Head-dibs

This is the outline for the devotional I gave this morning at Orientation: 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “ Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” I. The scriptures teach our position in Christ. Ro 4:13-25 note v. 23-24"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned unto him; but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." A. The text: 1. Paul has just proved that Abraham was justified by faith, and makes the point that his justification was a pattern: It was not written for his sake alone. 2. The reason scripture contains this record was not for "for the record" of rote history a. to show that Abraham simply passed that way; b. to communicate something peculiar that relates only to him . . . 3. The reason scripture contains this record was to te...

KJV? NIV? Thomas Chain with the big red letters? Go And have fun with it!

" we already have a preacher for people who hate preachers; that would be Rick Warren, of course. How about a Bible for people who hate the Bible? Oh yeah, Eugene Peterson already thought of that. OK – How about a Jesus for people who hate Jesus? Oh, that’s right – Opie Taylor is bringing us The Da Vinci Code movie next year, isn’t he? I wonder if any of these former “churches” will host a special “Heresy Sunday” and show it on their big screens to help those addicted to false teaching?" Read the entire article here *************** I heard two beautiful, awesome, incredible things in church this morning: First, the pastor said, "Now everyone open your Bibles and turn to . . ." Second, was the rustling of hundreds of pages . . . AMEN!

Stupid Church Tricks "Four sets of parents are suing a church in Indiana for what happened at a New Year’s Eve lock-in. A youth leader chewed up a mixture of dog food, sardines, potted meat, sauerkraut, cottage cheese, and salsa, topped off with holiday eggnog. As if this spectacle were not disgusting enough (let the reader beware), he then spit out the mixture into a glass and encouraged the members of the youth group to drink it!" ( read the rest here ) Purple-Driven Haze: Rick Warren sings Jimmy Hendrix! "The "purple haze" incident (as i call it) is yet one more example of how willing (and apparently eager) warren's critics are to use anything and everything as an excuse to paint him as the worst thing that has ever hit the church. this controversy, in fact, is particularly absurd (in my opinion). yet it has now been circulated around the internet (usually with great excitement) as proof of what really lurks beneath the deceptive mask of false christian...

I saw this in the Baptist Press today: "NAVAJO NATION OVERRIDES VETO -- The Navajo Nation's tribal government voted 62-14 June 3 to override President Joe Shirley Jr.'s veto of a ban on "gay marriage." The vote means that "gay marriage" is now illegal on the largest American Indian reservation. Shirley had vetoed the ban in May, saying it was unnecessary."In the traditional Navajo ways, gay marriage is a big 'no, no,'" Navajo delegate Kenneth Maryboy, who voted for the ban, told the Associated Press. "It all boils down to the circle of life. We were put on the earth to produce offspring."" This event is notable for the Dine', but I could not help but notice the animistic comment at the end, referring to the "circle of life." President Joe Shirley graduated from Rehoboth School (a boarding school founded by the Christian Reformed Church--from which I also graduated) and may be a Christian. I don't know i...

About 10:30 at night my body shuts down so its off to bed I go. Last night, my darling wife sent me off to bed with a medley of ring-tone serenades. She was setting ring tones in the phone and my approach for our goodnight kiss was greeted by "Irish Eyes Are Smiling." She is really more German, but the effect was cute. We laughed. After enjoying the moment, she cued up the next tune on the phone list, "Love Me Tender." Oh, how cute, and other such remarks were exchanged. The next ring tone seranaded us with "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." Awwww. One final kiss, and I was off to bed . . . to the tune of "The National Anthem". (If you don't "get" the implications of the last tune, ask an older person about "The National Anthem" and late-night television.)

Monday, June 6, 2005 "We have figured out your problem. You're the only one here who believes in God." That statement, addressed to a young seminarian, introduces Dave Shiflett's new book, Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity. The book is an important contribution, and Shiflett offers compelling evidence that liberal Christianity is fast imploding upon itself. read the rest of the article here ************** Yet I could not help but notice the report of continuing rise of mysticism and blatant animism that prevails to influence many pastors today: per a poll issued by Barna, Rick Warren and his books " The Purpose-Driven Life " and "The Purpose-Driven Church" topped the list of typical pastor reading material, according to a study by The Barna Group released May 30. . . Other books cited by at least 2 percent of pastors included "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Phillip Yancey , " Wil...

Reading through my Bible during my quiet time, I was caught by the words of Romans 1:26, “ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.” The context of the verse is the rejection of God by the crown of His creation (both men and women) and the subsequent replacement of Him by man’s own creation; namely, the worship of himself and in this case, herself. What grabbed me was the word we have translated and use here as “nature.” Shouldn’t we expect Paul to have written, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the created function for that which against creation ”? Why is the word “nature” there? I thought “Nature” was a general reference to the Universe, only with God removed from the picture—an impersonal force that “controls” everything? This world considers “Nature” as the mother terra firma who drives the evolutionary cycle. Is “nature” the best word to...