What follows are some thoughts gathered while preparing to teach tonight on Psalm 146. I suggest you read that psalm right now before reading the rest of this:
All too often we lose sight of the fact that worship is not a suggestion. Worship is not even something we merely should do. Worship is something we MUST do. I wonder how many of us, on a consistent basis, actually feel compelled to worship the LORD. Continue reading
On Saturday the Episcopal Church, the American branch of the Church of England, ordained its second openly gay bishop, and first in seven years. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore becomes the first openly homosexual woman elected to the bishopric.
This really should come as no surprise to anyone who has even moderately followed the movement of the Episcopalian community in recent years. The organization – I hesitate to even call it a church – has embraced homosexuality as an acceptable choice to the point of celebrating when homosexuals are appointed to positions of church leadership.
So far out of the bounds of biblical orthodoxy is the Episcopal Church (sigh) that they boast in their rebellion against the revealed will of God. Continue reading
Chester, Tim. You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 192 pp. $15.99.
You can change. You can change. You can change.
It’s a message so simple and promising, bandied about in various forms by psychologists, counselors, TV hosts, politicians, and authors (yes, even those espousing to be followers of Christ). Yet, for all its simplicity, the majority of discussion, advices, and words written on the subject are nothing but emptiness. One can understand, then, why a reader might be skeptical about opening a book with this particular title. Such was the case when I bought and opened You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions by Tim Chester.
That skepticism, as it relates to this book, is completely unfounded.
You Can Change is, I think, the best book I have read in years, and maybe the best book I’ve ever read regarding sanctification (or, as Chester helpfully defines it, tranformation). This short review is intended to let you know what to expect should you, hopefully, pick it up your yourself. Continue reading
You can see it in their eyes. In the checkout line. In the restaurant. In the park. They’re looking at you wondering if you’ve really got everything under control.
You hear it in their comments. Not intentionally insulting. Not intentionally condescending. They’re think they’re being nice when they laughingly tell you it looks like you have your hands full.
No one is quite sure you can handle it. After all, you’ve got three children with you. One is six, one is two, the third will be one next week. I mean, “Can you really handle it?” Kids are crazy, they think! But worst of all? You’re a man!
I’m a daddy – a father of five. Three of them are around me all the time. One went to be with the Lord while still in the womb. The fifth will arrive in about two months. Therefore, by this point in my life I am, regrettably, well acquainted with the attitude our culture takes toward fathers. Continue reading
Just how much free speech can we take? That is a question one has to ask himself when confronted with the words and actions of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS. I hesitate to even dignify this particular organization with the word “church,” though, because as you may be aware Phelps and Westboro, a “church” that consists mainly of his family members, have made their name notorious in the United States for their protests and protest tactics.
Perhaps best known for their “God hates fags” campaign, in which they have posted signs and billboards with demeaning messages toward homosexuals and anyone they perceive does not hate homosexuals, they have become infamous in recent years for their systematic protest of funerals for military personnel who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For example, in 2006 they protested the Westminster, MD, funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who died serving our nation in Iraq. They held up signs that read, “God Hates the USA,” “Thank God For Dead Soldiers,” and “Semper Fi Fags,” to demonstrate their belief that military deaths are God’s judgment on the country for its acceptance of homosexuality. Continue reading
With the passage of the health care bill now in the rear view mirror and with (so far) no inspiring conservative candidates on the horizon (2008 retreads don’t inspire me), I figure it is time to resurrect my long dormant campaign for President of the United States in 2012.
A little history first. I first announced my plans to run for President in 2012 back in 1999. In fact, it contributed to me meeting my wife, so regardless of what happens I have won! Nevertheless, I will be eligible for the presidency in a couple of years and so it’s time to get to campaigning. Therefore, my fellow Americans, I present to you my fake-real platform. I do not pretend that in four or even eight years the country can completely be turned around, but what follows are, in the spirit of Woodrow Wilson, under whose presidency the federal government’s power dramatically increased (to its detriment), my Fourteen Points for turning the tide toward once again guaranteeing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, for all in America. Continue reading
This morning I had the honor and privilege of co-officiating the funeral of Howard Rowlett. Howard died on Saturday at the age of 95. He was a deacon in my church and leaves behind a daughter, son, and a sister. What follows are remarks I made during the opening portion of the service, along with some things I said by the grave site later on. I include them here for your reflection and, I hope, edification. God has been glorified in the life and death of my brother Howard, and I pray that perhaps by publishing this He will continue to receive glory. Continue reading
This afternoon Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote the following on his Twitter account:
Language watch: NPR bans “pro-life,” now will refer to “abortion rights opponents.” So now “rights” trump “life.” http://ow.ly/1rZIq
Pro-choice is now “abortion rights supporter(s)/advocates.” Pro-life is now “abortion rights opponents.” While it is acceptable to use the term “anti-abortion” it is not acceptable to use the term “pro-abortion rights.” Mohler is absolutely correct in asserting that now, according to taxpayer-funded National Public Radio, rights trump life. However, there is something far more insidious about what this new vocabulary represents. Continue reading
So the greatest basketball player of all time is now the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats? This is a welcome change for NBA fans in my home town, since Charlotte basketball fans have had the displeasure of two seriously sub-par ownership groups.
George Shinn brought the expansion Charlotte Hornets to town and enjoyed a pretty nice honeymoon of about ten years before his habit of not paying for good players, coupled with his public extramarital exploits, with the cherry on top of demands for a new arena (the latter being the only excusable negative) made him “public enemy #1″ in the Queen City. Shinn and co-owner Ray Woolridge (who became the public face of the ownership as things went downhill) took their team and the Hornets name to New Orleans in 2002, leaving behind an ash heap of burned (and very angry) fans. Continue reading
There is a good case to be made that, after last night’s loss in the NFC Championship Game, the Minnesota Vikings propelled their own fan base into the pole position for the most tortured fans in sports. Examine the evidence and judge for yourselves.
The franchise was borne from expansion in the NFL in 1960. This was a day and age when expansion teams took several years to even be competitive. In that respect, the Vikings were a little behind the Dallas Cowboys, also borne in 1960. The Cowboys made it to the ‘66 and ‘67 NFL title games but lost to the Packers. However, Minnesota fans finally had cause to rejoice in 1968, the first year of the post-Lombardi Packers.
Minnesota won the Central Division title but lost in the first round to the superior Baltimore Colts. It set them up, however, for bigger and better things in 1969. They lost a close game on the road to the New York Giants in the opening week, but then racked up a 12-game win streak, the longest such streak in 35 years. Behind the “Purple People Eaters” defense of Carl Eller, Alan Page, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall, the Vikings imposed their will on opponents. Quarterback Joe Kapp’s ability to run and throw kept opponents off balance. Continue reading
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