Encouragement

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A reminder to pray for our troops

One of the first Christian concerts I ever went to was to see Avalon. Also appearing that night was a fellow I had heard of (and heard some of his songs, though I didn’t know they were his). His name was Mark Schultz. He has done such songs as “I Am the Way,” “You Are a Child of Mine,” and “I Have Been There.” This night, he did a song that he had just finished. It was the performance of the night.

As we approach Independence Day, let us remember that there are men and women who are sacrificing so much, going without, for the sake of us and others.

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Sola Fide.

I first heard this song On Faith Alone on the radio and quickly came to love it. I would like to take this opportunity to share it with all the readers of DefCon.

Not only is the music beautiful, but the lyrics (which I’ve included below the video) are biblically solid–not the sappy, happy, clappy, hip-hop, bubblegum pop that so fills the Christian airwaves of today.

This song ranks right up there as one of my new favorites alongside At The Crossroads. I am certain you will enjoy it and it will be a blessing to you this Lord’s day. Sola Fide!

On faith alone I stand.
There is no higher ground.
I give all I am.
for my soul will never doubt.
Though the storms they may be raging.
You have always held my hand.
To thy cross my heart will always cling.
On faith alone I stand.
On faith alone I live.
Not in what I say or do,
But the blood you freely give covers me and makes me new.
For your love is ever with me.
Lord Jehovah great I am.
O my trust grows stronger on my knees.
On faith alone I stand.
Hallelujah,
hallelujah,
hallelujah.
On faith alone I stand.
When I reach my final breath,
and I fall into your arms.
I’ll proclaim with no regret.
On faith alone,
sola fide,
sola fide,
sola fide.
On faith alone I stand.
Hallelujah,
hallelujah,
hallelujah.
On faith alone I stand.
On faith alone I stand.

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Biblical Preaching–“Preach First and Last Sermons”

From a blog entitled Biblical Preaching comes this post–advice for preachers of all levels of experience, from the novice to the old-timers:

I don’t know if you count. My temperament tends to count. I keep track of what I’ve preached, when, to whom, etc. I keep records partially out of necessity and partially out of interest. Whether or not you count sermons, take a guess, which one is today’s? Is it number 15, or 100, or 1250, or 3500?

Let me encourage you today to preach as if it is your first. Preach with all the naivety of a new preacher. Remember? Back when you expected lives to be changed immediately by the sermon you preached. Back when the spring in your step conveyed an excitement about what God is doing in your life and what He wants to do in their lives. Forget the nerves, the mistakes, the unrefined skill, and so on. But remember the enthusiastic expectation of that first sermon. Preach like that today.

And preach as if it is your last. Imagine that today’s sermon had to count because there would be no more. Imagine that all the weight of God’s work in your life had to be transferred with urgency today to those sitting before you. Forget the slowness of mind that may come, or the feeble frame that you may have to carry up those steps. But imagine how powerful the weight of matured passion and perspective will be in your last ever sermon. Preach like that today.

Basically, what he is saying is this: preach as if this will be the only sermon a person in your audience will ever hear. Preach as if the rapture is coming as soon as you give the final “Amen.” Because one of these days, you’ll be right.

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Happy birthday, Johnny Mac!!

Happy birthday (a day late) to John MacArthur, born June 19, 1939. What amazes me so about Pastor MacArthur (besides his God-given gift of opening up the Scripture) is the fact that even at 69 years old, his voice is just as clear as if he were still 39.

Keep fighting the good fight!

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Leading family worship and being the priest of your household. How?

I recently finished reading a fantastic book on family worship entitled The Family Worship Book by Terry L. Johnson. It was a great help in providing the reasons and resources to begin a daily family worship time (including creeds, catechisms, psalms, hymns, etc.). And although I highly recommend it, even after reading this book I still felt at a loss as to how to incorporate this into our home.

My family has recently begun practicing a family worship time but I still have a gnawing feeling that we’re just winging it. A typical evening devotion with the family goes like this:

Reading a few pages from a Bible-based childrens book like this childrens book on Noah’s Ark and this childrens book on Pilgrim’s progress.

Then singing a hymn.

Reading from Foxe’s Book of the Martyrs

Then reading a chapter of the Bible.

Then prayer.

I have recently discovered that I am not alone in this quizzical inability to properly facilitate a family devotion time. So it is my intention with this post to ask for suggestions, tips, and pointers from DefCon readers who do family devotions. I hope that the comments on this thread can benefit you and your family as well as me and my family.

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Book review: “The Family Worship Book” by Terry L. Johnson

I recently completed The Family Worship Book by Terry L. Johnson. I found it to be a fantastic help in providing the reasons and resources to commit to a daily family devotion time (this, of course, is not at the exclusion of living every aspect of our lives as Believers not just during Sunday mornings and family devotion time).

This book (from a Reformed slant) has many resources contained within so these numerous reference sources are at your fingertips. Some of the things it contains are the Psalter, hymns, creeds, the children’s catechism, the shorter catechism, and a yearly Bible reading plan.

The chapters of this (almost 200 page) book include:

– Introduction to Family Worship

– Making the Commitment to Family Worship

– Outline for Family Worship

– Order for Family Worship

– A Sample of Family Worship

– Family Resources

– Historical Resources

– Family Psalter/Hymnal

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a wealth of solid resources for family worship time. I highly recommend it for those who are seeking to begin (or improve) their family devotion time.

You can purchase the book here.

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How to witness to a Jehovah’s Witness.

ray-comfort.jpg In this 14 minute audio clip from Way of the Master Radio (WOTMR), Todd Friel plays an audio clip of Ray Comfort witnessing to a Jehovah’s Witness who came to his door. This was not a dramatization nor a reenactment, but the actual conversation recorded as it happened.

It was a great discourse and the gospel was shared so simply yet profoundly that this same approach could be applied to anyone else in any other false religion. I strongly encourage you to listen to this short clip.

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Christianity In Its True Colors

This really puts me to shame, and gave me much food for thought.

Jonathan EdwardsNow here appears Christianity in its true colors. To be of such a spirit as this is to be of such a spirit as Christ so often requires of us, if we would be His disciples. This is to sell all and give to the poor. This is to take up the cross daily and follow Christ. To have such a spirit as this is to have good evidence of being a Christian indeed, a thorough Christian, one who has given himself to Christ without reserve; one who hates father and mother and wife and children and sisters, yea, and his own life also; one who loses his life for Christ’s sake, and so shall find it.

And though it is not required of all that they should endure so great sufferings as [the Apostle] Paul did, yet is required and absolutely necessary that many Christians should be in a measure of this spirit, should be of a spirit to lose all things and suffer all things for Christ, rather than not obey His commands and seek His glory.

How well may our having such an example as this [speaking of the Apostle Paul] before our eyes make us ashamed, who are so backward now and then to lose little things, to put ourselves a little out of our way, to deny ourselves some convenience, to deny our sinful appetites, or to incur the displeasure of a neighbor.

Alas! What thought have we of Christianity to make much of such things as these; to make so many objections, to keep back, and contrive ways to excuse ourselves, when a little difficulty arises! What kind of thoughts had we of being Christians when we first undertook to be such, or first pretended a willingness to be Christians? Did we never sit down and count the cost, or did we cast it up at this rate, that we thought the whole sum would not amount to such little sufferings as lie in our way?

Edwards, Jonathan. Pursuing Holiness in the Lord.
P&R Publishing, 2005. 77-78.

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Chuck Smith on suffering

From his commentary on 2nd Kings 13:14-19–

Let me tell you something; people of great faith get sick. People of tremendous faith die. And it is folly to believe that sickness or death results from a lack of faith or commitment to God. Sickness and death happen to everybody. But there are always those who are trying to sell snake oil. From the days of the early prairie. The cure-all. From bunions to earaches. And there always seems to be someone offering the spiritual snake oil or the panacea or the cure-all to all of the problems that a Christian faces. And these panaceas are offered to people and they go through various stages…people are offering these cure-alls. Enough faith, you never need to be sick. Enough faith, you’ll always be prosperous. And the spiritual cure-alls that are offered. And they go for a while, but soon there are people who try it and it doesn’t work and then all of a sudden as they share their failure, they find that other people have experienced the same failures. They’ve been praising the Lord for a long time, nothing’s happening to their situation and they’ve been believing; nothing’s happened. Who really can understand the ways of God?

I will frankly confess I don’t understand the ways of God. Now don’t let that surprise you. If I stood up here and told you I understood the ways of God, then I would be a first-class liar. Any man tells you, “Well, I understand the ways of God,” he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And he is contradicting God because God said, “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9). For “my ways are beyond your finding out” (Romans 11:33).

And I frankly confess I do not know the mysteries of God. I do not know why God allows certain beautiful Christians to be sick. I do not know why God allows many beautiful Christians to suffer. I do not know why many beautiful Christians are in prison in Siberia and in China and been tortured for their faith. I do not know why James was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down. And Paul was beheaded and the early disciples all suffered martyrdom, because they believed God just as much as any of these pseudo prophets today. And if God wanted us to all be wealthy and prosperous and all, then He would have declared it plainly in the Scripture, and there would be a consistency to it within the Christian body.

It’s a tragedy the way that these doctrines have proliferated through the country. People so anxious to believe. Let me tell you something, these doctrines haven’t really had an effect upon the Siberian Christians yet. If you went up there and said, “Hey, you know, God wants you all to be prosperous and wealthy. You all ought to be driving Cadillacs up here.” And yet, because of the hardships, they have been forced to a much deeper commitment than we even dream about. Their commitment to Christ caused them the slavery that they experience in Siberia. And there are thousands of Christians enslaved in Siberia today because they dare to proclaim their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.

I wonder just how strong the commitment would be if God began to take away some of the Cadillacs…too many people who went out on the basis on this and began to charge their Cadillacs and their caviar and all, and when the bills came due, they didn’t have enough faith to pay them.

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It is well with my soul.

I hope this song will bless and encourage you this Lord’s Day.

It is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain


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Two good videos on election

First, James White’s closing statement in a recent debate he participated in (about 10:00). In it he spells out the doctrine of election with such clarity that I do believe even John Wesley would have been convinced (Don’t misunderstand. I believe John Wesley to be one of the godliest men who has ever lived. He was simply a backslidden Calvinist, was all 🙂 ). Hat Tip: Domain For Truth.

Next we have John Piper exegeting Romans 8:28-31. This is a little longer (about 47:00) and is actually one part of a conference on Calvinism. (Hat Tip: Black Reforming Kid. Check him out. He’s got a few other treats there as well.)

Yay! Finally got it! Like they say, when all else fails, read the directions.

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A Few Problems With Arminianism And A Case For Calvinism

Dr. Bruce Ware puts forward the Biblical doctrine of pre-destination so well that he gets a standing ovation from me.

You can get the DVD of the entire debate here for just US$14.95.1

1 The author does not derive any benefits, financial or otherwise, from recommending the purchase of the material. Neither is he affiliated with Dr. Bruce Ware or The Apologetics Group in any manner.

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Hope in San Mateo and encouragement for pastors.

Loretta Heiden posted this encouraging piece on her blog. Her brief story shows that there are still some youth pastors out there (albeit very few) who know that their job is to feed the sheep and not entertain the goats.

I also wanted to take this time to thank and encourage all pastors who are faithful to the Word and to the flock and haven’t sold-out. I know that at times it may seem that you’re alone as you face the daunting task of preaching the whole counsel of God (unaltered and undiluted) to a mass of people who would rather just be entertained, but don’t give up. There are some of us out here that are grateful for your commitment and hard work and we salute your faithfulness in the Lord. Never give up, never give in, never compromise and never forget, your reward will be great!