The Prosperity Gospel

What is the Real Cause of Atheism?

A few weeks ago a friend of mine posted some really good thoughts on a quotation I had heard many times before.

The quotation was, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Here are my own thoughts:

I disagree with this statement. There is no doubt that Christians need to step it up when it comes to living holy and loving lives. However, to claim this as ones reason for disbelieving in God is utter foolishness. We deny God not because of others, rather because we are self-centered, self-glorifying, and filled with hatred toward the one true God who created us.

MacArthur on "Your Best Life Now"

"I found this on page 5, 'God wants this to be the best time of your life.' On another page it says, 'Happy, successful, fulfilled individuals have learned how to live their best life now.' On another page it says, 'As you put the principles found in these pages to work today, you will begin living your best life now.' And that is absolutely true if you're not a Christian. This is it, you better get the book because your next life is going to be infinitely worse than this one."

-John MacArthur on Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now"-

For the full sermon check out...

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Videos/V8280-334

Proper Alignment of Affections

"I'm not on a mission to help you feel good about yourselves. I am on a mission to help you feel so good about the greatness of God, that you forget about yourselves."

John Piper

Great Sermon for Those Thinking of Pastoral Ministry

If you are considering going into ministry or are currently serving in

ministry... I highly recommend this video.

Lord of All

"...the Word Condescended to Man’s Engrossment in Corporeal Things, by Even Taking a Body. All Man’s Superstitions He Met Halfway; Whether Men Were Inclined to Worship Nature, Man, Demons, or the Dead, He Showed Himself Lord of All These."

~Athanasius~

I love my church

I love my church! There is not much more to be said then that. I love the people,. I love the preaching. I love the focus on God’s glory. I love the growth I have experienced in my own life through it. I love the challenges. I love that though it is imperfect, I can see Christ who is perfect, refining it. I love my church!

With that said, there are challenges. We are a small church, which means volunteers do most things. We don’t have a professional worship team. There are awkward moments when our sound does not go right. We do not have a professional secretary, I know because I am the secretary. Because we are small, we can’t hide in a crowd. Which means, we see each other often and can rub each other the wrong way. If something is going on in our lives, most people know about it. We are not flashy, simply because we can’t be flashy. In a culture driven by commercialism, the endless pursuit of worldly perfectionism, and entertainment we simply do not have what it takes to compete.

So what’s my point? To be honest… I am not sure. I long to see my church grow, but not because I long for huge crowds. I want it to grow because Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise, honor, and majesty. He is worthy of more people knowing that worth and bowing down before him. I want to see my church grow into a place where the passion for His glory is undeniably evident. I want to see more people going into our community and proclaiming His glory. I want to see my church giving thousands of dollars to make disciples in Africa, China, and the Middle East. I want us to dig wells, build houses, and provide medicine for those with Malaria and AIDS. These things seem impossible with a church of 65 people. But, since when is God limited to what I think is possible?

Rebuilding a church is not easy! It takes people who can see the strength in what we have, and look beyond the weaknesses. It takes people who have a vision for future potential, rather than what it right in front of their faces. It takes people who realize everyone must pull their weight; the “someone else will do it” mentality just won’t cut it. It takes brave people who are willing to step out in faith; people who are willing to leave behind the idea of a perfect church; people who want to set a course, rather than just ride along someone else’s course.

I love my church! I see so much potential in it. It is being built on the right things: Solid preaching and a community that wants to grow in sanctification and bear each other’s needs. I just wish others could see this potential. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know if I can do that. It seems virtually impossible, but then again nothing is impossible with God. If you are looking for a church, might I suggest mine? We are not prefect, we are not flashy, but I have seen God work miracles in it. I have seen people who were spiritually dead come to life! I have seen people forsake the love of money, forsake lust, and forsake comfort all because Christ had changed them. I love my church!

http://www.folfcrc.com (Fountain of Life Fellowship)

Waste of my Life

I just finished listening to a sermon that was biblically inaccurate, based 100% upon speculation and psychology, called into question God's sovereignty and the inerrancy of scripture, and made the accusation that the apostles were wrong for writing the way they did in the Gospels. Needless to say, I was angry after listening to it. However, I am an idiot! For some reason, I have gotten into the habit of listening to horribly inaccurate sermons online. The end result is always the same: frustration, anger, self-righteousness, and pride. I know ahead of time I am going to highly disagree with them and that I am just going to be annoyed and yet I still listen; just waiting for the train wreck. Why do I do this? It is not beneficial in any manner. Does anyone else find themselves doing this, or am I just crazy?

Fun Quotation

Calvinists do not generally like to speak of luck. Instead of wishing people "good luck," we prefer to say, "providential blessings." Yet if we were to speak of our "lucky day," we would mark that day in eternity when God decided to choose us.

-R.C. Sproul

The Madness of Sin

"Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet."

-Charles Spurgeon-