Hands High

Lecrae has a new hit out.  Click the pic.

Morning Humor

I’m stealing a page from Kevin DeYoung’s playbook this morning, going with some Monday morning humor.

Since a little Brian Regan popped out of me in last week’s sermon, I thought I’d share him with my (few) blog readers.  Enjoy the chuckle.

Ukraine’s Got Talent

From Reformation Theology:

I am not sure what category to put this in – but if you have eight and a half minutes to spare, then click on to this video clip below. It shows the amazing sand artistry skills of 24 year old, Kseniya Simonova, winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent 2009. What is unusual is not only the extraordinary creativity of the artist but also the strong emotional reaction of the audience as judges and members of the audience are brought to tears. Using a sand-filled light-box, she portrayed the story of the Soviet Union’s sacrifices (almost 30,000,000 were killed) during the Great Patriotic War, as the USSR’s fight against the Nazis in the Second World War is termed. Extraordinary!

Bedtime “Communion”

Apparently Ezra and Nehemiah have been paying attention during Lord’s Supper at church.

Tonight (as they have bad coughs) I poured each of them their dose of cough syrup into little cups, and set them on the bathroom counter for them to take.

They lifted them up, and said,

God, we will not drink this again until we enter your kingdom.

Begin With The End In Mind

Tomorrow morning, with God’s help and grace, I want to look deeply into just a portion of what Jesus is doing in his work on the cross.  Namely, he is fulfilling many old covenant shadows of substitution, sacrifice, and propitiation.  We will do so by looking at Passover, the Day of Atonement, and a servant song, seeing how they connect to what Paul says in Galatians 3:13-14.

Authors aren’t known for giving away the ending of the story.  And maybe that should be my tack as a preacher.  But here is where I hope to end tomorrow, Lord willing – with a poem from D.A. Carson right before we celebrate the Lord’s Supper together:

Long have I pondered the pain of the cross,
Wood soaked in blood, washed with tears, drenched in sweat,
Whips, cruel nails, crown of thorns,
At a loss I can’t explain why this death is a threat,
Cascades of suffering and love shrink my pride,
Silent, I’m hushed by his spear-riven side.

Long have I pondered the shame of the cross,
Jeered by the troops, by authorities scorned,
Mocked by a brigand, societies dross,
Christ is abandoned, rejected, ignored,
How can I focus on triumphs and things,
Here rise my maker, redeemer, and king.

Long have I pondered the curse of the cross,
Sinless, the Christ bears my guilt and my pain,
Thundering silence, a measureless cost,
God in his heaven lets Christ cry in vain,
Now I can glimpse sin’s bleak horror and worse,
Christ dies and bears the unbearable curse.

Long have I pondered the Christ of the cross,
Gone is the boasting when I’m next to him,
Loving the rebel, redeeming the loss,
Jesus pure goodness exposes my sin,
Self is cut down by this triumph of grace,
Christ’s bloody cross is the hope of our race.

Bethlehem College and Seminary

Young people (and their parents) frequently ask me about educational options available after high school graduation.

Justin Taylor gives a great recap of what is available at my number one pick, Bethlehem College and Seminary.

Sons and Daughters

In the near future in Calvary’s sermon series on Galatians, we will be covering the topic of adoption.  I was reminded of this wonderful quote from J.I. Packer’s Knowing God while over at LifeTogether this morning.

Read this one through a couple of times:

Do I, as a Christian, understand myself?  Do I know my real identity?  My own real destiny?  I am a child of God.  God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer.  My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too.  Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true.  For this is the Christian’s secret of –a happy life? — yes, certainly, but we have something both higher and profounder to say.  This is the Christian’s secret to the Christian life, and of a God-honoring life, and these are the aspects of the situation that really matter.  May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine.

And then go and purchase this album which unpacks these truths through music.

More On The Prosperity Gospel

A Christianity Today video that’s an interesting look at prosperity teaching in Africa. (HT: Z)

Why I Abominate The Prosperity Gospel

John Piper:

A Little More On The Worst Bill Ever

More from my friend Matt Perman:

 

This is a very good opening statement on health care reform by congressman Mike Rogers from last summer. Many of his statements go to the core issues: