Mike Huckabee 2008 Ad- With Chuck Norris

Jay already beat me to it, but if you have not seen this video then you're in for a treat. peace.

The Pursuit: Every Man's Call to Biblical Masculinity

The Sovereign Grace men's conference that I recently attended at the SG church in Gilbert, AZ had some excellent teachings. All of them, including the breakout sessions, are now available to download for free at the Gilbert church's website. Click here to download and listen. If you only have time for one, then make sure you listen to Rick Gamache's sermon titled Christ: The Perfect Man. Also, it is pivotal that you download and read his Crucifixion narrative. He read a part of it during his sermon and I got chills. So, download, listen and be blessed! peace.

Real quick,

You know those times when you read Mark 16:18: "they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them", and then you say, "Really?", and then you look at the footnotes in your Bible and it says that this portion of Scripture was probably added later on... you know what I'm talking about? Now, I'm not going to answer the debate on the authority of Mark 16, but after reading this article, I'm pretty certain that Mark 16:18 doesn't include being okay after getting bit in the face by a rattlesnake. Apparently, when that happens, you die. (Sidenote: For all you Kentucky folk... this happened in your state.) peace.

Soon to come...

I recently attended my first Sovereign Grace conference... it was amazing. It was from Thursday, November 8th to Saturday, November 10th at the Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert, AZ. The theme of the conference was The Pursuit: Every Man's Call to Biblical Masculinity, and there were about 800 men in attendance (about 200 of which were from the ages 14 to 18, which is very encouraging). The speakers included Steve Shank (Overseer of the SG churches in the Southwest region of the US), Rick Gamache (senior pastor of the SG church in Minneapolis, MN), Craig Cabaniss (senior pastor of the SG church in Frisco, TX), and C.J. Mahaney (founder of SG ministries). (There were also several breakout sessions.) The teaching was awesome, the songs were amazing, and the whole week was saturated in the glory of God. I loved it. There were fourteen men from our church that got to attend. I plan on dedicating the next few posts to give a basic overview of the conference and what I believe to be the highlights. Also, by Wednesday all of the teaching sessions should be available for download from the SG website. That's what's coming soon, but for now, chew on this article from Al Mohler's blog about hotel chains that are removing Gideon Bibles from their rooms and replacing them with other "stuff". The reason given for this is very insightful to the moral decay of our country. Here's a quote:

So the hotels want to be hip, and the presence of a Bible in the drawer is unhip? Perhaps this section of Wolverson's report explains the impetus:

"Edgier chains like the W provide "intimacy kits" with condoms in the minibar, while New York's Mercer Hotel supplies a free condom in each bathroom. Neither has Bibles. Since its recent renovation, the Sofitel L.A. offers a tantalizing lovers' dice game: roll one die for the action to be performed (for example, "kiss," "lick") and the other for the associated body part. The hotel's "mile high" kit, sold in the revamped gift shop, includes a condom, a mini vibrator, a feather tickler and lubricant. The new Indigo hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., a "branded boutique" launched by InterContinental, also has no Bibles, but it does offer a "One Night Stand" package for guests seeking VIP treatment at local nightclubs and late checkout for the hazy morning after."

So it turns out that the real story is not just the absence of the Bible in many hotel rooms, but the presence of very different materials, from complimentary condoms to erotic dice games. That does help to explain things. This development is another reminder that we are living in a time of tremendous cultural and moral change. The absence of Gideons Bibles from an increasing number of hotel rooms tells us something about the secularization, sexualization, and extreme sensitivities of our age.

Do Yourself a Favor

Time and time again I am blown away by the generosity of Desiring God Ministries (DGM). It is evident that they care more about the glory of God than they do about money, which, in this culture, is very refreshing and encouraging. I heard a Piper quote once that went something like this: "The reason that God created money is so His people could use money to show the world that they treasure Him more than money." Talk about counter-cultural. Anyway, DGM hosts an annual conference. Last year's conference was The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World and featured John Piper, Voddie Baucham, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll and David Wells as the speakers. (That's a "jaw-dropping" lineup on a very timely subject.) DGM is also in the habit of putting all of their National Conferences in book form which is what they have just done with this one. They are putting this book on sell for $5 through Friday, November 9th, or until supplies run out. That is an amazing deal... BUT WAIT, it gets better. DGM has also put this book in .pdf form and made it available to download... for free. So, do yourself a favor and click here to take advantage of this offer. peace.

Christian Domestic Discipline?

Ok... This morning on FoxNews there was a story about this Saudi guy that is teaching young Muslims how to discipline there wives. Here's a quote:

"Admonish them – once, twice, three times, four times, ten times," he advised.
"If this doesn't help, refuse to share their beds."
And if that doesn't work?
"Beat them," one of his three young advisees responded.
"That's right," Al-'Arifi said.

Wow. You can read the rest of the article here. There is a big difference between this and the Biblical call for husbands to be Christ's representatives in the home, especially in the way they treat their wives, right? Well, Dr. Riddlebarger blogged on this story and while I was reading the comments I noticed a link to the following website: http://christiandomesticdiscipline.com/Articles.html. I never even knew this world existed, and to be honest, I don't even know how to respond. Now, if this was a website created by the guy quoted above then I wouldn't be so surprised, but the creator of this site is a very sincere, Christian woman. I read the articles... awkward. They even have a blog. Go ahead... check it out, and PLEASE tell me that I am not the only guy that doesn't "spank" his wife for punishment. peace.

Reformation Day in Review

I don't know about you guys, but I had a great time on Reformation Day. The church we attend (Christian Life Center) had an activity night that we called Reformation Celebration geared towards educating the kids about the Protestant Reformation while simultaneously having fun. "How do you do that?", you may be asking yourself. Well, you do it by playing games like: Bible Smuggling, Pin the Thesis on the Door and Diet of Worms (topped off by singing The Reformation Polka!). Also... you have snacks. Good times were had by all.

On another note...

A couple of posts ago I gave a couple of links to a couple of articles that delt with how Christians should handle Halloween. One of those articles attempted to give some insight into the origins of this cultural/secular/pagan/disturbing/(insert non-Christian term here.) "holiday". This article appeared to give some evidence to a Christian origin for Halloween, and I even made the comment that my beliefs may be changing. Well, they haven't. As one of our friends' students said, "Halloween's the Devil's birthday!" Now, I am sure that, for those of you who read that article, you immediately said to yourself, "Wait a minute... what does Al Mohler say about all of this?" Well, here you go. (For future reference, I will use the abbreviation WWMS for "What would Mohler say?" ... always a good question.) peace.