The Worst Of Sinners...

From CNN:

Kaing Guek Eav is an elderly former math teacher and a born-again Christian.He is also -- prosecutors contend -- a former prison chief with Cambodia's Khmer Rouge movement who oversaw the torture and killing of more than 15,000 men, women and children three decades ago.

Does it mess with our idea of "fairness" to think that a man who oversaw the torture and killing of 15,000 people will be in heaven? Does it mess with our sense of "decency" to know we will be worshiping Jesus in heaven standing next to a man who supervised the brutal murdering of children, women and men?

If it does, it reveals our own lack of understanding of our own depravity, and God's Holiness. And we need to listen again to the words of another murderer and former genocide leader, the Apostle Paul:

"I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Tim 1: 12-17)

How Many Hours Does Your Staff Work?

Larry Osbourne offers some tips in thinking through that question. It was convicting and really encouraging to read. I commend all who are in ministry and on a church staff to check this out.

Here is a snip:

Bottom line: Wise leaders never forget that people and staff are hired because we have a job that needs to be done. As long as they aren’t poisoning the team, and as long as they do their job ethically with excellence, it really shouldn’t matter how they go about it or how many hours it takes. Quickly or methodically – in the office or at Starbucks – in the middle of the night or banker’s hours – all of these are secondary.

J.I. Packer Gives Some Great Wisdom

This short video from Packer is intended for new believers in Jesus Christ, but is timely advice for anyone who is in the family of God!

JI Packer Speaks To New Christians from Mike Anderson on Vimeo.

Props: Resurgence

1 Corinthians 1: 18-31

This past Sunday was my first time to do a sermon in front of our church. I am used to giving messages before a bunch of college students and 20 somethings, but this was my first time in the "big leagues" if you will. My one hope is that I got out of the way so that Jesus was the one who transformed and sent people to spread His name, not me.

Click here to listen to the message, I would love to hear feedback, good and bad, hopefully both with grace and love.

Driscoll on MacArthur

This post from The Resurgence speaks more of the humility and grace God has given Mark Driscoll than anything else. John MacArthur is a very good teacher and writer so I am not dismissing that. What is amazing is Driscoll's appreciation of a man who has been anything but appreciative of him. Maybe more than anything it shows Mark's love for Jesus and those who love and proclaim him and that is the love that overrides everything else!

Click on picture to read Mark's appreciation

Where The Wild Things Are- Trailer

I loved this book as a kid and am stoked that it is now going to be a movie, and a legit looking one at that!

Props:The Film Stage

Funny, and Sad Cause It is True

Props: DeYoung

The Church: A Place To Belong

Jud Wilhite pastors a church in Las Vegas. Sin City! His article shows the heart of a pastor who wants people to know, believe and love Jesus. Click here for his article.

Here is an excerpt:

As the most spiritually mature person to ever live, Jesus stands as the model for what a spiritual life looks like. He remained approachable to outsiders and the hurting. His life reveals that the more spiritually mature I am, the more approachable I am to people who feel far from God. As spiritual maturity increases, approachability increases. It is a sad indictment that many outside the faith don't feel like they can approach Christians. In Jesus' day, some of the least approachable people were the religious leaders. They reeked of self-righteousness and judgment. Yet Jesus' life should give us pause:

Am I truly approachable to all kinds of people?
Is the church I belong to open to all kinds of people?
Do I have the compassion of Jesus for those who are hurting or disillusioned?
Does the church I serve have compassion?
Is our compassion evident to others?

These questions, and others like them, are ones that I'm asking more and more lately. The church I serve is far from perfect and we have plenty of room to improve in this area. I pray as we reflect on these questions we'll move toward being more part of the solution as we share God's uncensored grace in an uncompromising way. We'll create cultures of belonging where people can experience the life-changing message of Jesus.

Props: Catalyst

Where Are The Young Men and Women?

"Where are the young men and women of this generation who will hold their lives cheap and be faithful even unto death? Where are those who will lose their lives for Christ's sake, flinging them away for love of him? Where are those who will live dangerously and be reckless in his service? . . . Where are the adventurers, the explorers, the buccaneers for God who count one human soul of far greater value than the rise or fall of an empire? . . . Where are God's men in this day of God's power?"

Howard Guinness, Sacrifice, pages 59-60.

Props: Ray Ortlund

Acts 29 St. Louis Boot Camp Audio

The topic of this conference looked really intriguing and now the audio is up for free. Go and check it out.

Click on picture to find audio.

Old Dead Guys Week-John Calvin

Click on picture to learn more about his awesome man of God:

Billy Graham is The Man

Whether you agree with all that Billy's theology or in his "altar call" method or not, Billy Graham when he spoke had the hand of God all over him. Check this out and tell me you don't get a little stoked and wanna "get outta your seat"



Props: Ray Ortlund

John Piper: Never Let The Gospel Get Smaller

What great wisdom from this man, may we learn and listen. Especially us in our 20's who sometimes get stoked on understanding culture, being "missional", and what can happen is we forget the main thing. That's what Piper is exhorting us to, to not ever lose sight of the main thing, in fact let the main thing take an even bigger stage in our life.

Here is what Piper says:

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

• grace gets bigger;
• Christ gets greater;
• his death gets more wonderful;
• his resurrection gets more astonishing;
• the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
• the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
• its global extent gets wider;
• your own sin gets uglier;
• the devil gets more evil;
• the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
• its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
• and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won't. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

We Will Not Become Europe

David Brooks a very gifted Opinion writer for the NY Times shares his thoughts on how America will never stray too far from our consumer, capitalistic nature, for better or worse.

Here is a quote:

Washington is temporarily at the center of the nation’s economic gravity and a noncommercial administration holds sway. This is an administration that has many lawyers and academics but almost no businesspeople in it, let alone self-made entrepreneurs. The president speaks passionately about education and health care reform, but he is strangely aloof from the banking crisis and displays no passion when speaking about commercial drive and success.

But if there is one thing we can be sure of, this pause will not last. The cultural DNA of the past 400 years will not be erased. The pendulum will swing hard. The gospel of success will recapture the imagination.

Click Here for the rest of the article

Old Dead Guys Week

The Resurgence is blogging this week about some men in Church history that you should know.

Click on Pictures Below to learn more about these fathers of the faith.

John Piper on Why He Is Part of The Gospel Coalition

I am going to this conference in April and am stoked!

Check out the web page here: The Gospel Coalition.

Props: Desiring God

A YouTube Orchestra

Check this out, some dude found a bunch of different YouTube vids and put them together and this is what happened...wow!


Props:Blazing Center

Love Is Here

This video for some reason makes me think about what it means to be a city on a hill and light in darkness. You may not see it, but just the way the people look up to the rooftop in a kinda curious wonder, shouldn't that be what they do with the church?



Props.blog.worship.com

Gospel for Busy Moms

The ladies over at Girl Talk offer some great tips for busy moms on how to keep the Gospel center in their often hectic, play-doh filled days.

Six Ideas for Preaching the Gospel to Yourself (for busy moms)

1. Take 15 minutes a day to read and re-read chapters from books on the gospel. The Discipline of Grace and The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper, Living the Cross Centered Life by Dad, and books by Charles Spurgeon--all are great places to start.

2. Listen to Scripture throughout the day.

3. Listen to sermons online from your local church and biblical teachers. Even if it takes you a week to get through one sermon, you’ll benefit from the little bit you hear each day.

4. Memorize gospel Scriptures and gospel truths.

5. Write one gospel Scripture on a note card and post it where you’ll see it often or carry it in your pocket for review throughout the day.

6. Listen to gospel-centered music.

Are you a busy mom? First off my prayers are with you along with a huge portion of gratitude. Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones once spoke to a group of young pre-med students (all men). These men had apparently had a hard time staying in the Word and in other activites of Spiritual Disciplines. They complained about not having time. The Dr. told them that only one group has the right to use "lack of time" as a viable excuse, what was that group? Single moms.

Moms, do you need some great wisdom, go check out the Girl Talk Blog!

Thank God for the strength, patience and gentleness, God has given mothers.

Don't Give Up

Amen and amen to this!!!!!

For we are not to despair of anyone so long as the patience of God leads the ungodly to repentance, and does not seize him out of this life . . .
Augustine, Sermon LXXI, xiii, 21.

Have you given up on the conversion of your husband? Your child? Your relative? Your neighbor?

You must not do so. You do not know that God has done so. He/she may yet be converted. Perhaps on the death bed; perhaps before. But it is your task not to make a final judgment about anyone. God, alone, knows the heart.

Your task is, however, to keep on praying for him, to keep on witnessing to him, to keep on living a godly life before him.

Yes, I know it seems unlikely that he or she would ever believe. But didn’t it seem even more unlikely that Saul of Tarsus would become the apostle Paul?

Who are you to judge that the eternal destination of another will not be heaven—while the door to it still stands open? While the door stands open, your mind must as well.

No. If you have given up hope, it is time to renew it. Talk to the Lord about the matter. Tell Him you believe that His power is greater than any the evil one exerts over your unsaved friend. Beg Him to save him. Then tell Him you will be satisfied with the outcome.

Props: Institute of Nouthetic Studies