Government control

I really don’t want to be or to come across like one of those black helicopter conspiracy theory nuts, but we have been down this road of unfettered Federal government control before. It was not pretty then and it will be less so now due to the lack of the restraining hand of a shared [...]

truth in love

Paul reminded the Ephesian church that only with truth would there be mature Christian unity and only if truth was spoken in love. Truth cannot be ducked or minimized in any way, but it must be softened with compassion. It is not compassionate to downplay or minimize or disregard truth. Dr. Mohler wrote about this [...]

evolution doubts

Keith Mathison has reviewed James Le Fanu’s book Why Us?: How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves. It sounds interesting: What is potentially more interesting in this case is that Le Fanu does not raise his doubts from the perspective of Christianity or even Intelligent Design. On the existence of a Creator, Le Fanu seems [...]

“tolerance” is a one-way street

Have you noticed that “tolerance” these days is a one way street. Basically it means we all have to like and celebrate whatever gets crammed down our throat and in return we get to be mocked hated and ridiculed. As Exhibit A, take the way Miss California was treated during and after the recent Miss [...]

Wisdom

Driscoll is doing a series of articles on spiritual gifts. Since he is charismatic, his series would be different than mine, but it is quite good nonetheless. His latest post is on the spiritual gift of wisdom. defined: The gift of wisdom is the ability to have insight into people and situations that is not [...]

a lesson in faith from Hebrew midwives

Kevin DeYoung points to Exodus 1:17 for a lesson in faith from Hebrew midwives. here it is: “17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” and here is Kevin’s conclusion: The bottom line is that we will never display strength in [...]

secret agent man

Kevin Roose, raised a liberal Quaker, from Brown University enrolls at Liberty University in order to write a book. Hilarity ensues. Bryan P emailed me this story last night and it is kind of intriguing. two bits in particular struck me: Yet, some students also grilled him about his relationship with Jesus and condemned non-believers [...]

relevant church?

Here is R.C. Sproul Jr.’s take on making our churches culturally relevant. Tell me if you understand the point he is trying to make. I may be too sleepy to get it, but I don’t. It starts well enough: There is a tension among the people of God that reflects a delicate balance to which [...]

going with what you know

sometimes in the midst of heartbreak and pain, it is easy to lose sight of God. We get overwhelmed. Platitudes and cliches in that moment don’t help. That is why I love the Psalms. David was an emotional guy on an emotional roller coaster. Compare Psalm 35 (David on a bad day) with Psalm 37 [...]

mute math

Vitamin Z has posted Mute Math’s new video “Spotlight.” Z also has a quote about how it was made. Pretty cool. and of course, my favorite Mute Math is “Typical.”

Paul Tripp on marriage

Paul Trip has a new conference DVD out on marriage called “What Did You Expect?” here is a video of excerpts. It looks quite good. Justin Taylor has more links to various related materials including links to free downloads of the leader’s guide and the discussion guide.

Black and White

some B&W pictures on film (Kodak 400 Tri-X)

Hate Well

Joe Thorn reminds us that as Christians we need to “hate well”. If you follow Jesus, cherish the gospel, and love God and neighbor you will hate well. If you do not hate, you will find yourself more susceptible to temptation, slower to respond to corruption, and unmotivated to contend for the faith. Hate is [...]

Moving day

Today is the day for the big move to the new house. The Uverse is already disconnected here so this is posted from my iPhone. I love the rain, but we really need it to stop soon so that we can get everything done that needs to be done. I hate moving.

16 million missing Chinese girls

A demographic time bomb is ticking in the far east. here is the horrible truth in dry medical journal language: Conclusions In 2005 males under the age of 20 exceeded females by more than 32 million in China, and more than 1.1 million excess births of boys occurred. China will see very high and steadily [...]

friday fotoes

I enjoy the backlit look if it can be done without flaring. a little artsy soft focus Backlit portrait with just a bit of flare. desaturated the colors a bit to make it artsy instead of a throwaway.

importance of a building

Resurgence is continuing its series on Pitfalls in church planting. the latest installment reminds folks to not underestimate the importance of a permanent building. Most churches double in size the weekend they move from being mobile to a more permanent building. People are also less prone to give faithfully to a church that’s mobile. They [...]

more excellent argumentation

did I mention that Shut Up is never a good argument? Why yes, I did. I don’t like xenophobia or nativism or know nothingism any better than anybody else, but there are much better arguments to make against it than “shut up.” Welcome to the free exchange of ideas on the modern college campus. I [...]

word association

Thom S. Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway, did an experiment on Twitter regarding what people think of when they hear “southern baptist.” The admittedly unscientific results are not encouraging. here are the first few responses. Go to the link above to see them all. Legalism, Controlling Fights, Legalists Hellfire and brimstone, Pharisees Fried chicken, [...]

This Momentary Marriage

I read This Momentary Marriage by John Piper earlier this year. It was an incredible book. Everybody should read it whether they are married or single. at the link above you can download the book for free in pdf form. Here is the direct link to the download. It is easy to read and monumentally [...]

why doctrine?

via challies, here is John MacArthur talking about the importance of a sound doctrinal foundation prior to learning specific applications of scripture. Of course, practical application is vital. I don’t want to minimize its importance. But if there is a deficiency in preaching today, it is that there’s too much relational, pseudopsychological, and thinly life-related [...]

tyranny?

why use such a strong word when judges make up law and choose to favor one group over another rather than allow democratic processes to work? Keith Pavlischek at First Things quotes Nathan Diament who calls this struggle over competing legal rights between gay rights and people of faith “the mega-cultural issue of the decade.” [...]

He is Risen!

R.C. Sproul on the meaning of the resurrection of Christ that we celebrate today. The resurrection of Jesus is radical in the original sense of the word. It touches the radix, the “root” of the Christian faith. Without it Christianity becomes just another religion designed to titillate our moral senses with platitudes of human wisdom. [...]

dodson on everyday missionality

Eight everyday ways to be missional by Jonathan Dodson. I really like 3, 4, and 5, but they are all good. 3. Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go around the same times. [...]

“shut up!” they argued

“shut up” is never a good argument.