Thursday, February 25, 2010
Quote - John Wesley
Monday, February 22, 2010
Quote - C.S. Lewis
Friday, February 19, 2010
Quote - A.W. Tozer
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Biblical vs. Christian Counseling: the History
"What Is Biblical Counseling? In principle, Christians believe that knowing Jesus Christ is the original and abiding "cure of the soul." But in practice, the church’s provision of personalized care and counsel has often been unthoughtful and unskillful. Psychiatry and psy- chotherapy (transliterations of two Greek words for "cure of the soul") claim to offer the deep truth that explains a human being. Beginning in the late 1960s, a biblical counseling movement sought to reclaim counseling for the church and provide a Christian alternative to mainstream psychiatry and psychotherapy. The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context is an informative and thought-provoking account of that movement. This book is an invaluable resource for those who want to understand the biblical counseling movement." - Publisher's Description
This video is a short interview with David Powlison about his book.
“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this book. The ‘counseling wars’ of the past half century have ignited passions often characterized by labels rather than by careful analytic thought. This is the first broadly comprehensive history of these developments. Although Powlison is one of the important players, he takes extraordinary pains not to misrepresent those with whom he disagrees. Above all, while trying to be open to truth and insight whatever their source (after all, the reaches of common grace are vast), Powlison faithfully argues that the Christian faith must play a constitutive role in building a robust model of Christian counseling. Amen and Amen.”- D. A. Carson, Ph.D., Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; author of The Gagging of God, Christ and Culture Revisited, and An Introduction to the New Testament
“I have watched with much interest the developments in Christian counseling over the past forty years. The issues discussed here are still very important, and this book is a good introduction to them. Even readers already familiar with this movement will learn new things. David’s book is entirely judicious, careful, and balanced in its treatment of Adams, his opponents, and the events affecting the biblical counseling movement. I hope the book attracts a large readership.”- John M. Frame, D.D., Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; author of The Doctrine of the Christian Life
HT: Justin Taylor
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
We are all theologians...
"We are all theologians, the question is whether what we know about God is true." -Josh Harris, Dug Down Deep"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer
This short, unique video gives you a picture of how we all ultimately have theological beliefs and why what we believe about God is incredibly important.
DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Bible Verses on Dating, Courtship, & Engagement
Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’”
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 “3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.”
James 1:19-20 “19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’" Romans 5:3-5 “3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Proverbs 12:4 “A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.”
Matthew 19:4-6 "4He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,5and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
Note...all of 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:40 is important to read and consider...but here are three excerpts:
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13"Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
1 Corinthians 7:8-11 " 8To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am.9But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11(but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife"
1 Corinthians 7:32-36 "32I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. 36If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. "
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Quote - Chuck Lawless
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Quote - Thom Rainer
Friday, February 12, 2010
Francis Chan - The Big Red Tractor - A Powerful Illustration
This short video is called "The Big Red Tractor" and is a children's story that Francis Chan wrote to illustrate the current condition of the Church. More than a children's story, it is a powerful and convicting illustration all Christians should consider. It is linked to a recent book by Francis Chan titled "Forgotten God."
The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.
Lecrae - "Far Away" for Haiti Relief
Friday, January 22, 2010
Quote - Christian Smith
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Reconciliation after Murder and Cannibilzation
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Helpful, The Edifying, The Lawful, & The Illicit
Genesis 2:16,17 “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Fast forward a little bit and we see mankind united in language with a desire to remain united in one location. This may not sound like a bad situation in itself, until it is revealed that they were all about making "a name" for themselves. They were about man's glory and not God's glory. The lineage and identity of being made in God's image was not enough for them. They decided to create an image and name for themselves.
Pictured: Pieter Bruegel's The Tower of Babel, 1563
Genesis 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”Over and over across Scripture we could read and learn messages of idolatry...pursuing the illicit in place of what is good and trustworthy, a walk with Christ. Yet, despite the many examples and exhortations we have not learned.
1 Corinthians 10:6,7 "6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters"
Americans, and many others in our world today, continue to desire evil. We have all we need and ridicously more, so we pursue the illicit. We pursue the unhelpful. We pursue the self-serving.
1 Corinthians 10:23 "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor."
Christian freedom is amazing when it is understood as freedom of the law through the forgiveness of sin. Unfortunately, for many of us, Christian freedom is abused as a tool of self-worship, self-indulgence, and self-service.
1 Corinthians 10:31 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
2 Corinthians 5:15 "and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
Lord show us where we desire, pursue, or practice the illicit and help us to turn from it. God, convict and forgive us of where we seek to make a name for ourselves, instead of holding your name high and lifted up. Jesus, may the freedom we have in your grace and mercy be used to your glory, living our lives consumed by a love of you and not a love of this world....living our lives in a way where we don't seek our own benefit, but instead seek to meet the needs of others.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Some saddening statistics:
- "every year 3million women in America deal with an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy"
- "42% of these pregnancies end in abortion"
- "there is no statistical difference in abortions among women who profess to be Christians and those who don't"
- "22% of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion"
- "in 2005 approximately 1.21million abortions took place in the U.S."
In my area, I am thankful for Clarity -Solutions for Women in Elizabethtown, KY and Crossway Pregnancy Resource Center in Radcliff, KY and the many people who have started, invested, and continued these amazing resources. Do you have a crisis pregnancy center in your area that you can support? If not, maybe the Lord will lead you towards starting one...
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."
HT: http://www.nambforlife.net/ & http://www.abort73.com/Friday, December 11, 2009
Teaching Your Children About Money

The Moon Jar is an excellent method for teaching your children the basics of financial stewardship. It takes the concept of a piggy jar and expands it into the three categories of saving, spending, and sharing.
A Christian parent could use this as a tool to teach their children how to apply several stewardship basics:
- Proverbs 13:11 "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. "
- 1 Timothy 6:6-10 " 6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
- Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave."
- Deuteronomy 16:17 "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you"
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 "6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver"
HT: Challies
Friday, December 4, 2009
“Overview of Corrective Discipline” by Tedd Tripp
Mars Hill Church shared a series of talks from their Biblical Parenting conference via online video so that all can benefit from it even if they couldn't attend.
“Overview of Corrective Discipline” by Tedd Tripp
HT: The Resurgence



