By PastorJohn on
5/28/2009 7:11 PM
As a child, my parents were gracious enough to give me a choice when it came to attending church. I could go willingly or unwillingly! And I must regrettably report that more often than not I chose the latter. Even so, I am thankful for the opportunity to learn patient endurance at such a young age…especially when it came to the sermon. This was in the days before “junior church” so there was no escape from the prolonged musings of our preacher.
Of course, now I am on the other side of the pulpit, and while it may be tempting to project similar suffering on my listeners as retribution for my lost Sunday mornings, I’d rather not go there. Certainly, most pastors have no desire to torment their congregations either, and this may explain why so many of today’s sermons have incorporated all sorts of technology, are smattered with humorous anecdotes (many of which have nothing to do with the topic) and – if all else fails – are abbreviated to fit our ever decreasing attention
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By PastorJohn on
5/26/2009 12:21 PM
If you are a young single man...or know a young single man...check out this free booklet from Focus on the Family entitled "A Guy's Guide to Marrying Well." Below is from the Introduction:
Marrying Well Is Becoming a Lost Art
Most men hope to marry some day, but there’s no guarantee they will. Increasingly, young men are—as one writer put it—“stumbling on to the altar as if by accident.”
Too many guys make their way into their twenties and thirties without the marriage modeling and insights that were once easy to find from dads, coaches, teachers, mentors and Christian leaders. When they do find advice about relationships, it’s often spec
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By PastorJohn on
5/24/2009 8:53 PM
I mentioned in a previous post, my whole-hearted recommendation of Bruce Ware's book Big Truths for Young Hearts. And I do this for kids of all ages and even for adults who would like an easy to read summary of the Christian faith. Check out Albert Mohler's interview with Bruce Ware if you'd like to learn more about this great resource.
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By PastorJohn on
5/21/2009 10:37 PM
Have you heard this line attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."? Well, according to this article in Christianity Today, he never said it and he certainly didn't live it. It turns out, Francis was quite a preacher in his day, and he knew (along with Saint Paul), that "faith comes from hearing the Gospel."
Mark Galli ends his article with a better suggestion: "Preach the gospel - use actions when necessary, use words always."
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By PastorJohn on
5/18/2009 7:44 PM
HT: Challies
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By PastorJohn on
5/16/2009 7:39 PM
John Piper has a particularly poignant message for our new president. This video arrangement came from a sermon he delivered on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It's only 3 minutes and well worth your time.
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By PastorJohn on
5/6/2009 8:08 PM
To all you Moms and (especially) Dads out there who are having a hard time passing on your faith to your kids. You want to...and you know you need to, but still the time just flits away and bible reading and any kind of discussion about God never materialize. This is truly a battle, especially if we don't know where to begin. So for those of you out there looking for a good resource to help train your children in the faith, may I highly recommend to you a new book that I've just begun using with my son. It's called Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware. (I mentioned this briefly in my last post).
Here is a link to an interview the author and you can buy the book here. The book is perfect for just before bedt
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By PastorJohn on
5/4/2009 9:20 PM
Last night at our "Essentials of the Faith" class, we discussed the Trinity and the three summary statements the Scriptures call us to hold when thinking about God:
- God is Three Distinct Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
- Each Person is Fully God
- There is Only One God
Each statement is easy to understand in itself, but how do we put them together. No analogy seems to work. So, the question came up on how best to explain the Trinity to our children in a way that is helpful and will not lead them into some form of heresy.
I didn't have much of an answer last night, but here is how Bruce Ware explains it in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts (which I highly recommend).
The closest thing I've imagined to the Trinity is drawing one circle using three colored markers (perha
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By PastorJohn on
5/2/2009 11:14 AM
Just came across a poem by E.H. Hamilton entitled "Afraid? of what?". It was written after he heard about the death of his friend Jack Vinson. Jack was a missionary in China. In 1931, he was told by a bandit, "I'm going to kill you. Aren't you afraid?" Jack Vinson replied, "No, if you shoot, I go straightto heaven." His decapitated body was found later.
"Afraid? Of what?"
To feel the spirit's glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid? Of that?
Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour's face,
To hear His welcome, and to trace,
The glory gleam from wounds of grace,
Afraid? Of that?
Afraid? Of what?
A flash - a crash - a pierced he&
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