Short Clip of John Piper of Bible Versions

Thought this was very insightful, especially for those who were wondering why they should get a more literal version of the Bible.

Happy Birthday John Calvin!

Today is John Calvin's 500th birthday. 500 years later and he's still relevant. A day to thank God for gifting His body with a theologian whose work still directs our minds and hearts to Christ. Stay strong and God bless!

Ida: The Missing Link

There has been much hype in the press about the supposed "missing link" to Darwinian Evolution. In case you were wondering how this fits in with the Biblical account of creation, I'm posting this link to an article by the wonderful team at AiG who answers the questions surrounding Ida from a biblical perspective better than I can. Please check it out. And while you're at that, why don't you look into some of the other articles as well; it's well worth your time. God bless!

Prayer on National Prayer Day

Here is an interesting article that I think you should at least take a look at by Dan Philips.

One of the most upsetting posts (to some traditionalists) that I have written thus far at Pyro ws about — not tongues, not the Gospel, not marriage, not church, but — prayer.

It was in September of 2006, and it was called What prayer is and isn't.

Towards the start, I say:

I can't think of one specific doctrine, offhand, which is more tradition-laden, and buried under sentimentality, than that of prayer.

For that very reason, it's a risky topic. Step in any direction, and you land on someone's toes. Worse, diverge from the "party line," and it's as if you're insulting Mom. Only a fool, or someone with nothing to lose, would knowingly poke a stick at that particular venerated bovine. (Say, why are you looking at me like that?)

...and then I launch.

One other portion:

Prayer is not a dialogue. Prayer is not a conversation. Prayer has no intrinsic power, whatever.

Give it a read, on this American National Day of Prayer.

Failed Gospel Tract

Found this on The Contemporary Calvinist. Thought it was hilarious as well as insightful. God bless!

That's My King

A video fitting for this Passion week.

Visuals set to the audio of the famous sermon "Seven Way King" (aka That's My King) as spoken by Dr. S.M. Lockridge. The audio is slightly edited for a better flow in the video.

The music in the background was performed live by the GCC band while the video played on the screens. It then led directly into the worship song "Here is Our King" (To see the performance in it's entirety go here: gccwired.com/mediaplayer/playeropener.as p?id=478 )

Created entirely using After Effects with footage from the movie "The Passion of the Christ". The video took 30 hours to create plus around 6 hours of rendering. The final After Effects project file totaled well over 600 layers.

How our girls are growing up

An interesting, yet sad article on Newsweek about how girls are growing up. Here's an excerpt:

"Sounds extreme? Maybe. But this, my friends, is the new normal: a generation that primps and dyes and pulls and shapes, younger and with more vigor. Girls today are salon vets before they enter elementary school. Forget having mom trim your bangs, fourth graders are in the market for lush $50 haircuts; by the time they hit high school, $150 highlights are standard. Five-year-olds have spa days and pedicure parties. And instead of shaving their legs the old-fashioned way—with a 99-cent drugstore razor—teens get laser hair removal, the most common cosmetic procedure of that age group. If these trends continue, by the time your tween hits the Botox years, she'll have spent thousands on the beauty treatments once reserved for the "Beverly Hills, 90210" set, not junior highs in Madison, Wis."

Yes, you will not find anything about girls growing up with Proverbs 31:30 as their motto. It is sad that boys are growing up with other standards than Proverbs 31:30 as well. Something to think about.

Change

With all the talk about "change," I just found this demotivator to be a absolutely hilarious as well as incredibly profound. God bless!

Irreverent, Silly Myths

I enjoyed this clip on the importance of teaching good doctrine towards godliness. You can find the complete sermon here.

Resolved 2009

Here is the trailer for the upcoming Resolved Conference that will take place in Palm Springs, CA from June 12 (Friday) to June 15 (Monday).

A 12 year old on Abortion

You don't see too many encouraging articles on the web these days, but here is one for you. Stay strong in the Lord and God bless!

Indulgences!

Times Magazine recently had an article on the reintroduction of the practice that fed the fuel to Luther's 95 Thesis and the Protestant Reformation. It is amazing that people still believe that Evangelicals are the same as Catholics. I found this quote quite hilarious: "The good news is we’re not selling them anymore." Oh how we need to pray.

Al Mohler on Facebook's Birthday

Justin Taylor summarizes Al Mohler's suggestions as Mohler reflects on Facebook turning five this year. This is a lot of wisdom coming from a wise man; I highly suggest it to those who are constantly using this social networking tool. You can read Al Mohler's whole article here.

Ridiculous, Just Plain Ridiculous

Today, there was an article on CNN about how a "Doctor" lost his license because his clinic aborted a live baby. The mother is now suing the doctor for psychological pain caused by the incident. I'm here reading this and I'm saying to myself, "This is ridiculous." What about the dead baby? How come there is no mention of murder? So if the baby was killed while in the womb just maybe ten minutes before, it would be okay? Ten minutes before, the baby is a "fetus," and ten minutes after, the baby is "my daughter"? The sad thing is that a case like this is not that rare in America. Such cases should compel people to consider that maybe the fetus is really a human person. No one even brings up the issue. This is just plain ridiculous. If you want to read some more of my thoughts on abortion, please read my sermon. I pray someday the light bulb will turn on for many in America.

My Worldview and Video Games

The Shepherd's fellowship blog is posting short excerpts from their new book Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong. In the latest post, Austin Duncan, youth pastor of Grace Community Church, shares some of his thoughts on how we should view video games. Our students should definitely find this post quite relevant! Stay strong in the Lord and God bless!

John MacArthur

Most of you guys know that one of my present-day heroes is John MacArthur. This past Sunday Grace Church was honoring John MacArthur for forty years of ministry. Rick Holland interviewed John MacArthur the week before about ministry, cheeseburgers, his study bible, etc. It was a great way to get a glimpse into his life. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Stay strong in the Lord and God bless!

Colson on Obama

In this article, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship comments on President Obama's first few days in the presidency. It is very insightful and helpful in viewing our President from a biblical worldview. I recommend it. Stay strong in the Lord and God bless!

President Lincoln on Thanksgiving

Taken from Justin Taylor's blog. I found it quite encouraging. May God bless you, remind you of His graces, and encourage you to do good deeds this Thanksgiving.

President Lincoln, October 3, 1863, after acknowledging the positive blessings in America despite the terrible pain of the Civil War:

"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union."

Mark Dever on the Gospel

Here is a short video of Mark Dever explaining the Gospel that I found to be very clear and concise. I pray it will be a blessing to your soul. Stay strong and God bless!

Thinking Biblically about Facebook

I found a link to this post by Justin Buzzard in which he discusses technology and the Christian life, specifically giving Facebook as an example. The post is his sermon notes from a message he gave. And though they are only lecture notes, I found them to be quite readable and insightful. He discusses 9 possible dangers about Facebook as well as 6 ways to make Facebook effective for the Christian walk. I'm sure it will be highly relevant to our Youth Group students. Stay strong and God bless!