You can go to the Life in a Shoe blog and they have a coupon so you can download the complete first Jonathan Park album called The Adventure Begins from Behmoth.com. The coupon is good until this Saturday so check out the Life in a Shoe site.
The Life in a Shoe blog also has a drawing for a $50 Behemoth.com gift certificate
This is a book every father, or father to be, needs to read. You do not have to have a daughter to read this book as it speaks to the issue of marriage and how as parents we need to be integral in the process of finding a spouse for our children. This is not by arranging marriages but making sure we do more than simply stand by and give empty approval. We need to raise sons worthy of marriage to our daughters and to raise daughters that know what God calls for in a spouse.
As with most reviews there is only so much one can cover and I cannot encourage you to read this book enough. There may be things that are counter cultural, such as seeing dating as detrimental to marriage, but that is not because the conclusion stated are wrong but because we are so influenced by current practices that anything foreign to them seem wrong. Many times choices need to speak out and Voddie is one of those voices.
The chapters in this book are:
1) Multigenerational Vision 2) The Mystery of Marriage 3) A Father’s Role 4) He Must be a Follower of Christ 5) He Must be Prepared to Lead 6) He Must Lead Like Christ(Eph 5) 7) He Must Be Committed to Children 8) He Must Practice the Four P’s - Protector, Provider, Prophet, Priest 9) Don’t Send a Woman to Do a Man’s Job 10)Can’t Find One…Build One
We are called not simply to bring forth daughters and sons into the world but to be used by God to mold them and then send them off in an appropriate manner. All too often in an effort to not appear to be “old fashioned” or out of touch with the present we send our daughters off to fend for themselves instead of being the father God calls us to be. Voddie sets forth not only sound advice but sound advice grounded in scripture. Scripture needs to be sought after not only for salvation but it is also sufficient for leading us in raising sons worthy of marring our daughters and daughters worthy to marry our sons.
I asked my sons the other day if they were the type of men that would be worthy husbands for their sister. Once the initial sounds of laughter ceased they got the point and that is we are not simply to be vigilant in raising daughters to marry in the Lord and in helping to find them worthy husbands. We are to also raise sons worthy of marrying when the time arises.
Again reading Voddie’s new book is for any father whether you have daughters sons or both. Read this book with a heart to see what God says about marriage and preparing our children for marriage. There may be, depending where you presently stand with regards to dating and courtship and the like, things that are uncomfortable but I would pray you would take from this book that the future of our sons and daughters are to be important to us and that often times this may mean difficult decisions need to be made for their good. If we rely on God and His principles instead of the world’s manner of things our families will be healthy and more God glorifying and they will then produce healthy and God glorifying families.
World Net Daily has an article about a girl in Toronto who won a speech contest with a speech that was against abortion. This story has sort of two directions. One is the boldness of the girl to stick with her topic even while being told, as her mother relates, "… if she went ahead with that topic, she would not be allowed to continue on in the speech competition."
The other story is that of the judges. The fact that the one of the judges quite and that initially the speech was disqualified before being reinstated as the winner says much. The boldness of this young girl is to be commended, may we all be so bold.
Below is the speech.
The one thing I would add, and this is not to take away from the young girl’s speech, is that the arguments used while good the truth is the main argument against abortion is that God values life and it is not allowed by God to abort the life He creates. I realize that for many this is not a valid argument or a convincing enough argument to use but simply because others do not accept an argument does not make the argument any less correct. We need to make sure as Christians we are not so influenced by the culture that we continually try to couch our arguments in the language of the world and thus avoid the only standard we can truly lean on and that is God’s standard as revealed in His word.
I just got a copy of Theonomy in Christian Ethics By Greg Bahnsen and if you are interested in understanding theonomy this is a good book to buy. The 25th Anniversary Multimedia Edition comes with a CD that not only has the book itself in PDF format but also has the following books: By this Standard, No other Standard, and House Divided. Also on the CD are other articles and 20 MP3 lectures of Dr. Bahnsen’s. I have not had a chance to start this book yet but am looking forward to it after reading By This Standard.
I just finished watching a documentary that was very good. It was called Binding Faith by Dondra Vaughn Maynor. The following is from the 2009 SAICFF:
“The “Best Biblical Family” Award went to Binding Faith, a documentary that chronicles the persecution that Christian missionary and minister, Dr. Ajai Lall, encountered when he sought to share his faith in northern India. Upon his arrival in Rajpura, Punjab, he is met with violent opposition from local religious extremists. Fearing a pending riot, the police chief forbids Ajai from preaching in the city. Not willing to be deterred, the ruling is challenged. The only way Ajai will be allowed to preach is if he first signs a contract stating if there is any disturbance among the crowd, the police will have the right to shoot him at sight. An inspiring and insightful look into life for our Christian brethren in India.”
The movie was shot on location in India and relates a story that lets us see that we in the US have it easy when it comes to sharing the gospel. The truth is I was convicted by the boldness of Dr. Lall in the midst of the trials he faced. I would encourage you to watch this video and realize that this is not just about the missionaries but also about the struggles and persecution those that come to know Christ must face to be obedient to share their faith.
You can purchase this video from Vision Forum: Binding Faith
Some time ago I wrote a series of posts on the church and various aspects of it. In September of 07’ I wrote The Church- A Multigenerational Gathering and on that post I linked to the other articles I had written on the church. I have noticed over time that often these articles are being read through searches on the church and more specifically on the Family Integrated Church. Due to this I have put the links below with a few additions.
Over the next year I will get back to my writing on the church, as God leads. It seems that we have lost the love for the church that we should have. After all, the church is seen in scripture as the Bride of Christ and while this can refer to the “invisible church” its “visible” manifestation is in the local church. So we need to see the local church as more than some sort of ritual or event we take part in but something we participate in out of our love and devotion to and for Christ. We often claim love for Christ but show no love for His church and from what I see in scripture those are not compatible attitudes and we need to ask God to give us the love for His church that He desires of us.
If you have not seen the new movie Pendragon: Sword of His Father you should as it is a very good movie from Burns Family Studios. This is yet another example of the quality, both in content and production, which can be produced on a limited budget and without compromising on godly values. This movie was made on a budget of $80,000 while an article from HSLDA shares that the average cost of a Motion Picture Association of America film was $106.6 million in 2007. In the HSDLA article Chad Burns shares that they have sold around 2000 DVDs and needs to sell 20,000 to get out of the red. I would encourage you to buy one of these DVD’s so that we can encourage others to follow in the footsteps of the Burns family and others such as the producers of The Widow's Might, another very good film produced on a minimal budget.
“Pendragon is about Artos, a young British warrior who must defend his native Britain against invading Saxons in 411 A.D. To do this, Artos must escape Saxon slavery, his own despair, and treachery.” (HSLDA article)
Thanks to the Truth in Love Blog post: Did Anyone See This Collapse Coming? Yup! For the videos below. Peter Schiff is shown in the videos below talking about a coming collapse (these are from as far back August of 2006) in our economy due to fundamental flaws in how our economy works. The many that scoffed at him should be embarrassed at the how they laughed at his predictions.
While there are many “fat cats” that have contributed to this economic “crisis” all too often that is used as an excuse to overlook the basic aspect of greed by Americans that has contributed to this current problem. If you build an economy on spending, and specifically spending on credit, it has to collapse sometime because sooner or later the bubble bursts. As Schiff relates in the midst of the videos the only true course of action is a tough pill to swallow but it is to allow our economy to naturally correct. Spending our way out of economic times such as these is foolhardy and actually very irresponsible.
I was saddened, but not surprised, as I listened to the President’s press conference Monday as all that I heard was the usual mantra from Washington: “We are the only one who can solve your problems” & “We need to spend more money to do it.” Again, while not surprised it was interesting to see the press never really ask tough questions such as: “Where is the money going to come from for all these plan’s.” One person came close when asking about our spending problems but the answer given by the President was laughable, he once again blamed everyone but us as a nation, and his answer was not questioned.
While the President could take time to remark about what lessons our children will learn from Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use he did not mention the lessons our children would learn from the Government. A lesson that they can spend now and contemplate the consequences later and when it comes to consequences the lesson is that there are none.
The government is not the answer. God has placed governments in place to protect the people and serve Him, the most important part, (Rom 13:1-7). However our government, as most in the world, does everything but serve God and instead seeks to have the people serve their whims and fantasies. When a government has no basis for what it does but relies on its “own understanding” (Prov 3:5-6) and does what is right in “its own eye’s” (Judges 21:25) you get the government we presently have and not the one that wrote our constitution.
Let us pray that our country sees the need to return to a standard that is not man’s but God’s. The truth is that even Peter Schiff misses the answer. Not that his economic principles may be correct but they need a foundation and that foundation must be the word of God, all of the word of God. Tough times are not new and God places His people in them to refine them and we may be in such a time. It is only principles firmly rooted in God’s word that have lasting affect and so that is where we are to turn and not to government. Let us pray that our government begins to see its true purpose, to serverGod and be used by Him for His glory.
Having recently signed up for Facebook I found Albert Mohler’s article: Facebook Turns Five: Thoughts on Social Networking to be one that may be helpful to those out there that are new to Facebook as well as those that have used it for some time. While it may be a way to communicate from what I have seen it can also be a way for people to disconnect from real relationships that are face to face. Also, it, as with many other technologies seems to be one that can begin to consume vast amounts of time if one is not careful. I encourage parents to take Dr. Mohler’s advice and be vary wary about letting children and youth use this medium without appropriate supervision.
Over at the Truth and Love blog is a post on college education: Searching for an Alternative College Education. Voddie endorses College Plus which I would as well from what I have been able to see of it from their website and a seminar I have been to. Also of interest should be Voddie “synopsis of a five-point sermon” he says his children have heard over and over and the points given are ones we should be sharing with our children and others as well.
You can download the messages from the 2009 Desiring God Pastors conference here.
Voddie Baucham has a new book out this month: What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. On his blog post, New Book to Launch Next Week, he mentions the importance of sales in the first weeks that in many respects decide how vendors will promote and sell the book. Any reader of my blog will know that I value Voddie’s messages and I am sure this book will be no different. Here is the description at the Crossway site:
Does it matter what kind of man our daughters marry? If so, how are we preparing them to choose the right kind of man? For those of us with sons, what are we doing to shape them into the kinds of men godly young women should be seeking?
All parents want their daughters to marry godly young men. But which qualities, specifically, should they be looking for?
What will you say when that certain young man sits down in your living room, sweaty-palmed and tongue-tied, and asks your permission to marry your daughter? What criteria should he meet before the two of them join together for life? What He Must Be… If He Wants to Marry My Daughter outlines ten qualities parents should look for in a son-in-law, including trustworthiness, a willingness to lead his family, an understanding of his wife’s role, and various spiritual leadership qualities.
Author Voddie Baucham follows up on his popular book Family Driven Faith with this compelling apologetic of biblical manhood. By studying the principles outlined in his book, parents who want their daughter to marry a godly man—as well as those who want their sons to become godly men—will be well equipped to help their children look for and develop these God-honoring qualities.
Here is the link to Crossway and below is a link to Amazon.
Thanks to Voddie for linking to the video below on Government. This is a 10 minute video that is well worth watching and sharing with others. It is a very good explanation of government and its right use. How many out there think we are a democracy but the truth is that the founding fathers set up a republic and this video does a great job of differentiating between them. Incorrect teachings about government and our government in particular have led to the state we are in today, one that heads towards total government control and the loss of the aim of the constitution, a true republic with the law of God as the basis for justice.
Over at Ketocton Baptists they have a copy of a letter by Doug Phillips wife Beal in response to a letter they received some years ago. In light of Mrs. Pelosi’s irresponsible comments lately this letter is very timely. Here is the question asked by the questioner and the beginning of Mrs. Philips response:
[Mr. Phillips] Your poor wife must be sick of popping out kids? Stop overpopulation! Use birth control for (expletive deleted)! Pitiful. Stop adding “freaks” to our society. Abstain. God would want you to (sic).
“Dear _, God bless you. This is Doug’s “poor” wife here writing to assure you that “popping out” kids, though challenging, is among the most glorious gifts that the Lord bestows upon a redeemed woman. ………”
Paul Vaughn has opened up a blog that has many good articles on economics: Full Quiver Financials. I alwaya appreciate Paul's vies onteh economy so am looking forward to reading what he has on this site.
Here is a Pro-Life add that as I understand it NBC decided not to show. It is definitely filled with irony considering the views on life of the person mentioned at the end.
Here is another free download:
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By Greg Bahnsen and if you are interested in understanding theonomy this is a good book to buy. The 25th Anniversary Multimedia Edition comes with a CD that not only has the book itself in PDF format but also has the following books: By this Standard, No other Standard, and House Divided. Also on the CD are other articles and 20 MP3 lectures of Dr. Bahnsen’s. I have not had a chance to start this book yet but am looking forward to it after reading By This Standard.
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