vassal of the King

Today I took some of my youth group out for pizza. We had - no joke - a food fight. But it wasn't with peas, carrots, or other nasty (ehhm.... "I mean, healthy") food. We had a food fight with peanuts. The greatest thing about it was that it was totally legitimate. Now I know that everyone wants me to tell you the restaurant because you are on the edge of your chair waiting to find out so you can close the internet browser, start your car, and go there. But you'll just have to go here to find it. Just to let you know, it is perfectly acceptable (and even encouraged!) to throw your peanut shells on the ground! :=) PS -- Can I just say that I literally, hands-down, laid the smack down on Clint today. He could barely eat two pieces of pizza. Clint, I own you! :=)

I'm studying this morning for my Acts 5 sermon on Sunday and as I was studying, I came across this quote from Piper in one of his messages on Acts 5. It's a great nugget of truth and encouragement. Do we find encouragement and hope from simple - yet pregnant - thoughts in Scripture like Piper does here? Last summer as I was finishing the book The Pleasures of God , one verse that guided a whole chapter and gave me tremendous hope was Psalm 147:11, "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." I think that's the best news in the world—that God is the kind of God who is happy with us not when we work for his approval but when we hope in his love.

HT: Colin Adams

Doesn't this look like the coolest youth group you've ever seen??

As R. Kent Hughes concludes in his great article , Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are the key ele- ments of exposition. What you believe about the Word is everything. As a preacher, if you believe the Scripture is wholly inerrant, totally sufficient, and massively potent, you will give yourself to the hard work of biblical exposition. Such belief and hard work are not enough, however. You must let the Word of God course through your being, inviting the Holy Spirit to winnow your soul in order to conform your life to the truth you are preaching. God’s Word must come out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation. When you stand to preach, you must be drenched in an authentic passion that causes you to speak with the utmost earnestness. When you gather the Logos, the Ethos, and the Pathos, you are preaching the Word, and the wind of the Holy Spirit is in your sails. God’s name is lifted up, and God is glorified. Read it all here .

Many pastors fear that the practice of church discipline will drive people away and ruin their churches. It will drive away those who love their sin, but attract those who hate it and seek repentance and righteousness.

Hint: I didn't even hit the target once!

You live in a world where your soul is in constant danger. Enemies are round you on every side. Your own heart is deceitful. Bad examples are numerous. Satan is always laboring to lead you astray. Above all false doctrine and false teachers of every kind abound. This is your great danger. To be safe you must be well armed. You must provide yourself with the weapons which God has given you for your help. You must store your mind with Holy Scripture. This is to be well armed. Arm yourself with a thorough knowledge of the written word of God. Read your Bible regularly. Become familiar with your Bible. . . . Neglect your Bible and nothing that I know of can prevent you from error if a plausible advocate of false teaching shall happen to meet you. Make it a rule to believe nothing except it can be proved from Scripture. The Bible alone is infallible. . . . Do you really use your Bible as much as you ought? There are many today, who believe the Bible, yet read it very little. Does your consc

Anyone wanna come with me?

After a week of fun up at Humelake with our youth group, I am dead tired. I direct you to our youth group webpage so you can see a few pictures giving you an idea of what we did this week. Blessings.

Fellowship on Earth Preparing for Fellowship in Heaven One of the worst things God could ever do would be to allow a person to enter into heaven while hating fellowship with other Christians. For one thing, God never makes a mistake. Second of all, God will never allow one to be miserable in heaven. No one ever stumbles into the eternal Kingdom of God. No one enters into heaven with a quasi excitement about seeing God face to face. This simply does not happen. Obviously, it is understood that God’s Word so clearly teaches that one enters heaven only through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ who was slain for the sins of those who would believe upon Him. He suffered and bore the extremities of divine wrath in place of those who believe in Him. Without this atonement, or covering, one will stand before the great Judge in that future Day without hope of entering into eternal bliss and will be cast into eternal hell. With that said, however, one confirmation that assures me

Here are some words from one of my heroes, Robert Murray McCheyne , to a young minister in Christian ministry: Do not forget the culture of the inner man - I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God's sword, His instrument - I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. From: Andrew A. Bonar , Memoirs of McCheyne ( Chicago : Moody, 1978), 95.

Are there really only a few saved? According to the Bible, yes. Jesus Himself stated: Matthew 7:13-14 13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. There are some stark contrasts here given by Jesus to paint this vivid picture before his disciples and the large crowds gathered on that mountain in the Galilee region. As is his custom, Jesus often gives startling contrasts to drive the unmistakable point home. And here that point is that there are only a few who will be saved. Yes, you heard Jesus correctly, only a few shall enter heaven whereas everyone else shall be doomed to eternal hell. Listen to Jesus’ words: He commands the Jewish people there around him (including the most religious people of that day, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes) to “Ent

Isaiah 45:12 "It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host. Isn't God great?

So, let's just agree at the getgo that we shall not exhaust this study today. However, I found a great post over at the Pyromaniacs blog which I thought would be of help to the readers here. Here is the conclusion: Here, in one final enumeration, is what I take from this: God gives believers' prayers a significant place in His plans. We should never downplay the importance of approaching God in prayer, Biblically understood . It is the height of folly to let circumstance or human reasoning discourage us from bringing our petitions to God. In other words... Let God say "No, I have a better plan," rather than, "Since you did not ask ( James 4 :2b)...." Read it here