Contagious Holiness

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Last night I had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the revival service of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church.  Wayne, Trent, and the family there were exceedingly gracious and the good folks of FBCO offered an overwhelming and humbling show of support.  In the message I talked about the major solution to the major problem of the world.  To see what it is and what it means for how we do church keep reading.

 

Contagious Holiness

It is a good day to be a fan of comic book and superhero fare.  Never in the whole history of the silver screen or the small screen have we had as many offerings featuring one comic book storyline or another.  And it’s not just that the volume is high.  The quality is great too.  The comics giants Marvel and DC are in a growing competition for audience loyalty and while Marvel has so far dominated the games, the level of excellence they have achieved has set a high bar that DC is doing their best to clear which in turn simply spurs Marvel on to keep upping their own game.  Well, for a fan of this genre, the net result of this is a ton of great movies and tv shows to enjoy.   Read the rest…

Whose Word Is Final?

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In part two of our teaching series, A Word on Reality, we talked about how we can know with assurance that we are close to God by looking at 1 John 2:1-17.  What is the evidence of a life spent in Christ?  Read on for the answer.

 

Whose Word Is Final?

Close your eyes for me for just a minute.  I’m going to say some words and I want you to internally react to them.  Whatever your reaction is, I want you to just dwell on it for a moment and then we’ll talk about it in a bit.  Heaven.  Grace.  Love.  The world.  Sin.  Submission.  Obedience.  Okay, open your eyes.  Now, by a show of hands, how many of you reacted positively to all of those words?  Anyone react negatively to all of them?  How many were split between some of the words?  How many of you reacted positively to the first couple of words and more negatively to the ones after that?  Okay, how about this one: how many of your reactions went from most positive to most negative in the order of the words as I spoke them?  That last word, obedience, leaves a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of people today.  I think part of the reason for this is that we have been fed since birth a worldview by our culture that believes the highest good is achieved when we are singularly in control of our lives.  Now, while there are a few people in the world who have personalities that are very comfortable in a setting where we simply do as we are told, I suspect they are more the exception than the rule.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 1:18

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“For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

What a depressing start to a book!  Ecclesiastes is one of the most interesting and intriguing documents in all of the Old Testament.  Interpreters have struggled for centuries to understand what exactly is the perspective of the Teacher (whom tradition has long held to be Solomon).  Is he positive on life?  Is he negative?  Is he confused?   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Psalm 94:8-11

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If you noticed something different about that title, you are not mistaken.  In an effort to keep things fresh and to make sure you know what you’re getting into when you start reading, I’m going to introduce a new section of the blog.  I’ll call this new part, “Morning Musings” (with many thanks to Ron for the title).   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

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“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.  If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.  Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

One of the single greatest duties a father has is to charge his son or daughter to grow to serve and love the Lord.  Everything else we do for them and teach them must necessarily come secondary to that.  But, this is a charge that will only be heard when they see us living it out in our own lives.  If we do not demonstrate what it looks like to be faithful to the Lord in our own lives, they will not likely pursue it themselves.  Through our words and deeds, our actions and attitudes, we must call them to the life of Christ.  We must teach them the faith and how to defend it from those who would call them away from it.  We must show them how to give of themselves for the benefit of others and why that is so important.  We must implant deep in their hearts and minds an unshakable love of the church.  We must make sure they know the love of Jesus because of the way we love them.  Most of all, we must teach them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.  If we can do all of these things we will be counted successful.  We will be counted successful and our legacy will be one worth celebrating.