Head-dibs

Apparently while preaching one day John Wesley was alarmed to discover several members of his congregation had fallen asleep. "Fire! Fire!" Wesley suddenly cried whereupon the guilty parishioners jumped with alarm. "Where?" They demanded glancing around. "In Hell" Wesley replied, "For those who sleep under the preaching of God's Word." Get back on the Old Path here .

We observed the ordinance of baptism at our church, Calvary Chapel Lexington, on Sunday, May 25. Over 40 people were baptized. Here are a couple of videos from the celebration, starting with our pastor, John Hoppe III teaching: This is our daughter, Jannai, being baptized:

Saturday, May 24 was Kid's Day Columbia, a festival held annually in Columbia, SC. This is a summer kick-off day to come down the park, enjoy God's creation, play, enjoy music, maybe dance a little (for those who do), eat some "fair food" and ride some rides. Also, various vendors and groups were out providing parents a one-stop-shop opporunity to sign kids up for various camps. Our evangelism team was there, too. The girl standing in the picture below works for Parks and Recreation. She was taking a survey from the people on the bench. Our team talked to the people too. They are reading the "Big Money" tracks. I am really excited about the picture below. This is a picture of Tim (standing), talking to John. Tim has been coming out to share the gospel and I am excited to see God working through him. I had come up while they were already talking, but during the few minutes Tim was talking with John, the Lord had already been at work and I arrived just in tim...

New link added: Psychology Debunked . Thanks, Derek .

Hanegraaff, Hank. "Counterfeit Revival: Looking For God in All the Wrong Places". Nashville: Word, 1997. Hank Hanegraaff presents a telling work on the trend called “revival,” that is in fact no revival at all. Hanegraaff craftily guides us through the sections of his expose (in which he does not hesitate to name names) on this false sensationalism with the acronym FLESH, under which the chapters are found: Part 1: Fabrications, Fantasies and Frauds. Part 2: Lying Signs and Wonders Part 3: Endtime Restorationism Part 4: Slain in the Spirit Part 5: Hypnotism. While each section delves deep into the characteristics of so-called “revivalism,” the accounts found therein become repetitious, laborious and typical. In the 307 pages of this book, this reader found himself desiring to move on past recurring accounts of “holy laughter,” staged healings, animal noises, tongues, hoaxes and various states of so-called “Holy Spirit” manifestations, to the point of the book. Hanegraaff spen...

“Let me pull you by the sleeve, my Brothers and Sisters—you who say, ‘I am a Christian.’ You believe that God is ‘a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.’ Do you seek Him diligently? How much of the Scriptures have you read during the last week? How many hours have you spent in prayer? ‘Hours?’ you ask! ‘Say minutes.’ How much have you lived for God during the past month? What have you done with a distinct view to His Glory? What souls have you tried to win? What Truths of God have you tried to teach? What virtues have you tried to set forth? You say that He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”—do you despise the reward? Are you content with having made a profession of religion?” C.H. Spurgeon, “ What Is Essential In Coming To God ?” A sermon preached August 18, 1901.

“The twofold message of grace is: 1.) “All flesh is grass!” and 2.) “Behold your God!” This is the message that takes away all of the glory and dignity of the flesh and proclaims the redemptive Glory of Christ. The results of this message will be a sense of the awesome holiness of God, the inability and sinfulness of the flesh and the total sufficiency of the Person and work of Christ. Perhaps once again we will hear men and women cry, “Depth of mercy can there be, mercy still reserved for me? Can my God, His wrath forbear, and me, the chief of sinners, spare?” Rolfe Barnard (1904-1969)

10. Satan does not want me to. “ Behold, I give you authority . . . over all the power of the enemy .” (Luke 10:17-19) “ Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world .” (1 John 4:4) 9. (fill in the blank) does not believe in hell. “ I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death .” (Revelation 1:18) 8. (fill in the blank) will think I am stupid. “ He who wins souls is wise .” (Proverbs 11:30) 7. (fill in the blank) thinks I am intolerant. “ Jesus said to him, ‘" I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me .’” (John 14:6) “ And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved ." (Acts 4:12) 6. (fill in the blank) knows the scripture better than I do. “ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about M...

Pratt, Richard. Pray With Your Eyes Open . Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1987. (Click on title to see the cover and other information) Growing up in a Christian atmosphere, prayer was a common feature in both family and church settings. Also, Bible College and Seminary were significantly dotted with periods of focused prayer; however, through all the years of exposure to this hallmark of faith, only once in my experience has anyone provided personal instruction concerning the practice of prayer beyond an infrequent sermon on the subject or an occasional elective course offered in the academic settings mentioned above. One professor spent 30 minutes giving instruction on how to pray from the pulpit in two years of homiletics courses. Richard Pratt’s introduction to prayer is quickly becoming a classic, a standard on the principles of prayer. Through concise biblical instruction, Pratt reveals how a small view of God produces weak and narrow prayers. ...

"Whatever you believe is alright." "Everybody has their own beliefs." "Just so you believe something." These are sayings which you will hear from many people today. They sound nice, and help to make people feel good, since their own beliefs are said to be as valid as those of anyone else. "After all," some say, "can you really know anything for sure?" People who claim to have "the truth" are looked down upon as being arrogant and intolerant. For some reason, people can accept the idea that any religion is valid as long as it doesn't claim to be the only true religion! Do you know why that is? It's Satan's way of getting people to believe anything but the one thing that will remove his grip on their souls. It is not true that all religious beliefs are of equal value. It is not true that "Whatever you believe is alright." The very fact that "Everybody has their own beliefs" is what God says is man...

“ How may I have the faith to truly believe in Jesus Christ? I want to, it would make life much simpler . . . but without some sort of divine confirmation I don’t feel that I can truly believe the story of Jesus Christ as the Bible tells. I feel guilt over this. I am a sinner, and I do need God in my life. But how may I be positive that the story of the trinity is 100 percent correct? I feel I need a divine intervention to have unshakable faith .” (an e-mail from California) First, the Bible says that " it is by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast ." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith, grace and salvation all come from God. God promised He would supply it, so why mistrust Him when He has proved His own faithfulness? Does life get simpler when we believe? Well, Jesus did promise us abundant life, but that hinges on the fact that we turn from the sins He paid for on the cross--He died to pay the pena...

Here are the top 10 ugliest pictures of Jesus.

I’m excited because as I rub shoulders with students who will be staying around for the summer, I soon discover they have ministry plans. At least they are not sitting back on their haunches, licking their wounds from a semester of study (just kidding—but at least they are busy in ministry). Conversing with one student, I referred to a calendar of evangelism opportunities I have posted outside my office. “Yeah,” he tells me, “our church has blocked out a number of dates to be doing evangelism outreach through the summer. We’ll see you there!” That’s sweet. The other day I was driving through Columbia when something caught my eye. Standing in the parking lot of a local restaurant, three older gentlemen had their arms around each other’s shoulders, heads bowed, obviously praying. Right there in public! How encouraging! That was sweet. About 10 minutes down the freeway, I was lost in thought and found myself staring at a pick-up truck as it passed me on the left (I try was in the...

In the early 1900’s the great magician (“handcuff king” and jail-breaker) Harry Houdini researched court cases, interviewed police, detectives and criminals with the intent to make a contribution that would safeguard the public from fraud. In 1906 he published The Right Way To Do Wrong: An Expose of Successful Criminals . I found the first chapter very enlightening, answering the question, “Does it pay to commit crime?” ************ “This is a question I have often asked the chiefs of police and great detectives of every country in the world. How great are the money rewards of evil doing? Does a ‘good’ burglar have an income equal to that of a bank president? Can a pickpocket make more money than the fashionable tailor who makes the pockets? Is a gambler better paid than a governor? Can a shoplifter make more money than the saleswoman? In fact, does it pay to be a criminal, and, if so, how great is the reward for evil doing? I am aware that it is the general impression, considered simp...

by Bob Holmes Commencement exercises for the Columbia International University Graduate School and the Columbia International University Seminary & School of Missions will take place on May 17 at 9:00 a.m. in Shortess Chapel on the campus of CIU. CIU president, Dr. William H. Jones will confer degrees on 132 candidates. The candidates include students from 12 foreign countries. Degrees range from certificates to master’s degrees to doctorates. David Neff, vice president and editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today media group will be the commencement speaker. Neff works with Christianity Today magazine, Christian History & Biography, Books and Culture, and several web-based publishing efforts. In his 23 years at CT, Neff has written on topics as diverse as physician-assisted suicide, English evangelicalism, climate change, and sexual addiction. Before coming to Christianity Today, Neff served as an editor for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He was also involved in the launc...

A North Carolinian asked, “ how did his father raise him up from the dead? Does Jesus have power? ” I think I can answer both questions by looking at WHO Jesus is; that is, Jesus is plainly and clearly identified as being God. Consider a few things that are said of God in the Old Testament and what is also said of Jesus in the New Testament: He is the Creator ( Psalm 102:24-27 and Hebrews 1:10-12 ); He was seen by Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1-4 and John 12:41 ); He was preceded by a forerunner ( Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:3 ); He disciplines His people ( Numbers 21:6ff and 1 Corinthians 10:9 ); He is Holy ( Isaiah 8:13 and 1 Peter 3:15 ); He leads the captives ( Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8 ); He is the object of faith ( Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:9 and 13 ). This is my favorite passage: Look at Revelation 1:8 —who is speaking? Now look at Revelation 22:13 —who is speaking, and what does He call Himself? Finally, turn back to Revelation 1:17 —who is speaking? Now look at the next verse, Reve...

I received the following from Nigeria, “ I need to know if re-incarnation is real and scriptural backups to its reality as in the sense of a man dies and can come back again in another flesh to live normal life .” People are created in God’s image ( Gen. 12: 7 ). The body’s physical resurrection and eternal worth are emphasized in John 2:18–22 and 1 Corinthians 15 . The Bible declares, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” ( Heb. 9:27–28 , KJV). Since we die only once, reincarnation cannot be true. Instead of reincarnation, the Bible teaches resurrection ( John 5:25 ). At death, Christians enjoy a state of conscious fellowship with Christ ( Matt. 22:32 ; 2 Cor. 5:8 ; Phil. 1:23 ) to await the resurrection and heavenly reward. A person’s eternal destiny is determined by his or her acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord ( John 3:36 ; Rom. 10:9–10 ). (by Ray Comfort, in The Evide...

A Nigerian wrote me with the following question, “ Yes, I have many questions concerning some teachings of the Bible. On the issues of tithe, Mal. 3 vs 10 downward . . . the issue of ‘robbing God’ and ‘God placing course [curse]’. . . how do you justify it? Is it because paying tithe and offering has become so paramount and compulsory that God has to go to the length of placing cause [curse]? Or maybe there is other interpretation? This fact is confusing a lot of believers in Nigeria .” This is a confusing subject for many even here in America. Please bear with my long answer: It was once said that the wallet is the "last frontier"-- that it’s the last thing that comes to God in surrender. But it should be the first, along with our surrendered heart. Jesus spoke much about money. He said that we cannot serve God and mammon (see Matthew 6: 24). The word "mammon" was the common Aramaic word for riches and it signifies "that which is to be trusted." In other ...

An essay against binding the conscience with regard to practices which cannot be proved from Scripture. Read it here .

It was in 1914 that President Wilson signed the first Mothers' Day Proclamation, setting aside the second Sunday of every May to be observed "as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." Of course, love and reverence should be shown daily, and in the Bible we have many mothers mentioned whose faithful devotion to the Lord and to their children gave reason for high honor by God who has set them forth in His Word as examples for mothers today. One such example is Jochebed, the mother of Moses. Jochebed means, "The Lord is glorious." This would suggest that she highly esteemed Jehovah and gave Him first place in her heart. This was the motivation for her successful motherhood. Also, we notice that she was in accord with her husband, Amram. They were both of the tribe of Levi, which means "joined." How essential it is that mother and father be one in setting the direction for the course of their children. From Exodus 2,...

I received the following question the other day via e-mail: “ Shouldn't we pray to God and ask him nothing in return? The same applies to Jesus. I read something about thanking him for dying on the cross and asking him for eternal life. Wouldn't it be better to thank him and not ask for anything ?” Here is my response: You bring up a very good point about prayer. How selfish of anyone to think that God’s only purpose is to answer prayer, like “I love God and have a wonderful plan for HIS life.” That would really be idolatry, as God is not out to serve our every whim. Though Christians must have hearts set on God as this is part of our relationship with Him, we must guard against praying with the wrong attitude. Prayer is not an attempt to get God to agree with us or provide for our selfish desires but is an affirmation that He is in control, that He is righteous and deserves the worship that is rightfully His . . . HOWEVER, He has made it plainly clear that our desires and purp...

John Piper, an antique? Still reads good, though!

1. The Chapel Library of Mount Zion Bible Church. A Ministry of Mount Zion Bible Church in Pensacola, FL. Some sound files online. Their Entire Bible Institute Curriculum is found online here . Also, all their Free Grace Broadcasters are online and are excellently topically divided. 2. Christian Classics Ethereal Library . Classic Christian books in electronic format, selected for your edification. There is enough good reading material here to last you a lifetime, if you give each work the time it deserves! All of the books on this server are believed to be in the public domain in the United States unless otherwise specified. Copy them freely for any purpose. Outside of the US, check your local copyright laws. 3. Firefighters for Christ . Many sermons are on the CDs (sent without charge, postage paid). More available than you can listen to in a lifetime in the archives . 4. Monergism . “This site is an attempt to direct the user to classic articles and resources of historical orthod...

My friend over at Church of the Kharma Futures sent me this link to A Templeton Conversation: Does science make belief in God Obsolete? Here are two immediate thoughts: 1) Since "science" means "knowledge" (thus "conscience" means "with knowledge"), God would say the answer is "no." In other words, man already knows that God IS. God contributed his article in Romans 1:18-32 in one place among many. To reject Him is to take what man already knows to be true and make for himself a god of his own understanding (thus breaking the 2nd commandment). Science assumes that man have two eyes and a brain that can think. To reject God is unscientific; that is, close the eyes, stop thinking and become a moron (that's the Greek word for "fools" used in verse 22); 2) If science (impersonal) could make obsolete God (personal), what would the results be? I firmly believe that Mary Shelley answered that question 41 years before Darwin pub...

Saturday, May 3 was our local Cinco de Mayo celebration at Finlay Park in Columbia, SC. Many consider Cinco de Mayo to be Mexican Independence Day but this is only correct to a certain point. Mexican Independence Day is actually in September. Visit Viva Cinco de Mayo (just one site among so many) for a brief history of the celebration. I was blessed to have friends join me from Calvary Chapel Lexington and Columbia International University for a day of evangelism in the park. Overall, I estimate we were able to distribute at least 600 tracts—I am sure much more were distributed, but I did not count. Below, watch Steve pass out Millions: This is Kel, passing out tracts. He’s cool. I’m glad he came along and I am excited to see what God is going to be doing in his life as he learns to share the gospel. A minute or so after this video was captured, a lady came down the steps and was handed a Million Dollar Bill. Her eyes grew wide, “Is this real?” She asked, almost breathle...

Do you understand what it means to be outside the camp, but within the veil? Malcom Wild, of Calvary Chapel Merritt Island , preached this powerful message on the importance of the torn veil at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful perspective that touches on worship from a pastor with a musical background. Put this wonderful message on your IPod. Click here for Malcom’s intriguing bio. Better yet, share it with others! This makes a great evangelism “closer.”

by Bob Holmes The 2008 commencement exercises for the Undergraduate School at Columbia International University will take place on Saturday, May 3. The ceremony will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Shortess Chapel on the campus of CIU. CIU President Dr. William H. Jones will present degrees to 100 graduates, including the Bachelor of Science degree, Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bible Certificate. The commencement address will be delivered by Sinclair B. Ferguson, senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, S.C. and professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary . A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, Ferguson is the author of two dozen books, numerous articles and has contributed to various symposia. His writing interests have ranged from works of scholarship to books for children. Ferguson has also served as minister of two congregations in Scotland. The ceremony will include the new CIU tradition of presenting a bag of seeds to each g...

Click here to listen to a 3-minute URGENT call to prayer by George Verwer. This clip was taken from the end of this message spoken in America in 2005 about the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). May we all take prayer more seriously have establish prayer meetings in the church again. (ht: Greg at Sermon Index )