The Providential Grace of Freedom and its cost

Pop church

Here is a great video on the "cool"church movement.

The church is often chasing pop culture for its message and it methods. This video is a wonderful parody on the current state of the pop church. The problem with "cool" is that it is always moving target and today's "cool" is tomorrow's "dork".

The church should not adopt a pop culture for its style- whether it is a 50's pop culture or a 2010 pop culture. Relevance comes from the Word preached in the the power of the Spirit not from hipster types aping the culture. Watch and enjoy.

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

Hubble declares the glory of God

The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1.

The creation is but a taste of the glory of the Creator. Just consider then what Paul says of God's glory that is to be revealed in I Cor. 6:2-10.

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;

but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

God has revealed more glory in the person of Jesus Christ and in the pages of Scripture than He has painted in the heavens. Let the glory of the heavens cause you to see the greater glory of the Savior.

(note: the picture is of the Orion Nebula. See more at www.Hubblesite.org)

PHIL JOHNSON ON THE SISSIFICATION OF THE CHURCH

Why are so many churches filled with women more than men? Phil Johnson gives a good take on this here in a post called "Man Up".
Here is an excerpt:
In my judgment, the typical evangelical church of this generation has become weak and womanly. Churchgoers demand that preachers be soft and dainty—especially when they are dealing with hard-edged truths. If you don't sufficiently tone down every severe text or hard-to-receive doctrine in the Bible, the tone police will write you up for an infraction before you can get from the pulpit to the front door. All the rough edges of every truth must be carefully sanded smooth and painted in pastel tones. We've traded up to cushy seats instead of hard-bench pews and we expect our preachers to fashion their message accordingly. None of this sinners-in-the-hands-of-an-angry-God stuff.

Phil does not argue for some childish expression of manhood (e.g. the book "Wild at Heart" by Eldridge), or for a knuckle dragging, knuckle head image, but for a fully Biblical look at what it means to be a true man in God's eyes. Buckle up and read (but no bike helmets allowed!).


Here also is a good message Phil gave to a men's group.

THE MYTH OF A PRO-LIFE DEMOCRAT

Listen to Bart Stupak from September 2009 declare in advance how he was going to "fold like a cheap suit" on the abortion issue in the Health Care bill. The truth is there are no pro-life Democrats in Congress right now. As you will see for Stupak, life is not the supreme issue-political power is. Woe to those who issue unjust decrees (Isaiah 10:1, cf. Isaiah 5:20).

HOW GREAT IS YOUR GOD?

Tiger's Hopeless Search

Today Tiger Woods vowed to return to his Buddhist faith saying....
"Buddhism teaches that a craving of things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught."

Tiger will never find in Buddhism the power to stop following every impulse. That can only be found in the Gospel that teaches that the problem is not a lack of learning restraint. The problem is that of a sinful heart that can never know restraint.

This is why the only solution is not something we must learn, but something we must become- we must become born again by the Spirit of God under the preaching of the Gospel.

Tiger will never find what he is looking for outside of the Person of Jesus Christ- dying in his place, giving him a new heart, and a perfect righteousness.

Tiger looking to Buddhism to supply his deliverance is like a man with gaping chest wound looking to cup of tea to make him feel better.