Russell's at Calvary

I couldn’t resist with this clip.  Brad Russell who is the pastor at Old Powhatan Baptist Churchhttpjust outside of Richmond, Virginia will be our guest preacher tomorrow. 

Brad is a former associate pastor at Calvary.  He labored with me in my first two years of ministry here at Calvary.  One of the many things I remember about Brad was his incredible voice.  I will never forget where I was sitting at Calvary when he sang this David Phelps’ rendition of the Dottie Rambo classic “Behold the Lamb”.  So I clipped this video to remember the past, cherish the present, and behold the future.  Thanking God for the Russells. 

David Phelps - Behold The Lamb
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To The Garden We Go

How did the Monkees put it song?  “See Mrs. Gray she's proud today because her roses are in bloom.”

I am a rose fanatic.  I never met a rose that I didn’t like.  I do prefer floribundas and grand floribundas as well as old English varieties over Hybrid teas.  I have planted roses in every place I have been.  I even began a massive rose garden at my parent’s place that got put on hold when my dad died.  So I finally installed the latest varieties at my home.  I put in three pink floribundas called “Our Lady of Guadalupe” (I am comfortable in my Protestant skin), and three yellow floribundas called “Southern Belle”.  These measure a ten on the aromatic scale of the National Rose Society, which is sort of like Johnny Cash wearing black (very cool).  I staggered these beauties every other to give it a pink/yellow/pink/yellow look and planted some English lavender between the plants.  But alas I forgot my pattern, and planted two plants of the same variety together. 

Here is “Our Lady of Guadalupe”

Here is “Southern Belle”

Roses are heavy feeders, but I haven’t applied a lot of fertilizer in this first year.  I did put surface cotton hull compost in the bed, and I spray every two weeks with an organic, foliar feeding.  Roses are notorious for black spot, and with the heavy deluges of rain, I have been fighting that, but so far I am winning that war.

Top Ten Westerns

This is a little aside from my normally blogging.  Some of my friends recently have been engaging me in a discussion of westerns.  I am a lover of cowboys, as was my dad, and his dad before him (think Zane Grey and Riders of the Purple Sage).  I think most guys have that spirit in them.  So below is my attempt at rating my favorite westerns.  This is based on my preference only.  A couple of comments before my readers get up in arms.  You will notice there are no John Wayne films.  I will forever take a beating on this point.  And many people will think that I am not a cowboy connoisseur.  Sorry, give me Eastwood before John Wayne in the cowboy department.  Secondly, there is no Magnificent Seven and High Noon.  I realize that the movie cinema ratings on westerns always include these films in their top ten, but sorry they did very little for me other than the soundtrack and a few famous lines.  Finally, if you are going to watch these films, my suggestion is watching edited versions.  Most of these have either some nudity or suggestive material that is pointless to the film.  Here goes

#10-Young Guns II-This is one of the few movies that eclipses the original.  It has an interesting twist on the fate of Billy the Kid, and it also gave us Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory. Most western gurus are laughing at me with this one, but it is entertaining and thought provoking “what if?”

#9-Dances with Wolves.  This film is a little different slice of the Western.  And of course, it gives a sympathetic slant toward the Indian against the evil white man.  Costner believes it is his best film. 

#8-Tombstone.  This is the modern film starring Kurt Russell.  In my taste, Val Kilmer makes this film great.  There are many great lines.  And the movie gives a good concession of what was reality and what was fantasy with what many to be the most famous gunfight in the “Old West”. 

#7-Silverado.  This is an all-star cast that includes a young Kevin Costner.  Often times this film is credited with the resurgence of the Western in modern movies.  I believe it came out in 1986, and it has all the drama that every western buff enjoys even the classic showdown in the main street.  One of my favorite lines from the movie is Danny Glover’s character saying to some bandits, “Now I don’t want to kill you, and you don’t want to be dead.” 

#6-The Long Riders.  This film (1980) had three sets of brothers starring as three sets of brothers in the film (Youngers, James, and some other bros).  It is a darker version of a western, but I think it accurately represents what Missouri was like in post Civil War.  Although the scene on the beach (supposedly on the banks of the Missouri River) sort of loses is visual authenticity.  This is one of those ‘B’ sided westerns.  But if you are a cowboy connoisseur this is a must see.

#5-High Plains Drifter-Clint Eastwood has this knack for delivering the classic western theme with a twist.  I never did fully understand if his character was a death angel, was related to the deceased sheriff, or was the deceased sheriff come back for vengeance.  Other than a few unnecessary scenes (which Eastwood sadly is known for) this film has a good story line. 

#4-The Unforgiven-This is another Eastwood film that once again is never quite predictable, particularly the last gunfight scene.  Gene Hackman (another one of my favorite actors) plays a good opposite of Eastwood.  Eastwood won an Oscar for director of this film.  And it made the western cool again. 

#3-Santee-Glenn Ford’s best western in my opinion.  I always thought he never got his due when it came to cowboy movies.  It has a classic though very suspenseful ending.  Western enthusiasts will love this movie, but evidently Hollywood doesn’t.  I have yet to find a DVD for it. 

#2-Shane-Since its inception in the 1950’s, this movie is the perennial classic Western.  Many believe it is still the greatest of all time.  Arguably it has the most endearing and famous last few lines.  It was my dad’s all time favorite.  And he had watched it so many times, that he knew all the lines by memory.  It is also the curse of Alan Ladd’s career, and he was typecast most of his life after this, and made very few films of quality. 

#1-The Outlaw Josie Wales.  Having been born and raised in Missouri, I am partial to this film about a Missouri farmer with a name (after a string of Eastwood films with the man with no name).  Eastwood sat on this script for a while, and believed that if he released at the time ofUnforgiven it would have been a Hollywood smash.  The years have been kind to Josie, as a new generation of enthusiasts keep rating it higher in popularity each passing year.

Coffee with Andrew Fuller

I hope you have enjoyed the month interviews with Andrew Fuller as much as I enjoyed reading him.  Most of the month was spent on one work of Fuller’s, his magnum opus, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation.  It is a marvelous work detailing an evangelism and missions emphasis based on a strong Calvinistic theology.  Often Calvinist’s are charged with being non-evangelistic.  Next to the Bible, Fuller’s Gospel Worthy of All Acceptationis a worthy read to answer this fallacy. 

I used primarily the three volumes The Works of Andrew Fuller.  Other sources I used throughout this month have been Tom Nettles The Baptists: Volume One.  His section on Fuller is where I got some of my dates and biographical information.  I would also recommend Dr. Michael Haykin’s website  which he devotes much information about Fuller.

Things that Make You Go HMMMM: Another Moment in Evangelical Life

The following clip was borrowed from my sister in Christ and very talented blogger Jules over at Everyday Mommy.
She posted this several months ago.  Once again, it is real.  And to add to the mix it is from a worship service in the city that I minister.  I know that some of these folks are fellow brothers and sisters so I want to be careful.  But I wish I could take just a moment of their time and dialogue with the Word for the sake of the gospel. 
 

SBC and the Great Commission Declaration

As a Southern Baptist (most of my life), I have been intrigued with the discussion and the recent passage of the Great Commission Task Force Declaration at the Southern Baptist Convention.  For the most part, I am pleased as to the contents and to the direction.  Many people (myself included) have been seeing a major transition (generationally, theologically, and structurally) in our beloved convention.  Like all transitions, some are good, some not so good.  Nevertheless, I am thankful for the framers of this article, and count myself as a supporter.  It will be interested in the days ahead how this affects giving and priority to certain SBC structures that have been in place for generations.  I know that those who have opposed the measure have vocalized this fear.  But we are first and foremost Christians, and then Baptists.  Let’s get the order right.  We must never hold to denominational structures with the same loyalty we would the gospel.

At any rate, you can download the entire declaration here. 

Sunday Sermon-Richard Sibbes on God's Trust Worthiness

Richard Sibbes quotes Salvian concerning the trustworthiness of God:

“Who has made the earth faithful to bring forth fruit…but God?  Yet we can trust the ground with sowing our seed.  Who makes man faithful, who is by nature the most slippery and unconstant creature of all other, but God only?  Yet we can trust a vain man, whose, breath, is in his nostrils, and look for great matters at his hands, before an all-sufficient God, that changeth not.  Who makes the seas and the winds faithful, that they do not hurt us, but God?  And yet we are apt to trust the wind and weather sooner than God, as we see many seamen that will thrust forth their goods into the wide ocean in a small bark, to shift any way, rather than trust God with them.” Works of Richard Sibbes, edited by Alexander B. Grosart Vol. 1 Banner of Truth Trust, 1973 reprint, p. 413.  

Preparation for the Lord's Day

For tomorrow’s time in the word, we will be looking at assurance of salvation because of the work of Christ.  Here are some diagnostic questions you can prepare yourself with:

Question #1-Is your life a consistent hunger and practice of holiness?  (1 John 1:6-7)-What are the results of this passage? 

Question #2-Do you find yourself more sensitive to sin? (1 John 1:8, 10) (Luke 7:36-50; 1 Timothy 1:13-15)

Question #3-Do you live in conscious obedience to God’s commands?  (1 John 2:3-5)

Question #4-Do you love the things of God more than the world’s?  (1 John 2:15) (1 Peter 4:3-4)

Question #5-Do you long for the return of Christ, or dread it? (1 John 3:2-3)

Question #6-Do you habitually do what is right and sin less? (1 John 3:7-8, 10)

Question #7-Do you genuinely love other believers? (1 John 3:14)

Question #8-Can you discern the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life? (1 John 3:24)

Question #9-Do you enjoy listening to the truth of God’s Word? (1 John 4:6)

Question #10-Do you believe what the Bible says about Jesus? (1 John 5:1)

Nuts and Bolts

The church is as much relationships as anything.  And with those relationships come the ebbs and flows of life.  I am coming up in my sixth year at Calvary Baptist Church, the fellowship I love to pastor.  I can tell I am starting into some seasoned years because some of the folks that have come since I arrived are leaving due to the Almighty’s moving.  I was heard John Piper opine that a church in the city needs a long term pastor because of so much transiency.  I am seeing that first hand at Calvary.  Our church has said ‘goodbye’ to two staff ministers this summer as they have sensed God calling them elsewhere.  My feelings are bittersweet.  They have both given themselves to the people of Calvary, and I personally hate the fact of trying to “replace” them, but I also rejoice and am humbled that at the end of the day it is Christ’s church, not mine, and that everyone including myself will depart someday.   

Having said, I would like to highlight one family.  Kevin, Jan, and Robbie Hale came to us in January 2007, and it really seems like yesterday.  Kevin served here as music minister which is always a delicate position in any fellowship.  I have very much appreciated Kevin’s servant spirit.  And we shared early Tuesday mornings together (like 6 am!).  Those moments we prayed, talked about worship, talked about families and the ministry.  It was a wonderful time.  I saw how Kevin and Jan ministered in ways that we wouldn’t really see at first.  They have gone to a fellowship in Oak Grove, Missouri to minister there.  May God bless them as they blessed us.  Begin to pray for our fellowship and specifically our elders as we labor over our coming days with the music ministry. 

Speaking of worship, one of my dear friends that I have spoken of here at this blog and in many other arenas at Calvary is Tony Felich, pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian.  

Tony is a kindred spirit, pure and simple.  There are moments in one’s life when there is an instant connection with a fellow brother.  Tony is one of those guys to me because of the gospel.  A few months ago, I had the privilege of learning and being ministered to the saints at Redeemer.  Well, Tony returned the favor.  He is on a summer long sabbatical, and decided to worship with us one Sunday morning.  Now he is a true friend because he came to the early morning service, and only the real people of piety roll out of bed to attend that service.  But he came and he has made comments of the occasion as well as other fellowships he has worshipped with on his blog.

 I think it is good to get an outsider’s perspective on our worship and how we treat others.  Coming from a friend and godly man like Tony, we would do well to listen.  

Okay for something off the wall (hence nuts and bolts), here is a commercial that promises to do two things: make you laugh and force you to watch multiple times.  I generally don’t get into commercials because I rarely watch T.V. anymore.  But I saw this on an internet program I was previewing, and it had me rolling.  I was in five different full length dramas and musicals in my life so I know a little bit about stage presence.  These kids are incredible actors.  And the end of the clip teaches a biblical principle.  Enjoy!

Francis Schaeffer on the Law and the Gospel

Francis Schaeffer once was asked the question, “What would you do if you met a really modern man on a train and you had just an hour to talk to him about the gospel?” He replied, “I have said over and over, I would spend 45-50 minutes on the negative, to really show him his dilemma that he is morally dead, and then I would take 10-15 minutes to preach the gospel. I believe that much of our evangelistic and personal work today is not clear simply because we are too anxious to get to the answer without having a man realize the real cause e of his sickness, which is true moral guilt in the presence of God.”

Coffee With Andrew Fuller

A Fictitious Interview Based on His Writings

B.A.-Last time we spoke about the ‘Modern Question’ and how that led to your magnum opus, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation. Could you elaborate on this work?

A.F.-It was a ten year process of thought, reading, preaching, discussing, and agonizing. I certainly did not sit down one night and begin to write it. It was a long journey. And it forged many of my friends and foes.

B.A.-What were some of the theological highlights of the work that you sought to present?

A.F.-One had to be that we grasp an understanding of human depravity. The more one looks through the glass of his own sin, he sees the precious blood which flowed on Calvary.

B.A.-You really write in a personal way about this than a pure didactic approach. How did this doctrine impact your life?

A.F.-“I would sense I would drag on heavily in the work without the Lord. Sin is so deceitful. While we may obtain an apparent victory over sin, we may be insensibly enslaved to another. What an ocean of impurity have I still in me! What vain desires lodge in my sinful heart! If I am saved, what must the Son of God have endured!”

B.A.-“Your knowledge of sin interestingly comes to you in some heavy trials like the death of your first born daughter. Typically many Christians would run for comfort, but you said that during that trial you grew in a greater awareness of sin?”

A.F.-“I did experience a triumph over death. But even during that time, I had the sad experience of my own depravity, even while under the very rod of God.”

B.A.-“Many evangelicals today would say, don’t ever question your salvation. But you would have no problem investigating your hope in Jesus?”

A.F.-“I would often be in doubt as to my state of grace due to my sin and lack of humility. I would confess that if I be a Christian at all, then real Christianity was a small degree in me. What a vast distance there is between what I ought to be and what I am! The workings of real grace in my soul were so feeble, that I hardly think they can be feebler in any true Christian.”

B.A.-“Other than through the grace of God, what other avenues aided you to legitimately examine your fruit?”

A.F.-“One was through the reading of John Owen’s Mortification of Sin. The other was simply to be busy in the work of the Lord. I found in my life the greater activity increased my energy to know and love God more.”

B.A.-“And you used this doctrine and experiences in your own effort to counsel others did you not?”

A.F.-“Of course. I once counseled my daughter, ‘you are a much greater sinner than you are aware of; and an interest in the dying love of Christ is of far greater importance than you have ever yet conceived’. To the son of a friend I counseled, ‘you have thought but little of your state as a lost sinner. When you learn this, you will bewail it before God with shame and self-abhorrence; you will embrace the refuge set before you in the gospel’.”

B.A.-“How important is an understanding of the doctrine of depravity in connection with the gospel?”

A.F.-“It is so important that almost all other principles are founded on it.”

B.A.-Why is it so important?”

A.F.-“The reason is because once the sinner recognizes he is a sinner, then he is a position of grace, and that is the only hope for the sinner.”

B.A.-“Are you Calvinistic in your doctrine?”

A.F.-“I am a strict Calvinist. I never had any predilection for Arminianism, which appeared to me to ascribe the difference between one sinner and another, not to the grace of God, but to the good improvement made of grace given us in common with others.”

Richard Hooker on Justification

“God justifies the believer not because of the worthiness of his belief, but because of his worthiness who is believed.”

Sunday sermon-B.B. Warfield on WHOSOEVER WILL

B.B. Warfield is a former theology professor and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and many consider the last great theologian at Princeton before the split in the early twentieth century.  Here is an excerpt from his Plan of Salvation. 

“We hear ringing up and down the land the passionate proclamation of what its adherents love to call a ‘whosoever will gospel’.  It is no doubt the universality of the gospel offer which is intended to be emphasized.  But do we not shoot beyond the mark when we seem to hang salvation purely on the human will?  And should we not stop to consider that, if we seem to open salvation to ‘whosoever will’ on the one hand, on the other we open it only to ‘whosoever will’?  And who, in this world of death and sin, I do not say merely will, but can, will the good?  Is it not forever true that grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor figs from thistles; that it is only the good tree which brings forth good fruit while the evil tree brings forth always and everywhere only evil fruit?  It is not only Hannah More’s Black Giles the Poacher who may haply ‘find it difficult to repent when he will’.  It is useless to talk of salvation being for ‘whosoever will’ in a world of universal ‘won’t’.  Here is the real point of difficulty: how, where, can we obtain the will?  Let others rejoice in a ‘whosoever will gospel’: for the sinner who knows himself to be a sinner, and knows what it is to be a sinner, only a ‘God will’ gospel will suffice.  If the gospel is to be committed to the dead wills of sinful men, and there is nothing above and beyond, who then can be saved?” The Plan of Salvation, pp. 48-49

Preparation for Worship

Have you responded to the gospel by faith in Jesus?

Has anyone in your family not responded to the gospel by faith in Jesus?

Be in prayer for tomorrow that many would come to faith in Jesus.

To The Garden We Go

Now we enter the time of the summer that I call the season of the berry.  Strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and blackberries. 

You have to love them.  For the first season, my strawberry crop at home has been surprisingly good.  The first harvest sprung up over night, and they have tampered off the last few weeks, but are getting ready to bear another modest harvest.  I have two species of everbearing strawberries. 

I planted three canes of “Fall Gold” raspberries about four years ago and my parent’s house, and they are the only variety that survived.  They are extremely hardy in all weather conditions.  They bear twice a season rather than only once.  They are bearing right now, and will bear again in September before the nights get cool.  The downside is they aren’t good for canning or freezing or even in a sorbet.  Basically you pick, you eat, so for a lot of people they are more trouble than they are worth.  But with my three canes, I could pick a little every day and they would last most of the summer if I lived there. 

And now to the bad boys, that separate the players from the pretenders: gooseberries and blackberries.  You have to find mosquitoes, thorns, snakes, and wasps for these precious commodities.  For gooseberries, my crop this year was even comparable to last.  This year, I showed up late for the harvest, as most were turning brown (you want a green gooseberry).  Last year I picked at the same time of the year (typically mid to late June) and had enough for two pies.  Most people don’t like gooseberries for two clear reasons: they are a bear to pick and stem, and the taste.  If you don’t get the taste right (particularly sugar) get ready for lockjaw! 

My blackberries (I both have tame and wild varieties) were the exact opposite, I got to them a bit early.  If I picked the middle or end of this month, I would have a huge harvest, but I don’t think I will have the time.  Last year, my wife cooked the best cobbler I ever ate (blackberry cobbler is a natural laxative so be warned).  We picked and froze blackberries for two large cobblers. 

So goes the harvest, happy picking and eating.  

Luther on Justification by Faith

Martin Luther wrote, “when the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen.”  He declared, “this is the chief article from which all other doctrines have flowed.”  He argued, “It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour.” 

Coffee with Andrew Fuller

Ten Fictitious Questions Based on His Real Writings

B.A.-We last left you with a remarkable story of your conversion.  So you were sixteen years old when you were saved?

A.F.-A teenager yes.

B.A.-How did your early Christian experience unfold?

A.F.-I was baptized in April 1770 and soon became a member of the Baptist church in Soham. 

B.A.-Were you what many modern evangelicals call ‘discipled’?”

A.F.-(strange look) “Well?  I was baptized along with a gentleman that was twenty five years older than me named Joseph Diver who became a close friend throughout the duration of his life.  We had many long hours of good conversation and encouragement in the Scriptures.”

B.A.-Evidently you were good friends; you penned a moving tribute to him upon his death didn’t you?”

A.F.-I wrote in my diary, ‘O my dear brother Diver! When will we recover our loss in losing you?  What disorders have we now in the church!  Our hands, heads, and hearts are now full!  O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!  I think I will go on all my days, at times, in the bitterness of my soul-Ah! We took sweet counsel together, and walked together to the house of God-but all is over.  As he said on his dying bed, ‘I have done with that life’- Alas, he has done his all with us’.”

B.A.-“Remarkable.  Later that fall of 1770, your pastor, Rev. Eve left the church due to some conflict in the congregation and what transpired after that?”

A.F.-“The congregation approached both Joseph Diver and me to preach regularly.  We were in rotation of what you might call ‘interim pastor’.”

B.A.-“And how long did that last?”

A.F.-“Approximately three and a half years, until they installed me as their pastor in 1774.”

B.A.-“How old were you at the time?”

A.F.-“I was twenty.” 

B.A.-“What were those early years like for you?”

A.F.-“I continued to wrestle with some core theological issues.  I was often edified in reading the works of John Bunyan, John Gill, and John Brine.  And soon began to form in my own mind some preliminary ideas concerning the free offer of salvation to sinners without distinction.” 

B.A.-“What were some other specific formulations?”

A.F.-“I confirmed my belief in the eternal sonship of Christ.  I replaced a view I had regarding justification.  In my early years, I believed that justification already existed in eternity but is revealed in the elect at the time of faith in Jesus.  But I replaced that view with justification is linked with union in Jesus.  Though decreed eternally by the Father, justification is applied in the sinner’s experience when the regenerating work of the Spirit brings an elect sinner from death to life to express faith in the completed work of Christ.” 

B.A.-“It seems that the ‘Modern Question’ was the root of most of your issues regarding salvation was it not? 

A.F.-“Basically the ‘Modern Question’ asks, ‘is unregenerate man under spiritual obligation to repent of his sin and believe in Jesus on hearing the gospel when he has no power to do so?’.   And the application of that belief is, ‘is the gospel minister to call on these sinners for faith and repentance?’  My The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation seeks to answer this question.  

Pink on the Gospel

“The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present day evangelist.  He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin.  And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness”  A.W. Pink Saving faith Part 1: Signs of the Times circa 1930.

Bonhoeffer on the Gospel

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “I don’t think it is Christian to want to get to the New Testament too soon or too directly.”  What he meant is that until the law has done its work of exposing and condemning our sin, we are not ready to hear the gospel of justification.

Lord's Day

I love Spurgeon, pure and simple.  I hope, Lord willing, to significantly research his works for my PhD labor.  The quote below is from a portion of one of his Sunday sermon messages entitled, “Free Will: A Slave”.  You won’t miss the point.  This is a pretty famous and often quoted “prayer of the Arminian”.

“...Anyone who believes that man's will is entirely free, and that he can be saved by it, does not believe the fall...

But I tell you what will be the best proof of that; it is the great fact that you never did meet a Christian in your life who ever said he came to Christ without Christ coming to him. You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer - for the saints in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free-will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying,

"Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not-that is the difference between me and them."

That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that. Ah! when they are preaching and talking very slowly, there may be wrong doctrine; but when they come to pray, the true thing slips out; they cannot help it. If a man talks very slowly, he may speak in a fine manner; but when he comes to talk fast, the old brogue of his country, where he was born, slips out. I ask you again, did you ever meet a Christian man who said, "I came to Christ without the power of the Spirit?" If you ever did meet such a man, you need have no hesitation in saying, "My dear sir, I quite believe it-and I believe you went away again without the power of the Spirit, and that you know nothing about the matter, and are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Do I hear one Christian man saying, "I sought Jesus before he sought me; I went to the Spirit, and the Spirit did not come to me"? No, beloved; we are obliged, each one of us, to put our hands to our hearts and say-

"Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made my eyes to o'erflow;
'Twas grace that kept me to this day,
And will not let me go."

Family Worship

Read through Psalm 64 (our psalm of the day in tomorrow’s worship).  Pray through it as a family asking and applying the requests of this prayer to your own life.  Praise God for how this psalm describes Him.  Lay hold of the promises to the righteous.  

Nuts and Bolts

In this nuts and bolts section, I will create a theme called “All Creatures of Our God and King”.  It seems there has been much fascination with animals in the news lately. 

Take for instance this article on the theory that was gigantic prehistoric whales that ate other whales.  

Or how about a Chihuahua that saves the life of a child from a pit bull attack.

As one you has fed turkeys and presently have squirrels feeding where they shouldn’t suppose to, I find this clip confirms my suspicions. 

A hiker fights off a bear with a pocketknife.  I love this guy’s nonchalant attitude. 

More Gospel

This is yet again another good link on the gospel and what it is. 

Coffee with Andrew Fuller

Ten Fictitious Questions Based on His life and writings

B.A.-“Can you tell the bloggers what your primary denominational conviction was?”

Andrew Fuller-(looking a bit perplexed over the term ‘blogger’) “Ah, well, okay, I was an English Particular Baptist.”

B.A.-“Could you expand on ‘Particular’ Baptist?”

A.F.-“I held to a Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement”. 

B.A.-“And this is something you expand in your epic work The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation’?”

A.F.-“Basically it is a development of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in the gospel.”

B.A.-“Lets back up a bit.  When were you born?”

A.F.-“In 1754”

B.A.-“What were the events leading up to your conversion?”

A.F.-“I attended a Baptist church where the minister, a Mr. Eve preached and tinged with a false Calvinism that is to say he had little or nothing to say about the unconverted.  As a result of this, I never gave any serious consideration to the state of my soul.”

B.A.-“So his preaching did little to rouse your conscience.  What were some positive influences?”

A.F.-“I began to read a few of John Bunyan’s works, particularly Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and of course his Pilgrim’s Progress.  I also was impressed by Ralph Erskine’s Gospel Sonnets, A Gospel Catechism for Young Christians and Christ All in All in our Complete Redemption.  These not only produced serious thoughts of salvation, but literal crying over my condition.” 

B.A.-“So conviction began to grow in your soul?”

A.F.-“I would say so.  I remember too during this time I was overcome with the words from the apostle, ‘Sin will not have dominion over you; for you are not under law, but under grace’.  I felt after pondering those words that I would never fall back into sin.  But sadly I did.”

B.A.-“It sounds like you had a long struggle with sin and repentance prior to your conversion.  Is this true?” 

A.F.-“Very much so.  I would fall back into sin, and some Scripture would enter my mind, and I would feel I was restored with God only to fall back into deeper sins than before.  I felt my conscience was seared as I would make vows to God only to break them.”

B.A.-“When did you finally break with that spiral?”

A.F.-“One morning in November of 1769 I was walking alone with an unusual load of guilt on my conscience.  I sense the fire and brimstone of hell was on me.  I never felt such an odious sinner as that day.  I knew if God sent me to hell, He would be perfectly just in doing so.  I felt neither refuge nor safety in my condition.  I realized there was nothing I could do to be qualified for salvation.  I remember feeling something attractive in Jesus.  I said to God, ‘I must, I will, yes, I will trust my soul, my sinful, lost soul in his hands if I perish, then I perish!’  I was determined to cast myself on Christ believing that He would save my soul.” 

B.A.-“So you trace that moment as conversion for you?”

A.F.-“I will say that from that moment in November of 1769 I had assurance of the truth of the gospel.  My fears from that moment were gradually removed.  I was conscious that I had passed from death to life.  I broke off all my relationships with former partners in sin and sought the company of Christians.” 

R.C. Sproul on the Gospel

R.C. Sproul in his usual clear and straightforward way has written a succinct article on what is the gospel. 

Steve Lawson on the Fear of God

 “Step inside the average church these days, and you will likely see that the services are designed to remove the fear of God rather than to promote it.”  (Steve Lawson, Made in Our Image: What Shall We do with a User Friendly God? Pg. 194)

John Adams and Independence Day

I have such appreciation for our founder fathers.  I like so many of you am a lover of history, but particularly the colonial period has always been a fascination with me.  Granted these men were not perfect, in fact, there was downright hostility in some relationships, but these were men of honor with God and country in a way that is foreign to many today.
One such father is John Adams who has been maligned and caricatured in modern times.  David McCullough’s biography of Adams is masterful.  Despite his flaws both true and false, he like so many of the fathers was a visionary.  When contemplating our Declaration of Independence Adams had a premonition:
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. -- Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even though We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”

He wrote this letter to his wife Abigail believing that the Declaration of Independence would be signed on July 2, 1776 rather than July 4, 1776.  Despite his error in dates, he makes up for it not only in his prediction of celebration but in his praise of human labor and Providence to cherish for what it stands for.  

Years later while assisting on the draft of the Constitution Adams opined:

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people...it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Okay the word is out with this video clip.  I am and have been since childhood a Stryper fan.  Yes, I have gone to their concerts and not worshipped the devil.  Yes, my wife has had to endure my taste in music since I have to endure her taste for country (it is one of God’s gifts to test our deep affection).  Yes, I believe they have promoted the gospel of Jesus Christ in ways I cannot.  No, I have never had my hair that long.  No, I have never worn an earring in my life.  No, I have never once tried on a pair of spandex.  But this will be reserved for another time and place.
Here is their version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.  It is a live version from about 25 years ago.  The recorded version is a little longer that concluded their “Soldiers Under Command” album which some say is their strongest.  They would often and still do introduce their concerts with this recording.  Ironically this clip is filmed in Japan.  But the words of this hymn (especially in its entirety) are gripping.  It emerged as a military song in the wake of a war, but the words are mainly theocentric.  In the words of the old saints, the church must be militant until she is triumphant.
Enjoy! (And turn it up loud).

With gardening I am a cross between innovation and whimsical.  These pictures attest to this.  I bought these two hanging baskets on sale, cut the hangers on them, and put them in some old wash tubs on stands my grandparents had.  Anita didn’t spray paint to keep their antique look, and inside the wash tub I placed the potted plants on bricks, and basically flooded the tubs so that there is always a reservoir of water their roots can get to.  One wash tub is filled with all sorts of petunias one of my favorite annuals; the other is an assortment of a dozen different annuals.  So far they have stood the test of humidity and they receive a full eight hours of sun.

So here is the big baby that has occupied my attention and friends patience since March.  I won’t go into all the details here.  But as you can see, I added on the kids playset with another larger, taller bad boy.  A 12 foot tower, complete with two height decks and a 7 foot tornado slide.  On the back end, which you can’t see, I installed a pirate ladder.  And to connect both playsets, I built and installed a clatter bridge.  You can see Noah on it with topsy turvy tomato planters hanging from the tower. The other photos in the front of the playsets are our version of the yellow brick road with a cabin in the background.  There is a bridge to cross over and this year I planted corn and sunflowers so that by the end of the summer the kids can walk through them.  I will try to give more details as the summer progresses.

                                                            

Two Ways to LIve

An excellent resource for the gospel is Two Ways to Live by Matthias Media. I use this format regularly in my own evangelism, and we have several tracts available in the church foyer.