"The absence of [church discipline] may well be the most severe and debilitating problem in the church of this century." John MacArthur
"Few facets of the modern life of the church have found themselves any further removed from New Testament Christianity than the subject of church discipline." Paige Patterson
Are these guys overstating the matter? Read through the point paper I wrote on the subject of church discipline, and then let me know how close your church follows the New Testament model.
Atheist Becomes Theist
Can you imagine Billy Graham renouncing Christianity? If not, read this:
"College freshmen taking Philosophy 101, in which the professor is trying to challenge Christianity, have likely encountered the writings of Antony Flew. Mr. Flew has been called the most influential atheist philosopher in the world, and his arguments against the existence of God are staples of many college anthologies and textbooks. Now he says that he believes there is a God...Key to his conviction that there must be an intelligent mind behind the universe is the nature of DNA...Mr. Habermas says the impact on the atheist movement is similar to what would happen in the evangelical world if Billy Graham or J.I. Packer renounced Christianity."
Read the entire article from World Magazine, and then go read the fascinating interview with Liberty University's Dr. Habermas.
The right half of our kitchen.
"College freshmen taking Philosophy 101, in which the professor is trying to challenge Christianity, have likely encountered the writings of Antony Flew. Mr. Flew has been called the most influential atheist philosopher in the world, and his arguments against the existence of God are staples of many college anthologies and textbooks. Now he says that he believes there is a God...Key to his conviction that there must be an intelligent mind behind the universe is the nature of DNA...Mr. Habermas says the impact on the atheist movement is similar to what would happen in the evangelical world if Billy Graham or J.I. Packer renounced Christianity."
Read the entire article from World Magazine, and then go read the fascinating interview with Liberty University's Dr. Habermas.
The right half of our kitchen.
Phonebooks
We've been in Wake Forest for 2 months, and we've received no less than 8 phonebooks. What in the world do I need with 8 phonebooks? Haven't these people heard of this cool new invention called the internet? Try this: go to
http://maps.google.com
In the search box type in:
open door baptist church raleigh nc
then click the search button. See? I get a map, a link to their website, an address, and a phone number. How cool is that? So why do I need 8 phonebooks? In case you're wondering, Open Door is the church we've been visiting recently.
The left half of our kitchen.
http://maps.google.com
In the search box type in:
open door baptist church raleigh nc
then click the search button. See? I get a map, a link to their website, an address, and a phone number. How cool is that? So why do I need 8 phonebooks? In case you're wondering, Open Door is the church we've been visiting recently.
The left half of our kitchen.
Psalm 23 redone
"The TV is my shepherd, I shall not want anything else. It maketh me to lie down on the sofa. It leadeth me away from the Scripture. It destroys my soul. It leadeth me in the paths of sex and violence for the sponsors sake, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will enjoy the evil, for blood and sex they excite me. Its cable and remote they comfort me. It prepares a commercial before me in the presence of my children. It anoints my head with humanism, My coveting runneth over. Surely laziness and ignorance shall follow my family all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house watching TV forever."
Quoted from No Greater Joy
This is why we no longer watch TV in our house. I'm convinced godliness and TV are mutually exclusive.
Quoted from No Greater Joy
This is why we no longer watch TV in our house. I'm convinced godliness and TV are mutually exclusive.
Salvation has come to this house
Paul spends a little time reminding the church at Philippi that since they have trusted in Jesus Christ, returning to the laws of Judaism won't help them. Here's a long quote:
Philippians 3:4-7 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.
So Paul tells them some about his background. Although he had impeccable credentials, he goes on to say that none of them were useful to put him into a right relationship with God. People today still try and use these same credentials:
circumcised the eighth day - No ritual or ceremony, regardless of the church you attend, puts you into a right relationship with God. This includes baptism (infant or adult), confirmation, mass, etc.
the people of Israel - No racial heritage can put you into a right relationship with God. Being Jewish doesn't help, neither does being American or anything else.
the tribe of Benjamin - It doesn't matter what family you come from. There's no help in being a Bush, a Kennedy, a Graham, or any other family. God's not impressed.
a Hebrew of Hebrews - Adhering to a specific culture or tradition doesn't do anything either.
as to the law, a Pharisee - There is no religious position or office that can help you. Being a monk or priest or pastor or seminary professor does nothing save you from your sins.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church - Here's the big one today. Many say, "It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are zealous." Paul was so zealous he killed people who didn't agree with him. But he came to realize that it wasn't zeal that matters, but the object of his zeal.
as to righteousness, under the law blameless - Paul said he always obeyed all the rules of his religious organization. You couldn't bring any accusation against him that would stick. But obeying lots of rules don't please God if your heart is far from Him.
That about covers everything, doesn't it? So why did I write all this? Because a couple weeks ago, Jacen repented of his sins and trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. It's important to note what Jacen did not do - he didn't get baptized; he didn't claim his American heritage; he didn't claim to be a Garriss; he didn't re-use his parent's faith; he didn't take a position in a church; he didn't get zealous; and he certainly didn't claim to be perfect. He repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus. That's it. It's a decision he made all by himself at age 6.
Can a kid really get saved? Read the point paper on the salvation of a child.
Welcome to God's family, my son. It's what we've been praying for since you were born.
Philippians 3:4-7 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.
So Paul tells them some about his background. Although he had impeccable credentials, he goes on to say that none of them were useful to put him into a right relationship with God. People today still try and use these same credentials:
circumcised the eighth day - No ritual or ceremony, regardless of the church you attend, puts you into a right relationship with God. This includes baptism (infant or adult), confirmation, mass, etc.
the people of Israel - No racial heritage can put you into a right relationship with God. Being Jewish doesn't help, neither does being American or anything else.
the tribe of Benjamin - It doesn't matter what family you come from. There's no help in being a Bush, a Kennedy, a Graham, or any other family. God's not impressed.
a Hebrew of Hebrews - Adhering to a specific culture or tradition doesn't do anything either.
as to the law, a Pharisee - There is no religious position or office that can help you. Being a monk or priest or pastor or seminary professor does nothing save you from your sins.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church - Here's the big one today. Many say, "It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are zealous." Paul was so zealous he killed people who didn't agree with him. But he came to realize that it wasn't zeal that matters, but the object of his zeal.
as to righteousness, under the law blameless - Paul said he always obeyed all the rules of his religious organization. You couldn't bring any accusation against him that would stick. But obeying lots of rules don't please God if your heart is far from Him.
That about covers everything, doesn't it? So why did I write all this? Because a couple weeks ago, Jacen repented of his sins and trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. It's important to note what Jacen did not do - he didn't get baptized; he didn't claim his American heritage; he didn't claim to be a Garriss; he didn't re-use his parent's faith; he didn't take a position in a church; he didn't get zealous; and he certainly didn't claim to be perfect. He repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus. That's it. It's a decision he made all by himself at age 6.
Can a kid really get saved? Read the point paper on the salvation of a child.
Welcome to God's family, my son. It's what we've been praying for since you were born.
Muslims, Christians, Jews
Take a look at this very interesting article by Dr. Ergun Caner, the new dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. His brother, Dr. Emir Caner, is my professor here at Southeastern.
Dirty Little Secret
See also:
Liberty's new dean
Ergun's website
Emir's website
Dirty Little Secret
See also:
Liberty's new dean
Ergun's website
Emir's website
Ski
We just wrapped up our Second Annual Father/Son Male-Bonding Event Where We Just Happen To Go Skiing. :-) Jacen and I went to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia again this year. Jacen spent the first day in Ski School while I skied the harder runs. I particularly reacquainted myself with a Terrain Part, jumping as far as 6 feet. The second day we spent skiing together. We had a number of firsts this year: 1) First time we tried night skiing - the lift tickets we got covered night skiing, so we went out after dinner and made several runs. It was not as difficult as I expected. 2) Jacen did a blue run several times - his skiing is vastly improved from last year. He can fly down the mountain and (to my surprise) rarely crashed. In fact, going fast is his weakness; he doesn't carve enough to control his speed. 3) We skied in the fog - Wednesday afternoon a cloud descended on the mountain and by lunch visibility was about 20 feet at the top. This made for rather dangerous skiing. At the top of the mountain, it was very hard to find some of the runs. If you've been to Snowshoe, you know they have a number of sharp drops down into trees. On the slopes, it was hard to see other skiers and read the snow. We quit a couple hours early to return home. All in all it was a wonderful time together. I thank God again for giving me a son.
Snowshoe Mountain
Snowshoe Mountain
Moving Day, Part 2
The first week of January was moving week! Dad and Eric spent Tuesday and Wednesday helping us move to our new home in Wake Forest, NC. With Dad's expert loading, the 24' U-Haul was big enough to haul everything we needed. It's about 3 hours from Hampton down to Wake Forest, so it wasn't too far to drive. The new townhouse is around 1000 sq ft, and it quickly filled up with our boxes. We've gotten most of them emptied and stuff put away by now, but we still need more shelves and storage spaces.
Moving Day, Part 1
Last week was moving day. We had to move all the we had been storing in Dad's house and garage into a 24 foot U-Haul truck to haul down to Wake Forest. With Dad's expert packing and Eric's strong back, we had no problem getting everything loaded. Dad's Avalon gave an audible sigh of relief when it was finally able to park in his garage after being out in the cold for the last 2 months. Thank you, Dad, for letting us crash in your house!
Jacen's Birthday
Jacen's 6th birthday fell on moving day, so before we left Dad's house we celebrated with family. He got exactly what he wanted -- Matchbox cars and Legos. Grandpa also gave him a white dress shirt, because Jacen he wants to wear a tie to church like Daddy does.
Snow
The day after Christmas a storm dumped 12 inches of snow on Poquoson. Although it was perfect for snow angels and snow ball fights, it cancelled our plans for traveling to Aunt Nan's house to see family for Christmas.
Christmas
We had a nice Christmas with family this year. Christmas Eve was spent with our side; Christmas day with Eric's side. Ann and I bought each other some games (see the Ticket to Ride review below; others to follow). I also got a number of books (3 on evangelism, Adinirum Judson's biography, and 1 on leadership by MacArthur) and the final Lord of the Rings DVD. It was nice to spend time with family, especially since our opportunities to do this will be limited soon.
Live Nativity
Every year my father's church runs a live nativity scene just before Christmas. We took the kids over last week and played a small part. Can you find all four of us in this picture?
Bethel Baptist Church (Hampton, VA)
Bethel Baptist Church (Hampton, VA)
Ticket To Ride
We picked up a new board game called "Ticket To Ride." It's a train game where you lay down trains to complete tracks from one US city to another. It's a pretty easy game, involves a lot of luck, and moves quickly. Everyone who has played it has liked it. It's a good game for families and friends both.
Ticket To Ride review
Ticket To Ride review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)