The Twin Towers of Faith!

Here are a couple of links for your viewing pleasure. Both are from a dad singing about his children and are a joy to listen to (you have to listen closely), if you have children, I think you can relate to his situation:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA


http://youtube.com/watch?v=9V1gLr5jW7o

Enjoy!

Here is a link to an interview between Don Carson, Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinty School. and Tony Payne, Senior Editor for The Briefing on the topic "Is the church a house of worship?":

www.beginningwithmoses.org/articles/carsonworship.htm

Here is an excerpt from that interview:

"...This is why I don't like things that go on and on, repeating the same thing again and again. They are like mantras. They worry me. Not that there shouldn't be any repetition-some of the psalms are repetitious-but when it becomes a way of building people up to an emotional high, it's a form of manipulation that is not godly.

But on the other hand, I don't want to be afraid of the articulation of truth, both in a sermon and through song, that breaks people down in tears. I've been in some wonderful Christian meetings that have been powerful emotionally, so long as we aren't trying to achieve it by manipu­lation-either by the preacher telling a weepy story for effect, or for mantra­-like chants that get people all worked up. If the truth of the gospel is being rightly expressed through word and song, then we should not be afraid of emotion.

My mother died of Alzheimer's disease, over nine years. Nine or ten months before she died, you'd get a small flicker from the eyes or squeeze of the hand if you held up pictures of her grandchildren. Six months before she died, if you sang an old hymn like 'Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine', you'd get a squeeze. Or a quote from the King James Version that she'd been brought up on. That was about the last thing that produced any response in her. The most deeply embedded memories in that decaying brain were those old hymns and memorised Scripture. There is some­thing worrying to me about a genera­tion that sings choruses that won't last more than five years. There's not much memorization of Scripture, and there's not much memorization of doctrinally profound hymns. I want to see that reborn. Nobody's going to die remembering 'He's a great big wonderful God'."

Here is a link to a paper, which I have found useful, entitled "How a Christian Can Read Any Old Testament Passage" it is an outline taken from both Beale's and Greidanus' works:

http://www.covopc.org/Papers/Howtoread_OT.html

I would encourage you to read the outline and ponder how we, as Christians, can read the Old Testament in light of the revelation of Christ!

The Postmodern

At last we know all truth is gray: no more
Faith’s raucous rhetoric, this blinding trap
Of absolutes, this brightly colored map
Of good and bad: our ocean has no shore.
Dogmatic truth is chimera: deplore
All arrogance: the massive gray will sap
The sparkling hues of bigotry, and cap
The rainbow, mask the sun, make dullness soar.

Yet tiny, fleeting hesitations lurk
Behind the storied billows of the cloud
Like sparkling, prism’d glory in the murk:
The freedom of the gray becomes a shroud.

Where nothing can be false, truth must away—
Not least the truth that all my world is gray.

–D.A. Carson, Published in First Things, (No. 93, May 1999), p. 51.

Our 'friend' Victor Wooten (see this link http://preacherthoughts.blogspot.com/ ) has a rival..if you've never seen Stanley Clark plucking the ol' strings on the acoustic bass, you've got to check this out...dedicated to you Kerux :-)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MmI_BsVfuCg

The Twins

Hey everybody,

Here is a link to Dr. Wayne Grudem speaking on various subjects as well as a few documents which may be of some interest:

http://www.phoenixseminary.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=223

Enjoy and may God richly bless you as you study His Word!!

The Potty Driven Church

Mainstream evangelicalism is literally in the toilet.

Christ’s Family Church of Hastings, Minnesota is now using the bathroom as a way to reach out to lost souls. http://cfc.ccbchurch.com/app/

"Our men’s room (decorated in race car motif) gives members a reason to invite people to church. That is what Christ Family Church is all about; reaching those who have become disenchanted with religion but are searching for a relationship with Jesus Christ."

That’s right. Toilet evangelism.

Somehow, a zoomy bathroom is supposed to save sinful souls. Even the local newspaper wrote an article titled, "Come for the Bathroom, Stay for the Service." We have moved from John the Baptist proclaiming truth in the wilderness, to using a testosterone designed men’s room to lure people to a building. While there is nothing wrong with a nifty water closet, there is plenty wrong with using it to attract people to Jesus.

We implore people to come to the Savior, not come for the bathroom. We promote Jesus, not the amenities. Church is for Christians, not curiosity seekers. We win them to the Lord, not by being hip. Evangelism is to be done by church members, not the church bathroom.

To demonstrate the foolishness of such an approach, imagine a touring Monet exhibit that advertises, "We have a new bathroom at the museum. Please come see this amazing new facility." Can you imagine the organizers using a restroom to lure people to see the valuable paintings? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

How could we sink so low?

It all started with money. The prosperity Gospel promised, "Come to Jesus and you will be wealthy." Then we promised health. "Come to Jesus and you will be healthy."
Well that was just too "un-Biblical" for a new breed of evangelicals. We would never use cash and a pain-free life to bait people to "make a decision for Jesus."

Instead, we decided to uncover people’s emotional needs and dangle those as a draw card to salvation. Self-esteem, loneliness, depression, discontentment, emotional scars, disobedient children, wayward spouses, low social status, low employment status, lack of purpose, a wayward golf swing. Gotta problem? Ask Jesus into your heart.

The seeker sensitive/felt needs movement was in business. And business was good.
But, it never takes long for man to grow weary of man-made methods. Just like every other offer from the world-system, it must continually be upgraded and repainted lest we grow bored. So a new, younger breed of evangelicals is cropping up offering to feed the flesh in an effort to attract people to their quarter million dollar sound systems.

Is your sex life crappy (That’s their word, not mine)? Then come to our church and we will help you have the "best sex ever." http://www.mycrappysexlife.com/

Churches around the country are using the latest "sermon in a box" series, complete with billboards, post-cards and website design with two pair of feet wrapped up in the sheets, all in an effort to get people to visit their church with the promise to put a little zing into their nap time.

You got it. Come to Jesus, and your sex life will never be the same.

Just when you think, "That’s it, we have turned the Savior into a sex-enhancement tool; it can’t get worse than that." Oh yes it can.

Christ’s Family Church has turned Jesus into a bathroom enhancement tool. If your loved one does not have a desire to be wealthy, healthy or frisky…then invite them to church so they can have a unique experience while taking care of bodily functions.

What twisted hermeneutic was used to rationalize potty proselytism?

"Part of the mission statement at Christ Family Church is to ‘proclaim God’s reconciling love through Jesus Christ to neighbors, co-workers and friends.’ (How does that work? Come to Jesus and be regular?) The men’s room is just one of the many ways this church is trying to accomplish this mission (Nothing says "substitutionary atonement" like a groovy bathroom). As Pastor Paris likes to say: "We are willing to go to any lengths, use any means necessary, to bring people closer to Christ." (Have you ever seen I Cor. 9 more twisted?)

"Scott Girnau thought it would be a great way to reach out to people who wouldn’t normally be reached (You know, bashful bladder types). Stereotypes need to be broken about churches (That dreadful stereotype that we Christians just don’t know how to go to the bathroom right). Too many people feel like they don’t belong (Nothing says "welcome" like a kitschy toidy). Our hope is that when a person may not necessarily feel welcome, he can walk into the bathroom and say ‘cool.’"

Wow, who knew? Just gussy up your church bathroom and make sure your guests have a steamy cup of coffee to inspire them to use the facilities (Hey, maybe the church Starbucks makes sense after all), and they are just one step closer to saying the prayer and really, really meaning it.

What is the saddest part of all this?
1. Many evangelicals no longer believe that Scripture is sufficient. They need tools to enhance the Gospel to get regular attenders.
2. They clearly have no idea what the Gospel is.

We have gone as low as we can go. Or have we?

-found on www.wayofthemasterradio.com, written by Todd Friel