Scary Statistics on Illiteracy

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:39:10 -0400

◦ 65% of Bible-believing Christians have never read the entire New Testament (www.chronologicalbiblestorying.com).

◦ 43% of American adults function at or below basic literacy levels – making them incapable of meaningful Bible reading (http://ccclib.org).

◦ In a survey of more than 500 pastors, 47% cited “lack of time” as the main reason more Christians don’t read the Bible (Phone survey, Hosanna, 1996).

◦ 58% of the U.S. adult population will never read another book after high school (http://oralbible.com Aug 2007).

◦ 42% of U.S. university graduates never read another book (http://oralbible.com Aug 2007).

◦ Over 50% of teens in America believe that Jesus may have committed sins (www.barna.org)

The Church is the... Whole Effulgence of the Divine Character

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:02:51 -0400

"The church is the mirror, that reflects the whole effulgence of the Divine character. It is the grand scene, in which the perfections of Jehovah are displayed to the universe.” Charles Bridges wrote this in his amazing work, "The Christian Ministry," (Banner of Truth Trust, 2006, p1)
To be in the church of Jesus Christ is to be in the sweetest place on earth. I suppose this is because the church is the supreme object of God’s love and affection. He calls out a people for His own possession, and nurses them all life long in His church, and then transports them to heaven for all eternity.

Church Planter’s Symposium

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:45:25 -0400

On Sept 5-6 the National Center for Family Integrated Churches is hosting a Church Planters Symposium in Wake Forest, NC. This is designed to help men think through the critical doctrinal and practical considerations necessary for church planting. During this two-day symposium, we will identify the elements of biblical church life, discuss the issues and challenges and pitfalls that men face when planting churches, and identify the things necessary to determine if or when one should plant a church.

For more Information Click Here

From 9Marks: The “Beautiful Symbiosis” of Church & Family

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:06:37 -0400

Here is a "must read" for church leaders. Andrew Nichols writes about "a beautiful symbiosis: the family blesses the church and the church blesses the family."

Strengthened By the Gospel

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:39:32 -0400

On Sunday we finished our expositions of Paul's letter to the Romans at Hope Baptist. Romans ends with a doxology that reveals the strengthening power of the gospel. Here is the manuscript version of the end of my message:
"The beauty of the gospel is that through it, God not only saves us but also strengthens. This is why we never outgrow the gospel. Everyday, our stability hinges upon our preaching of the gospel to ourselves. The soundness of our thinking and living is only possible when we grasp a sense of our sin, and God’s holiness, and the substitionary death of Christ. All of our relationships are dependent on the gospel as we recognize that Christ has forgiven us of all our sins and bids us to do the same. All day long, our peace and sanity are dependent upon our realization that He is resurrected and sitting at the right hand of God and that He in His fatherly care is mindful of us and nursing us every moment of our heavenly journey. This is the gospel driven life, for the gospel has something to say about everything - a heart, a tongue, a family, a church, a job.
There never was so great a gospel as this. There never was a kinder father than our Great Father in heaven. There was never a more a merciful Savior than the resurrected Christ. There never was a more comforting Helper than the Holy Spirit who opened our hearts to the gospel and convicted us of our sin and then baptized us into Christ. And there never was a better earthly life for mankind than the one offered by God Almighty who continually, day after day uses the gospel to make us strong.
"Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…" Romans 16:25
For the whole sermon, click here...

A Biblical Principle for Giving

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:07:15 -0400

We often wonder what principles we should consider to determine where we should give our material resources. In Romans 15:25-28 Paul reveals to us some helpful thinking about finance and giving. He says,
"But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain."
Paul teaches us something about how to think biblically about finances in the church and in the wider ministry of Christianity.
First, it establishes the pattern of one church, or a group of churches giving money to another far away. In this case, a gift was taken from churches far away for the collapse from the famine in Jerusalem. The brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were languishing. Men like Barnabas sold land to feed people, but it was not enough. Other churches were needed to help.
This establishes a good pattern of helping other churches beyond our region.
Second, it establishes the principle of financial duty to those who minister to us. We have a financial duty to consider how we might bring financial blessing to those who minister to us. If we have received benefit, we ought to help them. If I am a “Partaker” v27, then I am a “debtor.” And if I am a debtor, I have a “duty” to minister to them “in material things.” V27
If you are wondering how you should give your money here is one biblical principle to help you think clearly. You can’t give to every worthy Christian work. You cannot come alongside to support all works of God. Where do you start? How do you prioritize? There are thousands of worthy non profit organizations. There are hundreds of millions of poor. Where do I begin?
First ask the question, “Who has blessed me spiritually? Who has helped me in my walk with the Lord?” This may help you define to whom you are “a debtor of material things?” This is where to begin. Give materially to those who have been a blessing to you spiritually.

Indiana Uniting Church and Family Conference Report

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:30:30 -0400

Last weekend, around 500 people gathered to join in the Uniting Church and Family conference in Anderson Indiana. My fellow elder at Hope Baptist, Jason Dohm and I delivered ten messages that included, “The Biblical Case for Family Integrated Discipleship,” “What is a Family Integrated Church,” and the “Importance of the Regulative principle of Worship.”
The story behind the story of this conference is the church in Wilkinson. The church in Wilkinson, which was launched only eight months ago sponsored the Indiana event.
This church quickly grew to 25 families.
The genius behind the conference

The whole church pitched in to produce this conference. Everyone had a job – young and old. It was exciting to see a whole church pull together. Together they did everything, including feeding the 500.
Their efforts remind me of what can happen when a small church pulls together and labors for kingdom purposes. It calls up thoughts of that little sixteenth century church of English refugees in Geneva, about the same size as the Wilkinson church. They spent two years producing the Geneva Bible. That little church composed of John Foxe, John Knox, Myles Coverdale and other bible scholars pulled their resources together and produced the most powerful influence in the history of the world – the Bible in the English language. SThis, from a church of around two dozen families – the same size as the Church in Wilkinson .
Who knows what can happen when a small church with a clear vision labors together to spread the Word of God. Imagine what your church can do!
The Regional NCFIC conferences are always sponsored by a local church or churches. We bring our speaker team in, but the local churches have the vision. They handle the execution of the conference including the advertising, securing the venue and whatever logistics are necessary. It is such a blessing to travel to be with these precious churches and join with them to reach the people in their regions.

How to Handle Divisive People in the Church

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:29:25 -0400

Dan Horn is preaching at Hope on Sunday Aug. 17 on Romans 16:17-20

This week, in the flow of our expositions in Romans, our text is Romans 16:17-20, where Paul instructs church members how to handle divisive people. In doing so, he presents various protective measures for church members to consider and obey. One very practical way we live out the gospel is in the way we deal with divisive people in the church. There always will be people who will attempt to divide brothers and now Paul turns to this subject in order to continue to illustrate the implications of the gospel in church life.

Paul has been speaking of the different ways people have been relating to the church. He goes to great lengths to show how Priscilla and Aquila and Phoebe and Tryphena and Tryphosa, and so forth, have been relating to the church in a beautiful way. Now, he turns and reminds us that all people do not treat the church so well. Some try to divide. They try to put people in different camps to split the church. They work for splitting people into parties. They speak flattering words and get people to follow them in order to separate brethren. They are operating contrary to love that has been demonstrated in the previous sections of Romans. After such an outpouring of love and grace toward those who have served the church, now Paul goes into warning mode and identifies that there are specific actions that believers must take when divisive people begin their work.

Available for Pre Order

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 16:56:25 -0400

These two new books available shipping Sept 1. You may pre order by clicking below:

The “Kata Lalein” of Slander and Gossip

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:36:08 -0400

David Powlison and Tim Keller teamed up for incisive thinking on slander. Considering James 4:10-11, "Brothers, don’t slander or attack one another," they say,

"The verb “slander” simply means to “speak against” (Gk. kata-lalein). It is not necessarily a false report, just an “against-report.” The intent is to belittle another. To pour out contempt. To mock. To hurt. To harm. To destroy. To rejoice in purported evil. This can’t mean simple disagreement with ideas—that would mean that we could never have a debate over a point. This isn’t respectful disagreement with ideas. James warns against attacking a person’s motives and character, so that the listeners’ respect and love for the person is undermined...

The link of slander to pride in James 4:10 shows that slander is not the humble evaluation of error or fault, which we must constantly be doing. Rather, in slander the speaker speaks as if he never would do the same thing himself. It acts self-righteous and superior toward one’s obviously idiotic inferiors. Non-slanderous evaluation is fair-minded, constructive, gentle, guarded, and always demonstrates that speakers sense how much they share the same frailty, humanity, and sinful nature with the one being criticized. It shows a profound awareness of your own sin. It is never “against-speaking.”

James 5:9 adds a nuance: "Don’t grumble against one another." Literally, it means don’t moan and groan and roll your eyes. This refers to a kind of against-speaking that is not as specific as a focused slander or attack. It hints at others flaws, not only with words, but by body language and tone. In print, such attitudes are communicated by innuendo, guilt by association, sneering, pejorative vocabulary. In person, it means shaking your head, rolling your eyes, and re-enforcing the erosion of love and respect for someone else. For example, “You know how they do things around here. Yadda, yadda. What do you expect?” Such a “groan” accomplishes the same thing as outright slander. It brings “angry looks” to all concerned. Passing on negative stuff always undermines love and respect. It’s never nourishing, never constructive, never timely, never grace-giving. "

For the whole article click here,