn to Pray Like a Reformer (Part 1)

2010-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

A great article on prayer for our own spiritual growth and reflecting our dependance on God.

Brainy Yakking: Here I Kneel, Learn to Pray Like a Reformer (Part 1)
by Wretchedradio.com

Martin Luther, the instigator of the Protestant Reformation, is known for his famous dictum, “Here I stand.” However, before Luther could stand before the papists in Worms, he needed to kneel before his father in Heaven. And though he is known for his work as a Reformer, it was Luther who declared that the business of the Christian is prayer. And for Luther, business was good.

So respected were his prayers that a good friend, Peter the Barber, asked Luther to teach him how to pray. Luther responded with a short instructional booklet called, A Simple way to Pray, in which he told his friend “I will tell you as best I can what I do personally when I pray”. Thus, Luther has provided instructions for praying like a Reformer. And over the next couple of days, it is my aim to summarize for you Luther’s instructions on prayer, that you too may pray like a Reformer.

First, observe several general considerations about prayer.

1. Pray privately
There is certainly time and place for public prayers, but here Luther discusses finding a private place to pray quietly.

2. Pray first and last
Luther urges prayer first thing in the morning and last thing at night. “It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.”

3. Pray twice
We pray both in our prayers and in our work. Quoting Jerome, he says, "‘He who works faithfully prays twice.’ This can be said because a believer fears and honors God in his work…Faith transforms work into prayer.” Interestingly, Luther also notes “On the other hand it is also true that the work of an unbeliever is outright cursing and
so he who works faithlessly curses twice”.

4. Pray habitually
“We must be careful not to break the habit of true prayer and imagine other works to be necessary which, after all, are nothing of the kind. Thus at the end we become lax and lazy, cool and listless toward prayer. The devil who besets us is not lazy or careless, and our flesh is too ready and eager to sin and is disinclined to the spirit of prayer.”

5. Pray eagerly
We do not want half-hearted or insincere prayers. Luther says, “It is of great importance that the heart be made ready and eager for prayer.” He then asks, “What else is it but tempting God when your mouth babbles and the mind wanders to other thoughts?

6. Pray attentively
“A good and attentive barber keeps his thoughts, attention, and eyes on the razor and hair and does not forget how far he has gotten with his shaving or cutting. If he wants to engage in too much conversation or let his mind wander or look somewhere else he is likely to cut his customer's mouth, nose, or even his throat. Thus if anything is to be done well, it requires the full attention of all one's senses and members, ‘He who thinks of many things, thinks of nothing and does nothing right.’ How much more does prayer call for concentration and singleness of heart if it is to be a good prayer!” [Teachers take note of Luther's consideration and knowledge of his audience, in this case, Peter the Barber]

7. Pray briefly, frequently and fervently
Luther cautions, “Take care … not to undertake …so much [at once] that one becomes weary in spirit. A good prayer should not be lengthy or drawn out, but frequent and ardent”.

8. Pray confidently
“Mark this”, says Luther, “You must always speak the Amen firmly. Never doubt that
God in his mercy will surely hear you... Do not leave your prayer without having said or thought, ‘Very well, God has heard my prayer; this I know as a certainty and a truth.’ That is what Amen means”.

May God grant you a fruitful time in prayer today.

-Brainiac

Commanded Gifts

2010-10-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

At first glance the title of this post seems almost like an oxymoronic statement. What do you mean by commanded gifts? A gift is something given freely and not commanded of the receiving party to do. Its kind of like saying terms like boneless ribs or self help group. It just does not make sense. But when speaking of commanded gifts from a biblical perspective it becomes another story. So in terms of salvation I want to just discuss some of those aspects in a quick intro post. I may develop some of these points later or all of them depending on time. Lets begin to look at the gift of salvation from a biblical perspective....

Act's 13:48 says, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."

The verse above simply states that all those who believed were appointed to do so. But then why are they commanded to repent and trust in Christ if they were appointed to eternal life? Well this is where the commanded gifts come in. Lets look at those two terms of the same coin, repentance and faith in Christ....

Repentance the command....

Mark 1:14-15, "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Repentance the gift...

Acts 2:24 "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."

Faith the command....

John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live"

Faith the gift...

Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"

Here we have on display the loving pursuing God who grants to His children the wonderful gifts of salvation NOT based on anything deserving in themselves but based on a sovereign God's choosing. None of these gifts are meritorious in themselves (for we have nothing to boast about) but they come handed down to us from the father of lights in whom there is no Shadow or turning. Interesting to see just how God's commands and grants our ability to do those commands by His great power.

C.J.'s Words of Wisdom

2010-10-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

C.J. Helps put things in perspective by "Making Calvary your Landmark".

"Make this a priority in your spiritual disciplines. Dwell on some aspect of Christ and him crucified as revealed in your daily Scripture reading. Use your supplemental reading to refocus your gaze on the cross. Like Paul, resolve to know nothing except Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2)."

Read article here

Westminster Confession on Christian Liberty

2010-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

They who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty, which is, that being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. (The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XX: Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience)

The Big Cosmic Duh! Creation = Creator

2010-07-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

“40 Reasons Why I Do Not Want To Commit Adultery”

2010-07-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

A good article by Mark Spence (Dean from The School of Biblical Evangelism).

1. I would violate my relationship with my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who has loved, cared, and died for me. This action would disregard the selfless and cruel death He suffered in order to give me power over this sin.

2. I would bring public shame and unnecessary disrepute to His most holy and precious name, which I have been privileged to represent.

3. I would have to someday face my gracious Savior, eye to eye at His judgment seat, giving an account for willfully squandering His abundant provision of purifying grace. At that moment of eternal consequences I would inevitably witness the results of my own
disregard for the rewards of faithfulness and obedience He so desired to give to me.

4. I would choose to submit myself to a destructive process of self-deception and the dulling of my conscience, causing a lack of confidence in my future ability to walk in obedience and faith.

5. I would inflict unimaginable pain on my wife — my best friend, and my faithful and sacrificial partner in ministry and life — and would have to stare into her tear-filled eyes to explain this conscious violation of my vows and describe the stupidity of my behavior.

6. I would permanently damage my wife’s ability to trust me or believe my word. I would lose her respect in the future, giving her constant cause for suspicion and question.

7. If my pattern of deception were to continue, or if she were unable to forgive me, I would lose her as my wife and would be left to face ongoing regret, loneliness, and pain.

8. In this case, I would permanently ruin my wife’s future fulfillment, causing her to face the remainder of her life feeling the struggle of rejection and dealing with the complications of single parenting or remarriage.

9. I would violate the love and trust of my precious children. In essence, I would be telling them, “Your mother is not a worthy person. Your father is a liar and a cheat. Honor is not as important as pleasure. My own selfish satisfaction is more important than loving my children.”

10. By destroying my own example and credibility with my children, I would lose future opportunities to influence them toward loving obedience and holiness and would plant within them a potential long-term resentment and bitterness toward the Lord and the ministry.

11. I would bring continual shame to my children every time they had to explain why their father was no longer in ministry — or why he was no longer together with their mother.

12. I would create destructive and continually tempting mental memories that would cultivate unhealthy lust and negatively affect future intimacy with my wife.

13. I would squander all of the money, time, effort, and pain that have gone into my preparation for and development in the pastoral ministry.

14. I would seriously disappoint those godly leaders who have faithfully invested themselves in me (e.g. professors, pastors, mentors, and relatives).

15. I would bring shame to the college and seminary from which I graduated, tarnishing their reputation and squandering their investment in my theological education and character development.

16. I would deeply wound and embarrass my parents, whose loving instruction, sacrificial investment, and current delight in the positive course of my life would be horribly violated.

17. I would significantly damage the solid ministry foundation and tarnish the wholesome legacy of my faithful predecessors of my current ministry.

18. I would bring long-term disrepute to the positive reputation of my church in the community, hindering future ministry to people in this area.

19. I would undermine the credibility and effort of other Christian ministries and leaders in my city, adding to the climate of mistrust that continues to expand with each story of moral failure.

20. I would violate the precious trusting relationship with my leadership board, causing difficulty for them into the future as they seek to lead the congregation and causing a potential spirit of mistrust on their part toward future senior pastors at this church.

21. I would destroy my credibility and relationship with staff members who have faithfully supported me and responded to my leadership. A revelation of duplicity at this level would wound them deeply and would hinder even their own leadership among the flock.

22. I would bring undeserved difficulty and pain to my ministry successor and his family, as they would be forced to reap what I have sown in their attempt to salvage the church and clean up the mess I would have made.

23. I would deeply wound all those who have been saved, discipled, equipped, counseled, and prayed for under my ministry, causing disappointment and disillusionment for some.

24. I would create possible disillusionment in the hearts of young men preparing for ministry as they wonder about the credibility of my leadership and the viability of authentic pastoral ministry.

25. If this should become newsworthy on a statewide or national scale, I would exacerbate the growing climate of mistrust toward Christianity at an even broader level.

26. I would squander my witness to various unsaved friends, acquaintances, and neighbors to whom I have witnessed over the years, perhaps driving them farther away from receiving Christ.

27. I would be thoughtlessly and carelessly throwing away the impact of the prayers of thousands of people who over the years have wholeheartedly supported me on their knees.

28. I would be heaping significant guilt and pain on the other woman, for the rest of her life.

29. I would potentially contribute to the dismantling of her marriage, family, and network of trusting friends.

30. I would run the risk of the complications of a pregnancy resulting from the extramarital sexual activity.

31. I would run the risk of physical consequences in the form of sexually transmitted diseases.

32. I would suffer the consequences of losing a job and creating serious practical strain on my family financially and socially.

33. I would experience the trauma of a career change, having violated the qualifications for pastoral office.

34. I would join the ranks of those whom I have previously despised and whose actions have deeply grieved me because of their violation of calling and trust through moral scandal.

35. I would live with personal life-long embarrassment and shame, as I would encounter regular reminders of my foolish and destructive choices.

36. I would be required to invest a significant amount of time and money in the process of recovery, as many hours of counseling and years of rebuilding would be required.

37. I would take myself out of the running for multiplied opportunities in the future that could have come my way, had I remained faithful.

38. I would run the risk of being permanently “shelved” in my usefulness to God and His kingdom, knowing that the overwhelming shame and personal regret could cause me to completely give up my service for Christ.

39. I would cause a countless number of people to doubt the validity of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the power of Christ as they might ask, “If it didn’t work for him, can it really work for me?”

40. I would bring delight to Satan and his demons as these enemies of my soul and opponents of Christ would exult in their victory over one of God’s called servants.

(Some of these concepts were originally conceived by Randy Alcorn in Leadership Journal.) Copyright © 2010 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.

George Whitefield, "How to Listen to a Sermon"

2010-06-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

How to Listen to a Sermon
by George Whitefield

Keys for getting the most out of what the preacher says

Jesus said, 'Therefore consider carefully how you listen' (Luke 8:18). Here are some cautions and directions, in order to help you hear sermons with profit and advantage.

1. Come to hear them, not out of curiosity, but from a sincere desire to know and do your duty. To enter His house merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.

2. Give diligent heed to the things that are spoken from the Word of God. If an earthly king were to issue a royal proclamation, and the life or death of his subjects entirely depended on performing or not performing its conditions, how eager would they be to hear what those conditions were! And shall we not pay the same respect to the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and lend an attentive ear to His ministers, when they are declaring, in His name, how our pardon, peace, and happiness may be secured?

3. Do not entertain even the least prejudice against the minister. That was the reason Jesus Christ Himself could not do many mighty works, nor preach to any great effect among those of His own country; for they were offended at Him. Take heed therefore, and beware of entertaining any dislike against those whom the Holy Ghost has made overseers over you.

Consider that the clergy are men of like passions with yourselves. And though we should even hear a person teaching others to do what he has not learned himself, yet that is no reason for rejecting his doctrine. For ministers speak not in their own, but in Christ’s name. And we know who commanded the people to do whatever the scribes and Pharisees should say unto them, even though they did not do themselves what they said (see Matt. 23:1-3).

4. Be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, or think more highly of him than you ought to think. Preferring one teacher over another has often been of ill consequence to the church of God. It was a fault which the great Apostle of the Gentiles condemned in the Corinthians: 'For whereas one said, I am of Paul; another, I am of Apollos: are you not carnal, says he? For who is Paul, and who is Apollos, but instruments in God’s hands by whom you believed?' (1 Cor. 1:12; 2:3-5).

Are not all ministers sent forth to be ministering ambassadors to those who shall be heirs of salvation? And are they not all therefore greatly to be esteemed for their work’s sake?

5. Make particular application to your own hearts of everything that is delivered. When our Savior was discoursing at the last supper with His beloved disciples and foretold that one of them should betray Him, each of them immediately applied it to his own heart and said, 'Lord, is it I?' (Matt. 26:22).

Oh, that persons, in like manner, when preachers are dissuading from any sin or persuading to any duty, instead of crying, 'This was intended for such and such a one!' instead would turn their thoughts inwardly, and say, 'Lord, is it I?' How far more beneficial should we find discourses to be than now they generally are!

6. Pray to the Lord, before, during, and after every sermon, to endue the minister with power to speak, and to grant you a will and ability to put into practice what he shall show from the Book of God to be your duty.

No doubt it was this consideration that made St. Paul so earnestly entreat his beloved Ephesians to intercede with God for him: 'Praying always, with all manner of prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and for me also, that I may open my mouth with boldness, to make known the mysteries of the gospel' (Eph. 6:19-20). And if so great an apostle as St. Paul needed the prayers of his people, much more do those ministers who have only the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

If only all who hear me this day would seriously apply their hearts to practice what has now been told them! How ministers would see Satan, like lightning, fall from heaven, and people find the Word preached sharper than a two-edged sword and mighty, through God, to the pulling down of the devil’s strongholds!

This excerpt is adapted from Sermon 28 from The Works of the Reverend George Whitefield. Published by E. and C. Dilly, 1771-1772, London. George Whitefield (1714-1770) was a British Methodist evangelist whose powerful sermons fanned the flames of the First Great Awakening in the American colonies.

(Source)

Healthy Church = Biblical Preaching

2010-06-27T20:20:00.001-07:00

All of the following marks I will cover over the next few weeks come from 9Marks ministry. These are not essentials of a church but they are essential marks of a healthy church with healthy members. As I write this I am in preparation and study for our summer family devotions. We have spent the last year in the book of John but as we approach chapter 11 we will be departing for a short time to address the subject of, "Love and Centrality of the Local Church." As my wife and I clear some new ground in our parenting we are discovering many area's in which we take for granted without ever explaining. The local church is something all Christian families do, but why? Do our children understand the essential necessity of the local church? Do they understand why we are dedicated to a local church?

My wife and I allowed them to pear into our search process for a local church a couple years ago. We wanted them to see some of what we were looking for. In fact this first mark we will discuss was the first essential mark we were going to expect. This mark is the first mark I will look for when suggesting a local church to family or friends wherever they live. We first go to two trusted resources. One is Masters Seminary and the other is 9marks church finder. If we cannot find any of those we then go to the local church websites and then go to the resource page, look at past sermons and can determine if this church has this mark or not.

So to embark on this subject, I will be spending much time looking at the effect and result of the local church in the book of Acts and in a few other books after we have gone through the nine marks of a healthy church. When I say centrality I think it is important to explain what I mean. Men by in large over the past fifty to one hundred years have undergone an industrialized reconstruction of how they go about providing for there families. About one hundred years ago most families had farms and worked within the confinements of there own properties. But with the industrialization of the nineteenth century many men began to leave there homes to work within travel distance for there primary means to provide. Today most men do not work in there own homes to provide for there family. I for instance must travel nearly forty miles away every day to get to work. Well one of the subsequent problems of this sort of lifestyle is that we take that same way of thinking to our local church. We do not interact on a constant basis within the body. We may drive twenty or thirty minutes away. We may fellowship on Sunday and maybe on Wednesday night class but other then that we are disconnected with the body. I don't think this is the biblical outline of how church is to be. I believe there needs to be more daily involvement. A dedication to those believers and a commitment to making it more then just a part of our life but the central part of our life. Yes we have unsaved family and friends and we do interact with them. But the church (a group believers) are to be dedicated to one another and to the glory of God. So, with that said, I have much to learn, I much more to model and am praying for grace as I look for those opportunities. So As I begin my studies on the subject I hope to serve you well by putting some of the marks of a healthy church and how to grow in greater love for the local church over the next several weeks.

All of the subjects I will cover over the summer months are based on the premise that you understand that church is for the believer (1 Cor. 12:12,13). In the New Testament we see believers getting together to fellowship, preach, partake in communion, practice church discipline, etc(Acts 2:42, Matthew 18). I know many man centered churches believe the point of the church is to gather, work at, focus on, model programs after the unsaved. Fill our churches with unregenerate people and if we do it in a very cool way then they will stay. I will simply say that is not a church in the biblical definition of the church. The seeker sensitive and emergent church does not have God's glory or your sanctification in focus but entertainment and comfort to the lost. Many of these marks would be offensive to the lost so therefore they will not be utilized as they would remove there biggest crowd. If this is you then I would encourage you to pray for your church, pray for your pastor, get great resources, study and they talk to your elders. See if they are willing to work on these areas. What is there reaction? A good shepherd will be understanding and talk to you with love and respect. If this is not the case then you have much larger problems. This is an important distinction. So with that said, lets begin our list.

MARK ONE: EXPOSITIONAL PREACHING

A healthy church will begin with the foundational understanding that God's word is where we are to go for our growth and sanctification. We must focus our attention to God's Word. This is sufficient for every thing in life and growth in godliness. It reveals to us who we are, who God is and what we are to do. It shows us how to structure our church to glorify Him, how to evangelize, how to parent, do marriage and all aspects of life. A healthy church has a Pastor who is less about his random topics from week to week with an occasion bible verse but the Bible itself is the focal point of the church service and the sermon. This obligates any possibility for a Pastor to get on his hobby horse and it does not skip any of the hard things we must learn. Expositional preaching is when you take a book of the Bible and you preach out it verse by verse. The Word is the focus and all our attention is on it. Our job as members of the local church is to place leaders in our pulpit who are gifted at there ability to discover what the point of the passage is and make that the point of there sermon. Then there task is to apply it to us, in the church, at this time. Topical Sermons can be expositional but only when you preach a topic based on a section of scripture or scriptures that specifically addresses that topic. But by in large your steady diet needs to be verse by verse and book by book exposure of God's Word.

Expository preaching is not something marked by style or personality but by biblical content. Sometimes we will find a preacher reading a section of scripture then preaching a random topic based loosely on the scripture. This is not expository preaching. Again, and this is important, expository preaching is the idea that the verse or section of scripture is the point of the message not used to support a Pastor's message. The Word itself is the authority and in fact a Pastor's authority starts and end's upon the authority of scripture itself. This means that they are accountable to call black what scripture's calls black and white the scripture calls white. They are also not qualified to take the grey areas of scripture and call them essential when God's word does not. It requires careful attention to the context, author, history, genre, etc.

Yes this is a requirement of the Pastor but ultimately it is the responsibility of the congregation and the individual families to make sure this is what they are placing themselves under.If not, it will and does stunt the growth of the believer. It results in immature Christians who (when listening to verse by verse preaching)use terms like, that is a boring style (again this is God's inspired Word we are talking about), well what about worship? (as if the sermon itself was not part of worship), those Pastor's are to legalistic and arrogant (as if the Pastor who is teaching his random topic making himself the focus of the sermon is more humble then the one who submits to God's Word making "it" the focal point of the sermon as more arrogant. Not to mention just an immature understanding of what legalism is). The seeker sensitive, emergent church movement inevitably ends up being more emotion based therefore preaching more from random subject then of consistent truth. But Bible based churches always end up with the Word as there foundation. So in short expository preaching is a correct understanding of the text within the context, correctly preaching that text as to make its main point the sermons main point and finally it requires a correct application. If you belong to this sort of church then your responsibility comes to play in your applying what you are hearing from God's Word as God addresses you each week. Pray to this end.

Resolved Conference

2010-06-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

As the 2010 Resolved Conference gets under way tonight I thought I would pass a highlight video from last year.

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken from Resolved on Vimeo.

Loving the Church, Faults and all

2010-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

One theme in today's "Christian" relevance plays over and over again. It is either something culturally accepted and boastfully alluded to by modern day social gospel preachers or it is something that is totally avoided and neglected due to disagreements by a younger rebellious youth. It is not new and seems to follow all age groups from the creation of man. The subject is the church and its main preeminence within the believers life. Today it seems the more convenient the church is to cater to the worldly desires of today's youth, the least amount of demands it places on any individual, and its ability to submit to the desires of the congregations, well the more attractive she is. The unregenerate person has no desire to be inconvenienced by church involvement. Unless of course it is center stage and one day a week with no prior requirements.

We seem to be living in an era where devotion to the centrality of the church upon a believer is almost completely neglected. Cultivating within our youth a strong desire to love the church and be devoted to it as the central focus of ones life takes a back seat to more important things like sports, education, leisure, and an array of other topics. Youth are not loving the church, loving the education of a proper worldview, sports within the context of the local church and leisure with the people they go to church with. It all seems like "work."

This attitude is usually bred by parents who seem to be rather non-submissive and uninformed on the need to love the church. They seem overly critical and have complaining hearts. The church is great as long as it does everything they agree with. Once a sacrifice of trust is required of them they are the first to shoot and complain or even leave. In face the battle cry of today's relevant church is to look and act as little like church as possible and as much like the world as they can afford (which comes far short).

Beware, for one you are working yourself out of a job. How? Every generation has this youthful pride that says the best way is different. Its not 2000 years of biblical theology. Its now, its hip, its cool, its not old. Young man, you are getting older. Many of you in less then 15 years will be the older uncool man. The next generation will come and repeat your method of ecclesiology. And you my friend, will loose your job because you will just be to old. You will not be respected but discarded and the "new" perspectives of prideful know it all spirituality will become even more liberal then your "new" ways which will all to soon become "old" ways. But what do you expect? This was your modeled ministry.

What I want to do over the next few weeks as the Lord allows is go through the 9 Marks of a healthy church. If you have not ran by these then do a google search for 9 Marks Ministry and go through each of the 9 Marks to see how your church stacks up. These are not necessary controversial marks but they are marks that all to often are assumed but never explained. This results in a distorted view of meaning on each mark. The reason I am doing this is two fold. One reason to serve you in your search for a healthy church. The second reason is all to often I have seen people who have neglected to lead there family to a healthy church either due to a lack of biblical leadership, concern of self, or simply because they do not know what to look for. My prayer is that in each case this will serve you in order to stir up again a desire to lead you and/or your family to a church with a high view of God and His Word or to aid you in what to look for as you discern the difference of a God centered church from a man centered church. Maybe you are in a situation where your parents are going to an unbiblical church. My prayer is that as you go through each mark you will become more aware of your need to pray. Maybe you are a submissive wife who is following a husband who seems to prefer position and or convenience more then family leadership. Well let these things revive a desire to pray for your church and further your commitment to God. Know that He is in control and your gentle loving spirit has an impact. But do not neglect the need for prayer and become desperate in your desire to see your family grow in grace. God will honor those prayers.

So after this introduction our first Mark will be "Expositional Preaching" in which I will be posting later this week. Commit to prayer for your family and your Pastors. Commit to being a part of the solution within your local church. It is easy to sit back and judge and never do the heavy lifting. Start to show a pattern of self denial to your local church and service. Begin to love the church and teach your children to do the same.

1 Corinthians 12:18-21
God has arranged the parts in the body,
every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!"
And the head cannot say to the feet, "I dont need
you!"

Made a wretch His treasure

2010-06-19T17:01:00.001-07:00

Understanding Biblical Criticism

2010-06-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Michael Horton on Understanding Biblical Criticism

The Character of Genuine Saving Faith

2010-05-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Character of Genuine Saving Faith

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

I. Evidences that neither prove nor disprove one’s faith
a. Visible morality: Matt 19:16-21
b. Intellectual knowledge: Romans 2:17ff
c. Religious involvement: Matt. 25:1-10
d. Active Ministry : Mark 7:21-24
e. Conviction of sin: Acts 24:25
f. Assurance: Matt 23
g. Time of decision: Luke 8:13-14

II. The fruit /proofs of authentic / true Christianity
a. Love for God: Luke 10:27, Romans 8:7
b. Repentance from sin: Psalm 32:5, II Cor 7:10, I John 1:8-10
c. Genuine Humility: Psalm 51:17, Matt 5:1-12, James 4:6-9
d. Devotion to God’s Glory: Psalm 105:3, Isaiah 43:7, I Cor 10:31
e. Continual Prayer: Luke 18:1, Eph. 6:18, James 5:16-18
f. Selfless love: I John 2:9ff, 3:14, 4:7ff
g. Separation from the world: I Cor. 2:12, James 4:4ff, I John 2:15-17
h. Spiritual Growth: Luke 8:15, John 15:1-6, Eph 4:12-16
i. Obedient Living: Matt 7:21, I Peter 1:2,22….I John 2:3-5
If list I is true of a person and list II is false or non-evident, then there could be cause to question the validity of one’s profession of faith. If list II is true of a person, then list I will be true as well.
From: Dr John MacArthur Study Bible Index Notes, 1997.

Silent Idol

2010-05-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Often when having conversations with family members, friends or even strangers I often find a common thread or sin among them all. It is not shocking and not surprising when I hear it because I was guilty of this same sin and totally oblivious to it. In fact this sin is the most deceptive sin I am aware of. It is deceptive because its cloaked in some form of "spirituality". It eases the conscience of daily struggles, hardship, conviction and judgment. I am convinced that this sin takes more people to hell then any other. This sin is even prevalent among many church attendees. Whole churches have been built on this sin. The sin as laid out in

Exodus 20:3-4,
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image".

Making a graven or "carved" image. In the Old Testament the foreign nations at that time were acustom to making false God's out of gold or wood. Bowing down to those false images and worshiping them. Here God is commanding His chosen people, the Jew's, not to commit the same sin of idolatry. They are commanded to worship the one true God. Just a basic observation would reveal that even God's people (after miracle upon miracle) have a human tendency to create a false God and worship it. To place there trust in it and to have faith in it. We even see later in the same book chapter 32 that when Moses "delayed" coming down to them they gathered to make a false god. They made a golden calf and worshiped it. When Moses became aware of this and ground there idol to powder Aaron responded by saying to Moses, "You know the people, that they are set on evil" (Exodus 32:23).So it is that we are all "set" to evil. We are apt to go the natural way of things. We want to go the easy way. We want to go the way that can quickly ease our own conscience. That is what we see in these passages and what we see continuing several thousand year's later. Therefor we commit this same sin.

So the question is how do we commit this sin? After all I am sure you do not have many family members making little idol's to place on there mantle and bow down to. So how do we see this in today's context. It's simple, when we create a god in our own making that is defined by self. A god who is ok with sin's committed by self but not ok with really bad people's sin's. A god who will overlook lying, stealing (but I was just a kid excuse), lust, etc. But who must hate rape and murder. It's always a god who will have justice on the sin's the individual did not commit but they turn around in a self righteous manner and point the finger to others to say God must punish them. They have made a god in there own mind. It's not made out of brick's, wood or gold but one out of the mind. It can even have a name like jesus but it's not the Jesus as revealed in the Bible. It's one they made up. As one begins to define the God of the Bible the more they will see that there god is not like that. And that is true because there god does not even exist. It is a figment of one's imagination. It cannot save them on judgment day. They often will have a emotional connection with this god and say they pray every day. This is true also but the person they are praying to is self. It is self worship. Often those in this sin will consider themselves "spiritual" not religious. They have an over attraction with angel's. The more they are aware that there god is not the same God of the Bible they will seek to destroy the true God. They will set out to look for evidence to disprove the Bible, to run to every conspiracy theory under the sun. They will never have a urge to study the Bible for the sake of truth but to disprove it. They will never pick up a book to prove it's accuracy but quick to purchase the next "top seller" proving the "truth" of the Bible. Why? Because much like the Jew's of Moses' day "they are set on evil". I was once that very person. I was a self professing "Christian" but I had no love for the Bible, Worshiping God with other believers, serving a local church, obeying any of God's command's, or trusting Jesus alone. My god had a name, it was jesus but in reality it was Gary.

We must be aware that the devil transform's himself as an angel of light(2 Corinthians 11:14). This road of self worship will be wide and easy (Matthew 6:13-14)and even say, "This way to heaven" but it is a lie. It boil's down to this, we do not define God starting with self. I dont define God starting with me, we must go to an authoritative book, The Bible. In that Book God has defined Himself in many ways. He has revealed Himself to us. He show's us He is a God of justice, holiness and forgiveness. But it's not some passive kind of forgiveness. It was purchased with blood. The blood of God's own Son, Jesus Christ.

He Run's for the Rebel.

2010-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Display of Regeneration

2010-04-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Victoria "Come to Jesus"

2010-04-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

This is Victoria at the local talent show. She did great.

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Avoiding Dissension in the Home

2010-04-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Some great stuff from Richard Baxter. Although this is written almost 400 years ago it still rings true today.

From Richard Baxter: It is a great duty of husbands and wives to live in quietness and peace, and avoid all occasions of wrath and discord. Because this is a duty of so great importance, I shall first open to you the great necessity of it, and then give you more particular directions to perform it.

(1) Your discord will be your pain, and the vexation of our lives. Like a bile, or wound, or fracture in your own bodies, which will pain you till it is cured; you will hardly keep peace in your minds, when peace is broken so near you in your family. As you would take heed of hurting yourselves, and as you would hasten the cure when you are hurt; so should you take heed of any breach of peace, and quickly seek to heal it when it is broken.

(2) Dissension tends to cool your love; oft falling out doth tend to leave a habit of distaste and averseness on the mind. Wounding is separating; and to be tied together by any outward bonds, when your hearts are separated, is but to be tormented; and to have the insides of adversaries, while you have conjugal outsides. As the difference between my house and my prison is that I willingly and with delight dwell in the one, but am unwillingly confined to the other, such will be the difference between a quiet and an unquiet life, in your married state; it turneth your dwelling and delight into a prison, where you are chained to those calamities, which in a free condition you might overrun.

(3) Dissension between the husband and the wife, doth disorder all their family affairs; they are like oxen unequally yoked, that can rid no work for striving with one another. Nothing is well done because of the variance of those that should do it, or oversee it.

(4) It exceedingly unfitteth you for the worship of God; you are not fit to pray together, nor to confer together of heavenly things, nor to be helpers to each other's souls: I need not tell you this, you feel it by experience. Wrath and bitterness will not allow you so much exercise of love and holy composedness of mind, as every one of those duties do require.

(5) Dissension disableth you to govern your families aright. Your children and servants will take example by you; or think they are at liberty to do what they list, when they find you taken up with such work between yourselves; and they will think you unfit to reprove them for their faults, when they see you guilty of such faults and folly of your own; nay, you will become the shame and secret derision of your family, and bring yourselves into contempt.

(6) Your dissensions will expose you to the malice of Satan, and give him advantage for manifold temptations. A house divided cannot stand; an army divided is easily conquered, and made a prey to the enemy. You cannot forsee what abundance of sin you put yourselves in danger of. By all this you may see what dissensions between husband and wife do tend to, and how they should be avoided.

For the avoiding of them observe these sub-directions:

(1) Keep up your conjugal love in a constant heat and vigor. Love will suppress wrath; you cannot have a bitter mind upon small provocations, against those that you dearly love; much less can you proceed to reviling words, or to averseness and estrangedness, or any abuse of one another. Or if a breach and wound be unhappily made, the balsamic quality of love will heal it. But when love once cooleth, small matters exasperate and breed distaste.

(2) Both husband and wife must mortify their pride and passion, which are the causes of impatiency; and must pray and labour for a humble, meek, and quiet spirit. A proud heart is troubled and provoked by every word or carriage that seemeth to tend to their undervaluing. A peevish, froward mind is like a sore and ulcerated member, that will be hurt if it be touched. He that must live near such a sore, diseased, impatient mind, must live even as the nurse doth with the child, that maketh it her business to rock it, and lull, and sing it quiet when it crieth; for to be angry with it, will do no good; and if you have married one of such a sick or childish temper, you must resolve to bear and use them accordingly. But no Christian should bear with such a malady in themselves; nor be patient with such impatiency of mind. Once get the victory over yourselves, and the cure of your own impatience, and you will easily keep peace with one another.

(3) Agree together beforehand, that when one is in the diseased, angry fit, the other shall silently and gently bear, till it be past and you are come to yourselves again. Be not angry both at once; when the fire is kindled, quench it with gentle words and carriage, and do not cast on oil or fuel, by answering provokingly and sharply, or by multiplying words, and by answering wrath with wrath.

(4) If you cannot quickly quench your passion, yet at least refrain your tongues; speak not reproachful or provoking words: talking it out hotly doth blow the fire, and increase the flame; be but silent, and you will the sooner return to your serenity and peace. Foul words tend to more displeasure. As Socrates said when his wife first railed at him, and next threw a vessel of foul water upon him, 'I thought when I heard the thunder, there would come rain'; so you may portend worse following, when foul, unseeming words begin. If you cannot easily allay your wrath, you may hold your tongues, if you are truly willing.

(5) Let the sober party condescend to speak fair and to entreat the other. Say to your angry wife or husband, 'You know this should not be betwixt us; love must allay it, and it must be repented of. God doth not approve it, and we shall not approve it when this heat is over. This frame of mind is contrary to a praying frame, and this language contrary to a praying language; we must pray together anon; let us do nothing contrary to prayer now: sweet water and bitter come not from one spring,' etc. Some calm and condescending words of reason, may stop the torrent, and revive the reason which passion had overcome.

(6) Confess your fault to one another, when passion hath prevaileth against you; and ask forgiveness of each other, and join in prayer to God for pardon; and this will lay a greater engagement on you the next time to forbear: you will sure be ashamed to do that which you have so confessed and asked forgiveness for of God and man. If you will but practise these directions, your family peace may be preserved.

(Thankful for OldTruth.com although shut down still serves me well with great reading).

The Function of the Law

2010-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

“The character of God leads to the Law of God--God’s whole relationship to the world and to man. All this designed to bring people to conviction of sin, and to lead them to repentance. And that in turn should lead them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the One and only Saviour. That is the message of salvation, that is called evangelistic preaching.” - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Martin Luther "Satan, the god of all dissension stirs up daily new sects. And last of all which of all others I should never have foreseen or once suspected, he has raised up a sect such as teach that men should not be terrified by the law, but gently exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ."
"The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin."
"...we would not see nor realize it (what a distressing and horrible fall in which we lie), if it were not for the Law, and we would have to remain forever lost, if we were not again helped out of it through Christ. Therefore the Law and the Gospel are given to the end that we may learn to know both how guilty we are and to what we should again return."
In a sermon published way back in 1537, Martin Luther spoke of the Law being used as a schoolmaster the bring sinners to Christ. Listen to his words of warning: "This now is the Christian teaching and preaching, which God be praised, we know and possess, and it is not necessary at present to develop it further, but only to offer the admonition that it be maintained in Christendom with all diligence. For Satan has attacked it hard and strong from the beginning until the present, and gladly would he completely extinguish it and tread it underfoot."

John Wesley In writing to a young evangelist instructed, "Preach 90 percent law and 10 percent grace."
"While he cries out, O what love have I to thy Law! all the day long is my study in it. He sees daily, in that divine mirror, more and more of his own sinfulness. He sees more and more clearly, that he is fullness a sinner in all things -- that neither his heart nor his ways are right before God, and that every moment sends him to Christ. Therefore I cannot spare the Law one moment, no more than I can spare Christ, seeing I now want it as much to keep me to Christ, as I ever wanted it to bring me to Him. Otherwise this 'evil heart of unbelief' would immediately 'depart from the living God.' Indeed each is continually sending me to the other--the Law to Christ, and Christ to the Law."

John Newton, who wrote "Amazing Grace" "Ignorance of the nature and design of the Law is at the bottom of most religious mistakes."

Charles Spurgeon "I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law." Then he warns, "Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [its most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ . . . They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place."
"The Law cuts into the core of the evil, it reveals the seat of the malady, and informs us that the leprosy lies deep within."
"They must be slain by the law before they can be made alive by the gospel."

Jonathan Edwards "The only way we can know whether we are sinning is by knowing His Moral Law."
"They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. John iii. 18. 'He that believeth not is condemned already.' So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is, John viii. 23. 'Ye are from beneath.' And thither be is bound; it is the place that justice, and God's word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assign to him."

George Whitefield "First, then, before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the Law of God."

John Wesley "...it is the ordinary method of the Spirit of God to convict sinners by the Law. It is this which, being set home on the conscience, generally breaketh the rocks in pieces. It is more especially this part of the Word of God which is quick and powerful, full of life and energy and sharper than any two-edged sword."
"It remains only to show...the uses of the Law. And the first use of it, without question, is to convince the world of sin. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig-leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is 'wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked.' The Law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His 'mouth is stopped' and he stands 'guilty before God.' To slay the sinner is then the first use of the Law, to destroy the life and strength wherein he trusts and convince him that he is dead while he lives; not only under the sentence of death, but actually dead to God, void of all spiritual life, dead in trespasses and sins."
"Before I can preach love, mercy and grace I must preach sin, law and judgment."
"The second use {of the Law} is to bring him unto Life, unto Christ that he may live. It is true, in performing both these offices, it acts the part of a severe school master. It drives us by force, rather than draws us by love. And yet love is the spring of all. It is the spirit of love which, by this painful means, tears away our confidence in the flesh, which leaves us no broken reed whereon to trust, and so constrains the sinner, stripped of all to cry out in the bitterness of his soul or groan in the depth of his heart, 'I give up every plea beside, Lord I am damned but thou hast died.'"

C. S. Lewis "When we merely say that we are bad, the 'wrath' of God seems a barbarous doctrine; as soon as we perceive our bad-ness, it appears inevitable, a mere corollary from God's goodness..."

J. I. Packer "Unless we see our shortcomings in the light of the Law and holiness of God, we do not see them as sin at all."

John Bunyan "The man who does not know the nature of the Law, cannot know the nature of sin."

A. W. Pink "Just as the world was not ready for the New Testament before it received the Old, just as the Jews were not prepared for the ministry of Christ until John the Baptist had gone before Him with his claimant call to repentance, so the unsaved are in no condition today for the Gospel till the Law be applied to their hearts, for 'by the Law is the knowledge of sin.' It is a waste of time to sow seed on ground which has never been ploughed or spaded! To present the vicarious sacrifice of Christ to those whose dominant passion is to take fill of sin, is to give that which is holy to the dogs."

Augustine "The Law is not in fault, but our evil and wicked nature; even as a heap of lime is still and quiet until water be poured thereon, but then it begins to smoke and burn, not from the fault of the water, but from the nature and kind of the lime which will not endure it."

Matthew Henry "Herein is the Law of God above all other laws, that it is a spiritual law. Other laws may forbid compassing and imagining, which are treason in the heart, but cannot take cognizance thereof, unless there be some overt act; but the Law of God takes notice of the iniquity regarded in the heart, though it go no further."

D. L. Moody "Ask Paul why [the Law] was given. Here is his answer, 'That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God' (Romans 3:19). The Law stops every man's mouth. I can always tell a man who is near the kingdom of God; his mouth is stopped. This, then, is why God gives us the Law—to show us ourselves in our true colors."
"The law can only chase a man to Calvary, no further."

J. C. Ryle "People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven, and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of hell ... Let us expound and beat out the Ten Commandments, and show the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of their requirements. This is the way of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. We cannot do better than follow His plan. We may depend on it, men will never come to Jesus, and stay with Jesus, and live for Jesus, unless they really know why they are to come, and what is their need. Those whom the Spirit draws to Jesus are those who the Spirit has convinced of sin. Without thorough conviction of sin, men may seem to come to Jesus and follow Him for a season, but they will soon fall away and return to the world."

A. B. Earle "I have found by long experience that the severest threatenings of the Law of God have a prominent place in leading men to Christ. They must see themselves lost before they will cry for mercy. They will not escape from danger until they see it."

A. W. Tozer "No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God."

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones "A gospel which merely says, 'Come to Jesus,' and offers Him as a friend, and offers a marvelous new life, without convincing of sin, is not New Testament evangelism. (The essence of evangelism is to start by preaching the Law; and it is because the Law has not been preached that we have had so much superficial evangelism.) True evangelism... must always start by preaching the law."
"The trouble with people who are not seeking for a Savior, and for salvation, is that they do not understand the nature of sin. It is the peculiar function of the Law to bring such an understanding to a man's mind and conscience. That is why great evangelical preachers 300 years ago in the time of the puritans, and 200 years ago in the time of Whitefield and others, always engaged in what they called a preliminary law work."

John R. Stott "We cannot come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses, to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin, guilt and condemnation, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ."

John MacArthur "God's grace cannot be faithfully preached to unbelievers until the Law is preached and man's corrupt nature is exposed. It is impossible for a person to fully realize his need for God's grace until he sees how terribly he has failed the standards of God's Law

Spurgeon

2010-04-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

"Even if I were utterly selfish and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose, if God allowed, to be a soul-winner, for never did I know perfect, overflowing, unutterable happiness of the purest and most ennobling order till I first heard of one who had sought and found a Savior through my means." –Charles Spurgeon

Why Record?

2010-04-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

One year ago our witnessing encounters and public proclomation of the gospel took a turn. It would seem like nothing big but to us it was a long tough decision. Two years ago I personaly began to feel a bit of excitment at the oppurtunity to record what was going on in the streets as we went out. We wanted others to see how you can open up a conversation with strangers in the matter of just one or two minutes and navigate through the tough waters of personal evengelsim. Not all our recordings make it on the youtube page but some do. We have since seen these videos featured on blogs, talked about on radio shows, recordings played on some of those same shows, we have had literlay hundreds of hits from people viewing our encounters. God has blessed this choice.

So just to help explain why we do it I would like to give our five main reasons. But first I want to address the fact that I understand a bit of apprehension toward something like this. Honestly what took us over a year of prayer was how it came across. The last thing we want is for those of you who watch to think we do this for entertainment and self exaltation. Trust me we don't. When we get on a soap box to preach, we feel no less foolish if there is a camera on us. When a church has its sermon's recorded and posted online it has a similar purpose. We see the gospel proclamation in the streets to have similar goals as well. So here is a brief explanation on why we record. Our hope is to put your concerns to rest so that we can all focus on the content of the video. Although we had no objections from those we are witnessing to, we know those stigmas are out there among our brothers and sisters. We hope to serve you and give you rest on this issue. If you still feel a bit unsure about this issue then please email, call, set up a time to have a cup of coffee or whatever. So here are our five reasons on why we record.....

1) For he unsaved- Today the internet has been badly abused by the broadcasting of ungodly content. We want to use this tool for the proclamation of the gospel. As we have said before, we have had hundreds of people who have viewed our videos after they have been posted online. This is more people hearing the gospel then just those who where there during the original witness encounter. We are not pragmatist in anyway nor are we result oriented in any of our ministry. We are just seeking to be biblical in the content and praising God when He chooses to use it for any purpose He pleases. So first we see it as a way to reach more lost people. Some of which are our family and friends who will not step into a church but may watch a video with someone they know in it proclaiming the biblical gospel. And we rest in the seed of God's word being planted.

2) To edify the Church- We desire to see the church motivated and mobilized and to raise up more people to take to the public streets of there community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. With so many excuses we are seeing the swift destruction of America as we know it. A large part of that is the lack of public proclamation and one to one witnessing. We have went to the largest events in the state of Michigan with only a handful of guys only to find that (out of hundreds - if not thousand of churches in the state) that we are the only ones there. Churches are not going out. Sadly to say that those that do (and those that that get media attention) are not usually preaching the biblical gospel. It is either some crazy group preaching how "God hates......(you fill in the blank)" with no love at all or someone with genuine love but with a gospel lacking in clarity and accuracy. But even those who are out there doing it that way have only been spotted a couple times out of hundreds. Think about it, when was the last time someone stopped to ask you if you were saved? They are not out there. It would seem the church for the most part is comfortable with a lack of persecution so the stewardship of freedom to preach in the streets is entirely neglected by today's modern church. But there is a slow movement under the radar of American culture arising. We praise God for that and hope these videos can be instrumental in getting the beloved to witness to strangers and loved ones alike.

3)To Protect us- The public proclamation of God's word is coming under increasingly aggressive attacks. With a post modern culture, absolute truths are not welcomed. Objects can be thrown, altercations can erupt or the police can be called because someone was offended by what the Bible says. All these examples are very important to have on record if the situation calls for review. To protect the ministry and supporters of the ministry from false accusations.

4) Personal Class room- Common way to critique ones efforts. To offer advice to a brother or make available for class room settings.

5) God to be glorified- This is the final wrap up and the most important. We simply want God to be glorified in all we do. All we are doing is seeking to be obedient to God's command to go and preach the gospel to all creatures.

We hope this helps explain more on why we do what we do. And with that we wanted to include a video for your viewing. Here is a video of a witness encounter we did not to long ago (If you are viewing this on facebook you will have to go to my blog to get this video)

Tune in this weekend for my next blog on the biblical case for open air preaching and one to one witnessing. Watch this video for a preview of things to come. It is a recent project in the works to be complete by summer of this year.

Family Devotion

2010-03-30T18:06:00.001-07:00

A Greater Desire to Protect My Wife

2010-03-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

What prompted this blog was a video I recently have seen going around on the internet. This video took my breath away but not in the way you would expect. It shook me to the core. I have posted the video below. This will not be a video on marriage. This will not be a video on how to love your wife more. This will not be a video on the gospel and how it relates to the relationship of husband and wife. In fact this will not be a video on marriage at all. First please watch the video and my comments will follow...

Benny Hinn???? Preaching that way???? I know, twilight zone!!! But here is why it scared me. It scared me because he is right. It scared me because it was biblical (for the most part). Preachers are proclaiming a false gospel. Men in the church are punting away the truth of the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Many mega churches are trying to not offend the crowd. Many leaders are trying to look like the world so as to make Jesus look "cool" (He is King and Lord).

But what scared me more then anything is that Benny Hinn is a false teacher and has been doing the very thing he is accusing others of. Benny Hinn is a heretic. Benny Hinn speaks lies in the name of my precious Lord. And Benny Hinn, like many other false teachers is transforming his demonic teaching into a more biblical one to come after unaware Christians and widows. When I saw this video I looked at my wife (almost in tears) and said, "what if I died a year or so ago when we were first coming to this understanding of solid teaching and comparing all things with scripture?" "You would hear this man say the very things I was saying to you at that time and you could be subjected to follow him----to Hell!"

God's word points this very thing out...

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Key point is that they are in "sheep's clothing" so you will not have one sheep and one wolf but two sheep standing in front of you. But one will be a wolf "inwardly". Sometimes, like in the case of Benny Hinn, I think his sheep outfit was ruined in the wash and it is pretty obvious.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV

"And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light"

Husbands, this is where I want to move more into the personal accountability to the home. Your wife can be lead astray. This is not to say that your wife is less intelligent then you (God knows that is not the case at my home). But you are commanded to build her up in the knowledge of the Lord. To help place her on solid ground for the sake of her soul. Because you love her so you will wash her in the Word (Ephesians 5:25-27). As Spiritual head you cannot leave this to others to do. You will give an account. We find this in Acts 20:28-31...

"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."

In context this is in relation to the elders of the church of God. So we will stay exegetical here and keep that meaning intact. But what I do want to point out is that when the founder, Teacher/Pastor left the church (The Apostle Paul) it opened up false teachers to come in. It was not a "possible" result in his departure but a sure thing, "Savage wolves will come in".

So Husbands, are you relying on others to tend to your flock? Yes your local church will have a role to play in that if you are gone, but so will your teaching to your family. So finding the right church and explaining why you picked that church will aid your family in case of your departure. The hope is you picked your local church due to it's biblical accuracy. So yes, the local church plays a huge role in guarding against false teachers but to rely exclusively on that is very dangerous. Here is a verse that helps us see why...

2 Timothy 3:1-7

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth."

I want to point out some key words in the above text...

"Having a form of godliness"- Form refers to outward shape or appearance. Their outward external form of religion looks like Christianity but in reality is demonic. Impossible to detect without biblical discernment making it all the more dangerous.

"Worm their way into homes"- Those that are exposed to this teaching seem to be getting it more on the personal level. The door knocks, the TV turns on. Either way it is when they are not under the protection of more mature believers.

"Weak-Willed Women" - Literal meaning is gullible women. Which means they have little knowledge of the truth and are weighed down with emotional and spiritual guilt.

Husbands, this means false teachers are coming for your wife and children. You have an obligation to protect them! If someone broke into your house you have an equal obligation to protect them. If a demonic teacher wants to take them to hell then you have an obligation to protect them. You and I have been given such a wonderful role to love and protect our wives as well as our children. How are you doing? I am not saying that you as a husband are more mature, more able minded or less prone to follow false teaching. But you do have an obligation to teach your family. Right and wrong when it comes to life in general and right and wrong when it comes to God's word.

Anytime I see or hear of a woman who follows some prosperity gospel or false teaching, my heart breaks. But it also burns with frustration because I know that (when she is married) a husband was not submitting to God's word and teaching his family any biblical discernment. Maybe there was just to much ministry to do? Maybe work got in the way? Maybe life just happened? But men, he (the devil) prowls and when your gone he will come for the kill. Are you getting your family ready to stand? Are you expecting someone else to do it for you? Do you think that it's not that dangerous?

Your wrong. That is part of the lie. Please begin today. Just open up a book of the Bible and read a little bit each day to your beautiful precious family. Stop assuming your always going to be there. What change a day can bring. Be earnest, pray God will help you feel more convicted of this need. And God will give you the wisdom. But please do something!!!

Theological Rap Music?? (Part 2)

2010-03-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a minute and introduce some of you to Christian Rap Music. I know, I know, cant be. Right? Well there is something going on in America among a younger generation and its not the issue of contextualization but that of theological accuracy. Specifically in reference to music and preaching. Time Magazine even did an article this past year saying that Calvinism is one of the top ten things changing the face of the nation. Which isn't to get into a debate about the proper understanding of that theology but just to bring attention to the fact that tens of thousand of young 20 and 30 somethings are looking for something more then the seeker sensitive, soft ball, random topic preaching that has taken the nation by storm in the 90's and still on the move. Willow Creek (one of the leading proponents of that movement) even did an announcement last year that the stronger, more mature Christians were leaving there church because of the lack of substance. Unfortunately they had a wrong method on how to fix that, but that is another story.

On the heals of the new movement toward stronger, more accurate preaching we find a strong desire for lyrical accuracy. So I want to touch on the depth of substance and theological accuracy in relation to this new surge in Christian Hip Hop Music. I have blogged about this subject before. An area I feel I could have served better is providing the lyrics of the song rather then just the video's. Now for sake of time I have picked three songs that I think would bless you. So First you will read a rap song about Charles H. Spurgeon (My favorite). Next a Song about being a Godly girl, woman, mom and wife (My wife and daughters favorite) and last but not least is a Q & A on Biblical Terms. So take a minute and just read the following songs....

Spurgeon
written by s. linne

Verse 1

Let me make this plain kids- God is the greatest

He never changes- His ways are blameless

For His own glory and at different stages

He raises up servants to make His name famous

I’ll highlight one particular servant for

The purpose of encouraging your worship to the Lord

Furthermore, Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born

On the outskirts of London- 1834

His dad and his grandpa were both in the ministry

His mother was praying for his soul since his infancy

Naturally intelligent, rapidly developing

But lacking Jesus’ fellowship, that would be irrelevant

The God of his mother unknown

Though Christ was up in his home, the faith just wasn’t his own

The Lord answered prayer when at the age of 10

Young Charles became convinced of the wages of sin

For the next five years, the Spirit brought conviction

Terrors and affliction, aware of his condition

One Sunday morning though- the stormiest snow

Kept Charles from going in the church he’d normally go

Randomly stepped into a church

Heard the words “Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth”

And though only heaven knows the name of the preacher
That’s the day that Spurgeon became a believer

Verse 2

The Lord is so merciful, always so purposeful

Those whom He draws find His call irreversible

Immediately after Spurgeon’s conversion

Obediently, he was earnest to serve Him

The Lord poured His Spirit on Spurgeon abundantly

Anyone could see that he spoke with profundity

Extraordinary giftedness seen

Proclaiming God’s mysteries at the age of fifteen

In a place called Waterbeach graced with the sort of speech

That even made the old folks say, “This boy can preach!”

In fact he was so crafted after the Master

A Baptist church snatched him and asked him to pastor

At the time, He was seventeen years old

On fire for the King who redeemed his soul

People flocked from everywhere- it was quite a scene

Called to a church in London at the age of nineteen

He was more than ready- to his Lord he was dedicated

Even though he was never formally educated

If you would have scratched him, he would bleed Bible

A rich prayer life was his means of survival

Amount that he read was truly mind-blowing

Steeped in the writings of dudes like John Owen

And by God’s grace He fed the sheep new manna
In London met his wife, her name was Susannah

Verse 3

Behold the grace of God- stand to the side

The Spirit exalting the Lamb who has died

It can’t be denied- this man we describe

Was simply a tool in the hand of his God

To observe this servant’s extremely instructive

One word about Spurgeon is he was productive

Preached Jesus- no speakers- loudly he’d shout it

Each week packed houses of crowds in the thousands

His sermons were published- sixty-two volumes

He worked almost like he just knew he would die soon

Made mad disciples, passed on his knowledge

Established a school to train pastors in college

Sold out to the Lord Jehovah, his portion

Also he built two homes for the orphans

A monthly magazine, plus he wasn’t too busy

to write books- about a hundred and fifty

God’s grace in Spurgeon was manifest

But remember, the best man is a man at best

Yes, he struggled with depression- consistently sick, kid

Both he and Susannah physically afflicted

He experienced as a servant of Jesus

The power of God made perfect in weakness

Later on comes complications

His stands for orthodoxy got him shunned by his denomination

But through all the hardship and all the controversy

He never stopped relying on the sovereign God of mercy

And when he had finished pressing towards the goal

He entered into heaven at the age of fifty-seven

His life is a case of God’s grace effectively

At work in sinners to leave a great legacy

The proof is many years later in your speakers

We’re praising Jesus for raising up the "prince of preachers"

The next song is, Work It Out (Biblical Womanhood.

Work It Out
written by s. linne

Chorus

You running hard for the King?

I know that’s right!

Is Jesus your everything?

I know that’s right!

Did He really make all things new?

No doubt!

By His grace, whatcha gonna do?
Work it out!

Verse 1

She’s not your typical girl

Sixteen years old and she’s dead to the world

Faith by her lifestyle demonstrated

because the gospel penetrated and now she’s regenerated

Her Master is greater than fashions and flavors

She patterns her behavior after the Savior

Back in the days you would have seen her standing in the mirror

Yeah, her skin was clear, but her vanity was clearer

Now she’s in the Scriptures and wants to be like

Hannah and Sarah rather than Christina Aguilera

Wordly girls imitate Missy Elliot

But she wants to be like Elisabeth Eliot

Not flexing her body, see she dresses with modesty

She’s not perfect- she confesses sin honestly

Christ crucified! That’s her permanent shout
And by the grace of the Lord, she’s working it out

Chorus

You running hard for the King?

I know that’s right!

Is Jesus your everything?

I know that’s right!

Did He really make all things new?

No doubt!

By His grace, whatcha gonna do?
Work it out!

Verse 2

She’s not your normal wife

She’s twenty-four and Christ is the Lord of her life

Her walk is evidence that she trusts in God

And it feels so good to be justified

And no, she doesn’t have a Master’s in Divinity

But what she does have is a passion for the Trinity

When she recalls her previous prodigal seasons

And how at times she could be the loudest of heathens

She praises God for making this former feminist

submit to her husband for theological reasons

Worldly wives watch Oprah to learn to be a lady

But she’s reading the writings of Carolyn Mahaney

And she would never disrespect her husband in public

And if she does it, she repents- I love it!

Christ crucified! That’s her permanent shout
And by the grace of the Lord, she’s working it out

Chorus

You running hard for the King?

I know that’s right!

Is Jesus your everything?

I know that’s right!

Did He really make all things new?

No doubt!

By His grace, whatcha gonna do?
Work it out!

Verse 3

She’s not your usual mother

{ahem} years old and she’s true to the lover

of her soul, she beholds the cross where He copped it

Once was agnostic, now she’s adopted

Her passion grows greater as she beholds him

Job title: homemaker/ theologian

Early in her walk, she would fight against His will then

The Lord used her marriage and the Bible to reveal sin

Now she fights to kill sin and her greatest joy is

serving her husband as she’s discipling her children

While worldly mothers stress shopping for the new style

She’s pouring into younger women Titus 2 style

Teaching others how to rightly see brothers and be mothers

And most of all better Jesus lovers

Christ crucified! That’s her permanent shout
And by the grace of the Lord, she’s working it out

Chorus

You running hard for the King?

I know that’s right!

Is Jesus your everything?

I know that’s right!

Did He really make all things new?

No doubt!

By His grace, whatcha gonna do?
Work it out! (4x)

Last song is one of my top favorite songs of all time. It is called

Atonement Q and A

Verse 1

Who is God? God is the universe’s Creator

And Sustainer plus the only Savior, there is no one greater

He triune, holy, omnipotent, omniscient, absolute

Loving, sovereign and righteous are a few of His attributes

How do we know this? Well, we know this from the Bible

Where God has revealed Himself- anything else is just an idol

What’s the Bible about? Man’s complete ruin in sin

And what God has done in Christ to bring us to Him again

What is sin? Sin is the breaking of God’s law

Plus our condition, which means from birth we all got flaws

What’s the result? The result is by nature we’re God’s enemies

And must pay the penalty unless God provides the remedy

What the remedy? The remedy is the cross of Christ

Where He suffered all the strikes for the lawless type

I’ve been rescued by the Lamb, I’m convinced that He’s risen

And blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven!

Chorus

Just fall back, and with the eyes of faith

Behold the beauty of surprising grace

Because the Lamb has died, third day He had to rise

He’s magnified- God’s wrath is satisfied

Just fall back- there’s an atonement now

The cross of Christ is holy ground

Because the Lamb has died, third day He had to rise

He’s magnified- God’s wrath is satisfied

Verse 2

Regeneration- the Holy Spirit’s true work in His love

To the elect, who receive new birth from above

Expiation- expiation means God’s removed my filthiness

The old testament type was the goat into the wilderness

Redemption- we’ve been freed from slavery to sin

And His very own blood is the price He paid, my friend

Propitiation- Propitiation means since the Lamb has died

His work is finished- God’s wrath is satisfied

Adoption- adoption means God is now my Father

I got the hottest Poppa and by the Spirit holler Abba

Reconciliation means there’s no more enmity

God is now a friend to me, we’re no longer enemies

Justification- God declares us righteous

Sanctification- we’re being made into His likeness

Glorification- that’s what happens at the finish

When God conforms believers perfectly to Christ’s image!

Chorus

Verse 3

God’s grace is magnificent, He slayed His innocent

Son- through faith and repentance we get the benefits

What is faith? Faith is a gift from God- when we receive this

We trust and treasure the person and finished work of Jesus

Repentance? Repentance is turning from your sin

And trusting Christ as the Spirit cleanses you within

What is grace? Oh, grace is unmerited favor

Our inheritance major ‘cause we cherish the Savior

Right, and if I may quote again, we were doomed with Satan

But believers get Jesus’ righteousness through imputation

Imputation? God takes Jesus’ righteousness amount

Through faith He credits it into the Christian’s account

Anything else? Well, I guess this overview must suffice

But none of this is possible apart from union with Christ

And finally, once you know the ways of the Lord than the

only thing that you can say is Soli Deo Gloria!

Chorus

Thought you might enjoy!

For further reading and listening we have a interview with Mark Dever, Sovereign Grace Blog Post, Worship 09' (Bob Kauflin) or visit Shai's Blog. My prayer for that genre of music is that God would redeem it and it appears He is and can make all things bring glory to His wonderful name. Even if your preference is not toward the genre may you see the work being done and pray that more would come to faith and repentance not by compromising the message but by conveying it to other people groups in this nation and others.

2010-03-16T04:05:00.001-07:00

Tethered to the Gospel?

2010-02-15T16:54:00.001-08:00

Tethered = a cord that anchors something movable to a reference point.

What is it you live and die for? What is it that makes you who you are? What separates you from the youthful naive young person you once were (other than age)? What is the heart of who you are? What is the one thing that tethers you to solid ground when the waves get HUGE?

For many they would first say, their family (what happens if they move away, or get seriously ill, or even pass away). Others may say their occupations or college degrees (sometime in the future you will retire or become incapable to continue). Some may even say their group of friends or location. But, to those of us who claim to be a Christian there must be something more profound, something so life-changing it separates us from a reformed Mormon, Buddhist or Atheist. It is the one thing that marks us as different to the world. It is the one thing that, when putting together a self time line there is that moment in time when your life changed...You were going in one direction and then did a 180 in a completely different direction. Your heart's affections changed from that of self-serving to self-sacrificing, from one of selfish ambitions to that of holiness and spiritual growth.

The one thing I am talking about is The Gospel. The good news of Jesus' sacrificial atonement upon the cross for your sins (your rebellion to a Holy God..your willful disobedience to a God that had written His law upon your heart). There became a moment in time that you did not first see Jesus dying for you but because of you. Many people now days have tried to lessen the blow of our sin in order to not offend anyone. But the problem with that is if you lower the sin you lower the sin payment. Those with much sin, have a big savior. Those with little sins or just sinful "accidents", "mistakes", or "boo-boo's" have a tiny savior and do not esteem the cross. So there is a great harm done to both the sinner and the integrity of the gospel.

So my question is...What tethers you? What is your rock? Where do you find true fellowship? What do you see as man's greatest need? Is it that of the gospel or is it that of worldly comforts? It is a sad state of the church when they set aside the main message and replace it with that of social issues like missions without the gospel, feeding the hungry without the gospel, and clothing the poor without the gospel. If what tethers you in this life is feeling good about yourself by just helping others without telling them they are sick with sin and need to be cleansed then what did you do? You made them more comfortable to go to hell. They have full bellies to go to hell with, they are warm and clothed for their trip to hell, and they have drinking water to taste before they go to hell.

What am I saying? Those things are bad? Not if they are things done to back up the message we are already sharing, preaching and proclaiming. But when those things are done to substitute the gospel, we must admit that we love ourselves more than those we serve. Because rather than risk me being labeled weird or them being offended, we would rather have them walk off with a fresh drink of water and nobody feels awkward....but, there is a problem, they are dying, they are slipping into eternity day by day.

I am sure the day the Doctor had to sit me down in a small side room by myself to tell me that my little beautiful baby was diagnosed with a heart defect that would cause many open heart surgeries felt awkward for him. But love and duty compelled him to tell me. I would have never allowed him to operate on her and work on her heart if there really wasn't problem? Why would I accept a possible cure if I did not know she was sick? He loved me enough to tell me the problem and by God's grace and mercy there have been 2 open heart surgeries that were very effective. Who will take the cure (The Cross) unless the Dr (Christians) explains to people that they are sick first? How is it considered loving to ignore the problem in order to not offend anyone?

So how does this happen?

Well there are two things that come to mind...

A. Either they don't really believe in hell (although Christ taught twice as much on hell then on heaven) or they just simply disregard that doctrine all together.

B. They are unconverted and in a mind-set of self-righteousness. They think that people are all generally good and therefore not going to face any judgment, that God won't send these overall good people to hell. The problem with this thinking is that their bar for goodness is themselves..."As long as those people are "as good as me", they really don't have anything to worry about."
But, let's now try that same mind-set in prison (and I have)...

"Mr. Money Extortioner, are you a bad guy? Even though you stole over $20,000 dollars from a nursing home?" Answer, "Well, I think I am a pretty good guy, I am not like the women abuser next door!"

"Mr. Woman Abuser, are you a good person?" Even though you beat your wife of 15 years up so bad that she had to go to the hospital and is now on life support?" Answer, "Well, I think I am a good guy overall. At least I am not like the child abuser next door!"

And, then on and on it goes...The murder is not like the mass murder, etc, etc, etc. We all think we are good when the standard is our self. But, what if that standard is higher and when it's broken it is against a perfect Holy God? Should He lower His bar simply because we cannot meet it? Should He turn a blind eye to justice?

Is lying or looking with lust really that bad? Well, it is if the judge says it is. And, we cannot be let go simply because we hope God will grade on a curve. There is one way of escape and that is repentance from sin (turning from sin) and trusting in Christ fully to save you. The moment you do that you will get a new heart with new desires and God will make you born again.

The book of Galatians starts out with a powerful negative statement unlike any other that Paul had written. No open compliment to that church or "Your faith is well known" kind of thing but vs 6, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon away from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ."

There are times when being nice or being in unity are just simply wrong. There are times when your good works are not pleasing to God and that is when those works are replacing the message of the gospel. The death, burial and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ and remission of sins by repentance and faith.

Be tethered to the gospel of Christ not the gospel of the world which unites around everything but Christ. Let unity be with love to God and to His gospel and work together to take that message further and deeper into unreached people then ever before.

Galatians 6:14, "But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

A New's Years resolution....

2009-12-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Manhattan Declaration

2009-12-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

Striking the news, blogesphers, social networks and radio programs is this new delemma over a recent constructed document called, "The Manhattan Declaration." The document itself is a declaration of unity over the outcry of aggressive assaults upon the sanctity of life, homosexuality and a few other moral issues happening in the United States at this time. The signers of this document claim to be unified in agreement that these issues are non negotiable and are bonding together to affix there names to this document as an outcry to these injustices. The problem is that the signers range from Roman Catholics to Conservative Evangelicals.

Why is that a problem you ask? The issues is mainly that the terminology within the document. Terms like, "We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ" or "We (Christians), act together", "We are Christians who have joined together." It is simply declaring a unity within the worldwide church of Jesus Christ (with only ecclesial differences) to come together and unite for the cause of these moral dilemmas that are in fact plaguing this country. But the problem is the fact that there is not a brotherhood with in Christians and Catholics when referring to the gospel and the fundamental belief of Justification by Faith alone in Christ alone. This is not a small chasim. Imputed and infused righteousness as a theological difference find no common ground. Now without getting into that fully (as I have spoken about that in more detail on former post) I would simply like to express my shock to see some very conservative evangelical leaders affix there name to this document. People like Dr Alber Mohler and Dr. J. Ligon Duncan who I respect and love as brothers very much. Less shocking (yet notable) were people like Ravi Zacharias, Joni Eareckson Tada, Randy Alcorn. And of course there were those we all would have been surprised if there names were not on the list, Jim Daily, James Dobson and Chuck Coloson just to name a few.

I just dont think we can set theology aside, come together with a degree of theological similarities and show the world that we are in fact any different. I cant help but wonder if Dr Albert Mohler and others like him would have signed this if Depoch Chopra was one of the main framers? Is the level of uniformity only based on the name of Christ and not the work achieved on the cross? Can we ever simply work along side people with theological difference to bring about some kind of moral agenda? Well I say Yes we can. I can join a local neighborhood watch with the people in my community if there are a string of break in's to help protect each other. I would have no problem signing my name to that kind of declaration. The problem comes when it is done in a overtone of spiritual uniformity. I would never sign a document in my community to fight crime in the spirit of Christian brotherhood. I just simply know all the people in my community do not adhere the the fundamentals of the faith. So any time in the spirit of ecumenicism, when we subvert the gospel to achieve some moral high ground we are actually doing more harm for the gospel then good!

I also know that in an era of quick post, one minute drama and all us blog writers thinking we have the next big story or in my case that I have anything worth reading. Lets be quick to pray. I know Dr Mohler is a great man of God and has not subverted the gospel. I think in signing this document he had done just that but lets not be quick to shoot at our faithful brothers who work so hard and labor over the gospel. Although this is a shocker. Lets use this as a reminder to pray for the issues outlined in this document as well as the unconverted Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. Lets use discernment and pray for wisdom when it comes to emotionally charged issues such as these and continue to proclaim the biblical gospel of complete forgiveness of sins by repenting and trusting Christ alone as your savior. This is the method God will use to combat moral issues, by changing the hearts and minds of those who adhere to those differences. Not by a stock pile of signatures to a document but souls won to Christ.

For more information see the following links....

The Manhattan Declaration.

Albert Mohlers gives a defense.

Dr Mohler on Detroits radio program The Paul Edwards Program explaining.

Ravi Zacharias explains.

John Macathur Explains why not.

John Macarthur on Chris Fabry on why not.

Phil Johnson on The Paul Edwards Program explaining why not.

Alistair Begg on why not.

James White on why not.

Dr Steven Lawson.

2009-12-02T21:11:00.001-08:00

Why I can sleep after reading Jeremiah 29:17-18

2009-11-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

"thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them"

I know it is a strange title and a fairly obscure text in a well known Old Testament book. But I want to draw out a few important factors when it comes to reading the Old Testament. Whenever we look into the Old Testament we have to be careful in how we interpret the verses we are reading. Some of the verses are simply not to us. That is why I quoted the above text. No Christian is reading that and under great sorrow because God has just declared His war on them and their family. Just a basic reading of that text in the context will give us an understanding that it is not to Joe Smith from Wisconsin for example. And I am sure that we will not be finding this written on the bible case or wall photo in somebody's house.

Now that is not to say that there are not basic principles to pull out of the above text. Every single text in Gods word has something to teach us. Yes every single one. The question we should be asking our self first is this, was this text written to me? The basic principle is called the grammatical, historical method of interpretation (Hermeneutics).I just want to give you enough information that it will wet your appetite for your bible reading.

You see I picked this verse because it is just a few verses away from one of the most used verses in the local Christian book store and more then likely in your home and it says this,

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

You see the problem in reading this verse is the very same reason I didn't freak out after reading Jer. 29:17-18. Even though we find these verses in complete contrast to one another. It still does not apply to us. Why? Because this was too those people at that time. Think about it, God's chosen nation is in captivity and under heavy persecution. About to be carried away. And our wonderful God calls to them in there moments of most need and says that he will be there with them. They dont understand what is happening but God does and this will work out for there good. It is a wonderful verse for them. Now can we pull out a principle? Yes we can, God is kind, God disciplines, yet in love. God will not leave us. Some wonderful principles can be found but the verse is simply not for us in this day. We can find other verses that talk about God's grace, His kindness, His unfailing presence. But just not here. If we are going to quote this verse as a verse for us then how is it we can skip over the more negative text. Some may say, well its because they were God's children and we are God's children so therefore it is all the same. Well I can think of more then a few verses of God writing to His people in the Old Testament we would be good in hoping that time has passed.

So why write this blog? Other then show some biblical knowledge and offend people who have that as there life verse? Why, well simple...

To the believer,

1)We are commanded by God to rightly divide God's word (2 Timothy 2:15)
2)Not get our self in despair over a verse misused and not working.
3)Draw a improper conclusion about God because of a misinterpreted verse.
4)Trust in God by using his promises that you can lean on and count on.

To the unbeliever,

1)Help you understand your position apart from God and your inability to quote any promise in the bible for your purpose.
2)Understanding your inability to reject Gods word simply because of some obscure text taken out of context.

For example we hear the straw man arguments that we cannot eat pork or shellfish. We cannot cut our beards, etc etc etc. There is simply biblical illiteracy here. Besides the fact the Old Testament has now been replaced with the New Testament. We must read it rightly to ensure we are applying text to our life that should be applied. We should be studying those Old Testament verses as they would have been understood to the reader. So that a lost world can be given a reason for there misrepresentation of Gods word. Last but not least we should be counting God's promises as precious to us as we dive into His word for His glory.

Here is a good resource on the subject...

Legalist or Literalist? Pharisee or Proper Theology?

2009-09-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

Luke 18:9-14

These terms are often misunderstood and misused in today's culture. Often even in the context of the church the terms are thrown at almost any ministry that is strong in its biblical headship, leadership and conviction. I think this is mainly due to the over feminization of today's church. We are finding that more and more men are folding under pressure to not warn people of judgment day, Gods wrath, sin or any other attribute of God or action of God that is to masculine. We then crank out over emotional, love-only preachers who stay away from any form of conventional terms "as to not offend anyone." When a text of scripture is accurately interpreted and applied with no wiggle room. Legalist or pharisee are terms usually not far behind. What I want to do is take a look at how those terms apply and see if they fit the modern day use of them.

Legalist is a term intended to be used in reference to a person who has used the law of God and twisted to bind people to a moral set of standards to appease God. All world religions are legalist. They say you must follow a set of standards laid out either in ancient writings or tradition in order to contribute to your salvation and or increase the likelihood of your reincarnated soul coming back as a human. In the realm of Christianity it is used when someone has misrepresented the mosaic law and declared a work based system back into true salvation. We see this rear up in the New Testament in the following verse.

Acts 15:1
And certain men came down from Judea and taught the bretheren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

We also see this in places such as Galatians 2:11-21 when Paul confronts Peter for his misrepresentation of the truth by preferring one crowd over the other. Other example's would be claiming that someone has to go to church to be saved. Or that someone must be reading there bible to be saved. Anytime the word legalist is used in reference to Christianity it is a direct assault on the work of salvation. So when using the term legalist toward someone there is really one area to look at to see if they are in fact being a legalist. There gospel message. Has it now included a work based righteousness or "infused" righteous opposed to "imputed". If one has not claimed any change in there gospel presentation and are still holding to Sola fide ("by faith alone"), Sola gratia ("by grace alone") Solo Christo ("through Christ alone") then by definition they are not a legalist.

On the other hand we have the first term in the five sola's of the reformation. Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone"). Which simply means that scripture is the main authority for faith and practice. This is where we get into the meat of Gods truth. This is where men die, get excommunicated, imprisoned, persecuted or (so far the worse today)called a legalist. When one stands on the literal interpretation of Gods word they will face much opposition. Today's cultural is getting even less tolerant of men and women who say that anyone is wrong when they base there convictions on verses that directly address the situation in which they oppose. For instance the catholic church threatened Martin Luther with excommunication (and death) if he did not recant. Martin Luther's reply was,

So when using those terms one must determine what the person opposing them is basing there opposition on. If it is scripture then one may be in error to God's holy word and must search the scripture to see if these things are true. But it seems that many men seem to perch themselves upon pride and arrogance and see no need to search scripture. They disagree simply because they dont "feel" its effective which goes back to the over feminization of today's modern/western church. Theology and doctrine are viewed as boring and expositional preaching (verse by verse) is to "inside the box". Or even worse the gospel message itself is "always the same" the law of God, the holiness of God and the cross of Christ received by repentance and faith. Many today feel they need to liven it up or change it as to not sound the same. Pride nipps at the heals of those who think they can do better then God. Consequently they remove essential elements of the message and lead men to a wrong understanding of God and biblical salvation and therefor disqualify themselves (and there converts) from the faith (Galatians 1:6 would apply but I am doubtful if they ever knew the true gospel).

May God help us to remain humble in our love toward one another. But may God also give us strong convictions to stand for Gods truth. It was Martin Luther who said unity when possible but truth at all cost. May we raise the truth of Gods word and the purity of the church to its proper place and commit to studying Gods word and applying it to our life. May we as men in the church train our children to do as Paul warned Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16 to

"take heed to yourself and to the doctrine."

And keep the fifth sola in view...

Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Theological Rap Music.

2009-09-06T23:12:00.001-07:00

Those words which so easily can be typed were once difficult to imagine for myself. There was a time that form of music dominated my life as a young unsaved man. The words and the messages behind the lyrics had me convinced that women were second class citizens, fathers and mothers were needless, money was the ruler of the world and much more. I would not say I was a gangster or a thug or anything like that but I had a sinful attraction to foul language and perverse lyrics. After my conversion nearly 4 years ago God removed many things from my life that had been offending him like improper shows on tv, my offensive choice of words, the desire to be wealthy, and of specific importance my love for rap music. Gods mercy was made evident when he replaced an unlearned man who did not like to study or read and gave me a desire for His word and showed me the importance of theology and biblical discernment.

Colossians 1:16 - “All things were created through Christ and for Christ”.
Even Hip Hop???

Part way through my conversion some close friends at the time were listening to some Christian rap music that was a bit more then your family friendly radio station hip hop songs that, like secular hip hop/rap, just repeat an idea of phrase with out diving into the truth of scripture. The Bible may be a part of the songs but not the main focus of the music. So I had my doubts in place and after hearing what the radio played I was sure that form was sunk. But then a friend of mine played a CD for me that was a breath of fresh air in with theological accuracy. Although I was not ready to rekindle my love for the music form I had been surprised. Since that time God has given me a love for the art of putting theology to rap beats. I have been more and more amazed at the theological implications of the music and just amazed that God can rescue a genre of music and use it for His glory. Dont believe me? Dont take my word for it.....

Shai Linne's song on Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon - Shai Linne

Albert Mohler Show (Russell Moore) talks about the subject here.

Although my favorites tend to be old time hymns I still appreciate the way young men have in fact honored God with there music and seem to dive into scripture to get there material. Which brings me back to Colossians 1:16 - “All things were created through Christ and for Christ”. Even hip hop when done to His glory.

The Gospel is hard to believe.

2009-08-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Great DvD on reformed Theology.

2009-08-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

We are back up and a lot is going on.

2009-08-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well after a long break I am back up and blogging. We are still in the works of putting a collaborated website up but have much work going into it. So for now we will be up and going here. This is where we will keep you up to date with all the things going around the ministry. We have started Friendship Fridays which most of you have seen posted on places like facebook. Well in order to motivate the saints to get out there and share there faith I will provide your youtube page so you can see those updates. College campuses are filling up with the new fall semester starting out so we will be posting some videos of open air events, one to ones etc. So please keep an eye out and pray for us. Feel free to give us input, remarks, snarks, etc.

In Christ,

Gary Morris.

See this video...

A lot has happened!!

2009-04-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Sorry for those who have asked about my blog here. We have had a busy time over the past 6 weeks or so. The top in the news is that we became members of our church :-) WHEW HEW (Mt Morris Community Church) and have just been very excited about that and getting into the grove of things and at the same time fight with all the sickness our kids are passing to mom and dad here. So I want to jump in and update you with some stuff....

First...We are looking at combining some of our blogs to get a professional web page done to write about our witnessing encounters, books, theology, videos and/or all the other things that I discuss about here. So look for that soon. In addition.....

Here is our new youtube page that will be getting updated on a regular basis,

Also a couple cool things..Tony Miano from Way of The Master posted two of our videos on his blog...

The Lawman's Blog

as well as talking about it on The Way of The Master Radio program....

Ambassadors' Alliance Radio program.

It was the April 9th edition and it is within the first 10 minutes or so and the last couple minutes...what a blessing.

So in additional the all the above we hope to hear from you as to what encourages you to go out there and share your faith!!!

We will update you with the new URL once all that is said and done and we will go from there...

So until then....GO SERVE YOUR KING

Humility

2009-03-02T04:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite book and the reason I assure you is that humility is a charter trait that I lack very much. The reason I love this book is that it properly and accurately identifies where this sin lies within my own heart. It seems that this sin lurks in so many places that discovering it without Biblical exposure is impossible. So I highly commend this book to you. You will find yourself needing to read it from front to back on a regular basis.

Here is a line or two....

"Humility gets God's attention. In Isaiah 66:2 we read these words from the Lord:
This is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word."

"Here we find motivation and purpose rooted in this amazing fact: Humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God."

"Why does God hate pride so passionately?
Here's why: Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him."

This was extremely helpful in the identification of Pride because it allowed me to accuritly see that when I am prideful about anything I am in contention with God. I am battling him for the credit instead of giving him the glory.

BRAKE FLUID WITNESS

2009-02-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

Today on my trip to the local auto part store I happened to come across a young man name Miguel. I have been having such a wonderful time with Living Waters newest celebrity million dollar bills. I was sceptical at first but they are fantastic.

Walking in to my favorite auto part store I noticed I was the only one in there which alerted me to seek out opportunities to witness to the employees that I may run into. After grabbing my 2 for 1 deal on brake fluid I walked over to the counter. After paying I gave the young man behind the counter a million dollar bill. He went to open the cash register but realized he was out of paper. At that point he called another young man over to help him. I gave him a million dollar bill that allowed us to launch into the conversation of the million dollar question, "Will you go to heaven?" at which point Miguel said to me soberly that he was going to heaven. The original young man who was taking my money said, "no comment". I asked him if he was an atheist and he said that he was. I asked that if building prove builders and paintings prove painters does not creation prove that there was a creator? He laughed and looked down to read the bill. At that moment the phone rang and he picked it up. I then switched to Miguel. I said, Miguel if you are going to heaven what do you base that fact on? He said, "oh you know I believe." I said, with out expanding on what it just is that he "believes" in, do you consider yourself to be a pretty good person. He of course professed his own goodness and said, yup. I at that point used the law to show him his true state before God and his guilt not to man but to God. He said that even though he has broken Gods law and would be guilty he would still go to heaven. I asked why and he proceed to tell me how he has changed his life and is living much better now. I told Miguel that it does not matter if he is perfect everyday for the rest of his life, he still was guilty. I reminded him that if he was found guilty in a court of law of a crime and then told the judge he was innocent because even though he broke the law he has been doing good stuff since then. It would not change the fact that justice must be made for his crimes. He told me at that point he has been to prison. I was able at that point to ask him if he knew what God did so that he would not go to hell. He thought for a moment and came back with a big nope. I said to Miguel that 2000 years Jesus Christ stepped into his court room and paid his fine. He broke the law but Jesus paid his fine. I said, "Miguel do you understand what took place was a legal transaction. Jesus paid your find so God can legally remit all yours sins on the day of judgment?" He was silent (the law shuts the mouth). I said to Miguel that he must repent of his sin not just say I am sorry but turn from it once and for all and to trust in Jesus the same way he trusted in his own goodness just a few minutes ago. At that point the other man ended his phone call and two customers came in and walked next to me and asked them questions. I asked Miguel if he has a Bible he said yes he does and so I looked at him and he was for the first time eye to eye with me and I said Miguel please read it. He said he would. I looked at the original man and told him he could keep the change. Pray for the both of them.

C.J.'s Testimony

2009-02-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

Question to ask yourself....

2009-02-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

If God never answers another prayer

If God never gives you a comfortable day

If God never lets you go home to your family

If you never get to kiss your children goodnight again

If you never again get to see the light of day or the kiss of your spouse

Is what He has already done enough?

Have you told Him?

How much more do you have then what you deserve?

Who is Church for?

2009-02-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

Not that we loved Him, but He loved us!!! WoW

2009-01-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

How long or Lord?

2009-01-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

At what point does your belief make killing wrong?

Listen to this episode of Wretched Radio.

The following is an edited transcript of a message preached by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. for "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" on January 18, 2009. Today's installment is the fifth in the six-part series.

Abortion is a Gospel issue.

Abortion is a Gospel issue because the extinguishing and termination of a life within the womb is not merely homicide, it is robbing God of His glory - the glory that rightly is His, displayed in every single human life.

Abortion is an act of defiance against the Creator. Is it an act of violence against this unborn child? Yes, it is an act of violence that leads even to homicide against this child. But it is also an act of defiance against God. It is the willful act of denying God His glory. God made this human being in His image. Before the person even was formed in the womb he was known by the Creator, and before he or she was formed, he or she was loved.

When that baby was destroyed, when that pregnancy is terminated (there's the euphemism), it is a Gospel issue because we know that when that life is terminated it is not merely that a human life is extinguished, it is that there dies a person who desperately, desperately deserves life. And, living desperately, needs to hear the Gospel.

You see, every life that is terminated is a life made for covenant and made for communion. And yet, this same life is willfully terminated by people whose abhorrence of life and rebellion against the Creator is so extreme that they will become the agents of death rather than the agents of life. Abortion is always a Gospel issue because we can never talk about human beings, even in secular terms, as just being superior to other animals. We cannot speak of human beings simply as having a special dignity merely because we are the ones with language, self-consciousness, a sense of the future, and a sense of humor.

Some anthropologists say that human beings are distinct from other animals, but is becoming increasingly difficult to answer the "why?" - the question of why humans are distinct. Very seriously, just recently I read that human beings are different because we have a sense of humor. Are you telling me that we get to drive and they don't, because we laugh? This is the ridiculousness of a world in rebellion against God. We are the ones who understand that every single human being is made in God's image, and thus, to extinguish that life is to extinguish the image of God within the womb.

We come to understand that abortion is a picture also, in a Gospel-perspective, of why we so desperately need the Gospel. It is because we are people who would do this. And it is so dangerous that we would be here today on the Lord's Day as Christians, and that we would think about abortion as something that is someone else's fault, and someone else's problem. It is our problem because it is a picture of sinful humanity. Brothers and sisters, that is who we are. We are a people who in our own way will choose death rather than life. We are the people who, each in his own way, just as "every sheep has gone astray in its own way" as Isaiah says, will form our own rebellion against the Creator - and we do and we did.

Abortion is a Gospel issue because it is such a graphic sin that it points us to the very heart of the human rebellion of God against sin and it points to the very heart of why we so desperately need Christ.

You know, there may be someone reading this today, there may be someone reading this ten years from now - and you are someone who has experienced an abortion. There may be someone who has experienced not only one, but multiple abortions. There may be someone here who is haunted by empty footsteps. The sight of every stroller and crib brings a pang of conscience.

I have good news for you. I know who you are. You are a murderer. I have good news for you. I know who you are. You are a sinner. I have good news for you. There is a savior. I have other news for you. You are in the company of fellow murderers.

You see, the story of the Bible, the story of the Gospel is that when Jesus Christ was sent by the Father, those Jesus was sent to save, killed him. Jesus himself told the parable of the wicked tenants within the vineyard. Because of their wickedness - a picture of our human wickedness - when the vineyard owner sends his own son, the tenants killed him!

I want to tell you, if you have yourself chosen abortion, if you have experienced abortion - you are a murderer. But you are in the company of fellow murderers with blood on our hands because sinful humanity killed the sinless Son of God.

If that is where the story ended, then death would have its victory, sin would have its victory, and that would be the end of it. We would have nothing to say and we would just go home and live out whatever remains of our lives in the despair of a people who know no hope.

But that is not where the story ends, because that is where the Gospel turns and tells us that even in light of the fact that we are sinners beyond even our own imagination to understand our sin, even though we rob God of His glory, even though we do everything we can and everything within our power to do new ways of doing evil, even though the Apostle Paul makes clear - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - God loved us so much! It was His purpose in the very beginning before we ever existed. He knew us and He loved us, before we were formed in the world He had a plan for us and He sent His Son, to die on the Cross, to shed His blood, to pay the penalty for our sin, to pay a price that we could not pay, to die in our place, and yes, by that one death, to accomplish salvation for sinners.

Abortion is a Gospel issue.

How to grow a new high school? Oops I mean a Church.

2009-01-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ever dream you could go back into high school and relive your glory days. Or maybe you were a shy person and the thought of going back to be a social butterfly has passed your mind a time or two. What about a school that had no teachers and no authority. Imagine a place today where nobody tells you what you are doing is wrong and you can all join together and remake your high school songs into songs that make you feel like the center of the universe. Imagine!!!!!

Yes, you have a hole that we can fix!

Are you hurt, do you need a place to belong?

We want to help put all the pieces together!

What has Jesus become?

To the American church, Jesus is just a life enhancer not a savior. You may ask, how is that? Well churches in large today present Jesus Christ as the one who will fix there marriage, fix there financial situation, give them purpose, give them hope, give them love, love, love, love. So they come to Jesus and give it a try.

The Problem......SIN.

People must come to Jesus as Lord and Savior not some kind of wishing star.

What happens.....Trials, tribulation, persecution, funny we don't tell them about any of that.

Churches now are filled with unconverted, hip, party goers and the church fills up with theses people and at the same time the leaders keep going for the next wave of the same people. For one purpose....to fill up there church with more people.

Now keep in mind the church messages are geared to get unconverted people in the door. So once they get in the door they get to hear more messages toward those on the outside to feel like Christianity is cool and hip and relevant (of course). Growth occurs only by joining a small group and even then the books and DVDs are all geared toward the unsaved and so they dry up and become unconverted older people.

What premise to you build your church on? Filling it up with unsaved people and training them how to reach out and bring in more unsaved people who train them to reach in to bring more unsaved people and nobody gets converted but they come to Jesus as a life enhancement and a place to belong!!!

or

Do you do what the New Testament Church does. Do church for believers and not market it as a tool for evangelism? You bring in believers (sure non believers can come in if they wish) but you strengthen each other and preach, teach and train others to grow in holiness and send them into there jobs, homes, schools to reach a dying world and come back and do it again each blessed Sunday.

Which one are you?

To Presup or not?

2009-01-09T19:07:00.001-08:00

I am trying in my own study to decide which perspective of Evangelism is more beneficial. I think most people will agree it depends on the situation but I believe when you formulate a conviction than you will approach a conversation with that conviction. So here is the question I want to ask others what they think. Do we evangelise with Presuppositional apologetics or not? If you are not sure what this is please read on...

(carm.org)
This form of Christian apologetics deals with Presupposition's. A Christian Presuppositionalist presupposes God's existence and argues from that perspective to show the validity of Christian theism. This position also presupposes the truth of the Christian Scriptures and relies on the validity and power of the gospel to change lives (Rom. 1:16). From the scriptures, we see that the unbeliever is sinful in his mind (Rom. 1:18-32) and unable to understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). This means that no matter how convincing the evidence or good the logic, an unbeliever cannot come to the faith because his fallen nature will distort how he perceives the truth. The only thing that can ultimately change him is regeneration. To this end, the presuppositionalist seeks to change a person's presuppositions to be in conformity with biblical revelation.
I have found that a person's presuppositions are extremely important when discussing God and the validity of Christianity. I always ask diagnostic questions to find out where a person is philosophically and presuppositionally so I might better discuss Christianity. This is a very important point to focus on because one's presuppositions will govern how one interprets facts. Please consider the following dialogue as a realistic example of how this works.
Allen: I am an atheist and evolutionist. Prove to me there is a God.
Paul: I do not think I can do that, because of your presuppositions.
Allen: Why not?
Paul: Because your presuppositions will not allow you to examine without bias the evidence that I present to you for God's existence.
Allen: That is because there is no evidence for God's existence.
Paul: See? There you go. You just confirmed what I was stating.
Allen: How so?
Paul: Your presupposition is that there is no God; therefore, no matter what I might present to you to show His existence, you must interpret it in a manner consistent with your presupposition: namely, that there is no God. If I were to have a video tape of God coming down from heaven, you'd say it was a special effect. If I had a thousand eye-witnesses saying they saw Him, you'd say it was mass-hysteria. If I had Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament, you'd say they were forged, dated incorrectly, or not real prophecies. So, I cannot prove anything to you since your presupposition won't allow it. It is limited.
Allen: It is not limited.
Paul: Yes it is. Your presupposition cannot allow you to rightly determine God's existence from evidence -- providing that there were factual proofs of His existence. Don't you see? If I DID have incontrovertible proof, your presupposition would force you to interpret the facts consistently with your presupposition and you would not be able to see the proof.
Allen: I see your point, but I am open to being persuaded, if you can.
Paul: Then, I must ask you, what kind of evidence would you accept that would prove God's existence? I must see what your presuppositions are and work either with them or against them.
Presuppositional apologetics differs from Classical apologetics "in that presuppositional apologetics rejects the validity of traditional proofs for the existence of God." A pure presuppositionalist tackles the worldview of a person and seeks to change the very foundation of how a person perceives facts.
Adherents to this position have been Cornelius Van Til, Abraham Kuyper, Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, etc.
(End Quote)
Now the non Presuppositionalist will attempt to spend some time on proving the existence of God and debate evolution, polytheism, etc.

Now the two sides of the coin for me would be someone like Mark Spence (The Dean of the School of Biblical Evangelism) says that he is not a presup and that he finds that the Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of sin, judgment and righteousness. The longer he is off track on trying to convince someone of God without "presupposing" God the less work is being done on conviction with the power of God.

On the other side we have someone like James White who quotes (and debates) people like Richard Dawkins, and other militant atheist and he says that it is impossible in today's climate not to be a Presuppositionalist in evangelism.

Now I know we can have both, I know we need a good mixture but what do you think is the best way to go about it? Do we spend much time on apologetics to boost our credibility and than use the law and the cross to share the gospel. Or do we use little apologetics and preach the gospel regardless of there opinion??

Top Events of 08'

2009-01-09T08:43:00.000-08:00

Today I was encouraged by a brother in the Lord to write my top events of 2008 and as I pondered the thoughts I was overwhelmed with all God has done for me and my family for His glory in 2008. I just don't know where to start but here is a top ten although this list is MUCH longer...

10. My first drink of Coffee. MMMMMMM Jk. This is number 10.
9. Answered prayer.
8. Getting a more solid foundation for our family devotion.
7. Meeting John Macarthur (thanks to my wife).
6. Getting a phone call from Ray Comfort at work (thanks to my wife).
5. A brother in the Lord who happens to be in a Pastoral roll and seeing the wonder of expository preaching and the importance of Biblical Theology. You have grown so much.
4. Following our convictions and finding Mt Morris Community Church.
3. Our daughter Grace having her first positive heart exam in her short 4 years of life.
2. The son my wife gave me Joshua Benjamin Morris.
1. The amazing ability my wife has at handling Me and the kids. The amount of Grace that God has given her and the fact she is still sane and seeking to be even more godly is just amazing. Babe, I stand in awe of all that you do. Thank you!

With all that said I just am a blessed man and God has been so good to me and my family. I thank Him for answering pray in the life of Jeff and Kari with the birth of Payton. I thank God for letting us meet the Norris Family, I thank God for our Pastor and His wife being so instrumental, I thank God for all that New Creation did for us, I thank God for the growth I see in our children, I thank God for my Job and all the owners have done to press on, the growth my mom has shown in the past few months, and there is so much more.

Thank you Lord for this past year.

Even a home appliance can preach.

2009-01-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

I know it is a crazy title but let me explain....

But before I do that I want to just say that this year I want to make a point of sharing more of my witnessing encounters. I want to share audio, video and just stories of sharing the gospel. I have prayed about because I did not want to loose my reward or sound a trumpet. At the same time I recognize in my own life that it was real life stories, encounters, audio and video that got me out of the pulpit and into the work. So as I share don't think I am trying to draw attention to me. Trust me, without the work of God and the power of the Holy Spirit as well as redemption in Christ I am nothing. In fact I just Carry the message, I did not make the message and I don't give the message any power. God does all of that. So these are not primary stories about me but about God. Gods work in my life, Gods work in the message, Gods work in the hearer. We all just sit back and watch Him.

So let me explain the title. We have a oil furnace. Kind of old but works great. The only problem is you have to watch it like a gas gauge and see how much you have left. Well once this year it broke down and I had a repair man come out. I shared the Gospel with him and it was such a wonderful conversation. He got a copy of Herman who, available at wreteched radio and we talked for nearly and hour as he described never hearing anything like what I shared and how we can know the Bible is true. Well soon after it was on E before I expected. This happened last Saturday. I just thought about checking it and was just shocked it went so quick. Either way I called Marathon Oil and asked them if they could come out today. They said that they are booked but would try and if they did not make it out today than they could not come out until Monday. Well I know that we would be out of oil by than. So we prayed God would do His will. If they did not come out well we praised God we have home heaters to plug in the wall. That day was a new year for us and I prayed that as God brought people around me that it would be divine intervention and I would pray for those situations more. So I prayed that if God could do it, He would send someone out today and it would be the person He wanted to hear the gospel.

Not even 30 minutes after praying that prayer my wife gets a call as we were walking out the door to go to the store and it was a driver looking for our address. She thanked him and told him he was an answered prayer and blessing than gave him our address and hung up.

She left for the store and he showed up. His name was Mark and he was a pretty tough looking dude. I walked out there and gave him the money he needed and because I am nice I gave him and extra million dollar bill. He said that he appreciated the tip and he asked me if we were Christians. I said yes and that we prayed God would lead the right person to us. He said that he has not been in church for a while and he could tell we were Christians by my wife's attitude on the phone. He said that the day before he prayed that God would help him be more committed to Him and the reading of the word.

Seeing and opportunity I asked Mark if he died today would he go to heaven? He said that he would and so I asked if he thought he was a good person. At that point he was confused but agreed that he was. So seeing a conflicting self diagnoses, mainly that Gods saves sinners and those that are not good, he was given the law and then the gospel. I must say that he knew many of the words before I could even say them. But what made the difference is the term legal transaction. I know we have heard that a lot lately but it made him silent. I told him that God can "legally" let him go now on judgment day based on the work of Jesus Christ. It all clicked. I saw the light go on and than my next words where to Mark that if he died today that he would go to hell if he trust in his goodness as the foundation for his admittance into heaven but that is not Gods will. He paid your fine in His life's blood and what you must do is repent and trust in Christ not just believe. He shook his head yes and said that made so much sense (Truth does).

I asked him how long has it been since he read his Bible. He said he did not even want to tell me. So than I asked him what if his wife wrote him a love letter on the way out the door and she said she poured her heart out in it and has everything she wants to say to him in it. Then she called you at lunch and you were eating with your friends at a restaurant and watching a game on TV and you told her that you did not have time. What would her reaction be? He agreed she would be very upset. So I asked him how God must feel about his lack of attention to Gods 66 love letters to him. He said, "I know what I am doing tonight". I asked what, he said going to church and reading my Bible. Needless to say that even when I was bummed that the heat went so quick. God gave us money to pay for it, sent someone the same day, and was glorified in the proclamation of the Gospel. Home Appliance's preach! I am breaking my fridge tonight!!!!!

Pray for Mark.

If you are struggling with reading your Bible than check out The New Testament Project Here.

It's been a bit

2009-01-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry to the bloggers. It has been a bit since I posted. We have had a house of sick kids and parents since the new year. But we are all well at this point.

Looking to 09 I am so excited. We plan on taking on some challenges this year that are all new. The New Testament Project was one that we are getting of the ground but look forward to the development of the site and more important, the blessing that comes from the text. For evangelism it will be a new year for our family and fellow brothers that will join us or have been with us before. With a new church means a new area to make an impact in. So we will be putting together our schedule and posted it here and I am sure it will be on sobeitLord.blogspot.com! So we are looking for areas to open air and pass out tracts in the Mt Morris area. If you know of high traffic areas and/or fairs, community events, whatever would give us open ears. We will also be doing more of the things we did last year near our work in Pontiac. Either way if you are interested in joining us this year or know some spots that would be of interest....please let me know so we can be prepared.

Thanks and God bless,

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks Chris for that video. Me and my wife were cracking up.

What is Christmas really all about?

2008-12-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

A message to my 4 little girls.

2008-12-21T14:19:00.001-08:00

"A girl should get so lost in God, that a guy has to seek God to find her!" ~

Dannah Gresh, author.

Your Marriage and your biggest problem.

2008-12-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

For those I have talked to in recent months about this book I cant tell you enough how enjoyable it has been to go through this book. I am only part way into it as of this week but it is so rich in theology and its practical implications in your marriage. The issue of marriage and how you handle conflict within it is an area most of us must admit we need work in (to say the least - in regards to myself). What we must understand is that marriage is not primarily about us but first and foremost it is for God. The imagery that the Bible uses time and time again to show us that men have the position of Christ and the wife as the church is so rich. Both parties have the responsibility to one another of sacrificially giving ones all to each other and it works in beautiful harmony together. How often do I allow my own desires and wants to supersede those of my wife's.

Here is one of the lines in the book.....

"What we believe about God determines the quality of our marriage".

This once again comes to theology. For all those who think all theology does is divide well so be it. Theology is important in its outwork in our Christian life, marriage, parenting, and most of all our devotion to God. The more we understand God the more firm our foundation. Now our desire is not for division and strife but our desire is for the Glory of God and we glorify Him as we learn about Him within the word.

Here is a quote from R.C. Sproul

"No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian is a theologian. Perhaps not a theologian in the technical or professional sense, but a theologian nevertheless. The issue for Christians is not whether we are going to be theologians but whether we are going to be good theologians or bad ones".

That is the heart of the issue. Your understanding of who we are, who God is and what the solution is.

God is Holy and Perfect, we are low and sinful in the full sense of the word, the Cross is the remedy. Our sinful condition shadows all our decisions, all our marriage problems and our bad choices. Understand that the biggest problem with marriage is our sinful conditions. Regardless of anyone else you have an obligation and should have the desire to war against pride, self righteous, anger, outburst, anything that glorifys your wants instead of Gods and honor your spouse. Pray for help and read your bible. God is faithful.

Are you kidding me??

2008-12-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

Rudolph is to "Christian". Come on.

The New Testament Project

2008-12-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

We are wrapping up for the NT project set to launch in as little as 2 weeks. We are working on a few things to promote the project to your friends and family. Get as many people involved as possible. This will be a blessing for us all. So what we need at this point is for you to leave a comment after this blog. IF you have emailed me and/or verbally committed that is ok but if you still could leave your name and email address in the comments that would be great. For new comers please do the same. These will be used on the blog just as a name role call so we can send you needed correspondence as well as accountability.

God Bless,

Dad, wake up, times almost over!

2008-12-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

Quoting William Gurnall

You also fail yourselves by leaving your children in a state of ignorance, for you heap upon yourselves the consequences of their sins as well as your own. When a child breaks one of God's commandments, it is his sin; but it is also the father's if he never taught the child what the commandment of God was. Wicked children become heavy crosses to their parents. When a father or mother must trace the source of wickedness to his or her neglect in training the child, cross is laid upon cross and the load becomes unbearable. Can there be a greater heartache in this life than to see your own child running full speed towards hell, and know that you were the one who outfitted him for the race? Oh, do your best while they are young and in your constant care, to win them to God and set them on the road to heaven.

Most important, you fail God when you rear an ignorant child. Scripture tells of those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Among others, this includes parents who lock up the knowledge of salvation from their children. Where is the parent who will rob his own son's house? Yet this is what you do if you neglect his spiritual education. For you keep in your own pocket the gold talent that God intended for you to give your child. If you leave no godly inheritance, what will happen when you die, and the truth of the gospel is buried along side rotting bones?

If you are God's child, then your children stand in closer relationship to the heavenly Father than the children of the unbelievers. God depends on you to nurture them as you have been nurtured, and to protect them at all costs from the devil's education. Training your children up in the ways of the Lord is no casual suggestion. Your refusal to obey, whether the product of deliberation or neglect, will pay you bitter wages when you stand before the King of kings in the judgment"

The Christian in Complete Armour, (year 1665)

Now I am not a perfect parent and trust me I do not have a bunch of little saints running around my house. If you spend time over here you will see very quickly that we have a lot of work to do in our home. But one thing is prevalent when you speak to my wife our myself. We want to do more, we want to be better and we desire that God is exalted in our life's first for them to see. It is amazing how much time we spend entertaining ourselves. We have such work to do and it must be done day in and day out. Most of the time obedience is not glamorous although there are times God sends us fruit but for the most part it is pretty tough. If you walked in to our family devotion or our morning devotion you would not see fireworks going off or kids falling on the Ground in repentance. Most of the time it is stressful and frustrating especially with a newborn, a 2 year old and an almost 4 year old. It is tough and I walk away someday wondering what was I thinking. But the more I read the word the more I am convinced that it is the constant watering of the word that will give our children the lasting benefits of the gospel. But it is hard and we have to do hard things. Let us continue in our own devotion to God-day in and day out spent in the word and in prayer. For those that are parents....Just do it. Get a devotion set up, do what you have to do in order to stop them from going to hell.

In Christ,

Christmas and the glory of God

2008-12-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

Dont waste this Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our fallen default position in this life is to be selfish. We tend to plan so much around the Holidays and especially Christmas toward our family and what we are going to do and where are we going to go. We think that is enough. Laughing and spending time is all that Christmas is about, right?

Well I think we have to search more deeper than that. We have to look to the cross and to the suffering of our Savior. What was the point of it all. To save sinners. To bring glory to Himself. Christmas is a chance for us to fight the temptation to be self centered. To think we are at peace when we are at war. People are going to Hell and we tend to only worry about what presents to buy. You have the words of life. Reach out.

Here is what the prince of Preaches said about soul winning...

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay.. let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for"

I like this quote for John Piper in "Dont Waste your life".

We are at war, whether the stocks are falling or climbing, weather the terrorists are hitting or hiding, whether we are healthy or sick. I need to hear this message again and again, because I drift into a peacetime mindset as certainly as rain falls down and flames go up. I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in, I start to to love what others love. I start to call earth "home".

Before you know it I am calling luxuries "needs" and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I dont think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumph of grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness.

Please understand that you are in a war. Not only against the cold dark world but against yourself. Please understand Earth is not your home. Now that you are saved, if you are saved, than be prepared to die. Put nothing above your true love, Christ. Preach the gospel to yourself and remind yourself how wretched you were before Christ saved you. Listen to people, just sit back and watch and see they need the message you carry. Please dont water down the message Christ was crucified for, Paul stoned and beheaded and martyr after martyr died for. It was not, "Oh God loves you just so much and if you come to Him then He will make your life better". That is a lie, Preach about sin and repentance and trusting in Christ to save them from the judgment to come. Warn them about this life and that when you do become a Christian things do get harder. People will not love your message but some will. Praise God for that. YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN. Get that...

YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN FOR YOU WERE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE.

Get your family involved and DONT WASTE YOUR LIFE. You will have plenty of time to laugh, fellowship, sing, etc in Heaven. You are called to reach people with the saving Gospel. That is the only reason you are still here on earth and will be the only thing you will never do again in heaven. DONT WASTE IT. PLEASE, Run hard and finish the race strong. Dont get in the peacetime mind set. ITS NOT PEACE TIME, IF YOU ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED OR TALKED ABOUT FOR YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST THAN PLEASE DO SOMETHING.

Here are some great ideas from Livingwaters. Our family printed out the Christmas Carols and are going to go to my Grandfathers neighborhood and sing, preach a small message and go to the next house. Please be in prayer.

Here are some ideas by livingwaters.

6 Reasons to Blog (by Abraham Piper)

2008-12-02T06:03:00.001-08:00

I know this is an old post but I thought it should be reviewed due to its wonderful content.

6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog
March 31, 2008 | By: Abraham Piper
Category: Commentary

In this article I want to convince as many pastors as possible to sit down and start a blog today. If I can’t convince them, then I want to convince churchgoers to hound their pastor until he does.

OK, all that’s overstatement, perhaps. You can still be a good pastor and not blog.

However, here’s why I think it would be good for you and your congregation if you did.

Pastors should blog…
1. …to write.
If you’re a pastor, you probably already know the value writing has for thinking. Through writing, you delve into new ideas and new insights. If you strive to write well, you will at the same time be striving to think well.

Then when you share new ideas and new insights, readers can come along with you wherever your good writing and good thinking bring you.

There is no better way to simply and quickly share your writing than by maintaining a blog. And if you’re serious about your blog, it will help you not only in your thinking, but in your discipline as well, as people begin to regularly expect quality insight from you.

2. …to teach.
Most pastors I’ve run into love to talk. Many of them laugh at themselves about how long-winded they’re sometimes tempted to be.

Enter Blog.

Here is where a pastor has an outlet for whatever he didn’t get to say on Sunday. Your blog is where you can pass on that perfect analogy you only just thought of; that hilarious yet meaningful story you couldn’t connect to your text no matter how hard you tried; that last point you skipped over even though you needed it to complete your 8-point acrostic sermon that almost spelled HUMILITY.

And more than just a catch-all for sermon spill-over, a blog is a perfect place for those 30-second nuggets of truth that come in your devotions or while you’re reading the newspaper. You may never write a full-fledged article about these brief insights or preach a whole sermon, but via your blog, your people can still learn from them just like you did.

3. …to recommend.
With every counseling session or after-service conversation, a pastor is recommending something. Sometimes it’s a book or a charity. Maybe it’s a bed-and-breakfast for that couple he can tell really needs to get away. And sometimes it’s simply Jesus.

With a blog, you can recommend something to hundreds of people instead of just a few. Some recommendations may be specific to certain people, but that seems like it would be rare. It’s more likely to be the case that if one man asks you whether you know of any good help for a pornography addiction, then dozens of other men out there also need to know, but aren’t asking.

Blog it.

Recommendation, however, is more than pointing people to helpful things. It’s a tone of voice, an overall aura that good blogs cultivate.

Blogs are not generally good places to be didactic. Rather, they’re ideal for suggesting and commending. I’ve learned, after I write, to go back and cut those lines that sound like commands or even overbearing suggestions, no matter how right they may be. Because if it’s true for my audience, it’s true for me, so why not word it in such a way that I’m the weak one, rather than them?

People want to know that their pastor knows he is an ordinary, imperfect human being. They want to know that you’re recommending things that have helped you in your own weakness. If you say, “When I struggled with weight-loss, I did such-and-such,” it will come across very differently than if you say, “Do such-and-such if you’re over-weight…”

If you use your blog to encourage people through suggesting and commending everything from local restaurants to Jesus Christ, it will complement the biblical authority that you rightly assume when you stand behind the pulpit.

4. …to interact.
There are a lot of ways for a pastor to keep his finger on the pulse of his people. A blog is by no means necessary in this regard. However, it does add a helpful new way to stay abreast of people’s opinions and questions.

Who knows what sermon series might arise after a pastor hears some surprising feedback about one of his 30-second-nuggets-of-truth?

5. …to develop an eye for what is meaningful.
For good or ill, most committed bloggers live with the constant question in their mind: Is this bloggable? This could become a neurosis, but I’ll put a positive spin on it: It nurtures a habit of looking for insight and wisdom and value in every situation, no matter how mundane.

If you live life looking for what is worthwhile in every little thing, you will see more of what God has to teach you. And the more he teaches you, the more you can teach others. As you begin to be inspired and to collect ideas, you will find that the new things you’ve seen and learned enrich far more of your life than just your blog.

6. …to be known.
This is where I see the greatest advantage for blogging pastors.

Your people hear you teach a lot; it’s probably the main way that most of them know you. You preach on Sundays, teach on Wednesdays, give messages at weddings, funerals, youth events, retreats, etc.

This is good—it’s your job. But it’s not all you are. Not that you need to be told this, but you are far more than your ideas. Ideas are a crucial part of your identity, but still just a part.

You’re a husband and a father. You’re some people’s friend and other people’s enemy. Maybe you love the Nittany Lions. Maybe you hate fruity salad. Maybe you struggle to pray. Maybe listening to the kids’ choir last weekend was—to your surprise—the most moving worship experience you’ve ever had.

These are the things that make you the man that leads your church. They’re the windows into your personality that perhaps stay shuttered when you’re teaching the Bible. Sometimes your people need to look in—not all the way in, and not into every room—but your people need some access to you as a person. A blog is one way to help them.

You can’t be everybody’s friend, and keeping a blog is not a way of pretending that you can. It’s simply a way for your people to know you as a human being, even if you can’t know them back. This is valuable, not because you’re so extraordinary, but because leadership is more than the words you say. If you practice the kind of holiness that your people expect of you, then your life itself opened before them is good leadership—even when you fail.

Conclusion
For most of you, anything you post online will only be a small piece in the grand scheme of your pastoral leadership. But if you can maintain a blog that is both compelling and personal, it can be an important small piece.

It will give you access to your people’s minds and hearts in a unique way by giving them a chance to know you as a well-rounded person. You will no longer be only a preacher and a teacher, but also a guy who had a hard time putting together a swing-set for his kids last weekend. People will open up for you as you open up like this for them. Letting people catch an honest glimpse of your life will add authenticity to your teaching and depth to your ministry,

Wretched Radio

2008-12-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

So if anyone has been following Way Of The Master Radio for any amount of time then...um....well....your hooked. You are just addicted and you are fully aware that they are now Wretched Radio. If not...well....you are just weird and we will be praying for you. For the rest of us. Check it out and support the minsitry. If you want to grow in your walk and in the dicerning catagory then get plugged in.

Wretchedradio.com

Launching the New Testament Project

2008-11-29T10:10:00.000-08:00

For those looking to get a deeper understanding of God's word and feel they need personal accountability then join us as we undergo a wonderful new project starting January 1st of 2009. This is how it works...

We will be starting in the Gospel of Matthew and systematically move through the whole New Testament. We will be following the MacArthur Study Bible's reading plan. We will read one book at a time repetitiously for a month. This will help us retain what is in the New Testament and help us need our concordance less and use our mind more.

With longer books like Matthew we will divide it into short sections and read daily for 30 days. For example, the gospel of John contains 21 chapters. We will divide it into 3 sections of 7 chapters. Section one will be read each day for 30 days. Section two will be read each day for 30 days and so on. At the end of 90 days, we will finish the Gospel of John. At the end of time, you will know what is in the book. We will blog, email each other and for personal use we can write down on an index card the major theme of each chapter. By referring to our card and blog post for our daily reading we will begin to remember the content of each chapter. A bonus will be that we will develop a visual perception of the book in our mind.

In two and half years we will have finished the entire New Testament and will really know it!!!

If you feel the need to know more. If you know that you do better when held accountable. If you know you have not been retaining what you read in the New Testament. Then step up and join arms with us by adding your name, email or blog to this post under comments and I will send you any necessary material to promote the project with your friends and family. Some of you prefer to email so go ahead and email me at garyandtina@comcast.net

Judgement on America? Dont worry not yet! :-)

2008-11-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

You know, a lot of "Christians" go around and tell me that God is "judging" America. That we have to worry because He is already mad at us and is giving us up. Well don't believe it. I found Bible verses that talk about what happens when God "gives up" a nation and trust me, we have nothing to worry about it. Look for yourself.

Romans 1 tells us what the result is after God has judged a nation and the result of God's hand being removed from stopping people from being as evil as they could have been and just letting them go with there dirty little hearts as far away from God's law as possible and become God haters. Don't worry just read....

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

God reveals to that nation or people his wrath when they practice and support ungodliness and unrighteousness. Like when adults take His laws out of school and refuse to teach them to there children and those children grow up and no nothing about Christmas or the Bible or heaven. When teachers rather support worldviews that explain life's start came from something other then God. Those people would be really bad and even go as far as saying that we came from nothing. Yes I said they would think we come from NOTHING and they would make silly ways to make it sound smart and use big words and take over all the education system with that lie. DON'T WORRY

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

These people would just have to look around and see the obvious. Things made have makers...DUHHHHHH. Christians would not just sit around and let that happen. They would speak up, right?

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Obviously these people with there false religion and there really difficult attempts to deny God are not going to have any "real" excuses when they see Him.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

If this really happened people would act like this...

or this..

Or this.....

People like that would say that we have to doubt things. That is how we know things...by doubting stuff. Do they ever doubt that? But don't worry this is only for nations that are abandoned by God.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Wow so deep? So Wise!!!!

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24Therefore(I) God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to(J) the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for(K) a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,(L) who is blessed forever! Amen.

26For this reason(M) God gave them up to(N) dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another,(O) men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,(P) God gave them up to(Q) a debased mind to do(R) what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know(S) God’s decree that those who practice such things(T) deserve to die, they not only do them but(U) give approval to those who practice them.

Dont worry, that is for other nations...

Or is it?

Real Love????

2008-11-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

Launching into a subject today on what love is by the worlds standard and contrasting that with the Love in which God has shown us in Christ. The difference is a HUGE stumbling block to Jews and Gentiles. The difference is eternal and the one way a person will give glory to there pride and well the other takes your pride and DEMANDS it to bow down and depart. Lets take a look.

Dr. Phil
1 "When you love yourself first, you're ready for a committed, romantic relationship. When you love smart by loving yourself first, others will love you for who you really are."

In other words as you work at loving yourself and meriting love by another they will become more attracted to you because you recognize your self worth. Come on!!! First off if you end up loving yourself why do you need anyone else? Second, that is the most selfish thing you can do is start a relationship by loving yourself.

There is freedom in the cross for this which is sin. Looking for your self worth apart from God is ignoring your creator and turning the love due to Him onto you. He loves without merit of yourself and He gives more love than you have ever given even yourself.

Deuteronomy 7:7
The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples, but becaseu the Lord loves you,

Now that verse was indeed to a nation that was undeserving. A nation who continually placed there own desires above that of the Lords. Grumbled after every blessing and had no problem focusing on themselves and not the Lord. Yet God showed them true love apart from there selfishness. Does this principle fall into the NT to us? YES

Titus 3:4-5
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy He saved us

Dr. Phil on how to lead in your marriage...

2 Create what you want in your family instead of whining about your family situation. Marriage is not a 50/50 partnership. It's a 100/100 partnership. That means you give 100 percent. And remember, you get what you give.

Stephen the Martyr after preaching the truth of Christ and his fulfillment of the messianic prophecy to those he loved reacted this way...

Acts 7:54
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

Acts 7:57-58
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and cast him out of the city and stoned him.

Hmmm I just don't see the science of reciprocation working here.

How about Paul the great apostle who gave his life to preach the cross to thousands of lost people?

Acts 16:22-24
Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Hmmmmm so tell me again how this works. Paul preached the best news the world has ever heard. Not only better than any have half heart compliment a husband can give to his wife to "get back what he gave" but Paul gave his life to the Glory of God and the salvation of men and he did not get back from them what he had given. Should we expect more them him?

What about Jesus?

Before giving His life for humanity on a bloody cross this is some of the things he was "getting" from those whom were the closes.

Matthew 26:40
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?

Matthew 26:43
And He came and found them asleep again

Matthew 26:45-46
Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."

Matthew 27:74-75
Peters Denial..
Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly.

After that his own people do this...
Matthew 27:1-2
When morning came, all the chief priest and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

And the worst and final act they did..

Matthew 27:35
Then they crucified Him.

Whoever is President Tomorrow I know who is King

2008-11-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today as you wake up the Gospel call is the same. To Preach the Gospel to all nations......

As You do....

Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

10:30-32
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My father who is in heaven.

28:18
And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

Psalm 2
Why do the heathen rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed,

He who sits in the heavens shall LAUGH:
The Lord shall hold them in derision.

List to the interview of John Macarthur and Phil Johnson on America by clicking here.

Titus 3:1
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
BUT when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.

Vote

2008-11-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Never has there been a greater need. The Blind are leading the blind. Christian, help them see.

I love you Honey,
I love you Victoria
I love you Grace
I love you Jordan
I love you Kaylie
I love you Isabella
I love you Joshua

Stand for the family. Stand for those who have no name tonight but will be in the presence of God by tomorrow. Stand for the babies who's cry's reach the height of heaven. Stand for them!!!

John Macarthur Sermons Unleashed...well soon!

2008-10-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

For those who have not heard. It looks like GTY (Grace To You) the MacArthur Ministry has decided to open up the vault of sermons. There official statement....

What an opportunity for you to store of a wealth of information for Biblical Growth and discipleship. It is going to be such a blessing. Pass the word on. To go direct to GTY click here.

Also for those who have emailed and prayed for Jeff and I as we hit downtown Pontiac last night. I want to thank you for your prayers. The harvest is huge and the time is at hand. Although we did not get a chance to open air the reason was due to the fact we had so many one to ones the crowd was gone by time we were done. Be in prayer for those people that heard the Gospel and pray that we will continue the work and grow in boldness. To God be the Glory.

God Bless,

Ligonier Ministries Esv Bible

2008-10-30T01:39:00.001-07:00

In honor of Reformation day (October 31st) Ligonier Ministries is giving there Reformation Study Bible away for a donation of any amount. What an awesome deal with a much anticipated version. If you remember anything about there deal on this Bible last year then you know it will go quick. Take advantage of this wonderful gift for your library. You can find out more here.

Two Years of Marriage and I got holes in my shoes.

2008-10-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

I know, strange title and weird picture. Let me explain....

I got them on our wedding night as we traveled up to beautiful Traverse City on a weekend honeymoon. Well that did not go so great but was the best weekend of my life. We traveled about 5 hours to get there and arrived in town at about 9 p.m. and we were very tired and could not wait to get out of the van. Well I guess everyone else in the world on the first week of October decided to get rooms and the whole city was sold out!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH We are in the middle of nowhere and this is the only city anywhere around for hours. So we had to race other couples (who had the same problem) to a resort about 1.5 hours north. We arrived at about 1 a.m. and very tired and cranky and I think we took some snowmobile tracks or something to get there and in a conversion van (dont ask). Needless to say I remember waking up thinking.....I wonder where we ended up so I pulled the curtains away from the huge window and 4th floor patio I was taken back by the most amazing view I have yet to see. It was Northern Michigan, Torch Lake, and Fall colors as far as the eye can see. What made it more amazing was I was a married man. Not only a married man but I was married to the most beautiful women in the world. As that thought pounded on my heart and the sweet thoughts of our Gracious God who has shown me mercy time and time again it hit me....Where are the roads? All the sudden I realized it was trees as far as my eyes can see but not one road. "Where are we" in a panicked mind set. "How did we get here if there are no roads?" Well we went out of the building and to the parking lot and I was ok. We then when on a little tour and then headed back to Traverse City to stay the night there but all in all it was the most wonderful time of my life.

Two years later I have holes in my shoes, baby spit up on my shirts, day after day of running the kids to something, homework, two little ones crying for my wife at the same time and neither one wants me and I could not be more thankful for any of it. Holes in shoes to some means garbage. Holes in shoes to me means a marriage that is walking strong. Praise be to God.

Below are two pictures of the lake we woke up to after driving lost for almost two hours and in the pitch black of night......

Deeper Conference

2008-10-24T07:52:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to pass along two snippets of great messages by some of our greatest preachers on American Soil. The first you can listen to it here. This is Ray Comfort talking on why we need to evangelize and how to vote your conscience. GREAT STUFF and very convicting if you are unsure of what moral decisions you should MAINLY consider when voting. We know politics wont change this nation and one man will not come in and change it all although the old political marketing schemes still work on unsuspecting Americans....We need change.... government bad..... neither candidate who promises this (which they both do) in of themselves can change this nation and make it brand new. We have a much bigger problem. People need Salvation and the hearts of men to go from God haters to God lovers. Our hope is not in the presidential race (although we need to vote how God would want us to) but our hope is in Jesus Christ and the preaching of the Cross.

In the words of John Macarthur...

We can't protect or expand the cause of Christ by human political and social activism, no matter how great or sincere the efforts. Ours is a spiritual battle waged against worldly ideologies and dogmas arrayed against God, and we achieve victory over them only with the weapon of Scripture. The apostle Paul writes: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

God is not calling us to wage a culture war that would seek to transform our countries into "Christian nations."
God has above all else called the church to bring sinful people to salvation through Jesus Christ. Even as the apostle Paul described his mission to unbelievers, so it is the primary task of all Christians to reach out to the lost "to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me [Christ]" (Acts 26:18; cf. Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9). If we do not evangelize the lost and make disciples of new converts, nothing else we do for people--no matter how beneficial it seems--is of any eternal consequence. Whether a person is an atheist or a theist, a criminal or a model citizen, sexually promiscuous and perverse or strictly moral and virtuous, a greedy materialist or a gracious philanthropist--if he does not have a saving relationship to Christ, he is going to hell. It makes no difference if an unsaved person is for or against abortion, a political liberal or a conservative, a prostitute or a police officer, he will spend eternity apart from God unless he repents and believes the gospel.

The second message is by Paul Washer and it just slaps people around with major conviction. Me first. Listen by clicking here.

In Christ,

Ringing the Bell on Rob Bell

2008-10-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

For those that don't know Rob Bell is an emergent pastor from Michigan and some have called him the next Billy Graham. He is respected widely among evangelicals as coming with a "new" twist on an old religion. He is making it "relevant" and "exciting" for a younger hip generation. Anyone who has been on the scene of Christianity for any amount of time has either came across his Nooma videos or his book "Velvet Elvis". The purpose of this blog is to do what so many others have done already. Explain to a younger more impressible group of evangelicals just what the gospel is and identifying bad teaching. I do this with a humble heart knowing I am talking to Pastors, youth pastors, lay leaders, elders and many others. I want to take journey into the teaching of Rob Bell and why it must be rejected by those "Commanded" to protect the sheep.

For a clear gospel link click here.

For the purpose of this blog and detecting heresy we have to start with what the gospel is NOT....

I just want to tackle the BIG baby food, obvious foundations for Christianity. Like Hell, The Bible, Salvation and touch on a few doctrines like the substitutionary atonement of Christ and universalism. These are the issues that those who are in the faith should be able to detect and call out those who deny them.

Lets take a look...

Rob Bell on the need for salvation.

Rob Bell:
“You can’t get enough points to get in with the Big Guy. You can’t do enough good deeds and then God will like you. One of the things the Spirit does is remind us that we belong. Period. Just exactly as we are. You are loved by God.”

Really Rob, how is that the Bible says things like God is angry with the wicked everyday? God will judge the world in righteousness? No murderer or liar or fornicator will enter the kingdom of Heaven. A man MUST be Born again to enter into Heaven. How Rob? If we are all loved by God just the way we are then why send Jesus? This is a flat out heresy line.

Rob Bell on the Bible's accuracy.

Rob Bell:
“The Bible is a collection of stories that teach us about what it looks like when God is at work through actual people. The Bible has the authority it does only because it contains stories about people interacting with the God who has all authority”
-Velvet Elvis, p.65

“…it wasn’t until the 300s that what we know as the sixty-six books of the Bible were actually agreed upon as the ‘Bible’. This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that “Scripture alone” is our guide. It sounds nice, but it is not true. In reaction to abuses by the church, a group of believers during a time called the Reformation claimed that we only need the authority of the Bible. But the problem is that we got the Bible from the church voting on what the Bible even is. So when I affirm the Bible as God’s word, in the same breath I have to affirm that when those people voted, God was somehow present, guiding them to do what they did. When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true. In affirming the Bible as inspired, I also have to affirm the Spirit who I believe was inspiring those people to choose those books.”
-Velvet Elvis, p.68

[The Bible is a] “human product…rather than the product of divine fiat”

Wow, now the textual criticism and the historic agreement of the Bible is so elementary to any Bible believing seminary. For such a popular speaker to not only be able to actually explain how we Got the Bible we have today and how we can trust it but also to wash it away as just a book...just a human product. Rob, why believe any of it?

Rob Bell on Hell.
Come on this is an easy one.

”When people use the word hell, what do they mean? They mean a place, an event, a situation absent of how God desires things to be. Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter–they are all hell on earth. Jesus’ desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth. What’s disturbing is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about Hell here and now. As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell coming to earth.”
- Velvet Elvis, p.148

“Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust. Ours or God’s.”
- Velvet Elvis, p.146

On the Fall:

“I can’t find one place in the teachings of Jesus, or the Bible for that matter, where we are to identify ourselves first and foremost as sinners. Now this doesn’t mean we don’t sin; that’s obvious. In the book of James it’s written like this: ‘We all stumble in many ways.’ Once again, the greatest truth of the story of Adam and Eve isn’t that it happened, but that it happens.”
- Velvet Elvis, p. 139

On “Ultimate Reality”:

“I don’t follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus because he leads me into ultimate reality. He teaches me to live in tune with how reality is. When Jesus said, ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’, he was saying that his way, his words, his life is our connection to how things truly are at the deepest levels of existence. For Jesus then, the point of religion is to help us connect with ultimate reality, God.”
- Velvet Elvis p. 83

On the Nature of the Atonement:

“So this reality, this forgiveness, this reconciliation, is true for everybody. Paul insisted that when Jesus died on the cross he was reconciling ‘all things, in heaven and on earth, to God. This reality then isn’t something we make true about ourselves by doing something. It is already true. Our choice is to live in this new reality or cling to a reality of our own making.”
- Velvet Elvis p. 146

On the Virgin Birth:

“What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologists find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births?

But what if, as you study the origin of the word “virgin” you discover that the word “virgin” in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word “virgin” could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being “born of a virgin” also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?”
-Velvet Elvis, p. 26

On Faith:

“Who does Peter lose faith in? Not Jesus; he is doing fine. Peter loses faith in himself. Peter loses faith that he can do what his rabbi is doing. If the rabbi calls you to be his disciple, then he believes that you can actually be like him. As we read the stories of Jesus’ life with his talmidim, his disciples, what do we find frustrates him to no end? When his disciples lose faith in themselves….. Notice how many places in the accounts of Jesus’ life he gets frustrated with his disciples. Because they are incapable? No, because of how capable they are. He sees what they could be and could do, and when they fall short it provokes him to no end. It isn’t their failure that’s the problem, it’s their greatness. They don’t realize what they are capable of….God has an amazingly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of amazing things. I’ve been told I need to believe in Jesus. Which is a good thing. But what I’m learning is that Jesus believes in me….God has faith in me.”
-Velvet Elvis, pp. 133-134

Let me end with a couple videos that show how heretical Nooma videos are. If you have played them to your church STOP. You are not examining the teaching with the BIBLE.

The Biblical Response

The Gospel...Unkind?

You be the Judge!!!!

John Macarthur

2008-10-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

Great experience this past week at Woodside Bible Church in Troy. What made it so great is the preaching of the word by Bible Teacher and numero uno of living preachers/theologians was none other than John Macathur. He preached on the prodigal son and I promise it was like no sermon you have heard on the text. He managed to condense five messages worth of material into one sermon and it just blew my mind. It got me even more excited for hermeneutics and the exposition of the word. I am just so thankful to had heard it. I also had the honor of asking Dr Macathur a question during the service. And in the way that only Piper and Macarthur can do he took it back to the word, applied it, chewed it up and threw it back at me to were I think I got reprimanded or excommunicated or something. But seriously the question was on the impact of evangelism in ministry and his answer went right to it. Saying that everything "in" the church we will do better in heaven. The church is meant to strengthen believers and make there lives a living testimony for the gospel and to proclaim it in a lost a dying world. It was great.

Are we looking up to a broken system?

2008-09-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Yes! Ok so we all know that politics and Christianity can get way to played out about this time every 4 years or so. By this time and getting closer to November we are so tired of hearing the word politics that we can pull our ears off. So I do not want to go into this post with a political agenda. I want to tackle this issue of politics and the Christians proper view from a new angle that I don't think is touched on nearly enough.

Political anything in any country is a falling and failing system. Yes God appointed it and yes we are to be good responsible citizens of those offices. At the same time are Christians standing below the political "umbrella" looking up as if that is all we have or should we be above the system looking down?

Our hope is not in the outcome of this election (although we have hope for it) and our foundation is not in the Constitution of the United States (although we support it) but in the Word of God. Our hope is not in this world. We are to look down on a sinful fallen process and interject as much biblical input as we are asked but no more. That system does not belong to us and it never will. It belongs to the prince of the power of the air and as long as we are in this world it is yet another fallen system. We get so wrapped up with many secular humanist that we forget they are fighting for there life and hope. What are we saying when we get so vocal and so out of whack? That this is our only hope and its not. We have only a certain amount of time left. Use it and reach someone you don't know with the Gospel of Jesus Christ today.

Remind [the people] to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Worship Music

2008-08-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Worshiping God through Praise is an amazing thing and something to take with complete reverence. It is a fascinating subject and one that deserves our full attention. As I continue my wonderful study in Justification you can look for updates soon. I want to step back from that for a bit and talk about Worship Music. It just so happens to be the latest sermon series our Pastor is going through right now. You can listen to that message here...

http://www.mtmorriscommunitychurch.org/home/2259/2259/audio/Music%20in%20the%20Church.mp3

We are going through the book of Colossians verse by verse and this is such a fantastic subject. So many of todays "POP" Culture church services seem to be more bent on pleasing man in hopes that it please God by the effort rather than starting with what pleases God first and well ONLY. Once we see what it is that please God we should not wavier from that. Take the Biblical instruction and praise God in a way that He gets the glory.

Our churches get so up roared in what can be sung and what instruments can or cannot be used and we dont pay attention to the heart and the theology in the words. Contemporary churches seem to not want old wonderfully full hymnals and classic hymnal lovers dont want any contemporary biblical songs brought in. It is for God and both sides need to put there focus on Him with much prayer.

Here is an example of a very Biblical song that I think would not be brought into a church context and I agree it should not be. But for casual theological listening, this song is very edifying. Now it is a rap song and I will be the first to tell you that I am not into hip hop or rap or rock or metal Christian Music. I do think some of it is great but most of it falls very short. Please tell me what you think .

2008-08-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well before I get more into the issue of Justification I want to update you on what has since happened with my Catholic Friend. He showed up to talk to me yesterday. He said that a leader of the church came up to him after mass and told him that what he brought up last week was very interesting and commented on the remarks I made about the necessity of the law and the inability to add work to justification. He asked him to tell it to him again and he again explained our conversation and told the guy that it is kind of strange because I take the Bible literally. The other man said he had been struggling with the point of the law and this helps clear things up for him. The other man told my friend that he would like to have more group talks about this subject. He was than told that I made the offer to come to the church and explain myself if desired. The leader (I don’t know the position) said that would be great but they both agreed that they needed to get the Priest Ok.

When he told me all this I was so blessed because I did not even imagine fruit like this would come to be. Then these two verses came to mind today.

Psalm 37:4†
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

What an amazing promise. When you look at your life and in your prayer time you count all your blessing. You are content with all that you have and could not ask for more. The only thing you want is more of God and He blesses you with fruit and obedience and you begin to walk in His ways. You act according the riches you have in Christ and speak. For all I know that man in that Catholic Church might be getting saved. I don’t know. I just thank God that he gives more than we could ever ask and blesses us so much. How can we not tell people?

Infused or Imputed??

2008-08-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been witnessing over the past year with a man whom I love dearly. He is a devote catholic and he and I have shared opposing views with much interjection from his current Priest. I feel as if I know this priest and I can almost foresee every swing back he will have toward me as he looks for spiritual truth. Over the years we have discussed the Law and its proper use, mercy, Holiness, and works. I knew our time together was coming to an end due to his soon retirement. I wanted to make sure he understood our differences and was clear on what the result would be according to scripture if he held his current views. I am sure I could have lead him to 100 "sinner prayers" but thank God that never happened. I knew if anything would save him it would be the word of God and the power there of. So I have been just knuckles down on the issues of Justification and if it is infused or imputed. I knew already what Scripture taught but I did not understand how Catholicism can come to some misunderstanding of infused righteousness.

Currently I am reading a book by Jonathan Edwards on Justification by Faith alone and it has been such a blessing to me. After going through several Catholic blogs I am shocked at the constant contradictions within the blogs. They say that works is necessary for salvation but there verses are ripped out of context and then seeing quotes for justification apart from the law is by faith. I just dont get it.

When we parted ways, I asked him if he would be willing to read Romans Chapter 4 and he declined. I asked why? He said he trust what the priest and myself tell him. I told him that we both could be leading him to hell and unless he checks for himself he will never get saved. He said he will be fine and I said no you wont not based on your goodness and he drove away and said "bye Gary". Be in prayer for him this week if you could. In the mean time I want to start tomorrow with a overview of Romans 4 and its clear unmistakable explanation of Justification by FAITH ALONE.

God Bless

On vacation

2008-08-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

Will be back Sunday afternoon. Thought I would drop this promo....

Is your Family Worship like that of old?

2008-07-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

How is your family worship? Do you and your wife with children in lap, worship the one and true God? How much time do you invest, husband-father, in the affairs of this life and forget all together to instruct the ones in whom God has placed the most trust to you over? Do you have no conviction that you neither care nor toil over the soul of your wife and children? You say to me, but they go to church and worship with me there? Has God made your Pastor or elders husbands over your wife's and children? Will they stand before God on your behalf? Sir, the arrows of the evil one are aimed from birth at the ones you tend to. Even your wife from birth was a target. God has now intending to shield her from the darts of the evil one by the washing of the word and yet you stand aside and say she is fine on her own. Well that may be but she will be stronger because of you or she will be FORCED to be stronger without you. STAND FAST!!!!

Lets dive into this as we look into the old paths (This is for us to grow together and may God bless us in this study) .....

2 Timothy 3:14-15
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

I want you to notice a few things in those verses. First lets of course consider context, context, context. Chapter 3 begins with Paul warning Timothy that the last days are coming and in those last days men will not only become lovers of themselves but also with resist the truth and they will lead many with them. Paul than switches back to Timothy after a descriptive prediction of the false teachers and says...

vs 14: But as for you, Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from who you learned it

Who are the "those from who you have learned it" referring too? Is it Paul and the other Christian leaders? No! I qualify that with vs 15 which says...

and how from infancy you have learned the Holy Scriptures

FROM INFANCY. So who are these that taught Timothy the scriptures from Infancy?

Well for that we have to go back to 2 Timothy chapter one and a very familar verse to most...

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also

So it was passed down from Timothy's faithful Mother and Grandmother and what was a great motivation???

Back to our home verse for this study....

2 Timothy 3:14-15
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

which are able to make you wise for salvation!
which are able to make you wise for salvation!
which are able to make you wise for salvation!

Folks, the Bible is what saves. It is by the preaching of the word that men get saved. Not by gimmicks, The gospel saves, the cross convicts. Teach these to your kids and bind them on your door post. Teach the scripture to your children so they are ready to receive when the word is preached to them.

Jonathan Edwards said,

Family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual.

Christian Homelife Exemplified, 300 Years Ago

During the era of the 18th century Great Awakening, George Whitefield had the opportunity to stay in the Edwards home. Afterwards, Whitefield wrote: "Felt wonderful satisfaction in being at the house of Mr. Edwards. He is a Son himself, and hath also a Daughter of Abraham for his wife. A sweeter couple I have not yet seen. Their children were dressed not in silks and satins, but plain, as becomes the children of those who, in all things ought to be examples of Christian simplicity. She is a woman adorned with a meek and quiet spirit, talked feelingly and solidly of the Things of God, and seemed to be such a help mate for her husband, that she caused me to renew those prayers, which, for many months, I have put up to God, that he would be pleased to send me a daughter of Abraham to be my wife." The next year Whitefield married a widow whom John Wesley described as a "woman of candour and humanity."

A great book I suggest is Noel Piper's, Treasuring God in Our Traditions. You can read it for free at the Desiring God web site or you can just click on this link...
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/2438_Treasuring_God_in_Our_Traditions/

Randy Alcorn has a book we read over the summer called "Heaven" The children version, which went rather well. We also go verse by verse in the Bible and we are almost finished with Mark which has taken well over 2 months. We have some praise and worship and really try to limit all this to about 20 minutes although many nights have gone over. It is hard and we fail often and making it more constant but each failure I am hoping brings us closer to better structure and preparation.

Tune in again as we get into the subject a bit more and than touch on other subjects I have noted in previous post. May God Bless you as you grow in holiness and obedience to the word of God. Special thanks to oldtruth.com, Family Education Wordpress blog, Godtube and others.

In Christ,

Rounding the Corner

2008-07-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Continuing our seires from Challies dot com and info obtained from his wonderful blog as well as info obtained from GTY.org. This is part five of our series studying the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Please note that this is only a brief overview of a vast topic. A thorough discussion of this topic can (and often has) filled many books. At the conclusion of the series I will provide a list of helpful resources should you wish to pursue this study further.

The terms Arminianism and Calvinism are, of course, absent from the Bible. For that reason I tend to avoid defining myself as either one. I would rather be defined as a follower of Christ than a follower of the teachings of Calvin or Arminius. However, having said that, I do believe that one of their teachings is correct and the other is not.

It should come as no surprise that I adhere to Calvinist theology. I believe that Calvinism is little more than a correct interpretation of the Bible. It is not a radical theology; it is correct, Biblical theology! From what the Bible teaches and from what I have seen of human nature, I simply cannot believe that man can play any part in his salvation. A former pastor of mine used to say it like this: “Imagine you are in a river, the water is flowing quickly and you are sinking. You struggle, fight and thrash about but are unable to save yourself. As you are going down for the last time, you manage to extend your hand just a bit. As you extend your hand, someone grabs it and pulls you from the torent. That is Arminian theology. Calvinism says that you are a corpse - a dead, rotting corpse unable to even extend your pinky finger. But God brings that corpse to life.” The Irvins recently posted about light and asked how much light is enough to make a blind man see. The point is the same – a blind man can see no light just as a dead man cannot extend his hand. Until God brings us to life we are dead. Soli Deo Gloria.

My final word on the topic is this. To be a Christian I need only believe that Christ paid the penalty for my sins and to ask Him for forgiveness. Both Calvinists and Arminians agree on this. Therefore, whether I am Calvinist or Arminian in theology, I can and must have fellowship with those who adhere to the other viewpoint. Christian fellowship must extend to the whole body of true believers, regardless of theology

If you are interested in studying this topic further, I would suggest the following resources:

John Piper, John MacArthur, James Boice and R.C. Sproul are all prolific authors who have written books about Calvinism or from a Calvinist perspective. Calvin’s Institutes are widely available in print or online.

The 5 part video series below is a very compressive study of Romans 9. I think it will prove to open up Romans in a way that forces the exegetical study and exposition of the text.

God Bless,

Explain yourself Mr.

2008-07-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for your feed back as we continue in this study and clarification of Biblical Theology and the heated debate between Arminianism and Calvinism in this new age of Church History. I found a great break down of the differences at challies.com. So below is the basic break down....

I present this as a “quick and dirty” summary of the opposing views. Remember that not all Calvinists hold to all of the points I have listed below. Similarly, not all Arminians believe all of the points below.

Free Will (Arminians)

The fall has seriously affected humans but has not left them completely spiritually helpless.
Man is not enslaved to his nature
Man has the ability to choose for or against God. Man can choose either good or evil as his will dictates.
The Spirit assists man as he develops faith.
Faith is man’s act and a gift to God

Total Depravity (Calvin)

The fall has left man completely unable to respond to God in any way. Man is spiritually dead.
Man is enslaved to his nature
Man has free will within the bounds of his nature. Since man is in a fallen state, he can never choose for God unless the Spirit has first regenerated him.
The Spirit regenerates man and then gives him the faith Christ secured.
Faith is God’s act and a gift to man

Conditional Election (Arminians)

God chose certain people before the foundation of the world based on seeing that in the future they would respond to His call.
Election is conditional on God seeing who would choose Him.
The final cause of salvation is man choosing God.

Unconditional Election (Calvin)

God chose certain people before the foundation of the world for His own reasons and not based on seeing who would respond to His call.
Election is unconditional. God simply chose some and not others.
The final cause of salvation is God choosing man.

Unlimited Atonement (Arminians)

Christ’s death achieved the potential for man to be saved.
Christ died for every person who ever lived, but only saves those who believe.
Christ’s death secured the potential for salvation and did not secure faith (which is man’s work)

Limited Atonement (Calvin)

Christ’s death effectually saved the elect.
Christ’s death was only for the elect and not for the entire human race.
Christ’s death secured salvation and faith

Obstructable Grace (Arminians)

God never forces salvation upon anyone.
The Spirit woos people but they are free to accept or reject Him.
Faith allows the Spirit to do His work in man

Irresistible Grace (Calvin)

God gives the gift of salvation to His elect and they have no choice but to respond.
The Spirit regenerates people who are then given faith and must repent.
The Spirit does His work based on who God has predestined to eternal life

Falling From Grace (Arminians)

Because salvation is ultimately dependent on man, he can reject his salvation.

Perseverance of the Saints (Calvin)

Because salvation is ultimately dependent on God, man can never lose salvation

As you see, the process of a person becoming saved is vastly different in each of the views. I have created a chart for each of the views to try to simplify the differences between them.

Please tune in next week as I turn the corner in this debate and open up my email box or this blog for any of your questions, statements or disagreements. Three has been great responses and I just thank you all for taking the time to hammer this out as you seek your own understanding of who God is.

Starting Tuesday of next week we will be moving into the subject of the necessity of family worship. Where did it get its beginning and how much has western culture loss it's roots on such a necessary component of family spiritual growth. In the weeks to follow we will be looking at the seeker sensitive movement and why it is so anti biblical (Purpose Drivenisim, Willowcreek, Joel Osteen, etc). We will also be discussing the issues of Biblical Evagelsim and posting some video of myself and other fellow labor's Open air preaching, doing one to one witinessing, and how to break the ice. We will see how to confront JW, Mormons, Postmodernism and others. If you would like to join us for Open Air preaching we are scheduling some events in the next week or two.

May God Richly bless you,