Some Random Thoughts

Just some thoughts, and I realize that some of these are generalizations:

Why does it seem that if a mother is killed while pregnant the person can be prosecuted for the death of the unborn child, and many people are, rightfully so, angry about it, but abortion is legal?

In the same line of thinking; Why does it seem that many of those that are against capital punishment think it is OK to murder (I know this is not a PC description) unborn children in the name of choice? By the way those sentenced to death made a choice as well.

Also, why is it that so many are for saving the environment but saving the unborn is a different story?

Do those that argue against legislating morality realize that all laws are some form or comment on morality?

How is it that the Dove Awards were sponsored, based on the short bit I saw on TV, by the movie Evan Almighty? What next, will it be sponsored by Oprah or Depak Chopra?

Also, why is it OK to mock the God Christians are to worship in film but if Mohammad or Allah were have the same done to them it would cause a riot? Actually this one says much about Christians that allow this to happen and actually often spend money to propagate it.

Why is the standard argument against homeschooling one that entails a complaint against socialization when the vast majority of public schooled, and many Christian schooled, kids spend inordinate amounts of time in front of TVs and video games? Now that is socialization.

On the same note, why is a standard argument for sending kids to public school that we need to evangelize the lost when the children themselves are in many cases are themselves lost? In the end the evangelizing that takes place is at our children and attempts to convert then to the secular humanistic philosophy of the world.

New 9Marks Blog

Well there is a new blog on the block (say that 10 time real fast).

Those of you who have read the great stuff at 9Marks Ministries will be glad to know they have a new blog called Church Matters. I am looking forward to the articles they will put out and would recommend adding this blog to your RSS reader.

All Books $5 - June 27-28 at DGM

If there are any books you want from Desiring God then next week is the time to buy as all their books will be $5 on June 27-28 from the Desiring God store.

Here are some suggestions:

Desiring God

God is the Gospel

Let the Nations Be Glad
Don’t Waste Your Life
What Jesus Demands from the World

6 Dangers to Avoid in Family Worship

Joe Thorn adds to his 5 Reasons to have Family Worship with 6 Dangers to Avoid in Family Worship. As with most things that are good, and called for by God, our sinful nature has a tendency to distort them and this can also be true of Family Worship, thus the dangers that can exist. However, simply because there is danger does not negate that we are called to practice family worship.

Around the Web and Blogosphere (6/16)

Joe Thorn writes on 5 Reasons to have Family Worship. Reason number one is that it is our responsibility as parents to train our children and not the churches, or for that matter anyone else’s. However, it seems so often that the church takes the same mindset that the government takes and that is that someone else is more capable of caring for our children that we are. We then get lazy and just accept this and hand over our duty and responsibility to someone else. Children are to be a blessing and not a curse so let’s try and live that way. Let us make family worship the norm rather than the anomaly it is n today’s church.

Matt Bullen at Blessed Family Ministries has some words from John Wesley: On Family Religion.

Tom Ascol of Founders Ministries writes on the latest SBC Annual meeting to just finish up in San Antonio: SBC-SA Wrap up: the good, the bad, and the confusing . I followed the convention to some degree over the internet and to tell the truth get more frustrated every year. Tom has tried for two years to get people to speak to his resolution regarding Integrity in Church Membership without success but the convention has no issue with pass a resolution on Global Warming. The conventions apparent desire to ignore the bloated rolls in its churches reflects a numbers mentality that is very discouraging. People speak on numbers of conversions and baptism and gain lots of applause but when the question of true conversion is brought up heads seem to turn away. Personally I think the convention is afraid that if it every tried to speak to the issue of integrity in membership and all of those that are not truly attending were purged from the numbers annually given the SBC would loose a very large number of members, who are not really there anyway. They would then no longer be the numerical force it purports itself to be and I believe this is not acceptable to the present leadership and the convention as a whole.

Check out the computer generated pictures and video of Ancient Rome put together by the University of Virginia at: Rome Reborn 1.0

Also at The Jerusalem Archeological Park you can get computer models of the Herodian Temple Mount

Establishing a Multi-Generational Vision of Faithfulness

Scott at These are the Generations of….. is writing on Establishing a Multi-Generational Vision of Faithfulness and so far in part one he has set down the need that is glaringly evident. I am looking forward to part 2 to see the solutions and methods he proposes as at the end of the day it is not enough to recognize a need unless we do something about it and that is where the rubber meets the road so to speak.

We would all do well to look at this topic with regards to our families as so often, and I am guilty of this, we just tend to plow along trying to do the best we can without any deep thought put into it. However, it is when we go to scripture and discover what we are called to do and then plan a biblical course of action that things are done in the most God glorifying Christ exalting manner.

The Literary Study Bible - ESV

Like I need a new bible but the new “Literary Study Bible” (ESV) from Crossway may be hard to resist. When I took my Old Testament class in seminary one of the many great things I learned was that we need to read the Bible as literature since that is the primary medium God has determined to use to convey His message to use. When we begin to see the Bible as literature, albeit divine literature, we will begin to better see the message God is conveying to us. Too often we read scripture in all the same manner, revelatory the same as narrative, and this will hinder our understanding of the word of God that is right in front of us. This may seem foreign to some but the idea is not to minimize the inspiration of the text but to better see what God has inspired or better yet expired, breathed out, (2Tm 3:16) out of the various authors in various literary forms.

You can look at more information about this bible here: Crossway "The Literary Study Bible"

Gaining Knowledge is Not the End of the Road

Heb 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

I have been teaching through Hebrews lately and have to truthful say that even though I have read Hebrews many times I have not seen as much as I have recently as I prepare weekly to teach from the book. Chapter one is a glorious passage where the writer of Hebrews expresses Christ’s superiority and in the process reveals his divinity and many other attributes. What is interesting is that when you get to 2:1-4 the writer takes a brief respite to exhort the reader, the hearer of the time and us to do more than take in information but to “pay much closer attention” to what has been heard.

This speaks volumes to the whole idea of Orthodoxy (right doctrine) and Orthopraxy (right practice). All too often we as believers in a desire to grow spiritually simply take in information with no outflow or result ensuing. We read the Bible, listen to sermons, read books and go to numerous conferences all to gather that next morsel of information but at the tend of the day we are not left time to put into action all that we have taken in.

We are a nation and world that hungers for facts and see the accumulation of knowledge as the salvation of all. How often have your heard that if a certain group only had more education they would be better off or that having more knowledge means having more power, While these adages may be true in some fashion they both ignore the work of God in all that we do and that we as a human race have a much bigger problem than a lack of knowledge.

I have even written, as have others, in the past that all too often this mindset that revolves around knowledge invades the Christian Homeschool movement and leads to people schooling at home rather than home schooling. This mindset does not see the Christian reason to Homeschool being the raising of godly children but instead sees raising kids smarter than public school kids as the goal. This is the mindset that says I want my kids to have more information that your kids. Again, I am not saying information is bad it is just where we place it in the priority of things than can be an issue.

What does it take for us to see that one of the results of the fall is take the sin nature of Adam and Eve leads us to desire to seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge? We are not to abandon knowledge as people have done in the past as an over reaction to just this problem but we are to seek knowledge for the Glory of God and that Glory comes from living out all that God indwells us with. If we were to truly to see that we are to do all for His glory I dare say we would have to ask, “why am I learning this” or “why am I going to this conference” or even, yes even this, “why am I reading the Bible.” If we simply read the Bible for readings sake and not transformation through the power of the Spirit we have missed the boat. We read scripture to know Christ and it is the knowledge of Christ that is to transform us.

So I would encourage you not to stop taking in knowledge but to always ask the critical question of why and this may help in making sure that we “pay closer attention to what we have heard” and read. Do not make knowledge the end all be all but go further to let the understanding that God gives outflow into the practice of our lives and from this we will begin to have both Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy

Added 6/7/07

My friend Matt Bullen let me know that Kevin Swanson had some similar thoughts on knowledge in his blog article: Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth

Free New Attitude 2007 Conference MP3s

If you are looking to download the free MP3s from the New Attitude 2007 conference you can also get them direct from the New Attitude website as the Sovereign Grace online store was so busy. Sovereign Grace Ministries also has a link to download the files directly.

New Attitude 2007 site

Sovereign Grace Ministries site

SBC 2007 Education Resolution

I was asked where the text of the 2007 Education Resolution that Voddie Baucham and Bruce Shortt submitted for the 2007 SBC Annual Meeting could be found; so for those interested you can get the text of the document here: 2007 Education Resolution.

Or you can go to Exodus Mandate Project and download it from there.

Around the Web and Blogosphere

Timmy Brister has provided a list entitled : A Chronological Survey of the Calvinism/Arminanism Controversy in the SBC in which he has links to the various articles that the list references. You can also go to his site – Provocations & Pantings for the link as well.

Tom Ascol has again submitted his resolution entitled: 2007 Resolution on Integrity in Church Membership. Let’s hope it is taken as seriously as it should at this years SBC Annual Meeting in San Antonio June 12-13.

Over at The World From Our Window there is a post entitled, You Tube Tuesday: Creation Museum Highlights that are about the new Creation Museum in Kentucky.

Here is information from Voddie Baucham on the SBC Education Resolution 2007. I would encourage you to read all of what he has to say before making a judgment on the call to remove our children from government schools. I am sure that this will not be popular for many but often the correct thing to do is not popular.

Dog Fighting and Abortion

What do these two have in common? Well initially one may say nothing at all but if you listen to much sports radio you may see that they both tend to show the world view of many people. First off I am not saying that everyone feel this way but there does appear to be a large number of people that seem to be comfortable with abortion but when it comes to harming animals that is a different story.

Recently Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons was connected with dog fighting. Whether he is guilty or not isn’t the issue but the number of people that are outraged that he would promote dog fighting is. Recently I have heard more outrage over the killing and injury to dogs than one would ever hear about the killing of babies. Now I would not condone dog fighting either but I would see the need for more outrage over abortion than I would over dog fighting.

To even make this clearer Clinton Portis a running back for the Washington Redskins commented that he did not see this as a big issue since what Vick did in private should not be an issue. His opinion led to more outrage that this would be his thoughts on the issue; I guess there are absolutes for those that do not like to say there are any. Are not Portis’ arguments much like those of the pro-abortion advocates as they center on the rights of individuals to do as they see is best for them, hence the mantle of ”Pro-Choice.” Obviously Portis feels that Vick should have the “Choice” to promote dog fighting if he desires to do so.

So, while I would never condone dog fighting it is deffintly interesting, and saddening, to see that the world has become so accustomed to the idea of abortion that other issues that are nowhere near as vile are more vilified. How a people can seek to save animals and spend huge sums of money to see if we have global warming and still argue over whether abortion, of any kind, is OK says much about our world and especially western society.

It really does reveal a schizophrenic society that one day bemoans the way we treat animals and the earth but the next argues that we should be able to abort babies at will so as to maintain the freedom of choice for the women, never mind the babies choice ( I forget the pro abortion people would never call them babies). People can walk around with signs that on one side may say “Save the Seals” but on the other “Keep Abortion Legal” if that is not schizophrenic then I am not sure what is.

When a people abandon the Bible as the "actual" word of God for their own understanding what we see in today’s culture should not be a surprise. This is why even professing Christians can claim that abortion may not be OK for them but is OK for others or that it is even OK for them in certain circumstances. So again while I am saddened by all of this I am not surprised at all.

2007 Family Integrated Church Conference - Houston

I will probably repeat this reminder a few times over the next few months so it is not just my fading memory that is showing itself if you see this again.

There will be a FIC conference hosted by Grace Family Baptist Church October 26-27 in Houston. My family and I are going and are throughly looking forward to it.

I can not say enough about how much Matt Bullen at Grace has been an encouragement as we move along in starting Sovereign Grace Christian Fellowship here in Southern California. As I have written on before Donna and I spent a few days with the Bullen family lat February and it was not only a great time of fellowship but we also were able to try and glean what we could from GfBC and how they are ministering to families in a God glorifying way. We also got time while there to speak to one of the other Elders, Paul Renfro, and his family, which was also very helpful.

Again check out the GfBC site and read about the conference.

Voddie Baucham’s New Book – Family Driven Faith

Voddie’s new book, Family Driven Faith, comes out June 11th from Crossway but as I pre-purchased the book from them they sent a PDF version so I have been able to read it already and it is very good. Donna, my wife, is way ahead of me and enjoying the book immensely and I have gotten through about chapter 2 and am also enjoying it. Now I say enjoying and in some ways that may not be the best word as often the book steps on my toes, which need stepping on, and this makes me, and will probably make others, a little uncomfortable.

The issue today is that Christians have become too comfortable in the world and we need books like this to awaken us out of our comfort zones. Those of you who have read or listened to Voddie know that he does not mince words and he does not do so here and in doing so he makes the call to reclaim our families from the world for God. I would encourage everyone to get this book.

Here is a link to Voddie’s site about the Book: Family Driven Faith

Here is the description from Crossway:

More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that 75 to 88% of Christian teens walk away from Christianity by the end of their freshman year of college. Something must be done.

Family Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society. Voddie Baucham, who with his wife has overcome a multi-generational legacy of broken and dysfunctional homes, shows that God has not left us alone in raising godly children. He has given us timeless precepts and principles for multi-generational faithfulness, especially in Deuteronomy 6. God’s simple command to Moses to teach the Word diligently to the children of Israel serves as the foundation of Family Driven Faith.

You can pre-purchase it at Crossway and get the PDF early.

2 More Texts from the Past on Families

Matt at Blessed Family Ministries Blog has added two more Jonathan Edwards texts on the family:

Jonathan Edwards on Family Relationships- Pt III

Jonathan Edwards on Family Relationships- Pt IV

Words from the past on family

Over at Blessed Family Ministries Matt has some writings by various people of the past on family. I would encourage you to check them out.

Baxter on Family Reformation
Whitefield on Family Worship
C.H. Spurgeon on Family
Susanna Wesley on Family
Jonathan Edwards on Family Relationships – Part I
Jonathan Edwards on Family Relationships - Part II

More on The Reformed Pastor Audiobook

Well I just finished the first two hours+ of The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter on my new FREE Audiobook from Christianaudio.com and there is only one word for what Baxter has to say, OUCH! Now it is a good type of OUCH but the bottom line is that Baxter took the duties of pastoring serious, as we should as well. In just the first two hours he deals with everything from how a pastor should view compensation to the Pastors role in guiding families, especially fathers, to have family worship to even the salvation of pastors. He also deals with the seriousness of the Pastor actually being the Pastor and not just the CEO of an organization as is all too common today.

I have read this book before, but some time ago and well before I was as involved in ministry as I am now, and remember some of the same feelings then but it is a different experience to listen to the words being spoken. There is a deffintly a disadvantage to listening to a book while driving to and from work as I can not take notes but in many ways that may be good. Listening without being able to take notes may help me to get a better overall feel for the message than too much focus, at least for now, on the more specific issues.

I cannot recommend this Audiobook and the actual book itself too highly.

Entering the world of Mac

Well this is totally unrelated to anything I have written on previously but I just entered the world of Mac. Actually since I can run Windows XP inside a window while running Mac I can be exposed to both evil empires at once. The lap top is really well made and things did run fine from the start as they promised. The loading of Parallels and XP was a little buggy but it ended up fine. Parallels allows me to be able to do the things Mac does best and I can still have my Bible programs,such as E-Sword, running in XP so I did not have to run out and get new ones of those. Time will only tell if it is better than Microsoft but so far so good.

I had to update this post as to some errors: It is Mac not MAC :) and Bradon, my Nephew, pointed out that therer is a similar free program to E-sword at The SWORD Project.

Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor - Free Audiobook

Over at Christianaudio.com the monthly free audiobook is The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter. I have downloaded the free MP3s from them before, even though I have not been able to listen to all of them, and they are a great way to listen to books that you just can not find time to read. You simply click through and sign up for a free account and place the book in you cart and then when you get to checkout put the coupon code, MAY2007, in the supplied box and then the purchase is free.

There are 7 files to download for the entire book then you either burn them to CDs or put them on an MP3 player, or both, to listen to them.

Enjoy!

Westminster Bookstore

For a good selection of reformed books, good prices and $5 shipping check out Westminster Bookstore. I have used them in the past and they were prompt in shipping the book I purchased as well.

I have to also admit that for every 50 people that check out their site through this link I can earn a gift certificate. You can do this to by signing up for their Blog Partners Program.