contemporary reformers...

Monergism.com has created a hall of contemporary reformers. These are all men defending and proclaiming the gospel and bringing a modern reformation to the church. I was glad to see Sovereign Grace's own C.J. Mahaney.

Check it out here.

Here is their bio for C.J.

off the deep end...

I've heard alot about PETA's new comic book, called "Your Daddy Kills Animals!" So, i thought I'd give you a link to a view of the comic book. This confirms all suspicions, they've gone off the deep end.

A few quotes from the comic:

"Until your daddy learns that it's not 'fun' to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they could be next!"

"Imagine that a man dangles a piece of candy in front of you. You love candy so you reach for it. But, as you grab the candy, a huge metal hook stabs through your hand and you're ripped off the ground. Guess what? Your daddy plays the same wicked trick on fish and fish get scared too!"

People live their lives committed to many causes. This is their cause...and they will go to whatever lengths to get you on their team. Our cause is the truth of scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully, we'll be more passionate about this one great and glorious truth than they'll be about lies.

john piper mp3....free.....free

Monergism Books has an offer on a free John Piper mp3 cd. You just have to pay $5 for shipping. I would highly recommend this offer. These messages are from his "men of whom the world is not worthy" series. Each year at his conference he speaks about another hero of the faith.

This cd contains his messages on: Jonathan Edwards, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John Owen, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan, and a bunch of others.

Just get it, you can thank me later!

the end is near...

for each one of us. The question is: will you die well? Well, are you saying there's a way to die badly. That's right. We live in a society that is petrified at the thought of dying. We have security systems, onstar, self-defense courses, more medicines and doctors than you can imagine....we want to live forever. The problem is, the end is near for each one of us. The bible describes us as the flowers of the field, the grass that is here on day and gone the next, and dust. So, when your time comes, are you going to die well?

Listen to some of these last words of men who died well:
"Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation: God is the Lord by whom we escape death." Martin Luther
"Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death." John Knox
"Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand." John Calvin
"The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!" John Wesley
"I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness--satisfied, satisfied!" Charles Wesley

What's the key? Philippians 1:21: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

i couldn't resist...

Anybody want to make a caption for these pictures?

you got questions....

I ordered a new book that was recommended to me several times. It's called "Questioning Evangelism" by Randy Newman. Josh Harris recently blogged about it, here is what he said: "The premise is that it is wiser to ask questions than unload answers. Skillfull thoughtful questions can draw out the heart of the person we're talking to and disarm their antagonism. He gives many examples of these kind of questions. I recommend the book."

I've found this to be a very helpful tool in evangelism....don't go in with guns blazin' and bible thumpin them on the head, ask questions. Get them thinking about eternity, heaven and hell, who goes there, how good is good enough to get into heaven, if God considers them a good person, etc.... and then share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. People often need to see their need for a Savior before we give them the solution.

This is my prayer today, Philemon 1:6: "and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ."

this invention is sick.

really....while i was sick a few weeks ago...i wish i had one of these. If your nose is running, just reach up and kaazaaam....you got tissue. No more snot on the sleeve (not that I do that).

scripture memory

One of the things that I am trying to grow in is scripture memory. So often, I can quote half a scripture (or what I think is half a scripture) and then I can't remember the rest or can't remember where it is. The worst is when I quote 2 different scriptures like they are one, ahhhhh.

Also, I've found that having them memorized is a great tool in evangelism. Way of the Master has some scriptures they recommend you memorize to help with sharing your faith.

Here's the list they give. Anybody want to try to memorize them with me? We'll do some blog quizzes!

Here they are:
1 Corinthians 6:9
Matthew 5:27,28
Luke 16:15
Romans 2:5,6
Colossians 1:20-22
Matthew 12:36
John 3:36
Luke 13:3
John 3:16
John 14:21
1 John 1:9
Acts 17:30,31
Acts 4:12
Isaiah 53:5,6
Ezekiel 18:4
Exodus 20 (the ten commandments)
Psalm 51 (example of a prayer of genuine repentance).

his forever.

Here is the lead sheet to that song I mentioned, His Forever. If you play guitar, or even if you just read the words, I find this song so encouraging. Hope you enjoy!

worship matters

Bob Kauflin has a new blog! I highly recommend checking it out. I'm going to post a link to the right so that you can go to it often. Bob taught us once a week about worship while I was in Sovereign Grace Pastors College. If you lead worship (or even if you don't), this is going to be a great resource.




Along with this, Sovereign Grace has a new c.d. out: Worship God Live. It's a live recording of some new songs. You can listen to "His Forever" (my favorite) along with other songs off the c.d. by clicking here.

pirates....a thing of the past?

Here's an article about pirates who attacked a U.S. cruise ship. Pretty crazy stuff.

Free seminary classes online.

For those who would like to dive deeper into studying the bible, there are free seminary classes online from some excellent teachers. I think this would be pretty time consuming, but well worth your investment. Here is the link to Biblical Training.

I would recommend listening to some of the lessons from: John Piper, Robert Stein, and Bruce Ware.

Enjoy!

What is the emerging church?

These days, there is a lot of talk about the emerging church and the emerging movement. I think this is a movement we should be very cautious of and need to understand where they are departing from the orthodox faith. There are also a few things we can learn from them. But how do we sort out the good from the bad? We start by finding out what this movement is.

Here is a set of blog posts from Scott Mcknight seeking to define and understand what the emerging movement is.

I'd also recommend Carson's book "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church". I found the book a little tough to read, though I have started it again because I think it's important to understand what we are dealing with.

Let me know if you have other good resources you would recommend.

scripture claims....

to be able to do the following:

o Initiates faith – Romans 10:17
o Give new spiritual life – 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18
o Helps us grow – 1 Peter 2:2; 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 20:32
o Sanctifies – John 17:17; Eph. 5:26
o Searches and convicts – Heb. 4:12
o Liberates – John 8:31-32
o Refreshes and renews – Psalm 119

Do you find this to be true? What has been your experience?