You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers part 2

Is it ok to be friends with someone who is lost?
1. First let’s ask ourselves some questions:
· If we have lost friends, what does that say about your testimony?
· Can you think of any scripture references that speak to this question?
· If we don’t have lost friends, how will we ever be able to share the Gospel?
· Do we want our children under the influence of lost people?
· If we don’t have lost friends, when will our children ever see us share the Gospel?
2. Let’s look at a verse:
· 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 14Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,"I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.17Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."
· What does this verse mean? First of all, we get the Old Testament picture of livestock that are joined together but have different causes. One is pulling against the other and nothing beneficial will be accomplished. Using this analogy, we see Paul teaching us that a Christian not only should not, but cannot be joined together with an unbeliever in a committed relationship to accomplish anything spiritual.
· What does this include: Marriage, humanitarian projects, or any relationship that makes you an alliance for a certain spiritual cause?
3. The real Problem is not our association with unbelievers; it’s our association with professing Christians.
· 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13 9I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."
· Paul says make sure you associate and even befriend the dirtiest of sinners, but he also says purge yourself of the ones who claim Jesus with their lips but practice these things.
· Paul says it’s not our job to judge people outside of the faith, but it is our job to judge the fruits of those who claim Christianity.
4. What about James 4:4
· James 4:4 4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
· James calls the people prostitutes who profess Christ and are outwardly associated with the church, but are holding a deep affection for sin.
· Friendship (philia) this Greek word describes a love-friendship with strong emotional attachment. Those with a deep and intimate longing for the things of the world give evidence that they are not redeemed.
5. The fear of befriending lost people:
· 1 John 2:15-17 15 do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
· The fear is that we will develop a love for things of the world. That the lust of our flesh will begin to be fed from their habits and possessions.
6. What about Jesus?? Does He say anything?
· Great Commission
· Zaccheus
· Woman at the Well
· Woman caught in adultery
· Accused of being a friend to sinners
7. Conclusion
· 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Where's Waldo??

Well, my creative wife decided to make JP a costume. See if you can find Waldo:

He really is a happy kid...I promise

This is right before we left for AWANA...I think he is excited

Confessions of a Youth Pastor

Another confession…this one actually hurts. My pride can’t take many confessions like these, but I’m hoping after I put this out there that I will realize some serious truths about myself. But I guess I need to start with Saturday morning for this to make sense.

As most of you know I usually play basketball on Saturday mornings. Well, I didn’t get up with Nolan (my ballin’ partner) so I ended up going mountain bike riding with our worship leader, Russell. I have never been, but I’m always looking for the next adventure and plus this would help with my “Get in Shape” campaign. We took off up the mountain at Lake Leatherwood. I should have known by the name that this was not a good idea. I had no clue what to expect. I mean you can’t believe how clueless I was, but I was quickly informed as Russell dived off the main road into the woods and I was embraced by no small hill. This thing was a beast. I could feel my manhood slipping out from my grasp as I realized there was no climbing this mountain on a bike. So I jumped off and began the trek on foot. When it finally leveled off the fun began. I was dipping and dodging trees, up down the small ramp like hills, and then disaster struck. As you read this feel free to laugh, but please know that when this disaster struck it wasn’t funny. I mean Russell didn’t even laugh it looked SO BAD. If he doesn’t laugh…something is wrong. Russell is maybe 20 yards ahead of me so I really can’t see what to expect next. I then go straight down this 10 foot cliff. The back of my bike flies up and over the handle bars I fly. Funny right?? Yeah it was until I braced myself by hitting this tree, it then proceeded to break, and I landed full force chest first into the knife shaped stump I created. I was laying thinking I was about to die because I felt like my chest cavity was split. Russell thought the tree had punctured my body and was actually inside of me…it was literally the worst pain I had ever felt. He ran over to me and slowly rolled me over…like he was a trained medic or something. As he rolled me my shoulder began to pop and he comforted be by saying, “Well, your shoulder is either broken or it was dislocated and you just popped it back in place.” It turns out the latter was the verdict. I couldn’t breathe or feel my arm, but managed to get on my feet and walk off the mountain. The ER doctor told me to expect some serious muscle spasms as the tissue and cartilage I disintegrated begins to grow back together. I have a major whole in my chest and bruising all over my body.

What’s the confession? I’m not the 17 year old I once was. I think that is one of the most heartbreaking truths I must realize. When I was 17 there was nothing I couldn’t do. I was in shape, the metabolism was up, and the body was strong. It’s my fault because I know 50 year olds that are in better shape than I am. I always think of Larry Pitchford walking down Dothan Rd. scaring me because he was in such good shape. Resolution?? I’m getting in shape before I do anymore dumb things…

Question 2

This week will will explore the question, "Is it ok to be friends with lost people?"

Another surprising answer for you Sunday...Be there and bring some friends

A 2 Year Old's Conviction

Last night wasn't a good night. For several reasons, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about the conviction of a 2 year old that most Christians don't have. I was blown away. JP, for some reason, wasn't in the mood to go to sleep last night. Maybe it was because I tried to put him in bed at 8:30, a good 1 hour and a half or 2 hours before his normal bedtime. I know, we are horrible. So I told him to go lay down and we would read a story. We read this really cool little book about a Shepard losing his sheep and doing everything to find it and how Jesus loves us like that Shepard loves his sheep. I closed the book and looked at JP. We had this moment...It's hard to explain, but it's like God connected our hearts for a 5 seconds and it was amazing. He then continued to say, "Daddy we need to pray." I said, "Do you want me to pray or do you want to pray." After he very strongly told me that he was going to pray, He began by saying, "God thank you for:

Daddy, Mommy, Church, Benjamin (JP's best friend), Ms. Marci, Mr. Allen (Benjamin's parents), Craig, Ms. Mindy (Awana teachers), Ms. Rama (church secretary), Grandma, grandaddy, Mack Mack, Den Den, Mr. Brian (Megan's boss at Sears), Mr. Tommy (co-worker at Sears), the
lawnmowers, tools, and screwdrivers

After I saw that we were beginning to digress, I jumped in and said "and thank you for Jesus...amen." He could have went forever, but I stopped. I was laughing at first because of the things he was thankful for, but this morning the more I thought about it the more I realized he had something most don't. Even at two he understands God is the giver and He deserves to be thanked. Something I think we all know, but how many of us truly know?? Does that make sense? I guess I feel that our culture has become numb to the incredible attributes of God. And not because they are something we have been taught our whole lives, because the character of God is so amazing we will never be able to truly understand who He is. We've became numb because we have satisfied ourselves with a Vacation Bible School amount of knowledge of our Creator. We need to dig...

JP...Preaching??

God may have given us a glimpse into JP's future calling. Last night Megan, JP, and me all went to Eureka to get some food. As we were riding through, I said, "Hey, let's go see the big Jesus statue." Here in Eureka Springs they have the Great Passion Play and right down from it they have the "Christ of the Ozarks" statue that is massive. I mean bigger than you could ever think a statue would be. So we made the walk down the hill and right away JP started declaring loudly...that he sees Jesus. As we get far away enough from it so we could actually look up and see the whole statue JP begins to scream, "JESUS IS COMING!! JESUS IS COMING!!"

A two year old gets it and is talking about it...why can't we??

You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers part 1

After Sunday School, a few people were asking for the notes I had gathered after our biblical search for the answer to the long discussed alcohol question. To be honest, I know these are long notes but you'll have to read all of them to get the final conclusion. So, in case you are interested: (Just so you know most of the facts came from Johnny Hunt's Sermon "Total Abstinence")

Why is it not acceptable to drink alcohol but being a glutton is? Is taking a single drink of alcohol a sin? If not, how many drinks does it take before you sin? Where’s the line?
1. Let’s tackle the alcohol issue first by asking some questions:
· Would you go to a church where the pastor openly consumes alcohol?
· If you had young children, would you keep alcohol in the house?
· What do John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Saint Gall all have in common? They all Drank...
· Would you ever drink in front of someone who struggled with alcoholism?
· How do those who do drink, talk to their children about teenage drinking?
· Are you strong enough to only drink in moderation?
2. Now let’s tackle some facts:
· Alcohol was commonly used in the church for fellowships and communion until 1869 when the Methodist Pastor Dr. Thomas Welch invented the very Christian Welch’s Grape Juice.
· Advertisers will spend over $500,000,000. to tell us to drink this year.
· Seventy-five percent of all high schoolers drink, and 50% of all junior highers.
· Four hundred and fifty thousand teenagers are alcoholics in the U.S.A.
· One half of all ordained ministers drink, and 1/3 of all active church-goers drink.
· Forty-eight percent of Southern Baptists drink, and an estimated 16% of those who do drink become alcoholics (a higher % than virtually any other religious group in the nation).
· One-fourth of all active Southern Baptist church teenagers have used alcohol in the past 12 months.
· Proverbs 20:1- Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
· Billy Sunday called liquor “the Devil in liquid form”
· Many people believe, for whatever reason, that the answer to drinking alcoholic beverages is moderation. I personally believe that moderation is not the solution but the cause of alcohol abuse. – Johnny Hunt
· All Bible believing Christians believe drunkenness is a sin. (Romans 13:13, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter4:3)
· There are many sins that are associated with drunkenness. (incest (Genesis 19:32-35), violence (Proverbs 4:17); adultery (Revelation 17:2); mockery and brawling (Proverbs 20:1); poverty (Proverbs 21:17); murder (2 Samuel 11:13), vomiting (Jeremiah 25:27, 48:26; Isaiah 19:14); staggering (Jeremiah 25:27; Psalm 107:27; Job 12:25); madness (Jeremiah 51:7), depression (Luke 21:34)
4. The major argument: It is not wrong to drink wine, a beer, or a mixed drink.
· The Bible does not condemn it, and by the way, did not Jesus turn water into wine?
· One “minister” a few years ago applied for license for beer/wine for their church. His argument: “Jesus was the first bartender.”


5. Let’s look at the words for wine and strong drink
· Strong drink - (Shay-kahr) pronounced she-care; refers to a drink that has been distilled from fermented dates, grain, apples, and honeycomb. Universally condemned everywhere it is used. Only time it is recommended is a sort of narcotic in Prov. 31:6, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that are of heavy hearts.” (time of extreme sorrow)
· In Prov. 31:4-5, tells us that kings and national leaders are to leave wine and strong drink alone.
Prov. 31:4-5, “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice of any of the afflicted.”




· Again, in Isaiah 28:7-8, leaders are rebuked.
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink, they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”
· Wine- Hebrew word Yayin (Ya-yin) - may be intoxicating; may not be; generic word.
· So we see there is a different word used in the bible for intoxicating drinks and wine.
6. Here is the good stuff
· Yale University’s Study on alcoholism - it was revealed that the normal process of fermentation of “fruit of the vine” does not produce a drink with sufficient alcohol content to bring on drunkenness. There must be a mechanical interference with the normal process, such as the addition of pure alcohol or other mechanical processes of distillation or it will not produce the kind of wine that is common today.
· The Hebrews would have referred to our wine and beer as “strong drink”.
· The wine of biblical times was not like the wine that exists today. Stein’s research uncovered the fact that wine in the days of Jesus, for example, was actually wine mixed with water. On average, it would be three or four parts of water mixed with one part of wine. In other words, what the Bible calls wine was basically purified water.
· He points out that water in the ancient world was unsafe to drink. It could be made safe by boiling it, filtering it, or the safest way was to put wine into the water to kill the germs.
· Dr. Norman Geisler concluded, “Therefore, Christians ought not drink wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages, for they are actually ‘strong drink,’ and are forbidden in Scripture. Even ancient pagans did not drink what some Christians drink today.”
7. Conclusion
· As God allows me to personally be Salt and Light, I commit to never drink alcohol. Your children will not be encouraged where I pastor. Moderation or Recreation is not my testimony, but TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
· I am hard-pressed to think of any way that casual, social drinking can enhance your witness, much less bring people to Christ.
· Romans 14:21, “It is good neither to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
· Alcohol is just one of the many substitutes for the joy of Christ.
· Eph. 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.”
· You say, “I will never abuse alcohol. I will never become an alcoholic.
· One out of every ten that start to drink will become an alcoholic.
- We drank for happiness and became unhappy
- We drank for joy and became miserable
- We drank for sociability and became argumentative
- We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious
- We drank for friendship and became enemies
- We drank for sleep and became awakened without rest
- We drank for strength and felt weak
- We drank for relaxation and got the shakes
- We drank for bravery and became afraid
- We drank for confidence and became doubtful
- We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech
- We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like we had been to hell
- We drank to forget and were forever haunted
- We drank for freedom and became a slave
- We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply
- We drank to cope with life and invited death.

Saturday's 7

Cool things going on. Here are 7:

• We had 28 students here for Desiringmore last wed. You wanna know the incredibly cool thing about the 28?? Probably 25 of them that attended were seeking... It was a good night
• For our "You've Got Questions...We've Got Answers" series in Sunday School, here is the first question will discuss: Is taking a single drink of alcohol wrong? And, if not, how much is? Where's the line? It's going to be one heck of a morning.
• I went and played basketball at 6 a.m. twice this week. I feel like I'm in better shape already...NOT!! (old school right there)
• Alabama has got Ole Miss today at 2:30. We have an incredible schedule set up for us to win out. Something will happen...it always does.
• I got contacted by a church planter over in Fayetteville today. He is a part of the Acts 29 network and I'm looking forward to see what God does through those guys. We'll eat lunch soon and I'll be able to find out more about them so I can start praying...Church planting has got to be tough.
• I went to the "Great Passion Play" last night over in Eureka with Megan, JP, Russell, and Erin. It was good, and JP got pretty ticked when the guys started beating up Jesus..."HEY!! Thats not nice!!"
• On another: "You've got to love my kid" note, we walked passed some guy who was smoking and JP yelled, "EEWWW!! Thats disgusting!!" Yep...thats my boy. Never shying away from speaking his mind.

Doing What I Do

I have really stunk it up lately visiting. It's just really hard with family, school, and everything else that HAS to be done each day. By the time I get home, all I want to do is chill with JP in the floor playing cars and see my wife. But, I decided the other day that my visitation schedule has to be picked up. I love visiting. I love going to people's homes and getting to know them as they get to know me. So this week has been a good week of visiting. I went and visited two possible members and answered questions about our church that they had. They were already strong believers but had recently moved to the community and looking for a church they could serve in. I was honest and expressed our strengths and weaknesses, but I have a good feeling will be seeing a lot more of them. Then last night the whole family went to see the Motzko's. JP played with ms. bannah (Savannah) and ms. caleb (Micaela) the daughters while me and Megan got talk to Leah and Greg for awhile. Another great visit with some amazing brownies and ice cream. Although I did get a little nervous when Mrs. Leah began to compare something to poop in the brownies...I'm not sure what she was saying...I just hope nobody pooped in those brownies.

School, School, School

Well, my new classes start Monday. I'm kind of excited and depressed at the same time...is that possible? I'm exciting because I'm taking some really cool classes, but the syllabuses for each class takes the excitement away quickly whe you see how many papers are required for each. My schedule is:

Acts- By far the toughest and most demanding class of the term
Genesis- I'll be ok if I can keep up and not get behind
Youth 201- Let's be honest...I'm thinking this is going to pretty simple

God, why I'm doing all of this??

Ordination

I just wanted to go ahead and post to the world that I'll be ordained by FBC Abbeville on November 9th. I would love it if all you guys could come. It's going to be pretty incredible and I'm pumped. I would love it also if you guys would be praying for our ministry. Peace

The Cry

In Genesis 18 we read about Abraham and his plea with God to spare Sodom. I love verse 22 where it says the men went towards Sodom but Abraham stood before the Lord. Everyone else had given up on the people...They said to themselves, "They are lost. They are nasty wicked sinners and really deserve to feel the wrath of God. There's no hope for them" But Abraham stood before the Lord. He understood the very grace that saved him could also save the dirtiest of sinners. So he began pleading with God, "If you find just a few righteous...spare Sodom." What a model for us today. There are so many people we have given up on. They are too lost and there's no hope. Therefore we have, liked the other men in this story, started walking and gave up hope for their souls. Oh I wish we could become become like Abraham and stand before the Lord and plead for these people. For our families and friends that don't know Jesus, may we fall on our faces and PLEAD with Jesus. I have spent the majority of this morning praying for my family. The family that I have that I gave up hope for a long time ago. But for some reason this morning God has given me a burden for those I know who are openly lost and those who may profess but they show no signs of Jesus. I'm praying that as you read this you to will begin to pray for those you have long given up hope for. I pray as you read this you'll examine your heart ask God if you are the person that we will be praying for. It's about time that the church becomes more than weekly meeting place and became a battle ground for the souls of man.

For my family
For my friends
For my students
For my church
For my son
For those who have never heard
For those I'll talk to today
For those I'll talk to tomorrow
For those I love
For those I don't
For those who don't deserve
For the good
For the bad
For the unworthy
For the hurting
For the prideful
For the confused
For the clueless
God I pray, I cry, I plead that you will use me to declare the Gospel. God I pray that you will not let me give up, but That I will continuously intercede for those that need you. Your grace is enough...

Sunday's Six

• My picks were incredible yesterday if you ignore the LSU prediction. I felt pretty dumb after they got beat thirty points and picked them by two touchdowns.
• Alabama falls to #2 in the polls. I expected it and understand we still have alot to prove. I do know that we'll have to run the table to get in the Championship game. Are you ready for this bold prediction...are you?? Alabama and Penn State...that's right. You heard it hear first.
• By the way, these are not flower bullets to your left. They are...the new dashes. Or maybe they are flower bullets!! OK, listen you try and find a manly template that is perfect for your blog. Thanks Marci for making me feel like a woman.
• I had more fun in Sunday School this morning than I have had in a long time. We talked a lot about our purpose and calling as the Church. I love teaching relevant things and nothing is more relevant than our purpose in glorifying Jesus.
• We start a new Sunday School series next week I'm giving the title, "You've got Questions...Jesus has Answers"...What ya think?
• The questions the class are giving me are pretty tough topics. I'll post Sundays question or questions this week for you to ponder.

Saturday's 7

• I got up at 5:45 and went and played basketball this morning...I'm getting way too old to be doing dumb things like that.
• I'm glad Alabama has the week off, preparing to finish strong. I guess I need to start being hardcore like Lucy and not washing the clothes I wear every Saturday during the Alabama game.
• JP is becoming my little man. The other day he hugged me and said, "Daddy, your my best friend." Two seconds later he said the same thing to Megan...the little butt kisser.
• Even though JP has become this brown-noser, he has been using the potty consistently for the last two days. That's my boy!!
• Went and took in "Fireproof" last night with Jeff and Kim Phillips and their daughter Courtney...definitely a cool chick. The movie gets an A+ from me. Despite the acting not being incredibly great, the story was amazing and they made a clear Gospel presentation. The action scenes were really good to. Definitely a movie worth seeing twice.
• I was watching the Terminator the other day and this was the conversation the kid had with Arnold Swarzeneggar (yeah, I thought I would try and spell it...back off...you don't know me):

Kid- We're all going to die aren't we...people I mean?

Terminator- It is your very nature to destroy yourself.

WOW!! The Terminator gets it...Why can't we??!!

• Football Day...Texas by 3 and LSU by 14...You'll see

Desiring God Part 4

This was by far my favorite part of the conference, mainly because I'm a Driscoll fanatic. I highly recommend you go to www.desiringgod.org and view this message. It was intense and there is no way I got down everything he said...

Mark Driscoll: The Biblical Use of Sharp, Cutting Language
- Our words need to be free but not reckless, biblical and faithful in correct speech.
1. Christians need to feed the sheep.
- Sheep: Believers or those honestly seeking truth
- Ephesians 4:32, Jesus and the woman at the well, Zacheus
- Love your sheep, take care of your sheep, edify your sheep, be kind to sheep
2. Rebuke the Swine
- Swine: People who are unrepentant
- Isaiah 3:14-16, Amos 4:1, Amos 6:4-6
- God uses sharp, cutting language towards swine
- Without the strong and sharp rebuke no change would be made
- The bible is easy to read when we are talking about them, but it becomes hard when we realize it is talking about us.
- Don’t use good words to soften bad acts ie. Fair=Adultery. Call it what it is…
- DO NOT REBUKE THE SHEEP!!
3. Shoot the wolves
- Wolves: False teachers
- Martin Luther says, “With the wolves you cannot be too severe; with the sheep you cannot be too gentle
- We shoot wolves because we love the sheep
- FIGHT for the Gospel and the well being of your church.
4. Bark at the dogs
- Make fun of religious people (people who try to bind themselves to God by their works)
- Religion always leads to depression or pride
- Religious people take themselves too seriously and God too lightly
- Show them how ridiculous they are
- God thinks our religion is disgusting (Isaiah 64:6
- Religion is crap Philippians 3:8 (rubbish is translated dung)
5. Pray for the Sheppard’s
- Pastors have to decide who are sheep, swine, wolves, dogs

Confessions of a Youth Pastor

I came to the office with all intentions of giving you my final notes from the Desiring God Conference, but I have a need in my life for confession and repentance this morning. I was reading some of John Piper's thoughts on blogging, and he had a question to ask us bloggers:

What would you say to a pastor who is considering blogging?
1. I would say, "Get on your knees and ask the Lord to clarify your motives." That's the first thing I'd say: "Why are you considering this?" and, "How much of the desire for notoriety is in it?" because we all battle that. There's not a human being on the planet that doesn't love the praise of man, or doesn't like being known, or doesn't like being considered intelligent or wise or helpful.
And I'm not just indicting blogging here. I'm talking about preaching and doing what I'm doing right now. It is all possibly contaminated with a desire for the praise of man. And Jesus said, "How can you believe when you seek the praises of man and don't seek my glory." So pride and the desire for praise is a deadly thing.
So that's the first thing I'd say: search your heart--on your knees, in the word, and in prayer--as to whether or not there is a contamination that will make blogging more hurtful for you and for your people than otherwise. That's the main thing.

While my sole intention was not praise when I began this blog sometime ago, I searched my heart and now I must repent. I have allowed myself to glory in the praise of man instead of glorying only in the cross. I repent...I turn from my selfish motives of gaining praise for myself and direct all glory to the only One worth glorifying. I pray that this blog makes you laugh. I pray that it some ways it may teach you some things about Jesus. I pray that while reading this blog you see the glory of God in changing a dirty, wretched guy like me. He alone is worthy...

To My Dad...

Today is my Dad's birthday, and in honor of that I want to tell you a few amazing facts about him:

1. He always seemed to stay extremely gentle with his family, and now that I'm a husband and father, I see how incredibly difficult this can be.
2. My dad has worked swing shifts ever since I was born, but he hardly ever missed anything I did in when I was in school. When I say "hardly ever" I mean I can think of like three games he ever missed.
3. Me and Megan were talking about how kind-hearted he was just the other day. He'll do anything for anybody...especially his family.
4. He reminds me of one of the greatest men I ever knew...my granddad...his dad.
5. He was always under appreciated, but he never stopped loving and giving. That is remarkable.
6. He showed me how to always love my wife no matter the situation, and to do everything possible to make sure your kids know that you love them. He is my example as a father and a husband.

I love you dad, and with the deepest affection...thank you for being the dad you are.

Sunday's Songs

I love music. I love biblical music. Here are some songs that have helped me realize who Jesus is, what He did, and how I should respond. These are Sunday's Songs:)

• Jared Anderson- Glorified
• Among Thorns- Bless the Lord
• David Crowder Band- Come Thou Fount

Just a few songs for you to listen to, download, and enjoy...

Saturday's Seven

• I'm about to head to Rogers with the family to do some shopping. Oh how I love to shop...
• We went to the Green Forest homecoming game last night to see our very own Tiana Anderson get crowned Homecoming Queen. I know now after last night why God didn't give me a sister because when those two guys gave her kisses on the cheek I freaked out. I don't like that kissing stuff.
• I'm not sure if you have ever felt your heart-break at the same time that it is overflowing with joy. That's how I feel with our students. Some completely turning their backs on Christ and some digging so deep...Ministry is so tough.
• I read a John Owens sermon on "The Mortification of Sin" this week. I now realized you can place John Owens up there with John Calvin, Johnathon Edwards, Martin Luther, and Augustine.
• Me and Megan really want to name our children meaningful things. JP's name actually has a double meaning. James: my grandad (an incredible man of God) and James the half brother of Jesus. Paul: my middle name and the Apostle Paul, my hero. We have already picked out a girls name if we have one of those things:) If a boy I would really like to name him...I can't tell you yet, but it will be posted at a later date.
• I'm reading a couple of books right now I would definitely recommend: Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Taste and See by John Piper.
• I need to preach...it is erupting inside of me.

Toilet Water

To take a break from the Desiring God posts...I thought I would do a little plug for, what I think, one of the most helpful books ever on the struggles of pornography. If you don't know already, I'm a HUGE fan of Mark Driscoll. I know, I know some of you think he is very vulgar and mean, but I just appreciate his heart to do what Jesus has called him to do. He is ministering in one of the darkest places in the world, and God is truly glorifying Himself through Mars Hill Church. He has a passion for truth and he is a completely honest guy. Yes, I agree, sometimes his statements can seem edgy, but I think he has tons of wisdom for today's people. Like Piper said about Driscoll, "I didn't like where you were, not sure about where you are, but hopeful to where you are going." Here is a chapter one of his new online book "Porn-Again Christian". (I'm not sure if this copy and paste is illegal or not but I'll take my chances:)
chapter 1
A Tall Glass of Toilet Water
God tells us that his people tend to satisfy their thirst not by drinking from his streams of living water, but instead drinking from man-made toilets (Jer. 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. [ESV]). This metaphor is particularly adept in a world where men such as Tom Leykis, Dr. Drew, Howard Stern, and a legion of men’s magazines and porno providers become wealthy by selling glasses of toilet water to thirsty men across our nation, many of whom claim to be sons of God. Meanwhile, the church alone has access to the living water from God’s perfect Word, but largely fails to teach men masculinity in any area, particularly regarding their sexuality.
The causes for this sin of omission are many. First, there is a propensity in many churches to take sexuality out of the hands of theologians and place it in the hands of secular counselors, whose philosophy is dominated by unbiblical evolutionary concepts of humanity and gender. This error prevents the church from speaking about men and women because they’re only permitted to see androgynous humanity. Second, the effeminate nature of pastors and churches causes many masculine men to feel unwelcome in what they perceive as an organization solely for women, children, and weaker men. Third, there is a timidity among weak pastors to wade into controversial issues in general, and sexual ones in particular. Lastly, the sad truth is that many pastors are also enslaved to their own sexual sins and/or are languishing in unfulfilling and infrequent sex with their wives, and therefore are unable to speak of sexual matters out of a sense of disqualification.
To speak of the matters of pornography and masturbation, I must speak frankly, as frankly as the Scriptures do on important issues. In 2 Timothy 3:16 God says through Paul that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” These Scriptures that God breathed for our profit include the very frank discussions of sexuality throughout the Song of Songs and Ezekiel.
In Ezekiel 16:25–27 God says, “At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.”
Also, in Ezekiel 23:18–21, God says, “When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.” God basically called his people tramps for lifting up their shirts like it was Mardi Gras and chasing men with huge penises and semen emissions like fire hoses.
While God spoke frankly to Israel, he is certainly not crass like some meat-headed high school boys killing time in a locker room. God is honest and forthright about the truth and his people must not be so prudish as to try and speak in ways that are holier than their God. In our age of lewdness and perversion we, like our Father, must avoid crassness, while wisely and boldly speaking frankly about the joy and beauty of sexual intimacy when it is confined by the loving directions of the God who created both us and our desires. And, we must refuse to speak in sanitized clinical euphemisms like calling adulteries “affairs,” fornication “dating,” and perverts “partners” because God uses frank words for deplorable sin so we will feel its sickness without anesthesia.

Desiring God Part 3

After the panel discussion we went home for the night and rested really well. We got up early Saturday Morning for Bob Kauflin who was incredible. He spoke about words in song but focused on the fact that our words in song should be Gospel centered. This guy had a ton of wisdom. Check him out at www.worshipmatters.com...
Bob Kauflin, www.worshipmatters.com
What Happens When We Sing
- Over 400 references to singing
- Over 50 direct commands to sing
- When I become more moved by the singing than what was sung; I have sinned wickedly. I would have rathered never to have sung. –Augustine
- Don’t wait until moves you. God has already done something to move us.
I. 3 Ways Singing Helps us Engage the Word
1. Singing helps us remember the words.
- Use effective melodies in worship…the melodies that people want to learn.
- You can leave music behind but not the words.
- We should sing what God wants us to remember.
- Show me a churches song selection and I’ll show you their theology. –Gordon Fee
- If the songs sung were the only teaching your church receives, how educated would your church be?
2. Singing Helps us Engage Emotionally with Words.
- We need to be solid in what God has made clear in his word and discerning in what He has not.
- Singing allows us to stretch out portions of the song we may need more time to think on.
- When people begin to complain about repeating the chorus of a song too many times tell them to read Psalm 136…to get the point across REPEAT IT!!
- There is a difference between emotional moving and spiritual illumination. Emotions fizzle. Illumination sticks.
3. Singing Helps us Demonstrate Unity.
- Christ did not die for a soloist but for the universal choir…Everyone matters
- Sing songs that unite rather than divide.
- It must be clear that it is the sung Gospel and not the sung music that unites.
- The Bible makes clear what we should sing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain.”
- It is not the style…It’s the Lamb
- Going to 2 services because of difference in musical styles is wrong. Be united over the Gospel and not the style. If music style can separate us than we are not a Gospel united Church.