Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
My American friends are weird. No, I love them all so much. But when they tell me they love football and then they show me a man running about with a leather bag in his hand I quickly tell the, “No thanks, I prefer soccer!” The last couple of days have been rather difficult. Everybody seems to be singing the name “Tebow”. Oh yes, I did hear that he used to scrawl letters and numbers across his face (like John 3:16). Yup, I heard that he bends a knee before scoring a goal (what ever he does). And YESSSSS, I hear he threw a ball exactly 316 yards! But no, that was not a sign from God!!!
Hey, my Obamanites American friends do not get carried away here with all these figures. I agree with Stephen Altrogge you are getting kooky and weird:
I think we need to be careful when making definitive statements about what God is doing. God doesn’t usually work the way we expect him to. He tends to work through losers and the downcast and the poor and the down and out. He likes to use the weak to demonstrate his strength, and the foolish to demonstrate his wisdom. Of course, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t using Tim Tebow. We just need to be careful when we call something like passing yards a divine sign.
Plus, saying that passing for 316 yards is a sign from God makes Christians look weird for the wrong reasons. …Read More!
If you reaaaaaaaaaaally want your teenage kids to remain virtuous, there is a new ring for you. It will guard their chastity. It will keep them safe from all lustful thoughts. It will reaaaaaaaaaally reaaaaaaaaaally keep them pure and on the straight and narrow. No, not the Holy Spirit. You need a back up, fool proof plan. You are in the right place. Welcome with me the Purity Ring 3000.
Train a child in the way he should go ( by getting them a purity ring 3000), and when he is old he will not turn from it. See, who needs the Holy Spirit when you can get a Christian fad ring like that for your teenage son or daughter? …Read More!
I don’t know if you heard of this story; a 911 dispatcher got a call from home. Her son had been shot. She being a Christian got to talk to her son about Jesus in the supposed few minutes as an ambulance was en route. Check out this transcript:
Dr. Asahel Nettleton (1783–1844) is considered one of America’s greatest forgotten evangelists. He was a contemporary of Charles Finney and while Finney was conditioning converts and churning out spurious conversions with the anxious seat and altar calls, Nettleton believed this pragmatic “decisionism” was very superficial. In fact, Nettleton was the main opponent of Finney and the “new measures”. He did not seek for quick responses to an open invitation to “come forward” as Finney and his followers did.
It’s said Nettleton’s conversions lasted and bore fruit. For example, of the 84 converts in an 1818 revival atRocky Hill,Connecticut— according to their pastor’s report 26 years later — all 84 had remained faithful. Similarly, only three spurious conversions out of 82 professed commitments were noted by another pastor in his report on revival services held inAshford,Connecticut. What accounted for this success?
William C. Nichols, modern publisher of Nettleton’s sermons, reported that:
Asahel Nettleton
Nettleton was a thorough student of the human heart. He understood the windings and turnings of the depraved heart and knew how to expose its deceits to awaken the sinner to the desperateness of his lost condition. You who do the work of evangelism today: Are you such a student of the human heart? Do you understand how the unconverted heart operates? In his sermon on “Gospel Warfare” Nettleton said, “Preaching mere external morality will never bring one soul to Christ. That preaching which does not aim at the heart will never bring one soul to Christ. That preaching which does not aim at the heart, and take hold of the conscience, never attacks the strong holds of Satan.” Read More…
I am currently reading a very interesting book, Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible by James W. Sire. Its actually not a guide to help you become a guru or Swami. Far from it. You see, “Jesus” is co-opted by almost every one who wants some one from the past to confirm their own vision of the ideal future. To Eastern –oriented religious groups, Jesus is an avatar – one of the may incarnations of the gods; to Christian Scientists, he is the great healer; to political revolutionaries he is the great liberator; to Spiritualists, he is a first rate medium; to one new consciousness philosopher, he is a prototype of a sorcerer who can restructure events in the world by mental exercise. It seems there is a “Jesus” for everyone.
One way in which almost any cult can have a claim to the Jesus of the bible is by misquoting scripture. For example:
Jess Stern in a book on Edgar Cayce quotes the following conversation he had with Eula Allen, one of Cayce’s followers. The topic was re-incarnation and Stearn suddenly thought of a problem:
A thought struck me. “Why, if people have lived other lives, don’t they remember anything from them?”
“But they do,” she said. “It’s just some times that they don’t remember that they are remembering. Jesus said, ‘I will bring all things to thine remembrance,’ but he didn’t say how.”
A number of errors are made here. First, this is not what Jesus said. Let us put the clause quoted into its immediate context. …Read More!
A recent ministry update reported on a yet new move of the “Holy Ghost”. Indeed this was a newer move by all ranks as it was reported. The revival meeting started with the man of God exhorting believers as to how God in these last days wants to fill them with the new wine of the Holy Ghost. Before long it was Happy Hour and it was claimed the congregation was doused in “Godka,” “God-wiser” and puffing the glory cloud, “Jehovah-wanna.” He mentioned how the drug culture is simply a counterfeit and unholy substitute for real supernatural experience with the Lord.
How far Evangelicalism has fallen to begin to revel in fancy mystic manifestations and unbridled excesses of self gratification! …Read More!
There’s never a quiet day when pastor Mark is in town. And true to his word his Mark Driscoll is in town early this year to revamp your (umm) life. Sort of. When the news in the vine spread that Mark and his wife Grace were going to release a book to set the eyes and tongues of conservative Christians aflame, every one thought it was going to be a revised edition of his earlier serene book called Doctrine. To make sure there was no mistaking what he had in store he had to clarify a few things. This book is not meant for grand ma!
In Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship & Life Together, Mark and Grace Driscoll take a no holds barred approach and candidly delve in to (umm) “the birds and the bees” plus some more! Well a prompt advisory notice greets you as you lie back to begin one of the colorful chapters in Mark’s book : If you are older, from a highly conservative religious background, live far away from a major city, do not spend much time on the internet, or do not have cable television, the odds are that you will want to read this chapter while sitting down, with the medics ready on speed dial.
With my finger on speed dial (on your behalf) I will tell you what the book is about. No, I am too faint hearted but Denny Burk has a graciously insightful review:
The two-hundred plus pages of this book focus on personal testimony and practical teaching so that readers might walk in biblical holiness and avoid the pitfalls experienced by the Driscolls. Real Marriage reads like a marriage seminar that has been put into book form, and there are hints throughout that this is exactly what the book actually is (e.g., p. xiii). Real Marriagehas eleven chapters that are divided into three major sections: Part 1, “Marriage”; Part 2, “Sex”; and Part 3, “The Last Day.” …Read More!
Brace yourself. I just hope you will have as much fun as I did reading this excerpt from David’s letter. It’s a typical missionary’s letter with the typical bells and whistles ;).
This is Koboko situated in the North West corner of Uganda. To be more specific, this is the Hotel Delambiance (De l’ambiance) in Koboko. It’s bedtime but there is no point in trying to go to sleep as the hotel generator is roaring away outside my window and I have a dilemma – do I want the generator to be turned off, lose the electric light but be able to get to sleep or do I want the power to stay on a little longer and suffer the generator. Why, I hear you ask, is there a dilemma?
It started in the shower. I had earlier pointed out to the manager that there was no light bulb in the shower. He came to have a look and suggested that I leave the door to the bedroom open and that would give me enough light. I suggested that he try putting a bulb in the light socket but he shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t have any so that was that. I was doing my best to have a shower in the gloomy shadows of the tiny ensuite facility when ‘something’ darted past me. The ‘something’ was the largest cockroach I have ever seen – a big shiny brown thing the size of a donkey. …Read More!
I have had my fair share of altar calls. I have walked down many an aisle to the tune of an emotional appeal. These days preachers get converts after appealing for almost anything. Do you want a better house? A happy marriage? Do you think life is hard and your kids don’t finish their porridge? Here is what you can do they say: Just say this prayer and let Jesus into your heart. He will come in and make things alright. He is seriously knocking at that door and he really wants to come in. Wait a minute you say. There is no preaching about sin, no preaching about righteousness no repentance? Yup, sadly that is the state of evangelicalism. We have mega churches and therefore can accommodate more converts but … to what?
A while ago, William Franklin “Billy” Graham (one of the most recognisable Evangelical faces of the 20th Century) was said as of 1993 to have made more than 2.5 million people “step forward at his crusades to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour“. …Read More!
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great many children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Germany, in the Middle Ages. A narrative in the 16th Century said, the Piper dressed in pied or multicoloured clothing and had been hired by the town to lure the rats away with music from his magic pipe. After he wasn’t paid for his services he indeed made a return visit. With a twist in the tale this time not for rats or mice but he infamously turned his sensuous and irresistible music onto the ears of the children of Hamelin and led them mesmerised to their ultimate destruction. …Read More!
The first lesson in successful marketing and entrepreneurship always underscores the fact that the customer is king. I have always told my self if I were to start a church it would be the world’s best church. It would be the epitome of tolerance and relevance. Who says the church cant be geared towards increased attendances, happier people with numerous self sustaining projects and great reputation among the un-churched and still bring people closer to God? Then Read More
A bad eulogy is as painful as a root canal dental procedure. A blunt eulogy on the otherhand is like a root canal without local anaesthetic. The mourners at one funeral got to realise the difference between the two when preacher man Orlando Bethel showed up.
This is how it unfolded:
June 21, 2002 – LOXLEY, Ala. — Authorities in Loxley, Ala., are investigating the alleged beating of a preacher by funeral mourners who didn’t like his blunt eulogy. Glynis Bethel told The Associated Press that her husband — the Rev. Orlando Bethel — was attacked during a June 14 funeral and dragged out of the church. That’s because Bethel told mourners the deceased was in Hell and that they were headed the same way. The dead man was Glynis Bethel’s uncle. Orlando Bethel referred to him as a “drunkard and a fornicator.” Glynis Bethel, who’s also a preacher, says Read More
“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and 
herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
For some this story is familiar; well it is Nathan the prophet having a chat with King David. David has just made a royal cover up and taken Bathsheba as his wife after arranging the murder of her husband, Uriah. This was against a back drop of an adulterous affair. Nathan, first indulges the king in a intriguing allegory. (2 Sam 12)
David listens intently to the story and on hearing of such a gross miscarriage of justice tells Nathan in no uncertain terms, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
Nathan then sadly tells David, “You are that man!”
A 2008 survey of behaviours with moral overtones among adults conducted by The Barna Group over a one week period revealed that 19% of adults had viewed pornography, 11% had lied, 9% had engaged in sexual intercourse with someone to whom Read More
Enough of all this banter against modern Christendom’s latest prodigal and most loved opulent brat. Ed Young Jr. is officially the most google-d and U-tubed Christian celebrity pastor. Gone are the boring days of being an obscure youth pastor left to follow up new converts and pray for toddlers who don’t finish their breakfast cereal in the church back garden. Gone are the days of watching re-runs of Veggie Tales and Tom and Jerry in Sunday school.
The other day he took a bold step in being the honest and transparent man of God that he has become and indulged viewers in a personal tour of his parsonage or is it vicarage. And look how many bloggers treated him as though he had invited Bin Laden to the White House. He had simply allowed a TV Crew to have a glimpse of his humble 10,000 square foot, $1.5 million estate. Read More
“The show must go on” is a well-known phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens (such as the lead performer breaking a leg), the show must still be put on for the waiting patrons. The other day a church invited teenagers to come to church and play an allegedly ultra violent Play Station 3 game Halo3 with the hope that they would in so doing, some how love coming to church. This is modern day evangelism for you, its called connecting with the youth in the name of Jesus. Another church was offering flat screen Tvs another offered Harley Davidson Motorcycles and cars to first time visitors or any body who accepted “Jesus into their hearts”.
The Show must go on.
Is it possible that in the last days there will come times of difficulty? People will be lovers of self… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power? What ever happened to the power of the gospel? What ever happened to the cross? What ever happened to the name that is above any other name by which men are saved? Are we still tongue in cheek because of Jesus Christ? Does Christ have to be disguised to a point where we use sleight of hand? Is this the level to which friendship evangelism has fallen? Read More
If the latest Church growth updates are anything to go by then Africa is surely having surplus of growth. The growth has been described by many colourful words like “explosive”, “spectacular” and of recent “fast food-ish”. There seems to be an easy believism called prosperity gospel that is spawning a multiplex of believers. In this form of Christianity, a believer is supposed to be successful; if not, something is very wrong. This emphasis can be seen in the names of the flourishing churches: Winners Chapel, Victory Bible Church, Jesus Breakthrough Assembly, Triumphant Christian Centre. The titles and themes of conventions, crusades and conferences repeat this emphasis: “Gathering of Champions” “Living a Life of Abundance,” “Taking Your Territories,” “Stepping into Greatness.” For all these churches, size and expansion are tangible signs of success—which is why the terms Global, World or International appear in so many of their titles.
South Africa recently hosted the World cup. From this land that gave football fans the much loved and equally hated “vuvuzela” has emerged Rhema Church. Rhema has established itself as one of Africa’s Best Churches. A place where the big shots, celebrities and politicians come to embrace at the table of a “rock and roll” religion. Even the President, Jacob Zuma comes regularly to Rhema to tuck into two of South Africa’s said pastimes, conspicuous consumption and Christianity. But There’s More
Every generation has always had a “voice crying in the wilderness”-calling people to come back to God. In the all time classic sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) the evangelist and renowned American Reformed Theologian preached emphasizing the widely held belief that Hell is a real and functional place. Edwards hoped that the imagery and message of his sermon would awaken his audience to the horrific reality that he argued awaited them should they continue without Christ. Read more of this post
In the church where I ministered in South Wales I used to stand at the main door of the church at the close of the service on Sunday night, and shake hands with people as they went out. The incident to which I am referring concerns a man who used to come to our service every Sunday night. He was a tradesman but also a heavy drinker. He got drunk regularly every Saturday night, but he was also regularly seated in the gallery of our church every Sunday night. On the particular night to which I am referring I happened to notice while preaching that this man was obviously being affected. I could see that he was weeping copiously, and I was anxious to know what was happening to him. At the end of the service I went and stood at the door. But There’s More
Heads pawed, eyes claws-ed
Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” Jer 14:13 ESV
With heads bowed and eyes closed, the music was just right. The preacher shuffles and gently casts his gaze over the reverently silent congregation before he beckons, “Put your hand up if you have tried everything and now you want to accept Jesus into your heart. See, you have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it.” A hundred to two hundred hands go up in the air. They ask Jesus into their hearts that day-a decision they may well repeat a few more times through that year.
A major denomination which has 11,500 churches throughout the US – in 1991, their first year of what they called “the decade of harvest,” they got 294,000 decisions for Christ. They found that only 14,000 remained in fellowship. That is, they couldn’t account for 279,000 of their decisions for Jesus. And this is normal modern evangelical statistics when it comes to crusades and local churches. Many converts don’t fall away. They get followed up and squeezed into a local church where they’re surrounded by a good social life, and they stay within the church given assurance they’re saved when there is no grounds for their salvation, because they do not have the things that accompany salvation. –True and False Conversions by Ray Comfort
God shaped hole in heart
When we hear Christian clichés like ‘Accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour;’ ‘Ask Jesus into your heart;’ ‘Invite Christ into your life;’ or ‘Make a decision for Christ’ and find that such theology is not scripturally based then we realise something must have been omitted. In order to be saved, a man must repent (Acts 2:38).Asking Jesus into your heart leaves out the requirement of repentance and trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31, Heb 6:1). How could it sound so right, yet be so un-right? Yeah. Welcome to the shaken and stirred Gospel Lite! Read More
December 2011: Wheew! We will Open Soon!
January 2012: Please note that the website is now called A twisted crown of thorns. Yup, there is an “A” before the rest of the words. Grrr…it still confuses me too 🙂
[Website changes from http://www.twistedcrownofthorns.com to http://www.atwistedcrownofthorns.com]
“There are no coincidences…and in this case, no wrong numbers!”
David Bereit, National Coordinator, 40 Days for Life: I know you’re familiar with the old saying, “God works in mysterious ways.” Please sit down and read this whole story. Our God of mystery has outdone Himself this time!
A young woman in Indianapolis, Indiana—we’ll call her “Erin”—woke up, saw her kids off to school, dropped her preschoolers at a friend’s house, and noticed that she was late for an appointment…at Planned Parenthood…for an abortion.
So Erin picked up her phone and called to see if she could still come in. She thought she was calling Planned Parenthood. In her haste, she dialed a wrong number.
Instead of Planned Parenthood, she got Joseph, who was answering the cell phone that’s being used by…
…get ready for this…
…40 Days for Life in Indianapolis! Read More
Well its the end of another beautiful year. The year 2011 has had momentuous events. There have been times when the proverbial writer’s block kicked in and snuffed out all humor and satire. There were times when I seemed to spend more time on line than with family. There were times when I thought the blog seemed to take on a life of its own.
Without further ado, I will open up the innards of this blog and show you the top most articles you all devoured and enjoyed this past year (plus the ones that were left unread). I sure do hope (as the West Minster Shorter catechism says) that reading this blog has led you closer to your ultimate purpose in life: To glorify God and enjoy him for ever.
6. Clueless Worshipers Wake up to Find They Have Been Double Crossed at The Crossing
5. One left dead as not ya Grand ma’s church (GUTS Church) launches Ultimate Fight Night.
4. The Timely Last Words of David Wilkerson
2. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s letter from prison to his church members.
Though in all fairness I have learnt a lot more from the posts that were least read than one can say. The least read post in 2011 was: What to look for in a good church. While the most commented on post has always been I Got Saved Today…
Writing is a passion and a delight. Though many times I use satire to illustrate the irony in man’s ways, there have been times when …Read More!
I have always thought if one rule of thumb is if you mix ministry ( or Jesus) with anything else (like course entertainment) you are in for a BIG shock sooner or later. Preach Christ and Him crucified you will see people being drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit. Add a little smoke and mirrors to leaven up your “ministry” and … you become mosaic. To keep them coming you will need wilder smoke and more exciting mirrors. Ugh!
You see, there is a church called Mosaic Church. No kidding. Club Fathom is listed on Mosaic’s website as a teen-centered outreach ministry of the church. That’s not all. There has been activity going on in this club. No not a revival as such but…
A Christmas morning shooting that injured nine people is further evidence that the downtown club where the brawl began is a public nuisance that should be dealt with quickly, city officials said Monday.
Club Fathom has a long history of teen violence dating back to at least 2006 and has faced city ire in the past. …Read More!
When I heard that Christopher Hitchens had died a selfish, base and primitive bit in me almost jumped up and punched the air. I should have but I didnt. The reason I didn’t rejoice is because I myself know what I deserve.
On the question of death of tyrants and atheists, Russell Moore does a fair and commendable job in his blog post:
Hitchens expected this moment, of course, but he anticipated, wrongly, a blackness, a going out of consciousness forever. Many Christians today are sadly remarking on what it is like for Christopher Hitchens to be now opening his eyes in hell.
We might be wrong.
The Christian impulse here is exactly right. After all, Jesus and his apostles assured us that there is no salvation apart from union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection, a union entered into by faith. And Hitchens not only rejected that gospel, he ridiculed it, along with the very notion of anything beyond the natural order. The Christian Scriptures are clear: there is a narrow window in which we must be saved, the time of this present life, and after this there is only judgment (2 Cor. 6:1-2; Heb. 9:27).
But I’m not sure Christopher Hitchens is in hell right now. It’s not because I believe there’s a “second chance” after death for salvation (I don’t). It’s not because I don’t believe in hell or in God’s judgment (I do). It’s because of a sermon I heard years ago that haunts me to this day, reminding me of the sometimes surprising persistence of the gospel. …Read Moore!
This Christmas as other Christians sing O Holy Night, it seems to be a grim night in the Anglican camp. Archbishop Cranmer is bemoaning a new subtle root of inclusiveness that is creeping into the camp. Apparently new forms of Christmas carols are making the Royal Holloway College bend over backwards in all forms of theological twists and knots:
[These] ‘inclusive’ Christmas carols services – you know, the sort that bend over backwards to be all things to all people in order that by any means possible none may be offended. In fact, it is these sort of gospel-lite and theology-free services which are largely responsible for people not finding Christ – even at Christmas.
Royal Holloway College, in the University of London, held its Christmas carol service in its own College Chapel, presided over jointly by the College’s Chaplain – an Anglican vicar, the Rev’d Cate Irvine, and a Roman Catholic chaplain from the local church, Fr Vladimir Nikiforov.
And what did the assembled festive throng hear? The prophecy of of Isaiah? ‘For unto us a child is born…’? The Gospel of Luke? ‘There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus…’? A reading from Micah, perhaps? ‘But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel’?
No, none of the above. Instead, they got the Qur’an …Read More!
When Pastor Feve Sturtick took his church for a safari trip, he hadn’t anticipated that the ferocious non cessationist animals in the game reserve could name and claim. Well, it’s said that some even demonstrated the gift of word of knowledge (or did they?)
Imagine a football world church service where you can punish a referee wayward preacher with an electric shock for straying from the text. I know what you are thinking; such an idea is just too insanely beautiful and wonderful and should be trialled in these mushrooming social centres called churches. 😉
Norwegian channel TV2 somehow managed to convince a host of football legends from the country to take part in a livewire five-a-side game in an experiment called Elektrosjokkfotball (Electroshock football).
Well? …Read More!
[Then Jesus said:] “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. …Read More!
For your weekly dose of satire…
By Team Tominthebox News Network. Full Link here.
New York, New York – Pastors across the country suddenly found themselves in a bit of a predicament this past weekend as Sunday morning quickly approached. The trouble began Saturday afternoon when word began spreading that the Sermon Writers Guild was going on strike on the grounds that they were not being paid enough for their work.
The Sermon Writers Guild has, for the most part, been a secret to the church-going public. Founded in 1977, the organization started out as a small group of theologians and laypersons who were “gifted and creative in the art of preaching” but lacked the charisma necessary to pastor and lead a congregation. When the group was formed they began offering sermon writing services for “witty pastors who lacked scholarly abilities” and who were “less than studious” for a fee of only $20 per sermon. Over the years the guild expanded to over 1500 “ghost preachers” who have written sermons for some of the most famous pastors in the country. Read More
This sign is found in Iloilo. The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. 
How wonderful would it be to find this sign at the exit gate of every church. To be read as you got out of the church building. Nice!
And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” – Mark 16:15
…Read More!
A large cross that had been prominently displayed outside a chapel on an isolated military base in northern Afghanistan was taken down last week, prompting outrage from some American service members stationed there.
“We are here away from our families, and the chapel is the one place that feels like home,” a service member at Camp Marmal told POLITICO. “With the cross on the outside, it is a constant reminder for all of us that Jesus is here for us.”“Not having it there is really upsetting,” added another. “I walk by the chapel daily on the way to chow and the gym, and seeing the cross is a daily reminder of my faith and what Jesus accomplished for me. It is daily inspiration and motivation for me to acknowledge my faith and stay on the right path.” …Read More!
A recent Nando’s commercial starring some of the world’s most dreadful dictators – pokes fun at highlights how Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is quickly becoming the last dictator standing at Christmas sole member of the club. That aside it also underlines the post modern sole meaning of Christmas (or does it not?)
It may appear funny but it seems some one (either Nando’s or ‘Mugabe’) still doesnt know “who” Christmas is about. Dilettantes! …Read More!
One would think this is a question posed by a weak, lip quivering Corinthian brother who has just bought a pound of pork or beef from the local temple butchery. needless to say it seems some Americans are revisiting that “to eat or not to eat” debate this Thanks Giving. They are now saying…
As you sit down with your family on Thanksgiving and consider offering a prayer of gratitude, be aware the turkey at the center of the table may have already been “blessed” – in the name of Allah.
Customer service representatives from Butterball, one of America’s most popular Turkey brands, confirmed to WND that the company’s whole turkeys are – without being labeled as such – slaughtered according to Islamic “halal” standards. Read more of this post
A Georgia factory worker claims in a federal lawsuit that he was fired after he refused to wear a `666′ sticker he feared would doom him to eternal damnation.
Billy E. Hyatt claims he was fired from Pliant Corp., a plastics factory in northern Georgia near Dalton, after he refused to wear a sticker proclaiming that his factory had been accident-free for 666 days. That number is considered the “mark of the beast” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation describing the apocalypse.Hyatt, who said he’s a devout Christian, had worked for the north Georgia plastics company since June 2007 and like other employees wore stickers each day that proclaimed how long the factory had gone without an accident. …Read More!
It is usually said that if a stone is thrown into a pack of dogs, the one hit by the stone will usually holler. The same seems to be true with the preaching of the gospel – it begins to bring conviction of sin. Some people don’t like this message and it becomes an offence and a stumbling block to them. North Carolinans seem to be chewing on something odd this week:
On Monday night, vandals desecrated the Cedar Hill AME Zion Church in Ansonville, east of Charlotte, North Carolina, spray-painting obscenities on the wall, smashing stained-glass windows and defecating on the church pulpit. …Read More!
Well…
HT to Facebook friends for the photo.
Mesmerising! This is going to be the next must have gadget for every relevant and purpose driven youth pastor. Just imagine how many kids will remain entertained for hours.
Can we trust the historical accuracy of the Bible? Is the text reliable? How can we know for sure?
I still remember the day sister Martha came for Sunday service in style. She had just started reading her bible that month and there was a twinkle in her eyes.
She said she had also been meditating on Paul’s advice to Timothy:
No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 1 Tim 5:23
I must add Martha was a literalist. She also has several ailments. …Read More!
Im currently reading about puritans (and wow) it is challenging to learn about their high view of God. More so how they lived their lives. Here is a quote from Richard Baxter about parenting:
Parents! Your example and life are a continual and powerful sermon, which is always seen by your children! Parents! Your children have an everlasting inheritance of happiness to attain–and it is that which you must bring them up for. They have an endless misery to escape–and it is that which you must diligently teach them. If you don’t teach them to know God, and how to serve Him, and be saved, and to escape the flames of hell–you teach them nothing, or worse than nothing. It is in your hands to do them the greatest kindness or cruelty in all the world! Help them to know God and to be saved, and you do more for them than if you helped them to be kings or princes. …Read More!
Ever been to America? No need to go there any more. Here is how you can visit 32 states from the comfort of your living room. Yup, you will even experience the evolution of rain clouds along the side of highways, the differences in the climate will also prove entertaining, going from sunny Los Angeles and it’s palm tree-lined streets to the snow capped Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs. (I understand if you look closely you will even spot some of your Facebook American friends in this clip) 🙂
This interesting road trip by Mr Brian DeFrees was done by attaching a digital camera to his Honda Civic Si wind shield that had a program installed to instantly take photos every five seconds. He was then able to drive and shoot at the same time:
[He] took to the road for inspiration and came back from his trip with a time lapse video speeding across 12,225 miles in just under five minutes.
Brian DeFrees, 25, took a two month road trip across the United States to visit places he had never been and catch up with relatives along the way. …Read More!
This video is disturbing. If it has any ounce of truth in it then Christianity is a mile wide in Africa but only an inch deep.
Pray for the church (the body of Christ) in Nigeria. …Read More!
The recent brutal whipping of teenager by her father has sparked alot of discussion. Some of which has been absolutely irrational and stipped in knee jerk sensationalism. While sharing the outrage at this abuse, I sought to see what the bible and other Christians say about spanking and child discipline. Michael Spotts has a very comprehensive article pointing out some of the logical flaws and drawing a fine distinction as to what the biblical perspective on physically chastening children is:
Instead of overreacting, I believe we should maintain a distinction between what is acceptable physical discipline and what constitutes actual abuse. This allows us to condemn the latter without outlawing the former. Throughout this article I will refrain from using the word “punishment” when describing parental responses to disobedience. Punishment, strictly speaking, is primarily concerned with subjecting guilty persons to penalties without regard for either their moral improvement or personal well being. An extreme example of punitive action is the death penalty, which punishes without any interest in improving those who receive it. Worse still is the idea of parents inflicting pain upon children merely to “get back” at them or vent anger. …Read More!
If you walk into your local Christian music store in the next couple of days dont forget to ask for a copy of Shai Linne’s new album, The Attributes of God. Well its out and from what I hear about it I think its had a good reception especially among conservative Christians.
Okay, okay! Just because you asked I will feature one piece from the album. Here is his wife Blair reciting “The Perfection of Beauty”:
One friend on Facebook drew my attention to one of the songs The Glory of God. She said:
“Never thought I would be a huge fan of Hip-hop. Thanks to Shai Linne, now I am. I find amazing Shai Linne songs [sic], and put them on “replay-endlessly”. They are so rich, it takes several listenings to hear it all, and several more to digest it. SDG, Shai!” …Read More!
Where did we ever get the idea that people can save other people, and even save themselves? Sure, nobody comes right out and says that, but you can tell that they think it. It’s amazing how this one theological error upstream ends up causing an entire evangelism epidemic downstream. No, theology is not useless “head knowledge”, it impacts our actions. And in this case, bad theology has produced an entire errant evangelistic system.
The problem that we are seeing today, is that church leaders believe that people can control when and if the New Birth occurs. Here’s one example with scenes from an actual church service:
We are warned of the problem in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God:
“If we forget that it is God’s prerogative to give results when the Gospel is preached, we shall start to think that it is our responsibility to secure them. And if we forget that only God can give faith, we shall start to think that the making of converts depends, in the last analysis, not on God, but on us, and that the decisive factor is the way in which we evangelize. …Read More!
I know many people do not get to talk about the persecuted church. Just because you seem to be enjoying apparent freedom shouldn’t dull your ears to their cries for prayers.
Finally a bible version that I actually like (not in the Facebook kind of way). No, I like it with my tongue in cheek. (Add a wink here)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever things are generally acceptable, whatever is tactful, whatever things show sensitivity, whatever things make you feel good, whatever things are sensuous, whatever things are personally satisfying; if there is to be any ownership, and if there is any good self-esteem, think happy thoughts on these things.
Do the things that you have felt, and realized and experienced and justified within yourself: and the god of touchy-feely happycrap shall warm your tolerant, sensitive, enlightened soul with wonderful ignorant bliss. …Read More!
It is not uncommon to go to an average church and not even hear the name Jesus Christ. However even in churches where the name is mentioned, it is used as a draw string to a rich and lavish lifestyle. No, I am not kidding. Well, you see…
Jesus can give you a new house like this one...
From the pulpit of his modest Spring City church, Pastor Michael Wilkerson delivered electric sermons on God’s desire to shower down riches upon his faithful adherents. And with a Lexus and Escalade in its garage, his $1.7 million Schwenksville home seemed convincing proof. How else but by faith, his congregants wondered, could a man raised on Pottstown’s urban streets have risen to such heights? …Read More!
Some people believe there should be a state of ceremonial purity when touching a holy book. A man or woman must take a ritual shower or bath to attain a heightened level of righteousness before he even glimpses into the written mind of God as it were. Christians on the other hand come in two categories. Those who love their bibles and those who really love their bibles. Today I will dwell on the eccentric latter.
“A bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” -Charles Spurgeon
They are called Bible markers! Are you one of them? …Read More!
Fads and superstition in sports have always drawn the usual cursory glance. Not any more it seems. There seems to be a growing viral trend intermarrying the two and tugging God at the end of it all. It all started with mundane actions like athletes making or kissing imaginary crosses before the 100 metre dash to heaven-ward finger pointing gestures and gesticulations after scoring goals in football. The other day spectators were taken aback when one soccer player decided to rend the heavens loose by lay hands and praying for his misfiring colleague who hadn’t scored for the team in several months following a big money transfer from a rival team. Well the striker got rewarded with two goals in the game. So, do these fads and trends have some theological magic formula of sorts? Do they pull God closer to one team against the other? Well to add fuel to fire, another one has started (and it’s EPIC!!)…
It was only a matter of time before the sports world had its planking equivalent: Tebowing. Tebowing, according to the new Tumblr blog Tebowing.com, is “to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.” Its namesake is Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who inadvertently invented Tebowing. In the last week alone, people have been photographed Tebowing in the U.S. Capitol, Korea and an operating room; near a beer-pong table, the Chrysler Building and a toilet; and mimicking the “Abbey Road” cover. Toddlers have Tebowed. Adrian Beltre accidentally Tebowed. The act of Tebowing has even been carved into a pumpkin. …Read More!
Conservative Christian values are very despised these days in Evangelical circles. Its no wonder that anything passes for Christianity these days. Its not uncommon to see pets taking Holy Communion, motor cycles being ridden in the sanctuary instead of preaching, essential doctrines being challenged (like the doctrine of Hell), re-introduction of ancient heresies (like modalism) and the list goes on. It therefore didn’t come as a surprise when I heard that…
A Kentucky Baptist association denied membership to a church after a credentials committee found its confessional statement too Calvinistic, according to a report in the Western Recorder.
Daviess-McLean Baptist Association voted 104-9 to deny membership to Pleasant Valley Community Church in Owensboro during its annual meeting held Oct. 17-18, the Kentucky Baptist Convention news journal reported in its Oct. 25 issue.
“Our concern in the initial stages of our investigation revolved around the fact that Pleasant Valley Community Church’s confessional statement is one that (is) Calvinistic in nature,” the newspaper quoted from a recommendation by the association’s credentials committee. “It affirms the doctrine of election and grace.” …Read More!
Trip Lee is a lovable Christian musician who gets asked the same question over and over. (Seeing that he got married at the age of twenty one). This is what he thinks of it:
Yesterday I made a late night stop at the store to grab a few things and I had a very interesting conversation with the cashier. We made small talk as she scanned my items, and then she offered me a discount card but I told her my wife already had one. That’s when the conversation got fun. I know this conversation all too well because I’ve had it many times before. It goes something like this…
Person: What!? You’re married?
Me: Yeah I’ve been married for two and a half amazing years.
Person: How old are you? You look like a baby.
Me: I’m twenty three.
Person: You’re so young! Why in the world would you do that?
Me: Why wouldn’t I?
In 2009, I got married at the barely legal and barely respectable age of twenty one years old. During my courtship, engagement, and short marriage, I’ve been asked time and time again questions like, “Why get married so young? What’s the rush?”, and my personal favorite, “You should have waited and enjoyed your life!” …Read More!
Just thought this photo looks gorgeous! But the making of this scene was almost impossible to achieve. You see…
Baby Matilda and sleeping Chihuahuas (click to enlarge)
This heartwarming photograph, of an eight-day-old baby nestling in for a sleep with four five-week-old puppies, was five hours in the making.
Photographer Richard Barry captured the endearing image after a stressful photoshoot in a room at the home of newborn Matilda’s family.
Mr Barry, 44, who specialises in baby portrait photography, said: ‘The objective was to get the baby and the chihuahua puppies all asleep on a beanbag at the same time. It is undoubtedly the most difficult photo I have ever taken …Read More!
“Almost” poem by Ezekiel Azonwu is a must listen for every body(transcription included below):
One of the most dangerous terms in English dictionif it could be translated into audio it would sound likepbb-bb-bb-bb from the saxophone of Lisa Simpsontwo words designed and strategically combinedto form the biggest oxymoron in the history of mankindALL-MOST …Read More!
The most embarrassing vibrant ministry in most churches seems to be the youth department (no, seriously). Needless to say this elusive fad driven generation has seen its fair share of relevant and purpose driven ideas being floated Sunday after Sunday. So, how do you reach the youth culture? Steve Lawson answers…
A very interesting article here on pragmatism and the modern day believer. Don’t tell me you haven’t been tempted to see the stats and blush. Well…
I’ll admit to being weary, to the point of irritation, whenever I hear ministers of the gospel reporting their statistics as external evidences of success. And I know I’m not the only one…
Enough already.
I’m not saying I’m less tempted than the next guy to hope for big numbers and stats, the apparent signs of God’s blessing on my ministry. I am. But I’ve seen the focus on numbers as a temptation to be resisted, not something to be embraced. And when preachers find a way to mention the numbers in public, and often, it comes across as bragging; it’s worldly and unbecoming of Christians who are to be characterized by humility and meekness. …Read More!
Imagine a book authored by James Emery White (an intelligent spokesman for many of the seeker movement’s ideas) and (not to be confused with the Reformed Christian apologist James R. White) he is also the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church, a megachurch in Charlotte. The same book is endorsed by people like Geoff Surratt from Saddleback, Jim Mellado from the Willow Creek Association, and Marshall Shelley from Leadership Journal. The Foreword is by (wait for it, yup) Perry Noble and includes blurbs from Bill Hybels and Rick Warren.
James Emery White’s latest book, What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary: 25 Lessons for Successful Ministry in Your Church (Baker 2011) will teach you a couple of therapeutic moralistic things to do to enhance your church experience but a review of it by Kevin DeYoung succinctly noted that:
1. Theology felt strangely irrelevant throughout the book. It would not be at all fair to say White or other seeker church leaders don’t care about theology or that they don’t affirm orthodox theology. They do, on both accounts. But it feels assumed at best and a necessary nuisance at worst. In his introduction Noble explains that he dropped out of seminary because he didn’t want to spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on something that didn’t really equip him for ministry in the real world. No one cared about TULIP, Noble observes, or Christ’s impeccability for that matter, or fancy theological words or lectures on church history. I don’t doubt that many people in many churches don’t give a rip about theological terms or concepts. But just because they don’t doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. Maybe our people fall asleep when we wax on about justification or imputation because we are frankly bored ourselves. Maybe we haven’t been gripped by the great doctrines of the faith. Maybe we haven’t done the spade work in the text and in our hearts to see how the doctrine of Trinity or the incarnation or limited atonement is massively relevant.
I sometimes wonder if seeker church pastors have heard theology presented so badly and seen it applied to real life so poorly that they’ve concluded that theology is the problem. …Read More!
Just a humorous picture I came across. I know it will get both Premillennialists and Amillennialists doubled over in stitches…and some Post Millennialists and Preterists too.( Okay plus partial Preterists as well…but not Atheists) 🙂 Read More
This short article may be taken to be very difficult to swallow. In actual essence it simply contains the basic instructions of the Christian faith and doctrine. When we neglect the preaching of the word (and resort to carnal means of church growth) we inadvertently pander to base activities that on the surface may draw multitudes but profit little to bring sinners to repentance. …Read More!
I remember a couple of years ago when a friend, Ryan (not his real name), came rejoicing to church. Another buddy of his had come to faith in Christ. This of course was greeted with the usual jubilance when a sinner comes to repentance. Then my friend said something that got me thinking. Ryan said now that Rooney (not his real name too) was saved, he needed to pray hard so that he could receive the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is given to all Christians. Actually no body can be saved without the work of the Holy Spirit in applying the preaching of the gospel in regeneration of a sinner. Pentecostalism teaches that the Holy Spirit is given to Christians after they believe in Christ –as an additional or second blessing. This implies then that there is a split-level church. …Read More!
If Harold Camping was trying to predict that the end of Muammar Gaddafi would come before 21st October he would have hit the nail on the head. Just one day before that date Gaddafi breathed his last. But predicting the end of the world has been a feat that has taken its toll and worn out the frail Doom’s day prophet. Not only has his health failed along the way, his voice seems to be closing down as well. What is it this time Harold? Are we surely confident that you have peeked over the shoulder of the Most High and glanced at the most forbidden calendar?
OAKLAND — This time, Harold Camping sounds like a man who has suffered the whisper of self-doubt.
The Oakland minister’s latest prediction of the end of the world – which he’s set for Friday – is couched among words like “probably” and “maybe,” a far cry from the carved-in-stone certitude he projected onto his infamous May 21 forecast.
“I do believe we’re getting very near the very end,” Camping, 90, said during a podcast recorded earlier this month and posted on his Family Radio website. “Oct. 21, that’s coming very shortly, that looks like it will be, at this point, it will be the final end of everything.”
After his last apocalyptic prediction failed to materialize, Camping said he was “flabbergasted” and was reconsidering his calculations.
“We’ve learned that there’s a lot of things we didn’t have quite right,” he acknowledged during the podcast. …Read more!
David Murray has had the privilege of hearing many beginning preachers preach their first sermon. Sometimes, it’s stunning how God has gifted a person and you hope Seminary doesn’t spoil them! Usually, however, first sermons confirm the need for much further training. Here, David has graciously highlighted a few of the mistakes that keep recurring among budding preachers. I must of course add that though one can never deliver the “perfect sermon” it is good to learn how to communicate effectively:
1. Cramming: Squeezing all you have ever studied about the Bible over the years into 30 minutes.
2. Skimming: Taking too many verses and simply skimming over the surface of the text, teaching nothing that someone with average intelligence would not have derived from the text themselves.
3. Floating: The preacher says many things that relate to the text, floating or hovering above the text, but fails to show how they are anchored in the text.
4. Proof-texting: Including lots and lots of texts from all over the Bible, and sometimes diverting hearers by expounding the proof texts as much as the sermon text.
5. Quoting: Too many quotes from commentators, theologians, and other preachers from the past and the present. …Read more!
When you put Christianity and atheism side by side, you will realise that…
Christianity is defined by a belief in something — particularly, a belief in the God of the Bible. Atheism is defined by a non-belief in something — particularly, a non-belief in the God of the Bible.
Christians choose to be identified by that which they believe to be true. Atheists choose to be identified by that which they believe to be false.
The practice of Christian apologetics is based on defending a belief. The practice of atheist apologetics is based on attacking a belief. …Read more!
What do you know?
Michael Spott has a letter that I believe every one should have a look at. It is excerpted in part here but worth the read.
Dear brother, don’t be discouraged because of your seeming lack of words. Even the best orator’s speech may fall on deaf ears, but the Spirit has a voice of His own which cuts straight to the hearts of men. Have you only enough words to say, “Father, thy kingdom come,” you may trust that in response to your humble, fervent prayers the Spirit may speak many into His Kingdom. God who spoke the heavens into existence can as easily declare new creations in the hearts of unbelievers. …Read more!
A very interesting article looking at mice. Okay, its not really about mice but I wont tell you till you read through.
Imagine this scene: you are enjoying an evening dinner party at your home. All of a sudden a mouse scurries across the floor parting the room like the Red Sea. The men jump up on their chairs and begin screaming for someone to get the intruder. One of the ladies puts down her appetizer plate and calmly grabs the broom and corals the little varmint. The disaster has been averted.
Is there anything wrong with this scene? …Duh, Read More!
This is a missionary video clip. The people have just heard that they are sinners. They have also just heard that God sent Jesus Christ to bear the sins (be the sin bearer) of those who would believe. [Watch this short clip and see what happens next]
Or do we no longer use the word sin any more in our messages on Sunday? The gospel is good news to the agonising, wretched sinner who understands the completed work of Christ on the cross on his behalf as his sin bearer. …Read More!
Michael Spencer had a couple of interesting articles. As the renowned blogger, Internet Monk he wrote a number of profound articles before he died. Here is a good one that he left. Is this a joke you ask? Can churches really have Christless sermons in their pulpits?Let’s have a look at some of these sermons where Jesus is a no-show:
Sermons based entirely on Old Testament stories. The Christian Bible is the whole Bible, Old and New. All those Old Testament stories are our stories, too. Paul uses Abraham as the great example of Christian faith, not one of the apostles. We want our children to know these stories, and to know the truth in every story from Adam, to Elijah to Esther.
But can we preach these Old Testament stories Christianly without any mention of Jesus? If we do, we are preaching truth, but we aren’t preaching Gospel truth. Our preaching may be practical, full of lessons and wisdom, but it will be absent of the Gospel. …Read More!
A good friend of mine’s mother died last week. The funeral is this week and yes we are all going to attend the funeral. Kids and all! I believe at funerals and burials we are reminded of the repulsiveness of death. We are also reminded that it was because of sin that death came into our world. Sin is as repulsive to God just as much as we find death among ourselves. However a very interesting trend these days is unfolding regarding death and funerals. I don’t know if you have seen this but….
I’ve concluded that the typical evangelical funeral can go quite a ways to making a person an atheist. I’ve also concluded that the church needs to reclaim the fundamental truth that Christianity is primarily for dying. Not primarily for living, but for dying; and because it is primarily about preparing to die, it has something profound to offer about living. Funerals need to rediscover death and thus once again have something to say to the living.
Before looking at the causes of the death of the funeral, a true confession about a funeral–oops, sorry, a celebration of life–I recently attended. (I am just getting out of theological therapy from the experience.)
My rescue came from the Christian funeral and burial of my mother, who died on Epiphany. All I can say is thanks be to God for a Christ-centered [burial], for a graveside service providing the godly focus on the death of death, and for a faithful pastor bringing Jesus in his forgiving and saving office to all present.
“Bob” was a prominent evangelical businessman. He surfed. He married. He procreated. He made barn loads of money. And so the assembly was treated to body-length photos of Bob the Action Figure. …Read More!
What would it be like if Satan took over a city? A very interesting thought here:
Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer “Yes, sir,” “No, ma’am,” and the churches would be full on Sunday … where Christ is not preached. …Read More!
The next time you go to a mega church, you will not be seated alone. Well to be more inclusive and increase numbers of attendants more novel methods are being employed. You see, you can now tag along your neighbour’s chihuahua and hamster to church if you want to. I kid you not.
In a society obsessed with pet dogs, cats, rodents, fish and reptiles, it only follows that churches should open their doors to Fido.
“As a boy in San Antonio, Paul Flotron helped his family raise miniature schnauzers,” writes Mark Oppenheimer in the New York Times. By age 10, he had accumulated a menagerie of “dwarf crocodiles, African pancake tortoises, birds, boa constrictors, hermit crabs, fish, and always dogs.
“Today, Flotron runs Creature Comforts Great and Small, a St. Louis pet-care business, and leads Noah’s Ark, a pet ministry of Grace Church, a large nondenominational Protestant church. Noah’s Ark runs a pet-food drive, supports a no-kill rescue, brings pets to visit the sick and infirm, and hosts a grief group for those who have lost a pet,” reports Oppenheimer:
“We actually have Bible study and discuss passages that are animal related,” Mr. Flotron said. “We make that our foundation.” …Read more!
The next time you strut around like a rooster with your tattoos all emblazoned on your heavily biceped arm or six pack torso remember not to annoy the fashion police in Saudi. A BIG no-no is a Jesus tattoo (that is if you even know what he looks like). One soccer star lived to tell the story….
Saudi Arabia’s religious police have arrested a South American soccer star in a shopping mall in the Saudi capital for failing to cover up his tattoo of Jesus.
Juan Pablo Pino, 24, who plays for the An-Nasr professional team was wearing a sleeveless shirt while walking with his young pregnant wife in a shopping mall in Riyadh, reported Asia News.
“The tattoo on his left shoulder led to the insults of some local Muslims,” reported the Vatican Insider newspaper. “The incident attracted the attention of the so-called ‘police for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,’ who stopped the couple.” …Read More!
A very interesting article here. Remember those veggies that sung like helium intoxicated chip munks and told stories from the bible almost similar to bible stories? Now there seems to be a hint of regret. You see…
VeggieTales “convinced kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity.” So says founder Phil Vischer in a new interview.
VeggieTales was a rags-to-riches entrepreneurial success story. Vischer and his counterpart, Mike Nawrocki, left college to pursue their dream of making wildly creative children’s videos. At the height of their success in the late 1990s, VeggieTales videos sold 7 million copies in a single year and generated $40 million in revenue. Though primarily aimed at a Christian market, VeggieTales had a broader cultural influence, pushing forward the boundaries of computer animation and children’s programming
But success brought failure. …Read More!
This article is an excerpt from a post by John Upchurch,
Many people celebrate Halloween without considering the history of the holiday. They put on costumes, attend parties, eat candy, and even pull pranks on neighbors. In fact, Americans spend billions of dollars each year decorating and preparing.
But there’s more to Halloween than jack-o-lanterns and scary stories. Let’s take a quick trip back in time to see where some of these customs came from—and if Christians should take part.
To understand what happened, we need to start with another holiday: All Saints Day. …Read More!
This one is really embarrassing. If a “Christian” continues to sin willfully and persistently and maintains a life of sin and deception not only does he bring shame to the name of the Lord, but also will cause every one to wonder if he truly is a Christian as he claims to be. Bewildered church members who had constantly been burgled were recently left dumbfounded when they caught their perennial burglar. You see…
[The pastor from] the First Free Methodist Church in Smyrna was caught via video camera attempting to burglarize the home of a church member, according to a Smyrna Police Department news release.
The burglary victim noticed on several occasions that medications were missing from the home, the release read. The burglaries occurred while the victim was away from the home so the victim set up a video camera in hopes of catching the suspect. …Read More!
Well, I know the buzz word now in evangelicalism is “spontaneous baptisms”. Afterall Newspring just baptized 1442 people! Elevation did over 2000 as well in two weekends flat! If what i’m hearing is right then, Pentecost is some what back! No?
But if …
” Your kid has to be carried into and out of the baptismal pool, has to wear goggles, and doesn’t appear to know what they’re doing or what is going on, you might want to …Read More!
I recently had the opportunity of visiting a friend whose devout Christian mother now has dementia. Instead of leaving at the end of the visit with a spirit of heaviness, I left pretty much encouraged in the Lord. I will tell you why.
For those who do not know what dementia is, imagine having started reading this article and then as though as from sleep you catch yourself asking: Hey who am I? What am I doing on this blog? This is usually what happens in the early stages of dementia. …Read More!
It’s Saturday and the door bell rings. Voila! Its your local Watch Towerites with their colourful tracts and booklets. Not to mention you had prepared to take them down on their own turf but forgot to read up and get ready for this round of theological gymnastics. So are these bunch of ever smiling, (walking in pairs) religious troops really Christians or something else? How do I witness to them? I am glad you asked…
Jehovah’s Witnesses say they are the only true Christians, but they are neither Protestant nor Catholic. The fundamental doctrinal issue that distinguishes them from orthodox Christianity is the Trinity. They say it is a pagan teaching, but they misrepresent it, saying that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit must be three gods. They actually agree with the Trinity doctrine when it says that the Father and the Son are two Persons, but imagine they need to prove this to Trinitarians! They fail to grasp how the three Persons comprise the One Being of God, and so they come up with the idea of a Big God and a little god – two gods. They say Jesus was created (Arianism) and was Michael the archangel and that Jesus’ body was not resurrected; it simply disappeared and He rose as a spirit creature. They say the Holy Spirit is not a person but is Jehovah’s active force or energy. …Read more!
Interesting conversation here:
[HT Thabiti Anyabwile]
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 