The Spread of Religion in 90 seconds

Church: a place to hurt people?

Some churches are known for this, but I've never seen one advertise on the sign

Hauns in Africa

Continue to pray for the Hauns in Ghana

We need rain!

Came across this old hymn today:

"Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead."

We're praying for rain!

Thou lovely Source of true delight

I was listening to this song in the car the other day (on the first Indelible Grace CD). The second line was the one that grabbed my attention. On Wednesday night, I'm speaking on the subject of what happens to those who don't hear the Gospel. Verse 2 of this song reminded me of the importance of the special revelation of God in Scripture.

"Thou lovely Source of true delight,
Whom I unseen adore;
Unveil Thy beauties to my sight,
That I may love Thee more.

Thy glory o’er creation shines;
But in Thy sacred Word,
I read in fairer, brighter lines,
My bleeding, dying Lord.

’Tis here, whene’er my comforts droop,
And sins and sorrows rise,
Thy love with cheerful beams of hope,
My fainting heart supplies.

Jesus, my Lord, my Life, my Light,
O come with blissful ray;
Break radiant through the shades of night,
And chase my fears away.

Then shall my soul with rapture trace
The wonders of Thy love;
But the full glories of Thy face
Are only known above."

- Anne Steele, Poems on Subjects Cheifly Devotional, 1760

Mute Math in Reverse

I can't really figure out how they did this...but its a pretty impressive live performance:

House for sale

Kevin Garnett's house is for sale if anyone's interested. A mere 53 million.

Light Rail

I think Charlotte is getting something like this pretty soon. Can't wait.

"Nothing New"

"In the things of God the old is ever new, and if any man brings forward that which seems to be new doctrine and new truth, it is soon perceived that the new dogma is only worn-out heresy dexterously repaired, and the discovery in theology is the digging up of a carcase of error which had better have been left to rot in oblivion.

In the great matter of truth and godliness, we may safely say, "There is nothing new under the sun" (Spurgeon, New Year's Sermon in 1885).

Influential Church Repents

An influential church Willow Creek repents of its program & seeker-driven principles

Evangelical support of Mitt Romney

Influential Evangelical leaders like Wayne Grudem and Bob Jones III have now endorsed mormon, Mitt Romney for president.

4 Awkward Turtles

I love the band Sigur Ros, but this is one of the worst interviews (for worst see Evan O'Dorney or Miss Teen South Carolina), I've ever seen.

If you're unfamiliar with them, here's a short video of a live performance:

Christians & Movies

Two incorrect (and yet extremely common) views regarding Christians viewing "secular" films:

a. It doesn't matter what you see (i.e. your relationship with Christ doesn't influence your decision to view or not to view it)

or

b. A movie's moral quality is determined by the rating (i.e. PG, PG-13, R, etc...).

While I think the ratings are helpful in guidance, sometimes it seems that Christians promote clean rated films with an overall message that glorifies sin. Which would you rather watch: a film that is rated R (due to violence & cussing, etc...) but has an overall message of redemption and value, or a film that is rated PG, but has an overall message of presenting sin in positive light?

Screenwriter Barbara Nicolosi recently stated:

"[A] film should also be judged according to its message. What does the movie want you to believe? Is what it's telling you the truth or a lie? If the latter, then it's a bad film, no matter how good the technique may be."

Remedy

“The office of the law is to show us the disease, in such a way as to show us, at the same time, no hope of cure: the office of the gospel is, to bring a remedy to those that were past hope. For as the law leaves a man to himself, it condemns him, of necessity, to death; while the gospel, bringing him to Christ, opens the gate of life.”

-John Calvin, Commentaries, on 2 Corinthians 3:7

Or, as Crowder sings it:

"He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy!"

-David Crowder, Remedy

Dancing Bird

This was forwarded to me...its crazy. This bird loves to dance to Backstreet Boys music:

Dobson: Hillary over Rudy

James Dobson recently said he'd rather see Hillary Clinton in the White House than Rudy Guiliani

Can't say I agree with him on this...

2 famous people in one day!

I heard the apologist Josh McDowell speak this morning and Jennifer and I just got back from a Young Life banquet where J.D. Gibbs (owner of Joe Gibbs racing & son of Washington Redskins coach, Joe Gibbs) spoke.

Not bad for one day.

I'm still trying to figure out how to meet and befriend fellow Charlotte resident Adam Morrison. Just give me a little more time...

This is the dawning of heaven

"Make up your mind that to behold the glory of God by beholding the glory of Christ is the greatest privilege which is given to believers in this life. This is the dawning of heaven" -John Owen, The Glory of Christ

What I want for Christmas

A trunk monkey:

The Power of Grace

I'm blown away by the grace of God!

"Thy wond’ring saints rejoice to see
A wretch, like me, restored
And point, and say, “How changed is he,
Who once defied the LORD!”

Grace bid me live, and taught my tongue
To aim at notes divine;
And grace accepts my feeble song,
The glory, LORD, be thine!"

-John Newton (from a hymn called, "The Power of Grace")

99 Balloons

He gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord:

Driscoll on Idolatry

Mark Driscoll on idolatry

Worship

Here's a helpful perspective on worship:

Useful after all

I knew it had a purpose

Richard Baxter on reading

I love to read, but I don't like to waste my time reading books that aren't quality. Here's some helpful counsel from the Puritan Richard Baxter:

"Make careful choice of the books which you read: let the holy scriptures ever have the pre-eminence" -Richard Baxter

Thanga Nohro

A friend of ours named Thanga Nohro came and spoke to our youth last night (he's speaking in chapel this morning at school as well). He is from eastern India, and is now serving with YWAM in western India.
India has 1.3 billion people, 80% of whom are Hindus. Thanga is a musician who started a school for other musicians. After about 6 months in the school, the students go on tour throughout India sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the gifts that God has given them. As you read this, please pray for Thanga's ministry.

President Bush on Pluralism

President Bush believes all religions pray to the same God

From a post I wrote earlier this year about the same subject:

"I'm amazed at how many people focus on the terminology of "God" rather than on the nature of God. It's extremely popular today to believe that people are just using different terms for the same God. What's odd to me is that people don't look any deeper than the argument of terminology. The terms are labels for things, or beings, that ultimately point to the nature of a thing or being. In other words, the nature of Islam's Allah is vastly different than the nature of the Christian God. To reduce these differences in nature down to a mix-up on terminology is a remarkably shallow approach to understanding who God is. The next time someone says, "You worship the same God, you're just using different terms for Him," remind them that your God is much more than a term, and you're worshiping Him in the fullness of His very nature, and His nature is incomparable. Truly, as Isaiah repeatedly says, there is none like Him."

Night Fever

This website tells what the number one song was each day for the year, dating back to the 1890's. On the day I was born, the Bee Gee's "Night Fever" was the #1

The "World"

The "World" is the name for a group of about 300 man made islands off of the coast of Dubai that looks like a map of the world from the sky. It will apparently be inhabited by people who have manifold buildings of things like gold bars

The world's perception of Christians

I taught on this verse this morning in my Romans class:
Romans 2:24- "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you..."

Brad Pitt's view of God

“I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’ It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”

-Brad Pitt

Jonathan Edwards wrote a great book addressing this issue called: "The End for Which God Created the World"

Gymkata

I just came across this movie trailer. Its called Gymkata and was released in 1985. I've never seen it, but it has to be one of the worst films of all time. Even the premise is a trainwreck: a gymnast mixes his skill with karate to form a new art of fighting called gymkata in which he uses as a service for his nation.

Derek Webb & Capitol Hill

I was talking with a student yesterday about politics. We were talking about how neither one of us were very impressed with any of the candidates. It reminded me of a new Derek Webb song called, "A Savior on Capitol Hill":

"I’m so tired of these mortal men
with their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sin
scared of their enemies, scared of their friends
and always running for re-election
so come to DC if it be thy will
because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill
you can always trust the devil or a politician
to be the devil or a politician
but beyond that friends you’d best beware
‘cause at the Pentagon bar they’re an inseparable pair
and as long as the lobbyists are paying their bills
we’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill"

Acts 4:13

I'm teaching on Acts 4 this morning, and its on one of my favorite evangelism verses:

“They…began to recognize them as having been with Jesus Christ" (Acts 4:13)

At first glance it doesn't seem to be a verse about evangelism, but the idea of people recognizing our relationship with Christ by the way we live is a beautiful display of a Christ-centered life. The more you spend time with Jesus, the more you become like Jesus. And the more you become like Jesus, the more people around you recognize that you've spent time with Him. The quote below is one of my favorites outside of Scripture (perhaps a top five quote), and it speaks to this idea of becoming more like the things we love:

“The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love: he who loves mean and sordid things does thereby become base and vile; but a noble and well-placed affection does advance and improve the spirit unto a conformity with the perfections which it loves.” -Henry Scougal

Gorilla on Drums

I'm thinking about inviting this guy to come play in chapel some time.

Tim Keller on Leadership

This is an uncommon and yet refreshing description of leadership from Tim Keller:

"Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus' costly grace. The number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don't need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn't based on their performance."

7 Wonders of the World

Visit the 7 Wonders of the World here with these panoramic pictures

Oops

This is a local news report about Kevin Everett who is miraculously recovering from a spinal injury. This local news station ran the wrong video though...what are the chances!

Morph Thing

Here's a picture of Donald Trump morphed with Brittany Spears. Its pretty scary. You can go to this website and morph celebrities together

The Nature of Sin

I find the following quote to be true in counseling with most people. We tend to look at the fruit of sin and try to address it, rather than the heart which is the spring from which outward sins come:

"The fatal mistake is to think of sin always in terms of acts and of actions rather than in terms of nature, and of disposition. The mistake is to think of it in terms of particular things instead of thinking of it, as we should, in terms of our relationship to God."

-Lloyd-Jones, D. M. God's Way of Reconciliation - An Exposition of Ephesians 2

Only One Thing is Needed

I'll be speaking on this passage this morning in HS & MS chapels:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)

The Most Powerful Woman in the World

According to this Forbes list, Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman in the world. The list seemed reasonable to me, but I couldn't help notice that they failed to put "Gold" from American Gladiators on it.

Remedy

I've been listening to the new David Crowder CD recently. My favorite song is #5, called "Never Let Go," but a close second is "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." Its hard to beat these words:

"He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me!"

Dikembe's back

I just read where Dikembe Mutombo resigned with the Rockets at the age of 41. I've always loved watching him block shots and then wag his finger at the person:


(note: listen to how crazy Bill Walton sounds on this)

Carnival Games

With "Fall Festivals" coming up in October, as well as some local fairs, I thought it might be helpful to post some advice on how to outwit those tricky "carnies" and their difficult games. The two in particular that I find most frustrating are the balloon dart throw and the milk bottle throw (both of which seem remarkably easy, and yet I don't think I've ever won anything of any value). I found some helpful advice concerning these two games on the interweb:

Balloon Dart Throw

"The balloons are under-inflated, and the dart tips are dull. Forget accuracy and throw the dart as hard as you can. Most people aim for the middle, so the game operators will often hide the "good prize" tags behind balloons on the outside edges."

Milk Bottle Throw:

"The bottles used in this carnival game are often made with leaded glasses making them very heavy.

The secret to winning the milk bottle throw is to aim at the base of the bottom two containers rather then at the intersection of all three bottles."

Tips for the 5 AM Club

I'm still a big fan of the 5 AM Club, and still looking to recruit others to join. For those who would want to join but find it extremely difficult to awaken that early, here are some tips

Body Square World Rankings

Here is the current list of top players throughout the world (this is out of 6.5 billion people):

1. Andrew Spencer
2. Chandler Patterson (best serve)
3. Austin Tsumas
4. Emily Robinson
5. Julie Holman (best control)
6. Jeremy Brackett
7. Wes McMurray
8. Chad Zerfoss (mostly flash, little skill)
9. Mary Christopher
10. Matt Hines

Body Square

Most are familiar with the classic game called Foursquare, where players hit a ball with their hands into their opponents square with the hope of them not returning it to another square. At camp this week, one of my students (Jacob Cook) created a new version of the game called "Body Square" in which players are not allowed to use their hands or arms, but can hit the ball more than once with parts of their body. The game is far superior to the original, and also to all other games. Quickly spread this phenom throughout the nations.

Home again

I'm back from both of the Fall Retreats. Wednesday-Friday, we had our school's retreat to Windy Gap. It was a great trip. Josh & Tasha Via & Austin Rammell did a great job leading us in worship & study of Scripture.
From Windy Gap, I took a group to another camp called Bonclarken for our church's Fall Retreat. I never did catch the guy's name that spoke there. It was either Brian or Steve. The music was led by Josh Bales. Again, both were great.

I've heard so much at both retreats, its a little difficult to take it all in. Perhaps more than any particular message that stood out to me was a couple of observations while I was gone:

1. I watched students on these trips set an example for older believers (1 Tim. 4:12). Whether it was sitting in on a student-led Bible study, or listening to students worship, or seeing someone sitting alone with her Bible reading, or being with someone broken who understood their desperation for Christ, or seeing a couple of students praying for one of their friends, it was a great experience for me to just observe these examples for me.

2. The other observation was the reality that while being at a retreat for students, its sometimes easy to hear God's word in a way that you're listening for other people. It makes sense to do this, because we've been praying over the students. But what struck me, was the realization that I need to hear a word from God as well, and not listen with the ears of others but rather to hear what God is speaking to my heart.

Praise God for the wonderful retreats that He allowed us to be a part of.
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).