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The White Horse Inn: Using God – The Gospel of Pragmatism.

The hosts discuss the topic of Using God: The Gospel of Pragmatism on yet another great episode of The White Horse Inn.

Why do so many sermons and Bible Studies focus almost entirely on “practical” application? Is a particular belief true simply because it works for you? On this edition of the White Horse Inn, the hosts take a look at the philosophy of Pragmatism and its effects on contemporary Christian thought and practice.

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Quotes (337)

awpink.jpg An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of all sin, was never invented by any of Adam’s fallen descendants! The fact is that nothing reveals more of the terrible depravity of man’s heart and his enmity against the living God than to have set before him One who is infinitely and immutably holy. His own idea of sin is practically limited to what the world calls crime. Anything short of that, man palliates as “defects,” “mistakes,” “infirmities.” And even where sin is owned at all, man makes excuses and extenuations for it. . . . [S]inful man was no more likely to devise a holy God than to create the lake of fire in which he will be tormented forever and ever.

– A.W. Pink

1886 – 1952

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What is so hard about this question?

A pro-abortion supporter takes a video camera to a pro-life protest and asks the pro-lifers a simple question. Astonishingly none of them were able to answer it (not sure if others did answer satisfactorily but were simply edited out). I was shocked that these pro-lifers stuttered, stumbled, and fumbled over this question.

My answer would have been quite simple: “The same thing that happened to Susan Smith and Andrea Yates and the same thing if you were to murder my child.“

If you want to know what the question was, you’ll have to watch the video.

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Sermon of the week: “TRANSformed or CONformed?” by Russ Sukhia.

sukhia.jpg Your sermon of the week is TRANSformed or CONformed by Russ Sukhia.

“The first century world into which the gospel of Christ exploded was a world of pagan darkness, a world of idolatry, drunkenness, prostitution, homosexuality, fornication, infanticide, etc. As men and women were turned from darkness to light, they were still living in a pagan society, where friends and family continued in their pagan lifestyles. So the Lord’s ambassadors, filled with the Spirit of a holy God, were compelled to continuously warn believers to avoid contamination from the world system that dominated their culture. We are in need of the same warnings today. Are you being TRANSformed or CONformed?”

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Another sad example of pragmatic church marketing.

For those who read my previous post on horrendous church ads and billboards (found here), I have one more to add. Behold the following sign which declares this church “Ichabod!”

So my question is this: What is the context of the sign?

1. Beatles-style worship.

2. Beatles-led worship (like this Elvis-led worship).

Or

3. The worship of the Beatles.

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Crosstalk: Watch Your Mouth!

Professing Christians with potty mouths and gutter mentalities is one thing, but what happens when it’s a pastor?

On this edition of Crosstalk entitled Watch Your Mouth, Ingrid Schlueter and guest Cathy Mickels discuss this awful trend of worldly humor, coarse jesting, and crude language in the church and spewing from the mouths of those like Mark Driscoll.

Ingrid also discusses the shocking post from Chris Roseborough of A Little Leaven in which he has a post on his other blog Extreme Theology which is less than appropriate. The post in question contains a quote from Bill Cosby that the nature of which should not be found on a Christian blog. Chris’ lapse in judgment is still up on his blog here. I agree with Ingrid on this one Chris, it is highly inappropriate and should be removed.

Ingrid also discusses the twisted love affair some professing Christians have with the world and its profane, vulgar, God-hating entertainers. She addresses a supposed Christian blog that flowingly lavished the late George Carlin with undeserved accolades. Something you’d expect from the world, not Christians who are called to be separate from the world.

I have seen this blog in question and was appalled at the plethora of so-called Christians who honor a man whose life was the antithesis of all that is good, holy, and honorable in God’s sight. You can check out the drivel here and read Ingrid’s post on it here.

All in all, I agree 100% with Ingrid and her guest on this issue. It’s a sad testament to the current state of the bloated, lethargic, worldly, adolescent, social-club that is the church-of-me.

********** Update July 17, 2008 **********

Since the publishing of this post, Chris Roseborough has removed the profanity from his blog and replaced it with “jerk.”

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Why don’t they get it?

Have you ever been perplexed by those who can’t seem to grasp simple axioms? Do you long for the days when people exercised reason and logic? Do you rack your brain trying to figure out how someone can fail to see something that’s so obvious?

Well, I discovered some great insight from the Scriptures on why this happens and I’ve succinctly written it below for your edification. I hope that it helps you when you are banging your head on the wall because the person you’re talking to seems completely incapable of accepting even elementary truths. When you find yourself at this point I encourage you to refer to the following:

One’s heart and mind has to first be opened by God to even be able to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:25, Acts 16:14, 1 John 5:20) because the carnal man cannot accept the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14) and even as he’s perishing he considers the preaching of the cross to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18).

It is God and God alone who grants the repentance necessary that leads to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). No one gets to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6) but no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws them (John 6:44) and grants it (John 6:65).

The Son also draws men unto Himself (John 12:32) and we don’t control who is drawn because all that the Father gives to Christ will come (John 6:37, 6:39, 17:2, 17:24).

When we keep these essential truths present in our mind we will be less likely to try to argue, debate, or manipulate someone into Heaven.

For your convenience I’ve incorporated the above into the printable Bible Reference Notes found here.


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Quotes (333)

paul-washer.jpg God is a holy God, that’s something that the Americans have forgotten. Many of the things that you love to do, God hates. Did you know that? . . . . You’re going to have a youth meeting, you want God to move, but before you go there you watch programs on television that God absolutely despises and then you wonder why the Holy Spirit hasn’t fallen on a place and why you have to create false fire and false excitement.

– Paul Washer

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Bible Reference Notes: “Who’s Responsible for Salvation; Man or God?”

The Bible Reference Notes for today are on the subject of exactly who is responsible for man’s salvation.

To find out the purpose and exactly how to use these Bible Reference Notes, check out the explanation in my first installment The Holy Scriptures. See also other installments of Bible Reference Notes Hell and the Eternal Soul, good for dealing with those who deny the existence of Hell (like Jehovah’s Witnesses) and Whose Name (good for dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses).

 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SALVATION; MAN OR GOD?

The problem.

1 Corinthians 2:14 Carnal man cannot accept the things of God

1 Corinthians 1:18 The preaching of the cross is foolishness to the perishing

Romans 3:11 There is none who seek after God

Who opens man’s heart and mind to accept the Gospel?

Acts 16:14 God opens the heart

Luke 24:45 God opens the mind

1 John 5:20 God opens the mind

Who grants the ability to repent?

2 Timothy 2:25 God grants repentance leading to the knowledge of truth

Who gives and who draws?

John 6:37 All that God gives Jesus will come to Him

John 6:39 It is God’s will that Jesus not lose any that He gave Him

John 6:44 No one can come to Jesus unless God draws them

John 6:65 No one can come to Jesus unless God grants it

John 12:32 If Jesus is lifted up He will draw men unto Himself

John 14:6 No one gets to God except through Christ

John 17:2 All that God has given Jesus, He will give eternal life

John 17:24 God has given them to Jesus

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Quotes (332)

Consider some of the word pictures of God’s wrath in the New Testament. And as you consider them remember the folly of saying, “But aren’t those just symbols? Isn’t fire and brimstone just a symbol?” I say beware of that, because it does not serve your purpose. Suppose fire is a symbol. Do people use symbols of horror because the reality is less horrible or more horrible than the symbols? I don’t know of anyone who uses symbolic language for horrible realities when literal language would make it sound more horrible.

People grasp for symbols of horror (or beauty) because the reality they are trying to describe is worse (or better) than they can put into words. If I say, “My wife is the diamond of my life,” I don’t want you to say, “Oh, he used a symbol of something valuable; it’s only a symbol. So his wife must not be as valuable as a diamond.” No. I used the symbol of the most valuable jewel I could think of because my wife is far more precious than jewels. Honest symbols are not used because they go beyond reality, but because reality goes beyond words.

So when the Bible speaks of hell-fire, woe to us if we say, “It’s only a symbol.” If it is a symbol at all, it means the reality is worse than fire, not better. The word “fire” is used not to make the easy sound terrible, but to make the exceedingly terrible sound something like what it really is.

– John Piper

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Living dinosaurs (part two).

After viewing the Kent Hovind video on Dinosaurs, (which I posted in part one), I was so intrigued by the idea that some dinosaurs may very well be alive today, that I began doing a little research and found some fascinating Cryptozoological videos that you may interested in.

Remember, when you watch these videos that some of these creatures–according to the expert Atheist evolutionists–are supposed to have died off “millions and millions of years ago.”

Enjoy.

Amazing water creatures:

Amazing flying creatures:

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Living Dinosaurs (part one).

(Be sure to check out Living Dinosaurs Part Two for some incredible videos)

I recently watched some of Kent Hovind’s creation seminar series and was awestruck with part three of his series. In part three (which you can view below) he examines the topic of dinosaurs and whether or not there are some alive today.

I sat glued to this video, riveted by the idea some of these creatures supposedly gone extinct “millions and millions of years ago” are actually still alive in such places like the largely unexplored regions of the African Congo.

To give you an idea of what the swamp in the Congo looks like, here’s some pictures I found on the internet that were taken by a scientist while down there (see here and here) collecting information. This is the same swamp where natives identify a large creature known as Mokele-Mbembe.