Nothing is more important than...

Sunday Worship.

Don’t make rules for your family that contradict the rules Jesus makes for us. Worship is the most important thing we do for our individual families. The best thing you can ever do for your children is to teach them that there is nothing, nothing, more important than worshiping God with His people on Sunday. If they learn this lesson, your family will be mightily blessed — and they will be blessed because they have learned that our individual families are secondary to the Family of God.

Read the rest at Family Time

Christmas video: Beatbox Nativity

There's only One Saviour

Lots of good pithy statements by Warfield about the One and Only Saviour, Jesus Christ and His wonderful salvation, including a comment I've heard before that "the gospel is not good advice but good news." As you rejoice in our Immanuel this Advent, read this and consider again how immense is our salvation

“Jesus did all that is included in the great word ‘save.’ He did not come to induce us to save ourselves, or to help us save ourselves, or to enable us to save ourselves. He came to save us. And it is, therefore, that His name was called Jesus—because He should save His people from their sins. The glory of our Lord, surpassing all His other glories toward us, is just that He is our actual and complete Savior; our Savior to the uttermost. Our knowledge, even though it be His gift to us as our Prophet, is not our Savior, be it as wide and deep and as high as it is possible to conceive. The Church, though it be His gift to us as our King, is not our Savior, be it as holy and true as it becomes the Church, the bride of the Lamb, to be. The reorganized society in which He has placed us, though it be the product of His holy rule over the redeemed earth, is not our Savior, be it the new Jerusalem itself, clothed in its beauty and descended from heaven. Nay, let us cut more deeply still. Our faith itself, though it be the bond of our union with Christ through which we receive all His blessings, is not our Savior. We have but one Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing that we are and nothing that we can do enters in the slightest measure into the ground of our acceptance of God. Jesus did it all. And by doing it all He has become in the fullest and widest and deepest sense the word can bear—our Savior. For this end did He come into the world—to save sinners; and nothing short of the actual and complete saving of sinners will satisfy the account of His work given by His own lips and repeated from them by all His apostles. It is in this great fact, indeed, that there lies the whole essence of the gospel. For let us never forget that the gospel is not good advice but good news. It does not come to us to make known to us what we must do to earn salvation for ourselves, but proclaiming to us what Jesus has done to save us. It is salvation, a complete salvation, that it announces to us; and the burden of its message is just the words of the text—that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” ― B.B. Warfield, The Power of God Unto Salvation

Baptists' distorted view of Scripture

Thanks to this chart showing the differences between the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of Faith, I'm beginning to understand where Baptists (in their current mutation) come from. One of the key differences, relates to the alternative views of Scripture (specifically sufficiency) in the 2 confessions. The pertinent section is presented below with the WCF on the left and the Baptist Confession on the right. The significant bits are highlighted in blue, showing that while Baptists (wrongly) want everything laid out in black and white, the Reformed are (rightly) happy to join the dots.

The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

6. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

Becoming flesh in 3D

Below is a stunning video of a baby's development from conception to birth by internationally renowned artist Alexander Tsiaras. His explanation of the incredible complexity of how life begins, is worth sharing as we contemplate during this season of Advent, the astounding fact that our risen and reigning Lord Jesus has been there and done it!

Marriage beats romance any day

Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but rather the creation of time and will, any marriage happy or unhappy is infinitely more interesting than any romance however passionate.

W H Auden

Nein are worthy, therefore move on up

“Do not forget this. At first it is natural for a baby to take its mother's milk without knowing its mother. It is equally natural for us to see the man who helps us without seeing Christ behind him. But we must not remain babies. We must go on to recog­nize the real Giver. It is madness not to. Because, if we do not, we shall be relying on human beings. And that is going to let us down. The best of them will make mistakes: all of them will die. We must be thankful to all the people who have helped us, we must honour them and love them. But never, never pin your whole faith on any hu­man being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 158

In other words, none of thine heroes are worthy, therefore look him up (Acts 2:32-33)

Periodic table of the Bible

This is neat, especially if you're a Chemistry geek or like pictorial summaries.

What would St Paul say to smoking?

He would say lawful . . . but certainly not expedient. And when the kid has been “brought under the power” of it, then it is no longer lawful. It was lawful to jump off the cliff, but it was unlawful to hit bottom. People who give their bodies extra dependencies to fight off are saying, in effect, that the normal course of Christian sanctification is way too easy for them. They want to undertake their earthly pilgrimage with one hand tied behind their back. They are so strong.

Via: Unlawful to hit rock bottom

John Stott (RIP) had 3 problems areas

Proving faithful to his name, Carl Trueman provides an insightful commentary on some of John Stott's failings + observing how evangelicals have largely exalted the man whilst mostly ignoring/downplaying his serious errors. In this, Trueman models for us, how to live out Scripture's injunction to speak the truth in love as we seek to grow into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. It's a great piece and the whole thing is worth a read. Here is Trueman's conclusion is:

That Stott was important and influential is beyond dispute; but we should not sentimentalise him because of that or ignore his faults or, worst of all, so praise him that those very faults might ultimately be baptized as virtues and continue to do damage long after his departure to glory.  Our brains must be kept switched on; we must give credit where credit is due; but we must also remember that sometimes we learn most from great men when we look at the great mistakes they made.

To find out more and especially what Stott's 3 problem areas were, read the whole thing here

Cameron: Dawkins is a fool and Christian education rocks

 

With somewhat unusual candour, David Cameron (UK Prime Minister) challenges Dawkins' intelligence and surprisingly exalts Christian education...

Way to go Mr Prime Minister - more answers like this and we might stop praying Psalm 109:8

What is faith?

Hudson Taylor (missionary to China in the 19th Century) replies:

Is it not simply the recognition of the reliability or the trustworthiness of those with whom we have to do? Why do we accept with confidence a Government bond? Because we believe in the reliability of the Government. Men do not hesitate to put faith in the Government securities, because they believe in the Government that guarantees them. Why do we, without hesitation, put coins into circulation instead of as in China, getting a lump of silver weighed and its purity investigated, before we can negotiate any money transaction with it? Because the Government issues the coin we use, and we use it with confidence and without difficulty. Why do we take a railway guide and arrange for a particular journey? . . . Well, one has confidence in the reliability of these official publications. As a rule we are not put to shame! 

Now, just as we use a railway guide we must use our Bible. We must depend on God’s word just as we depend on man’s word, only remembering that though man may not be able to carry out his promise, God will always fulfil what He has said... (From Hudson Taylor, A Series of Mediations)

In other words faith is not so much a faculty or some kind of sixth sense but rather a disposition of dependence towards someone or something. The application? Babies even the tiniest of infants can have faith.

Work, love, dance as if...

Work as if you didn’t need the money, love as if you’ve never been hurt, and dance as if no one’s watching.


Author unknown

If only they could see Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5 addresses the man in a married couple thus: Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her.

The woman is addressed thus: Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

In our day, these are some of the most un-PC words and yet when they are put into practice, one of the most beautiful things arises: homes where there is mutual respect and sacrificial love and where children get to see how man and wife are to relate tenderly to one another. Now compare that with the 8 characteristics below, listed in a certain now defunct pagan publication:

“Certain rules to discover married couples in large societies or in public,” from The Meteor; or, General Censor, 1814:

1. If you see a gentleman and lady disagree upon trifling occasions, or correcting each other in company, you may be assured they have tied the matrimonial noose.
2. If you see a silent pair in a hackney or any other coach, lolling carelessly one at each window, without seeming to know they have a companion, the sign is infallible.
3. If you see a lady drop her glove, and a gentleman by the side of her kindly telling her to pick it up, you need not hesitate in forming your opinion; or,
4. If you see a lady presenting a gentleman with anything carelessly, her head inclined another way, and speaking to him with indifference; or,
5. If you meet a couple in the fields, the gentleman twenty yards in advance of the lady, who perhaps is getting over a stile in difficulty, or picking her way through a muddy path; or,
6. If you see a lady whose beauty and accomplishments attract the attention of every gentleman in the room but one, you can have no difficulty in determining their relationship to each other–the one is her husband.
7. If you see a gentleman particularly courteous, obliging, and good-natured, relaxing into smiles, saying smart things, and toying with every pretty woman in the room excepting one, to whom he appears particularly reserved, cold, and formal, and is unreasonably cross–who that one is nobody can be at a loss to discover; or,
8. If you see a young or an old couple jarring, checking, and thwarting each other, differing in opinion before the opinion is expressed; eternally anticipating and breaking the thread of each other’s discourse, yet using kind words, like honey-bubbles floating on vinegar, which soon are overwhelmed by the preponderance of the fluid; they are, to all intents, man and wife! it is impossible to be mistaken.

“The rules above quoted are laid down as infallible in just interpretation; they may be resorted to with confidence; they are upon unerring principles, and reduced from every day’s experience.”

Is it any wonder that many in our society consider marriage to be such a bind? If only the could see Ephesians 5...

Anti-recycling

Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not re-heat his sins for breakfast.


Marlene Dietrich

Govt = the worst copycat

Governments did not invent pay-as-you-go social security. They copied it from the oldest social institution in the world — the family.


And having done that, they're now hell-bent on destroying the very institution where they 'acquired' most of their innovative ideas. Reminds of this cartoon:

EU says water isn't hydrated

 

EU bans claim that water can prevent hydration 

Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. 

EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact. 

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

Next, tell be telling us that water isn't wet!

Temper tantrum ≠ "Come let us reason together"

When you see an out-of-control child pitching a fit in some public place, and his parents standing by helplessly with a beleagured look on their faces, the most obvious issue is lack of courage on the part of the parents... 

The reason he does this is because he has always returned from previous trips to that worthy emporium with some new item in his hot little fist. He does it because it works, and it works because his parents are cowards...  

Temper tantrums are always aimed at the gut. They are not an invitation to "come, let us reason together." Tantrums are moves of naked coercion, and the aimed-for response is one of naked capitulation. That is the game, and all the arguments to the contrary are simply self-serving rationalizations, an exercise which cowards have  practiced often, and are which they are really good at.

Via: Occupy Brawl Street and something to be remembered, next time the wee nipper loses it whilst out shopping

Friday Fun: How to make a baby stop crying

I'm waiting for the BIG "but"

I'm currently reading, Jim Jordan's Creation in Six Days. Chapter 2 is a consideration of the Framework Interpretation (much loved by Evangelicals) and begins thus:

"To begin with, let me write some words in praise of Bruce Waltke."

All I'm waiting for now is the "but..."

He'd win hide & seek every time

How can we discover whether there is a God at all? I have something rather simple to say about that question at the very start. It is something that seems to me to be rather obvious, and yet it is something that is quite generally ignored. It is simply this—that if we are really to know anything about God it will probably be because God has chosen to tell it to us. Many persons seem to go on a very different assumption. They seem to think that if they are to know anything about God they must discover God for themselves. That assumption seems to me to be extremely unlikely. Just supposing for the sake of argument that there is a being of such a kind as that He may with any propriety be called “God,” it does seem antecedently very improbable that weak and limited creatures of a day, such as we are, should discover Him by our own efforts without any will on His part to make Himself known to us. At least, I think we can say that a god who could be discovered in that way would hardly be worth discovering. A mere passive subject of human investigation is certainly not a living God who can satisfy the longing of our souls... A divine being that could be discovered by my efforts, apart from His gracious will to reveal Himself to me and to others, would be either a mere name for a certain aspect of man’s own nature, a God that we could find within us, or else at best a mere passive thing that would be subject to investigation like the substances that are analyzed in a laboratory. I think we ought to stick to that principle rather firmly. I think we ought to be rather sure that we cannot know God unless God has been pleased to reveal Himself to us.”

J. Gresham Machen, The Christian Faith in the Modern World

How not to write the Family Christmas newsletter

Careful when you criticise...

...because...

The line between good and evil runs through every human heart.

Aleksander I. Solzhenitsyn (The Gulag Archipelago)

Remembrance day talk outline

With thanks to Marc Lloyd for the twist at the end...

Remembrance 2011

November is a month of remembering

5^th – Remember, Remember

11^th – Remembrance

Here in the parish, 13^th and 26^th – King James Bible events re 400 years

Ø  November has lots of remembering                                                    

BUT it’s not just November is it? We humans love remembering:

Birthdays

Anniversaries

Big events like today – Remembrance Sunday                                                                   

One that we often forget is,       the most important – God           -              we humans are good at forgetting our Creator HENCE the Christian Scriptures has a lot about remembering...

The actual word ‘remember’ comes up 166 times

Other forms of remember come up 75 times                     

Ø  The Bible recognises that we’re very forgetful so it urges us, calls us to remember... to remember the important things in life and in our Scripture reading today we have one of the more famous things we are to remember – Ecclesiastes 12:1...

§  God wants us to start remembering early as later in life it’s harder – “troubles come”

·         Illustration: think of some of the young folk who went to war. What sorts of horrors did they experience/witness? How easy then to seek God? As you grow older, it gets harder to remember

Ø  Therefore remember God/seek Him today

Surprisingly however although the Bible keeps telling us to remember, in it we discover that God forgets. Scriptures repeatedly tells us to ‘remember remember’ BUT, God in fact forgets – Here is what God forgets...

“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)

 For those who are in Jesus Christ, God our Creator says I will forgive and forget your sinfulness – He will stop remembering them completely which is not to say that God is absent minded, as we so are. Rather, God promises that He will not to call to mind the sins of those who believe in Jesus. Yes, he knows all about them, but he doesn’t relate to us on the basis of them. God forgives and “forgets”. He doesn’t hold our sins against us if we cast ourselves on his mercy.

That surely is worth remembering.

                                                                                                                                                                                     

An Irish prayer for one's enemies

May those that love us love us, and those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts.  And if He does not turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles, so we’ll know them by their limping.

No excuse regardless

Even in situations where external pressures (such as sickness, bereavement, abuse, abandonment etc.) come to bear on us, God holds us responsible for how our heart responds during the experience (e.g. anger towards God, harbouring fear etc.) and for how our heart responds after the experience (e.g. withdrawal, resentment, self-pity, greed etc.).

  

This battle for the heart is very practical. It means that we are not excused responsibility when something bad happens to us, but are held responsible for how we respond.

For example, a person may act angry or grumpy in response to lack of sleep. Even if the lack of sleep was external (e.g. side effect of a medication, a crying baby, inconsiderate neighbours etc.) God still holds us accountable for our heart response and any sin that occurs through that anger or grumpiness.

Pastoral dynamite! Read the whole thing at What you think matters

Only in America: John 3:16 Discount

Would you recite a Bible verse for a discount at a car garage? If yes, then Charlie Whittington, an American and owner of a car garage in Texas, has a deal for you. He's offering less than half price ($19.95 instead of $46) to customers who bring a coupon and recite  John 3:16 (see the video clip below). So what do you think - is this discriminatory or could it be even worse - trying to profit from religion?

Va-va-voom optimism

Danica Mae Camacho, symbolic 7th billion baby is cuddled by her mother

Welcome Danica Mae...  According to the UN your arrival in the world, marks the point when our population reaches the 7 billion mark! For every Christian, this has surely got to be a hurrah moment - such a phenomenal increase wonderfully shows that God's plan to fully populate the world is slowly(!) being accomplished. Now before you smirk at my turbo-charged, full-injection, va va voom optimism, consider how the current head of the UN's Population Fund responded when harangued as to why the UN wasn't that concerned with the prodigious population increase given the limited space/resources that increased numbers will bring. Dr Osotimehin's response:

If the 7 billion people in our world stood for a group photograph, we would only fill the size of Los Angeles.

Did you get that?

If every living soul were to assemble in one place then we would comfortably fit into one State in the US. It's actually more shocking than that. If all world's people gathered together we'd fit into one city in one state - admittedly the second largest city in the US but one city nonetheless!

So what's all the fuss about the world not being enough? What's all the panic that there are insufficient resources to sustain us? It seems to me that we've got plenty of land/resources to go round (and some) and that the MSM's hype about over-population is a lie, a damn lie and nothing but a lie. Personally, I think I'll stick with promoting the biblical vision of encouraging the earth to be filled knowledge of the Lord as the waters covers the seas or as Shakespeare so eloquently put it "The world must be peopled".

Twain insults the Trinity

Once, when describing a certain grumpy old geezer, Mark Twain wrote:

He was a solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity.

What an insult of the Godhead?

Less is more

It takes more time and more care to say more while saying less. Have you ever been in a conversation with some one who is just a never-ending Gatling gun of words? This person will wear you out. They have so much to say that, ironically, in the end you can’t remember any words except, “How might I escape?”

Via: The Rabbit Room

Joke of the week: Psalm 23 - a dog's perspective

Via: The Sacred Sandwich

Avoid learning the hard way

Old men and women have once been young. Young Men and women have never been old. Stop and ask an older person about their life―where they’ve been―you’ll be surprised. Your assumptions about them are probably wrong. There’s a wisdom that only comes from living long enough; some of it―much of it―comes from learning things the hard way. You can avoid some of these hard lessons if you will learn to learn vicariously. The Ancient of Days has something to teach us all.

Via: The Ancient of Days 

 

Allah DISASTER

Two items on Gadaffi's death. First one serious, the second humorous (though I don't endorse everything it says)

First the serious: over at Cranmer's blog, there is a sober warning to all Muslims that unless the repent, they like Gaddafi will one day discover that

Allah isn't quite what he believed him to be, and that divine justice is inescapable...    There will be no lakes of wine; no endless stream of virgins; no pat on the back from the prophet; no utterance from Allah of ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (in Arabic, of course). No, the wages of sin is death. And because Gaddafi has committed one or two sins of some considerable magnitude, was quite unrepentant, and did not accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour, His Grace suspects that things might be a little warm for Muammar today. His lake of wine will be a lake of fire: his tongue will burn and his thirst will never be quenched. The only virgins he’ll meet will be the worm variety, for the pit of Hell is a place of decomposition and destruction; of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Muammar Gaddafi has gone to the place prepared for the devil and his angels, where the beast and the false prophet will be, to be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Unless ye repent, be afraid, be very afraid.

Luke 12:4-5

And now the humorous...     Below, is a clip of a show that was shown on US TV back in 1987 which rather strikingly predicted Gaddafi's death almost precisely. They're out by a couple of months but still, somewhat spooky that they got the right year and even imply that he dies in battle. Enjoy but be warned - lots of false theology about...

Evangelism on steroids via the American Holocaust

Euro-Debt crisis: This is how it ends

Even Napoleon acknowledged Christ

Jesus Christ's influence is incalculable and it is always enjoyable discovering how far and wide his winsomeness extends. Today I came across a great comment from one of the principal cohorts of the enlightenment endarkenment:

Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself have founded great empires, but on what did those creations rest? Upon force. But Jesus founded his on love. Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence draws the heart of men towards him [with the effect] that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him not counting their lives dear to themselves... I know men, and Jesus Christ was more than a man.

So it's not just from the lips of babes and sucklings that He ordains praise, but also from the mouths of bandits and posers - doesn't our God have a great sense of humour?

Praise Tyndale not the King James

While many have been celebrating the 400th year of the publication of King James Bible, there has been very little, trumpeting the remarkable talent of the linguist whose work provided the bedrock for the AV's beautiful language. Over at The King's English, Glen Scrivener remedies that, by highlighting just how foundational Tyndale's work was in bringing about the KJB's inspiring text. Here is a taster: 

This year I have marvelled at the beauty of so many ‘King James phrases’.  Yet on closer examination the great majority turn out to be Tyndale phrases.  Only around 20 of the 365 phrases I have been considering this year are original to the King James Bible.  And Tyndale has provided the bulk of the rest.

Computer analysis has revealed that more than three quarters of the King James Version can be traced directly to Tyndale (83% of the NT and 76% of the OT).  Many times we can wish he was followed even more closely.  Consider Tyndale’s matchless translation of Genesis 3:4.  The serpent tempts Eve saying, “Tush, ye shall not die”!

Read the rest here

Here's hoping the Palestinians fail

Later today Mahmoud Abbas will launch his bid at the UN, seeking formal recognition of Palestine. I seriously hopes he fails. Why? Watch the video below to find out...

Play your destiny!

"Every one will someday be an immortal horror or an everlasting splendour. This does not mean we are to be perpetually solemn, we must play. But our merriment must be the kind which is between people who have from the outset taken each other seriously. The weight of your neighbours glory is a burden you should put on your back every day and only humility will carry it." 

C.S.Lewis, The Weight of Glory

What's your vanity?

Samuel Johnson in an insightful comment on the human condition notes that “Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess.” Isn't that so true? Which one is it for you?

Quote of the week: A New Adam, A New Eve

Adam sinned through a corruption of his leadership role, and Eve sinned in a corruption of her helping role. Through the gospel, God has sent us another Adam, the Lord Jesus, and God has also established a new Eve, the Christian Church. Just as Eve was taken from the side of Adam, so also the Church was born of water and blood, straight from the side of the Lord Jesus (John 19:34). In this new context, individual Christian husbands and wives are instructed to rebuild the ruins of their respective roles.

Via: A wedding exhortation

Other biggies that also occurred on September 11th

1297

William Wallace defeats forces of the English crown in the Battle of Stirling Bridge. As anyone who’s seen Braveheart knows, the party doesn’t last long for Wallace, but the Scots do regain their independence in 1328.

1609

English explorer Henry Hudson sails up a river on the coast of northeastern America aboard the Dutch vesselHalve Maen (Half Moon). In the process he discovers the island of Manhattan. He successfully navigates the river which now bears his name all the way to present-day Albany.

1814

In the War of 1812, the Battle of Plattsburgh ends in a decisive American victory. This marks the end of a British invasion into the northern states of the U.S. The redcoats retreat into Canada. The two sides sign a peace treaty in Ghent several months later.

1962

The Beatles record the third and final version of what will be their first single, “Love Me Do,” at EMI Studios on Abbey Road. The first two recordings are deemed unsatisfactory due to Ringo Starr’s drumming. His replacements on the other recordings are Pete Best and Andy White. On the third and final cut, Ringo is relegated to playing tambourine.

and one from the annals of the Church...

Patiens of Lyons, bishop, (whose feast day is 11th September and who tradition claims died today in c.480). Patiens was bishop of Lyons from around AD450. Invasions of the Goths were a constant difficulty, but Patients proved to be a strong man of the kind most needed. He combined great love of the poor with enterprise shown in the building and repair of churches and is said to have fed thousands during the famines of 472 and 475. Apart from his sympathies for Arian heretics, Patiens seems like a generally good chap who despite his foibles would still outdo (me thinks) most of our current herd of Bishops.


HT: Mentalfloss and Fellowship of St James Calender

Predestination fires Missionary

"At the beginning of my missionary career I said that if predestination were true I could not be a missionary. Now after 20 years of struggling with the hardness of the human heart, I say I could never be a missionary unless I believed in the doctrine of predestination."

John Alexander, a former president of Inter-Varsity

Driscoll and 'heavy D' talk grace

Click here to find out which 'heavy D' Mark Driscoll is chatting to.

"Marijuana-haze hymnody"

Can you guess which hymn is being described below?

This syrupy piece of marijuana-haze hymnody is found in the hymnals of churches that have substituted sentiment for orthodoxy and worship. 

The song would be much improved if the spacy refrain were omitted. I don’t know if Horatio Spafford actually wrote this refrain in his original poem or if it were added by Philip Bliss in his gooey music, but I do know that if I smoked marijuana I’d love it. It drifts along in a haze that is so far unlike anything God enjoys, as seen in the book of psalms, that is might as well be Hindu.

Find out in this stimulating and provocative post

Friday Fun: Unusual church signs

I submit that only in America, would you get these somewhat clever, a bit funny and mostly outrageous signs. Now why is that?

Stop moaning: your life ain't that bad

"If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.” — Socrates

Joke of the week: you're the mad one

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Britons suffers from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they are okay, then it’s you.


Adapted from Rita Mae Brown

Handling Scripture Wright

There has been much said about NT Wright some good some bad. The video below encapsulates a lot of what is brilliant about the man - a mighty BIG love for the word - enjoy...

God loves differently

That’s the thing about human giving:  We give cautiously to the well-deserving.  But God is very different.  He gives profligately to the utterly unworthy.  He gives His very best to the very worst.  That’s what Jesus tells Nicodemus in John chapter 3:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

HT:  Kings English

Masters of optical illusion/Evolution where at thou?

Cephalopods: "This is the only animal group we know of, that has fine control of it's skin"

Click below to see illustrations of this including, the impressive octopus manoeuvre known as the "moving rock" trick and as you watch all this, ask yourself, how ever would an evolutionist explain this cogently and persuasively OR as Shakespeare might have put it O Darwin, Darwin! wherefore art thou is thy Evolution?

Living off borrowed capital

The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight and as might naturally have been expected, the moral system itself began to whither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment.

William Wilberforce