A Contemporvant Service

This from JTs blog at the gospel coalition:


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.


There are so many obvious pokes at real people in this video that make it even funnier than it is intended to be (I think). I hope they have a sense of humor.
Beyond that however, it's kind of sad that this phenomenon is so prevalent and so popular that it can satire itself in the same way that this movie genre does and arguably do a better job...

I've never been in that church. But I know me, and I ought not ever be in that church.
But I'll post some of their you tube videos. ;-)

Make War (2 Cor. 10:3)

It's a little on the harder side of rap for my usual tastes, but I think that's appropriate for the subject matter... and I love the Piper quote...

Devotions Aren't Magic

This is a great post from the Desiring God Blog - It doesn't need my commentary.

Devotions Aren't Magic
(Author: Jon Bloom)

We know that—for the most part. But still, we can be tempted to think that if we just figure out the secret formula—the right mixture of Bible meditation and prayer—we will experience euphoric moments of rapturous communion with the Lord. And if that doesn't happen, our formula must be wrong.

The danger of this misconception is that it can produce chronic disappointment and discouragement. Cynicism sets in and we give up because devotions don't seem to work for us.

The longing for intimate communion with God is God-given. He will satisfy it fully some day. And the Spirit gives us occasional tastes. But God has other purposes for us in our daily Bible meditation and prayer. Here are a few:

Soul Exercise (1 Corinthians 9:24, Romans 15:4): We exercise our bodies to increase strength, endurance, promote general health, and keep unnecessary weight off. Devotions are like exercise for our souls. They force our attention off of self-indulgent distractions and pursuits and on to God's purposes and promises. If we neglect this exercise we will go to pot.

Soul Shaping (Romans 12:2): The body will generally take the shape of how we exercise it. Running shapes one way, weight training shapes another way. The same is true for the soul. It will conform to how we exercise (or don't exercise) it.

Bible Copiousness (Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:97, Proverbs 23:12): A thorough, repeated, soaking in the Bible over the course of years increases our body of biblical knowledge, providing fuel for the fire of worship and increasing our ability to draw from all parts of the Bible in applying God's wisdom to life.

Fight Training (Ephesians 6:10-17): Marines undergo rigorous training in order to so ingrain their weapons knowledge that when suddenly faced with the chaos of combat they instinctively know what to do. Similarly, devotions make us more skilled warriors.

Delight Cultivation (Psalm 37:3-4, James 4:8, Psalm 130:5): When a couple falls in love there are hormonal fireworks. But in marriage they must cultivate delight in one another. It is the consistent, persistent, faithful, intentional, affectionate pursuit of one another during better and worse, richer and poorer, sickness and healthy times that cultivates a capacity for delight in each other far deeper and richer than the fireworks phase. Similarly, devotions are one of the ways we cultivate delight in God. Many days it may seem mundane. But we will be surprised at the cumulative power they have to deepen our love for and awareness of Him.

More Francis Chan for your Disillusionment

Watch with care...



That sinking feeling.. that - right there... that feeling you have?

That's called conviction.

Drink Deep.

What are you wrapped around?

This has been making the rounds and I found it challenging and refreshing.



I think our whole American Christian culture is tightly wrapped around the beam, and it's gonna take some serious prying to get us unlatched - myself included. But let's get started...

A Great Heart

Can't get enough Spurgeon...

“A man who is to do much with men must love them and feel at home with them. An individual who has no geniality about him had better be an undertaker and bury the dead, for he will never succeed in influencing the living. . . . A man must have a great heart, if he would have a great congregation. His heart should be as capacious as those noble harbors along our coast, which contain sea-room for a fleet. When a man has a large, loving heart, men go to him as ships to a haven and feel at peace when they have anchored under the lee of his friendship. Such a man is hearty in private as well as in public; his blood is not cold and fishy but he is warm as your own fireside. No pride and selfishness chill you when you approach him; he has his doors all open to receive you, and you are home with him at once. Such men I would persuade you to be, every one of you.”

C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids, 1970), page 169.


HT: Ray Ortlund

Sunday's Coming!

Not as good as the last one, but powerful because it's true.
And tomorrow's FRIDAY! .... But Sunday's Comin...

I could watch/listen to this 100 times

and I bet I would weep each time...



Glory to God!

Quiet Fanatics

Not sure where Ray Ortlund Jr. finds these guys in order to quote them, but this one smacked me in the face today...

“It is a growing conviction of mine that no parish can fulfill its true function unless there is at the very center of its leadership life a small community of quietly fanatic, changed and truly converted Christians. The trouble with most parishes is that nobody, including the pastor, is really greatly changed. . . .

We do not want ordinary men. Ordinary men cannot win the brutally pagan life of a city like New York for Christ. We want quiet fanatics.”

John Heuss, Our Christian Vocation (Greenwish, 1955), pages 15-16.

Lord, please make me what you need me to be for your kingdom.

Great sermon... Paul Washer

I've heard of Paul Washer, but this is the first of his sermons that I have listened to from beginning to end. It's fantastic. The title of the you-tube clip is what made me listen, because looking at Paul Washer does not make me think about rap music. :-)

But I love reformed rap, and it is becoming more and more lovely to me, and Mr. Washer gives good warnings to these guys at this conference, but what he does later in the sermon shutting down carnal Christianity and after that with 1 John is worth the hour.

Dig in and be challenged and be fed.

How to Wreck Your Church in Three Weeks

The above link to the below blog post will reveal that this post has been pulled from Ray Ortlund's blog over at the Gospel Coalition. I hope it's just temporary because I found it to be one of the most timely and insightful blog posts I've read in a long time.

I'm going to post it in its entirety here, but you should check out Mr. Ortlund's blog, it's quite good.

Here's his now missing post:

How to wreck your church in three weeks

Week One: Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are. Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now. Take note of every person who displeases you.

Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.” Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out. Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.” Agree together that you must “pray about it.”

Week Two: Send an email to a few other “concerned” members. Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church. Problems have gone unaddressed for too long. Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”

As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church. Circulate the petition quietly. Gathering support will be easy. Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing. Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.

Week Three: When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands. Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward. Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.

Whatever happens from this point on, you have won. You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances. To some degree, you will get your way. Your church will need three or four years for recovery. But at any future time, you can do it all again. It only takes three weeks.

Just one question. Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).

This is Making the Rounds...

... so I thought I'd jump on the interwebs bandwagon. The message is excellent because it is true - but not true of all messages! :-)

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Hit the Link in the Title for more animation from Ronnie Bruce.

For more poetry from Taylor Malin: Go Here

I could hat tip this from about 25 places, so nobody gets credit. Boast in the Lord!

;-)