A Book and an Album…for Joy

The book Broken Down House by Paul David Tripp

And the album City of Black and White by Matt Kearney

Are two things I haven’t gotten my hands on yet, but these clips make me want to stand up and yell for joy.  Maybe they will have the same effect on you as well.

For a review of the Book from Challies Dot Com… CLICK HERE

Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

I wish I could just play this video when I preach on Sunday.  This captures the essence of the message from Proverbs 3:9-10.  We must honor the Lord with our wealth.  It all has come from him.  It all must glorify Him.  He is not a source to use to get more.  He is all we need.

We must Set Him as First in our Hearts.

We must Be Full of Thankfulness.

We must Trust Nothing Else to Sustain Us.

This will bring Him the Honor He Deserves and will be so peculiar in our world.

Thoughts on Our Entertainment Culture from John Piper

It is amazing to me how often I see students in public that are totally removed from reality (what is going on around them…what their parents are doing…who their parents are talking to).  They stand there on their cell phone or on their DS…like zombies trapped in another world.  

Parents what are you doing?  What are you teaching them?  How is this helpful?

Take hold of your child’s heart.  Turn them toward Christ.  Engage with them in the world.  Teach them how to talk to other adults.  Raise the expectations on what their life is about and what they can be knowing and doing.

I know it will be hard work…But wake up!  Your child is growing up before you…and you’re missing it.

Does Satan Exist?

If you did not catch this ABC Nightline program, I would recommend going to their website and watching the full event. Mark Driscoll and Annie Lobert do a great job proclaiming the Gospel and attempting to reason with the unbelieving Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson.

It is amazing to me how the words of 2 Timothy 4:1-4 keep coming alive through events and news programs like this. The denial and ignorance displayed in this debate should not surprise us. God has been telling us it will be like this for two thousand years.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who is to judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingdom,
preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.        

2 Timothy 4:1-4

Let us preach the Word, being ready, being unashamed, fulfilling the work of ministry.

Speak, O Lord

What makes this song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend so compelling? Why has it become one of our favorites here at Faith Church. Listen to our latest Gather Cafe podcast that answers these questions.

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Modern Hymns…for Free!!

I recently came across a link to some free music. The source (Page CXVI) is hoping to renew an appreciation for the hymns of the faith through modern recordings.  The music maintains the historic text and melody, while setting the music in current forms and rhythms.  

I downloaded these songs (part of a pre-release promotion) and are currently enjoying them.  

I recommend these to anyone.

Follow this link to the download page:  

More Thoughts On the Economy

I was speaking with some other pastors recently about the recession and how it is or could be effecting our respective churches.  We collectively came up with an interesting conclusion.

Essentially, the turmoil of our current national financial crisis shows us that the god of money is dead.  If any of us had put our faith in this idol, then this has become a shock back to reality.  The downfall then is actually a gift of grace to us.  We need to see that we can put our trust and security in no other place then in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  He is the only solid rock to stand upon.

So often we live our lives in two worlds.  We are Christians on Sundays…saying the right things…believing the right things…then on Monday, we are back to the “real” world…where we just try to get by for another week.  This reveals that we are “really” living apart from the Spirit of God.  We are actually living in our own strength, not really believing the words that we sing and profess during the weekend.

This begs the question then…Are we really children of God?

God has called us to be a peculiar people, set apart from the world.  Being rescued by God through the Gospel will make us into that stick-out of the crowd sort of community.  We will have seen that everything is different than we thought.  We will have seen that our only hope is outside of ourselves.

Yesterday, the text for the sermon was Luke 10:1-12.  This is the occasion when Christ sent out the 72 , two-by-two to heal the sick and announce the Kingdom of God.  They were sent out with no money, no knapsack, so sandals, etc.  The point of doing this was for them to learn to depend of God.  God was sending them, they must trust that He will supply the food and other provisions for their task.  This is the same way that we are sent into our world.  We are called to fully rely of Christ, trusting that He will provide what we need.  

Sadly, many people who call themselves Christians are actually just relying on God to help us rely on ourselves.  We want God to glorify us…so that our hard work and efforts actually produce results…things like peace, patience, and self-control.  But these things are only truly possible through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit.  

Our hope then as pastors in a suburban context is that these financial woes actually continue.  These times create possibility for a great harvest of people being called to faith in Christ.  Our gods need to die, so that God, who lives, can been seen and heard.  

May we hope in God, at all times and especially today.

Debt is Dumb…

When we find ourselves in tough economic times, we may be tempted to give up sound doctrine and give people what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4).

Here are some wise words from Pastor Matt Chandler.  

This was part of a message that Matt delivered at this year’s Desiring God Pastor’s Conference.

You can read, listen, watch or download the whole message by following this link to the Desiring God Website:

Matt Chandler: The Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep