MacArthur on "Your Best Life Now"

"I found this on page 5, 'God wants this to be the best time of your life.' On another page it says, 'Happy, successful, fulfilled individuals have learned how to live their best life now.' On another page it says, 'As you put the principles found in these pages to work today, you will begin living your best life now.' And that is absolutely true if you're not a Christian. This is it, you better get the book because your next life is going to be infinitely worse than this one."

-John MacArthur on Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now"-

For the full sermon check out...

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Videos/V8280-334

Proper Alignment of Affections

"I'm not on a mission to help you feel good about yourselves. I am on a mission to help you feel so good about the greatness of God, that you forget about yourselves."

John Piper

Great Sermon for Those Thinking of Pastoral Ministry

If you are considering going into ministry or are currently serving in

ministry... I highly recommend this video.

Lord of All

"...the Word Condescended to Man’s Engrossment in Corporeal Things, by Even Taking a Body. All Man’s Superstitions He Met Halfway; Whether Men Were Inclined to Worship Nature, Man, Demons, or the Dead, He Showed Himself Lord of All These."

~Athanasius~

I love my church

I love my church! There is not much more to be said then that. I love the people,. I love the preaching. I love the focus on God’s glory. I love the growth I have experienced in my own life through it. I love the challenges. I love that though it is imperfect, I can see Christ who is perfect, refining it. I love my church!

With that said, there are challenges. We are a small church, which means volunteers do most things. We don’t have a professional worship team. There are awkward moments when our sound does not go right. We do not have a professional secretary, I know because I am the secretary. Because we are small, we can’t hide in a crowd. Which means, we see each other often and can rub each other the wrong way. If something is going on in our lives, most people know about it. We are not flashy, simply because we can’t be flashy. In a culture driven by commercialism, the endless pursuit of worldly perfectionism, and entertainment we simply do not have what it takes to compete.

So what’s my point? To be honest… I am not sure. I long to see my church grow, but not because I long for huge crowds. I want it to grow because Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise, honor, and majesty. He is worthy of more people knowing that worth and bowing down before him. I want to see my church grow into a place where the passion for His glory is undeniably evident. I want to see more people going into our community and proclaiming His glory. I want to see my church giving thousands of dollars to make disciples in Africa, China, and the Middle East. I want us to dig wells, build houses, and provide medicine for those with Malaria and AIDS. These things seem impossible with a church of 65 people. But, since when is God limited to what I think is possible?

Rebuilding a church is not easy! It takes people who can see the strength in what we have, and look beyond the weaknesses. It takes people who have a vision for future potential, rather than what it right in front of their faces. It takes people who realize everyone must pull their weight; the “someone else will do it” mentality just won’t cut it. It takes brave people who are willing to step out in faith; people who are willing to leave behind the idea of a perfect church; people who want to set a course, rather than just ride along someone else’s course.

I love my church! I see so much potential in it. It is being built on the right things: Solid preaching and a community that wants to grow in sanctification and bear each other’s needs. I just wish others could see this potential. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know if I can do that. It seems virtually impossible, but then again nothing is impossible with God. If you are looking for a church, might I suggest mine? We are not prefect, we are not flashy, but I have seen God work miracles in it. I have seen people who were spiritually dead come to life! I have seen people forsake the love of money, forsake lust, and forsake comfort all because Christ had changed them. I love my church!

http://www.folfcrc.com (Fountain of Life Fellowship)

Waste of my Life

I just finished listening to a sermon that was biblically inaccurate, based 100% upon speculation and psychology, called into question God's sovereignty and the inerrancy of scripture, and made the accusation that the apostles were wrong for writing the way they did in the Gospels. Needless to say, I was angry after listening to it. However, I am an idiot! For some reason, I have gotten into the habit of listening to horribly inaccurate sermons online. The end result is always the same: frustration, anger, self-righteousness, and pride. I know ahead of time I am going to highly disagree with them and that I am just going to be annoyed and yet I still listen; just waiting for the train wreck. Why do I do this? It is not beneficial in any manner. Does anyone else find themselves doing this, or am I just crazy?

Fun Quotation

Calvinists do not generally like to speak of luck. Instead of wishing people "good luck," we prefer to say, "providential blessings." Yet if we were to speak of our "lucky day," we would mark that day in eternity when God decided to choose us.

-R.C. Sproul

The Madness of Sin

"Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet."

-Charles Spurgeon-

Nominals, Evangelism, and the Church

I don’t have much to add to the following quotation.  (Originally I was only going to put a small portion of it, but it was so good I could not stop.)  We wonder why our churches are filled with so many nominal Christians.  Granted Jesus told us there would be tares among the wheat (Matt.13:24-30), but at the same time are our evangelism strategies just adding to the problem?

“Some evangelism strategies seek to make the Gospel attractive to unbelievers by fronting all the benefits of Christianity and saving the costs for later.  They promise that you’ll experience more satisfaction, less stress, a better sense of community, and an increased sense of meaning in life- and you’ll be prepared for eternity to boot!- if you’ll just make a decision for Christ now.  Perhaps all of these things are right around the corner for the listening unbeliever.  Yet what does this kind of “benefit evangelism” do to the biblical Gospel?  It makes the Gospel to appear to be all about me and improving my lifestyle and making me happier. 

 … the Gospel is not ultimately about me.  It’s about God making His holiness and sovereign mercy known.  It is about God’s glory, and gathering worshipers for Himself who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.  It is about God vindicating His holiness by punishing Christ for the sins of all those who repent and believe.  It is about making a name for Himself in the world by gathering a people and separating them to Himself for the spread of His fame to the nations.

'Benefit evangelism' fills our churches with people who are taught to expect everything to go their way just because they became Christians.  But Jesus promises persecution for following Him, not worldly perks.  We want to build Christians and churches who preserve through hardship, who are willing to suffer and be persecuted and even die for the Gospel of Christ, because they value God’s glory more than the temporal benefits of conversion.  We don’t want people to become Christians because it will reduce their stress.  We want them to become Christians because they know they need to repent of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and joyfully take up their cross and follow Him for the glory of God.” 

Taken from "The Deliberate Church", by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

A Puritan Prayer

LORD, HIGH and HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

   where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

   hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

   that the way down is the way up,

   that to be low is to be high,

   that the broken heart is the healed heart,

   that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

   that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

   that to have nothing is to possess all,

   that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

   that to give is to receive

   that the valley is the place of vision.

LORD, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,

   and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

           thy life in my death,

           thy joy in my sorrow,

           thy grace in my sin,

           thy riches in my poverty,

           thy glory in my valley.

Youth Ministry

My friend Rachel sent me this link, so I thought I should pass the goodness on. If you have ever worked in Youth Ministry and have a sense of humor, you should enjoy it.

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/06/564-8-people-every-youth-group-needs.html

Myths vs. Facts

I have always been my greatest critic, so when I write things or post videos of other people, most of the time it has to do with areas of my own life that bring forth conviction. Obviously, this is not always the case. There have been times when I have called out certain teachings and doctrines that I feel are questionable, and done my best to replace them with what I believe to be sound doctrine. It’s funny- when I do this I usually get a mixed bag of responses. Some people support my thoughts and add encouragement, others may disagree but do their best to see where I am coming from, and still others see the word doctrine and automatically associate my ideas with those of the Pharisees. It is this last group of people that I thought of when I read the satirical article, “If Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians was Published in Christianity Today”.

Anyway, it got me thinking… I want to clear up some myths about my own thoughts.

Myth: I love to study theology and doctrine because it gives me power and allows me to feel superior, while making other feel inferior.

Fact: I love to study theology because it challenges me to consider why I love Jesus. Through the processing of doctrine, I gain a better understanding of my own sin, I gain better insight of the depth of Christ’s love, and I am challenged with the understanding of God’s worthiness to be worshipped. These truths continue to draw me to my knees.

Myth: I am only concerned with knowing about God. I have no desire to actually apply it to my life.

Fact: Do I love doctrine? Yes. Do I hate unapplied doctrine? Yes! Am I perfect at applying my doctrine? By no means! Please, re-read through my posts and comments. Never once do I applaud or encourage unapplied doctrine. I am always defending sound doctrine because I believe it will determine how we act and behave. If you find yourself saying, “Doctrine is not important, we just need to worship God and live like him”, then your theology says we must worship only in spirit. If you find yourself saying, “I only need to understand God, nothing else”, then your theology says we must worship only in truth. Did Jesus not say: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

Myth: I hate all social justice. I never want to help the poor, downcast, or anyone who suffers.

Fact: I love social justice! However, as Christians, I believe our social justice must look differently than those outside the Church. My basis for this is Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” No one has ever come to salvation apart from hearing the gospel. When I hear people say, “We just need to show others the love of Christ”, it makes me cringe. Not because there isn’t any truth in the statement, but because it is only half the truth. We need to show people the love of Christ and we need to tell people about the love of Christ. I am not saying we need to beat it over people’s heads, nor am I saying that we shouldn’t form relationships first. However, I am saying that social justice needs to include, at some point, the Gospel message. People need to hear and understand that their greatest problem is not their misfortune in life; rather, it is that they have sinned against a holy and righteous God and therefore are in danger of God’s wrath in Hell. They must also hear and understand that God, in his love, sent his son Jesus Christ to suffer and endure the wrath of God in our place. Social justice must teach that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

Myth: My blog is written for everyone.

Fact: While everyone can see my blog, it is certainly not written for every audience. Most of the things I write about are discussions I would only have with other professing Christians. Please do not think that I go around to every person I meet and start shoving theology and doctrine down their throats. That would be completely inappropriate. These are family discussions, which only take place between brothers and sisters in Christ. As Christians, we need to be keeping each other accountable regarding doctrine and practice.


XOXOXO
Scott

Should I Listen to Emergent Church Types?

I thought this answer was respectful, yet very honest, regarding some of the leaders within the Emergent Church. More then anything, I appreciate Mark Driscoll's wisdom of knowing the truth of Scripture before we start reading books about Scripture.

The Unwasted Life Vs. The Wasted Life

"In April 2000, Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon, West Africa. Ruby was over eighty. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing eighty years old, and serving at Ruby’s side in Cameroon. The brakes failed, the car went over a cliff, and they were both killed instantly. I asked my congregation: Was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great passion, namely, to be spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the gloryof Jesus Christ—even two decades after most of their American counterparts had retired to throw away their lives on trifles. No, that is not a tragedy. That is a glory. These lives were not wasted. And these lives were not lost. “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35)."


"I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a storyfrom the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life."


Excerpts from John Piper's, "Don't Waste Your Life"

Some Good Quotes on Brokenness

"The kingdom of God is a kingdom of Paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self." Charles Colson

"God will never plant the seed of his life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that seed where the conviction of his spirit has brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of repentance as well as the tears of joy." Alan Redpath

"Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life. Safety and peace come only after we have been forced to our knees. God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance." A. W. Tozer

"True prayer is born out of brokenness." Francis J. Roberts

Thoughts For the Sake of Thinking

I confess that I am not the best when it comes to updating my blog. It’s not that I am lacking for ideas to write about; rather, believe it or not, I am a perfectionist on certain things, blogging being one of them. I don’t like to throw out haphazard ideas, so I usually spend way too much time formulating my thoughts. Because of this, I have decided to make a short list of things I have been pondering and I promise I will go back and explain them later. Feel free to add any input to my list.

• I love reformed theology because I believe it gives all glory to God!
• Contrary to popular belief, sound doctrine is essential to the Christian faith.
• Social justice for the sake of social justice is pointless. People’s greatest need is not comfort or health, rather salvation from the Father’s wrath.
• People will either hate the Church or love the Church. This depends upon whether they love Christ or hate Christ. There is no middle ground.
• I hate false gospels! (Health/Wealth, Self-esteem, etc.)
• Without the doctrine of sin, Jesus died in vain.
• I have no reason to boast about anything! I am a sinner saved 100% by God’s doing.
• Jesus was not joking when he told us to radically amputate the things that cause us to stumble sexually.
• My relationships are deeper and more genuine then ever before. This is only by the grace of God.

Encouragement in Sanctification

"This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be but we are growing toward it. The process is not yet finished but it is going on. This is not the end but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified."

Martin Luther - Defense and Explanation of All the Articles (1521)

I don't have much to add to this quotation because I believe the words speak for themselves. For those who are clawing, pressing forward, fighting tooth and nail, turning from sin and turning to God, I pray this brings you encouragement.

On Fire, by Jonathan Foreman

They tell you where you need to go
They tell you when you'll need to leave
They tell you what you need to know
They tell you who you need to be

But everything inside you knows
There's more than what you've heard
There's so much more than empty conversations
Filled with empty words

And you're on fire
When He's near you
You're on fire
When He speaks
You're on fire
Burning at these mysteries

Give me one more time around
Give me one more chance to see
Give me everything You are
Give me one more chance to be... (near You)

Cause everything inside me looks like
Everything I hate
You are the hope I have for change
You are the only chance I'll take

When I'm on fire
When You're near me
I'm on fire
When You speak
And I'm on fire
Burning at these mysteries
These mysteries...

I'm standing on the edge of me
I'm standing on the edge of everything I've never been before.
And i've been standing on the edge of me
Standing on the edge

And I'm on fire
When You're near me
I'm on fire
When You speak
(Yea) I'm on fire
Burning at these mysteries... these mysteries... these mysteries
Ah you're the mystery
You're the mystery