Jesus Christ

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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?”

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Quotes (510)

spurgeon!

“Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp” – Hebrews 13:13

Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer without the gate.  The Christian’s reason for leaving the camp of the world’s sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master.  Christ was “not of the world”:  His life and His testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world.  Never was such overflowing affection for men as you find in Him; but still He was separate from sinners.  In like manner Christ’s people must “go forth unto Him”.  They must take their position “without the camp”, as witness-bearers for the truth.  They must be prepared to tread the straight and narrow path.  They must have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ first, and His truth next, and Christ and His truth beyond all the world.  Jesus would have His people “go forth without the camp” for their own sanctification.  You cannot grow in grace to any high degree while you are conformed to the world.  The life of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle, yet it is a happy life after all.  No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ:  Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest.  The highway of holiness is the highway of communion.  It is thus we shall hope to win the crown if we are enabled by divine grace faithfully to follow Christ “without the camp”.  The crown of glory will follow the cross of separation.  A moment’s shame will be well recompensed by eternal honor; a little while of witness-bearing will seem nothing when we are “forever with the Lord”.

– C.H. Spurgeon

1834 – 1892

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Where have we seen this before?

The second video below looks strikingly similar to the second video in this post. I guess what works at one mile-wide, inch-deep, entertainment-driven “church” to herd goats, must work at another.


So what could be worse than kidnapping the Easter Bunny, physically battering him, and spitting in his face? Well, the “church” staff performing their own rap video in which they shake their rear-ends for the camera is a close second.

I have two observations:

1). Two thousand years ago a handful of men began to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. How did they possibly achieve this without employing such cool, hip, and relevant means as seen in these videos?

2). I can’t help but think of the man who was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and is about to leave behind a wife and children. He realizes that his life has been one of sin and an affront to a holy God. He thumbs through the yellow pages with a heavy heart as he tries to find a church. He knows that if he died he would go to Hell . . . this much he’s sure of.

He’s a dying man looking for answers. He stumbles across Ridge Stone “church” (the one who produced these videos) and attends the following Sunday. He seats himself at the front as a man desperate for answers with time against him. The lights dim. The video screen begins to light up. The above Christmas Eve promo video is shown with the “church” staff wiggling their butts for the camera and he inwardly asks himself, “Is this what Christianity is all about?” He leaves at the end of the “show” and this is the last “church” service he ever attends.

Now imagine if you will; what if you were that dying man?

This juvenile display of intimacy with the world and its culture is the fruit of an apostate false church, not the spotless, unblemished Bride of Christ. Make no mistake, this social-club masquerading as a church (and those like it) are an abomination unto a holy and righteous God.

Ichabod!

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When you can’t tell the difference between the “church” and the world.

holiness

Can someone please tell my why it is so necessary for “churches” in America to mimic the world, its ways, and its culture . . . the very world that’s antithetical to Christ and His Church?

Case in point: For your consideration of the state of the “church” in America today, I’ve posted the following dozen videos produced by a “church” called Waters Edge. I included each video’s own introduction as found on YouTube along with my brief commentary.

Brace yourself.

1). In this video, Jamey shows us the “correct” way to invite people to our upcoming series on love and relationships entitled “Let’s Get It On.”

Is it me or do the words “sexual innuendo” and “double entendre”come to mind after watching this video? Could you imagine being a visitor to this church with your children present when they played this clip? At least they warn us on their website about the content of their “sermon” series: “Parental Discretion is advised… preschoolers and kids should participate in Kid Kraze and WeeWorld.” Can any Church historian please tell me if there’s ever been a time in Christian history when the church had to give a “parental discretion” warning to its congregants?

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2). This video aired on Sunday, November 2nd at Waters Edge. Enjoy!

Kidnapping, physical violence, and spitting in the face of Santa Clause. All in a day’s work for the staff at Waters Edge.

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3). This video aired on Sunday, November 16th at Waters Edge Church. It was our third Christmas Eve promo video on a Sunday and offered the best Christmas Toy idea. It also offered the opportunity to go ahead and order it, to help free people up to attend our Christmas Eve services, since they wouldn’t need to shop on Christmas Eve.

Narcissism and a total irreverence for Jesus Christ. What more do you need to promote your church?

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4). This was one of the videos featured in our first Big Dream Series. Lots of fun!!!

Hmmm. The church mocking the Church. How relevant.

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5). Here it is!! The VIP Rap Video From Christmas Eve 2007 at Waters Edge Church! Starring Lead Pastor Stuart Hodges!!

Introducing the new breed of shepherds of the church.

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6). This Video Aired on Sunday, July 13th at all of Waters Edge’s Services. Enjoy!

So you mean those in each Waters Edge service were subjected to this? How tragic.

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7). This video aired on Sunday, January 11th as a part of our “Crank It Up” series.

No comment.

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8). This video was part of the finale day in our “House” Series in July, 2008. Rob was awesome!!

After watching this video I have a strange burning in my bosom to go to church . . . and not just any church, but Waters Edge.

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9) This video aired on Sunday, January 25th at Waters Edge Church as a part of our “Crank it Up” Series. Enjoy!!

Using a parody of a sexual dysfunction commercial to promote your “sermon” series is so Scriptural. Didn’t the Apostles do this?

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10). This video was part of the finale day in our “House” Series in July, 2008. Rob was awesome!!

If you need to use a product like this may I suggest you reexamine yourself to see if you’re in the Faith? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

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11). This is a video of the Waters Edge Staff Guys performing “Hangin’ Tough” at Waters Edge in June of 2008. This was a part of our “I Love the 80s” Series.

Uh, what part of “Do not love the world . . .” do you guys not understand?

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12). Every year we do an “emmy awards” type event called The WEC Awards to honor say thanks to all of our volunteers. We make a video for each of the teams and this is the one we did for our setup and teardown team. It was a fun video and I thought you guys at PCI would like to see it. It is kind of a big file so that is why I had to post it online for you to download.

Using MTV as their inspiration . . . that bastion of Christian morals and standards. Listen around the 3:20 mark for the quote “These chairs are so comfortable it will make you feel like you’re not even in church.” And once the show service begins that feeling will only increase.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16

See: Suffering Christianity vs. Chipper Christianity

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And the most admired hero in America is . . .

american-idolAccording to a recent Harris Poll, the following people are the top ten most admired heroes in American:

10. Mother Teresa

09. Chesley Sullenberger

08. John F. Kennedy

07. John McCain

06. Abraham Lincoln

05. George W. Bush

04. Ronald Reagan

03. Martin Luther King Jr.

02. Jesus Christ

01. Barack Hussein Obama

Yes America, Barack Obama is bigger than the Beatles!

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When the Bible’s simply not enough.

football-on-tvI will provide absolutely no commentary on this. I think the opening quote from the news article entitled Pastor Finds Lessons in Superbowl Commercials speaks for itself:

“A Grapevine preacher has found inspiration in the Super Bowl, saying there are valuable lessons to be learned — from the commercials. Ken Diehm, the senior pastor at First United Methodists Church asked his congregation last week to text him about the commercials they want him to preach about.”

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What is John MacArthur missing?

The heretical head of TBN, Paul Crouch, believes that John MacArthur is one of the finest preachers around, a “precious man of God,” and is “going to Heaven with all of us.” But check out what Crouch says is the only thing John MacArthur is missing:

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What is on Mark Driscoll’s shirt?

In the following video of Mark Driscoll I observed something that may have gone unnoticed (or ignored) by the masses of Driscollites.

Is the image on his shirt truly a depiction Jesus Christ (what we commonly associate in the West as being Jesus for those who will split hairs in Driscoll’s defense)? And is that depiction of who we commonly associate in the West as being Jesus Christ also being depicted on his shirt as a DJ at the turntables?

How completely irreverent but oh, so relevant.

His depiction of the Savior on his shirt betrays everything he says in the video. ‘Tis a shame, ’tis a shame indeed.

dj

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“Disciple Shades” spammed the wrong blog.

DefCon oftentimes deals with the shameless marketing of Christianity. In fact we have a whole category devoted to this foolishness entitled Den of Robbers.

What makes this one so special, though, is the irony behind it. I discovered these despicable Disciple Shades because the company actually sent their product advertisement to me via the DefCon e-mail!

Apparently they didn’t take the time to read how DefCon views their shameless marketing of Christianity. But what more would you expect from a company who links to TBN and the Crystal Cathedral on their links page? Apparently they didn’t take the time to read how DefCon views TBN and Robert Schuller.

Here’s a picture from their website:

disciple-shades

What exactly is this supposed to be depicting? Does it remind you of anything? Perhaps an event that transpired in the third chapter of Genesis?

But I digress.

Here’s part of what their e-mail to DefCon said:

For those who desire to dwell on their devotion and stay focused on their faith, Disciple Shades is pleased to offer the first and only collection of Christian-based reading and sunglasses with different meaningful biblical verses on the inside of every style. Created as simple reminders, our glasses provide a unique way to keep our attention on what is truly important – our faith and spirituality.

Then if you go to their Good Works Brigade page you will learn all about their good works brigade, but there’s not one mention of Jesus Christ nor His Gospel. The following is an excerpt from that web page:

Doing “good” is about being the best you can be and giving the most you can—to yourself, your friends, your community, and our world. Wherever you live on this big, beautiful planet, whether you wear a beret or a burkha, a serape or sweats, we’re all part of one universal family. Committing a single act of kindness can set the stage for inspiring the next person—and the next person and the next person and the next—to follow suit. It’s in this spirit of keeping that connection going and growing that we created our Good Works Brigade web forum.

We know your good deeds come from the heart and that you don’t expect material recompense. (You know your ultimate reward comes after this lifetime!) But Disciple Shades nonetheless wants to give you a big pat on the back—and a t-shirt to go with it. Yep, we’ll send you a free t-shirt with the Disciple Shades logo on the back and, on the front, our Works Brigade slogan: Think Heavenly, Act Locally.

What kind of universalist drivel was all that? “We know your good deeds come from the heart“? They do? Apparently they know nothing about man’s total depravity and that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).

So how can you too take advantage of the weak minded like these den of robbers? Here’s how simple it is: Find something mundane like a pair of sunglasses; smack a feel-good (usually out of context) Bible verse on it (in a place where no one can see it); slap a cross or dove on it in a place where people can see it, and then market it to shallow professing Christians. The same also works with shoe inserts & socks and tight-fitting “Christian” jeans with stilettos.

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Sermon of the week: “Contending for the Faith” by Voddie Baucham.

Your sermon of the week is Contending for the Faith by Voddie Baucham. This is a must-hear sermon and has become one of my all time favorites. Dr. Baucham spells out very succinctly why every Christian has a duty to contend for the faith. He does this in a very powerful and inspiring way. This message could be considered the official sermon of DefCon.

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What did C.S. Lewis really believe?

cslewis Every time I turn around I discover some respected Christian preacher, teacher, pastor, scholar, etc. is affirming some doctrinal error or flat out heresy (and/or rubbing elbows with known heretics). And now I’ve come across this shocking examination of C.S. Lewis’ creed on Christian Research Network.

It asks the question whether or not C.S. Lewis is in Heaven. After reading this article which reviews some of Lewis’ beliefs (and teachings), I not only realized that it is a legitimate question to ask, but one whose answer is not as simple as you might think.

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The wanna-be anti-Christ: “Behold, he is in Houston; Behold, he is in Miami; Behold he is in prison serving time for heroin possession”.

Not only does the con-man in the following videos claim to be Jesus Christ, but he denies the existence of Hell and sin and claims that Jesus came to “take away the law.” But this false-Christ who’s damning souls to the very Hell he denies is in direct opposition to the words of Christ when our Lord said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). And that’s just one of his many errors.

In this next video he explains why he wears a Rolex. It’s comical to watch the interview because it seems like he’s making this stuff up as he goes, but then reality strikes when you see the kids involved in this mess.

In the following video he claims he’s teaching the “mysteries” of the Bible (that one never seems to get old and there’s always an endless supply of people who swallow that one). He also claims he was visited by angels and even Jesus Himself . . . sound familiar? Think Mormonism, and Todd Bentley. I wonder if this is why he moved to Texas . . . can Florida can only handle one major false prophet at a time? But this devil has a soft side; in this video he says that he feels hurt if someone calls him a sinner.

Glenn Beck (a Mormon) is relentless in his interview with the con-man in the next video (yet Glenn Beck can’t see the folly and error that permeates his own cult . . . strange).

And finally, to top it all off, here’s the video of the 666 tattoos. And listen carefully as this false prophet says that he does greater things than Jesus. It kinda reminds me of this quote from the LDS false prophet Joseph Smith (but let’s avoid pointing out the striking similarities found among all the cults or we’ll be here all day).

On a side note, I noticed the church members in these videos seemed very sincere in their worship. I wonder if they are experiencing the same thing those following Todd Bentley are? After all, who are we to “judge” them by comparing their emotional experiences with those archaic Scriptures we keep referring to?

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Then if anyone says to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,” or “There He is,” do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, “Behold, He is in the wilderness,” do not go out, or, “Behold, He is in the inner rooms,” do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Matthew 24:23-28