The Plodding Preacher

Now how on earth could fairness be ingrained in two monkeys?

"In the druidical religion of liberalism, not separating your recyclables is a sin, but abortion is just a medical procedure." -Ann Coulter You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing aa camel! (Mat 23:24 ESV)

It is now [1960’s] common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments. A.W. Tozer

Tim Challies recently addressed the question many Christian parents would most like answered: Why do kids who grew up in church, leave the faith?  His answers are worth reading. Few things are sadder to witness than people who once professed faith leaving it all behind. This is especially true when those people were raised in Christian homes by God-fearing parents. These children were given every opportunity to put their faith in Jesus but determined instead to turn their backs on him. Why would they make such a tragic choice? Several years ago Tom Bisset carried out a study of people who had left the faith. Wanting this to be more than a statistical analysis, he actually sat down with people to interview them and ask for detailed information on when, why, and how they abandoned their faith. As he compiled his research he arrived at the four most prominent reasons that people raised in Christian homes eventually leave Christianity behind. They leave because they have t...

"Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you." -- Hebrews 9:20 There is a strange power about the very name of blood, and the sight of it is always affecting. A kind heart cannot bear to see a sparrow bleed, and unless familiarized by use, turns away with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to the blood of men, it is a consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath, it is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity occasioned by the fact that the blood is the life, and the pouring of it forth the token of death? We think so. When we rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God, our awe is yet more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin, and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured. Blood, always precious, is priceless when it streams from Immanuel's side. The blood of Jesus seals the covenant of grace, and makes it forever sure. Covenants of old were made by sacrifice, and the ever...

Brett McCracken asks some great questions about the present "authenticity" movement among Evangelicals in his article: Has ‘Authenticity’ Trumped Holiness? Erik Thoennes, professor of biblical and theological studies at Biola University , sees the authenticity trend in the undergrads he teaches. At the beginning of each class he asks his students to write down two things they love and two things they hate. Consistently, one of the things they say they hate is “fake people.” But the Christian life involves a whole lot of “fakin' it” on the path to being integrated, Thoennes says. “There's this idea that to live out of conformity with how I feel is hypocrisy; but that's a wrong definition of hypocrisy,” Thoennes said. “To live out of conformity to what I believe is hypocrisy. To live in conformity with what I believe, in spite of what I feel, isn't hypocrisy; it's integrity.” Thoennes hopes his students understand that sanctification involves living...

Christ has walked death’s path ahead of us, breaking the dread of uncharted territory, speaking hope to us as we waver at its edges. He has ‘tasted death for everyone’ (2:9), not metaphorically but in reality. More alone than any other pilgrim on this path, Jesus has walked ahead of us, he has borne the full heat and horror of the valley, so that he might in turn walk it with us, showing to us all the terrain he has subdued, and the glorious destination which lies on its farther side. Andrew Roycroft

As parents we often fall into the well-intentioned trap of sparing our children from any sort of negative experience.  Yet Jesus said that in the world we would have trouble.  How do you prepare your child for suffering? How to Prepare Your Children for Suffering Lori Wildenberg I don’t like the fact that my kids will suffer. I prefer the happy concept commonly stated as a parent’s desired goal,   “I just want my kids to be happy.” Prevention and protection are things most parents do naturally. Some of us prevent and protect to the detriment of our kids. We shield them from disappointment. We guard them from discomfort. We hover over homework to fend off failure. We are poised to pounce if they sit on the bench. We rescue, we blame, and we excuse.  We want our kids to be safe, successful, happy, and comfortable. We don’t want them to struggle. Yet Jesus told the disciples in   >John 16:33 b,   “In this world you will have trouble.” Sufferin...

Over the last number of weeks, the issue of suffering has come up several times. Specifically, the question of why Christians suffer has been at the forefront of our thoughts. Finding a comprehensive answer to this question has always troubled believers. It is too easy to latch on to one answer and then limit God's work to our theological construct. At times, we easily fall into the formula of "Do good, get blessed; Do evil: get cursed." Unfortunately, we all can immediately cite examples where those who do good aren't blessed, and those who do evil seemingly are blessed. Indeed, many of the formulaic approaches to suffering hit this snag. There are exceptions to the formula. Where do we find a comprehensive explanation for suffering? Well, let's start with our title. It is taken from the title of a well known book from a number of years ago. It is a question that is repeatedly asked. However, it is wrong in its basic formula. Bad things don't happen to good ...

Mentoring is one of today's hot words.  Growing up I never heard the word. Yet, ironically, there was a great deal of mentoring going on in my life back then, and there seems to be a dearth of mentoring in peoples' lives today.  I am not even sure that the people who mentored me would have even been able to put a name or a description to what they were doing - they were just living out the Christian life as they understood it from Scripture.  There were the pastors such as Gordon Rendle and Victor Cornish, who gave me and other young men opportunities for service.  There was Les and Ruthann Snook who took me along as a teenager to speak at their nursing home service each month.  There were the dear senior ladies like Miss Schrag, Mrs. Erb and Mrs. Eckstein who supported and prayed for me in summer missions enterprises.  There were innumerable others - Sunday School teachers, Boys' Brigade leaders, church friends - who each encouraged, challenged, and someti...

The best perspective I have heard since the election.

We cannot get to the point where we view people walking in darkness as the enemy; they are the mission field. John MacArthur

An American wrote this article so the subject of national obsession is baseball.  If you substitute hockey for baseball, I think the point is still valid. When Ball Becomes Baal IS YOUR KID'S SPORTS INVOLVEMENT A FAMILY IDOL? by   Jim Elliff   It’s rare to see kids playing sports in the neighborhood anymore. We’re now organized and “professionalized”—including uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, endless trips to the field, competitive coaches, equally competitive parents, and the after-season tournaments designed to give parents “bleacher bottom.” In addition, you’ve got to pay to play—and when you’ve paid that much, you’ll be sure to play. It is also fun, and it can be instructive. I love to watch my kids play sports. In fact, they need to play— some . But, it’s not so easy as handing over seventy bucks and saying, “Sign up Johnny and Susie this year.” Making that decision means that you may be out four to five times each week during the season. ...

In our study of Mark 2:1-3:6, we observed a growing hostility on the part of the religious authorities towards Jesus.  Mark 3:6 concludes the section with the religious elite and the secular elite joining together to scheme about how they might remove Jesus.  If this was all of the Gospel one had read, one might be tempted to believe that everyone was against Jesus.  In the next paragraph Mark dispels this myth. Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." (Mar 3:7-11 ESV) While t...

No matter what happens, let's be cautious about thinking we know what it all means, but let's keep preaching what we know the Bible means. Kevin DeYoung For the sake of good order: I'm going to refrain from tweeting today to pray for our nation. Please join me rather than do the other thing. Frank Turk We are a divided country, let us not be a divided church. Buck Parsons

James Emery White writes an insightful article about the things that keep pastors awake at night.  Personally I don't have the stress of the first thing he lists, but the other four are spot on. A recent cover story in the   Harvard Business Review   was titled, “What Really Keeps CEOs Awake at Night.” The article explored such things as brand building, executive pay and managing Millennials. It made me wonder about a similar question for my field: “What really keeps   pastors awake at night?” I travel a fair amount speaking at various pastors’ gatherings and, as a result, hear from a large cross-section of pastors from across the country. I also   am   one and have been for nearly thirty years. So what   does   seem to keep the majority of us up at night? At least five things, and I will offer them in ascending order: #3 Departing Members/Attenders . Here’s a little secret you may not know: Every pastor takes every member departu...

On the eve of the U.S. election, an interesting perspective: Thanked God this morning for the gift of an election season where the temptation to put our hope in candidates has never been lower. Bob Hyatt

Our article this Friday is from one of my favourite bloggers; Tim Challies.  He writes about 18 things that he will not regret doing with his kids.  Perhaps the list will provide you with some ideas for time with your children. 18 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Kids Like most parents, I have those moments where guilt and regret comes over me like a wave. I consider then how much of my parenting time has already passed by and how little remains. My oldest child, my son, is thirteen. He is already a teenager, just one year away from high school, just eight years from the age I was when I left home to get married. My girls are following close behind him. When that wave rises up, when I feel like I could drown beneath all that regret, I sometimes consider those things I will   never  regret. Here are 18 things I know I will not regret doing with my kids. 1. Praying with them for them . It baffles me that one of the things that most int...

It was a set-up.  There is no doubt about it.  The synagogue in Capernaum was filled with eagle-eye Pharisees with their gaze focused on a man with a withered hand.  This was the synagogue Jesus attended and they were waiting to pounce if Jesus should heal the man in violation of their Sabbath tradition. Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mar 3:1-6 ESV) Since t...

I have been reluctant to say anything about Jen Hatmaker's pro-LGBT statements from last week.  Some of the young women associated with our congregation are infatuated with this charismatic speaker.  I have taken flak in the past for being critical of her stance on World Vision's policy on homosexual employees.  "You're not a woman, so you can't speak to this issue." "You don't have homosexual friends, so you can't speak to this issue."  Apparently truth is trumped by gender and friendship. So instead of speaking to the issue, I am going to direct all my readers to an article by someone who is qualified to speak to Jen Hatmaker.  She is a woman and she used to be a lesbian.  She is qualified. Love Your Neighbor Enough to Speak Truth A Response to Jen Hatmaker by Rosaria Butterfield October 31, 2016 If this were 1999—the year that I was converted and walked away from the woman and lesbian community I loved—instead of 2016, J...