Why You Need to Know Your Enemy

HT: Mars Hill

Prayers Do Not Die

"The [woman] who has done the most and the best praying is the most immortal, because prayers do not die. Perhaps the lips that uttered them closed in death, or the heart that felt them may have ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and God's heart is set on them. Prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them-outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world."

HT: Joshua Harris

iPhone Bumper Test ... Ouch!

Training the Next Generation to Hope in God, Not Us

"We don't want the future generations to put their hope in our musical preferences or our way of doing things. Or our structures. Or our band arrangements. Or our communications methods. We want them to hope in God. We want them to hope in Jesus Christ. It's important that we're not the object of someone's hope."

I love hearing that from someone who's in the generation ahead of me, because it's the opposite message from what we normally hear. The message older generations communication, mostly implicitly, is that what we prefer is most important; what we like, what we do, what we know, the way we worship, the music we enjoy, that's what's important and your role is to learn to appreciate what we like so that it will live on when we're gone. All of those messages tell younger generations to hope in the older generations - they will lead us and show us the way, but only as long as we do it their way. That's not Jesus and that's not the gospel.

I'm amazed when I hear some talking of "traditional worship music" has if it is anything but preference - it's not. And I'm often tempted to point out to those folks that John Calvin, whose theology they love, was appalled by the pipe organ being used in worship services. In fact he called it an idol. But fortunately they don't have to worship God in the same way that John Calvin did, and future generations don't need to worship God the same way they do. It's the gospel that matters - not us, not our likes and dislikes, and that's the message we need to communicate to the children and youth we are mentoring and teaching.

HT: Worship Matters

Implementing Family Worship

In his article Implementing Family Worship Joel Beeke offers a veritable soup-to-nuts approach to family worship. He offers several suggestions:

"to help you establish God-honoring Family Worship in your homes. We trust this avoids two extremes: an idealistic approach that is beyond the reach of even the most God-fearing home, and a minimalist approach that abandons daily Family Worship because the ideal seems so out of reach."

As many families know, family worship is a difficult task. Though many reformed families know its importance, being disciplined enough to have family worship every day (let alone twice a day) is very challenging. Beeke’s article can help families to begin or renew the practice of family worship without becoming too intimidated or unrealistic.

Read the article.

Cinematic Stories of the Modern Day Christian Journey

Deidox | Lindsay from Deidox on Vimeo.

Deidox (Dei for "God" and Dox for "documentaries") is a growing series of videos made to document what God is doing in and through the lives of ordinary believers. Each video is narrated by one person who shares about the calling God has put on them and how they are striving to live it out in obedience to Christ.

In the production team's own words, these short films are "true stories of how everyday people are being used by God in the world today. ... Put simply, Deidox are cinematic stories of the modern day Christian journey." Check out the video above and more at the Deidox website.

HT: Desiring God

The Key to Discipleship - Catechism

"We need to rediscover this ancient word, catechism. In a way, it is very straightforward. Its purpose is to help people become the body of Christ and be incorporated into the church. And I don't think that the modern church can improve very much on what has already been given: the creeds, the great commandments, the Lord's Prayer. Those are the basic things that help the church develop its identity as the church of Jesus Christ. We can certainly add other training programs, but I think the catechism should be central to any training of disciples." - Simon Chan

Few people realize that Sunday School was first intended to reach out to non-Christians and was never meant to be utilized as the educational ministry for discipling those who have already committed their lives to Christ.  The church already had something for that purpose - it's called catechism.  Unfortunately the church as a whole has largely replaced Catechism with Sunday School, but we'd do well to get back to the creeds, the great commandment, and the Lord's Prayer as the foundation of our discipleship efforts.

Francis Chan on the Importance of Love for the Lost

HT: Resurgence

The Ego King: Le Bron James

 

Maybe it's just me, but holding a news conference to announce which girl you'll be taking to the prom doesn't exactly fit my definition of class ... or team player.  Are you planning to watch the Le Bron circus tomorrow night?  Not me.

Becoming a Discerning Movie-Goer

Becoming a discerning consumer of entertainment and culture is one of the top goals parents and youth pastors have for the young people they love.  Justin Taylor points us toward a helpful resource toward that end:

From Grant Horner’s new book, Meaning at the Movies (Crossway, 2010):

Perhaps the single most important philosophical question to ask when watching a film is, “What is the nature of humanity according to this movie?”

If one’s view of the nature of man (in theological terms, “anthropology”) is skewed, then everything else will be off. I cannot possibly emphasize this enough: anthropology is the key. Error at this point inevitably leads to greater error in many other places.

Every film contains presuppositions—and most contain overt statements—about the nature of mankind. The spectrum is deceptively simple:

• man is good, 
• man is bad, 
• man is both, 
•  man can change categories, or 
• man is morally neutral (i.e., categories of good and bad are fictional or somehow irrelevant). . . .

The real issue is, what is the overall view of the nature of man presented by the film as seen by a reasonably perceptive viewer? This can largely be determined by considering plot, characterization, and the tone or mood of the film.

HT: Justin Taylor

How Do We Create Gospel-Centered Staff Meetings?

Staff meetings. We all have them. We all hate them (at least from time to time). Occasionally I'm part of a terrific meeting and come away thinking that something was really accomplished and that our ministry was advanced. But then there are other times when my mind drifts from the discussion about the menu for the deacon's breakfast to thoughts like, "I have so much work to do, couldn't we have done this through email?"

What are your team meetings like? Is vision cast? Is a sense of mission communicated? Are shared goals created? Are action steps determined? Are time lines are set? Are ideas shared? Does any real team ministry take place or are your meetings largely characteristic of a group of "lone rangers" coming together to report back on what they've been doing?

If you're a leader, why do you meet with your team? Have you asked yourself this question? Is it simply because it's the routine? How much thought have you put into how the time with your team can be used to advance your ministry together?

I'm not suggesting that ministry teams shouldn't get together on a regular basis. The truth is we need each other - even Jesus utilized team ministry to complete his mission. But isn't there a better way? Something more gospel-centered than the traditional top-down, business model meetings, where the head-honcho is the center of the team's time together? Shouldn't we be discussing more than the number of chairs needed for the women's bible study class?

What should happen when a ministry team gathers? What shouldn't happen? What is the best use of the team's very limited time? And most importantly, how can the time be spent to glorify God and advance the ministry He has entrusted us with? Please share your ideas.

Piper, Keller, & Carson: How Does the Gospel Conquer the Sin of Pornography?

Community Isn’t Optional. Friendship Is.

Community isn’t optional. Friendship is. Community is a command (Col 3:12-17); friendship is a choice (Prov 18:24). We are saved into a new community; we select our friends. How can we cultivate community?

Read more at Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

A Perfect Match: American Culture and Social Media

Jonathan Rourke as CJ Mahaney

Jonathan Rourke as CJ Mahaney from Resolved on Vimeo.

Honestly, if you closed your eyes you would think you were listening to CJ himself. This is hilarious.

HT: Joshua Harris

How to Get Johnny to Stop Viewing Porn ... Shame?

The town of Quincy, Massachusetts thinks they've come up with a way to stop people from looking at pornography on public library computers — name them and shame them.

Quincy Councilor Daniel Raymondi has suggested that the town make public a list of people who have viewed pornography on library computers within the past year. The council unanimously approved a resolution on the idea last week.

Will this work?  Can shame shatter attachments to false gods and motivate life change?  Is there a biblical case to be made for the use of shame, i.e., Ezekiel 16: 54,58-61?  Can people even still be shamed in our culture or have we become confident in our sinful nature, has sin become so mainstream, that feeling a sense of shame isn't possible?

Is there room in reformed theology for environmental concern?

HT: Desiring God

Do Christian Tattoos Fit the Principle of Worship Described in John 4?

John 4:23-24 says this of worship:

" ... the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Do you think the principle of worship found in John 4 applies to wearing a Christian tattoos?