The Dallas Post

Believers must repent for being discouraged by their sins

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:27:00 +0000

“Their being discouraged by their sins will cost them many a prayer, many a tear, and many a groan; and that because their discouragements under sin flow from ignorance and unbelief. It springs from their ignorance of the richness, freeness, fullness, and everlastingness of God’s love; and from their ignorance of the power, glory, sufficiency, and efficacy of the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of the worth, glory, fullness, largeness, and completeness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and from their ignorance of that real, close, spiritual, glorious, and inseparable union that is between Christ and their precious souls.
Ah! Did precious souls know and believe the truth of these things as they should, they would not sit down dejected and overwhelmed under the sense and operation of sin. God never gave a believer a new heart that it should always lie a-bleeding, and that it should always be rent and torn in pieces with discouragements.”

- Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices

DG National Conference:The Power of Words

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Free Downloadable Audio Books Every Month

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Every month Christian Audio offers 1 free audio book for download. This month they are offering The Pilgrams Progress by John Bunyan. If you have not gone to this site before & registered, you will have to do that first by clicking this link: Create Account. Then click on the link "Free Downloads" usually in RED lettering on the right of the page. When you select the downloadable version of "The Pilgrams Progress" it will ask you for a code as you are checking out. This month the code is JUN2008. Hope you enjoy these books as much as I do.

A New Blog to Observe

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:22:00 +0000

A friend of mine, Dan Christensen (a Pastor, Professor of Islam among other things) has started a blog called the "The Omega Observer" which combines his interests of politics, currents events, and the Middle East with his post-graduate theological studies in apocalyptic literature, specifically biblical prophecy.

In The Righteousness of Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:49:00 +0000

The mediatorial righteousness of Christ will answer all the fears, doubts, and objections of your souls.

How shall I look up to God?

How shall I have any communion with a holy God in this world?

How shall I find acceptance with God?

How shall I die?

How shall I stand before the judgment seat?

The Answer is - IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST

Your sure and only way under all temptations, fears, conflicts, doubts, and disputes, is by faith to remember Christ, and the sufferings of Christ, as your mediator and surety, and say, ‘O Christ! you are my sin—in being made sin for me; and you are my curse—in being made a curse for me. Or rather, I am your sin—and you are my righteousness; I am your curse—and you are my blessing; I am your death—and you are my life; I am the wrath of God to you—and you are the love of God to me; I am your hell—and you are my heaven.’

- Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels

Self or Christ?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Have you ever visited the site Of First Importance? It is kind of like a blog, but every day each post is a quote from various people, books, etc..... The quote below is about serving Christ rather than self. I really appreciated it and it brought who & what I serve into perspective, & I hope it does the same for you.

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“Self has no claims upon us, for it has done nothing for us. It has been a wall of iron between us and Christ. Is that a reason that we should serve it? It has been a mountain of ice between us and the world to come. Is that a ground of claim over us?

No, brethren, self has done nothing to make us either live to it or die to it. It never can do anything; shall we then bow to it; shall we serve it; shall we do it homage?

We ask on the other hand—What has the Lord not done? What indissoluble, innumerable bonds are there between us and him, as the living, the dying, and the rising one.

The whole of our life is to be his, as his life was for us. Surely he has earned this, if he has earned anything at all. The least that we can give him is our life; the undivided service of our being, in every part; in our doing, in our speaking, in our planning, and in all our daily round of business, so that every part of our life shall be a witness-bearing for him.”

—Horatius Bonar, “Self or Christ; Which Is It?”

Is Jesus the Only Way?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:30:00 +0000

Death By Love

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:17:00 +0000

Coming September 30, 2008 is Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshear's new book, Death By Love: Letters from the Cross. Back at the end of 2006 Pastor Mark Driscoll did a sermon series called Christ on the Cross in which he preached on 12 aspects of the Cross, and in which this long awaited book is from. I know I certainly cannot wait to read this, since I loved the sermon series so much, I without a doubt will love this book. I have learned more about the Cross from that sermon series than I have ever learned from all the sermons I have ever heard in church. I encourage you all to read it when it comes out in September!

The Blessings of Humility Part 6

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 +0000

“Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matt 5:8). To be pure in heart is to be free from defilement in the very core of our being. It does not mean sinless perfection, but it does mean one’s life is characterized by a sincere desire for and an earnest effort to pursue that holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)

By Jerry Bridges from TableTalk magazine February 2008 p46

The Blessings of Humility Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

“Blessed are the merciful” (Matt 5:7). Mercy in it’s most basic form denotes a sense of pity or compassion for those in some state of misery. But sometimes it stands for forgiveness, as when the tax collector prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). This is undoubtedly the sense in which Jesus used it here. The best description of this form of mercy is in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:23-35). The Master had pity on the servant who owed ten thousand talents and forgave him that tremendous debt. Shortly thereafter the servant encountered a fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii (a paltry sum relative to that which he had owed) and refused to forgive. The master, when he heard about it, said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matt 18:32-33).
The merciful, then, are those who realize how much they have been forgiven, and they readily forgive those who sin against them. Mercifulness begins with humility, with a deep sense of one’s own spiritual poverty coupled with a growing realization of how much one has been forgiven by God.

By Jerry Bridges from TableTalk magazine February 2008 p46

The Blessings of Humility Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:30:00 +0000

“Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6). What causes believers to hunger & thirst for righteousness? It is a growing recognition of their own continued sinfulness, coupled with the glad realization that their sins are covered by the blood of Christ and that they are clothed with His righteousness. They deeply desire to be in their experience what they are in their standing before God. They long to be freed more and more from the persistent sin patterns in their lives and to see more of those gracious traits that the Bible calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” The tension between what they desire to be and what they see themselves still to be produces a continual state of humility toward God and other people.

By Jerry Bridges from TableTalk magazine February 2008 p45-46

The Blessings of Humility Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:41:00 +0000

The third beatitude , “Blessed are the meek,” (Matt 5:5), arises out of the first two. Meekness is not weakness of character but strength of character. It is the attitude of one who, realizing his own spiritual poverty, acknowledges he deserves nothing from the hand of God or his fellow creatures. He does not become resentful under adverse providences of God or the mistreatments of other people. He believes God will work all things for his good, so he leaves his case with God.

By Jerry Bridges from TableTalk magazine February 2008 p45

One of the best sermons on sin

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Download Audio

Download Video

The Blessings of Humility Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:54:00 +0000

Jesus continued, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matt 5:4). This second beatitude follows naturally the first. Those who see their continued sinfulness mourn over it. They long to see more progress in putting to death the persistent sins in their lives—even those “respectable” sins we so often tolerate in ourselves.

By Jerry Bridges from TableTalk magazine February 2008 p45

ESV Study Bible Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:48:00 +0000

Minimal Punishment for ministers who perform same-sex marriages

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Rev. Jane Adams Spahr basically recieves a slap on the wrist for calling the Same-Sex ceremonies she performed back in 04 & 05 marriages.

"Huh, Disciplined for calling the ceremonies, marriages, rather than for performing them in the first place."

See the whole story via link below:

Church Court Clears Minister in Same-Sex Ceremonies

The Blessings of Humility - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:19:00 +0000

The two Christian character traits taught most frequently in the New Testament are love & humility. The classic passage on love is, of course, 1 Corinthians 13. The classic passage on humility, though it never uses the word, is Matthew 5:2-12, popularly known as the Beatitudes. And just as 1 Corinithians describes love, so the Beatitudes describe humility.

Jesus began His teaching with, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt. 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who have become convinced of their continued sinfulness even as believers. In contrast to the self-righteous Pharisee who prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men," they identify with the tax collector who cried out, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:9-13). This is where humility begins, with a deep sense of our own continued sinfulness.

by: Jerry Bridges - TableTalk Magazine (Feb 2008)

Ben Stein Defends Intelligent Design

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:01:00 +0000

On Friday, April 18th Ben Stein will be defending Intelligent Design in his new Documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". There are a couple of neat trailers of the movie, fun downloads, and a blog on the movie website, http://www.expelledthemovie.com/.

Here is one of the Trailers:

A convicting prayer from the Puritans

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:09:00 +0000

Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor
lusting of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do Thou rule over me in liberty and power.

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How often do we pray like this? Other than the old English style of writing, I'm almost never this honest when I pray. I pray that the Lord convicts all of us to pray more honestly about our sinfulness. The more we minimize our sinfulness before God, the more we deny God the glory He rightfully deserves!

RC Sproul interviews Ben Stein on Intelligent Design

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:34:00 +0000

Spurgeon - Devastating consequences of losing penal substitution

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:22:00 +0000

If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits shall be full of modern thought, and the old doctrine of a substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then will there remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing. Hushed will be for ever those silver notes which now console the living, and cheer the dying; a dumb spirit will possess this sullen world, and no voice of joy will break the blank silence of despair. The gospel speaks through the propitiation for sin, and if that be denied, it speaketh no more. Those who preach not the atonement exhibit a dumb and dummy gospel; a mouth it hath, but speaketh not; they that make it are like unto their idol . . .

Would you have me silence the doctrine of the blood of sprinkling? Would any one of you attempt so horrible a deed? Shall we be censured if we continually proclaim the heaven-sent message of the blood of Jesus? Shall we speak with bated breath because some affected person shudders at the sound of the word ‘blood’? or some ‘cultured’ individual rebels at the old-fashioned thought of sacrifice? Nay, verily, we will sooner have our tongue cut out than cease to speak of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.1

1. C. H. Spurgeon, ‘The Blood of Sprinking (part 1)’, Sermon no. 1888 in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit: Sermons Preached and Revised by C. H. Spurgeon during the Year 1886, vol. 32 (London: Passmore & Alabaster), pp. 121–132 (p. 129), italics original.

Spurgeon on Preaching Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:22:00 +0000

I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. People have often asked me, "What is the secret of your success?" I always answer that I have no other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the gospel,—the full, free, glorious gospel of the living Christ who is the incarnation of the good news. Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon. You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, "If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon." "No," answered the young man, "because I did not see that Christ was in the text." "Oh!" said the old minister, "but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, 'There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'" "Well," said the young man, "but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?" "Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him." So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them. There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul. Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to charwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon."

What is sin's purpose?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:39:00 +0000

Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could, every thought of unbelief would be atheism if allowed to develop. Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens men’s' hearts, and brings them to ruin. John Owen (Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers)