Scott Cairns and Charles Wright poetry; the passing of Larry Norman; LarryNorman.com is still selling merchandise, check out the blog section for a live performance from Cornerstone in 1985. Sometimes ministry comes full circle. Keep in mind the Ravi Zacharias mention is years before his disgrace. Remembering that the Gospel can reach anyone.
That’s one of my favorite Alistair Begg quotes. I’ve repeated it many times, it may have spent a week or two on our church sign a few years back. Recently I saw a nearly identical quote (Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian) attributed to A.W. Tozer. So who said it? Very possibly both pastors did. Tozer was an American pastor, magazine editor and spiritual mentor to many. He was given honorary degrees by multiple institutions. He passed away in 1963. Begg was born in 1952 and continues to pastor the same church he has been at since 1983. You can find the quote attributed to either man probably because Alistair Begg was quoting A.W. Tozer when he said it. Lots of people quote Tozer to this day. Imagine I were speaking on the political and social divide in our country right now and said “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” That’s a direct quote from Abraham Lincoln. It is also very similar to Matthew 12:25, not the whole verse but an obvious reference to it. We are a lot more conscious about citing material than in times past. The Apostle Paul would string together three sentence fragments from three different Old Testament books and simply cite “the Prophets” or “the Fathers” as reference.
After citing Begg all this time I may attribute those words to Tozer in the future. The truth is worth repeating. Maybe someday someone will quote something I said. I’m still waiting for “God is near” to catch on.
Continue readingTechnical aspects of Michael’s sabbatical; endorsement of Common Sense Media; discussion of comments left on The White Horse Inn, Law/Gospel, and Why I Want My Sermon on the Mount Back which you can read here.
If I say middle school band concert you may envision proud mothers that hear with their hearts and not with their ears and other friends and relatives that find creative ways to say nice things. We are fortunate that our 6th grade first year band student chose to learn flute and not carry around a tuba or take up the drums. We are also fortunate that she is a quick study. Last week she spent the day at an Honors Band Clinic which is like one day band camp. 254 students from 34 schools divided into two groups, 1st year and 2nd year, and spent the day together mostly in rehearsal. The concert we attended at the end of that day was not too shabby.
Continue readingThe megachurch and vanishing evangelical young people, per Michael Spencer’s original post February 11, 2008.
Let’s start with the NFL Draft. Last Saturday the draft was still underway. When all was said and done, Georgia sent 15 players to the draft and all 15 were picked up by NFL teams! The Bulldogs 2021 Championship is worth more than bragging rights. Winning a championship is an excellent recruitment strategy as graduating high school seniors consider where to play next. It’s good for the school (proud alums make better donations, advertising revue, merchandising rights, broadcasting) and the school can afford to spend more on athletics as a result, meaning better equipment and more scholarships. The record number of players drafted by the NFL means that UGA has a lot of spots to fill but also increases their ability to do so. If you’re looking at colleges, or thinking about a transfer, the headlines about Georgia’s record number of players drafted are very attractive. First he beat Nick Saban, then won the National Championship, and now Georgia sets a new draft record. This continues to be a banner year for Kirby Smart.
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Then he bought Twitter. Maybe it’s my age, the rural setting I live in or the fact I’m not a celebrity type with a million followers but I just don’t get people freaking out about his acquisition of a social media platform. Jameela Jamil said in what she vows is her last tweet: “I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck.” George Takei pledged to stay, Tweeting “Should this place become more toxic, I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law. The struggle against fascism, misinformation, and hate requires tough fighters.”
Continue readingPreaching at First Presbyterian of London, KY; discussion of false assurance; Here’s the quote: Think about who you are this weekend. Be in the Lord’s house with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day and let your assurance be challenged because unless your assurance is changing you, unless it is putting your treasure in things which cannot rust and thieves cannot steal, you have a false assurance. -Frank Turk
Good News Food News – Taco Bell is bringing back the Mexican pizza. It has been rumored, then “confirmed” rumored, but we now have an official announcement and a date from the chain. The fan favorite will return May 19th with select locations getting a one or two day early release. Above right is the spicy Chick-fil-A biscuit which is only available for a limited time. While that news could be better is the first time since 2016 that is has made a comeback. The official date is April 25th but our local Chick-fil-A has them on the menu already. Last year movie makers gave us a new Ghostbusters sequel and all three Spider-Men (from the last 25 years) in a film together. Now fast food has decided to give us what we want. It’s like consumer sovereignty is actually a thing again.
Continue readingEugene Peterson’s Eat This Book, the second in a seven part series on spirituality; high praise for Peterson’s methods and approach for entering the Bible and listening to it rather than demanding it give us answers. It’s hard to talk about Peterson without addressing The Message.
The Master's Table 