On Sabbatical

I will be returning soon to fight the fight (or at least write about it).

Video: Don't Contextualize the Gospel

Watch John Piper talk about how the basics of the Gospel are understandable across cultures without contextualization (4 min).

Michael Vick has Found Jesus?!?!

Hmmm, I hate to questions his sincerity, but...

Click here to see the video.

Funny

Reasons 18 to 22 Year Olds Drop Out of Church

A new study from LifeWay Research reveals that more than two-thirds of young adults who attend a Protestant church for at least a year in high school will stop attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22.

As young people transition from high school into the workforce or college life, they are faced with many choices – including whether to continue attending church. Although this decision is a source of concern for parents and church leaders, discussion of the reasons young adults choose the direction they do has largely been speculative.

"Lots of alarming numbers have been tossed around regarding church dropouts," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, the research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. "We wanted to get at the real situation with clear research – and there is some bad news here, no question. But, there are also some important solutions to be found in the research. When we know why people drop out, we can address how to help better connect them."

To uncover the reasons young people leave church, LifeWay Research conducted a survey in April and May 2007 of more than 1,000 adults ages 18-30. Each indicated that they had attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year in high school.

Click here for full article.

If Election is True, Why Should We Evangelize?

When speaking on predestination and election, there is one question that regularly presents itself:
If God in His sovereignty has settled from all eternity who shall be saved, why should we evangelize? God is sovereign not only in the dispersion of His grace but also in His commands for the church. The first thing we must understand is that we are commanded to evangelize. Part of God's divine decree is not only to decree who will be saved but how they will be saved, and he has declared that the elect will be saved through preaching. Let us think hard about the missionary enterprise and the privilege of our involvement in it that it may be said of us, how beautiful are the feet of those who send the preachers so that people may hear, believe, and be saved.

Click here for more.

God's Sovereignty and the Atonement

Without a doubt, a firm grasp of the sovereign rule of our Father in heaven is necessary for a God-honoring Christian life and effective witness of the risen Lord. When we understand that God is Lord over all things we can find peace even in the most difficult of circumstances because we know that nothing takes God by surprise, and, therefore, everything that happens is for the good of His people and His glory (Rom. 8:28). Knowing that God is sovereign in salvation makes us confident that our witness to the Gospel will not be in vain and emboldens us to take great risks for the kingdom. We learn to act without worrying overtly about our initial success or failure, for it is God, working through flawed men and women, who saves His people.

In a similar vein, our Christian life and witness is impossible if we do not understand what took place during Jesus’ crucifixion. The Savior’s atonement for sin on the cross is the good news of the Gospel, for in Jesus the Father was reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19). Gaining a fuller grasp of Christ’s work enables us to present Him to others with clarity and helps to increase our assurance that He is indeed “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

Unfortunately, church leaders often neglect the full exposition of these topics and assume that Christians know enough about the atonement and God’s sovereignty. Today, a good understanding of such things is no longer a given. There are people in our pews who have not tasted the riches of the cross and the Lord’s all-encompassing reign.

Click here for more.

Christians Move Towards Code on Seeking Converts

Christians move towards code on seeking converts
by Robert Evans
Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - Christian churches are moving closer to a common code of conduct on how they go about winning converts among themselves and from other religions, the World Council of Churches (WCC) said on Monday.

Conversion, sometimes dubbed "sheep-stealing" as it targets another's flock, is a cause of friction and conflict between religions and among different branches of individual faiths.

Militant groups are often accused of underhand tactics in winning over new adherents.

The Geneva-based WCC, working with the Vatican on the issue, said a meeting in Toulouse later this week should bring the year-long process of agreeing a conversion rule-book nearer to completion by its target date of 2009.

"Evangelical and Pentecostal representatives will be taking part in the dialogue for the first time, and we see this as a good sign for the eventual success of this project," said WCC spokesman Juan Michel....

The first meeting was attended -- alongside the Christians -- by representatives of the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Yoruba faiths.

Bring the Youth - Oh Wait, Don't!!!!!

The National Youth Workers Convention will take place in three different US cities this coming fall (October through November). The event is presented by Youth Specialties, an organization that has been a springboard for contemplative and emerging spiritualities for many years. If your youth pastor or youth workers are planning on attending one of the three conventions, we urge you to take a look at the following links (from the NYWC website). We think you will agree that attendees will receive a hearty dose of mystical spirituality and emergent messages that can ultimately lead followers away from biblical faith:Labyrinths,Taize worship, Catholic liturgy, meditation - it's all at the 2007 National Youth Workers Convention

High Hopes

I will be honest when I first saw this advertisement on Southern Baptists and Calvinsim I didn't know what to think. But as I read further this could be a good thing for the SBC. I was impressed that Southeastern Seminary and the Founders ministry are putting the two day conference on.

Click here for the advertisement

How Much Wrath does God Have?

The Scriptures use various terms to express God’s emotions that are in contrast to his love for, pleasure in, and satisfaction with his people. In the Old Testament at least six terms are used to express his negative reactions to humanity, particularly to his covenant people. These terms, all of which express varied shades or degrees of wrath, anger, displeasure, or vexation, are the following: ˒aph (to be angry), zā˓aph and derivatives (to be wroth, displeased, sad); ḥêmâḥêmâh (indignation, anger, wrath); kâ˓as (to be angry, wrathful, indignant, vexed, grieved); ˓ebrâh (rage, wrath); qâsaph (to be displeased, angry, wroth); ˒saneh (to hate). In the New Testament there are more than twenty references to the anger, wrath, or vengeance (orgē) of God and a few references to indignation and displeasure (achthŏs). These terms are to be considered anthropopathic expressions; human terms, however, cannot give the full meaning of the infinite and sovereign God’s emotional experiences. As his love is infinitely incomprehensible, so are his displeasure, hate, anger, wrath, and vengeance. There is good reason indeed for the writer to the Hebrews to warn sinful people that it “is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

23 Facts About God

1. God is self-existent. Exod. 3:13-14
2. God is self-sufficient. Ps. 50:10-12
3. God is eternal. Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2
4. God is infinite. 1 Kings 8:22-27; Jer. 23:24
5. God is omnipresent. Ps. 139:7-12
6. God is omnipotent. Gen. 18:14;Rev. 19:6
7. God is omniscient. Ps. 139:2-6; Isa. 40:13-14
8. God is wise. Prov. 3:19; 1 Tim. 1:17
9. God is immutable. Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8
10. God is sovereign. Isa. 46:9-11
11. God is incomprehensible. Job 11:7-19; Rom. 11:33
12. God is holy. Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:15
13. God is righteous and just. Ps. 119:137
14. God is true. John 17:3; Titus 1:1-2
15. God is faithful. Deut. 7:9; Ps. 89:1-2
16. God is light. James 1:17; 1 John 1:5
17. God is good. Ps. 107:8
18. God is merciful. Ps. 103:8-17
19. God is gracious. Ps. 111:4; 1 Pet. 5:10
20. God is love. John 3:16; Rom. 5:8
21. God is spirit. John 4:24
22. God is one. Deut. 6:4-5; Isa. 44:6-8
23. God is a Trinity. Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14

How Good is Our God!

This sovereign redemptive love is one facet of the quality that Scripture calls God’s goodness (Ps. 100:5; Mark 10:18), that is, the glorious kindness and generosity that touches all his creatures (Ps. 145:9, 15-16) and that ought to lead all sinners to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Other aspects of this goodness are the mercy or compassion or pity that shows kindness to persons in distress by rescuing them out of trouble (Pss. 107, 136) and the long-suffering, forbearance, and slowness to anger that continues to show kindness toward persons who have persisted in sinning (Exod. 34:6; Ps. 78:38; John 3:10–4:11; Rom. 9:22; 2 Pet. 3:9). The supreme expression of God’s goodness is still, however, the amazing grace and inexpressible love that shows kindness by saving sinners who deserve only condemnation: saving them, moreover, at the tremendous cost of Christ’s death on Calvary (Rom. 3:22-24; 5:5-8; 8:32-39; Eph. 2:1-10; 3:14-18; 5:25-27).

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Psalm 107
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
(ESV)

Prayer Needed

Please pray for this family, this was a family that attended the church I came from in California.

(CBS) CORONA, Calif. Authorities Sunday identified the victim of a fatal hit-and-run collision in Corona as a Murrieta woman, whose children and husband were also injured in the crash.

Helen Sexsmith, 48, of Murrieta was a passenger in a minivan struck by a 1998 four-door Saturn at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Avenue and Railroad Street. The collision caused the minivan to roll onto its side and hit a signal pole, according to a press release from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The driver of the Saturn ran away and has not been found, according to the statement.

Sexsmith was rushed in Corona Regional Medical Center, where she died a short time after the crash, according to the statement.

Sexsmith's husband was the driver of the minivan that also carried their three children. They were transported to Riverside Community Hospital with minor injuries and were released, according to the statement.

We are All so Cool and Individualistic - Yeah Right

Sociologists call this the era of hyper-individualism – and with good reason, according to our latest report. Interviews with more than 4000 adults show that we generally see ourselves as independent thinkers, loyal and reliable, and making a positive difference in the world. We support traditional family values but we are open to considering new moral perspectives. And while our faith is very important in our lives, it may not be very influential in our decision-making. Find out more about how we see ourselves, and the implications of that self-view by reading the new Barna Update that is on our website. www.barna.org

The Most Precious thing in Heaven or Earth

The most precious thing in heaven or earth(John Flavel, "The Fountain of Life" 1671)In giving Christ to die for poor sinners, God gave the richest jewel in His cabinet; a mercy of the greatest worth, and most inestimable value.

Heaven itself is not so valuable and precious as Christ is! Ten thousand thousand worlds--as many worlds as angels can number, would not outweigh Christ's love, excellency and sweetness! O what a lovely One! What an excellent, beautiful, ravishing One--is Christ!

Put the beauty of ten thousand paradises, like the garden of Eden, into one; put all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all sweetness, all loveliness into one; O what a lovely and excellent thing would that be! And yet it would be less to that loveliest and dearest well-beloved Christ--than one drop of rain to all the seas, rivers, lakes, and fountains of ten thousand earths!

Now, for God to bestow the mercy of mercies, the most precious thing in heaven or earth, upon poor sinners; and, as great, as lovely, as excellent as His Son was--what kind of love is this!

One Laptop Per Child = One Porn Account Per Child

As worthy of a program for learning as this may be. It seems they did not realize that given the opportunity for sin and depravity, that these kids would unfortunately gravitate to viewing porn. Maybe some will think it's ok, - no big deal - they will say things like, "when I was a kid my dad had a stack of Playboy magazines under his bed". Well, I have news for you; it wasn't ok then for your father, nor is it ok now for you or any child/kid/teen etc.

By far, the most searched for terms on the internet are related to pornography. Pornography is rampant in the world today. Perhaps more than anything else, Satan has succeeded in twisting and perverting sex. He has taken what is good and right (loving sex between a husband and wife) and replaced it with lust, pornography, adultery, rape, and homosexuality. Pornography is simply the first step on a very slippery slope of ever-increasing wickedness and immorality (Romans 6:19). Just as a drug user is led to consume greater and more powerful quantities of drugs, so pornography drags a person into hard-core sexual addictions and ungodly desires.

The three main categories of sin are: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Pornography definitely causes us to lust after flesh, and it undeniably is a lust for our eyes. Pornography definitely does not qualify as one of the things we are to think about, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Pornography is addictive (1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:19), destructive (Proverbs 6:25-28; Ezekiel 20:30; Ephesians 4:19), and leads to ever-increasing wickedness (Romans 6:19). Lusting after other people in our minds (the essence of pornography) is offensive to God (Matthew 5:28). When habitual devotion to pornography characterizes a person’s being, that demonstrates the person is not saved (1 Corinthians 6:9).


ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian schoolchildren who received laptops from a U.S. aid organization have used them to explore pornographic sites on the Internet, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Thursday.

NAN said its reporter had seen pornographic images stored on several of the children's laptops.

"Efforts to promote learning with laptops in a primary school in Abuja have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials," NAN said.

A representative of the One Laptop Per Child aid group was quoted as saying that the computers, part of a pilot scheme, would now be fitted with filters.

Songs of the Lukewarm Church

1. Blest Be The Tie That Doesn't Cramp My Style
2. Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me
3. I Surrender Some
4. I'm Fairly Certain That My Redeemer Lives
5. Sit Up, Sit Up For Jesus
6. Take My Life and Let Me Be
7. What An Acquaintance We Have In Jesus
8. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
9. He's Quite a Bit To Me
10. Oh, How I Like Jesus
11. Fill My Spoon, Lord
12. It Is My Secret What God Can Do

HT: Kirk Cameron

Signs of the Apocolypse: Japan

The depravity of man never ceases to amaze me - let me stop. This time it did.

I am not going to link to the story out of fear someone may actually go and order one.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

Article:

One japanese man has spent $170,000 to build an army of nearly a hundred ultra-realistic sex dolls made by Orient Industry. Apparently he's part of the fever taking over middle-aged Japan men, who buy these $850 to $5,500 silicon zombies with 35 movable joints out of desperation.