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Review for June 5

user@domain.com — 2011-06-05T13:17:32-04:00

This morning I finished teaching on the Doctrine of Salvation. In the last several weeks I have focused on faith but today was about GRACE. The grace we see in the gospel is counter-intuitive and as one writer says it is the kind of grace that messes up your hair. God's grace offends our deepest sensibilities. We are seasoned do it yourselfers. We are desperate to do something, as Americans we live by the phrase “if if’s to be then it is up to me.” Grace scares us to death because it absolutely has nothing to do with us and our efforts. We love self glory.

Grace wrestles control out of our hands. We love formula's and strategies because again they give us a sense of control. All one has to do is look at the best selling Christian books such as: The prayer of Jabez, The purpose driven life and Your Best Life Now, 7 Steps to fulfill your potential. These books talk about strategies of “HOW” we can do it. But grace talks about “HOW” God does it!

The culture we live in is very conditional. I do certain things for you and in return I expect certain things from you. We here about the unconditional grace of God but we live very conditionally in our personal lives. So if you succeed, accomplish, become involved to the point of achievement then you will be applauded and thought well of by those around you. But God’s grace is not based on any condition in us and therefore we refer to it as unconditional. Do you see why this doesn’t make sense to us? If I have been taught that who I am is based on what I do, then I will become very performance based in my living. And part of the problem we deal with in the church today is having people more focused on what they need to do rather than learning to rest in what has been done. Can you hear people in the church saying what are you talking about? If these people just rest in the finished work of Christ then they will become theological egg heads that just sit around and do nothing. It may help to remember one of the great quotes form Martin Luther who said that we are justified by faith alone but that faith is never alone. In other words when people understand, embrace and learn what has been done by Christ via His death and resurrection that becomes the foundation that motivates them to love and good deeds. As grace falls and joy rises the natural behavior for the Christian is to be active and involved in the body of Christ.

Defining the Gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-06-02T19:05:37-04:00

“At its core, the gospel is Jesus as the substitute for sinners. We could summarize the whole by saying that in his life Jesus lives in perfect submission to the will of God and he fulfills his righteous standard (the law). In his death on the cross he quenches God’s wrath against sin, satisfying the sovereign demand for justice. In his resurrection he is victorious over sin and death. All of this is done on behalf of sinners in need of redemption and offered to all who believe. This is therefore very ‘good news.’

Jesus’ life is good news, for his obedience to the Father and fulfillment of the law is for us. While we as sinners fail to keep the law, Jesus was perfectly faithful. Jesus’ death is good news because his death was a payment for our sin, and by it we are cleansed from our guilt and released from condemnation. Jesus’ resurrection is good news because his victory over death is ours and through it we look forward to a resurrection of our own.”

- Joe Thorn, Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

How a False Prophet would teach High School English

user@domain.com — 2011-05-30T09:54:21-04:00

Be sure to watch all the way to the end of this video!

The Prison of Conditionality

user@domain.com — 2011-05-30T09:43:22-04:00

Yesterday in class I spend the majority of our time regarding sanctification on what it means to receive grace unconditionally. We especially in America that believe in programs, strategies and plans are about control and credit. We want to take control of our lives and we also want to glory in taking credit for being successful. When you talk about unconditional grace that is completely counter-intuitive to most people. Since this is fresh on our minds from yesterday here is an article that should further aid in our understanding of unconditional grace.

This from the Gospel Coalition Blog site

Gerhard Forde puts his finger on why the gospel is so scandalous:

The gospel of justification by faith is such a shocker, such an explosion, because it is an absolutely unconditional promise. It is not an “if-then” kind of statement, but “because-therefore” pronouncement: because Jesus dies and rose, your sins are forgiven and you are righteous in the sight of God! It bursts in upon our little world all shut up and barricaded behind our accustomed conditional thinking as some strange comet from goodness-knows-where, something we can’t really seem to wrap our minds around, the logic of which appears closed to us. How can it be entirely unconditional? Isn’t it terribly dangerous? How can anyone say flat out, “You are righteous for Jesus’ sake? Is there not some price to be paid, some-thing (however minuscule) to be done? After all, there can’t be such thing as a free lunch, can there?”

You see, we really are sealed up in the prison of our conditional thinking. It is terribly difficult for us to get out, and even if someone batters down the door and shatters the bars, chances are we will stay in the prison anyway! We seem always to want to hold out for something somehow, that little bit of something, and we do it with a passion and an anxiety that betrays its true source–the Old Adam that just does not want to lose control.

Review for May 29

user@domain.com — 2011-05-29T13:18:43-04:00

In the last 3 years I have said “I am not as interested in us going through this teaching on doctrine as I am in this teaching of doctrine going through us. And that we the case today as I only covered a fraction of the material in these Power Points slides in regard to SANCTIFICATION.

Hopefully you can read through these notes prior to our class next week.

SBS Class May292011

If you would like to listen to the audio of today’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Can you believe this?

user@domain.com — 2011-05-25T09:09:50-04:00

It was the perfect evening. At just the right time I handed my beautiful bride of 35 years a rose as a symbol of my love and abiding affection. This was such a sweet and precious time. The photo was taken, one which I will be able to treasure for a lifetime and then I look...whoa, wait a minute, how did Pat Jones get in this shot? The photographer doesn’t notice and now I am left with this wonderful memory of Nancy, myself and Pat.

Devotion time in Isaiah 26

user@domain.com — 2011-05-25T07:05:26-04:00

Did you notice this language in Isaiah 26:8-9?

8 In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the desire of our soul.

9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

When saving faith is involved the language is affectional and not intellectual. We wait on the Lord, we desire Him with our soul, Christ becomes the very thing that our soul yearns for and we seek to have Him satisfy us!

I think the daily battle of sanctification is in essence a "fight for joy" in God. I once heard John Piper express it this way "The fight for joy in the Christian life is the battle you engage in daily to see Jesus as your treasure and to savor Him as that treasure above everything else in your life."

This kind of language is a reflection of the heart. There are so many other distractions and things that we can yearn for, enjoy and allow to satisfy us. Therefore we as a people of God must cry out, appeal, and pray to God for the faith, that only He can give, which will apprehend Christ each day as our greatest prize!

Review for May 22

user@domain.com — 2011-05-22T12:14:37-04:00

Today we finished up on the “Doctrine of Faith” as it relates to the doctrine of salvation. For the past several weeks we have been considered the following questions in regard to this doctrine.

1. Why is it important to understand faith? (man’s perspective)
2. What is faith?
3. What does “saving”faith look like from the Bible?
4. How does this faith work?
5. Why is it important to understand faith (God’s perspective)

Our focus was on the phrase “FAITH CREDITED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS” in Romans 4. Here are notes that capture the review from the last few weeks plus the lesson covered this morning.
SBS Class May222011

If you would like to listen to the audio for Sunday’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Learning to download and play audio files

user@domain.com — 2011-05-21T14:33:53-04:00

This is a full service website in regard to helping you learn and live the word of God. One of the requests I have received over the past 3 years has to do with downloading and playing audio files. if you are 35 and under this will seem very basic but if you need help in this area then check out the document below. Should you have any questions please contact me. Hope this helps.
How to download and play an audio file

No Rapture so far...

user@domain.com — 2011-05-21T12:44:36-04:00

To read the article CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE

OK, here is my take on the end times. There is NO rapture, yes Christians go through the tribulation and when Jesus returns it will be to set up His kingdom (new heaven and new earth). This doctrine of end times is very important but not considered an essential that we all believe the same way. However I have had people leave church and SS class because I have given my stated position. If you believe in a Rapture and a literal 1000 kingdom prior to us entering heaven forever then please be my guest for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner. I will not divide fellowship with you on this issue at all. However if you start to waver on the substitutionary atonement of Christ for sins then that is another matter all together. Can we please get some teaching from the evangelical orthodox churches on what are the essentials to the faith as opposed to the important but non essentials? If you would like some help with this issue listen to Q and A session with Dr. Bruce Ware from our Wild Dunes Retreat 2011. CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Developing a category of faith that is Biblical

user@domain.com — 2011-05-20T08:25:10-04:00

Sometimes the regular routines of life work against a clear understanding of Bible doctrine. I think this is true for many of us when it comes to the doctrine of faith. This Sunday we are going to take a close look at the phrase "faith credited as righteousness." First of all this must be extremely important because the apostle Paul dedicates all of Romans 4 to give us his exposition on what this means. I find it very interesting and insightful that of all the people in the entire Bible the one picked to illustrate this point is Abraham. We see the word for faith appear in Genesis 15:6 when we read "Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness." When someone reads and thinks about how faith is credited this may be their category;

ILLUSTRATION
I have a check for $100.
I drive to the bank and fill out a deposit ticket.
I give it to the teller and I receive back a deposit receipt.
I go home and open my banking account online.
And sure enough there it is $100 has been credited to my account.
I earned the money, I drove to the bank and I make the deposit and it was then credited to my account.

So to carry that logic out a bit further we might think in these terms when we read about faith being credited to our spiritual accounts as righteousness. For example;
Salvation from God costs 1 billion dollars, and I can only come up with $100,000 which we will call faith.
When God looks at my life from heaven and sees $100,000 of faith because of His mercy and grace He credits that to my account and makes the difference and therefore considers me to be righteous.
I am now accepted, forgiven and righteous before God because He has credited my faith as the righteousness that He demands.

Is that what faith credited as righteousness means or is it something much different that what I described above?

It IS NOT God seeing a righteousness in us or something that we do and Him somehow making up the difference. But rather "faith being reckoned as righteousness" means there is an alien righteousness namely the righteousness of God in Christ which is credit to our account THROUGH faith. And the fact that He credits faith as righteousness DOES NOT mean the faith is the righteousness.

On Sunday I am going to focus on the phrase FAITH CREDITED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS and specifically on the three words; faith, credited and righteousness to understand what they mean. In reading my faith illustrations above you might tend to think is this really that important? My question for you is this, does your legal standing before the Judge of the universe as acquitted, accepted, approved, and not guilty before God; does that legal standing rest on a righteousness in you or does it rest on the righteousness of Christ?

You can count on this fact, the apostle Paul thought it was so critical that he invested all of Chapter 4 to explain what faith credited as righteousness means for the Christian.

Hope to see you this Sunday!

The good news of the gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-05-18T06:53:08-04:00

“At its core, the gospel is Jesus as the substitute for sinners. We could summarize the whole by saying that in his life Jesus lives in perfect submission to the will of God and he fulfills his righteous standard (the law). In his death on the cross he quenches God’s wrath against sin, satisfying the sovereign demand for justice. In his resurrection he is victorious over sin and death. All of this is done on behalf of sinners in need of redemption and offered to all who believe. This is therefore very ‘good news.’

Jesus’ life is good news, for his obedience to the Father and fulfillment of the law is for us. While we as sinners fail to keep the law, Jesus was perfectly faithful. Jesus’ death is good news because his death was a payment for our sin, and by it we are cleansed from our guilt and released from condemnation. Jesus’ resurrection is good news because his victory over death is ours and through it we look forward to a resurrection of our own.”

— Joe Thorn
Note To Self
(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), 30

Is it worship STYLE or worship SUBSTANCE?

user@domain.com — 2011-05-17T05:51:53-04:00

Kevin DeYoung writes an excellent article on church growth.

Here are some questions that he thinks each church should be asking:

Is the gospel faithful preached?

Is the Bible taught with clarity and passion?

Are the sermons manifestly rooted in a text of Scripture?

Do the elders/pastors and deacons meet the qualifications for church office laid out in the New Testament?

Are the sacraments faithfully administered and protected?

Is church discipline practiced?

Do the elders exercise personal care over the flock?

Are there good relationships among the staff and other leaders?

Is the worship service put together thoughtfully and carried out with undistracting excellence (as much as possible).

Do the people in the congregation sing the songs with gusto or are they going through the motions?

Is a high bar set for church membership?

Review for May 15

user@domain.com — 2011-05-15T14:30:27-04:00

SBS Class May 15, 2011

Slide #3 is the audio on the survey taken “what does justification mean?” To listen CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like to listen to the audio for Sunday’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Here are the study notes on FOREKNOWLEDGE simply CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Making all thing new (not all new things)

user@domain.com — 2011-05-13T13:56:07-04:00

From the Gospel Coalition blog site:

For a long time now, I’ve been convinced that the way most Christians think about redemption is influenced more by ancient Greek philosophy than by the Bible. We think of ultimate redemption as being redemption from the body, not of the body; redemption from the world, not of the world; redemption from the material, not of the material. This, however, goes against what the Bible clearly teaches about redemption.

In the Lord’s Prayer we see that God’s ultimate goal for earth is that it become like heaven.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)

God’s mission is to bring heaven to earth—this planet!

There are many people who believe that God will destroy this present world—all of it—and start over, creating a new world from scratch. As I’ve talked to people who believe this, most base their conclusion on 2 Peter 3, where the apostle Peter says, “The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (verse 7). He goes on to say, “The earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (verse 10).

In wrestling with this passage, one pastor recently concluded, “There is virtually no continuity between the present and the new creation. The new creation is truly new. The old passes away; it is burned up and dissolved.” Like this pastor, many have tended to see in that last sentence (verse 10) more than what’s there, a misunderstanding fueled in part by a questionable translation.

Devotion time in Psalm 63

user@domain.com — 2011-05-13T09:53:54-04:00

Is your Bible reading intersecting your Bible doctrine? This morning I was blessed in my reading and devotion time by staying in Psalm 63 as it pertains to saving faith. One of my first steps was to take 5 Bible translations and compare the language each of them used in verse 1.

NASB - My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee
NLT - My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for You
ESV - My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
KJV - my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee
NIV - I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,

Now fast forward to the New Testament and again read the words of the Lord Jesus to those who had just seen Him feed the 15-20,000.
John 6:35 - “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

Sound familiar?

Saving faith is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus Christ. I want to be sure that you see this language used in emotionally affectional and not just intellectual. A person can have all their Bible doctrine together and go straight to hell when they die. Because as we are learning in James "even the demons believe...and they shutter." I also want you to notice that the language is the evidence NOT ONLY in our coming to faith in Christ but in our being kept by faith in Christ. The same faith that causes a person to be BORN AGAIN is the same faith that keep us walking with Christ in our sanctification.

The doctrine of election

user@domain.com — 2011-05-12T10:13:08-04:00

If we are going to have a thorough and accurate study in the doctrine of salvation then we need to study the doctrine of election. As you have probably already concluded this doctrine is kept under the radar in many American churches. The more and more that the church moves away from the orthodoxy (the Bible is the word of God) and toward neo-orthodoxy (the Bible becomes the word) the less taught, less understood and less discussed will be the doctrine of election. Last Sunday we saw clear evidence in the teaching of our Lord Jesus in regard to this doctrine. In John 6:37 we read "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me...", these you could say are God's own people or God's elect. I want to share something with you that helped me years ago when wrestling through this particular doctrine. A pastor/theologian said that to the degree that you are MAN centered and not GOD centered in your theology is the degree to which you struggle with the doctrine of election.

Why are we so man centered in our personal theology?
You have heard me use this illustration many times in our class but over the years I have heard preached mainly "Jesus died for you." Also I have heard that if you were the only person on planet earth that Jesus would have died for you. The problem with Jesus died for me is that makes me the centerpiece in the story of salvation. But that is not true. The primary reason Jesus came was for God not for man. Jesus came according to Romans 3:21-26 to reconcile sinful man back to God so that the glory of God might be displayed. By the way that was the THEME of Pastor Rob Kelly's sermon that he preached on October 10, 2010 - "The one truth that changes everything.” Rob taught us in that message that Jesus died primarily for God. Whoa...It doesn't get more God-centered than that now does it?

I have taught doctrine for years and can almost tell you before I teach on election the questions, reactions, problems and discussion. Side note: One pastor I heard once said that he started to read Romans 9, (which is about the sovereignty of God in election) in a church and people started to leave and that was before he made any comments on it. If you don't know or you may not care but I am informing you, this doctrine is very very important and very controversial.

Review for May 8

user@domain.com — 2011-05-10T16:34:18-04:00

On Sunday we looked at John 6:37-40 and discussed the following things from this critical section of Scripture on how saving faith works.

Spiritual Truth #1
God gives those who are His own to Jesus

Scriptural proof
John 6:37
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me”

John 6:39
“…all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day”

Spiritual Truth #2
Because God gives them to Jesus they come (believe)

Scriptural proof
John 6:37 "all that the Father gives Me will come…"
Remember to keep the words come and believe as the same as used in this context.

Spiritual Truth #3
Those who are given to Jesus are those that come to Jesus and they are also eternally kept by Jesus.

Scriptural proof - John 6 verse 37 and 39 and 40
The giving and the coming is the work of God the Father and the keeping is the work of God the Son.

What is the Gospel?

user@domain.com — 2011-05-06T16:07:43-04:00

From the Reformation website;

The gospel is not behavior modification, becoming a better person or learning to become more moral. it is not taking the life of Jesus as a model way to live or transforming/redeeming the secular realm. It is not living highly communal lives with others and sharing generously in communities who practice the way of Jesus in local culture.

These may all be good things, but they are not to be confused with the gospel. Did you notice the one characteristic of all of the above activities has nothing to do with what Christ has done for us, but all about what we do for him. The true gospel, rather, is news about what Christ the Saviour, has already done for us (in his life, death and resurrection) rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for God. Christ's accomplishment, not ours, is the essence of the gospel. Above all the gospel of Christ brings good news, rather than instruction about our behavior. The gospel of not about what we do, but our acts inevitably follow in thanksgiving because of what Christ has done for us.

The doctrine of salvation

user@domain.com — 2011-05-01T15:22:46-04:00

The Doctrine of Salvation

If you would like to see the video clip shown today which is SLIDE #12 then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like to listen to audio from today’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

A preview for this coming Sunday

user@domain.com — 2011-04-25T08:25:37-04:00

The word faith can be very misunderstood in the context of our personal salvation. In the book of James we read about two distinct type of faith that are not able to save.

James 2:26
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

James 2:19
“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

Also the apostle Paul gives us a warning in 1 Corinthians 15 about a type of faith that is useless in regard to salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:1–2
"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”

In these three examples are types of non saving faith mentioned in the Bible:
1. A faith that is dead
2. A faith that is demonic
3. A faith that is vain

We have the Christian lingo down and often tell others that you just need to have faith in God or have faith in Christ. If a family member, friend or neighbor were to ask you about faith in Christ could you give them a proper definition, illustration and Scriptural support? Would you be able to distinguish for them betwee dead faith, demonic faith and useless faith?

That's my King

user@domain.com — 2011-04-22T17:54:37-04:00

The gospel health of your church on Easter

user@domain.com — 2011-04-21T06:46:01-04:00

This from Doug Wolter

As people enter our doors this Easter Sunday, will they see us as real people worshiping a real Savior? Will they enter a community of grace? Tim Chester, in his excellent book, You Can Change, lists some great questions to discern if your church is a community of grace, and thus attractive to broken, needy sinners.

Are people open about their sin or is there a culture of pretending?
Is community life messy or sanitized?
Are broken people attracted to your community?
Is conflict out in the open or is it suppressed?
Are forgiveness and reconciliation actively pursued?
Do you constantly return to the cross in your conversation, prayers and praise?

Response to the Truth

user@domain.com — 2011-04-20T09:22:17-04:00

Organized Religion is Dying

user@domain.com — 2011-04-19T15:51:14-04:00

Some Statistics
In the past decade, many books, endless blog-posts, and countless conference sessions have illuminated this exodus away from organized religion. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard (and used) the statistic that 3500 churches will close their doors this year, never to reopen. In many cases, the death of these churches is not a tragedy. Looking at a recent Pew Forum survey will help make this point.

Researchers from Pew Forum discovered the following when surveying a cross-section of adults who claim to be evangelicals (Southern Evangelicals are the subject here only because they tend to have a higher adherence rate than evangelicals in other regions – this is best case scenario):

98% of all southern Evangelicals believe in the existence of God
41% of southern Evangelicals believe there is only one true interpretation of the Bible’s teachings
36% of professing Evangelicals in the South believe their religion to be “the one, true faith that leads to eternal life”

If 98% of Southern Evangelicals are certain about the existence of God, but only 36% of the same group believes their faith is uniquely true, then 64% of professing Evangelicals in the South believe in a gospel contrary to that of the Bible. Simply put, the average church and the average Christian in America do not understand or believe the Gospel. When a church loses the revolutionary power of the Gospel, legalism and religion replace it. Churches are dying because they are nothing more than organized religion, which cannot change the heart of men. When a legalistic dinosaur dies, that’s a good thing!

To read this entire article from the Resurgence Blog simply CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Test all ministers by the word of God

user@domain.com — 2011-04-19T07:42:14-04:00

Let us beware of attaching an excessive importance to ministers of religion because of their office. Ordination and office confer no exemption from error. The greatest heresies have been sown, and the greatest practical abuses introduced into the church by ordained men. Respect is undoubtedly due to high official position. Order and discipline ought not to be forgotten. The teaching and counsel of regularly appointed teachers ought not to be lightly refused. But there are limits beyond which we must not go. We must never allow the blind to lead us into the ditch. We must never allow modern chief priests and scribes to make us crucify Christ again. We must test all teachers by the unerring rule of the Word of God. It matters little who says a thing in religion–but it matters greatly what it is that is said. Is it scriptural? Is it true? This is the only question. “To the law and to the testimony–if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). ~ J.C. Ryle

Review for April 17

user@domain.com — 2011-04-18T16:13:57-04:00

SS_Class_April172011

If you would like to listen to the audio for this class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

user@domain.com — 2011-04-18T08:09:25-04:00

This is from a blog post by Kim Riddlebarger

When we speak of Scripture as “sufficient,” we mean that the Bible reveals everything God wants us to know about his will, and how to be saved from his wrath. The Bible was given for a very specific purpose. The Bible does not teach us everything that might be useful or practical to know, nor was it intended to do so. The Bible was not given to satisfy sinful human curiosity, nor will we find answers to all of the mysteries of life. The secret things belong to God (cf. Deuteronomy 29:29).

But the Bible does reveal both the law and the gospel. The law is that which God commands of us and is found in a passage such as Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments). The gospel is what God gives to us in Jesus Christ which meets the demands of his law, and is spelled out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (as but one example). Although the moral law is universal–it us written upon our hearts because we are created in God’s image–only in the Bible do we find God’s law in written form so that God’s will is perfectly clear to all.

When I sin

user@domain.com — 2011-04-14T08:49:42-04:00

Let me repeat what I have said on many occasions in our class. "We never get beyond our need for the gospel we simply move further into the gospel." Please remember the apostle Paul tells us that in the gospel is located the power of God. In context, Paul is teaching us that the power of which he speaks is the very righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is something that God declares me to be in my justification and He is now transforming me into the righteousness of Christ in my sanctification. Therefore the gospel is what gets me into the kingdom of God and it is the same thing that keeps me in the kingdom of God. My point is we never move away from our daily need of the gospel.

I am constantly on the lookout for books, quotes, audios and videos that can help deepen our understanding of the gospel. In some reading this morning I came across the following quote from Tullian Tchividjian as it relates to our daily growth as Christians.

"Every temptation to sin is a temptation, in the moment, to disbelieve the gospel–the temptation to secure for myself in that moment something I think I need in order to be happy, something I don’t yet have: meaning, freedom, validation, and so on. Bad behavior happens when we fail to believe that everything I need, in Christ I already have; it happens when we fail to believe in the rich provisional resources that are already ours in the gospel. Conversely, good behavior happens when we daily rest in and receive Christ’s “It is finished” into new and deeper parts of our being every day— into our rebellious regions of unbelief (what writer calls “our unevangelized territories”) smashing any sense of need to secure for ourselves anything beyond what Christ has already secured for us."

When I have sin in my life, at that very moment, I am choosing to find my happiness or security in something other than Christ. My problem is that I am not believing the gospel. I called Pat earlier this week and said I know the gospel is true, I can articulate it and even break down the verbs and nouns. But in my sinning, though I know the gospel to be true, at the time the sin is happening it is NOT true for me. And though my standing before God has been declared righteous I still am dealing with the presence of sin which wages war. The solution for that sin past, present and future is "THE GOSPEL." He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

At every step Jesus is our substitute

user@domain.com — 2011-04-13T12:47:10-04:00

Was he flogged? It was done so that "by his wounds we are healed" (Isa. 53:5). Was he condemned though innocent? It was done so that we might be acquitted, though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? It was done so that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped of his clothes? It was done so that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It was done so that we might be honored and blessed. Was he reckoned a criminal, and counted among those who have done wrong? It was done so that we might be reckoned innocent, and declared free from all sin. Was he declared unable to save himself? It was so that he might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did he die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful death? It was done so that we might live forevermore, and be exalted to the highest glory. - J.C. Ryle commentary in Matthew from Take Your Vitamin Z website

Review for April 10

user@domain.com — 2011-04-13T10:29:05-04:00

SBS Class April 102011

If you would like to listen to the audio for this class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

The promises of God within the plan of God

user@domain.com — 2011-04-13T10:20:19-04:00

The Old Testament is the story of God’s amazing promises. Step back and try to take it in:
God promises to give life to people who will reflect his glory.
God promises to destroy evil and rid the world of its curse.
God promises to bless people from all nations.
God promises to reconcile sinners to himself through a sacrifice for sins.
God promises that his people will live under the blessing of his rule forever.
God promises that all his people will walk in all his ways.
God promises to bring new life from the grave. . . .

Here is the breathtaking sweep of what God promises us in Jesus Christ. Jesus came and lived and died and rose again so that:
We might become a new creation fully reflecting the image of God.
We might be delivered from the curse of evil.
We might enjoy the blessing of God together with a vast company of redeemed people from all nations.
We might be reconciled to God through Christ, who offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins.
We might live under the blessing of God’s rule forever.
We might walk in God’s ways, loving him with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves.
We might receive new life from the grave. . . .

Follow on Twitter

user@domain.com — 2011-04-11T07:00:19-04:00

I know some of you may not be into Facebook or Twitter and that is fine. My style and gifting lends more to Twitter than Facebook. So I thought I would give you a sample of some of my April Tweets. If you would like to follow or just check in from time to time then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Jesus comes to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). He frees you from everything that is smaller than Himself.

"Under every behavioral sin is the sin of idolatry and under every idol is disbelief in the gospel." - Martin Luther

You don't fully realize what idols you have in life until God takes them away.

Whatever your heart clings to and relies on becomes the very thing you worship.

Our trials are God's platform to capture us by His grace.

The Bible never teaches us to go out and get what we don't have but rather to take hold of what we do have in Christ.

How to spoil the Gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-04-11T05:19:28-04:00

The Gospel in fact is a most curiously and delicately compounded medicine, and is a medicine that is very easily spoiled.

You may spoil the gospel by substitution. You have only to withdraw from the eyes of the sinner the grand object which the Bible proposes to Faith, — Jesus Christ; and to substitute another object in His place, — the Church, the Ministry … and the mischief is done …

You may spoil the Gospel by addition. You only have to add to Christ, the grand object of faith, some other objects as equally worthy of honour, and the mischief is done …

You may spoil the Gospel by disproportion. You only have to attach an exaggerated importance to the secondary things of Christianity, and a diminished importance to the first things, and the mischief is done. Once alter the proportion of the parts of the truth, and truth soon becomes downright error …

— J. C. Ryle, quoted by Peter Adam in
Hearing God's Word
(Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2004), 24

Bible Devotion in Leviticus

user@domain.com — 2011-04-09T08:19:23-04:00

When you read in Leviticus about what the Israelites could eat and what they could not eat, the context is holiness and unholiness. God prescribes for His people what is acceptable and what is not acceptable based on what He says NOT what they think.

This book of the Bible helps to reaffirm for me the importance of Bible doctrine. God's truth is absolute and not relative like so many today would like to proclaim. Even though we may want to have shades of grey in our religion we serve a God who teaches us in black and white. I have said before and will continue to say that doctrine divides. It divides truth from error, right from wrong, wheat from tare, sheep from goat and believer from non believer.

A key application for us from Leviticus is our distinctiveness as Christians from the world around us. Is there a marked difference in our lives in regard to the truth of God's word? Or do we just blend in with everyone else in our tolerance of things that are unholy. Are we so casual and lukewarm in our faith that there is little contrast between us as Christians and our non-believing neighbors? God says to us today "be holy as I am holy." We no longer are under the food restrictions of the OT Jews however we should stand out as different unto the glory of God!

Indicators you might heading toward Pelagianism

user@domain.com — 2011-04-06T06:39:05-04:00

If you are unfamiliar with the word Pelagianism then read through the notes from class last Sunday or listen to the audio. Therefore I have listed (tongue and cheek) some indicators that might show you are heading toward Pelagianism. By the way Pelagianism was officially declared a heresy at the Council at Carthage in 416 AD.

You believe that God has done His part, now you have to do yours.
You believe that every time you repent, God wipes your slate clean.
You believe that people are saved because they responded to an altar call.
You believe that it is unfair for God to command things people can't do.
You believe that God helps those who help themselves.
You fear that the Rapture might take place before you get a chance to repent of your latest lapse from Christian character.
You think the Book of Life is written in pencil.
You feel compelled to remind everyone that obedience is necessary lest they think that because salvation is of grace and not works, grace is a license for sin.

borrowed from Contra Mundum website

Classic Fishing Video

user@domain.com — 2011-04-06T05:57:37-04:00

Pat Jones and I really enjoy fishing. If you like to get on the water and wet a hook then you will appreciate this video starring Bill Dance. Unfortunately each one of these scenes reminds me of the things I have done whle attempting to catch fish.

What is "decisional regeneration?"

user@domain.com — 2011-04-05T08:33:26-04:00

This week we are coming to a very critical place in the teaching of the gospel. Last week we finished our look at the doctrine of sin and now we need to understand the solution for sin. We are going to study the doctrine of redemption or how we are rescued in Christ. I think the modern day church movement has done much to confuse when it comes to a person getting born again or converted. The language in many churches equates to walk down the aisle, pray a prayer and make a decision for Jesus. But is this what the Bible instructs us to do? Here is a short video on the danger in the church today of “decisional regeneration.”

10 ways to prevent sermon napping

user@domain.com — 2011-04-04T08:03:49-04:00

Parody on Rob Bell's "Love Wins"

user@domain.com — 2011-04-04T05:36:27-04:00

Do we really believe that the path to eternal life is narrow? So narrow that not even atheist hippy pop stars will make it in? Don your shallow thinking cap and come wander some contours of meaning in this parody of Rob Bell's Love Wins book trailer.

6 Counterfeit Gospels

user@domain.com — 2011-04-03T17:22:49-04:00

from the book Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax

Review for April 3

user@domain.com — 2011-04-03T12:48:37-04:00

SBS Class April 32011

If you would like to listen to today’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If would like to listen to the audio played in class today featuring Dr. John MacArthur then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

The Dump Truck of Self-Merit

user@domain.com — 2011-03-31T11:54:37-04:00

From the Ordinary Pastor blog site;

There is little doubt that we have all experienced the following circumstance and reaction. Someone comes to let you know about something that you have said or done that is wrong. Whether it was ignorant or blatant, the bottom line is the consequence. The other individual is offended, hurt, or aware of something that you did that needs to be addressed.

Sadly, it our reaction that really gets us in hot water. It is our sinful reaction that shows our betrayal of the gospel just as much as the first sin itself.

These sinful reactions show themselves in a variety of ways. One of the chief methods of my own sinful heart is to back up the dump-truck of personal merit.

Here’s an example:

Wife: “I don’t feel like we have been spending enough quality time together recently. I feel like you are distant and distracted.”

Husband: “What do you mean? I’ve been spending a lot of time with you. I don’t see how you can say that.”

Wife: “Well, it’s how I feel. It seems like we are not connecting.”

Husband: (now becoming irratated) “I don’t know how you could say that. What did we do on Monday? I didn’t watch the game but I drove the kids to their appointment. Tuesday night? I was here the whole time. How about Wednesday? We went out to eat and then to church. Now it’s Thursday and you have already given me a list of things to do. I don’t think you are being reasonable.”

The husband has done the classic move. His wife’s observations and feelings are dismissed with a quick disagreement. Then when she persists, he calls for the merit.

Do you see this? Before even beginning to understand what his wife is talking about he starts whistling for the dump-truck of personal merit to be backed up and dumped into the middle of the conversation.

It is as if he is saying, “Ok, you have an issue with me? Well, let me remind you who and what you are dealing with. Before I can get to me and any potential issues, I have something for you.”

He then begins to dump the merit in between them. “Hear my excuses. Look at what I’ve done. Do you realize how I’ve sacrificed? I should be coming to you with the issues!”

Before the husband will even attempt to latch on the issues and the feelings behind the issues (ie understand his wife) he is forcing her to rifle through the garbage pile of his own merit. You can just hear him saying, “There, deal with this if you can. This is me. The impeccable husband. Take a look at the evidence. Perhaps you have forgotten who you are dealing with here.”

Understanding the Doctrine of Sin

user@domain.com — 2011-03-30T09:34:18-04:00

We stand at a place in our learning of doctrine that is very, very critical. In my research and study it has been amazing to find how in the "church" today the doctrine of sin is either left out or misrepresented so people won’t feel bad.

Here is part of a transcript of an interview between Larry King and Joel Osteen in June 2005. There were a number of subjects discussed but in this context King asked Osteen about his preaching on same sex marriages and abortion.

OSTEEN: I have thoughts. I just, you know, I don't think that a same-sex marriage is the way God intended it to be. I don't think abortion is the best. I think there are other, you know, a better way to live your life. But I'm not going to condemn those people. I tell them all the time our church is open for everybody.

KING: You don't call them sinners?

OSTEEN: I don't.

KING: Is that a word you don't use?

OSTEEN: I don't use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don't. But most people already know what they're doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change. There can be a difference in your life. So I don't go down the road of condemning.

If you would like to read the entire transcript then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Explosions from preaching

user@domain.com — 2011-03-28T11:02:29-04:00

One of my predecessors at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Donald Grey Barn-house, used to say that when he preached to an audience, he used to think of them as barrels sitting on the pews. Most of them were empty. But some of them had gunpowder inside, and his job was to produce explosions. He did it by striking the matches of the Word and throwing them into the barrels. When he hit one that had gunpowder, there would be an explosion. God put the gunpowder there. Then, as the Word was preached, there was a spiritual ignition or rebirth. This is one of the reasons we should value preaching so highly. – James Montgomery Boice, Feed my Sheep

Speaking the truth in love

user@domain.com — 2011-03-28T09:43:27-04:00

We need as a people of God, to get back to the word of God in our reading time, study time and devotion time. But as we do this it becomes critical that we have good and solid Biblical categories that under gird what we read and study. When these categories become deeply engrained you will see and grasp Biblical truth maybe like never before.

For example many in church think of "the gospel" primarily as what needs to be preached to those outside the church. And the Bible does teach us that the gospel is the only way that a person outside the church or a non-believer can ever be made right with God. However, what remains fascinating to me is how important, and the emphasis that the apostle Paul puts on preaching the gospel to those within the church. Since we are going to stay with the gospel for the next two months I want to continue in helping us to grasp this critical Biblical category.

Let's go to Paul's pray for the Colossians in Chapter 1:9-14. I want to show you in "the gospel principle" in this prayer.

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Review of March 27

user@domain.com — 2011-03-27T13:28:35-04:00

This morning was Part 1 on the Doctrine of Sin as it relates to our series on the gospel. Thanks again to Ann Tarwater for her excellent work in this area for the church.

Even though we didn’t make it through all the material, the goal was to answer the following five questions:

What is Sin? (Definition and Biblical Support)
What do we need to understand about Sin?
What is the Fall? (also called Original Sin)
What is the Scriptural support for consequences of Sin?
How does this apply to our lives?

The Doctrine of Sin

Christian amnesia

user@domain.com — 2011-03-26T11:43:21-04:00

One reason we don’t grow in ordinary, grateful obedience as we should is that we’ve got amnesia; we’ve forgotten that we are cleansed from our sins. In other words, ongoing failure in sanctification (the slow process of change into Christlikeness) is the direct result of failing to remember God’s love for us in the gospel. If we lack the comfort and assurance that his love and cleansing are meant to supply, our failures will handcuff us to yesterday’s sins, and we won’t have faith or courage to fight against them, or the love for God that’s meant to empower this war. If we fail to remember our justification, redemption, and reconciliation, we’ll struggle in our sanctification. - Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me

When culture invades the "church"

user@domain.com — 2011-03-25T11:26:55-04:00

This is an actual church that is located in Sanford, NC. Here is the 5 week sermon series going on right now! Do you really think this is cool and hip and helps us to identify with the culture? I want those in our class to understand there are many today who sit in “church” and never hear the gospel of Christ because it is NOT popular and trendy. Remember the gospel is radical and counter intuitive and very divisive. It divides truth from error, wheat from tares, sheep from goats and believers from non-believers.

Just click on the LINK below if you want more information on this series.

My story regarding "Papa" Russ

user@domain.com — 2011-03-24T12:34:17-04:00

Rob Bell's Kitty Cat

user@domain.com — 2011-03-24T11:17:17-04:00

Are you comfortable with your sin?

user@domain.com — 2011-03-24T09:47:58-04:00

The first great secret of holiness lies in the degree and the decisiveness of our repentance. If besetting sins persistently plague us, it is either because we have never truly repented, or because having repented, we have not maintained our repentance. It is as if, having nailed our old nature to the cross, we keep wistfully returning to the scene of its execution. We begin to fondle it, to caress it, to long for its release, even to try and take it down again from the cross. We need to learn to leave it there. When some jealous, or proud, or malicious, or impure thought invades our mind we must kick it out at once. It is fatal to begin to examine it and consider whether we are going to give in to it or not. We have declared war on it; we are not going to resume negotiations … We have crucified the flesh; we are never going to [with]draw the nails.” - John Stott

Dependence on Christ

user@domain.com — 2011-03-23T11:12:24-04:00

This morning we woke up to one of our dogs bringing us a baby squirrel. As I took the pictures and then looked over them I was reminded about the word FAITH.
The picture you see of this baby squirrel is a word picture of how we are to rest in Christ. We can’t feed ourselves, help ourselves or even spiritually look after ourselves. The only thing we can do is fall into the arms or in this case hands of the one who is able to rescue us. There is no way to tell this baby squirrel to go get some food, then climb a tree and protect yourself. In just the same way we can’t do anything to merit our own salvation by anything we do. So let’s take a lesson from the picture of this baby squirrel and learn to rest fully in Christ for our salvation now and forever!
Matthew 11:29–30 ““Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

Biblical Theology

user@domain.com — 2011-03-22T17:44:26-04:00

At Retreat 2010 we took time to study what is known as Biblical Theology. It is Biblical theology which helps us to understand that the plan of the Bible is God’s unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind. We can see this plan unfold from Genesis all the way to Revelation. Therefore I thought I would post a short article from the Resurgence Blog Site about Biblical Theology.

Biblical Theology

However, you’ll notice that the Bible isn’t written with a topical, or thematic arrangement. This observation has led theologians over the past couple of centuries to look for how the Bible itself presents theology – One of these approaches has been termed “Biblical Theology.”

Now, we have to be careful here, because the term “biblical theology” can be understood in broad and narrow senses. In a general, broad sense, “biblical theology” is “theology that is true to the content of the Bible.” In other words, it is any theology that accurately reflects the teaching of Scripture, including systematic theology. Certainly, for evangelicals making sure that all theology is biblical in this sense is very important.

Biblical theology is theological reflection drawn from the historical analysis of acts of God reported in Scripture.

But beyond questions of content, in a technical, narrow sense, “biblical theology” is theology that conforms to the priorities of Scripture. In this outlook, biblical theology adheres not just to what the Bible teaches, but also to how the Bible arranges, or organizes its theology. It’s in this technical, narrow sense that biblical theology became a formal discipline in the 20th century.

Preach the Gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-03-22T10:57:45-04:00

Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners. All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT.

In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people. Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah. Everything in the Bible that tells us what to do is “law”, and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has done in Christ to save us is “gospel.”

Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. “What would Jesus do?” becomes more important than “What has Jesus done?” The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day–the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification. The law guides, but only the gospel gives. We are declared righteous–justified–not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God’s act of crediting us with Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith alone. - Michael Horton

The fellowship of the unashamed

user@domain.com — 2011-03-19T08:39:39-04:00

This is what the power of the gospel in and through a life produces. The poem below should give you a good idea what happens when you aren’t trying to become what you are not but rather are taking hold of what you have already become in Christ.

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My
colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

By Dr. Bob Moorehead

The gospel for everyday life

user@domain.com — 2011-03-18T12:00:59-04:00

In our SS class and the church overall we are going through an 8 week emphasis regarding “THE GOSPEL.” My plan is to continue this through the second week in June so that we can saturate, immerse and soak continuously in this wonderful truth. There are lots of good evangelical preachers over the past several years that are starting to ramp up their gospel center preaching. When I come across an article or website that I sense will say the same thing in a way you can understand it then I try to put it on our website. The following is an article from Tullian Tchividjian that helps to connects the dots of the gospel to how you live everyday life. I hope you find it helpful!

I once assumed the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that ” the gospel isn’t the first step in a stairway of truths, but more like the hub in a wheel of truth.” In other words, once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it. All good theology, in fact, is an exposition of the gospel.

In his letter to the Christians of Colossae, the apostle Paul portrays the gospel as the instrument of all continued growth and spiritual progress, even after a believer’s conversion.

“All over the world,” he writes, “this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col. 1:6). He means that the gospel is not only growing wider in the world but it’s also growing deeper in Christians.

After meditating on Paul’s words, a friend told me that all our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel. This means I can’t really move forward unless I learn more thoroughly the gospel’s content and how to apply it to all of life. Real change does not and cannot come independently of the gospel. God intends his Good News in Christ to mold and shape us at every point and in every way. It increasingly defines the way we think, feel, and live.

Martin Luther often employed the phrase simul justus et peccator—”simultaneously justified and sinful.” He understood that while he’d already been saved from sin’s penalty, he was in daily need of salvation from sin’s power. And since the gospel is the “power of God for salvation,” he knew that even for the most saintly of saints, the gospel is wholly relevant and vitally necessary. This means heralded preachers need the gospel just as much as hardened pagans.

In his book The Gospel for Real Life, Jerry Bridges picks up on this theme–that Christians need the gospel just as much as non-Christians–by explaining how the spiritual poverty in so much of our Christian experience is the result of inadequate understanding of the gospel’s depths. The answer isn’t to try harder in the Christian life but to comprehend more fully and clearly Christ’s finished work for sinners and then to live in more vital awareness of that grace day by day. The main problem in the Christian life, in other words, is not that we don’t try hard enough to be good. It’s that we haven’t accepted the deep implications of the gospel and applied its powerful reality to all parts of our life.

As I see it, there are two challenges for preachers, those of us called to announce this good news. First is to help people understand theologically that the gospel doesn’t just ignite the Christian life but it’s also the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing every day. The second challenge, which is much harder for me than the first, is to help people understand how this works functionally.

A cheap form of the gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-03-18T06:42:40-04:00

I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Not too much, just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don't want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don't want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture, I want ecstasy, not repentance. I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don't want to love those from different races-especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but no so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Of course, none of us is so crass as to put it that way. But most of us have felt the temptation to opt for a domesticated version of the gospel. In some ways, this temptation is perennial. But perhaps it is especially strong today, owing to a number of developments in the Western world. - D.A. Carson

Run from false gospels and run to "The Gospel"

user@domain.com — 2011-03-18T05:52:45-04:00

The vanity of life without God

user@domain.com — 2011-03-17T18:52:11-04:00

This video represents how many people live and what they live for in our “consumeristic” culture. Oh how quietly this has influence in what is preached and taught in our evangelical churches. Notice in this video Jesus never shows up. And in the church we can show up and hear little to nothing about Jesus and everything about ourselves. Don’t believe this video it is a lie. You can only find a pseudo happiness in these type of things. Real joy in life resides in knowing and loving Christ!

The gospel is God's story

user@domain.com — 2011-03-16T07:56:44-04:00

What is the plot line or the story line of the Bible? It is a true story about the unfolding and progressive plan of God to redeem mankind. The story is not about how someone can have a better marriage, a more successful career, or even how to live a healthy lifestyle. But it is a story about mankind being at enmity with God so that the only reconciliation available is through Jesus Christ who died, was buried and three days later rose from the dead. The pronouncement of this event in history is called the good news. And it is good news because God has acted in the person and work of Jesus Christ to save people from their sins. The very sins that once kept them separated from God have been paid in full by the death of Christ on the cross. Also there has been a transferring of righteousness from Jesus to the account of every believer so that they now have the very righteousness of Christ. It is now that the believer can know with 100% confidence that God is for them and no longer is against them. This is really news, good news, the kind of news that makes an eternal difference in the lives of those who will receive it by faith.

Sometimes we get that turned around and end up making our story the subject of the gospel instead of Christ. Often times, since there is very little instruction for people, I hear about how someone got saved. It normally involves mostly a past tense discussion very little present tense and almost no future tense. My other problem is that the story may involve a person who recovered from an addition problem, or the mother decided not to have an abortion, or they survived cancer. Even though there is not an intentional misrepresentation of the "good news" never the less there is a distortion that can be hurtful. The unbeliever may think well if I accept this Jesus then life will get better because that is what has happened to those telling their stories. The young believer can feel despair in thinking that for some reason they are struggling because they just need to believe more. The point is that the main subject and story line in the Bible is Jesus. Therefore the main story line when we tell a story about the good news must be about Jesus.

Gospel Transformation

user@domain.com — 2011-03-15T08:26:57-04:00

“Receiving and resting in the truths of the gospel translates into a Christian life of joy, peace, freedom, and love. So the gospel also gives us a new way to live and relate to other people. It frees us from sin’s stranglehold on our lives, liberates our conscience, and releases us from living according to the principles of this world. Since our new identity and new way to live is based solely on faith, the gospel excludes all manner of boasting and arrogance. Everything that we have has been given to us — thus it is called the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). Moreover, this gospel has continual and daily applicability. It is not only relevant to us when we first believe, but continues to work in us and through us as we continue to believe. This continual life of faith visibly expresses itself in love (Gal 5:6).” - Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation (Jenkintown, Pa.; World Harvest Mission, i-ii.

The amazing story of God's grace

user@domain.com — 2011-03-14T08:45:11-04:00

God saves us by His grace and transforms us more and more into the likeness of His Son by His grace. In all our trials and afflictions, He sustains and strengthens us by His grace. He calls us by grace to perform our own unique function within the body of Christ. Then again by grace, He gives to each of us the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill our calling. As we serve Him, He makes that service acceptable to Himself by grace, and then rewards us a hundredfold by grace. - Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace

The biblical gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-03-13T19:17:16-04:00

The church loses its life-changing dynamism to the degree that its theology goes off to this side or that side—into either uptight legalistic moralism, or into latitudinarianism, broadness, not believing the Bible, licentiousness, relativism.

By saying the biblical gospel is in the middle, that’s not saying “moderation in all things.” Jesus wasn’t moderate in anything. He was radically gentle and radically truth loving at the same time. The gospel isn’t a kind of middle-of-the-road, lukewarm thing. But the gospel is neither legalism nor licentiousness. And to the degree we lose the biblical gospel, we’re never going to be a movement that reaches the city.
- Tim Keller

Review for March 13

user@domain.com — 2011-03-13T12:33:52-04:00

SBS Class March 132011

If you would like to see the video shown at the end of class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like to listen to the audio for today’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

This Sunday remember to Spring Forward

user@domain.com — 2011-03-11T13:12:18-05:00

The gospel according to Romans

user@domain.com — 2011-03-11T09:45:41-05:00

This morning I want you to look with me at four questions that come from Romans 1-4. These questions are critical for us to ask and answer properly.

Question #1 - Who made us and to whom are we accountable?
In Romans 1 the apostle Paul teaches us that God created the world and that we are owned by Him, dependent on Him and therefore accountable to Him. In very plain language we learn that God has made Himself known to every man so that no one is without excuse.

Question #2 - What is our problem?
In Romans 1:18-3:20 Paul goes on to elaborate on the fact that we are all guilty of cosmic treason. In other words every person has rebelled against this holy and righteous God and stands guilty and condemned. Paul first talks about the pagan and then he starts on his own people the Jews and says they are also guilty. And in Romans 3:9 we read “for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;”

Question #3 - What is God's solution for the problem?
"But now," Paul says, in spite of our sin, now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. In other words, there is a way for human beings to be counted righteous before God instead of unrighteous, to be declared innocent instead of guilty, to be justified instead of condemned. And it has nothing to do with acting better or living a more righteous life. It comes apart from the law.
So how does it happen? Paul puts it plainly in romans 3:24. Despite our rebellion against God and in the face of a hopeless situation, we can be justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Through Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection because of His blood and His life sinners may be saved from the condemnation our sins deserve.

Look to Christ NOT to yourself

user@domain.com — 2011-03-09T12:20:22-05:00

From the Gospel Coalition blog site

In an excellent article entitled “Does Justification Still Matter?“, Mike Horton raises the same concern I raise with regard to our natural tendency to focus inward more than Christ-ward. He writes:

Most people in the pew, however, are simply not acquainted with the doctrine of justification. Often, it is not a part of the diet of preaching and church life, much less a dominant theme in the Christian subculture. With either stern rigor or happy tips for better living, “fundamentalists” and “progressives” alike smother the gospel in moralism, through constant exhortations to personal transformation that keep the sheep looking to themselves rather than looking outside of themselves to Christ… The average feature article in [Christian magazines] or Christian best-seller’s is concerned with “good works”-trends in spirituality, social activism, church growth, and discipleship. However, it’s pretty clear that justification is simply not on the radar. Even where it is not outright rejected, it is often ignored. Perhaps the forgiveness of sins and justification are appropriate for “getting saved,” but then comes the real business of Christian living-as if there could be any genuine holiness of life that did not arise out of a perpetual confidence that “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

Because we are so naturally prone to look at ourselves and our performance more than we do to Christ and his performance, we need constant reminders of the gospel.

As Horton says, there can be no genuine holiness of life that does not arise out of a perpetual confidence that “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The only way to deal with remaining sin long term is to develop a distaste for it in light of the glorious acceptance, security and forgiveness we already posses in Christ. I need to be reminded of this all the time, every day. Because the fact is that guilt doesn’t produce holiness; grace does.

As I said at the conclusion of my original post, the bottom line is this, Christian: because of Christ’s work on your behalf, God does not dwell on your sin the way you do. So, relax and rejoice…and you’ll actually start to get better. The irony, of course, is that it’s only when we stop obsessing over our own need to be holy and focus instead on the beauty of Christ’s holiness, that we actually become more holy!

When our best isn't good enough

user@domain.com — 2011-03-09T09:13:52-05:00

“The bad news is far worse than making mistakes or failing to live up to the legalistic standards of fundamentalism. It is that the best efforts of the best Christians, on the best days, in the best frame of heart and mind, with the best motives fall short of that true righteousness and holiness that God requires.

Our best efforts cannot satisfy God’s justice. Yet the good news is that God has satisfied his own justice and reconciled us to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. God’s holy law can no longer condemn us because we are in Christ.”

— Michael Horton
Christless Christianity
(Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2008), 91

Grace falls - joy rises - love overflows

user@domain.com — 2011-03-09T09:03:23-05:00

If you are going through the Bible Reading Plan for the year then today we come to 2 Corinthians 8. The apostle Paul is writing to Corinth regarding the Macedonians.

Paul has already done in Macedonia what he is now doing in Corinth. He is taking up a collection for the relief of the saints, which we see in 2 Corinthians 8:4. This probably has to do with relief for the church in Jerusalem that was having some kind of crisis, and the other churches were helping them out. And Paul, while in Macedonia has something happen that just blows his mind. So in Chapter 8 we see that Paul is going to use the Macedonians and what happened as an example to the church in Corinth.

I am going to describe this in language that we have studied and I think to be consistent with the text in this chapter. We are being able to witness in these verses what happens when the seed of the gospel is planted in hearts that are fertile. Because we know that wherever Paul goes his message is the gospel. So now we are seeing what happens to a people when the gospel lands on them in the power of the Spirit.

The first thing we can observe is that what happened in Macedonia is due to the fact that GRACE came down.

The Law and Gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-03-08T16:38:36-05:00

This is from Tullian Tchividjian’s blog site

This is probably the best shortest explanation of the all important distinction between God’s law and God’s gospel that I’ve read. It’s from Mike Horton’s new book The Christian Faith:

In the Reformed tradition, the law-gospel distinction was interpreted within the historical context of distinct covenants in history. The covenant of creation (also called the covenant of works or law) was based on the personal performance of all righteousness by the covenant servant. The covenant of grace is based on the fulfillment of all righteousness by our representative head and is dispensed to the covenant people through faith in him. There is still law in the covenant of grace. However, it is no longer able to condemn believers but directs them in lives of gratitude for God’s mercy in Christ.

As I’ve said here before, the commands in the Bible are like a set of railroad tracks. The tracks provide no power for the train but the train must stay on the tracks in order to function. The law, in other words, never gives any power to do what it commands. It shows us what a sanctified life looks like but it has no sanctifying power. Only the gospel has power, as it were, to move the train. This is why the Bible never tells us what to do before first soaking our hearts and minds in what God in Christ has already done.

Learning to REST n GRACE

user@domain.com — 2011-03-08T10:46:59-05:00

The gospel is about GRACE, so if you miss grace you miss the gospel.

I want us to learn how to stand under the waterfall of grace during these next two months. At this point in our look at the gospel we are not going to talk about what we need to do but instead what has already been done.

MAY I HAVE YOU ATTENTION PLEASE!!!

If you are a first born or have a "Triple A" personality type or you think that doing is equal to being please listen up.

The apostle Paul, who outside of Christ, is who many believe to be our best New Testament theologian. I want you to notice NOT just what he writes but HOW he writes.

This is important because when you read the letters of the apostle Paul none of them start with what you need to do. He always begins with what God has already done. Because he knew to turn that around would be to miss the gospel. Paul marinates the imperatives of what we are to do, in the indicatives of what God has already done.

Two examples in order for us to see this clearly.

The letter to the Colossians is 4 chapters long;
In the first two chapters Paul talks in remarkable ways all that God has done for us in Christ. He talks about Jesus and His death and resurrection for sinners.
And then when he gets into Chapter 3 we have therefore in light of everything that I have already told you, now live this way.

The letter to the Ephesians is 6 chapters long;
The first three chapters teaches all that we have in Christ and all that has been accomplished by Christ.
Then starting in chapter 4 we have a therefore in order to encourage us to live this way.

The gospel is necessary for Christians

user@domain.com — 2011-03-08T08:39:02-05:00

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be trust as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest. - B. B. Warfield (1851 – 1921)

You gotta see this...

user@domain.com — 2011-03-07T10:25:26-05:00

Gospel saturation for Christlike transformation

user@domain.com — 2011-03-07T07:47:16-05:00

We are getting ready to launch into a saturation of gospel teaching like never before in our class. As I said yesterday "we will never have a gospel reformation outside the church until we first have a gospel reformation inside the church." Many people inside the church assume that the gospel is only for people outside the church. They think that the gospel is for non-Christians only. This means that when God saves us, we move beyond it to deeper spiritual growth and development. But the key for us to realize is this, when God saves us He doesn’t move us beyond the gospel but rather He moves us further into the gospel. The gospel is NOT only the fire that ignites the Christian life but it is the fire that keeps the Christian life growing and going. Because Christian people continue to sin and the gospel is the only antidote for sin then the gospel is something that we need on a daily basis.

The apostle Paul in Romans teaches us that the "POWER OF GOD" is located in the gospel. He goes on to say that this power of God relates specifically to our "SALVATION." This salvation is NOT only that which justifies and glorifies us but right now is sanctifying us into the likeness of Christ. So what is the key that brings about this salvation which is done by the power of God? The key is "THE GOSPEL."

Here is a quote from Transforming Grace which I am presently reading by Jerry Bridges;

My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever ‘well’ is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works, rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the ‘sweat’ of our own performance. Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to ‘try harder’. We seem to believe success in the Christian life is basically up to us; our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. The realization that my daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of on my own performance is very freeing and joyous experience. But it is not meant to be a one-time experience; the truth needs to be reaffirmed daily.

I want to appeal to each of you in this email to prepare your hearts for these next two months. Ask God to give you a measure of faith to hear, embrace and live out the gospel so that Christ might be demonstrated as great. Please brothers and sisters do not treat this as ordinary or common or as something you think you have heard before! Plead, cry out and appeal to our great God for eyes to see, ears to hear and minds to understand the incredible treasures waiting to be mined from the gospel.

Are you motivated by duty or delight?

user@domain.com — 2011-03-07T07:41:17-05:00

Review for March 6

user@domain.com — 2011-03-06T16:26:31-05:00

SBS Class March 62011

To hear the audio “What is the Gospel” then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like to listen to audio from today’s class then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Acting a miracle

user@domain.com — 2011-03-05T09:38:39-05:00

When it comes to killing my sin I don’t wait for the miracle, I Act the Miracle.

Acting a miracle is different from working a miracle. If Jesus tells a paralyzed man to get up, and he gets up, Jesus works a miracle. But if I am the paralyzed man and Jesus tells me to get up, and I obey and get up, I act the miracle. If I am dead Lazarus and Jesus commands me to get up, and I obey, Jesus works the miracle, I act the miracle.

So when it comes to killing my sin, I don’t wait passively for the miracle of sin-killing to be worked on me, I act the miracle.

- John Piper

How we get the Christian life WRONG

user@domain.com — 2011-03-05T09:25:27-05:00

This is an excellent post by Tim Chester that relates to living out the gospel.

There are two ways we get life wrong:

1. We want to be our own Lord instead of Jesus

I often replace Jesus as Lord with me as lord, running life my way. I want to be in charge. This often leads to behaviour that by moral standards is bad, e.g. sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. We do not think Jesus is enough, disbelieving that living under His rule is the “good life.” So we replace Jesus with others things.

But there is another way we get life wrong:

2. We want to be our own Saviour instead of Jesus

I often replace Jesus as Saviour with me as saviour: attempting to save myself by doing good things, saving other people by straightening out their lives, or saving the world through good causes.

A Great Weekend

user@domain.com — 2011-03-05T08:55:31-05:00

Books on the Gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-03-03T14:28:39-05:00

Since we are heading into a 2 month study of the gospel, here are some books for further reading.

1. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges

2. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

3. The Gospel-Driven Life by Michael Horton

4. In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson

5. Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown

6. When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough by Steve Brown

7. Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick

8. Christ Formed In You by Brian Hedges

9. Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

10. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller

11. The Reign of Grace by Scotty Smith

12. Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell

13. From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller

14. Counsel From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson

15. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall

16. Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur

17. God is the Gospel by John Piper

18. Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney

19. The gospel and personal evangelism by Mark Dever

A Puritan Prayer

user@domain.com — 2011-03-03T08:18:33-05:00

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

- Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett. Reformatted by Eternal Life Ministries.

Sunrise at Isle of Palms

user@domain.com — 2011-03-06T07:46:00-05:00

Don't miss this train

user@domain.com — 2011-03-02T17:11:55-05:00

The gospel train will be leaving the station this Sunday Morning at 9:30 AM.
We are going to take an eight week tour that will take us from the Creation to the Fall to the Redemption and finally to the Restoration.

Dr. Bruce Ware "The Exclusivity of Christ"

user@domain.com — 2011-02-27T21:12:28-05:00

It was a wonderful weekend of teaching with Dr. Bruce Ware. Here a short video clip from our Sunday morning session.

Here is another clip of Dr. Ware teaching on the sovereignty of God. Click on this LINK.

A short clip of Dr. Ware teaching on “the Trinity.” Click on this LINK.

Retreat Fishing Trip

user@domain.com — 2011-02-27T20:20:27-05:00

Dr. Bruce Ware and I were invited by the legendary fisherman and class leader Pat Jones. It was a brutal day on the water with 25 mph winds and lots of rain. However we did bring redfish in the boat.

And if you would like to see what happened after we got to our spot just CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Session #5

user@domain.com — 2011-02-27T08:44:36-05:00

Session #5

Retreat 2011 - Session #3

user@domain.com — 2011-02-26T10:41:59-05:00

Session #3

Retreat 2011 - Saturday Session

user@domain.com — 2011-02-26T07:55:57-05:00

Retreat 2011 Saturday Session

Live from Wild Dunes

user@domain.com — 2011-02-25T15:47:23-05:00

Tonight I will be blogging live from the Wild Dunes Conference Center. Dr. Bruce Ware is our speaker for this weekend. The subject is “Friendly Fire” in which Dr. Ware is going to cover 5 of the essential doctrines that are being compromised within the evangelical church. Hopefully I will be able to blog each session as they occur and will highlight main points in Dr. Ware’s teaching. We start tonight at around 7 PM so drop by and hangout awhile on our website. I also plan to post the notes that he gives out for each of the lectures on various doctrines.

If you would like the audio from FRIDAY NIGHT Session #1 then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like the outline of the notes from the FRIDAY NIGHT session #1 then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Retreat 2011 - "Friendly Fire"

user@domain.com — 2011-02-25T15:46:02-05:00

Retreat 2011 - "Friendly Fire"

Review for February 20

user@domain.com — 2011-02-20T21:12:29-05:00

Isaiah Chapter 6

Living by grace

user@domain.com — 2011-02-18T07:41:29-05:00

My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever ‘well’ is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works, rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the ‘sweat’ of our own performance. Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to ‘try harder’. We seem to believe success in the Christian life is basically up to us; our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. The realization that my daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of on my own performance is very freeing and joyous experience. But it is not meant to be a one-time experience; the truth needs to be reaffirmed daily. - Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace

Review for February 13

user@domain.com — 2011-02-16T09:17:42-05:00

This past Sunday we continued to study the holiness of God. We are learning that this communicable attribute gives us some keen insight into the transcendence of God. In a day and time when much preaching and teaching has an over emphasis as to the love of God, this study regarding holiness helps to give us a healthy theological balance.

These notes will serve to cover our discussion and teaching next week as we look more specifically at Isaiah Chapter 6.
I think this is an excellent transition to the gospel series that will be starting officially on March 6 and run through Easter Sunday on April 24.

If you want the notes from our study on the holiness of God then CLICK ON THIS LINK
If you would like to see the video clip that was featured on Sunday simply CLICK ON THIS LINK

If you would like to listen to the audio simply CLICK ON THIS LINK

The struggles in Christian growth

user@domain.com — 2011-02-16T08:39:10-05:00

Christ alone

user@domain.com — 2011-02-11T09:01:44-05:00

It is Christ, I need hardly say, of whom the whole New Testament is full. The Gospels are Christ living, speaking, and moving among men. The Acts are Christ preached, published, and proclaimed. The Epistles are Christ written of, explained, and exalted. But all through, from first to last, there is but one Name above every other, and that is Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle

It may be helpful to take a few minutes and listen to this version of “In Christ Alone” as your heart prepares for a time of devotion. Click on this LINK.

Beware of "church growth" strategies and movements

user@domain.com — 2011-02-07T07:15:11-05:00

An article from Pastor Marty Fields

The first crack in the church growth edifice came a couple of years ago when church growth advocate George Barna expressed frustration that - since the full-blown implementation of church growth principles 20 years ago - there has been no net growth in the Christian church to speak of; in fact it has declined in America. He found that mega-churches have both a big front door and an equally large back door.

All mega-churches seemed to have accomplished is to kill off smaller churches that resisted the temptation to compromise Biblical Christianity.

The final nail came when Willow Creek Community Church - the “Mecca” of the church growth ideology - recently released the results of a multi-year study on the effectiveness of their programs and philosophy of ministry. Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, on staff at Willow Creek, conducted the study. The conclusion? Senior Pastor Bill Hybels said, to his credit, “We made a mistake.” They didn’t make disciples - they made dunces.

Seeing Jesus in all of Scripture

user@domain.com — 2011-02-07T06:24:47-05:00

In Luke 24 there is an encounter between the two men on the road to Emmaus and Christ on Resurrection Day. The men in their sad and downcast disposition are in need of a Bible lesson and the Lord Jesus gives them one. This is a very important lesson because it taught them and it teaches us that Scripture must be interpreted in light of seeing Jesus. As a matter of fact Jesus say in Luke 24:17 that all of the Scripture is about Him. Luke 24:27 “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

I want to bring you resources that can equip you to better see Jesus when you read the Bible. So, in this article I have posted a section from Tim Keller’s book called King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus, pp. 57-58: from Justin Taylor’s blog site. Read this article to see how Pastor Keller interprets the story of Jonah through the grid of seeing Jesus.

We have a resource that can enable us to stay calm inside no matter how the storms rage outside.

Here’s a clue: Mark has deliberately laid out this account using language that is parallel, almost identical, to the language of the famous Old Testament account of Jonah.

Both Jesus and Jonah were in a boat, and both boats were overtaken by a storm—the descriptions of the storm are almost identical.

Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep.

In both stories the sailors woke up the sleeper and said, “We’re going to die.”

And in both cases there was a miraculous divine intervention and the sea was calmed.

Further, in both stories the sailors then become even more terrified than they were before the storm was calmed.

What do you treasure?

user@domain.com — 2011-02-06T08:26:48-05:00

Tired Christians

user@domain.com — 2011-02-05T15:36:53-05:00

The gospel is first and foremost NOT about something you need TO DO but what has already BEEN DONE. If you spend your Christian life trying TO DO (efforts to please God with performance) and forget what HAS BEEN DONE by Christ, then you’ll always be working on the wrong end of the problem.

This animation represents “HOW” many today live within the context of church. Always doing, serving, going and performing but never reading, devoting nor resting in what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection. Are you aware Christian brothers and sisters
that there is obedience which dishonors God?

Do this do that the law commands
But gives us neither feet nor hands
A better word the gospel brings
It bids us fly and gives us wings!

Years ago Alan Redpath, one of the great preachers of his day said. “BEWARE OF THE BARRENNESS OF A BUSY LIFE.”

How to see the UNITY of Scripture

user@domain.com — 2011-02-05T14:21:19-05:00

It's back to Romans 6

user@domain.com — 2011-02-05T10:21:05-05:00

Since we studied Romans 6 for two months I thought many of you would appreciate this article.

Doug Moo, commenting on Romans 6:1-14 and the exhortation to “become what you are becoming.”

Balance on this point is essential. “Indicative” and “imperative” must be neither divided nor confused. If divided, with “justification” and “sanctification” put into separate compartments, we can forget that true holiness of life comes only as the outworking and realization of the life of Christ in us. This leads to a “moralism” or “legalism” in which the believer “goes it on his own,” thinking that holiness will be attained through sheer effort, or ever more elaborate programs, or ever-increasing numbers of rules. But if indicative and imperative are confused, with “justification” and “sanctification” collapsed together into one, we can neglect the fact that the outworking of the life of Christ in us is made our responsibility. This neglect leads to an unconcern with holiness of life, or to a “God-does-it-all” attitude in which the believer in which the believer thinks to become holy through a kind of spiritual osmosis.

Paul makes it clear, by the sequence in this paragraph, that we can live a holy life only as we appropriate the benefits of our union with Christ. But he also makes it clear, because there is a sequence, that living the holy life is distinct from (but not separate from) what we have attained by our union with Christ and that holiness of life can be stifled if we fail continually to appropriate and put to work the new life God has given us. Jeremiah Bourroughs, a seventeenth-century Puritan, put it like this: “…from him [Christ] as from a fountain, sanctification flows into the souls of the Saints: their sanctification comes not so much from their struggling, and endeavors, and vows, and resolutions, as it comes flowing to them from their union with him.” (The Epistle to the Romans, 391)

A new translation called "The Massage"

user@domain.com — 2011-02-05T06:03:38-05:00

Are you tired of hearing that the Bible is inspired, inerrant and infallible? Do you want something that doesn’t deal with sin and God’s wrath, the shedding of Christ’s blood as the propitiation for our sin? No problem, the seeker-friendly and pragmatic church folks have just the bible for you, it’s called “The Massage.” Hey, your life is tough enough, so when you come to church or read a “bible” translation you want to feel good. When you read “The Massage” the emphasis is you. Don’t you want to know how to have your best life now? So, if you are tired of hearing about doctrines like justification, sanctification and election that only cause people to divide then this is the book for you. If your SELF ESTEEM and SELF ACTUALIZATION don’t improve ten fold simply send this book back for a full refund. Well, why are you waiting? Get feeling better about yourself today. Call now as operators are waiting to take your order.

If you haven’t heard our latest commercial then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Bible Devotion in Mark 6

user@domain.com — 2011-02-03T07:23:48-05:00

Our Bible reading for today included Mark Chapter 6. In this chapter we have one of two miracles that are recorded for us in all four gospels; the feeding of the five thousand and the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

One of the first things I notice in Mark 6 is the compassion that Jesus has for the people manifests itself in His teaching them. We need NOT overlook the importance in the church of feeding the sheep because is represents the very compassion of Christ.

Second, Jesus is going to teach His disciples a very important lesson but unfortunately they aren't going to get it. How often through the word is Jesus trying to teach us today and we like the disciples just don't get it? Imagine the set up in Mark 6 by turning on the video player of your mind. Here we have between 15-20,000 people, night is coming on and the group is hungry with nothing to eat. We know there is no village in the surrounding area that can accommodate the food requirements for this many people. Jesus allows all this to sink in for His disciples so as to provide the following test. Go out into the crowd and take an inventory of food and get back to me. Do you think Jesus already knew? So what is the point for His disciples? Answer - to have them recognize that the situation before them CANNOT be solved using human strategy, planning or ingenuity. In other words what confronts the disciples in regard to feeding this crowd is the IMPOSSIBLE. But guess what they should know and what we should know "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD."

STOP-LOOK-LISTEN, these are three words I learned years ago when having my devotion time. Don't go to fast and ask questions of the text when you read. For example, is it possible that God might put you in a situation that looks impossible, so that He can test your faith to rely entirely on Him. Notice what He tells the disciples "GO LOOK" in other words go check out just how impossible it is by seeing just how few resources are available. But then check out the precious lesson that follows. And I want to draw your attention to 4 verbs.
1. HE TOOK - yes He did but ask yourself this question, what did Jesus take? Answer - all that they had. Brothers and Sisters, Jesus doesn't want a slice of your life HE WANTS IT ALL! When we come to Christ we need to be prepared to give it all.
2. HE BLESSED - without going into much detail you can trace this all the way back to the promise God made to Abraham. The moment you receive Christ the only relationship you have now with God is one of blessing. This is true for you 100% of the time whether you recognize it or not.
3. HE BROKE - not this is where the health, wealth and prosperity gospel people miss the text. The Christian life on planet earth involves both blessing and breaking. It is different for each person but no Christian escapes the breaking.
4. HE KEPT GIVING - This verb is written in the PRESENT TENSE which means continuously, habitually, and in an ongoing manner. Now put it all together when we come to Christ we say Lord Jesus I give it all to you, everything I have it is yours. And He takes it, blesses it, breaks because it is after breaking that Christ can give you away to others.

The Cross Centered Life

user@domain.com — 2011-02-02T12:06:27-05:00

“Christ discharged the debt of sin. He bore our sins and purged them. He did not make a token payment which God accepts in place of the whole. Our debts are not cancelled; they are liquidated. Christ procured redemption and therefore he secured it. He met in himself and swallowed up the full toll of divine condemnation and judgement against sin.” - John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied

Gospel Driven Sanctification

user@domain.com — 2011-02-01T10:44:16-05:00

This from Tullian Tchividjian’s blog site

Sinclair Ferguson. reminds us that any piety and pursuit of holiness not grounded in, and driven by, the gospel will eventually run out of gas:

The first thing to remember is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual … but from the New Testament’s point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about us and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sinclair reminds us that the secret of gospel-based sanctification is that we actually perform better as we grow in our understanding that our relationship with God is based on Christ’s performance for us, not our performance for him. In fact, those who end up getting better are those who increasingly realize that their relationship to God does not depend on them getting better. This means, as I said in a post a couple weeks ago, that Christian growth does not happen first by behaving better, but believing better–believing in bigger, deeper, brighter ways what Christ has already secured for sinners (Col. 1:12-14).

Review for January 30

user@domain.com — 2011-01-30T16:36:34-05:00

This morning we got back to the communicable attributes of God. And our focus was on the holiness of God. I really enjoy studying and teaching on this particular subject. In the 1700s the main emphasis of the preaching included the attributes of holiness and justice. Of course we need a healthy balance between the holiness of God and the love of God. But today we are in danger of having a God presented to congregations that is defanged and tame. I encourage you to read through these notes and study along with us as we take a close look at the holiness of God.
SBS Class January 30, 2011

If you would like to listen to the audio from Sunday’s class simply CLICK ON THIS LINK

Love is War

user@domain.com — 2011-01-28T05:56:56-05:00

David Paul Tripp from his book and DVD series on marriage “What Did You Expect.”

Look what I did...

user@domain.com — 2011-01-27T15:23:12-05:00

Quotes for the Day

user@domain.com — 2011-01-27T05:34:51-05:00

In my email this morning were the following quotes from two different members of our class. I post these in hope that as we learn and live the gospel together that we will continue to dig deeper.

Quote 1
"The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unregarded. As responsible moral beings we dare not so trifle with our eternal future." -- A.W. Tozer

Quote 2
Modern Christianity is crucially weak at three vital points.

The first is its compromised, deficient understanding of revelation. Without Biblical historicity and veracity behind the Word of God, theology can only grow closer to Hinduism.
Second, the modern Christian is drastically weak in an unmediated, personal, experiential knowledge of God. Often, what passes for religious experience is a communal emotion felt in church services, in meetings, in singing or contrived fellowship. Few Christians would know God on their own.
Third, the modern church is often pathetically feeble in the expression of its focal principle of community. It has become an adult social club, preaching shop, or minister-dominated group. With these weaknesses, modern Christianity cannot hope to understand why people have turned to the East, let alone stand against the trend and offer an alternative. -- Os Guinness in The Dust of Death

Review for January 23

user@domain.com — 2011-01-26T15:21:58-05:00

On January 9 we discussed three of our REFLECT and RENEW points:

Knowing Christ
Faith in Christ
Fruit from Christ

And as part of the teaching lesson for that week I wanted to show the importance of God's word as it relates to know, faith and fruit in our Christian lives.

January 16th we continued with two more REFLECT and RENEW points.

Preaching the gospel to yourself
A look at a Martha and Mary type ministry

I started the class with a devotion time in Genesis 17. The point was to show “how” to have a devotion and its importance for our everyday Christian living.

This past Sunday I decided to do something a little bit different based on a discussion with Pat mid week. As many of you know we have a men’s Bible study that meets on Tuesday nights. Presently we are learning “How to Study” a book in the Bible. In our first week we talked about the importance of the AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND as we study the book of Philemon. It hit me that the apostle Paul was willing to use any method necessary to bring about reconciliation between Onesimus (slave) and Philemon (slave owner). Therefore I presented what we went over Tuesday night at the men’s study, and then made a strong appeal for those in the class to join us for Retreat 2011.

I also gave some snippets in class about the importance of preaching the gospel.

The gospel is "Jesus has done", not "you must do."
The gospel frees you from your addiction to be liked.
The banner under which Christians live reads “It is finished.”"Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God." Martin Luther
If you spend your time and energy criticizing others, you will become a slave to always having to be right. Only the gospel can set you free
The way a non-Christian becomes a Christian and the way we grow as Christians are actually the same – believing the gospel more and more.
Because Jesus was strong for me, I’m free to be weak; because He won for me, I’m free to lose; because He succeeded for me, I'm free to fail
The gospel frees me from the bondage of spending time and energy trying to control what others think about me.
The gospel frees you from the pressure to pretend that you're better than you are!
The only way to teach people about the unconditional love of God is to love people unconditionally.

If you would like to review the notes from Sunday then simply CLICK ON THIS LINK.

If you would like to listen to the audio from Sunday then CLICK ON THIS LINK.

Protecting the environment

user@domain.com — 2011-01-26T14:01:22-05:00

Occasionally I take Pat fishing as part of my own “protect the environment” project. In Charleston when there are too many red fish in the water, the tides rise to unusual levels and cause major eroding of the coast line. Hmmm....you don’t believe that one? How about some ocean front property in Iowa? Anyway during the summer months we have been known to wet a hook. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. And If you call today you can order our new video “How to wear stylish sunglasses and hats while catching the big ones”, operators are standing by.

We need small churches

user@domain.com — 2011-01-26T09:50:12-05:00

“Many young people have been drawn into an ‘entertainment’ view of Sunday worship by what I will call ‘big church culture.’ They are attracted to the services by the ‘performances’ of a spectacular music group or a big name preacher with his superbly crafted sermon. Such things are simply not to be had in the majority of small churches. Sadly, even unwittingly, many large churches are thereby fostering a culture which, as it stands, probably guarantees the demise of small churches. Will the large churches be prepared to change this? The rising generation of young Christians are often groomed (unintentionally?) to become religious consumers who treat churches like spiritual supermarkets, not to become humble servants willing to take on uncomfortable situations or the wider needs of Christ’s kingdom. But if small churches close, our land will be even more spiritually impoverished than it already is” - John Benton

God's love

user@domain.com — 2011-01-24T08:01:21-05:00

This is from Of First Importance website

When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to Himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than He loves His son. We cannot measure His love by any other standard. He is saying to us, ‘I love you this much.’

The cross is the heart of the gospel; it makes the gospel good news. Christ died for us; He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat; He has borne our sins. God had done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that He loves us.

— Sinclair Ferguson, quoted by C. J. Mahaney in Living the Cross Centered Life

Review for January 16

user@domain.com — 2011-01-21T07:11:24-05:00

On Sunday our class was divided into two main sections:
Part 1 - Devotion time in Genesis 17
Part 2 - Reflect and Renew Questions

My constant admonishment and appeal for this community has been “get back into God’s word so that God’s word can get back into you.” Therefore on Sunday I wanted to take some time to talk about “HOW” to have a devotion. As I have said in the past and I reemphasized again on Sunday, the key element in Bible devotion is the preparation of the heart. So instead of talking about heart preparation I led us in a prayer of preparation prior to the devotion time in Genesis. I also started the men’s Bible study on Tuesday night with the same encouragement and even posted this prayer online for your edification.

Then with hearts prepared I simply read Genesis 17 and made some comments of observation as we collectively had a time of Bible devotion. I have found over the years that my devotion time is also prayer time. As God speaks to me through His word, I in turn speak to God. But I constantly find myself asking for a measure of faith that I understand is given by grace, in order that through the Spirit I might be able to know Christ, be transformed into His likeness unto the glory of God. As I pointed out on Sunday Genesis 17 reminds me of my spiritual rebirth. There is no way that Sarah could produce a child in her barren womb, just like there was no way for me to get born again through my efforts. As a matter of fact God was very displeased with Abraham for producing a child of the flesh (Ishmael) instead of waiting on the child of promise (Isaac). My correlation is today in many churches there are attempts in the flesh to get people converted. The only person that can save you is Jesus Christ. And Genesis 17 points me to the fact that only God can bring life into existence where before there was nothing. Check out this statement from Romans 4:17 “... God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. “ And this is exactly how God worked in the life of each person who was once lost and now is saved. He brought life into existence through the Spirit who takes out the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. We call this rebirth or what it means to be born again. And isn’t it wonderful that we can see the pointer to this Biblical truth in Genesis 17.

In the REFLECT and RENEW part of our class we looked more closely at the following questions:

Have you made it a practice to preach the gospel to yourself daily?
If one of the pastors or elders did a spiritual CAT scan on your 2010 would it reveal a Martha or Mary type of ministry?

Learn to prepare your heart with prayer

user@domain.com — 2011-01-20T10:32:25-05:00

The key to Spirit filled Bible reading, study and devotion time is to prepare the heart. This is a non-negotiable when it comes to getting back to God’s word in order for God’s word to get back into you. Many times in our study time we just launch into the word of God with little to no thought about heart preparation. Therefore I thought it might help to teach by example. This is a prayer of preparation from our Tuesday night men’s Bible study.
Listen!

Are you sick on your sins?

user@domain.com — 2011-01-18T14:46:31-05:00

I know not what you may have been in your past life – it matters nothing. You may have broken every commandment under heaven; you may have sinned with a high hand against light and knowledge; you may have despised a father’s warnings and a mother’s tears; you may have run greedily into every excess of riot, and plunged into every kind of abominable behavior – you may have turned your back entirely on God, His day, His house, His ministers, His word. I say again it matters nothing. Do you feel your sins? Are you sick of them? Are you ashamed of them? Are you weary of them? Then come to Christ just as you are, and Christ’s blood shall make you clean. - J.C. Ryle

Getting back to God's word

user@domain.com — 2011-01-18T08:19:37-05:00

The name of our class is “learning and living the God-centered life.” One of the things I have consistently taught, going on three years is this, what we believe is manifested in how we behave. Therefore one of my main focuses in ministry over the past 13 years has been to ask "WHY" Christians don't read, study nor have devotions on a regular basis. As you read this email do a quick survey of your own Bible reading, study and devotion time in the last 3 years. Each of us has 10,080 minutes every week. Most Christians I have taught over the years understand the command that we are to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. However, when they do an honest review of minutes available as opposed to minutes actually committed to study, reading and devotion time, there seems to be a gap between what they know and what they do.

Therefore, one of the goals of this class is to get each of you into the word in order that the word can get into you! This point needs some further clarification. We live in the culture of America. Many live by a motto that goes something like this "if it's to be then it's up to me". Therefore when you tell an American Christian to get back to the Bible they think "I can do it, I will do and if you don't think I can then watch me". All that produces is a group of people that have a "DUTY" mentality and that is NOT my goal for you in our class this year. Instead my goal is that you would "DELIGHT" in picking up your Bibles each morning, to have a meeting with the living Lord Jesus as He explains His word to you.

I have found it helpful to look at several aspects of the "why" as it relates to Bible reading, study and devotion time. The first category I want to share with you are the main reasons I continue to hear as to "why" people don't study their Bibles. As you read would simply make a mental note if any of these reasons apply to you specifically. Now please don't be offended at my next statement. But Vance Havner, one of the great all time Baptist preachers, used to say "An excuse is the skin of a lie stuffed with a reason". So with all that said here we go.
1. The Bible doesn't seem relevant to my life
2. The Bible is confusing and hard to understand
3. I end up always feeling guilty when I read the Bible
4. I rely on my pastors and leadership to teach me what the Bible says
5. The Bible is boring to me
6. My life is hectic and I simply don't have time to read the Bible
7. The Bible is full of contradictions and therefore lacks credibility
8. I don't read period, not just the Bible but I don't read anything

From time to time I have dealt with each of these objections but let me go straight to the bottom line. ALL OF US MAKE TIME TO DO THAT WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO US, RIGHT? Therefore I am asking each of you to honestly evaluate what priority does God's word have in your life right now. This is one of the most, if not the most important question that you will every ask yourself. Because as we will see your answer to that very question will have eternal consequences. A pastor once said that when his mother gave him his first Bible she wrote on the inside cover "sin will keep you from this book or this book will keep you from sin". How true is that statement in light of Romans 6:23 that plainly tells us that the wages of sin is death.

The "consumer" gospel

user@domain.com — 2011-01-17T17:02:45-05:00

I have mentioned on more than one occasion the consumer mentality that exists in America. How easily that has invaded the church today in which we have a "Burger King" (have it your way) Jesus. In this sense we market the gospel to be a self help program, a gospel that can develop better leaders, fix a bad marriage, keep our children from rebelling, give better health, and even secure our 401 K plans. So think about this for a minute, if Jesus can do all of that, plus I don't have to go to hell where I suffer for an eternity, and my sins can be forgiven so I don't go to bed with a guilty conscience, and you can convince me that God does have a wonderful plan for my life, then sure I will take Jesus - do you have more than one?

We have created in our consumerism a gospel of felt needs and we sell Jesus as the One who can fill the need. The Christian life becomes in essence an off shoot of going to the local Jiffy Lube where they roll out the red carpet and give you service in 15 minutes and you are on your way. I go into Christian book stores and see devotion books that are labeled a "5 minute time with God daily." And in my mind I am thinking "love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength." Folks there are 1,440 minutes in every day which means 1% of our day would be 14 minutes with God in the morning or evening for prayer and Bible. And yet for the American consumer who has little time for Christ other than Sunday, holidays and emergencies, we market a 5 minute devotion book. This is the day of "fast food" religious activity but it is not the gospel spoken of in the Bible. Something is wrong, desperately wrong and every fiber of my being wants to cry out REPENT AND BELIEVE!

I am drawn to the language in the Bible that the Lord Jesus Himself spoke when it comes to being a "genuine" Christian. Look closely at these words and compare them to the consumeristic gospel that exists for us so that we can have our "BEST LIFE NOW!"

Mark 8:34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. The context of these words are when Jesus first tells His disciples in plain language that He must go to cross and die and then 3 days later be raised from the dead.

The Christian life is about:
1. Denying self - in the day and time in which we live this is something I rarely hear talked about or preached. This is about us denying everything in our lives that could be a distraction from the real treasure and prize which is Christ Himself. As C.S. Lewis once stated "we have been so happy for years playing with mud pies in the streets and we have no idea what it would be like to enjoy a day on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Do you see how this statement of "deny yourself" plays out in a day of consumerism? Tell the people in church, it is not about what you can get from Jesus but what you are willing to give up in order to follow Jesus. Let me ask you a question - what are the things in your life right now that take your time and attention away from Christ? Is there something or are there things that you value here on planet earth that you value more than Him?

2. Take up your cross - Every day you must go to the electric chair, the hanging gallows, the lethal injection chamber and die. You are dying daily to everything that would keep you from the main thing and the main thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Check out this verse Romans 8:13 "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." The only way this can be done as you read carefully through this section of Scripture is via the Spirit by the very word of God! Are you in the word daily, consistently and getting saturated to the point that when others bump into you throughout the day you bleed Jesus. Please don't confuse DUTY with DELIGHT. Is Christ the passion and treasure of your life so that you are a man or a woman after God's own heart? 2Chronciles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

Are you desperate for God?

user@domain.com — 2011-01-17T07:35:33-05:00

Devotion time in God's word should start with the preparation of the heart and preparation of the heart should start with prayer. Are you desperate to hear from the living God through His living word?
Romans 10:17 says So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

I want to recommend that from this day forward you start every Bible reading, devotion and study with a sincere and desperate plea for God to open your eyes and ears. Learn to pray in order to prepare the heart. Two verses that I covered yesterday and there are many were:
Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Haven't we come to understand from the Bible that faith is a gift of God? And there is a connection between faith and hearing the word of God based on what we read in Romans 10:17. So doesn't it make sense to ask God if by His grace He might increase our faith as we are able to hear His word? And the word of God tells us in the book of James that the reason we don't have it is because we don't ask for it!

I have heard many comments about King Solomon over the years and the fact that he asked God for wisdom. You remember the story that God comes to Solomon in a dream and says that he may ask for whatever he wants. Here is what Solomon actually asked for; 1Kings 3:9 “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil." As a side note, the Hebrew word for understanding is "shama" which means to hear. So King Solomon, of all the things he could have asked of God, asked for a hearing heart! As you continue to read it says that this pleased the Lord.

Do we understand that God wants to grant that request for us as we come to His word?

Take Comfort in Christ

user@domain.com — 2011-01-12T15:29:51-05:00

Let all who trust in Christ take comfort in the thought that they build on a sure foundation. It is true that we are sinners, but Christ has borne our sins. It is true that we are poor helpless debtors, but Christ has paid our debts. It is true that we deserve to be shut up forever in the prison of hell. But thanks be to God, Christ has paid a full and complete ransom for us. The door is wide open. The prisoners may go free. May we all know this privilege by heartfelt experience, and walk in the blessed liberty of the children of God. ~ J.C. Ryle

REFLECT and RENEW

user@domain.com — 2011-01-12T11:34:51-05:00

Do you remember the days of going on a car trip with no GPS device of any kind? There was a time you could actually head to somewhere like Hartford Connecticut and get lost along the way. Believe it or not Nancy and I honeymooned in Hartford, long story but I got lost along the way. What if I after getting turned around, I was headed straight to Florida and but thought all the time I was going to Hartford Connecticut? Yes, I knew exactly where I was going but now am driving at 70 mph in exactly the opposite direction. The problem isn't that I don't know where I am going, the problem is that I don't know where I am. This coming Sunday, Lord willing, we continue to reflect upon 18 questions in order to ask "WHERE AM I RIGHT NOW" in my Christian life. Again this is NOT for you to ask where you THINK you are but rather where you REALLY are.

Last Sunday I covered the first three "REFLECT AND RENEW" points;
1. Knowing Christ
2. Faith in Christ
3. Fruit from Christ

In each of these categories on Sunday I listed a number of Scriptures for you to study. One point that I wanted each of you to see was the importance of God's word as it relates to "WHERE YOU ARE" in your walk with Christ. I have been by God's grace married to Nancy for 34 years. This is a woman that I know better than any woman on planet earth. I don't just know about Nancy that she is a native of Charlotte, her mother is Dabney, and her father is Bill. But I know her favorite songs, restaurants. places to travel, friends and yes, even her love for shoes. I really know this woman and enjoy spending time with her. If we can understand this at the husband/wife level, then certainly it makes since in our relationship with Christ. The absolute best way for me to know Jesus Christ is to know His word. If I love Christ I will love to pursue Him as I read, devote and study the word of God because this is the revelation of Christ! Over the years in Bible teaching others have asked me in private conversations regarding the assurance of salvation. The conversation normally starts with I have a friend...and it concludes with what is the best way to know if they are a genuine believer. It seems that I always go back to two basics; what is the person's relationship to sin and what is the person's relationship with God's word. We learned on Sunday that eternal life in knowing Christ and no disciple can truly know Him without knowing His word.

Emerging Church

user@domain.com — 2011-01-11T20:49:22-05:00

Test Yourself

user@domain.com — 2011-01-10T10:36:08-05:00

Review for January 9

user@domain.com — 2011-01-09T14:13:00-05:00

Launch 2011 - Reflect and Renew

If you want to listen to the audio from today’s class simply CLICK ON THIS LINK.

The year 2011 - Comfortable or Convicted?

user@domain.com — 2011-01-08T04:31:19-05:00

Normally I start out the first two weeks of January the same way every year. For lack of a better term you can call it "Bible 101." It simply exhorts the people of God back to the word of God, until the word of God gets back into the people of God. Therefore on Sunday I will cover two main components that I think are most needed for our community.

First, I am going to go over the Bible reading plan that we have in place for the 2011 year. As many of you may already know this is the Robert Murray M'Cheyne Plan. In this plan there are four chapters to be read daily. Two of the chapters are designed to be read and commented on as part of family devotions, while the other two chapters are designated for personal devotion time. At the beginning of my discipleship training in the late 90's I was introduced to Buck Hatch, a former professor at Columbia Bible College. This is what Hatch writes regarding the Bible;
What is more important to man than God? He is everything. To know God is the primary, pre‑eminent pursuit of any human. And how is he, man, to study, to know God? God has shut Himself up, as it were, or limited Himself in His revelation to mankind through the channel of the written Word of God ‑ The Bible. This is the only authentic, true text to which we may turn. Anything God has of Himself or His blessings comes from Himself immediately, directly, and only to a human being through this book, God's Word. Consequently, to know God is to know the Bible; to know the Bible is to know God. If God is all important, then His Word is all important. In other words, The Word of God is as important as God Himself. As far as mankind is concerned, this is true. A hunger for God will mean, must mean, a hunger for the Word of God. Therefore, one must immediately realize if God's Word is as important as God Himself (for by it we can know and understand God), then how we interpret God's Word is just as important as God's Word. We must know exactly what it says so that we may know exactly what God says!

My first Bible mentor pulled me aside on more than one occasion to remind me that a person can be no closer to Christ than they are to His word. We live in a very dangerous day in regard to the American Evangelical Church. The word of God in many churches gets only a topical or marginal treatment week in and week out. There is very little substantial feeding of the sheep and therefore the people of God are weak and malnourished. Let me use one small example among many that I have found in recent years.

In 2007 Granger Community Church lead by Pastor Mark Beeson reported that in a survey almost 60% of those attending thought there was more than one way to God other than Jesus.

Can you read John 14:6 (Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me) and interpret any other way to get to God? The point is the people of God have gotten away from the word of God. By the way in 2007 this was the 7th most influential in America with over 10,000 members. Even Bill Hybels the senior pastor at Willow Creek Community with 20,000 members agreed that after 30 years of ministry he had the biggest wake up call of his adult life. The wake up call was essentially that the Christians needing to grow and mature at Willow Creek, simply left the church do to a LACK OF BEING FED the word of God. Pastor Hybels solution, that he stated at their leadership conference was to get the people of God back to the Bible and prayer.

Basic Bible 101

user@domain.com — 2011-01-06T07:08:28-05:00

If you go to our website on a regular basis you will notice the scroll banner at the top. In the next few days it will be about the upcoming class for Sunday. I am calling the next two weeks Basic Bible 101. At the start of each new calendar year I like to encourage people in a fresh way to get back in God’s word.

This class could be called back to the basics of the Bible. During the past two years we have touched on doctrines such as:
God
Man
Christ
Holy Spirit
Salvation

Doctrine simply means what does all of Scripture say about any particular subject. The Greek word for doctrine in the New Testament is didaskalia. If one does a word search for the various words in the New Testament related to doctrine (Strong’s numbers 1319-1322) it reveals that they occur over 200 times. For example as it relates to doctrine, reflect on the epistles of the apostle Paul. One can see how he often starts by addressing the doctrine and then moves to the application. In the book of Ephesians the first three chapters describes the doctrine of who we are in Christ. In the last three chapters we are then exhorted to act in a way consistent with who we are in Christ. The book of Romans gives us eleven chapters on the doctrine of salvation. And then starting with chapter 12 we enter into application of the very doctrine that Paul has been teaching in the first eleven chapters. My point is this, if we don’t learn Biblical truth correctly then how can we expect to live it our correctly. The answer to that question is we won’t and we can’t.

So our class is a roll up your sleeves, grab up your Bibles and let’s get back to the basics. This is just good old fashion Bible reading, study and devotion with no short cuts or quick fix solutions. The one requirement that is non-negotiable is a heart prepared to hear, receive and be obedient to God’s word. In September of 2008 we first studied Mark 4 and the parable of the sower. Do you remember the main point of that parable? The success of the seed is dependent upon the condition of the soil. Also when king Solomon was given that one request by God we determined that in looking at Scripture he actually asked for a hearing heart. I often wonder about those I have taught as to whether or not this principle has made a significant impact in their Bible study. My recommendation is to never start Bible reading, study and devotion without a prepared heart.

So this Sunday is called Basic Bible 101 but you who have been with us could say it will be heart preparation as we head into the 2011 year.

Hope to see each of you this Sunday!