Gospel Living

General Session 11 If The World Hates You: Preaching Christ in the Face of Hostility by Al Mohler 2017 Shepherds' Conference Can we make peace with this culture?  Is this culture neutral in regards to Christ?  Can we gain enough influence to make the world love us and our Lord?  The answer to all these questions is no , and we need to come to terms with this.  MEDIA LINKS:   MP3  /  VIMEO  /  ARABIC MP3  /  KOREAN MP3  /  RUSSIAN MP3  /  SPANISH MP3 General Session 11 - Albert Mohler - Shepherds’ Conference 2017 from Grace Community Church on Vimeo . Al Mohler MORE SERMONS

Imagine with me: what does John Lennon of the Beatles have to do with your personal relationship with Christ?  This movie is for every Christian in America.

Wanting to find justification for their lifestyles, this discontent generation ponders John Lennon's "Imagine" scenario more and more... specifically the "no religions" part. Al Mohler's "Briefing" recently included a report from a few days ago: " States where people are less religious are more stingy with charitable giving, study says ".  Regions with the highest giving boasted the most religion -- the south in particular, with Utah topping the lot.  The Northeast, including DC, came in last. Considering the extraordinary services countless churches provide that escape our national attention, we shouldn't be so quick to toss religion under the bus. Yes, even Mormonism in Utah serves a purpose in God's plan to care for the believer and unbeliever alike; it is part of His common grace  to mankind.  While it would not be wise to partner with other faiths because it sends a confusing message to an unbelieving world (and we a...

In 1997, the Harry Potter  series (HP) landed and sparked the hopes of wary educators that a generation of kids might start reading.  It also ignited a firestorm of Christian commentary on the perceived evils of a book dealing with things the Bible forbids, namely witchcraft. This ChristianAnswers.net article gives a good summary of why believers should  not let kids read the books (or, by extension, watch the movies).  I've got to admit it: it summed up my beliefs about HP (here we go) until recently. I agree with that article to the overarching question: HP is not "safe," but I disagree as to the meaning of that word and to some of the article's individual points.   HP is not safe in that nothing is safe without Christian, parental guidance (including your view as to what an appropriate level of violence might be); it will not unsafe, however, in that it is a beacon that will lead my kids into Satan worship.  I've read ...

(Repost from Nov. 2008) James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries posted a five part debate between himself and sociologist professor Michael Schutz on the topic of gay marriage. Schutz, taking the "pro" side of the debate, claims to be a Christian himself, though it is interesting to see what he appeals to as his authority. If anything, the debate is worth watching just for James White's opening remarks on the value of marriage. Enjoy! Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Kaiser on the question of cultural terminology in Toward an Exegetical Theology: But it is clear that Scripture refused to fall into some cultural containments which might thereby reduce the content of the message. One good example of this resistance is the Bible’s rejection of the “three-tiered” universe model. To see in certain poetical portions of Scripture the pre-Copernican cosmological model which had a solid dome, flat earth, and an abyss beneath the earth (along with supporting pillars and slits in the dome for rain and stars!) is either an exegetical contrivance or a failure to spot the use of figurative language.   The exegete must then ask when it is appropriate to adopt both the content and the form of the cultural item (p. 115).

It is not a bad idea to have ministry outreach to the community.  Food drives and the like have the potential to demonstrate the love of Christ. What is the most vital thing we share, though?  Christ said the body is more than clothing or food, so folks must walk away with more substance than this.  They might not know what they need or, worse yet, punt your offering back in your face.  People want free stuff with no strings attached, including obligations to hear some preaching.  But this is precisely what they need. I was thinking about this when I remembered a quote from Walter Kaiser in Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament . Without the light of revelation, the whole fabric of society was put at risk. That point was also made in the Book of Proverbs, which warned, “Where there is no revelation…, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18, my translation). The Hebrew term used for “perish” is the same one that appears in the golden calf episode in Exodus ...

A majority of professing evangelicals agree with the statement that human beings are basically good, a clear repudiation of the biblical view of human fallenness. The irony here is that while we decry the baleful influence of secular humanism on the culture, we are busy adopting secular humanism’s view of man. It is not so much that the secular culture has negotiated away the doctrine of original sin, as that the evangelical church has done so. R. C. Sproul, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997), 20. I'm an optimist by nature, but theology and real life must meet.  It helps us in our dealings with Craigslist , for example. We cannot blame the culture's eroding influence on the church if we are unwilling to adopt the Bible's authoritative declarations concerning man, sin, etc.  Nor can we blame sinners for acting like sinners in their dealings with us.

I literally LOLed (it does happen) when I saw this scene from NBC's "The Office": To my surprise, there seems to be something out there like it.  Not the Woof, but the Hoot .  Huh.

The church is selling sex? Is this a passing fad or here to stay? Below is an interview between Phil Johnson and John MacArthur. (HT: Defending. Contending. )

This is a paper I wrote back in 2006 for a film class, with some minor alterations. __________________________________________________________________________  hristians face tough questions when dealing with popular culture. Whereas in the past, issues of popular culture were reserved to the realm of paintings and materials in print, the Twentieth Century found a new medium of entertainment – film art. Film deals with issues of life in both visual and audible form, making it a power means of communicating ideas. The Christian’s dilemma is in answering the question of how to approach the motion picture industry. Introduction: Brief History of Film      Toys which gave the illusion of “pictures in motion” were already extant in the earlier parts of the nineteenth century, such as the Phenakistoscope and the Zoetrope, and undoubtedly gave the inspiration for the youth they affected to create what we call “motion pictures” or simply “movies.”   It bega...

What a title mishmash! Well, let me start here. Currently, The Master's Seminary is running the annual Faculty Lecture Series during the chapel services. These lectures serve as precursors to the Fall edition of the The Master's Seminary Journal. For example, the lecture series last year was on the topic of homosexuality: Date Title 2/14/08 Biblical Response to Homosexuality Download Alex Montoya Selected Scriptures The Truth About Homosexual...