Christ Alone

Blair Wingo continues to produce amazing poetry.

Hat Tip: www.recoverthegospel.com

RC Sproul interviews Ben Stein

 

This video, shot in February of 2008, is from an interview where RC Sproul discusses the upcoming Ben Stein movie called, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” The film is a documentary, hosted and moderated by Ben Stein, that covers the suppression of free thought, and consequentially free speech, in American universities, especially as it concerns those who think there may be some reason to discuss the idea of ‘Intelligent Design’ as at least an element of the dawn of life as we know it. Information about the film can be obtained at expelledthemovie.com, and about RC Sproul and Ligonier Ministries at ligonier.org

Hat Tip: http://theviewfromthefirehouse.wordpress.com/

The Church of Oprah Exposed

The Sweet Escape

Recently I’ve been introduced to John Owen’s work on mortification. (For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  -Romans 8:13) “Indwelling sin is compared to a person, a living  person, called the ‘old man’, with his faculties and properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength; this, says the apostle, must be killed, put to death, mortified-that is, have its power, life, vigor, and strength to produce its effects taken away by the Spirit.” Owen then adds “Indwelling sin always abides while we are in this world; therefore it is always to be mortified.”

All the days of my life will be spent in constant warfare, the battlefield…my soul. I take up this duty but how i deeply yearn for the end of this war.    

I scream for deliverance! Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I groan inwardly! When will the redemption of my body come?

When will sin rest? It is always crouching at the door!

But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! He has secured for us the sweet escape through the resurrection of Christ!

 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body… Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.  - 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49

Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. - 2 Corinthians 4:14

Christ and the Meaning of the Universe

Why did God create the universe and why is he governing it the way he is? What is God achieving? Is Jesus Christ a means to this achievement or the end of the achievement?

Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God. He is God in human form. As such he is the end not a means. The manifestation of the glory of God is the meaning of the universe. This is what God is achieving. The heavens and the history of the world are “telling the glory of God.”

But Jesus Christ was sent to accomplish something that needed doing. He came to remedy the fall. He came to rescue sinners from inevitable destruction because of their sin. These rescued ones will see and savor and display the glory of God with everlasting joy. Others will continue to heap scorn on the glory of God. So Jesus Christ is the means to what God meant to achieve in the manifestation of his glory for the enjoyment of his people.

But in that accomplishment on the cross, as he died for sinners, Christ revealed the love and righteousness of the Father supremely. This was the apex of the revelation of the glory of God—the glory of  his grace. Therefore, in the very moment of his perfect act as the means of God’s purpose, Jesus became the end of that purpose. He became, in his dying in the place of sinners and his resurrection for their life, the central and supreme revelation of the glory of God.

Christ crucified is therefore both the means and the end of God’s purpose in the universe. Without his work, that end to reveal the fullness of the glory of God for the enjoyment of God’s people would not have happened. And in that very means-work he became the end—the one who forever and ever will be the focus of our worship as we spend eternity seeing and savoring more and more of what he revealed of God when he became a curse for us. Jesus is the end for which the universe was made, and the means that makes that end possible to enjoy.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org

My Report for the Ligonier Conference 08

First off, i want to apologize for the scarcity of posts as of late. I have been very busy. With trips to both Chicago and Florida almost back to back and with me joining my school’s volleyball varsity team its been difficult for me to find time. With that said, the report now officially begins…

1. Me and my good friend Jeremy went together to the conference  
2. With Albums such as Our World Redeemed, Life by Stereo, and The Atonement we were fully equipped to bang those Jesus beats and expose the reformed circles to reformed hip-hop.
3. As soon as we pulled up to the driveway (with music blasting of course) we…umm…felt different. We did not look anything like the typical conference attendee. The majority of the people were elderly, white, and conservative in dress. We were young, Spanish, and not as conservative in dress. Nonetheless, it was not a problem at all. The people were very warm and loving. We enjoyed great fellowship.
4. Typical with most of these conferences, there was a bookstore. I was in sweet bliss there!!! Its always hard to find good books even in christian bookstores and here its like i found the jackpot. The picture above shows me there. I purchased Overcoming Sin and Temptation and Humility: True Greatness.
5. People at Ligonier believe that the Reformation Study Bible is the only infallible and inerrant study bible around  lol
6. Sproul signed my Reformation and C.J. signed my Humility book
7. C.J. has a very funny autograph
8. I talked to C.J. for a brief time and he finds it really cool to officially be part of reformed hip-hop (Shai Linne put some of his sermon clips on The Atonement)
9. Met a fellow from New Jersey who got his Atonement album signed by C.J.
10. Me and Jeremy were waiting outside of the sanctuary for the beginning of the conference. I find it pretty cool that there was open seating except for a few reserved rows for the special guests. I don’t know if we were in the flesh but we decided to sprint a little as soon as the doors opened in efforts to pass people and get good seats. We ended up getting…i would say…the 5th row in the middle, right in front of the pulpit
11. Yes its true, you can’t beat a sermon heard in person. Its a different experience
12. Steve Lawson was the first speaker and he preached an excellent sermon on the foolishness of the gospel and preaching. He used this very nice analogy which actually serves as a good historical background to new testament passages. He compared the Greek orator to the Roman herald. The Greek Orator was crafty in speech and was the celebrity in his time. His success was measured by how many crowds he drew and convinced. He often used manipulation and content was not the main priority. Sound familiar? Lawson masterfully connected this to much of modern preaching. On the other hand, the herald was much different. His job was to take Caesar’s decree and faithfully proclaim it wherever he was sent. His success was not measured by how he “wooed” the crowd, but success depended on faithfulness to Caesar’s decree. This analogy really stuck in my brain. Its an excellent portrayal of how we should and shouldn’t preach.
13. Me and Jeremy got to chat with Steve Lawson during a break. Very nice man.
14. One thing i really liked about the whole conference is that these great men of God were very humble and approachable
15. During a break they had tables set up in which many ministry representatives were seated. As i walked around i noticed R. C. Sproul J.R. sitting there, with nobody around him! There were lots of people but nobody talking to him, he was just sitting there by himself. Me and Jeremy went up to him and started talking to him. I asked him about the different groups within Presbyterians. Side Note: im thinking of what specific denomination i might be ordained in if God’s will for me is to pastor or teach. Presbyterianism is looking very attractive. He was kind enough to draw me a liberal-conservative chart with all the different groups and where they fall on a piece of paper. I’m keeping that piece of paper!
16. My Top 3 Sermons in no particular order were Steve Lawson’s sermon on the Foolishness of Preaching, MacArthur’s sermon on Simultaneously Just and Sinner, and C.J.’s sermon on the Resurrection.
17. Me and Jeremy had an infamous encounter with John MacArthur. During a break, i went to get water at a water fountain and found a door right next to it that read “CONFERENCE SPEAKERS ONLY”. I rushed to get Jeremy and told him about it. I told him the smart thing to do would be to stay near that door. “Who knows, MacArthur might pop out” i said. So we decided to walk down the hallway a little further, to not be too close and appear to be stalkers. As we were taking our distance guess who walks out of that door? Yes, John MacArthur. I get really nervous. I kinda whisper to Jeremy “Look!”. We both look at MacArthur heading down the hallway in our direction. We’re the only ones standing there. He sorta smiles at us, as if he wanted to say hi. We stare at him blankly frozen. We choke. We don’t know what to say. He makes a sharp turn into the sanctuary. That was our infamous encounter with John MacArthur.
18. It was fun to hear the announcement for next year’s conference. The roster is announced and it really sounds like someone is reading a list for the All-Star game.
19. Sorry guys, not too many young reformed girls. Unfortunately, Jeremy did not find his wife. I did not drop any of my reformed pick-up lines.
20. The hymns we sang were beautiful! Contemporary artists could learn a lot from these songs and how they eloquently and creatively describe the profundity of the gospel
21. Free Table Talk magezines were given away!
22. Q & A session was full of humor as expected
23. Joni Eareckson Tada’s message and C.J.’s message brought many people to tears. I must admit my eyes got watery in both messages.
24. The worst part of the conference had to be the end. I didn’t want it to end so fast! But part of me wanted to be back home. Everything I experienced gave me a hunger to go reach the lost in my school and neighborhood. The massive amount of truth i heard was short-circuiting my brain and i needed to release it! I need to pass it on and let it affect how i evangelize. Last-night i spent 2 hours on the phone with a good friend of mine trying to lead her to Christ. By the grace of God it went very well. Please pray that God may save her and give her assurance of that salvation. Lets point people to the real Jesus and the true gospel in our evangelism!

Back from Ligonier Conference

MORE COMING SOON…

back from Chicago…

 am I am so grateful that God allowed me to go on this trip. It was awesome!!! Here are some pics…

(I stayed with two Moody Students named Matt and Darryl…they have such a scenic view from their dorm room! C’mon…thats the Sears Tower!)

(Moody is in the heart of the city)

(Me and my two buddies Bri and Doni)

(Thats Zach…one of many good brothers i had an oppurtunity to fellowship with)

(Moody Campus)

(Johnny B and Chad…very cool dudes)

Off to the Windy City

Thursday morning i will be catching a flight to Chicago. I will be staying at the Moody Bible Institute and will return Sunday evening. Moody is a potential college candidate for me. Hopefully the visit will really make my decision easier. This is the first college im visiting. Im really psyched for another reason also, my good friend Jeremy is joining me! Please keep me in prayer. This will be my first time on an airplane and my first time traveling on my own. (im meeting Jeremy in Chicago) Im sorry that i won’t be here for a few days =(…but i’ll be sure to tell you all about the trip! Grace and Peace brethren.

How to Teach and Preach “Calvinism”

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By John Piper July 4, 1998

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1. Be rigorously textual in all your expositions and explanations and defenses of Calvinistic teachings. Make it a textual issue every time, not a logic issue or an experience issue.

2. Don’t be strident but gentle. Assume that working these great issues through to conviction may take years and that being in process is OK.

3. Speak of your own brokenness in regard to these things and how they are precious to you and why and how they minister to your soul and help you live your life.

4. Make Spurgeon and Whitefield your models rather than Owen or Calvin, because the former were evangelists and won many people to Christ in a way that is nearer to our own day.

5. Be an evangelist and a missions mobilizer so that the criticism that Calvinism dulls a passion for the lost is put to silence.

6. Work the five points out from the “I” in tulip not the “U”. That is, show people that they don’t really want to take final credit for their coming to Christ. They don’t want to stand before God at the judgment day and respond to the question, “Why did you believe and others with your opportunities didn’t?” with the answer, “Well, I guess I was smarter, or more spiritual.” They want to say, “By grace I was brought to faith.” Which is “irresistible grace.” That is, grace that triumphs over all resistance in the end.

7. Out rejoice your critics. The one who knows and rests in the sovereign grace of God should be the happiest saint. Don’t be a sour or glum or hostile false advertisement for the glory of God’s grace. Praise it. Rejoice in it. And don’t let that be a show. Do it in your closet until it is spilling over in the pulpit and the commons.

8. Don’t ride hobbyhorses that aren’t in the text. Preach exegetically, explaining and applying what is in the text. If it sounds Arminian, let it sound Arminian. Trust the text and the people will trust you to be faithful to the text.

9. Avoid theological jargon that is not in the text. The word “Calvinism” is probably not helpful. “Doctrines of grace” may not do it either. Just stick with what is there in the text, or come up with some new striking phrases that will cause the people to wonder and be excited.

10. Tell stories and experiences from biography and from the lives of living saints that illustrate their dependence on the sovereignty of God. Especially stories related to missions and evangelism and holiness of life.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org