Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
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.
Every week somebody runs to the news papers with a chunk of bacon, half eaten pizza and wet patch on a nappy claiming to see the face of Jesus. Yes, they say it is the very face of the Lord Jesus Christ. It almost seems to be a sure way of getting attention these days. If I were to line up and sell all the things in my house (let alone the kitchen) that appeared like a hungry man with stringy iron filings for a beard I would be a rich man in two days!
Lupita la Bourdette said one such image appeared to her on the screen door leading into her home. Well…
“This is something that people have to see to believe,” la Bourdette, a Catholic, told KRGV reporters. “When I saw it, I wanted to cry. It impressed me so much.”
The resident of Pharr, Texas, said the image of Jesus and his mother Mary, whom she says appears to be holding a baby, showed up on the metal screen six years ago, shortly after she had a dream in which a little girl told her to pray for the world because “a lot of bad things are going to happen.” …Read More!
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!
For some reason I love this evangelism clip. It goes step by step in a conversational manner in introducing the gospel. Watch this:
Mark Spence and Tony “The Lawman” Miano found this young man on the waterfront, in Long Beach (CA), during Ambassadors’ Academy #1. …Read More!
HT Jim McMaster via Facebook
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!
Yup, here you have got a good illustration of (a credo-peedo) immersion from above.
[HT Susan Hamm via Facebook]
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!
Here is a humorous video (with awesome royal marching music in the background) illustrating a number classic errors that are frequently used by opponents of Calvinism.
HT Turretin Fan
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…
This is a typical example of a man centred song. Literally…
Seriously, where are the good song writers of old? People who wrote God exalting lyrics with profound depth. …More!
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!
These are the Halloween Million Dollar gospel tracts you can get at LivingWaters.com Give these away to the kids coming to your door. It has a million dollar question at the back. [See below for the message on the back of this tract].
…Read more!
Who would believe it? Just exegete this slo-mo walk as he practices to walk on stage to the pulpit on sunday. 😉
HT J. Taylor via Facebook
With help from the old monk and Staupitz, but especially from the study of Paul’s Epistles, Luther gradually was brought to the conviction that the sinner is justified by faith alone, without works of law. By the end of his convent life he came to the conclusion that “the righteousness of God” (Rom. 1:17) is the righteousness which God freely gives in Christ to those who believe in him. Righteousness is not to be attained through man’s own exertions and merits. Rather, it is complete and perfect in Christ, and all the sinner has to do is to accept it from Him as a free gift. …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!
An instructional video at last:
PS: No animals were harmed in the making of this product. (One’s gotta add a disclaimer on every video so as to appear relevant and green) 🙂
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 do when Summer is coming to an end and the cold breeze of Autumn begins to make your dwindling congregation hanker for more novel things to excite them into coming back to church? No don’t tell me you go back to teaching and preaching the bible. When you have a mega church there are is a show to run and you have to be pragmatic creative to keep the numbers up. There was a time when the church grew to maturity by relentless exposition of scripture and sound doctrine. No, not nowadays but you will puke at love the sound of this surely ….
Fellowship Church has announced that Rev Run, will appear live at the church’s Miami campus as part of a teaching series called Run to the House. Rev Run is best known as being a founding member of hip hop group Run DMC, and reality TV star of MTV’s “Run’s House.” Rev has helped break down walls and build bridges between races and cultures through music and fashion.
For Pastor Ed Young, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church, bringing in Rev Run to share a message of strength, direction and wisdom at Fellowship Church seemed a perfect fit. Rev Run’s humorous outlook on life is something that appeals to everyone. …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!
I wonder if you have watched this before? Charles Haddon Spurgeon is said to have been one of the most prolific preachers that England has ever produced. His sermons relentlessly pointed to Christ and he emphasised the Sovereignty of God in salvation. Have a peek…
[HT Jim West via Facebook]
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!
I came across this sobering picture recently…
It reminded me of that other church where the pastor calls him self the “holy ghost bar tender” I wonder whether he has one of these sign posts at the church exit gate?
[HT Facebook friends]
Finally I agree…and I see their view point. Don’t you?
[HT Chad Hunt via Facebook]
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!
After a thorough examination by Arminian church officials, Bob was found to be only “slightly dead” in trespasses and sins.
[HT Reformed Gene via Facebook]
On a lighter note: In fear of losing his job to a contemporary praise band, church organist Ernest Cleghorn wowed the congregation with his hip hop rendition of “Yo, Worship the King”.
I sure would love to hear him do the Hip hop version of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. Wouldn’t ya? 😉
[HT Reformed Gene via Facebook]
Okay if God really loves me He is just going to…no He must give me what I want! And I want THAT iPhone 4S! It’s voice controlled, I can talk to it and ask it tomorrow’s weather. You talk to it and it does all you want it to do. It has an eight-megapixel camera. Surely if God loves me (like he loves David Cameron and Obama who also have iPhones) he will let me throw my teeny weeny good for nothing old phone that I have to press to my wonky ears even when I am walking to church -and get me this i-Phone 4S. Only that…
Life would be so much simpler if they invented an app to save you queuing for a new iPhone. But yesterday the only way the world’s techno-hungry masses could guarantee being among the first to own the latest toy from Apple was to stand in line.
And so, in extraordinary scenes that bordered on iMania, hundreds of thousands of gadget-worshippers laid siege to Apple stores across the country and around the globe to get their hands on the iPhone 4S. Many camped out and queued for more than 24 hours. One emerged joyfully from the store in Covent Garden after doorstepping it for ten days and nights. At the nearby flagship Regent Street branch, more than 1,000 snaked around crush barriers and police were called to marshal the crowd. Read more of this post
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!
Kirk Franklin’s meteoric rise in the late 1990s across the Christian-secular divide was followed by instant world wide recognition. With unprecedented popularity came the usual questions. Would he sell out and water down his message? Would there be a down grade? Would he let the whole world sing to traditional gospel songs like Savior more than Life To me or The Reason Why We Sing ? Kirk’s best answer to that question was his next ear deafening hit aptly titled Stomp.
Stomp, featuring Cheryl “Salt” James (of Salt-N-Pepa), was a huge hit, enjoying heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels, and charting at No. 1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for 2 weeks, even making it in to the Top 40. This was the long awaited manna in form of a groovy Holy Hip hop tune. Kirk had finally introduced the entertainment world to a luke warm ‘lovable Hip Jesus’ who you could dance and groove to till you got high. Theologically by popularising his message of a ‘lovable Hip Jesus’ was he making both church folk and secular audiences happy with the same tune? Or was he another pied piper dulling the ears of a generation and making the Holy appear common? …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!
In the age we live in, nobody is going to care about how much ‘bible’ the speaker knows. They are going to relate to how funny his stories are we say. That’s why a good sense of humor is kind of like the new ‘doctrine’. It’s kindda what your church falls or stands on, right?
[HT Old Truth]
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]
Well, well, well. I would have loved to have come up with these patented methods but some body beat me to them. But I was close though. 😉 So, do you….
Image is everything...Try 3-D!
Want to be in a Mega-Church? Want to start one? Want to know how to function like a Mega-Church? Here are 666 ways. (Ooops my 6 key stuck, sorry, I meant: 6 ways.)
1. Insist on a lack of specificity. Can we be honest here? The more specific you are with doctrine, the more detailed your statement of faith – the more likely you will make some uncomfortable or confused. Solution? Be very VERY general. For instance, under “Beliefs” use a small list. Maybe four items. (1) We believe in God (2) We love Jesus (3) People are important (4) We have no expectations. Now I ask you, how can you lose with that? That would barely offend an ACLU lawyer.
2. Sing a LOT of songs and have talented, professional quality musicians and singers. Sing a LOT of songs. Don’t sing the old dirge hymns, sing things that are peppy and fast. Sing a LOT of songs. Don’t emphasize doctrinal content like the old hymns, make the songs subjective. …Read More!
Sadly, I fear this is how some preachers prepare sermons.
[HT Rick Ianniello]
For lack of any thing to do I some how gave Harold Camping two minutes of my day. Now I need them back. Yup, he is back and worse than ever. This time….
Sold everything and waiting for Harold's rapture...again!
Harold Camping, the Christian broadcaster who boldly announced that the world would end on May 21, only to later say that he was “flabbergasted” when the rapture did not occur, is now telling everyone to get ready for the real rapture, which is set to occur on Oct. 21 – probably. …Read More!
If you got a letter from me while in prison it would probably be full of me whingeing. I probably would complain how I’m missing three baths a day, missing day time Christian television game shows, missing the pizza parties on Sundays and movie sermon series. Oh yeah, you would get an ear full. Afterall we modern day Christians live in comfort and theology is just a by the way- a disposable means to an end. Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been in jail for the last 3 years. Has faced trial for apostasy and converting to Christianity and at this moment awaits execution by hanging. Despite many attempts by the authorities to quietly advise him to recant and renounce his faith in Christ he has remained steadfast. Here is an excerpt of his letter to his church members. See if you can hear his side of the story:
Dear brothers and sisters, Salam
In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am continuously seeking grace and mercy to you, that you remember me and those who are bearing efforts for his name in your prayers.
Your loyalty to God is the cause of my strength and encouragement…. …Read More!
If you are given to health, wealth and prosperity gospel making dubious prayers then I have one more request for you. Name and claim this now! Don’t look at the picture of the world’s first super bus. It’s been made to grace the speed of a Lamborghini but embrace the soft and finer comforts of a luxury jet. It could make a good means of transport to go on state banquets missions and show off to other celebrities “to preach the gospel” if you are a millionaire televangelist. For other earthlings and lesser mortals, who want to know more …
You might be waiting a while for one of these to pull up at the local bus stop. This is the world’s first super bus, crafted with state-of-the-art materials which seats 23 passengers and had a top speed of 155mph (250km/h).
Developed in Holland by an astronaut and a former Formula One aerodynamics expert, the midnight-blue, electric-powered vehicle costs £7 million and was flown to the United Arab Emirates where it will be used by a sheikh.
The high-tech bus means he will be able to complete the 75-mile commute from Dubai to neighbouring Abu Dhabi in under 30 minutes.
Made of lightweight materials including aluminium, carbon fibre, fibreglass and polycarbonate, it is 49ft long (15 metres), 8ft wide (2.5 metres) and 5ft 5in high (1.65 metres). …Read More!
At a time when being a Christian in some muslim countries is tantamount to a jail sentence and even possible execution, the reverse seems to be happening in the UK. You see…
With Muslims established as a privileged class and non-Muslims converting to Islam simply to avoid the misery of second-class status, British prisoners already sound like Sharia entities. “Prisoners convert to Islam for jail perks,” by Richard Ford in The Times, June 8 (thanks to Paul):
Inmates are converting to Islam in order to gain perks and the protection of powerful Muslim gangs, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns today.
Dame Anne Owers says that some convicted criminals are taking up the religion in jail to receive benefits only available to practising Muslims. …Read More!
One very good piece of advice would be to avoid a snake handing church service. But most people love impromptu adventure and will scale Mount Everest just to place chewing gum on the top of the mountain – because the bible verse for the day (which just happened to be John 13:27) said ‘what you are about to do, do it fast’. So…
How do you know if you have inadvertently wandered into a snake handling church? For one thing, every single congregation has several members who are badly maimed or disfigured. In the 40 US churches there have been over 100 fatalities. But if that doesn’t tip you off: If the greeter at the door looks genuinely surprised that you’ve come to visit; or if they ask for the offering in cash, check, or mouse. …Read More!
The mark of a good stand up comedian is being able to tell the same joke all the time with a straight face and get the same reaction. Some preachers in a bid to keep numbers up have turned their sermons into full fledged stand up routines. Others try to do exegetical gymnastics. I really don’t know where to put renowned ‘anointed’ televangelist, word of faith pastor and bible expositor Jessie Duplantis (oh, who has also been to heaven and back unlike none of you).
The act is something you fall back on if you can’t think of anything else to say. ~Bill Hick’s Principles of Comedy
Now you are going to think I’ve gone nuts. I promise I did not make this up. I am not even from Seattle. Well, pets in Seattle seem to be hearing the gospel more than you think…
The cats no doubt had their own weekend stuff to do, like extended napping. The fish probably didn’t relish a car ride. But the dogs, ever sociable, showed up with enthusiasm at Immanuel Lutheran Church in South Lake Union Saturday morning.
“Welcome, whether you have two legs or four legs,” began Pastor Susan Burchfield, her clerical collar just visible above a purple tunic, as she introduced a short service called the Blessing of the Animals. …Read More!
Things in Iran are quite amusing-especially if you are a Christian. The Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani (who was jailed 3 years ago and has recently been sentenced to death after trial by Iranian court) apparently has been going on rampage extorting and raping women. Well, did his trial mention this? Uh, no but…
Iran state media put out a stunning report Saturday claiming that imprisoned Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is facing the death sentence for rape and extortion, not for apostasy and refusing to renounce his religion, as his lawyer, human rights groups and Western news media have reported. …Read More!
There are conversations in the Bible that are so entertaining. The first that comes to mind is the conversation that takes place on the road to Emmaus.
As they (two disciples) talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” Luke 24:15-17
I can imagine how this guy would have described the death, burial and resurrection of Christ if he was on that road to Emmaus too. Watch this:
He would make a good witness, huh? 😉
I have a riddle. This section of discussion is found some where in the blogosphere. With no clues (what so ever) as to who is being discussed I would like you to read with an open mind. Then I will ask you a question at the end. He is…
… a self-styled “bishop”—notorious for his love of money, who teaches a false prosperity gospel, who freely shills for every aberration on TBN, who was ordained in a Sabellian denomination, who has been confronted repeatedly about his anti-trinitarianism, who refuses to renounce modalism, who declines to embrace any standard expression of Trinitarian conviction, and who (on top of all that) is unclear on practically every doctrine germane to the gospel …Read More!
Every generation has its wild eyed enthusiast who grabs hold of the coat tails of a principle and swings the tides of history. Wow! Can I ever stop blushing after hearing what Steven Furtick has ushered into evangelicalism? Yup, even Charles Finney would not have come up with such an ingenius idea. The best Finney did was to leave us with introduction of altar calls. (Okay yes, plus crumbs in decisional regeneration in his classic sermon “Sinners bound to change their own hearts”). But this goes even further. Spontaneous baptisms! My jaw dropped down to my ankles in amazement when I read that…
At Elevation Church in the summer of 2011, we saw one of the most audacious acts in the history of this church.
We believe in baptism at Elevation Church, and we believe every person who has made a decision to follow Christ should be baptized. And to give as many people the opportunity to get baptized, we decided to spontaneously baptize people. We provided an opportunity to get baptized… on the spot.
We baptized 2,158 people over 2 weekends. It was unbelievable. It was audacious.
If you’d like to find out more of what we did to make the baptisms a success, we’ve made everything available to you to download for free right here.[Editor: Link removed by a hater! Possibly a Calvinist!] …Read More!
I came across this picture and it just reminded me of two preacher’s kids. No, not just ordinary preacher’s kids – mega church preacher’s kids. Yup, that elite successful echelon of accomplished MOGs (Men of God). What are their squabbles like?
I know what you are thinking. Exactly!
On a lighter note: I came across this witty chart and I still haven’t stopped rolling on the floor laughing. (ROFL for you tweeters who use 140 characters or less). See what you make of it:
[HT Zwinglius Redivivus]
It’s out. It’s all over the internet. The award winning documentary is free to watch. It’s the “180” movie. And here it is:
What dya t’ink then?
Hooray! Hooray! It’s here! The ultimate pew is out now!
Terms and conditions: A word of caution to you sleepy heads and …Read More!
This bit of news will make Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield and John Owen spin in their graves. The land in which they joyously preached the Word of God seems to have lapsed into “intolerance”. Wait a minute, who is being intolerant? You be the judge:
Police in Lancashire have told the owner of a Christian café to stop displaying Bible texts on a video screen, because it breaches public order laws. …Read More!
On lighter note: What are the odds that a falling satellite will kill you? Probably zero — but your car may not be safe. Lol.
If you glean your moral precepts from newspapers surveys, here is a little something for you…
Couples who live together before getting married could be behind the falling divorce rate, research suggests.
Researchers believe the large rise in girlfriends and boyfriends cohabiting could be acting as a ‘firewall’ stopping unstable relationships deteriorating and ending in divorce years later. …Read More!
I dont know if this news is going to make you squirm or breakdance but Alabama authorities think one can have their cake and it it too. Well…
BAY MINETTE, Ala. – Authorities say non-violent offenders in Bay Minette, Ala. now have a new choice: Go to jail, or go to church every Sunday for a year. …Read More!
Well, some of you usually imagine that when you go to church to meet with your pastor there’s going to be some good ol’ bible study. If you are a member of Guts church its alittle different…..
TULSA, Oklahoma — Former Tulsa Golden Hurricane linebacker George Clinkscale died Wednesday night after participating in an unsanctioned amateur boxing match held at Guts Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The fights are targeted to young adults 18 – 30 years old, and promoted online as part of their “Sub 30” ministry.
GUTS held Wednesday’s match in the parking lot and promoted it with billboards, but it passed under the radar of the state authorities who oversee amateur boxing. …Read More!
It is always good to get involved in meaty theological discussion that challenges you to read more of the bible and flex your spiritual muscles. Imagine the excitement when one pastor went to meet up with his study class and found this question being discussed. Well I will let him tell the story….
Recently, in a leadership training class at our church, a spirited discussion broke out on whether sanctification is monergistic or synergisitic. No, this is not what every class is like at University Reformed Church. But this one was. I wasn’t there, but I was told the discussion was energetic, intelligent, and respectful. I’m glad to serve at a church where people know and care about this level of theological precision. …Read More!
Today I was reading Loraine Boettner’s classic book The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (1932). Well, it wasn’t the first time I was tucking into it. It has always (okay over the last 2 years) been one of my favorite books. At this point I look at my small library and immediately shudder (yeah, its a very small library these days after I got rid of my word of faith, prosperity and purpose driven rubble).
So, who was Loraine Boettner? Where do we begin? Well…
Loraine Boettner
Loraine was born March 7th 1901 in Linden Missouri. He lived with his family; his father being a Christian school superintendent and his mother a housewife. Loraine attended his father’s church until he was 18. Then he joined his mother’s church–the Centennial Methodist Church; his mother was of a different denominational background than his father. …Read More!
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 