11.30.07
Posted in Bruce at 3:50 pm by ebenezer
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Do not be bound together [unequally yoked] with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
I do not like to mix politics and religion. I do not take it into the pulpit. God has called me to preach the gospel of Christ. I have not been called to fix all the ills of the world - only to proclaim the one who can fix the ills of the soul, ie., Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
I am of the opinion that we are not to worry as much about changing the social culture as we are to be concerned about changing individual souls. I happen to think that once an individual is changed and becomes a follower of Christ - then and only then will our social culture change. There is nothing wrong with fighting aids, curing cancer, or doing wonderful and great works - I recommend that and encourage it if you have that ability. May God bless your endeavors.
However, we do not need to align ourselves with Belial. Rick Warren & Saddleback Church have aligned themselves together with an ungodly woman who is totally sold out to abortion at any stage! She is an outspoken advocate of gay rights for homosexuals. Both of these positions of hers are in an out and out opposition to that of biblical believing evangelicals. How can and did Rick Warren allow this woman (though she claims she is a Christian - her beliefs on abortion and homosexual rights seem to indicate otherwise) to speak at Saddleback. As the article is titled: Sen. Clinton at Saddleback Church - A big mistake? To me as a Christian - yes it was.
Bruce
Sen. Clinton at Saddleback Church - A big mistake?
Fred Jackson
OneNewsNow.com
November 30, 2007
Pro-abortion and homosexual rights advocate Hillary Clinton has been given a standing ovation by pastors and others attending the third annual Global AIDS Summit at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. But at least one pro-family leader says Warren’s invitation to the Democratic presidential candidate was a big mistake.
Senator Clinton (D-New York) was one of several speakers to attend this week’s AIDS summit at Pastor Rick Warren’s church in California. During her speech on Thursday to the crowd of more than a thousand people, Clinton vowed to fight what some refer to as the “global AIDS pandemic” and pledged to spend $50 million on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention worldwide if elected president.
According to Reuters News, Clinton said to warm applause: “I know the power of faith and the people of faith. Together, I believe we can write the next chapter in this history.”
And she had much praise for Warren and his wife Kay. “The commitment that you have demonstrated — both to our faith in God and to doing his work here on Earth — is exemplary,” Clinton stated.
News reports say that Warren gave her a hug and that at least one member of the popular author’s Saddleback Valley Community Church called Clinton her “hero.” Associated Press quotes Warren, who acknowledges there are issues on which his church and Clinton disagree, as saying: “[W]hen millions are dying each year [from AIDS], we are interested in lives, not labels.”
But the president of the American Family Association, Tim Wildmon, believes Warren made a mistake in allowing Clinton to speak at Saddleback. “What Saddleback is doing is helping raise her profile as a legitimate presidential candidate in the eyes of evangelical Christians,” he says — adding: “I think that is a huge error.”
Editor’s Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates OneNewsNow.com.
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Posted in Other Noteworthies at 10:38 am by ebenezer
John MacArthur
There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, “successful” living, emotional issues, and other practical but worldly - and not definitely biblical - themes. Like the unbiquitous Plexiglas lecterns from which these messages are delivered, such preaching is lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic, leaving little more than an ephemeral impression on the minds of the hearers.
—– [Fool’s Gold?: Discerning Truth in an Age of Error, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005, p. 36] —–
2 Timothy 4:1-5
I solemly 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, exhort with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
1 Corinthians 9:16b - … woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.
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11.29.07
Posted in Quotes - Some Famous | Some Not So Famous at 10:43 pm by ebenezer
O.S. Hawkins
Earthquakes don’t just happen. They’re caused by hidden faults deep below the earth’s surface. These faults start small, growing gradually until one day - without warning - the built up stress causes an earthquake that brings down everything in its path.
Moral earthquakes follow the same pattern. What seems like a small unimportant spiritual laspe can be the first step toward a disaster with far-reaching aftershocks that ripple out beyond the immediate circle of those affected to touch the lives of many with broken marriages, broken lives, and broken ministries.
—– [Moral Earthquakes and Secret Faults: Protecting Yourself from Minor Moral Lapses that Lead to Major Disaster, Dallas: Southern Baptist Convention, 1996, book-jacket] —–
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Posted in Other Noteworthies at 11:40 am by ebenezer
The Awkward Irony of the Atheist
Sunday School
- Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr.
www.albertmohler.com
Incongruous as it sounds, atheists are now organizing Sunday Schools. TIME magazine reports that many non-believing parents are concerned that their children are not adequately grounded in secular thought and feel left out of experiences like Sunday School that are common among their friends.
Reporter Jeninne Lee-St. John understands that the idea seems a bit strange. “On Sunday mornings, most parents who don’t believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids’ soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in. Without religion, there’s no need for church, right?”
Well, not exactly. Lee-St. John explains this new development:
But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. “When you have kids,” says Julie Willey, a design engineer, “you start to notice that your co-workers or friends have church groups to help teach their kids values and to be able to lean on.” So every week, Willey, who was raised Buddhist and says she has never believed in God, and her husband pack their four kids into their blue minivan and head to the Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, Calif., for atheist Sunday school.
Packing the kids in the minivan for atheist Sunday School is likely to sound more than a little strange to those accustomed to more traditional Sunday Schools (that teach children about God) but it is fascinating that atheists are concerned that their children need secular instruction.
It seems that many atheist parents are concerned that their children should learn at an early age how to deal with the challenge of living among Christian believers. Furthermore, these parents want to ensure that their children and teenagers learn their own secular values.
The report explains that the growing number of atheists and non-believers in the nation are becoming more concerned about their children, and are establishing both Sunday Schools and atheist youth camps in order to inculcate secular beliefs and morality within the next generation.
The magazine offers a very interesting description of what goes on at a model atheist Sunday School:
The Palo Alto Sunday family program uses music, art and discussion to encourage personal expression, intellectual curiosity and collaboration. One Sunday this fall found a dozen children up to age 6 and several parents playing percussion instruments and singing empowering anthems like I’m Unique and Unrepeatable, set to the tune of Ten Little Indians, instead of traditional Sunday-school songs like Jesus Loves Me. Rather than listen to a Bible story, the class read Stone Soup, a secular parable of a traveler who feeds a village by making a stew using one ingredient from each home.
Down the hall in the kitchen, older kids engaged in a Socratic conversation with class leader Bishop about the role persuasion plays in decision-making. He tried to get them to see that people who are coerced into renouncing their beliefs might not actually change their minds but could be acting out of self-preservation–an important lesson for young atheists who may feel pressure to say they believe in God.
My guess is that these atheist Sunday Schools will not be as successful as these parents hope. “I’m Unique and Unrepeatable” just can’t really compete with “Jesus Loves Me.” Children have not yet developed cynicism and, in general, are quite eager to believe in God. Children taught from the Bible in Sunday School learn that they were made by a loving God who cares for them — and then move on to learn much more about what the Bible teaches. No “secular parable” can compete with that.
In a strange way, the rise of atheist Sunday Schools illustrates the central dilemma of atheism itself. Try as they may, atheists cannot avoid talking about God — even if only to insist that they do not believe in Him. Now, atheist parents are organizing Sunday Schools as a parallel to the Christian practice. In effect, atheists are organizing themselves in a way similar to a local church. At least some of them must sense the awkward irony in that.
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Posted in Quotes - Some Famous | Some Not So Famous at 12:18 am by ebenezer
Every pardon a sinner hath is written in Christ’s blood..
– Thomas Watson
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11.28.07
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 11:16 am by ebenezer
R.C. Sproul
I cringe inside when I speak in churches about the holiness of God. I can anticipate the responses of the people. They leave the sanctuary convinced that they have just been in the presence of a holy man. Because they hear me preach about holiness, they assume I must be as holy as the message I preach. That’s when I want to cry, “Woe is me.”
It’s dangerous to assume that because a person is drawn to holiness in his study that he is thereby a holy man. There is irony here. I am sure that the reason I have a deep hunger to learn of the holiness of God is precisely because I am not holy. I am a profane man - a man who spends more time out of the temple than in it. But I have had just enough taste of the majesty of God to want more. I know what it means to be a forgiven man and what it means to be sent on a mission. My soul cries for more. More soul needs more.
—– [The Holiness of God, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1998, p. 33] —–
Isaiah 6:3 - Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!
Revelation 4:8 - Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!
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11.27.07
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 9:44 am by ebenezer
A.W. Pink
God’s Sovereignty Defined -
The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Ps. 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Ps. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.
—– [The Sovereignty of God, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1930 (Photolithoprinted at Ann Arbor: Cushing - Malloy, Inc., 1979) p. 19] —–
I wonder - is God sovereign in your life or does it seem that your sovereignty dictates to Him? One of the things I learned along time ago is that God must be God in order to be God, anything less then He would not be God.
So how do you define the sovereignty of God? Can you say here and do you really believe and does your life reflect - “To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God.” Again, I wonder how you will answer.
Bruce
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11.26.07
Posted in Quotes - Some Famous | Some Not So Famous at 9:10 am by ebenezer
Daniel Webster
“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evagelical volumne does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; if the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness, will reign without mitigation or end.” [1823]
Enough said.
Bruce
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11.25.07
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 5:28 pm by ebenezer
Eugene H. Peterson
When I was a child I walked about a mile to school each day with my two best friends. Along a quarter of that distance there was a railway track. When we came to that stretch we always walked on the rails. Each of us wanted to make it all the way without falling off, but didn’t want the others to similarly succeed. We would throw things at each other to upset balance, or say things to divert attention, cry out that the train was coming or announce that there was a dead body in the ditch.
Some have supposed that that is what Christian living is, teetering and wobbling along a rail, taunted by the devil and his angels. With some skill and a lot of luck we might just make it to heaven, but it’s an uncertain business at best.
Psalm 125 says that is not the way it is at all. Being a Christian is like sitting in the middle of Jerusalem, fortified and secure. “First we are established and then entrenched; settled, and then sentinelled: made like a mount, and then protected as if by mountains.” And so the last sentence is “Peace over Israel!” A colloquial, but in the context accurate, translation would be “Relax.” We are secure. God is running the show. Neither our feelings of depression nor the facts of suffering nor the possiblities of defection are evidence that God has abandoned us. There is nothing more certain than that he will accomplish his salvation in our lives and perfect will in our histories. Three times in his great Sermon, Jesus, knowing how easily we imagine the worst, repeats the reasurring command “Do not be anxious” (Mt 6:25, 31, 34 RSV). Our life with God is a sure thing.
When mountain climbers are in dangerous terrain, on the face of a cliff or the slopes of a glacier, they rope themselves together. Sometimes one of them slips and falls - backslides. But not everyone falls at once, and so those who are still on their feet are able to keep the backslider from falling away completely. And of course, in any group of climbers there is a veteran climber in the lead, identified for us in the letter to the Hebrews as “Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in” (Heb 12:2).
Traveling in the way of faith and climbing the ascent to Christ may be difficult, but it is not worrisome. The weather may be adverse, but it is never fatal. We may slip and stumble and fall, but the rope will hold us.
—– [A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Disciplwship in an Instant Society, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2,000, p. 90-91] —–
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11.24.07
Posted in Quotes - Some Famous | Some Not So Famous at 9:14 am by ebenezer
Tom Wells
God is worthy to be known and proclaimed for who He is, and that fact is an important part of the missionary motive and message. … Those who know the most about God are the most reponsible and best equipped to tell of Him.
—– [A Vision For Missions, Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1985, p. 9] —–
Mark 5:19-20
[Jesus said to the Gadarene (us)], Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you. And he [the Gadarene] departed and began to proclaim … all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
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