Gospel Living

A Bible and Concordance, with a few sermon-notes, or even the impulse of the moment, with the gift of tolerable fluency—these are thought a sufficient warrant to stand up in the name of the great God. But what is solid will alone be permanent. No powers of imagination, natural eloquence, or vehement excitement, can compensate for the want of substantial matter. -- Bridges, Charles. The Christian Ministry (Kindle Locations 2574-2576). Kindle Edition.  It is not to us, but to His name be the glory of the pulpit. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stron...

From Christianity Today: Breaking News: Charles Colson Has Died Charles Colson, the ruthless Nixon White House figure who became one of evangelicalism's most famous and influential leaders and served as a Christianity Today columnist for the last 26 years, has died at age 80. See our full coverage of his life and legacy: Obituary Evangelical Leader Chuck Colson Dead at 80 The infamous convicted Nixon adviser became famous for prison reform, evangelical-Catholic dialogue, and his Christian worldview. Sarah Pulliam Bailey Tribute Remembering Charles Colson, a Man Transformed The real story of how "Nixon's hatchet man" ended up in, out, and back in prison (and the White House), shaping a movement in the process. Jonathan Aitken CT Classic: The Legacy of Prisoner 23226 Twenty-six years after leaving prison, Charles Colson has become one of America's most significant social reformers. Wendy ...

Holocaust Remembrance Day ( Yom HaShoah ) begins tonight at sundown, and it is vital to remember the countless tales of heroism of that dark era.  Here is one such inspirational story that my grandfather forwarded to me. Irena Sendler Died: May 12, 2008 (aged 98) Warsaw, Poland During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive. Irena smuggled Jewish infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried. She also carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck, for larger kids. Irena kept a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. Ultimately, she was caught, however, and the Nazi's broke both of her legs and arms and beat her severely. ...

Defcon found some concise videos that demonstrate the conflicts existing between the various LDS accounts of  Joseph Smith's first vision.  This vision is the linchpin to Mormon doctrine, at least in the late LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley's eyes.  Here are the videos from LDSVideo.org and some related material: Consider the consequences: if Smith was wrong in his reinterpretation of God's past revelation, then the LDS faithful are destined for outer darkness, what Christians call Hell.  Their efforts to obtain perfection will fail;  Jesus says we must "be perfect" (Mt 5:48), that is today, right now, not at some point down the line.  Every time a person transgresses the Law, he proves that he is imperfect and has no hope of being exalted to life with Heavenly Father. If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consider Hebrews 10:10-18 (KJV): By the which will we are sanctified through the of...

What is the real divorce rate among Christians?  Consider this from the Aquilla Report (HT: American Vision ) and a recommendation at the bottom: Professor Bradley Wright, a sociologist at the University of Connecticut, explains from his analysis of people who identify as Christians but rarely attend church, that 60 percent of these have been divorced. Of those who attend church regularly, 38 percent have been divorced. "Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as the world." It's one of the most quoted stats by Christian leaders today. And it's perhaps one of the most inaccurate. Based on the best data available, the divorce rate among Christians is significantly lower than the general population. Here's the truth.... Many people who seriously practice a traditional religious faith -- be it Christian or other -- have a divorce rate markedly lower than the general population. The factor making the most difference is religious commitment and practice. Couple...

While preparing a science lesson on animal physiology, this question came to my mind.  Naturalists use the existence of seemingly atrophied or near-useless organs and structures as evidence of physiological transition in an evolutionary timeline. For example, if you have a vermiform appendix hanging out in your body, not doing much, then it seems to follow that it did serve a purpose long ago that is no longer needed in this stage of human evolution.  I don't believe questions about why emus have wings or whether manatees once had legs are wrong to ask (is this not the purpose of science?), but I think they lead to better answers than evolution. Did someone say Answers ?  Here are some web articles on vestigial structures you might find interesting: Q & A Most recent Most popular Are there several organs in the human body that have no useful purpose? Are there “badly designed” parts of our body? Cutting out a useless vestigial a...

Remember the days - Prop 8, president-elect Obama, McLaren's five-year moratorium on homosexuality, and the Voddie Bauchman delivering a powerful message:  " The Sin of Sodom On Display in America ," an exposition of Genesis 19:1-11. An MP3 of his sermon is stored at the sermon index .  Here is the transcript of the audio , if you prefer.  Enjoy! Here is the description: Genesis 19:1-11 is a clear statement on the sin of sodomy. Unfortunately, there are many in the “Christian” community who have come to doubt, or even refute this fact. The homo-sexual movement has succeeded at clouding the issue through creative exegesis, ad hominem attacks, and genetic fallacies. Nevertheless, the Bible is clear. HT: Defcon , who says, Baucham completely obliterates the outlandish claims by the Bible-doesn’t-say-anything-about-homosexuality crowd who spin the lie that God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with sexual immorality, and specifically, the sin of...

Some folks get bored of the same thing every Easter: the old story of sinners bound for glory.  Their churches answer it with not-quite-as-old melodramatic TV shows . Don't get me wrong, I like comic books and some of their on-screen adaptations. But when church members are putting their lives and freedom at risk by just attending church tomorrow , I think we should have a bit more of a sober approach to the day.  Don't you?

Click to enlarge: Don't fret, Sunday's a'comin'! (HT: Fish with Trish )

By R. C. Sproul : When we talk about the vicarious aspect of the atonement, two rather technical words come up again and again:  expiation  and  propitiation . These words spark all kinds of arguments about which one should be used to translate a particular Greek word, and some versions of the Bible will use one of these words and some will use the other one. I’m often asked to explain the difference between propitiation and expiation. The difficulty is that even though these words are in the Bible, we don’t use them as part of our day-to-day vocabulary, so we aren’t sure exactly what they are communicating in Scripture. We lack reference points in relation to these words. Expiation and Propitiation Let’s think about what these words mean, then, beginning with the word expiation . The prefix  ex  means “out of” or “from,” so expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away. In biblical terms, it has to do with taking awa...

For your Easter edification. The volume on this video is very quiet, so I recommend headphones.  It's Jubilant Sykes, though, so I recommend headphones anyway to block out any distraction anyway so you can get swept away in the lyrics and musical precision of this masterful performer. HT: Kevin DeYoung

Amazon is showing some crazy love with these free offers for their Kindle users.  (HT: Slimjim )  If you don't have a Kindle, not only are they cheaper than ever , the apps for PC, etc., are free . Free books, free reader.  Nice?  Nice. Enjoy these as you worship this weekend: This offer good from 12:01 AM, April 6th until 11:59 PM, April 7th 2012, Pacific Time. 1.) Crazy Love Click  HERE. 2.) Forgot Click  HERE . 3.) Erasing Hell Click  HERE.