worship

Good message ...

Technorati Tags: worship

the christian worldview

He who with his whole heart believes in Jesus as the Son of God is thereby committed to much else besides. He is committed to a view of God, to a view of man, to a view of sin, to a view of redemption, to a view of the purpose of God in creation and history, to a view of human destiny, found only in Christianity. ~ James Orr, The Christian View of God and the World

HT:FE

I have many friends committed to what the perceive are right views on a variety of points but they do not stem from a right view of Christ. Or equally wrong, they believe it is possible to have a right view of these other things without having a right view of Christ. Without the latter, all the rest is at best distorted.

we need to die

Mikael Thomsen (Danish) delivers a powerful message.

how do you see

This video brought to my attention by iggy reminded me of an expression I've used when discussing how we interact with the world.

Do you see people as scenery, machinery, or opportunity?

• Scenery - could those around you just as easily be scenery? Do you even notice them or do they mostly blend in with the background?
• Machinery - could those around you just as easily be a machine? When you got served lunch at the fast food place, was the person around you a person or a machine serving your needs?
• Opportunity - do you see people as individuals that matter to God?

Anyway, you get the idea ...

rallies of fear

yep ... all the facts are in ...



HT:BH

Technorati Tags: politics

wrong righteousness

Before you can ever make a clean and unamended confession of your sin, you have to first begin by confessing your righteousness. It’s not just your sin that separates you from God; your righteousness does as well. Because, when you are convinced you are righteous, you don’t seek the forgiving, rescuing, and restoring mercy that can be found only in Jesus Christ. ~ Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow

HT:FE

the cross

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance). Indeed, 'only the man who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross', wrote Canon Peter Green, 'may claim his share in its grace.' ~ John Stott, The Cross of Christ

HT:JH

covenants

In the Old Testament there were two kinds of covenants; those of promise (e.g., Gen 15) and those of law (e.g. Exo 24). These varied covenants fit under a simple structure of two overarching covenants, that of Grace and of Works. Therefore these multiple covenants can be viewed as ratifications of continuous overall covenant. That is, those covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel are all part of the covenant of Grace first promised in the garden (Ge 3.15).

This is important to understand so that we do not mistakenly begin to view the Old Testament as essentially the Law and the New Testament as essentially the Gospel. There is one Gospel (Gal 3.8), one plan of Salvation (Eph 1.4-6), and one common faith (Eph 4.4-6).

As Kim Riddlebarger writes;

The individual covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David foreshadowed as part of a larger covenantal structure the new covenant ratified by Christ's blood (Heb 10.11-18). The great redemptive events found throughout the Old Testament are unintelligible apart from this covenantal structure and an emphasis on God's promise of a coming Redeemer, who is also the covenant Mediator.

Adam was the first breaker of the Covenant of Works. He failed in perfect obedience anf received the consequence of such (Gen 2.17). This act of rebellion brought the curse of death upon all humanity. This has never been abrogated and for any of us to now be saved, someone must fulfill all of the terms of the original covenant (Mt 5.48; 1 Pet 1.16). Bad news - all of us are guilty of the same (Hos 6.7). Good news = Jesus Christ completely met all all of the requirements of the Covenant of Works in thought, word, and deed (Rom 5.12-21). And more so, overcoming the penalty of death is demonstrated in His resurrection as the Lord of Life (Rom .25).

future things

Eschatology is about the past, present and future. As Christians we are concerned with all three (Eph 1.3-14).

In very broad terms the biblical sweep is from creation to the new creation by way of redemption, which is, in effect the renewing of creation. yet the end is not merely a return to the beginning ... ~ William Dumbrell, The Search for Order: Biblical Eschatology in Focus

God's creation was good. Man fell into sin and paradise was lost. God however promised redemption which has begun and will ultimately be fulfilled. But that fulfillment will be more than a return to paradise. It will be paradise glorified.

Technorati Tags: eschatology

bud v. obama

I love it ... years ago it was Budweiser.



Now it's Obama.

Technorati Tags: politics

forward hope

From first to last, and not merely in the epilogue, Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present. The eschatological is not one element of Christianity, but it is the medium of Christian faith as such, the key in which everything in it is set, the glow that suffuses everything here in the dawn of an expected new day. … Hence eschatology cannot really be only a part of Christian doctrine. Rather, the eschatological outlook is characteristic of all Christian proclamation, of every Christian existence and of the whole Church. There is therefore only one real problem in Christian theology … : the problem of the future. ~ Jürgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope

Technorati Tags: eschatology

abortion

Warning ... hardcore anti-abortion video ... Video deleted because I love Shannon ... that seems like reason enough ...

Technorati Tags: abortion

receiving sinners

Some folks wonder how I can be a Calvinist and not see the ugly side of this theology. Well I am and I don't.

The Calvinist is the man who has seen God, and who, having seen God in His glory, is filled on the one hand with a sense of his own unworthiness to stand in God's sight as a creature, and much more as a sinner, and on the other hand, with adoring wonder that nevertheless this God is a God who receives sinners. ~ BB Warfield

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the fatherhood of god

You sum up the whole of New Testament teaching in a single phrase, if you speak of it as a revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator. In the same way, you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God. ~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God

HT:JF

think about god

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ~ A.W. Tozer

What do you think about when you think about God?

live for christ

To live for yourself is to rob yourself of your own humanity. It is only in living for Christ that we actually begin to become what we were meant to be. ~ Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More

HT:FE

what?

Technorati Tags: politics

die

Live in such a way where the only thing you have left to do is die. ~ C Michael Patton

finally

Finally, this is the kind of politicking I like ...

McCain at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner part 1



McCain at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner part 2



Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner part 1



Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner part 2

Technorati Tags: humor, politics

i don't get it

Someone was making the argument that John McCain voted with George Bush 95% of the time and since Bush's approval rating is roughly 29%, McCain must be bad.

That's odd logic to me but that aside, since Barack Obama voted with his party 96% of the time and the Democrat controlled Congress has a 13% approval, does that make Obama worse?

I hardly think so. But then why do people argue like that. As I've contended, too many people are anxious to display their ignorance. Me, I like to try to hide mine.

Technorati Tags: politics