2010 European Virtual History Tour & MP3 Collection

If you could not make it to the Vision Forum Faith and Freedom Tour across Europe this may be the next best thing: The 2010 European Virtual History Tour & MP3 Collection, for $59 (Special offer ends May 3, 2010 ):

This special package allows you and your family to gain new understanding, context, and inspiration by receiving in-the-field video highlights from this historic tour across Europe, and be the first to hear the messages on MP3 from our journey (receive over 40 messages at the special pre-tour package price).

The tour begins on May 2, and runs through May 15.

Here is what you get with your Online Tour Pass:

1. Daily Lectures and Messages: Exclusive daily video messages from the locations that built Western Civilization on subjects ranging from military history to theology to architecture;

2. Interactive Study Course: You can send your questions in to our teachers who will answer many of them via video which will be posted and made available through a private link;

3. Study Material: During the tour, we will pose regular study questions and direct you to additional resources to expand your studies;

4. Advance MP3 Collection of all the audio recorded in the field;*
*The live recordings from the field will be unedited.

To sign up you can do so here: 2010 European Virtual History Tour & MP3 Collection (Special offer ends May 3, 2010. )


Virtual Tour and Online Study Course from Vision Forum.

All We Need is Love?

Repost From American Covenanter

All We Need is Love?

Dead men speaking from the grave on modern heresies

By Horatius Bonar, 1809-1889

Some speak as if the servant were greater than the Master, and the disciple above his Lord; as if the Lord Jesus honoured the Law, and His people were to set it aside; as if He fulfilled it for us, that we might not need to fulfill it; as if He kept it, not that we might keep it, but that we might not keep it, but something else in its stead, they know not what.

The plain truth is, we must either keep it or break it. Which of these men ought to do, let those answer who speak of a believer having nothing more to do with Law. There is no middle way. If it be not a saint's duty to keep the Law, he may break it at pleasure, and go on sinning because grace abounds.

The word duty is objected to as inconsistent with the liberty of forgiveness and sonship. Foolish and idle cavil! What is duty? It is the thing which is due by me to God, that line of conduct which I owe to God. And do these objectors mean to say that, because God has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, therefore we owe Him nothing, we have no duty now to Him? Has not redemption rather made us doubly debtors? We owe Him more than ever; we owe His holy Law more than ever; more honour, more obedience. Duty has been doubled, not cancelled, by our being delivered from the Law; and he who says that duty has ceased, because deliverance has come, knows nothing of duty, or the Law, or deliverance. The greatest of all debtors in the universe is the redeemed man, the man who can say, 'The life that I live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.' What a strange sense of gratitude these men must have, who suppose that because love has cancelled the penalties of the Law, and turned away its wrath, therefore reverence and obedience to that Law are no longer due! Is terror, in their estimation, the only foundation of duty, and when love comes in and terror ceases, does duty become a bondage?

'No,' they may say, 'but there is something higher than duty, there is privilege; it is that for which we contend.'

I answer, the privilege of what? Of obeying the Law? That they cannot away with; for they say they are no longer under Law, but under grace. What privilege, then? Of imitating Christ? Be it so. But how can we imitate Him whose life was one great Law fulfilling, without keeping the Law? What privilege, again we ask? Of doing the will of God? Be it so. And what is the Law but the revealed will of God? And has our free forgiveness released us from the privilege of conformity to the revealed will of God?

But what do they mean by thus rejecting the word 'duty', and contending for that of 'privilege'? Privilege is not something distinct from duty, nor at variance with duty, but it is duty and something more; it is duty influenced by higher motives, duty uncompelled by terror or suspense. In privilege the duty is all there; but there is something superadded, in shape of motive and relationship, which exalts and ennobles duty. It is my duty to obey government; it is my privilege to obey my parent. But in the latter case is duty gone, because privilege has come in? Or has not the loving relationship between parent and child only intensified the duty, by superadding the privilege, and sweetening the obedience by the mutual love? 'The love of Christ constraineth.' That is something more than both duty and privilege added.

Let men who look but at one side of a subject say what they will, this is the truth of God, that we are liberated from the Law just in order that we may keep the Law. We get the 'no condemnation', in order that 'the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us' (Rom. 8:4). We are delivered from 'the mind of the flesh', which is enmity to God, and not subject to His Law, on purpose that we may be subject to His Law (Rom. 8:7), that we may 'delight in the Law of God after the inward man' (Rom. 9:22), nay, that we may 'with the mind serve the Law of God' (Rom. 7:25),that we may be 'doers of the Law' (James 4:11). These objectors may speak of obedience to the Law as bondage, or of the Law itself being abolished to believers; here are the words of the Holy Ghost. The Law of God is just the Law of God, that very Law which David loved, and in which David's Son delighted; and it would be well for such men meekly and lovingly to learn what delighting in it, serving it, doing it are.

'Do we make void the Law by faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the Law' (Rom. 3:31), that is, we set it on a firmer basis than ever. That Law, 'holy, and just, and good,' thus doubly established, is now for us, not against us. Its aspect towards us is that of friendship and love, and so we have become 'the servants of righteousness' (Rom. 6:18), yielding our members servants to righteousness (Rom. 6:19). We are not men delivered from service, but delivered from one kind of service, and by that deliverance introduced into another, 'that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter' (Rom. 7:6), as 'the Lord's freemen' (1 Cor. 7:22), yet Christ's servants (1 Cor. 7:22). Thus obligation, duty, service, obedience still remain to the believing man though no longer associated with bondage and terror, but with freedom, gladness and love. The Law's former bearing on us is altered and, with that, the nature and spirit of the service are altered, but the service itself remains, and the Law which regulates that service is confirmed, not annulled.

Some will tell us here that it is not service they object to, but service regulated by law. But will they tell us what is to regulate service, if not law? Love, they say. This is a pure fallacy. Love is not a rule but a motive. Love does not tell me what to do; it tells me how to do it. Love constrains me to do the will of the beloved one; but to know what that will is I must go elsewhere. The Law of our God is the will of the beloved One, and were that expression of His will withdrawn, love would be utterly in the dark; it would not know what to do. It might say, 'I love my Master, and I love His service, and I want to do His bidding, but I must know the rules of His house, that I may know how to serve Him.' Love without law to guide its impulses would be the parent of will-worship and confusion, as surely as terror and self-righteousness, unless upon the supposition of an inward miraculous illumination, as an equivalent for law. Love goes to the Law to learn the divine will, and love delights in the Law, as the exponent of that will; and he who says that a believing man has nothing more to do with Law, save to shun it as an old enemy, might as well say that he has nothing to do with the will of God. For the divine Law and the divine will are substantially one, the former the outward manifestation of the latter. And it is 'the will of our Father which is in heaven' that we are to do (Matt. 7:2), or proving by loving obedience what is that 'good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God' (Rom. 12:2). Yes, it is 'he that doeth the will of God that abideth for ever' (1 John 2:17). It is to 'the will of God' that we are to live (1 Peter 4:2), 'made perfect in every good work to do His will' (Heb. 13:21), and 'fruitfulness in every good work' springs from being 'filled with the knowledge of His will' (Col. 1:9,10).

God's Way Of Holiness. Horatius Bonar. Evangelical Press 1979, 12 Wooler Street, Darlington, Co. Durham, DL1 1RQ, England. First Published 1864. Pages 68-88.

The Saint and the Law. Horatius Bonar.
http://www.gospelpedlar.com/articles/Christian%20Life/saintlaw.html

Teach Me, O Lord, Thy Way of Truth

Below is a hymn I came across in the Trinity Hymnal that I had not sung before, but will from now on:

Teach Me, O Lord, Thy Way of Truth - #451
From Psalm 119:33-40

Teach me, O Lord, thy way of truth,
And from it I will not depart;
That I may steadfastly obey,
Give me an understanding heart.?

In thy commandments make me walk,
For in thy law my joy shall be;
Give me a heart that loves thy will,
From discontent and envy free.?

Turn thou mine eyes from vanity,
And cause me in thy ways to tread;
O let thy servant prove thy Word
And thus to godly fear be led.

Turn thou away reproach and fear;
Thy righteous judgments I confess;
To know thy precepts I desire;
Revive me in thy righteousness.

Denominations or Associations?

I recently finished reading Denominations or Associations?: Essays on Reformed Baptist Associations edited by James M. Renihan and highly recommend this book .

I have always struggled with the autonomous view of ecclesiology that many Baptists hold to. To me it never seemed to hold up to what we see of the early church in Acts 15. It seems from scripture that while the local churches were not dependent on other churches they were in some fashion interdependent as Acts 15 shows. This interdependency is sadly lacking in the Baptist church today and even in Reformed Baptist circles. I have for some time thought that there needed to be a manner in which churches interacted that was more scriptural. That manner of interaction is clearly put forth in this book.

The book is made up of a number of essays that touch on various aspects of how Reformed Baptist churches should associate and most involve the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and article 26 that deals with The Church, specifically section 15:

26:15. In cases of difficulties or differences, either in point of doctrine or administration, wherein either the churches in general are concerned, or any one church, in their peace, union, and edification; or any member or members of any church are injured, in or by any proceedings in censures not agreeable to truth and order: it is according to the mind of Christ, that many churches holding communion together, do, by their messengers, meet to consider, and give their advice in or about that matter in difference, to be reported to all the churches concerned; howbeit these messengers assembled, are not intrusted with any church-power properly so called; or with any jurisdiction over the churches themselves, to exercise any censures either over any churches or persons; or to impose their determination on the churches or officers.
( Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 25; 2 Corinthians 1:24; 1 John 4:1 )

In looking at this section it becomes clear that the word “communion” used in the context of the time refers to an association of churches that went far beyond simply eating together or partaking in some variety of activities. This association, or communion, instead extended to the he health and vibrancy of the church by having a mutual association that in many ways contradicts the often over emphasized autonomy of the local church we see today.

The book looks at the time of the LBC and shows the thinking of such associations as the Abingdon Association (1652). It is in looking at scripture the LBC and the associations of the time that we get a clear picture that the Baptist church, particularly Reformed Baptist churches, of today has moved away from its moorings. It is a move that needs to be reversed for the church to be what God intendeds it to be; an interdependent family of believers and not the independent autonomous group it often is. I think this independence not only affects the church as a whole but the mindset begins to filter down to the individuals and creates issues at that level as well.

I highly recommend this book and would pray that this is the direction the church, and especially Reformed Baptist Churches, would head.

Great Authors Webinar Series

Vision Forum is having a Great Authors Webinar Series from April 15th to May 27th:

Gather your family for seven engaging evenings of learning online as part of Vision Forum’s exclusive Great Authors Webinar Series. Hear live lectures from seven leading authors discussing their timely books, and engage in interactive Q&A — all part of an intimate online discussion with your favorite Christian authors. A valuable supplement to any home school program, this special webinar series offers a great opportunity for families to study important subjects together — a powerful educational tool for home education, church, and family.

The Great Authors Webinar Series — featuring Doug Phillips, Dr. George Grant, Dr. John Morris, Douglas Bond, Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr., Kevin Swanson, and Dr. Voddie Baucham — will cover a broad range of topics: from biblical economics to creation apologetics; from an inside look into the lives of important culture-changers such as Margaret Sanger and John Calvin, to practical points of cultural and family reformation, and more.

• April 15 – Doug Phillips – Why Poetry Matters — Poems for Patriarchs
• April 22 – Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. – Biblical Economics and the Christian Family
• April 29 – Dr. John Morris – The Truth about the Fossil Record
• May 6 – Dr. George Grant – The Most Dangerous Woman of the 20th Century
• May 13 – Douglas Bond – The Wonderful and Mysterious Life of John Calvin
• May 20 – Kevin Swanson – The Future Christian Republic
• May 27 – Dr. Voddie Baucham – How to Be a Man

You can also get the books spoken of in the webinar at a discount if you order them when you register.  Of course you can buy the set separately but the cost when registering for the seminar is much less.

The Ah the Life blog is having a drawing to give a free passe to this series.

Coming Soon: The Documentary IndoctriNation

Trailer for Colin Gunn’s new documentary IndoctriNation.




Some other clips from the IndoctriNation website:





You can see more clips on the website, here.

Thoughts on Resurrection Day

As we approach Resurrection Day I wanted to leave you with some thoughts for tomorrow:

Remember that just as God called the Hebrews out of their bondage to the Egyptians to come worship Him (Ex 5:1-3) and to be made His people (Ex 6:7) He calls us out of our bondage to worship Him and be His people. Thus the cross is not about us but about God and His work through Christ’s life, death, burial and resurrection to call a people to Himself to worship Him. Let us not be so inwardly focused to forget the true focus is to be on God not us. I fear that all too often Resurrection Day ends up, in reality, being about us and not God.

While the cross is a gruesome thing I think that often we lose sight of how truly horrendous it was when we simply focus on the act of crucifixion. This is not to minimize its painfulness and its humiliation but to say there is much more going on than the torture that is often depicted in movies. Yes it was painful and a disgrace to be crucified but many men died such a painful and humiliating death. Yes, this act is heightened by it being done to the Son of God but we need to see more of what is going on. The true pain and suffering we need to realize was the fact that on the cross Christ took on the sins of His people (1 Ptr 2:21-24); past, present and future. The pain of those sins is so much more than the external pain we so often focus on. This is what we need to see and realize when we think of the cross. It is because of this great sacrifice we can come to God through Christ who was not only the final High Priest (Heb 4:14) but also the final sacrifice(Heb 9:24-26).

As far as celebrating Resurrection Day we need to realize that we in effect are to do this every time we take of the Lord’s Supper. We should have the same desire to remember all that God has done in His Son when we partake of the elements of the Lord’s Supper that we have on Resurrection Day. The Lord’s Supper should remind us that God in sacrificing His Son (Is 53) has allowed us to draw near to Him (Heb 4:16; 7:19; 10:22). As with the various celebrations God instituted in His word they were to be reminders and not the only times to contemplate what God has done. Let his be true of Resurrection Day and for that matter the Lord’s Supper. Let us remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for His people daily by lives which are to be lives of worship. Lives that offer up continual worship to Him because of what was done on the cross (Heb 13:15).

I am sure there is more that could be said but these are some thoughts that come to mind on the eve of this year’s Resurrection Day.

“He has Risen”

Genesis 36 - More than a list of names

Today we looked at Genesis 36.  This is one of those passages that we often gloss over.  We often read though passages such as this with lots of names and struggle with their pronunciation and wonder what this all has to do with anything.  To do that is to miss what God has for us to hear.

As I prepared for this passage it took a number of readings through and much study before it became clear.  This passage, among other things, creates a contrast with that of Joseph to follow and in truth also the life of Jacob that has passed.  While Esau and his descendants are shown as numerous and powerful Jacob and his descendants are wandering around and even in bondage. 

In reading the passage you may wonder who it is that is blessed.  But we know it is the line of Jacob that is of the promise.  Esau is the one that looks successful from the outside as this passage makes much of him.  The world desires to make much of itself and sees outward success as Esau had as what the aim of life is to be about.  The truth is we are to live lives that make much of God, who is absent from this chapter.  We are to make sure that all we do is done for God’s glory and not ours.

Another contrast that is seen is that Esau is said to have had children that were all born in Canaan (V5 ) but he would move out of the promise land to Seir.  Jacob on the other hand had children born outside the promised land but had taken them back there.  The message is that no mater what ones family looks like on the outside if we are leading them away from God what it looks like on the outside is of little matter.  Let us make sure that is what we are doing, leading our children towards God and not away.

These are just some of the things I found in the passage that initially looked like not much more than a list of names.  So, the next time you read this passage step back from your struggle with the names and notice that Moses is accentuating all that Esau had to let us see that was all he had.  His descendants contained chiefs and kings but Jacob would be the line through which the King of kings would come.

If you would like to hear the message from this week you can get it here:  Esau is made Much Of.

Kevin Swanson on Eschatology

Eschatology – One Big Rat Nest from Kevin Swanson on Vimeo.

You can also get the audio here.

Some Thoughts on Dominion

Matt 28:19-20  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
This is not a call for only the 1st century and it is not an empty call for any other century. If Christ has called us to do this, “make disciples of all nations,” He has called us to do what is possible. It may be a long and arduous road but it is one that is to be traveled by His power and for His glory. We are to seek to disciple the nations and teach them to “obey” and that obedience is accomplished by a work of God, but it can be accomplished by His people seeking to obey Him in making disciples.


Matt 6:9-13 "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

This passage is speaking not simply of some future event, "this day", to pray for but what the disciples were to pray for and seek after then as we are to pray and seek after now. We are to pray for His kingdom to be manifested in and though His people which is then exhibited in their works as James makes abundantly clear. The result of God’s people living out His word, all of it, in the world by His power is a changed world. The first century Christians changed the world by their lives can we and should we not do the same. Dominion starts with God having dominion over his people and then moves out from there.


2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Of course this change starts by God's power in the hearts and minds of His people by God's writing of His law on their hearts (Jer 31:31ff). This is a changed heart is one that radically transforms God’s elect. 2 Cor 5:17 is not a simply a wish but a reality accomplished by the hand of God and is where dominion begins. This change does not end with the individual but is to extend to all of God’s creation as He uses His people as the means to bring all things under His rule. We are to realize that the dominion and the change that God desires is wrought by Him by the means of the Spirit and the work of His people for His glory.

Dominion is not a word to fear but one to embrace as the call of His children.

Around the Web and Blogosphere (3/12/10)

For those of you like our family that were not able to attend, and even those that did, the Family Economics Conference put on by Generations with Vision the audio of the sessions is not available. You can get the MP3s of all 19 talks for $34.95 or the CD’s for $54.95. If you are more visual and would like to see the speakers you can DVD’s of 10 of the talks for $74.95 or they have a package deal for the CDs, MP3s and DVDs for $109. We have ordered ours and are very much looking forward to listening to them and I will post more on them once I have listened to the talks.

With the census fast approaching and the government further intruding into our homes here is article with at least one option for the census: Census Law. Also here is a link to Kevin Swanson sharing some thoughts on the census: Guns and Census:Honor to Whom Honor is Due. We all have to make our own decisions but one thing is clear, especially with the extended survey some may get, the government wants to know about you. This is clearly not one of its functions as Romans 13 shows but it is simply the direction the state heads when it sees itself as god. But, the true God already knows us, even the hairs on our head (Matt 10:30), and does not need a census to know these things.



The March Welcome to the Continuing Collapse (Exposing Government Schools: The Youth Ministry of the State Church of Secular Humanism) by Bruce Shortt has been posted.



Many in the professing church today have no problem separating Christ from government. However, Romans 13 says that government officials are to be ministers or servants of God and thus as believers should we not want to vote for the most biblically qualified men to be those ministers? Can God use the pagan for His purposes,of course. But our duty as believers should be to have godly qualified men as leaders, men who seek Christ and His will first and foremost. As this article articulates: It is Insanity Without Christ and presently many in the professing church are continually voting for insanity.



As a reminder: At Vision Forum until March 12th there is a sale on a great History Resource, The Expanded History of the World Mega-Pack Curriculum. We have a few of the items in this set and they are very good. The entire set includes 10 DVD's, 64 CD's and a Study Guide. The sale price is $165 which is 55% off.

The Expanded History of the World Mega-Pack Curriculum Sale

At Vision Forum until March 12th there is a sale on a great History Resource, The Expanded History of the World Mega-Pack Curriculum. We have a few of the items in this set and they are very good.  The entire set includes 10 DVD's, 64 CD's and a Study Guide.  The sale price is $165 which is 55% off.

From the Vision Forum site:

The Expanded History of the World Mega-Pack Curriculum Includes:

1) The History of the World DVD Collection (10 DVDs)
The ten powerful messages contained in this special DVD curriculum series provide an overview of six thousand years of earth history. Enjoy a sweeping overview of earth history, spanning the events of peoples and cultures over six millennia.

These presentations are designed to dispel anti-Christian myths of historiography, establish a distinctively biblical grid for interpreting historical events, and cover key themes in the rise and fall of civilizations.

Sampling of titles included in this album:
• Six Thousand Years of Earth History In 1 Hour — Douglas W. Phillips
• Vikings: Their Law, Culture, and Conquests — Col. John Eidsmoe
• The Crusades — Dr. George Grant
• The Miracle of America — Dr. Marshall Foster

2) The History of the World Study Guide
The perfect complement to The History of the World 10-DVD collection, this study guide presents summaries of the key ideas and events behind each DVD lecture topic, along with outlines and detailed notes for further study.

Dig deeply into some of the richest themes of providential history as you study definitions, discover new resources from the suggested readings, and add relevant Scripture passages to your memory.

3) History of the World B.C. (20 CDs)
Twenty Lectures on the Ancient World

Covering the first four millennia of earth history, History of the World: B.C. features twenty lectures covering the pre-flood world, the history of the ancient Babylonians, the Hebrew nation, the establishment of Rome, and ancient legal systems. These presentations are designed to dispel anti-Christian myths of historiography, establish a distinctively biblical grid for interpreting historical events, while covering, millennium by millennium, key themes in the rise and fall of civilizations.

Sampling of titles included in this album:
• The Implications of the Genesis Flood on Earth History — Dr. John Whitcomb
• The Search For Noah’s Ark — Dr. John Morris
• The Tower of Babel and the Dispersion of the Nations — Dr. John Whitcomb
• One Blood: The Origin of the Races — Dr. John Morris
• The Puzzle of Ancient Man — Douglas Phillips
• The History of the Hebrew Nation, Part 1 — Col. John Eidsmoe
• The History of the Hebrew Nation, Part 2 — Col. John Eidsmoe
• The Meaning of Rome — Dr. George Grant

4) History of the World A.D. (20 CDs)
Twenty Lectures on the World Anno Domini

Beginning with Christ’s incarnation, History of the World A.D. contains covers the rise of Byzantium and fall of Rome, the history of the Church, the history of the law of nations, Islam, and the establishment of America, concluding with a review of the twentieth century. Each lecture emphasizes the providence of God over every detail of history — that Christ is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), and that the history of the world is His story.

Sampling of titles included in this album:
• The Rise of Byzantium and the Fall of Rome — Dr. George Grant
• The Battle of Teutoburg Forest — Col. John Eidsmoe
• What Every Christian Needs to Know About The Reformation — Dr. Joseph Morecraft III
• The History of the English Church — Dr. Joseph Morecraft III
• Nineteenth Century Missions — William Potter
• Islam and the Modern World — Dr. George Grant
• The American Republic — Dr. Marshall Foster

5) Mysteries of the Ancient World
Unlock the mysteries of the ancients in this fascinating 12-part audio album. Explore the Nephilim, “the great men of renown” of Noah’s day. Consider the wonders of the moon, and trek through the lost civilizations of South America — from Machu Picchu and the legacy of the stone masons, to the Ica stones and Nazca lines. Finally, visit the Galapagos Islands — Darwin’s Eden — and discover the true story of man’s origins

6) Providential Battles I: Twenty Battles that Changed the World
In this four-part album, Christian historian William Potter provides a providential interpretation of twenty of the greatest military battles in the world that altered the course of history, serving strategic roles in God’s unfolding plan.

Including battles from ancient history, to the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, to the American War for Independence, to the Alamo and Civil War events, Mr. Potter presents a panorama of providential military highlights. This album concludes with the mysteries of providence that engulfed the Axis powers of WWII in the air, on land, and at sea.

7) Providential Battles II: Epic Conflicts that Changed the World
Building upon Providential Battles I, Bill Potter identifies eight more battles of monumental importance and details how God used men, nations, and events to accomplish His plans. From the Thirty Years War, to the events surrounding the Russian army and forces of the Empire of the Rising Sun colliding in Tsushima in 1905, each unfolding saga will leave you grateful for God’s orchestrating hand in the affairs of men.

8) Sabers, Spears, & Catapults: A Providential History of Warfare Technology
“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory lies in the hands of the Lord.”

There are two sets of lectures in this series. The first examines weapons and warfare in the Old Testament era. Little has changed in principle since then: there are still hand–held, thrown, and fired weapons, including large engines of warfare. The use of combat and weapons terminology is common in Scripture as one would expect from the only One who is known as The God of Battle.

The subsequent lectures cover a trilogy of battles that occurred in three different centuries within a few miles of each other along the border of France and Belgium: The battles of Agincourt in 1415, Waterloo in 1815, and The Somme in 1916. Examined for each conflict are the weapons technology of the period and the warriors at the sharp end of battle, rather than the grand strategies and political outcomes. The study includes many possible types of confrontation: infantry against cavalry, infantry against infantry, infantry against artillery, cavalry against cavalry, etc., looking at how those deadly encounters resolved themselves on that day.

“Meet the Puritans” Book Giveaway

At the J.C. Ryle Quotes blog they are having a drawing to give away a copy of Meet the Puritans. Go to their site to sign up: J.C. Ryle Quotes “Meet the Puritans” Giveaway.

Adoniram Judson on Christian Baptism

I recently finished the book Adoniram Judson on Christian Baptism. The book contains a sermon he preached before his baptism in Calcutta in 1812. Also included are letters written by Judson regarding his change in his position on baptism as well as an article by C.H. Spurgeon on baptisim and other material relating to this subject.

What needs to be understood about Judson’s change in position on baptism, from paedobaptism (infant baptism) to credobaptism (believer's baptism), is that this was done after his leaving for India with his support coming from a Congregationalist church that held to paedobaptism.  The letters included in this book reveal that he understood that his change in position would cost him his support but he also knew that what was most important was to be biblically correct. Thus his change was not done flippantly or without cost but was done as a result of him asking himself what scripture said about baptism. We too should ask this same question about all that we believe.

I would encourage both those that hold to infant baptism as well as believer’s baptism to read this book.  It is important to see the struggle that Judson went through as far too many people hold to their view on baptism based more on tradition than themselves doing the hard work of seeking out scripture.  I am not saying this is true of everyone but as with many doctrines far too many people take other people’s conclusions rather than seeing what scripture says for themselves.  Others opinions and finding are important but as with all things we are to take all of this and filter it through God’s word as the final court of arbitration.

In recommending this book my intention is not to start a debate over baptism but to encourage all that hold to whatever position they hold to make sure they themselves have worked through scripture to come to their conclusions.  So, read this book and search out scripture.

Around the Web and Blogosphere (2/26/10)

At the NCFIC Blog there is a post with an excerpt from Scott Brown’s upcoming book on youth ministry: A Child of the Movement. I can relate to this excerpt as I too have been a youth minter and read all the books. The problem was, even if unintentionally, I gave more weight to the pragmatic reasoning of the books over the sufficiency of Scripture to speak to this area, as it speaks to all of faith and practice.


For those of you that are reading, or have read, R.J. Rushdoony’s Law & Liberty, there is now a study guide out, thanks to The Chalcedon Foundation: Law & Liberty Study Guide. This is a great book and one that I would highly recommend.


Over at Voddie Baucham’s blog the February Welcome to the Continuing Collapse (Exposing Government Schools: The Youth Ministry of the State Church of Secular Humanism) by Bruce Shortt has been posted.


At Steve Camp’s blog there is a great sermon by Charles Spurgeon: God’s Will and Man’s Will ….the tension of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. As always I appreciated the words of Spurgeon.

“How to Build Your Own Business” Resource Kit

Vision Forum is having a great buy on the “How to Build Your Own Business” resource kit. It includes the following:

• Venture Academy: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs (6 DVDS w/ workbooks)

• The Best of the 2006 Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (20 CDs)

• Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Christian Families (10 DVDs)

They have a 50% of coupon code ( BUSINESSKIT ) that is good until February 26th. The $339.50 (after 50% discount) price is great for the Venture Academy alone but with the other resources it is an even better buy.

Where We are Heading as a Country

We have been reading R.J. Rushdoony’s book Law & Liberty during our family worship time and it has been a very good book. Last night we read a chapter called The Family and Property and in that chapter is laid out the 10 planks of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. Read them for yourself and see how much they sound like our current state of affairs:

1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

This is where we are heading, well we may actually be more there than many want to admit. When man turns from God’s law the only place left to turn to is himself and when man turns to himself to legislate life we end up with tyranny. We cannot turn back the tide of Marxism, Socialism, Fascism or any another “-ism” until we turn back to seeing the word of God as all sufficient for all of life. God has called a people to Himself and we need to realize that He has not done this in a vacuum. He has called us and empowered to follow His commands which most glorify Him and in the end benefit us.

Let us turn back to Him and follow His word and not our sin tainted reason. Yes, reason does still exist for the believer and we are to use it but it is to be used in conjunction with His word and His word is to be the arbiter of our reason.

I will post more from Law & Liberty as time permits.

Around the Web and Blogosphere (2/11/10)

We have been watching a DVD series on the history of the Christian Church called From Terror to Triumph by Dr. Marshal Foster. I would highly recommend this series as Dr; Foster shows that in the midst of terror and seemingly overwhelming odds God has continually brought about the triumph of the church.

Thanks to Steve Halbrook’s Theonomy Resource blog here is a good article by Mike Warren on: Some Objections to Postmillennialism Answered.


Over at the NCFIC website Scott Brown lists: Top Ten Things Ungodly Cultures Hate That the Bible Tells Women. Any argument with this list is with God and His word.


You can check out a number of videos from Haiti by Doug Phillips at: Rescue Haiti’s Children. Below is one of the video’s you can find there.

Solid Ground Christian Books

I thought I would post about one of the best book stores, as well as being a publishing company, I know of. Not only do they have great books they also have great prices. This books store is Solid Ground Christian Books in Vestavia Hills Alabama .

I have been buying books from them for some time and highly recommend them, especially for hard to find classics. You will not find fluff in their inventory but will find the type of meat that is all too often avoided but is needed to aid in the building up the body of Christ. Yes, we need to first and foremost read God’s inspired inerrant and sufficient word and if that is all the time you have to read make sure scripture reading fills that time. However it is greatly helpful to read what God has put on the minds of men and women in history and in this area Solid Ground and its owner Michael Gaydosh excel.

Here is what is on their site with regards to who they are:

Solid Ground Christian Books is a publishing company committed to the presentation of the cardinal doctrines of Holy Scripture. Our goal is to spread the fame of the Name of the Lord by finding, uncovering and restoring the best Christian literature from the past and bringing it into the modern world.

We believe that there are many treasured works from the past that the Lord has used in mighty ways, and yet are unavailable to the modern reader. We are always searching for works that have been used by the Holy Spirit in converting, sanctifying and keeping power.

Our desire is to serve the pastors, churches, missionaries, chaplains, the military, professors and students of the 21st century. We will seek to keep our prices fair, and our service prompt, personal and courteous.

Our prayer is that the God of sovereign grace will be pleased to smile upon our efforts to further His kingdom, and that multitudes throughout he world will be forever changed by reading the books we produce.

Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be The Glory!

BOARD OF PASTORAL REFERENCE
In order to assure that this publishing business remains on track we have established a Board of Pastoral Reference to oversee the direction of this work. These men have served the Lord faithfully for many years. It is a delight to place their names before you.

-Earl Blackburn, Heritage Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA
-Richard Denham, Missionary to Brazil for over 50 years
-David Dykstra, Reformed Baptist Church of Lafayette, NJ
-Erroll Hulse, Leeds Reformed Baptist Church, Leeds, England
-Peter Jeffery, Libanus Evangelical Church, Morriston, Swansea, Wales
-Tom Lutz, Edgewood Baptist Church, Anderson, IN
-Conrad Mbewe, Kabwata Baptist Church, Zambia, Africa
-Geoff Thomas, Alfred Place Baptist Church, Aberystwyth, Wales
-David Vaughn, Missionary to France
-Todd Wilson, Grace Covenant Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL (my pastor)

CHURCH BOOK TABLE PROGRAM
More than 85 churches have taken advantage of our no risk Church Book Table program. Now your church can participate as well. Contact us for more information. Get started today — call (205) 443-0311 or e-mail sgcb@charterinternet.com.

So check out their inventory and for sure to get on their mailing list so you can see the great specials Michael sends out.

Thoughts and Ideas on Future Posts

Thanks to a good friend in Tennessee who has done this on her site I thought I would ask if there are any questions, ideas or topics you would like covered on this blog. They can range from homeschooling to politics to theology or any number of other subjects. Just leave a comment on what you would like covered and I will work on writing some posts on those subjects.

Every subject in some manner deals with theology as it is our understanding about God that informs all we do. One cannot escape the fact that what we believe, or do not believe, about God will in the end drive what we believe about everything else. Thus my posts will seek to see whatever subject that is looked at from a biblical perspective and how it relates to our view of God.

I look forward to your suggestions.

Grace and Peace,
Tony