Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Passion Ethics

On By BrianIn Current Collection

Apparently the answer to people hating homosexuals is to now hate people who believe homosexual behavior is wrong.  The answer to discriminating against homosexuals is to now discriminate against those who disagree with homosexual behavior.  The answer to drumming homosexuals out of the military is to drum out those who disagree with homosexual behavior.  The answer to same-sex couples being unable to marry is to make people opposed to same-sex marriage unable to not participate in such ceremonies.  Isn’t it more than a little interesting that the very things the gay lobby decried when aimed at them, they so quickly pick up to use against others?  And I suspect it is only the beginning.  Standing up for Biblical morality is quickly becoming an American anathema.

Gospel Singer McClurkin Cut From MLK Event Over Gay Rights – Gospel Coalition

Sergeant dismissed for saying … nothing – Baptist Press

N.M. Supreme Court: Photographers Can’t Refuse Gay Weddings – Christianity Today

Are You Ready To Suffer?

On By BrianIn Book of Acts1 Comment

On his way to Jerusalem, Paul is warned that he will be imprisoned. His friends urge him not to go, but he responds, “I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13). He was ready to suffer imprisonment and even death for Jesus.

Are you ready to suffer?

Perhaps God would call you to be a missionary in a village with no gospel witness or to a tribe that has never heard the name of Jesus. Are you ready to suffer?

God calls all of us to share the gospel. Are you ready to suffer?

We must hold to the truth of God’s Word in a world that increasingly is embracing the lies of the devil. Are you ready to suffer?

We may not suffer imprisonment or death like many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. But are you ready to suffer ridicule? You may be hated for the name of Jesus. You may be avoided, shunned. You may even lose your job. Are you ready to suffer?

Jesus told us that if we would be his disciples, we must take up our cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). A cross is an object of suffering. We should expect suffering.

Are you ready to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus?

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some helpful posts on preaching:

6 Bullet Points on Preaching – Tim Challies
The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about preaching, but I think the majority of it can be grouped under six main headings or ideas. You could, of course, extract specific teaching points from each one, but I think there’s value in looking at them in a broad sense. Here is what Paul says about the preaching of God’s Word…

3 Questions To Ask of Your Sermon – Trevin Wax
The more I’ve thought about these questions, the more I am convinced that pastors ought to ask these questions of every sermon they preach. Teachers ought to ask these questions of every lesson they prepare. The questions are a helpful guide to keeping Christ as the focus of our ministry.

Preaching That Cuts to the Heart – Tim Keller (via Gospel Coalition)
Put another way, you should preach the truth, not just your opinion; you should preach the good news, not just good advice; and you should preach to make the truth real to the heart, not just clear to the mind.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Why Then Must We Still Do Good? – Kevin DeYoung
…there are at least five reasons we who have been saved by grace alone through faith alone must still do good….

9-Point Battle Plan for Temptation – Gospel Reign
Temptation. We all face it in a variety of ways. The problem is, we don’t view temptation as a war-time activity, which it is. As Christians, we have an enemy tirelessly working against us for our downfall. In response, we ought to be as trained and prepared as possible to know what we’re up against, in order to defend ourselves victoriously.  Here are 9 tactics to add to your battle plan for dealing with temptation….

Offering H.E.L.P. in Times of Suffering – Justin Taylor
Doug Wolter, a pastor in Humboldt, Iowa, who is leading his church through a tragedy in their town after two high school graduates were killed in a car accident. Sometimes aacronyms can be helpful as prompts for us to remember basic truths that can be easy to forget. Here is what Doug offers….

I Know Not What I Am, But to You I Flee – William Wilberforce via Trevin Wax
O Lord, reassure me with Your quickening Spirit; without You I can do nothing.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping the Lord together with your local church!

God Can Reach Anyone

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes1 Comment

ActsHughesThe story of Saul’s spiritual transformation ought to remind us never to write anyone off as being beyond the love of Christ.  We may do so with relatives whom we know have heard the Word for years without response, or a sinner who has gone to a crass level of depravity, or someone who has gone into a cult or is propagating false doctrine.
But Scripture is clear – God can reach anyone!
– R. Kent Hughes in Acts: The Church Afire

So let’s keep praying and keep looking for opportunities to share the good news!

Passion Ethics

On By BrianIn Current Collection1 Comment

This week we are going to focus on homeschooling – specifically a recent incident in Germany:

Children Seized in Shocking Raid – HSLDA

Police Storm Homeschool Class, Take Children By Force – WND

There are at least four troubling ethical problems related to this event:

  • First, that homeschooling is illegal in Germany at all.  The state wants the ability to indoctrinate all of the nation’s children, and no parent will get in their way.  The articles above note the scary Nazi parallels.  But the Bible is clear that it is first and foremost the parents’ responsibility to instruct their children (Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, etc.).  The state has over-reached its God-given sphere.
  • That the penalty for homeschooling is not only possible fines and jail time, but losing custody of your children.  According to this article, the German Constitutional Court has ruled “that homeschooling is a violation of custody which necessitates a loss of custody.”  Just like in Nazi Germany, today’s Germany views children as belonging to the state rather than the parents.  But let’s be clear: the state does not give parents the right of custody, God does when he knits the child together in the mother’s womb (Psalm 139).  And custody should only be removed in cases of dire danger to the child.
  • That the government chose to remove the children in a violent manner that traumatized not only the parents but also the children.  The hatred shown by the authorities speaks volumes.
  • That our government apparently supports Germany’s policies and actions.  The current administration has been fighting hard to deport another German family that if sent back could experience the same actions by the German government.  Siding with wrong behavior is wrong too.

Prayer Quote of the Week

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes1 Comment

Each week, I put a prayer quote in my church’s bulletin to encourage us to think about prayer AND PRAY.  Here are the quotes for this past Sunday, as well as the Sundays in August when I wasn’t blogging:

God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission.
– John Piper

Prayer is designed to extend the kingdom into fruitless enemy territory.
– John Piper

He who loves little prays little, and he who loves much prays much.
– Augustine

The best prayers have more often groans than words.
– John Bunyan

We must not talk about prayer, we must pray.
– Andrew Bonar