Paul Steele...

I was reading his blog and he made a comment which contained this phrase...."but my mind's gonna be blown out of the water with Holy Spirit fire."

Oh...Paul...why do you bring me such joy?

On the same note, Paul recently posted a dialogue he had with a philosophy professor about Calvinism, Arminianism, and the glory of God. You can read the debate for yourself here.

Oh...Paul...why are you such a genius?

Be filled...

Here is a sermon preached by Wayne Grudem on "Being Filled with the Spirit". Since we talked about this at VQ, I thought you would enjoy listening to this.


Also, let me take this opportunity to recommend Grudem's books.

He has a fairly new one, sort of an easier version of "Bible Doctrine" which was an easier version of "Systematic Theology". It's called "Christian Beliefs". I would highly recommend this, and really anything else he writes.

Vision Quest review!

This will be the first of, what will be many I'm sure, VQ reviews. This VQ was a highlight of my years working for VFC. When people ask me, "so, i heard it was great. what was it like?" Which, by the way, is one of the hardest questions to answer. It's like asking someone who just got married, "how was the wedding?" or someone who just got saved, "so, like, was it cool?"

Anyway, when people ask me that, I've decided my answer shall be, "it is the closest thing to revival my eyes have ever seen!" Indeed, it may have been a revival. And not because all the normal VQ things.....great messages, kickin' worship with the VQ band, great times of fellowhip, new friends, baptisms (which, by the way, we had 33!), good food, good weather, and the like.

I was trying to figure out why it impacted me so much when I came upon this quote in John Piper's book "The Pleasures of God." He says, "To know a soul's proportions you need to know it's passions. The true dimensions of a soul are seen in it's delights. Not what we dutifully will but what we passionately want reveals our excellence or evil." This week was marked by my life being surrounded with excellence. People who are excellent because they desired God above everything else. They desired to meet with God, know God, worship God, experience the active presence of God, and delight in God.

Henry Scougal wrote, "The Worth and Excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of it's love." I believe I was surrounded by excellent souls, because I saw on display their love for God, the ultimate worth and object of our love.

I will think about this Vision Quest and be reminded of God's faithfulness, of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, and of souls that are excellent because they delight and love a most excellent God. (yes, I'm aware that last line sounded like Bill and Ted's excellent adventure. thanks.)

I would love to hear how VQ impacted you!

Baby got book...

This is a hilarious parody of an old Sir Mix-A-Lot song. Classic.

You can watch the video in quicktime here.

All I can say is: "I'm tired of heathen guys, saying they like pocket size. As the average Christian 'll take a look, she gotta pack much book. Baby got book"

sidewalk chalk?

I saw this link on Justin Taylor's blog. This is crazy.

Here is the link.

Here are a few samples.





Enjoy.

just as if i'd never sinned...

Last week at VFC, Craig Cooper spoke on Justification by Faith. He did a great job walking thru what that means and the effects of being justified. I wanted to recommend this book by John Piper titled, "Counted Righteous in Christ." Christianbook.com has it on sale for $2.99, that's 77% off the regular price.

Here is a link to the website.

Vision Quest countdown...

I read this post from World Magazine today:

"Taming girls gone wild
Traditionally, spring break has been a time for college kids to lose all inhibitions and ... well ... go wild. The American Medical Association, however, is advising women to tame their spring break drinking habits, which tend to lead to increased sexual activity and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. By releasing the results of its study, the AMA hopes to raise awareness of the problems of alcohol consumption for women, especially underage drinkers. But as one female student said, "I think a lot of students wouldn't really pay that much attention to it. They would just be like, 'Duh, that's why we do it.'"

You can read the article for yourself here.

Vision Quest is only 10 days away! I am so glad that God has once again allowed us to go on this trip for one week at Laguna Beach. Vision Quest is such a different experience than most people have over spring break. We worship, we hear God's word, we encourage each other, and we have more fun and memories than most people could ever imagine.

The article above can't solve the problem by scaring people with consequences of their sin. The one girl they quote is right, "Duh, that's why we do it." There is a deeper problem, a spiritual problem that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can save them from. They are opposed to God, separated from Him, and they have no idea of what true joy found only in the gospel is like. So, they seek pleasure and joy from the things of this world, which the AMA realizes has many negative consequences, sexually transmitted disease being only one of many.

I'm aware that would be me apart from God's saving grace. Vision Quest is always a time where I remember my testimony, I remember how God grabbed me out of the pit I had dug for myself, and how many people need to hear the life transforming gospel of Jesus Christ. Only 10 days until we experience this powerful week known only as "Vision Quest".

Passionate Love wrap-up....

Last night at VFC, we finished our Passionate Love series with a testimessage from Jon and Mel Oldacre. Besides hearing about how Jonathan has "grown" over the past few years, I loved how full of grace their relationship is and how they base their lives together on the forgiveness they receive thru the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, I wanted to give you a chance to ask any questions you had from the series. From small practical things to larger "why is this that way" or "why is that this way" to "why did you say this" to "why are you such an idiot" to "i don't understand" to "i disagree with this" to 'that rocked". So, feel free to ask away.

One reminder: there is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people asking questions.

redneck cont...

these will never end....





Redneck Doorbell