Making it plausible or unthinkable

Al Mohler has completed posting a six part series on abortion which is the edited transcript of the sermon he gave on Sanctity of Life Sunday. excellent message excellently presented. here are the links to the parts for some weekend reading. part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 and here [...]

congratulations to John MacArthur

John MacArthur is celebrating 40 years at Grace Community Church this weekend. Congratulations to him and thanks to God who has enabled and empowered John to do what he has done so well for so long. John MacArthur’s New Testament commentaries have been invaluable to me as I have taught the books of Romans, Hebrews, [...]

Moralistic therapeutic deism

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism–the New American Religion. If that isn’t a fair name for our prevailing cultural belief system, then I don’t know what is. this is an article from 2005 that I just found courtesy of Chris Turner who I found courtesy of Steve McCoy. (isn’t web surfing on Friday evening fun?) check out these [...]

photo phridai

Here is the uncropped version of this picture that was the first one I posted on this blog. I am entering this uncropped version in a photography contest. and it is basketball season defense rebound

while we are on the topic of preaching

Here are John MacArthur’s ten reasons for preaching the word. first the intro paragraph: Faithfully preaching and teaching the Word must be the very heart of our ministry philosophy. Any other approach replaces the voice of God with human wisdom. Philosophy, politics, humor, psychology, homespun advice, and personal opinion can never accomplish what the Word [...]

moving day

january 28th was Pulpit Magazine’s moving day. they are now integrated with the shepherd’s fellowship website. Go check it out and update your blogroll/bookmarks.

ten conclusions about preaching

if you have been following Adrian Warnock’s blog over the last month, you have seen his round up of old posts regarding preaching. These have been excellent. He has now summarized ten conclusions about preaching. Here are a few of them, but go read all ten. 1. Expository preaching should be defined as preaching that [...]

on the health front

On the health front, Joe Thorn reminds us that coffee is good, which is a good thing, because I love coffee. I saw in the Men’s Health e-newsletter (I am not fit enough or cool enough to read the actual magazine) that those ubersmart euro-scientists are finding a link between coffee consumption and brain health. [...]

Why pray?

Pulpit Magazine concludes its series on why we should pray if God is sovereign with part 4 here. The first three parts are linked here. “5. We should pray because God has ordained prayer as a means by which He accomplishes His eternal purposes.” This part is a little longer and more involved, but it [...]

different perspectives

from Vitamin Z, here is John Piper pointing out the difference in perspectives.

discussion

I don’t how many of you have noticed the discussion that has been going on in comments to this post, but I encourage everyone to take some time and go check it out. I have a some questions though for everybody: Is pregnancy and childbirth the same thing as giving up a kidney for another [...]

why pray?

A recurring theme in our men’s Bible study and on this blog is the question “why should we pray if God is sovereign over all?” another variant is “why should we pray if God is going to to what God is going to do anyway?” Here are two previous posts that I have put up [...]

Jars of Clay

John MacArthur asks if anyone sees the pattern. Do you? Here is a start, but go see even more examples at the link above: If God could not use poor instruments and feeble voices, He couldn’t make music. Abraham was guilty of duplicity, yet he became the man of faith and the friend of God. [...]

Barack Obama’s view of women

Our new president has already come out strongly for killing babies and using our tax dollars to fund the killing. here is his statement in connection with his reversal of the Mexico City Policy: On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive [...]

“contextualizing” is not a dirty word

Todd Burus has done some homework regarding biblical examples of contextualizing. Go take a look. here is a bit of his work, but you have to go read the rest to see his argument and evidence: A rough definition of “contextualization” for the church is “being aware of the cultural context in which lost people [...]

Mark your calendar

January 22, 2009 is the day that our new president assumed complete unilateral responsibility for our safety from terrorists. From today’s Washington Post: President Obama yesterday eliminated the most controversial tools employed by his predecessor against terrorism suspects. With the stroke of his pen, he effectively declared an end to the “war on terror,” as [...]

God saves bad people (hallelujah!)

here is a word from Dr. Art Azurdia III courtesy of the Ramblin’ Pastor Man. Romans 5:1-11: 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we [...]

foto friday

sunrise at the quarries sunset in Salado sunset at the Pickle

Roe v. Wade @36 part 5

John Piper quoting Abraham Lincoln. On January 12, 2009 Samantha Heiges, age 23, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drowning her newborn in Burnsville, Minnesota. If she had arranged for a doctor to kill the child a few weeks earlier she would be a free woman. What are the differences between this child [...]

Roe v. Wade @36 part 4 “making it unthinkable”

Challies has a guest post from John Ensor today. Well worth reading the whole thing. ….I acknowledge the resistance, even offense, taken by many by asserting that abortion is the moral issue of our day. I am familiar with the claim that asserts equal concern for poverty, global warming, aids prevention, war, and more. All [...]

Roe v. Wade @36 part 3

Yuval Levin points to a speech by Professor Robbert P. George on the occasion of this anniversary. Go read it. In the name of a generalized “right to privacy” allegedly implicit in the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, seven justices created a license to kill the unborn. These men probably had no [...]

Roe v. Wade @36 part 2

further to Ed Whelan’s point below regarding the effect of Roe v. Wade in bypassing democratic processes, here is Father Neuhaus’ article regarding this awful anniversary. These are the issues addressed in a remarkable new book out this month from Princeton University Press, The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right, by Jon Shields, a political [...]

Roe v. Wade @36

the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was handed down 36 years ago today. Ed Whelan quotes his congressional testimony from 2005 to commemorate the occasion. Roe v. Wade marks the second time in American history that the Supreme Court has invoked “substantive due process” to deny American citizens the authority to protect the [...]

Steve Fee

Glory to God Forever is a new song from Fee. He has posted the chords for download on his site. here is the video of the acoustic version here is more Fee music. hat tip to catablog

imagine the potential

a new advertisement by catholicvote.org hat tip to my lovely wife and her friend Robin