Author: Pilgrim

by

Lipstick on a bullet.

King Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun, but this pushes the limits. Take a look at the following picture and consider for a moment what you think it is. A mother posing for a picture with her newborn daughter? Wrong!

Little Tess

This is a picture of a mother posing with her daughter, Tess, who she just paid an abortionist to kill.

Why the picture? It was part of a “memorial service” following the murder of Tess in the abortionist’s infanticide facility in which he drove a pair of scissors into the back or Tess’ skull and evacuated its content–killing her in a most horrific fashion. And do you know who this murderer was that so barbarically ended the life of baby Tess? None other than the church-going George Tiller.

A memorial service in the abortion mill where you just paid a man to kill your daughter . . . it’s like putting lipstick on a bullet.

To find out more (including more pictures), go to KGOV Radio.

by

Quotes (538)

tedd-tripp You must equip your children to function in a culture that has abandoned the knowledge of God. If you teach them to use their abilities, aptitudes, talents, and intelligence to make their lives better, without reference to God, you turn them away from God. If your objectives are anything other than “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” you teach your children to function in the culture on its terms.

– Tedd Tripp

by

Sermon of the week: “The Desire To Be A Godly Man” by Paul Washer.

image-4-14280 We continue our series of sermons on manhood (leading up to Father’s Day) with a two-part sermon by Paul Washer entitled The Desire To Be A Godly Man.

The Desire To Be A Godly Man: Part One

The Desire To Be A Godly Man: Part Two

by

Two questions in the wake of George Tiller’s demise.

Throwing BabyThis past Sunday morning abortionist George Tiller was gunned down in his church where he served as an usher (that’s another whole issue). In the wake of this event, the pro-life groups have quickly worked on damage control in an attempt to make it known to the world that they disapprove of Tiller’s murder. So much so, I’m afraid, that it seems to be the overarching theme of all their commentaries and interviews on the issue, overshadowing the legacy of death this wicked man left behind. Resulting in (yet again) all the focus of the abortion debate being diverted to everything but the countless babies victimized by this horrific evil.

While the pro-lifers are busy making every effort to show just how virtuous they are by denouncing Tiller’s death, the pro-abortionists, on the other hand, are gearing up to capitalize on this event by:

* Using it as a distraction from the ever-increasing body count of babies murdered in this country at the hands of Tiller and others like him.

* Exploiting Tiller’s death to help enact legislation for the censorship and even criminalization of any views that oppose this barbaric “right.”

* Gaining the sympathy (and thus changing public opinion) of the masses of lemmings (most of which are eligible to vote) who don’t question what they’re told or know how to think for themselves, but instead prefer to be told what to think via such outlets as the evening news.

So I pose a question for those on the pro-life side and a question for those on the pro-death side:

For the pro-life community who are falling all over each other to denounce this killer’s murder, I have the following question: Would you have been–with equal fervor–so anxious to be the loudest voice denouncing the murder of say . . . Heinrich Himmler, Josef Mengele, Adolf Hitler (or any others directly involved in the Nazi death camps) had they been stopped by a gunman?

And for the pro-abortion community who’s currently lamenting Tiller’s murder, I have this question: How would you feel if George Tiller, instead of being killed in church, had instead been murdered in his mother’s womb by an abortionist?

by

Sermon of the week: “Men After God’s Own Heart” by Carey Hardy.

carey-hardy For the next few weeks (leading up to Father’s Day) DefCon’s sermon for each week will be directed toward men, husbands, and fathers. We begin with this week’s message by Carey Hardy Men After God’s Own Heart from the 2005 Shepherds’ Conference.

by

Quotes (535)

Puritans In the ordinance of singing, we must not make noise, but music; and the heart must make melody to the Lord. Augustine complained of some in his time, that “they minded more the tune than the truth; more the manner than the matter; more the governing of the voice than the uplifting of the mind;” and this was a great offense to him. Singing of Psalms should be joyous breathing of an elevated soul; and here the cleanness of the heart is more important than the clearness of the voice. In this service we must study more to act the Christian than the musician. Many in their singing of Psalms are like organs, whose pipes are filled only with wind.

– John Wells

by

The life and death of Madalyn Murray O’Hair.

In spite of this documentary attempting to paint Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair in a favorable light, you can’t help but see the irony of her life in the oddity surrounding her death.

In this documentary the true O’Hair is revealed including a domestic incident which resulted in her battery on police officers which led to her running from the law. Also included is O’Hair’s desire to defect to Russia during the height of the Cold War, but even the Godless Soviet Union wouldn’t take her so she did the next best thing . . . she helped bring Communism to America.

However, in spite of her life being devoted to mocking God and hating Christians, it was her death that was the events surrounding her death that I found most interesting. Scoffers are a dime a dozen, but O’Hair’s demise was anything but normal.

As with any documentary dealing with God-mockers, viewer discretion is advised.

Part One:

Part Two:

Language Warning: Uncensored profanity at 9:47

Part Three:

Part Four:

Part Five:

Also check out the famous Walter Martin vs Madalyn Murray O’Hair debate on this post.

by

Home Bible study illegal in San Diego?

I-5 California WorldNet Daily in this post is reporting about government persecution of a home Bible study in San Diego, California. Here’s one quote from the article:

“The Western Center for Law and Policy is troubled by this draconian move to suppress home Bible studies,” said the law center in a statement. “If the current trends in our nation continue, churches may be forced underground. If that happens, believers will once again be forced to meet in homes. If homes are already closed by the government to assembly and worship, where then will Christians meet?”

by

The brewing storm and the coming demise of Defcon.

Persecuted Not Persecuted

There’s something in the air. You can’t see it, you can’t smell it, but you can feel it. It’s not necessarily tangible but you can sense its impending approach.

It is persecution. And not just “they-laughed-at-me-because-I-go-to-church” persecution that we’ve all come to consider as persecution here in America, but an intense, relentless, horrifying persecution. A persecution of the likes of which we have never seen.

I’ve pondered posting the following thoughts earlier but I did not want to sound like an alarmist, a conspiracy theorist or jump to any conclusions. However, I just viewed the short video at the bottom of this post and realized that I am not the only one who can see the thunder clouds on the horizon. The video encouraged me to pen my thoughts on this matter to share with those who also hear the clapping of the distant thunder.

The tide is changing, the pendulum is swinging, and the winds are shifting. Although the American government, legal system, churches, and mindset of the masses have been changing for quite some time now, it seems like lately those changes have been increasing in speed.

Intolerance, antagonism, opposition, and hostility against Christians are growing not only from outside the Church, but even more so from within.

This coming persecution will not affect those merely professing Christianity (like the average Emergent or mega-church attendee for example). Instead this persecution will be waged against those who tenaciously hold to the exclusivity of the Gospel; that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

I once believed that the coming inevitable persecution would be against all who claim Jesus as their Savior, but I’ve come to realize that this is not true. Those who are merely professing Christians who just go to church need not fear. The persecution will be directed at those whose lives and doctrine actually reflect and bear the mark that God has called them out of this world because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).

We are warned of the great Falling Away from the Faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and that the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12) and that Christians will betray one another (Matthew 24:10). Those who are secreted within the true Shepherd’s flock that are currently among us but have never been of us (1 John 2:19) are the ones that will give us over to whatever persecuting body comes down the pike. It’s those who we once counted as brethren–those whose books we purchased, those whose sermons we listened to, and those sitting next to us in the pew–that will eventually deliver us up with a Judas kiss.

* We’ve seen many who claim the name of Christ—who fully believe they are bound for Heaven—fall under the charming spell of a political leader who is responsible for the bloodshed of countless children. These professing Christians cast their ballots for this king to rule over them and they justified it!

* We’re seeing laws being proposed to squelch any speech the government deems as “intolerant” or “hateful.”

* We’re seeing sinful lifestyles being given a protective status while anyone who disagrees is deemed an enemy and their right to free speech is being revoked.

* We’re seeing false teachers rise up from the floorboards like cockroaches at such an alarming rate that they’ve deluged our churches with their diseased false doctrines and have sickened the Body of Christ.

* We’re seeing those who’ve stood along side us (nodding their heads in agreement when we take on cults like Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses), only to turn on us with a savage bloodlust when we hold their favorite “evangelical” leaders to the same Biblical standards and doctrinal integrity we hold the cults to.

* We’re seeing once respected men in the Faith begin holding hands with the enemy and push for a religious ecumenicalism that will eventually try to stamp out all those who believe Jesus meant what He said when He said He was the only way to the Father (John 14:6).

These and many other signs are coming together to create the perfect storm. When things begin heating up and moving forward, expect to see sites like DefCon taken down for violating some fairness or tolerance law. Expect to see pastors (who take a stand for the purity and exclusivity of the Gospel) removed from the pulpit and jailed as is already happening. And as things get worse, expect to lose your job, your home, your family, your friends, and even your very life as those who call themselves Christians pick up stones to kill you, thinking they’re doing God a service (John 16:2).

Those who have come to cherish the fellowship and encouragement of fellow believers on blogs such as this (because they’re outcasts at their local church), and those who rely on sound Biblical teaching from sermons on the internet (because their pastors are doing yet another “sermon” series on sex) will suffer as this once thriving venue dries up under hate crime laws.

It won’t be long before the true believers of Jesus Christ will be forced to go underground, not because of a lack of churches, but because of persecution and the fact that leaven has infected almost every church in America and those who resist will not be permitted to exist.

The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church. It was in times of prosperity that Israel turned her back on God and it is with us as well. It wasn’t until Israel suffered greatly that they returned to their Creator. Whatever is soon to happen–no matter how terrifying it may be–we must remember that God has ordained it to accomplish His purposes.

History testifies this is going to take place, current trends indicate this is about to take place, and Scripture reveals this will take place.

We must be ready and prepared. We must do everything possible to make our families ready and prepared. We must remain steadfast and we must trust that God is sovereign in the storm as much as he is in the calm.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

It seems to me that persecution never hurts the Church and prosperity always does.

-Paul Washer

_________________________________________________________________

See also: John MacArthur’s sermon A Nation Abandoned by God.

by

A convicting insight from a Mennonite gospel tract.

Mennonite Children

An honest evaluation reveals that not all is well today with twenty-first century Christianity. There are trends that should alarm us, even among the so-called fundamentalists. One of these trends needing urgent attention is the loss of holiness—the absence of a Bible-based, God honoring expression in the daily lives of many professing believers in Christ. True Christianity is not just a talk but also a walk, a way of life. . . . But today, mainstream Christianity has exchanged piety for pleasure, conscience for convenience, and modesty for moral looseness. People have taken God’s holy Son and reduced Him to a “popular” Jesus. He is now supposedly the Jesus of the professional athlete, of the country rock singer, and of the seminude beauty contestant. This Jesus supposedly smiles and forgives as unisex, divorce and remarriage, immodest dress (undress), fashion, sports, and the pleasure craze, along with the health-and-wealth gospel, settle into comfortable acceptance in many church circles. Dear friends, this is not the Jesus I know, and this is not the Jesus of the Bible!

– From the Mennonite gospel tract What Happened to Holiness?

by

Sermon of the week: “Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship” by John MacArthur.

John MacArthurYour sermon of the week is Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship: Catholic Dogma by John MacArthur. This is a great examination of the unholy worship of a false goddess advanced by the Romish religious system. You can download both parts below.

Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship (Part One)

Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship (Part Two)

If you want more information, I recommend listening to anohter of John MacArthur’s sermons on Roman Catholicism found on this post. I also suggest checking out the post It’s All About Mary where I answer the fifteen most commonly heard justifications for the veneration (worship) or Mary.

by

Quotes (532)

Gary Gilley There is very little understanding or desire for biblical truth and theology even among Christians. The Bible is not being expounded in many pulpits today. Christian radio saturates the airwaves with talk shows and psychology experts. Christian magazines aimed at the laymen are full of testimonies but devoid of solid spiritual food, and so few believers study the Word for themselves. As a result, we are a spiritually starved people who are no longer able to discern truth from error.

– Gary Gilley

by

Quotes (529)

Samuel Annesley The church of Christ can as little bear continual prosperity, as long adversity: a calm is sometimes as dangerous as a storm. Many are the temptations and snares of a prosperous condition: it breeds hypocrites; errors and heresies spring up like weeds in rank ground; professors are apt to grow remiss and careless, wanton and secure; to be too fond of the present and to hanker after more temporal happiness than God judges good for them.

– Samuel Annesley

1620 – 1696

by

Sermon of the week: “Whoever Controls the Schools Controls the World” by Voddie Baucham.

voddie-bauchamHold onto your hats. Your sermon of the week is a scathing blow to the concept of government education by Voddie Baucham entitled Whoever Controls the Schools Controls the World.

Baucham clearly lays out the argument against Christian parents subjugating their parental responsibilities to the Godless, Marxist behavioral engineering centers known as public schools.

All Christians who have or are expecting to have children need to hear this message. And those who currently have their kids enrolled in government schools may squirm in their seats during Baucham’s message, but this is a message that you simply must hear.

by

The preaching of the cross is foolishness . . . to Roman Catholics.

evil-looking-pope

Most Catholics would disagree with the title of this post. They would cite their veneration of the cross in images, sculptures, and jewelry as proof positive that they not only adore the cross, but in fact even idolize it.

However, the issue I wish to address is not in regards to the Catholics’ adoration of the physical symbol of the cross itself, nor their devotion to that physical symbol. The issue at hand—where the cross is an offense to Roman Catholics—is in its preaching.

The Romish religion has long been antithetical not to the symbol, but to the meaning and purpose of the cross. The Biblical view of the cross is that this was where the Father caused all of our iniquity to fall upon Him, and it was where the the perfect, spotless, unblemished, Lamb of God stood in our place taking the very punishment and wrath of God that we so rightly and justly deserve, and where it pleased the Father to crush His Son and put him to grief.

Paramount to the true preaching of the cross is the fact that Christ uttered “it is finished.” But paramount to Roman Catholicism (and necessary for its continued existence), is the heretical idea that “it is not finished.” This keeps its people in subjection to the organization (and with that subjection of course comes money and power).

Roman Catholicism teaches that you must do some part on your own to merit God’s favor, that your redemption was not purchased complete and in-full on the cross. Not only is this in stark opposition to the Scriptures, but it renders the Savior’s sacrifice as being insufficient. It is because of this that Romanism rejects the true Gospel of the cross of Christ; exchanging the once-and-for-all perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 9:24-28, 10:10-12) for a false doctrine of an imagined (and wholly unattainable) righteousness based on man’s efforts. This is why the preaching of the cross is foolishness to Roman Catholics.

Would God be a just and righteous judge if He can be bribed with our measly works? What self-righteous works can fallen man possibly offer to a holy and righteous God anyway?

Your effort to offer God what you think are righteous enough works is equivalent to standing before a judge facing the charge of murder and telling the judge, “I gave money to a charity once, I haven’t shoplifted since high school, I helped my neighbor pull weeds in his yard, and I always leave my waitress a big tip.” None of these niceties will satisfy the required punishment for your guilt of murder anymore than your church attendance, reciting of a rosary, the lighting of a candle, being baptized, or even wearing a crucifix will satisfy God’s requirement for the punishment that you and I deserve for sinning against an infinitely holy God. All of your “righteous” works are filthy rags!

What do you possibly think you can offer God that was not already provided in the death of His only begotten Son upon the cross?

The Vatican’s continued proclamation of such things as the necessity of the sacraments for salvation is simply another gospel and thus is anathema.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this matter already when he wrote to the Church in Galatia rebuking the Judaizers who sought to preach another gospel. They said salvation came from Christ and circumcision. Beware of the one who says it’s Christ and anything else that saves. If something–anything–other than Christ’s shed blood is necessary to save you, then the death of Christ was insufficient and God’s own blood was not enough.

Yet the Romish system today not only says salvation comes from Christ and something else, but that the “and” consists of numerous conditions and requirements added to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ–far beyond what the Judaizers ever proposed!

How in the world, if the Judaizers were wrong for adding just one work to Christ’s sacrifice, can Rome justify adding numerous works to Christ’s sacrifice? Because the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing; foolishness because they believe redemption can’t be that simple.

Let’s look at just one example of why I say that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to the Romish religious system: Purgatory.

Continue reading →

by

Quotes (528)

awpink.jpg The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist.” He announces a Savior from Hell, rather than a Savior from sin. So many are fatally deceived who wish to escape the lake of fire but have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness. The great Physician saves those who are sick of sin, who long to be delivered from its God-dishonoring works, and its soul-defiling pollutions.

– A.W. Pink

1886 – 1952

by

Mark Driscoll to preach at the Crystal Cathedral.

Mark Driscoll Alley

***** UPDATE *****

Review of Driscoll’s sermon at the Crystal Cathedral can be found here.

Lighthouse Trails, Church Solutions, Thinking Out Loud, Slice of Laodicea, and even Mark Driscoll’s calendar on his website are announcing the upcoming June 14th event.

Apparently this isn’t the first time he’s been featured there. He spoke at Schuller’s 2004 conference and his messages are still available for purchase from the Crystal Cathedral online bookstore.

It shall be interesting to see how this plays out.

On a side note, while not too shocked to see Driscoll appear at this rank heretic’s church, I was disappointed to see Joni Eareckson Tada there. They’re even selling her book. Is there no longer any discernment in the body of Christ?

by

Quotes (527)

For stronger reasons than simple modesty, certain acts involving fornication, autoeroticism, and other things people commonly “do in secret” are shameful to talk about in any public context (Ephesians 5:12), much less a church service. They may be suitable subjects for a private counseling session, or the doctor’s office, or a college biology lecture, but they are not fitting topics for a worship service where God should be glorified, Christ should be uplifted, women should be shown respect, children’s innocence should be guarded, and single people’s prurient curiosities should not unnecessarily be enflamed.

When a speaker deliberately arouses lusts that cannot possibly be righteously fulfilled in unmarried college students, or when his personal illustrations fail to guard the privacy and honor of his own wife, that is far worse than merely inappropriate. When done repeatedly and with the demeanor of an immature bad-boy, such a practice reflects a major character defect that is spiritually disqualifying. Any man who makes such things the main trademark of his style is quite simply not above reproach.

– John MacArthur