Gospel Living

Dr. Michael Grisanti's paper to the 2009 National Evangelical Theological Society meeting, "Birth Control and the Christian: Recent Discussion and Basic Suggestions," is available online .

Great ministry opportunity to the people of Africa this holiday season (HT: The Rebelution ) One of the most exciting stories last year was Dollar for a Drink — a campaign by 16-year-old Joshua Guthrie to raise $10,000 to build a well in Sudan. With a big response from rebelutionaries , youth groups, and young people around the country, Joshua met and exceeded his goal. Now the well that he (and you!) paid for is providing clean water for over 6,000 people in the Darfur region of Sudan. This year Josh is back with an even bigger goal. Once again, he needs your help to achieve it. You’ll be tired of your $20 Christmas present in a matter of weeks or months. That same $20 would provide several African families clean water for years. Please watch/read the following challenge carefully, take it seriously, and pray about what God would have you do. Don’t keep it to yourself, either. Pass it on. A Challenge for This Holiday Season With just over a month before Christmas, Josh has ...

Crank the volume on this gem: (HT: Dan the Man

World Mag reports that Christians (particularly, Christians who do believe homosexuality is an unhealthy and sinful lifestyle) are fighting against a Ugandan bill that would result in harsh penalties for homosexuals, including life imprisonment and death.  I say bravo.

(This is the portion of the New Members' class I teach at church, with my comments serving more as discussion starters and guides.  Hopefully this will be an equal blessing as a blog post.) ________________________________________________ We will eventually be in Ephesians 4, but we will start with some preliminarily passages from which the pastor has been reading that will set up our time.  First, look at Philippians 2: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (vv. 3-4) This is the model of Christian living, the model of the kind of thinking we should have.  Look also to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: Matt 5:21-22: hating a brother Matt 5:27-28: keeping one's mind pure... we could also note that God is concerned with how we feel ...

(HT: @mastersseminary ) You can read the book online for free or purchase the hardcopy (only $14.99) at http://grace.ly/foolsgold. In case you are unfamiliar with this book, here is the table of contents, complete with links: About the Contributors 9 Editor's Introduction John MacArthur 13 Part One. Promoting Discernment in an Age of Blind Acceptance 1. All That Glitters . . .: A Call for Biblical Discernment John MacArthur 19 2. Plexiglas Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message John MacArthur 35 Part Two. Practicing Discernment in Your Local Bookstore 3. A Sense of Purpose: Evaluating the Claims of The Purpose-Driven Life Nathan Busenitz 45 4. The Old Perspective on Paul: A Critical Introduction to What Saint Paul Really Said Phil Johnson 61 5. Roaming Wild: Investigating the Message of Wild at Heart Daniel Gillespie 79 6. When the Truth Becomes a Tabloid: A Closer Look at Th...

Read Part 1 here . Third, we need to point out the dangers to them. This also falls under the purview of love, and we must couch it in these kinds of terms.  We do not prove the hope that is within us by showing the negatives of another view; however, by shining truth upon the presuppositions and inconsistencies of particular viewpoints, we give the person pause to reconsider his position. Remember that the common denominator among all lost souls is that they have fallen short of the truths and glory of God.  The religious elite sometimes do so by replacing God’s truth with statements that sound spiritual (might we also say, sound "Christian?") while rejecting God’s message. For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'   — Luke 7:33–34 Others question whether ...

I was 8 and engaged in lively debate as to who was the best Ninja Turtle, unaware of the momentous sense of freedom and sigh of relief people were experiencing.  Too bad we were too young to remember President Reagan.  Here is a segment from his speech two years earlier:

Two great responses for you: one by a military man , and one that is not (but still good!) .

From The Rebulution : Ever since we started this blog, and especially after Do Hard Things was released, we’ve gotten tons of emails from parents who want to know what our parents did to raise us kids. Our response is always that we’re far from perfect, but by God’s grace — and largely through decisions our father and mother made before we were born — we’ve seen God use our family in ways we never could have dreamed. Our dad is our hero. Nobody has influenced us more than he has — both in what we’re doing today, as well as how we think about life. So we’ve encourage him (for a long time) to put his best ideas and insights into a new conference for parents (and teens). It’s called Raising Kids to Do Hard Things , but it’s not your average seminar — it’s more like a strategy session with our dad, who brings a boatload of biblical wisdom and 35 years of practical experience raising us and our siblings. For any of you who have attended one of our Do Hard Things conferences , you ...

To demonstrate the present (not just the future) hope a life planted in the Word and the real Gospel brings. To combat this ever-growing heresy: The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo . HT: A Little Leaven .