Gospel Living

What is the connection between the Pharisee and the Emergent Christian?  What is the cause of legalism and worldliness in our lives?  How does the Gospel impact these seeming extremes in our personal lives? Lane Chaplin engages Phil Johnson in a fascinating interview that covers these questions.

(HT: Apologetics 315 ) In this lively audio, the late great   Walter Martin   debates Van Hale   on the topic:   Is Mormonism Christianity?  Martin is author of a number of excellent counter-cult books, including   Kingdom of the Cults . Full   Debate MP3 Audio here .   (90 min) Enjoy.

Always maximize you Gospel witness, and Christmas is a perfect holiday to start if you are not doing so already.  We're already planning caroling, and this is probably a great add-on to that (HT:  Justin Taylor ): Crossway is inviting churches all across North America and around the globe to reach one million homes with the gospel this December! Share the Good News of Christmas  is designed to complement what churches are already doing this year—helping them connect with their communities, reach out with the gospel, and invite people to a Christmas service in their church. Share the Good News kits will be sent to participating churches, allowing them to tailor the kits for their specific communities. Each kit contains 50 ESV Outreach New Testaments, 50 gospel tracts, and 50 customizable invitations to the church’s Christmas service or event. “Share the Good News of Christmas is a visionary program which I heartily commend,” explains J.I. Packer, Professor of Theology at Regent

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. (Psalm 19:1-2) Here's a new ATP animation showing the wonder of God's design.  It is one tiny feature of living cells that speaks to the incredible complexity with which God designed them.  It also reminds me of broccoli.  Happy Thanksgiving! (HT: James White )

This excellent interview with George Donnelly of We Won't Fly discusses the primary concerns surrounding the so-called "porno scanners."  Embedding has been disabled by CBS, so click here to watch the interview (7:22).

It may short-circuit both the Gospel movement and your personal passion for holiness. (HT: Justin Taylor )

In case you are still unfamiliar or unsure about the Emergent/ Emerging "movement," here is a special done on it back in 2007. Summary: in an effort to grow and change in order to meet current cultural shifts, churches within the movement are instead being shifted by the culture. (HT: Christian Research Network ) PS: I don't see a part 2, sorry.  Head over to PBS and purchase something for a change.  :)

(HT: Christian Research Network )

What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?

Strap on your seatbelts:

They do tip best.  Wait a minute...

C. H. Spurgeon replies: Now I turn for one moment to some here. There are some of you here members of Christian churches, who make a profession of religion, but unless I be mistaken in you—and I shall be happy if I am—your profession is a lie. You do not live up to it, you dishonour it; you can live in the perpetual practice of absenting yourselves from God's house, if not in sins worse than that. Now I ask such of you who do not adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour, do you imagine that you can call me your pastor, and yet that my soul cannot tremble over you and in secret weep for you? Again, I say it may be but little concern to you how you defile the garments of your Christianity, but it is a great concern to God's hidden ones, who sigh and cry, and groan for the iniquities of the professors of Zion. (" Compel Them to Come In ," sermon delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 5th, 1858 at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.)

A good one to set your post-election minds at ease: (HT: Justin Taylor )

Read these five sentences (written by Mike Ratliff ) and tell me if you think there is anything wrong: A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem. Good people go to heaven when they die. Hmm... sounds good... kinda... I think...well, maybe... Well, if anything, it sounds close, doesn't it?  It could almost be the Gospel message, in fact.  I'm mean, that sounds like good news. At least, it was the impression that I received from some of the past churches in which I've had the pleasure to serve.  While none would promote #5, oddly enough, that was the natural conclusion for some members of  the congregations. The term bantered about for the