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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
You know things are bad....
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy
Here's a really funny check on reality--a little dose of perspective for the chronic complainers out there (such as myself).
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Derek Thomas on Revival
From this week's First Epistle, the weekly newsletter of First Presbyterian Church Jackson, MS.
Prophet Isaiah's Prayer by Dr. Derek Thomas
This is a prayer that God would come down and make His inescapable presence as the Holy One, mighty and majestic, known. Other ways of saying this in the Bible are that God "awakes," "arises," "visits," and "draws near" (see Psa. 44:23-26; 69:18; 80:14).
What happens when this prayer is answered can be seen in the many revivals of true religion through the centuries, and in essence it is this: God's Word comes home to the heart in a fresh, corrective, controlling way so that Christians find themselves reading it, pouring over their Bibles as never before, eager to know what God is teaching them. Eager, too, to do whatever Scripture commands, their hearts filled with renewed gratitude to God's grace in the gospel.
With this prayer comes a renewed love for holiness; Believers find themselves humbled as never before: sin has taken hold of them afresh, but with conviction comes a fresh sense of gospel grace - grace is truly amazing once more and the affections are stirred again to praise and adoration.
Where do we see this in Scripture? Try the narratives of awakening under the Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Ezra for starters (2 Chron. 15, 29-31, 34-35; Ezra 9-10; Neh. 8-10). Then turn to prayerful psalms that envision something over and above the ordinary (e.g. Pss. 44, 67, 80 and 85). Then browse the history books of the lives of such folk as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Robert Murray McCheyne, and you will see that what Isaiah longed for has been a reality in the past.
God can do so today - turn our sluggish hearts to a rediscovery of the living God in such a way that churches are full once more - full, that is, not of social Christians attending because society expects them but who, in reality, find the labor arduous and wished that they could be elsewhere. When revival comes there is an awareness of God's presence, a responsiveness to Scripture, a sensitivity to sin, a joyful amazement at the generousness of the gospel, and a liveliness in church activity.
Pie in the sky? Only if you think Isaiah was whistling in the dark.
The Glory of Plodding
It’s sexy among young people — my generation — to talk about ditching institutional religion and starting a revolution of real Christ-followers living in real community without the confines of church. Besides being unbiblical, such notions of churchless Christianity are unrealistic. It’s immaturity actually, like the newly engaged couple who think romance preserves the marriage, when the couple celebrating their golden anniversary know it’s the institution of marriage that preserves the romance. Without the God-given habit of corporate worship and the God-given mandate of corporate accountability, we will not prove faithful over the long haul.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Nicking Our Public Discourse
(via Tim Challies)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Deleting Your Facebook Account
(via Tim Challies)
Monday, May 17, 2010
For the Future Pastor
I read this post today from Tim Challies.
It is excellent and I am going to save it in a file on my notebook's desktop and refer to it often as I mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepare for an eventual vocation.
(NB: I am a Presbyterian governed by the biblical doctrine set forth in Westminster Confession of Faith, and this exhortation was written with more of a Reformed Baptist mindset. So while there is one line that I quibble with, the contents herein are outstanding if not intimidating.)
___________________
Today at my church home of Grace Fellowship Church I was ordained as an elder/pastor (we make no distinction real between the two). I share this with you because, well, because I've shared so much of my life with you and this is quite a significant event. Our pastor preached from Titus 2:15: "Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you." (If you'd like to hear the sermon, you can do so here)
Here are the notes my son took:
Dad = Titus
Dad Needs To:
- Speak the gospel to God's people
- Make people remember God
- Preach the gospel to the pastors
- Preach the gospel to mom
- Preach the gospel to me and my sisters
- Be a model in his life
- Rebuke people if they do wrong
- Have patience and love
I suppose that summarizes a good bit of the message we heard this morning. I found it very challenging and more than a little intimidating. But such is the ministry of caring for God's people and accepting a special responsibility for their spiritual well-being. I'm grateful to my church, and deeply humbled, that they would call me to this task.
Here is the call to ministry from the church and the promise I then made:
Having repented of sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ;
Having been baptized by immersion in water and made a member of this local church;
Having faithfully served for many years in many capacities;
Having prayed and studied and read and grown in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus;
And having aspired to the office of elder and having been approved and affirmed to that office after careful examination by all the elders and members of Grace Fellowship Church;
Will you now promise, Tim:
Hebrews 13:7
- to lead a life worthy of emulation
Hebrews 13:17
- to joyfully watch over the souls of this flock as one who will give an accounting for each of them to God
James 3:1
- to always preach with the Day of God's Strict Judgment for Teachers in mind
James 5:13
- to pray believingly for the sick
1 Peter 5:1
- to shepherd God's flock allotted to you willingly, eagerly, seeking to model first what you ask of them
Acts 20: 17
- to serve the Lord with both joy and tears
- to resist every temptation to shrink back from declaring the whole Gospel (whether in the privacy of someone's home or the public square)
- to preach repentance and faith in Christ alone
- to willingly accept suffering, should God call you there
- to value the calling and Gospel of Jesus Christ above your own life
- to guard the church as the blood-bought possession of Jesus Christ, and thus to care for her as His most valuable possession
- to stay alert at your post, even willing to rebuke fellow elders who preach or teach any doctrine not found in God's Word
- to live as if, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
1 Corinthians 14:29
- to carefully weigh the words of the preached Word
2 Corinthians 11-12
- to willingly suffer for Jesus' sake hardship, physical torture, betrayal, inconvenience, exposure, disappointment, persecution, sovereign weakenings, calamities, and daily pressures of concern for the church
1 Timothy 4:6
- to value the Word of God over an argument won
- to train yourself for godliness
- to labour and strive with persistence in the work of your ministry more than any before you, giving God all the glory for any success
- to address men's lives as well as minds; calling others to follow your personal growth in godliness and sanctification
- to keep close watch on your life and your doctrine
1 Timothy 6
- to purse righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.
- to never quit, give up, swerve from or slack off in your effort to fulfill your ministry
- to despise the allure of riches in this world and live for the eternal wealth of Christ's presence in heaven
- to guard the sacred deposit entrusted to your care
Titus 2
- to teach the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that old men, old women, young men, young women, and children will understand how to adorn the Gospel of Jesus Christ with good works
- to value Jesus above your wife, your children, your church, your ministry, your knowledge, your self, and anything else in this world
- to speak to God's people with gentle authority
- to be zealous for good works
2 Timothy
- to not be ashamed of the Gospel or the Saviour, regardless of the audience
- to flee youthful sins and run toward being a man who handles the Word of Truth accurately
- to correct with gentleness, not quarrelsomeness
- to preach the Word of God; in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with complete patience and teaching
- to entrust your soul to the Faithful Creator no matter the blessing, the trial or persecution
If, in the sight of God and these witnesses you do now set your heart to make this pledge, promising that when you fail you will seek both forgiveness and restoration as soon as is possible, then I call upon you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom to answer, "I do."
Tim, because we believe
- the Holy Spirit has gifted you to this ministry
- and made you a gift to this church
- and trust that we have not acted in haste, but in prayerful dependence on Christ
Therefore, it is our joy as the council of elders of this local church to lay hands on you and call upon God Himself to seal to you this ministry for your life and His glory.
Amen.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Why You Need a Technology Basket
John Dyer wants you to put a technology basket in your home. And it sounds like he's on to something. Click here for the article.
My only question would be, with regard to the children mentioned in the article and their use of cell phones and the need to put them in the "technology basket", would be: At what age does a family feel it is appropriate or necessary to give a child a cell phone? I would suggest that there is no need for a child to have a cell phone prior to age 16 (the age at which most American States allow individuals to obtain their driver's license). Indeed, if a child does not have ADD (attention-depleting device), then there will be no temptation to use it at the dinner table or need to toss it in the "technology basket".
Mom and Dad should be responsible for setting the tone in the household--if they are addicts, the kids will learn to be addicts. If, however, they exercise control and moderation in their usage, and refrain from turning their children into technophiles at an early age, I would venture to guess that the children would learn to value family time, conversation, and other non-digital forms of leisure that will serve their intellects well and safeguard some habits that (hopefully) they will continue to pass on.
Video: Sunday’s Coming – Where “Contemporary” Becomes “Contemporvant”
(via Nathan W. Bingham)
Popout
In this epic video trailer, Sunday’s Coming, you’ll get a glimpse into the once original –but now predictable– contemporary church movement. I wonder if David Murray will include some of the preacher’s tips in his preaching e-Book? If you’re wondering, I’m “pausing” now.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
(via Tim Challies)
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read is a book by Pierre Bayard, a professor of French literature at the University of Paris. In what is a bit of a provocative book and one that relies on more than a small measure of wit, Bayard argues that not having read a book does not need to serve as an impediment in having an interesting and intelligent discussion about it. He goes so far as to argue that in some cases the worst thing you can do, the thing that would most dishonor a book, is to read it.
"Reading is first and foremost non-reading," he says. "Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act of picking up and opening a book masks the countergesture that occurs at the same time: the involuntary act of not picking up and not opening all the other books in the universe." Therefore even the most prolific reader does far more non-reading than he does reading and makes far more decisions not to read than to read. Non-reading is a genuine activity as much as reading is a genuine activity. It is not just the mere absence of reading; it is a choice not to read particular works. And yet, he argues, non-reading should not prohibit us from having intelligent and guilt-free discussion about books we have chosen not to read.
So tell me. What do you think of his book?
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