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

Top 5 Free Bible Study Resources

Here are my top 5 online, free Bible Study Resources:

http://www.gotquestions.org/ – Answers over 195,000 tough bible questions

http://www.biblegateway.com/ – A great way to compare translations or search for keywords in the Bible

http://www.4truth.net/ – An SBC website on interfaith, evangelism & apologetic resources

http://www.biblestudytools.com/ – FREE intralinear and parallel Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, concordances, enyclopedias, lexicons, histories, and more!

http://www.bibleplaces.com/ – Amazing photos and descriptions of Bible places (some free, more extensive collections for sale)

Self-control - Time & Technology

Joshua Harris, pastor of Covenant Life Church and author, shared a portion of his sermon this weekend via his blog. This short introduction to his sermon is filled with wisdom as we consider our own use of technology. Self-control in using technology is something I know I must continue to evaluate and be disciplined with in my own life, and I am thankful for Joshua's instruction from God's Word!

From Josh Harris' blog:
Yesterday I preached a sermon about self-control from Proverbs 25:28 that says, "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." I focused on the issue of media, the internet, and today's new technologies. I don't think I'm the only person who would identify this as an area where it's easy to lack self-control. I think a lot of us we could rephrase the words of Proverbs 24:33-34 about the sluggard and say, "A little web surfing, a little Facebook, a little folding of the hands around the smart phone and spiritual poverty will come upon you like a robber."

HERE is a link to the video embedded below:



The audio of his full sermon is available HERE