Children in Church

“In the American church, we have become a people who worship a worshipful atmosphere. We care more about our concentration, than we care about passing the precious promises of God to the next generation. We narcissistically care more for our comforts than we do about the difficult task of training a mighty army of saints who would be willing to go to their death for their Savior.

I believe that Jesus would be offended by the modern church and its treatment of children. Ours is one of the most blatantly anti-child societies on earth. Most internationals from “undeveloped” countries are shocked when they come here and see adult only apartment complexes, scattered families and other expressions of individualism run amok.

The church has been deeply affected by our anti-child culture. We do not want to be stuck with snotty nosed children. We want to remove the hassle of children. We want to remove them from our presence. We want to live a life apart from our children. We want to have few enough so that our lives are not adversely affected. If we become pregnant, we may terminate the pregnancy because of its potential to divert us from our objectives. Ours is truly a child rejecting culture. The ultimate goal of many of our senior citizens is to retire to Florida in child free communities.

Expressions of our anti-child culture are everywhere to the point that we are numb to their recognition. Tragically, America is suffocating from the effects of day care raised children, latchkey children and fathers leaving their families in greater numbers than any time in history. We are experiencing the death of fatherhood as 40% of the children in America will go to sleep tonight without a father in the home. Parents will admit unashamedly that they would not have any more children because of the time required. Teenage pregnancy, divorce and abortion are some of the results of this “social experiment” with the family.

And so the church has taken on the spirit of the disciples and surrounding culture regarding children. Children do destroy worship, because they have not been led by their fathers and mothers in the meaning of worship.

Parents in our churches simply care more about their own concentration than they do their children’s consecration.

Fortunately, Jesus is different. He says 'let the children come to me.'”

-Taken from Scott Brown’s article, “Children Destroy Worshipful Atmospheres”

http://www.ncfic.org/articlemodule/view_article/id/146/src/@random49598ead4a15d/

A Godly Man is a Lover of the Word of God

“A Godly man prefers the Word of God above worldly honor.

Memorable is the story of King Edward the Sixth. On the day of his coronation, when they presented three swords before him, signifying to him that he was monarch of three kingdoms, the king said, ‘There is still one sword missing.’ On being asked what that was, he answered, ‘The Holy Bible, which is the ‘sword of the Spirit’ and is to be preferred before these ensigns of royalty.’…

Do we love the convictions of the Word?

Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister’s duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit, but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine hilt but without an edge. “Rebuke them sharply” (Titus 2:15). Dip the nail in oil, reprove in love, but strike the nail home. Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, “You are the man”, do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that “the sword of the Spirit” has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace and shows that you are a lover of the Word.

A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word, but not the reproofs: “They hate the one who rebukes in the gate.” (Amos 5:1O). “Their eyes flash with fire!” Like venomous creatures that at the least touch spit poison, “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” (Acts 7:54). When Stephen touched them to the quick, they were mad and could not endure it.

Question: How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word?

Answer 1: When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry. Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience.

Answer 2: When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart, we would have it found out and executed. We do not want sin covered, but cured. We can open our breast to the bullet of the Word and say, “Lord, smite this sin.”

Answer 3: When we are thankful for a reproof: “Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.” (Psa. 141:5). David was glad of a reproof. Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man, would he not be thankful? So, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death, shall we not be thankful? A gracious soul rejoices when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess. He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: “Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.” (Prov. 25:12).

To conclude, it is convincing preaching which must do the soul good. A nipping reproof prepares for comfort, as a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring.”

-From the Puritan preacher Thomas Watson, taken from the “The Godly Man’s Picture”

http://www.ncfic.org/articlemodule/view_article/id/27/src/@random49598ead4a15d/

Need A Preacher?

Preacher Beeper on Vimeo.

Here is a video about the responsibility of each and every Christian to always be"ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...1 Peter 3:15"

Like Pastor Voddie Baucham says, "If you can't say 'Amen!' you gotta say, 'Ouch!'"

Jesus Died! - Paul Washer

This is a GREAT Gospel presentation by Paul Washer. I loved every minute of it. Its so easy for us as Christians to be bored with the Gospel or to forget about its significance or life-changing power. May we never be tired or afraid to share the true Gospel message just like Paul Washer does here!

Rioting in London

For those of you who don’t know, the police in England have been fighting four days of looting and rioting in cities across Britain. The majority of the looters appear to be young adults. The rioters have spent their time smashing into stores, setting cars and dumpsters on fire, and shooting fireworks at the police. The news has been covering the destruction that has been inflicted on the locals as well as the reluctance of the police to use harsher methods (i.e tear gas and water cannons) to squelch the riots. Several different reasons have been given for the motivation behind the disturbance, like the slashes in government spending, the unemployment, racial tensions etc. etc. What I found very interesting is that no one seems to be asking the question, “Why are the young people so involved?” Of the 450 people arrested over the course of three days, over 100 were 21 or younger and that number continues to grow day after day. The news interviewed one of the rioters and this is what he said:

“This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth," said Bryn Phillips, a 28-year-old self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from the store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

This is the product of years of evolutionary, communistic, man-centered education and ideologies that has taken over Britain’s society. When you have youth, teenagers, and young adults being fed this in the schools and from the news, it is no wonder that this kind of behavior is the result. If you believe that there is no right or wrong, that wealth should be equally shared by all, and that might makes right, then you will have justification for this kind of anarchy. Here is another quote the news shared:

Many appeared attracted simply by the opportunity for violence. "Come join the fun!" shouted one youth in the east London suburb of Hackney, where shops were attacked and cars torched.

Combined with all the man-centered teaching in the schools, you also have a generation of young people who are devoted to entertainment and pleasure no matter what the cost. Setting fire to cars and looting shops is just another avenue for personal enjoyment. What’s so wrong with that?

This generation of looters and pillagers are the future voters, workers, and leaders of Britain’s society. If this kind of disregard of personal property, disobedience to civil authorities, and addiction to entertainment continues, who can say where the country will go.

Proverbs 10:23-25,

Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding. What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

-Quotes taken from Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/britain-burns-riots-spread-uk-cities-013736610.html

See also

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14450248

How many interns does it take to change a lightbulb?

One intern working, one intern watching...













Now two interns lend moral support...

And its up! Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you three interns and a successfully installed light bulb :)

Is There Really a Hell?

I don't know if any of you have heard of Rob Bell and his latest work "Love Wins". The views expressed by Mr. Bell blow my mind. He asks questions that demonstrate his misconceptions about who God is and more importantly, who he is. Who are we to question God? Hopefully this will make you all consider why teaching like this is so dangerous and to be refuted at every point. I thought the spoof at the end was really good. Enjoy!

-From "The Week in Review with Generations with Vision"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz4l7CJTMV0&feature=player_embedded

“What is the Gospel?”

Some fantastic thoughts (with some good ol' Swanson humor mixed in as well :) on the Gospel.

- The Week in Review with Generations with Vision

http://generationswithvision.com/Blog/20110511/What-is-the-Gospel