Gospel Living

Obviously, these selfish kids need to learn a lesson from the Democratic Party:

...or, "An open letter to Real Life Church ." Christians react differently to the Halloween question.  As a matter of conscience, some feel it best to avoid participation, while others use it as a means of preaching Christ and Him crucified.  Assuming that God gives us opportunity to minister to both the lost and saint alike, what are some ways that a church can miss the mark? Image credit: Murals for Kids This weekend, our family visited Real Life Church's "Halloween Under the Big Top."  For the most part, we had a great time.  However, as a fellow brother-in-arms in ministry, I could not help but notice three rings in this circus that could have performed better.  How can churches neglect Christ this Halloween? Churches forget Christ when they forget their witnessing opportunity. As we entered the church, we received fliers for various functions and offerings at the church.  We had cause to question our marriage, the effectiveness of ou...

Presidency: ROMNEY/ RYAN Propositions: Prop 30: NO Prop 31: NO Prop 32: YES Prop 33: YES Prop 34: NO Prop 35: YES Prop 36: NO Prop 37: NO Prop 38: NO Prop 39: NO Prop 40: NO LA County Measures: A: NO B: NO J: NO US Senate: Elizabeth Emken Congress: United States Representatives;  District 23: Kevin McCarthy District 25: Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Republican District 26: Tony Strickland District 27: Jack Orswell District 28: Phil Jennerjahn District 29: David R. Hernandez District 32: David L. Miller District 33: Bill Bloomfield District 34: Stephen C. Smith District 35: Joe Baca District 37: Morgan Osborne District 38: Benjamin Campos District 39: Ed Royce District 47: Gary Delong State Senate District 21: Steve Knight District 23: Bill Emmerson District 25: Gilbert V. Gonzales District 27: Todd Zink District 29: Robert “Bob” H...

‘ Ordinary Pastor’ has some good ones . But, are they better than the Martin Luther rap ?

"2011 minus 1611" is a great math problem for home-school and Christian elementary teachers.  If you missed it, this past year was the 400th anniversary of the publication of the KJV.  Of course, if you did miss it, you can make the math problem really difficult: 2011-1611+1. Today in the United States, the 1769 revision is the standard edition of the 1611 Authorized Version, and was the most popular English translation until 1950.  How did the original make it to the printers, and how many revisions has it gone through since then? If you've wondered about the history of the most influential English Bible of all time, you may be interested in Dr. Dennis Swanson's article, " Introduction to the Textual History of the King James Bible ."

First, a jab at the undecided voters... ...because the choice in this campaign is obvious.

I doubt this inflicted any long -term damage:

‎" The American people have this lesson to learn: That where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe ." – Frederick Douglass, "Southern Barbarism," speech on the occasion of the Twenty-Fourth Anniversary of Emancipation in the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., April 16, 1886; "Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings," (The Library of Black America series) edited by Philip S. Foner (1950) p. 696

Confession time. Oprah Winfrey’s much-promoted text in pagan spirituality sat (unread!) on my shelf.  You see, our church holds a garage sale each year, and we have to purge the books shelves of heretical teaching before offering them to the general public.  I thought it would be an interesting read to review, but instead I’m letting my daughter make a pumpkin out of it . My wife and I flipped randomly through the book before the art project began, and through its miry teaching found a few gems: “Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be meaningfully translated.  That is why any attempt to describe it in words is impossible.  Revelation induces only experience.  Miracles, on the other hand, induce action” (7). “If God created you perfect, you are perfect. If you believe you can be sick, you have placed other gods before Him” (187). “The Atonement does not make holy. You were created holy.  It merely brings unholiness to holiness; or what you hav...

As you can see, a new layout has fell on my blog.  Here are a couple of the key changes you to note: The comments section no longer supports the old Haloscan interface.  Even though this means that commenting with your Facebook login is no longer an option, you can now "like" the Pisteuo webpage - check it out on the sidebar, and feel free to comment that way. A couple of other tweaks will hopefully make it a better blog.  I hope you enjoy, and let me know if the site gives you any issues.

(Complete list based on a class taught by John MacArthur at the Master’s Seminary.   Watch the first video .) When we fail to teach according to proper, biblical exposition… …we supplant the work of the Trinity by: a.    …expositing our own ideas instead of God’s Word, thereby usurping the authority of God the Father. b.    …modeling our minds rather than that of the Head of the church, usurping Christ’s authority (cf. Rom 10:17). c.    …hindering the Holy Spirit by not preaching the Word He uses to sanctify (John 17:17, 1 Cor 2).  …we exhibit our pride in presuming the people are gathered to hear our words of wisdom.  …we separate ourselves from the sanctifying work of God that in our own lives, exposing ourselves to the same temptations of so many fallen preachers.  …we remove the spiritual depth and transcendence from our people and worship. …we depreciate the duty of Bible study by our example. …we lose the authoritative v...

In memory of our son, Joshua Enoch: Your brother and your sisters shouted with glee Sighting those early glosses A little brother!  Satisfied prayers from knees bent upon running future races When peace, like a river, attendeth our way With ease, we sing our souls are well Scarlet!  Why have you appeared to us this day? Are you to announce a new farewell? Through the prayers of many, you strived and you thrived Until we thought you would survive Beat, oh, please sound, tell us our son is alive! Oh, dear heart, from us do be not rived! Dawn turns to dusk, and pains ebbing far too soon, Face so small, body so fragile, Oh, our child!  Once fettered to life in womb, rest you now in mom’s hand so careful. Our son never to know sorrow or pain’s sting We grieve, but then smile and endure. For behold!  Your joy, so wide, in heaven’s gain; God, rest us in this word made so sure. Our son grows and trusts a far better Fathe...

If you don't find this screen shot of Grover, dressed as The Doctor, facing off against an inflatable Dalek irresistible, then you won't be interested in the link.  As for the rest of you nerds, I can't embed the video here, but you can  head over to the CW to watch the video .