Hebrews 11 - Matt Chandler

This is an excellent sermon (HERE) by Matt Chandler of the Village Church, given November 12th at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's Chapel. It is geared towards anyone (lay and clergy)seeking to serve, lead, and teach within the local church.

There are some convicting words of admonishment towards the loves of our life and our motives in service within the church.




2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Proverbs 5:21 "For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths."

Quote - Harry Emerson Fosdick

"The real war is inward of which the outer action is but the echo and reverberation." Harry Emerson Fosdick

A Witness of an Ultrasound-guided Abortion

Abby Johnson shares with Mike Huckabee about the ultrasound-guided abortion she witnessed that caused her to quit serving as a Planned Parenthood director. This is a very interesting and detailed perspective that the public often does not get to hear on the abortion process.



HT: JT

Quote - Hannah More

"...No man ever repented of being a Christian on his death bed." Hannah More

FREE Desktop & iPhone Backgrounds - Scripture Wallpaper

www.theresurgence.com is offering free desktop & iphone backgrounds of Scripture wallpaper by Joshua Blankenship.

What if I blow it? - Parental Discipline Mistakes

ParentLife online offers three simple fixes to parental discipline mistakes:

1. Apologize
2. Determine what you will differently next time
3. Do it!

Colossians 3:21 "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged"

Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

The Abomination of the "prosperity gospel"

John Piper gives a short summary (10min) of Biblical and personal objections to the "prosperity gospel" via video ("Why I Abominate the Prosperity Gospel")



Here is a short video (8min) from Christianity Today on the "prosperity gospel" as it is sent abroad from America. This is an interesting, documentary view of the "prosperity gospel" in action abroad exploiting the poor in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

HT: Desiring God Blog & Justin Taylor Blog

Quote - St. Ignatius of Antioch

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece." St. Ignatius of Antioch

Quitting Abortion - Planned Parenthood Director Resigns in Disgust

An article published Monday at foxnews.com shares the story of a Planned Parenthood Director in Texas, Abby Johnson, who quit Planned Parenthood and joined a pro-life group after viewing an ultrasound of an abortion.

Some excerpts:

• "she says she knew it was time to leave after she watched a fetus 'crumple' as it was vacuumed out of a patient's uterus in September"
• "'When I was working at Planned Parenthood I was extremely pro-choice,' Johnson told FoxNews.com. But after seeing the internal workings of the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor, 'I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart ... a spiritual conversion.'"
• speaking of the abortion business she states, "It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers"
• "A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood refused to answer questions about Johnson's accusations, but released a statement noting that a district court had issued a temporary restraining order against the former branch director and against the Coalition for Life, an anti-abortion group with which Johnson is now affiliated."

If you want to be broken in spirit over this great sin that kills so many thousands daily in our country, go to www.abort73.com (NOTE: this website has graphic photos and videos of abortions that are not appropriate for children...keep in mind however, that it is children who are doing the vast majority of these abortions). It is especially disturbing, convicting, and motivating to see the carnage of the innocents.

TO THOSE WHO ARE 'PRO-CHOICE': Before you try to defend or maintain your 'position', I sure hope you have the courage to look at the torn, dismembered bodies on the above website. Their blood in on your hands as you equip, facilitate, and accelerate this great plague of murder that is spreading across our nation and world. I am so disgusted by those infatuated with the darkness but I am also filled with love, hope, and compassion that you might possibly change through the work of the Holy Spirit.

I hope and pray that many shall rise up in prayer and petition to our God, and to the authorities over us, for change!

Psalm 82:3-4 "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. "

Matthew 5:44-45 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. "

Quote - Augustine

"They, then, who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death will usher them." Augustine

Who Do You Think You Are?

I do not know if I would use the same language, volume, and anger as Mark Driscoll in the video below...but maybe I should. When you think of sports coaches growing up, you might think of getting chewed out for a horrible loss, performance, or laziness. Many men need to be called out in such a manner for their failures in leading their family, loving their wives, and living in purity. Such harsh and pointed talk can motivate a man in love towards change in a way soft spokenness often won't.



How great would it be if all of us men were called out specifically, personally, and convictingly on the areas of sin in our lives that we have given over to Satan? That sort of accountability can happen from an individual friend, a small group leader, a pastor in the pulpit, or through another form of teaching.

You know where, as a Christian, you can go to get INSTANT conviction, accountability, and loving rebuke? The Word of God. For many of us our tolerance of sin (and lack of righteous anger over sin) is a direct result of our light use of Scripture. When we ignore God's Word, we do not allow Him to sanctify us through His Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 5:20 "Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning."

Luke 17:3-4 "So watch yourselves. 'If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

Revelation 2:2 "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. "

HT: iMonk

The Power of Spoken Scripture

These two videos of Ryan Ferguson dramatically reciting Scripture are a reminder to me of:

1) the power of Scripture
2) the power of the spoken/audible Word
3) the appropriateness, value, and effectiveness of accurate expression, tone & volume variety, and non-verbal communication in giving Scripture the appropriate emphasis
4) making Scripture boring is just plain wrong and inexcusable
5) my need to enhance and improve my own memorization abilities and delivery skills
6) the weakness of human-contrived poetry, drama, visuals, and videos in comparison with a God-breathed message

Hebrews 9-10 (ESV)


Psalm 25 (ESV)


HT: (Hat Tip) to Justin Taylor for posting these videos on his blog

Together for the Gospel - Early Registration!!

Together for the Gospel: The (Unadjusted) Gospel is happening April 13th-15th, 2010 in Louisville, KY. It only happens every other year, and I was extremely blessed by the conferences in 2006 & 2008. It is a gathering across denominational lines of men and women who are united in their focus on the Gospel message and a desire to worship and glorify Jesus Christ.

Here are some of the speakers and a video of what to expect. EARLY SIGNUP (at a discounted rate) ends this Saturday...note: as an added bonus you'll come out of this conference with LOTS o' free books

Speakers: Thabiti Anyabwile , Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney, Albert Mohler, John Piper, R.C. Sproul
Breakout Speakers: Eric Bancroft, Tony Carter , Kevin DeYoung , Greg Gilbert , Brian Habig , Joshua Harris , Michael McKinley , David Platt

Together for the Gospel: T4G 2010 Conference from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Also, if you want to attend with me (I'm commuting each day), let me know, I'd love to have some good friends to sit and share with...email me before you signup and I'll share an additional online coupon code with you to save a few extra bucks.

C.J. Mahaney - Listen to his heart & passion

Have you heard of C.J. Mahaney? If not, I highly recommend viewing the short video below or linked HERE.

I love C.J. Mahaney's love of Christ, humble nature, and desire to pour himself into the lives of others. I have heard his preaching twice in person at Together for the Gospel (www.t4G.org ) and look forward to hearing him again during this upcoming Spring's T4G Conference. C.J.'s book Humility: True Greatness is one of my favorites!

C. J. Mahaney - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Got Questions - THE BOOK!

My FAVORITE WEBSITE (which gets 3million+ hits a month) now has come out with a book. http://www.gotquestions.org/ has taken its 1600 most frequently asked questions and compiled them into a book. This is a great resource for any Christian who wants concise Biblical answers to the tough questions of life.

An excerpt from the back cover:

"Written in an easy-to-understand format and organized in easy-to-follow sections, Got Questions? will help readers find the answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding spiritual matters. The questions were asked by real people struggling through real-life issues who received solid, practical answers from the Bible. The articles in this volume are compiled from the more than 1600 frequently-asked questions on our website, which are read over 3 million times each month."

I got my GotQuestions? book (just ordered), do you have yours?

Top 5 Free Resources for Parents of Teens

Here are my top 5 free, online resources for parents of teens:

www.gotquestions.org – Find a Biblical response to tough questions your teens ask and continue the spiritual conversations you can have with them

www.focusonthefamily.com – parenting, marriage, entertainment, & life issues resources (James Dobson)

www.familylife.com – Incredible marriage and family resources

www.CPYU.org – The Center for Parent and Youth Understanding

www.pureintimacy.org – a helpful resource for teaching, correcting, and protecting your teens