Must We Believe in the Virgin Birth?

Dr. Al Mohler responds here to liberal challenges to the biblical teachings on the Virgin Birth of Christ?

Spoiler Alert:  It matters.

What Did Santa Claus Look Like?

Jim Denison's article provides interesting information and insights on the historic "Santa Claus". It also explains how some smart folks figured out what old Saint Nicholas looked like.

Special Christmas Giving Options

Microfinance - For the person who would rather give than get, you might consider a microfinancing gift certificate—a way that your loved one can help sponsor a business in a developing country. Kiva and Razoo both offer you this ability. “Make this a Merry Christmas for your loved ones with a gift that lets them change the world. A Micro Loan Gift Card lets your family and friends choose a hard-working entrepreneur to help by funding their small business loan-to buy a sewing machine, a bicycle, training, or whatever will put their families on the pathway to success.”

How long should you attend a church before pursuing membership?

In a world of church hoppers and church shoppers, this article might be helpful for many. "How long should you attend a church before pursuing membership?" The author of the article provides four things to consider in looking for a church home and some dangers to avoid.

Four Words That Change Everything

4 words that change everything. Wherever you are right now, in any situation, these words really do change everything.

Free Advent Devotional Guide

The fourth Sunday before Christmas, signaling the beginning of the Advent season. "Advent" is from the Latin word for "coming" — translated from the Greek word parousia. It's a stretch of four weeks where we reenact and remember how the Old Testament saints longed for Messiah to come.

On this side of the nativity and the cross, knowing about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Advent shows us that we're still waiting. The redemption that Jesus accomplished for us is not yet consummated (Romans 8:19–25). Noel Piper writes,

So here we stand in the middle. Advent is the season of looking back, thinking how it must have been, waiting for the promised salvation of God, not knowing what to expect. And at the same time, Advent is a season of looking ahead, preparing ourselves to meet Jesus at his Second Coming. (Treasuring God in Our Traditions, 77).

Get This Free Download

One free resource to recommend is the new Advent Guide (PDF) from the Village Church, Texas. This is an excellent guide made up of two sections each week: one for personal reflection and one for family devotionals. It includes three appendices with helpful practicals and is put together in a nice design. Check out the contents:

Week 1: Promises and Patience
Theme: Our God makes and keeps promises, and his people are called to wait with patient longing.

Week 2: Awaiting and Advent
Theme: God made a particular promise of a Messiah, and Israel longed for his coming.

Week 3: Incarnation and Implications
Theme: God fulfilled the promise of a Messiah in the first advent of Jesus Christ.

Week 4: Resurrection and Return
Theme: After dying to redeem his people from slavery, Christ rose from the dead and promised to come again to redeem us fully.

Week 5: Watching and Waiting
Theme: As we await the second advent of Christ, we are called to a life of prayerful and prepared patience.

Appendices
A: Passages for Contemplating and Considering Christ
B: Recommended Resources for the Season
C: Recommended Activities for Family Devotion

Far From God

This site shows a map of every McDonald’s restaurant in the USA. It also has a video showing a person trying to find the spot (the exact spot!) that is farthest from any McDonald’s in the whole country. The most Ronald-forsaken,McDonald-less place in America.

As we move into the Christmas season, I am reminded of all the people in our nation and in our world who live far from God. Let's focus our efforts toward reaching those who are unreached with the message of God's great love in Christ this Christmas - through our giving, our praying, and our going.

Is This the Third or Fourth Horse of the Apocalypse?

Joel Osteen and Reality TV - Oh boy. “More than 10 million people watch Joel Osteen’s television broadcast each week, and soon viewers will be able to see how the pastor of America’s largest church lives outside of Lakewood. A new reality show will follow the Osteens’ ministry as they serve and inspire people across the U.S., Lakewood confirmed.”

A Year End Challenge

The author Stephen Levine once asked this question, "If you had an hour to live and could make only one phone call-who would you call,what would you say, and why are you waiting?" See the rest of the article.

The Most Dangerous Belief in America Today

This is an excellent article from Jim Denison: On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution "reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States."  Yesterday, President Obama responded, "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work."  White House Press Secretary Jay Carney amplified the president's remarks later in the day: "I believe that phrase in the Bible is 'the Lord helps those who help themselves.'" (See Denison's response to this unbiblical quote).

There Is No Sin That I Have Done

There Is No Sin That I Have Done - Here’s a new hymn that speaks of some great truths.

A Prayer About God's Most Repeated Command

Scotty Smith's prayer about God's command "do not be afraid" will encourage you on a Monday and beyond....

Leadership Lessons from Superman's Underpants

Heard about the new Superman movie? After 73 years of wearing his underwear outside his tights, why has the caped crusader decided to abandon his briefs? Skye Jethani draws some great Leadership Lessons from Superman's Underpants.

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters - Here is lots of great advice for fathers of daughters.

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve - Dr. Mohler clarifies what is at stake in the ongoing discussion about the historic Adam and Eve. “The denial of a historical Adam means not only the rejection of a clear biblical teaching, but the denial of the biblical doctrine of the Fall as well, leading to a very different way of telling the story of the Bible and the meaning of the Gospel.”

How to Get Involved in Disaster Relief: Helping Before and After a Disaster

As details and needs continue to come available in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Ed Stetzer shares six good things to remember when thinking about disaster relief. See his comments...

The Sweep of the Bible in Two Weeks

Dane Ortlund: “If a freshman in college or stay-at-home mom or aspiring deacon or friend from work or anyone else asked me how they might get a rough grasp of the macro-storyline of the Bible in a few weeks, I’d send them not to any secondary resource but to the Bible itself for a reading plan that might look something like this.” See the plan here...

Is This Really Christianity?

As the BBC reports, some church leaders in the Netherlands want to transform their small nation into a laboratory for rethinking Christianity — “experimenting with radical new ways of understanding the faith.”

Religious Affairs Correspondent Robert Pigott tells of Rev. Klaas Hendrikse, a minister of the PKN, the mainstream Protestant denomination in the Netherlands. Pastor Hendrikse doesn’t believe in life after death, nor even in God as a supernatural being. He told the BBC that he has “no talent” for believing historic and orthodox doctrines. “God is not a being at all,” he says, but just an experience. Keep Reading

Who's Your Daddy? - Maybe Ferris Bueller

I am old. this article and commentary on the annual Beloit College Mindset List begins: “The freshmen class entering college this Fall has no remembrance of what life was like before the Internet, what this whole Communist Party fuss was about in Russia, and that Amazon was once just known as a river in South America. Ferris Bueller is old enough to be their dad, and they probably don’t know the name of the bar where everybody knows your name.”

Praying for Pastor Caleb

Sunday I mentioned my ongoing correspondence with Pastor Caleb in Myanmar and our need to remember him in prayer - in ministry, in family, and in his care for orphans. These two pictures will help put faces with needs. Pastor Caleb is the man in the striped shirt and jeans. The other picture is a recent one of orphans under his care.

Thank you for praying for them.

Ways to Engage Global Poverty Right Now

A week ago I was in the impoverished nation of Malawi with a mission team from our church. I saw again the "Five Giants" that dominate, especially in third world cultures: extreme poverty, pandemic disease, lack of education for the next generation, poor and/or ungodly leadership at all levels, and spiritual darkness. I saw orphans and AIDS widows by the hundreds in the villages where we served. I saw unclean drinking water and a lack of leaders in the villages and at the national levels. When the needs are so great, where can we begin? Overwhelmed by it all, we often just turn the other way.

This article by Ed Stetzer provides a good starting place to make a difference. Today I sit in my air conditioned office in the Dallas suburbs. There are things we can do from HERE- to tackle the problems THERE- and we can do it today. Making a difference begins with a step.

Does Rick Warren Endorse "Chrislam"?

If you tend to believe everything you read on the internet, often forward "shocking" emails or take anything you "see for yourself on YouTube" as truth, then this post will do nothing to dissuade you from believing that Pastor Rick Warren espouses "chrislam". On the other hand, if you tend to research rumors before you pass them on or try to find the truth about people before attacking them on the internet this post might help.

Who God Is and What He Will Do in the Day of Trouble

Justin Taylor pulled together a great set of Bibl verses on "the day of trouble".

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!” (Ps. 20:1)
“For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.” (Ps. 27:5)
“In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him. . .” (Ps. 41:1)
“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Ps. 50:15)
“O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble . . .” (Jer. 16:19)
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nah. 1:7)

A Prayer When Uncertain about God’s Leading

Scotty Smith expresses himself in powerful ways through prayer. This prayer is crafted for those times when we need God's direction but are having trouble discerning His will.

Comparing Going to Church to Going to the Dentist

This fun article by Sammy Adebiyi.

I had to go to the dentist recently. And being in that office made me wonder about the similarities between going to the dentist and going to church. Specifically, I thought:

If I were a pastor and my dentist ever came to my church, I would…

Make the church secretary stop him in the lobby and ask him how long it’s been since he’s been at a church. If it’s been a while, I’d make him fill out a really, really long detailed form about all his family’s history of sins, struggles, shame and addictions. I’d let him know this was standard procedure, and we might need to even do some X-rays to complete our soul records unless another church could send them to us. (See the full article).

Seven Thoughts on Time Management

We all have the amount of time at our disposal. It seems that our time is being stolen away bit by bit in every circle of our lives. I'm always looking for ways to maximize my time. Here's a helpful little article. The outline is below:

1. The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency.
2. Build a fence around your life, and keep that fence tended.
3. Perfectionism paralyzes.
4. Fill in the corners.
5. Plod. Keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race.
6. Take in more than you give out.
7. Use and reuse. State and restate. Learn and relearn. Develop what you know. Cultivate what you have.

Read the whole thing to see each point expanded and explained.

Are You Smarter Than Anthony Weiner?

Russell Moore asks the question in light of Anthony Weiner's recent downfall - "Are you smarter than Anthony Weiner?" We've seen a series of famous people recently who believed they would never get caught in their wrongs. Moore gives a good word on the topic. 

Agreeing to Disagree

Jon Acuff lists a fun series of churchy things we can agree to disagree about.

Mothers Day Trivia

Mother’s Day is a great day to celebrate the woman who brought us into this world and show her how much we care. After reading these stats you may want to praise her a little more than just one day a year.

Mother’s Day Facts:

1st Mother’s Day: May 10, 1908; Founded by Anna Jarvis; made a national holiday in 1914 by President Wilson

Busiest Phone Day: 68% of people plan to call Mom on Mother’s Day, totaling 122.5 million phone calls

Card Giving: 50% of households give Mother’s Day cards, totaling some 152 million cards

First-time Moms: Average age of new moms is 25, vs. 21 in 1970

Kids: Modern moms average 2 kids (1950s: 3.5 kids; 1700s: 7-10 kids)

Diaper Changes: 7,300 by baby’s 2nd birthday

Diaper Changing Speed: Moms take 2 minutes, 5 seconds (adds up to 3 40-hour work weeks each year!) , vs. 1 minute, 36 seconds for dads

Giving Attention: Preschooler requires mom’s attention once every 4 minutes or 210 times / day

Record for Most Kids: Mrs. Vassilyev of Russia gave birth to 69 children between 1725 and 1765

Record for Oldest Mom: Rosanna Dalla Corte gave birth to a baby boy when she was 63 years old in Italy in 1994

Record for Heaviest Newborn: Signora Carmelina Fedele gave birth to a 22 lb 8 oz boy in Italy in 1955

First Year Baby Costs: $7,000 of baby items before 1st birthday

Cost of Raising a Child: Middle-income families spend $242,070 to raise a kid to 18 (not incl. college!)

If There Is A God, Why Doe He Allow Suffering?

It’s a huge question, isn’t it? Hardly a day goes by when we don’t come across suffering. Devastation caused by earthquakes and tsunamis…millions living in poverty…children being abused…family breakdowns… bullying…people suffer. We suffer. So it’s right to say to God: “God, if you’re there, why don’t you do something." (See a simple respons here)

This site call "Tough Questions" addresses a several questions we ask of God. The answers don't cover every detail of every issue but they give thoughtful responses in two to three minutes videos and also in print. It's a nice resource to have available.

Tornadoes and the Trustworthiness of God

This sermon by David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, is a good model of how basic biblical doctrine can and should inform our response to tragedy and equip us to trust in God’s good purposes.

Specifically, he explains how the tornadoes that recently ravaged their area can remind us of biblical truth.
Here is an outline provided by Justin Taylor on his blog:

These tornadoes remind us that this world is unpredictable.

• Suffering is usually surprising.
• Life is never safe.
• Death is unavoidably sure.

These tornadoes remind us of the penalty of sin which plagues all of us.

• Our sin is universal.
• Our suffering is inevitable.

These tornadoes remind us to repent and be reconciled to God.

• Turn from sin.
• Trust in Him.

These tornadoes remind us of the sovereignty of our God.
The sovereignty of God is the only foundation for worship in the midst of tragedy.

• God’s sovereignty assures us that He is in control.

God is with us.

God is for us.

• God’s sovereignty reminds us that Satan has been conquered.
• God’s sovereignty guarantees us that one day suffering will conclude.

Ultimately, tragedy on earth can only be understood rightly from the perspective of heaven.
These tornadoes remind us of the urgency of our mission.

• Life is fleeting.
• People are perishing.
• Eternity is coming.

Is God Glad Osama Bin Laden's Dead?

As the discussion of Osama Bin Laden's death continues to swirl, this word from pastor/author John Piper is a helpful word of wisdom and grace.

Customizing the Bible Like the Pandora Radio Program

This brief illustration makes a great application regarding how we edit the Bible to fit our preferences.

One of the marvels of the Internet age is a thing called Pandora radio. When you listen to a radio station on terrestrial or satellite radio, you have to listen to every song played. You can change the channel, but you can't change the song. You're stuck with whatever you're given. But that's not so on Pandora. On Pandora, you put in different singers, bands, or songs that you like; and they use an algorithm to parse the music that you list. The algorithm asks...(see article)

Sunday's Comin'

This is still one of my favorite renderings of the Easter story. I got to hear S.M. Lockridge share this live when I was in college. We'll use this video in the pre-service time of each of our three Easter services. His core message here is that Good Friday wasn't so good it appeared...but Sunday was coming.

 

G.O.S.P.E.L.

On this Easter week - What is the Gospel? What is the good news of Jesus Christ? This presentation tells the story well.

The Wondrous Cross

I was in our local Walgreen's store this week getting a new passport photo done. They told me it would be ready in fifteen minutes so I walked the store until it was ready. I went at lunch time so my walk through carried me down the Easter candy aisle of the story. The usual things were there and plenty of chocolate bunnies. I've always felt a little weird about biting the head off of a chocolate bunny. It hasn't stopped me but I still felt weirded out by it.

As I walked down the Easter candy aisle something new caught my eye. I've shared the picture with you here...A chocolate cross. I've got to think there's something wrong with that. I'm sitting in my office with Sunday's worship order in front of me. We're going to sing "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross". As we approach Easter Sunday, surely the cross of Christ should mean more. Take time this week to survey the wondrous cross. Here are the words to this great hymn:

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

"If...Then" Statements from 1 John

Justin Taylor shares a list of verses from 1 John that are "if/then" statements. It's interesting to see them all together. Example from 1 John 1:9:

IF...we confess our sins      THEN...he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(See Full List)

How To Make Your Kids Hate Church

This simple five-point article summarizes well what I have observed myself over 25 years of church ministry.

A Nice Update on an Old Discussion

What Is Love?

Here is Paul Tripp’s definition of love: “Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving” (What Did You Expect? p. 188).

In the following he unpacks the definition (pp. 188-189) one phrase at a time.

Jonah and Jesus

This is an encouraging word from Tim Keller. He compares Jesus and Jonah when each was caught in a storm at sea. His conclusion will bless:

Both Jesus and Jonah were in a boat, and both boats were overtaken by a storm—the descriptions of the storm are almost identical.

Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep.

In both stories the sailors woke up the sleeper and said, “We’re going to die.” (see the entire article here)

A Great Description of the Christian LIfe

I am not what I ought to be.
Ah! how imperfect and deficient.
Not what I might be,
considering my privileges and opportunities.
Not what I wish to be.
God, who knows my heart, knows I wish to be like him.
I am not what I hope to be;
ere long to drop this clay tabernacle, to be like him and see him as He is.
Not what I once was,
a child of sin, and slave of the devil.
Thought not all these,

not what I ought to be,
not what I might be,
not what I wish or hope to be, and
not what once was,

I think I can truly say with the apostle,

“By the grace of God I am what I am.”

—Cited in Letters of John Newton, p. 400.

The Love Chapter

Valentine's Day is getting closer. This is a nice graphic of the content of 1 Corinthians 13 - the Love Chapter of the Bible.

The Anti-Psalm

These are David Powlison’s reflections on Psalm 131. And as he teaches the Psalm, he re-writes it as the exact opposite—rather an interesting teaching technique. It speaks well to our spiritual condition.

So here are the familiar words of Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

And here is Powlison’s anti-psalm:

Self,
My heart is proud
and my eyes are haughty
and I chase after things too great and too difficult for me.
So of course I’m noisy and restless inside; it comes naturally,
like a hungry infant fussing on his mother’s lap,
like a hungry infant, I’m restless with my demands and worries.
I scatter my hopes onto anything and everybody all the time.

What the Bible Really Says About Sex . . . Really?

Several people have commented to me about Newsweek magazine's article "What the Bible Really Says About Sex?" In this response, Al Mohler addresses the issues well.

Has the church misunderstood the Bible’s teachings on sexuality for over two thousand years? The current issue of Newsweek magazine reports on “new scholarship on the Good Book’s naughty bits” that is supposed to turn our understanding of the Bible’s teachings on sex upside down.

Lisa Miller, Newsweek’s religion editor, wrote the article entitled “What the Bible Really Says About Sex.” Well, the one thing you need to know up front is that the article falls far short of its title. Keep Reading

A Theology of Snow

After a long week of ice and snow, it might be good to consider what the Bible says about snow. Mel Lawrenz wrote an essay on "The Theology of Snow".

Fifty Fruits of Pride

Here is a self-diagnostic that ought to warn you of the seriousness of pride.

The Ehrman Project

The Ehrman Project looks like a great new website, equipping pastors and students and other readers with helpful responses to the provocative arguments and conclusions set forth by Professor Bart Ehrman—from canon to inerrancy to textual criticism to the problem of evil, and more.

Here are a couple of videos from the site, with Dan Wallace answering general questions about the reliability of the NT manuscripts:

Jesus' Least Popular Promise?

We are blessed by the many promises in the Bible. However, of all the promises, this promise of Jesus may be one of the least popular and easiest to overlook. Justin Taylore shares about it in this brief article.

The Message of the Bible in One Sentence

The Message of the Bible - Dane Ortlund asked a long list of people to summarize the Bible in one sentence. The results are quite interesting.

What Is A Biblical Worldview?

This brief article summarizes well what it means to have a biblical worldview. It begins by explaining a "worldview":

Everybody has a worldview! From the pigmy tribes in the Congo to the cufflink staffer in the White House, everybody has a philosophy of how they view the world...(see the full article).

7 Billion People

7 Billion - National Geographic offers up lots of interesting facts in this short video about the world’s population which is projected to soon hit 7 billion.

Iranian Christians

Josh Harris writes about more than 70 Iranian Christians who were arrested over Christmas.

Martyrs in a Modern World

This article by Al Mohler draws attention to a fact most western Christians may be unaware of.

Christians — especially those enjoying the safety of the West — often think of martyrdom as a part of the distant Christian past. But a recent barrage of headlines dispels that notion in a hurry. Over the past several weeks, Christians in Iraq suffered a series of church bombings, and experts in the region predicted a virtual evacuation of that nation’s Christian population. Approximately half of all Iraqi Christians have already fled the country. That represents a failure of the American ambition to leave Iraq with a government that would protect basic human rights and liberties. The murderous terrorism against Christians in Iraq amounts to a form of religious cleansing. Keep Reading

New Year's Resolutions Survey

George Barna has completed a national survey on Americans and their New Year's Resolutions. Here's a couple of paragraphs. (Click here for the complete article).

"When it comes to the types of resolutions people make, Americans not surprisingly focus on self-oriented changes. Among those planning to make resolutions, the top pledges for 2011 relate to weight, diet and health (30%); money, debt and finances (15%); personal improvement (13%); addiction (12%); job and career (5%); spiritual or church-related (5%); and educational (4%). Personal improvement responses included being a better person; giving more; having more personal or leisure time; organizing their life or home; and having a better life in general.

While people concentrate on themselves when making priorities for the New Year, it is telling that so few Americans say they want to improve relationships with others. There were virtually no mentions of volunteering or serving others; only a handful of comments about marriage or parenting; almost no responses focusing on being a better friend; and only a small fraction of people mentioned improving their connection with God"....