The Plodding Preacher

Satan’s greatest ambassadors are not pimps, politicians, or power-brokers, but pastors.   His priests do not peddle a different religion, but a deadly perversion of the true one. His troops do not make a full-out frontal assault, but work as agents, sneaking into the opposing army. Satan’s tactics are studied, clever, predictable, effective. Therefore, we must always remain vigilant. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16a). That is the conclusion to Tim Challies' article: 7 False Teachers in the Church Today Be sure to read the rest of the article at challies.com.

Cultural snobbery rooted in personal superiority is a cancer of our time. America famously practices what Richard Hofstadter called “politics in the paranoid style,” but in truth, we don’t confine our paranoia to politics. We politicize everything today: the national anthem, sustainable food, cars and trucks, love of country, music, sports. All the good stuff and everything else besides. Even as America grows supposedly less religious, it becomes all the more chiliast. The secular apocalypse haunts us far more than the spiritual one ever did. Because of this secular spirituality, we demonize those who do not share our practices. They become the incubators of original sin. So we turn our backs on them. We write them off. They do not deserve our fair-mindedness. Other people who mostly agree with us, who share a variation on our theme, do merit tolerance, but the counter-culturalists do not. Owen Strachan

(Warning: the following article contains sarcasm and irony. The writer is not in any way endorsing the murder of helpless seniors.) In our region of south-western Ontario, Canada, a nurse was recently arrested and accused of the murder of at least eight senior citizens under her care while she worked at two different nursing home residences.   With the present climate in Canada, I would argue that rather than being guilty, she was simply ahead of her time. Our federal Liberal government  in June 2016 made doctor-assisted suicide legal in Canada.  At the time, CBC news reported: In a joint statement, the ministers reiterated that the legislation "strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable." (article HERE ) Aren't you glad to know that the law will prevent any sort of abuse of the vulnerable? Enter the University of Calgary.  On January 23, 2017 the University of Calga

The Men's march against fascism didn't have nearly as many signs. Andy Swan

When the selfishness and foolishness of Christians disheartens you, remember that the Christian church isn’t a collection of quickened Norman Rockwell figures gathered around a collection of morality fables intended to ready the world for benevolent socialism. Rather, the Christian church is a gathering of pulverized idolaters and murderers gathered around the forgiveness of their King, even as his kingdom remains frustratingly invisible beneath the muddy soil covering this valley of tears. Hans Fiene in an article found HERE

It's not Fair!!  We have all said it.  All of our children have said it.  However, Daniel Darling makes a persuasive point on why we ought not to let our children say it. It Might Sound Innocent, but Don’t Let Your Kids Say This Phrase There is a phrase in our vocabulary that nobody has to teach us to say. It’s a phrase kids learn very quickly in childhood. And it’s a phrase you should ban in your household: “That’s not fair.” It sounds innocent enough. Everybody wants life to be fair, right? Read the rest HERE .

Mark 4:35-41 records the story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"   (Mar 4:35-41 ESV) The disciples' fear before the terror of the storm is to be expected.  Several of these men were

Keith Getty discusses the importance of singing together as a church family in this article. I love Yo-Yo Ma. The stellar, nearly flawless strokes of his bow dancing upon tensioned strings—they resurrect meticulously crafted melodies conjured centuries ago among master musicians. Centuries have passed since then. And yet I lie on my bed at night listening to these classics, revived at the hands of a modern prodigy—every note coming to me through tiny, white headphones, as if passing through time and space. Oh, how things have changed from the days when my parents would take us on Sunday evenings to the homes of missionary or pastor friends. These nights would often end with everyone singing together, even though some of us with more dubious musical giftings could make the whole affair excruciating. Yo-Yo Ma it was not. But it  was  something, and something special. Perhaps the less-than-subtle changes between those days and now bear witness to how we digest music different

The true church is not about fixing you. It is about exalting Him. John MacArthur

6 Things All First-Time Parents Should Know Joe McKeever In my morning radio program “Phone Call from the Pastor” (Lifesongs 89.1 New Orleans), I told this: This is a message to a young mother of two boys I saw at McDonald’s on Airline Highway yesterday. Your boys are perhaps 2 and 3-1/2. You say they were born 18 months apart. “They’re killing you,” I told you facetiously. “I hope you survive until they’re grown.” But what I thought was, “I hope they survive.” Their behavior is suicidal. They are well on their way to becoming society’s worst nightmare. They are out of control. You kept giving orders to the older one– sit down, be quiet, turn around, eat your lunch –and he kept ignoring and defying you. There was fire in the little guy’s eyes. He really did look like a miniature devil. My heart went out to you. My wife and I raised two little boys who were three years apart. I know they can be very trying, especially on Mom. So, what I’m about to suggest to you comes from

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. (Mark 4:21-22 ESV) The old Sunday School song tells not to hide our little light under a bushel. We are encouraged to "let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  So the song does reflect a Biblical truth that we ought to follow. However, the light in Mark 4 is not our testimony which is to shine in this world.  Jesus has just given the parable of the sower.  Connected with that parable, he explains why he teaches in parables.  Parables are designed to hide the truth from some while at the same time revealing the secrets of the kingdom to those who are ready to receive it. "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that &qu

Open Doors is an organization dedicated to supporting our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.  Here is their list for the most dangerous countries for 2017. Worst 50

For years Ken Hamm and other creationists have argued that the reason the church has been struggling with contemporary issues and how to deal with them is the wholesale rejection of a little interpretation of Genesis.  In this article, Dan Phillips gives 26 reasons why the creationists were right. Twenty-Six Reasons Why Genesis 1:1 Is the Most Offensive Verse in the Bible This being my maiden voyage here, it would make sense to tell you a bit about myself and where I’ll be coming from. Or here’s an idea: show, don’t say! Instead, let’s talk about why Genesis 1:1 is the most offensive, infuriating verse in the Bible. That’s right, the familiar “In the beginning” verse. Forget the ones about homosexuality, Hell, wifely submission, all the rest. Relatively small potatoes, every one of them. If you understand it correctly, Genesis 1:1 is the single verse that should send the modern mind into apoplectic fits of rage. Let me count it out for you. In the process, I’ll also be lay

God Himself models His inspired command to rejoice always. He sympathizes with all His suffering children, but He rejoices in purchasing our redemption and making us more like Jesus. He joyfully prepares a place for us, and He has eternally happy plans. He has the power to accomplish everything, as well as the sure knowledge that it will happen. Randy Alcorn

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."  (Mar 4:14-20 ESV) The parable of the sower is one of Jesus' most familiar parables.  It is an explanation of why some people respond to the Gospel and others do not. 

Babylon Bee has become a favourite site for all things satirical.  Sometimes the irony is just too easy in this modern world. Culture In Which All Truth Is Relative Suddenly Concerned About Fake News U.S.—Sources from within the United States confirmed Tuesday that American society, while typically rejecting concepts like absolute truth and objective moral standards, is suddenly showing grave concern for the rise of fabricated news stories after a reported uptick in fake news during the recent election season. One Oregon man, who rejects the idea that humanity can even be sure the universe exists in any meaningful sense, was nonetheless disturbed by the idea that websites could publish completely false information, for anyone in the world to read. For a laugh, read the rest HERE

Today most people identify Ebenezer as the miser about whom Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol.   Ebenezer originally comes from the Hebrew in 1Samuel 7.  Dr. Ray Pritchard gives a great explanation in his article. "Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I’ve come." When Robert Robinson wrote those words in 1748, he could be reasonably confident that most of people would know what he was talking about. But when we sing those words today, as the second verse of  "Come, Thou Fount," we generally have no idea what they mean. The word Ebenezer in the hymn has nothing to do with Ebenezer Scrooge, which is probably the only other time we see it. Ebenezer literally means "stone of help" and refers to a monument the Jews raised after a great victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7. The monument served as a public reminder of God's deliverance in the time of trouble. To "raise an Ebenezer" means to publicly recall the bless

“You cannot judge God by your calendar. God may appear to be slow, but he never forgets his promises. He may seem to be working very slowly or even to be forgetting his promises, but when his promises come true (and they will come true), they always burst the banks of what you imagined. . . . God’s grace virtually never operates on our time frame, on a schedule we consider reasonable.” Tim Keller