John Piper from this past weekend’s Sanctity of Life sermon:

As everyone knows, our new President, over whom we have rejoiced, does not share this reverence for the beginning of human life. He is trapped and blinded by a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he said, “We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”

To which I say . . .

• No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women’s health; you are authorizing the destruction of half a million tiny women every year.
• No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for a million helpless people every year.
• No, Mr. President, killing our children does not cease to be killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. Call it what you will, they are dead, and we have killed them. And you, Mr. President, would keep the killing legal.

Some of us wept with joy over the inauguration of the first African-American President. We will pray for you. And may God grant that there arises in your heart an amazed and happy reverence for the beginning of every human life.

Update: Here’s the video.

This past Friday, Laurie and I took Robert over to the Youth Awakening at New Life Community Church. We stayed to hear Tim speak and I’m so glad we did! He knocked it out of the park! He was the first speaker and had the assignment of “introducing” the overall theme of the weekend. He did, in a big way. His premise was that we have all been created to serve and worship God. But because of the fall, we’ve fallen into idolatry, serving and worshiping created things instead of our Creator (Romans 1:18-32).

He did a great job of connecting with the kids and explaining some pretty heady biblical concepts, using some insightful and relevant illustrations. But he shared a quote from Donald Barnhouse that I had never heard before and I thought it packed a serious punch:

Will God give man brains to see these things and will man then fail to exercise his will toward that God? The sorrowful answer is that both of these things are true. God will give a man brains to smelt iron and make a hammer head and nails. God will grow a tree and give man strength to cut it down and brains to fashion a hammer handle from its wood. And when man has the hammer and the nails, God will put out His hand and let man drive nails through it and place Him on a cross in the supreme demonstration that men are without excuse.

Wow! Good stuff! Tim, I appreciated all the preparation and prayer you put into your message. God was honored and His people were inspired, and your pastor was beaming :) After getting the post-youth-awakening breakdown from Robert last night, it sounds like the rest of the weekend was just as good.

P.S. If you’re a Christ’s Church parent who has a Jr or Sr higher that wasn’t able to make it this weekend. . . or, who is missing out on youth group each Sunday afternoon, let me encourage you to get your child(ren) plugged-in.

It’s not just a question of what they are missing week to week, it’s also what WE are missing. Along with faithfully teaching them the Word, Tim also has a tremendous heart for seeing “youth group” become a place that fosters biblical community over time among our teens. That obviously isn’t going to occur over night, but it will never occur apart from long term, consistent involvement.

Get behind Tim and Tonya in this regard. Pray for them. Encourage them. Support them. Let them know how much you appreciate their ministry. Above all, champion this with your kids so that they will want to get plugged-in.

James Dobson (Focus on the Family) is scheduled to appear on this Friday’s edition of the new Fox program “Glenn Beck” to discuss his historic final interview with Ted Bundy. Dobson said,

My purpose in going on Glenn’s show is to discuss the reason why Bundy chose me for his final interview when every major news anchor at every TV network was jostling for an exclusive with him. Bundy wanted to talk about the role media violence and particularly violent, hard-core pornography had played in his years-long killing spree, and he knew the mainstream media wouldn’t report that story.

“Pornography can reach out and snatch a kid out of any house today. It snatched me out of my home 20, 30 years ago,” he told Dobson. “I’ll tell you, there are lots of other kids playing in streets around the country who are going to be dead tomorrow and the next day and the next day and next month, because other young people are reading the kinds of things and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today.

Click here to read more.

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting their annual 20/20 conference on February 6-7. This year’s theme, “The Gospel Comes to Life,” covers the key topic of how the Gospel influences every decision we make and every conversation we have. They’ve got some great speakers lined up, including Mark Driscoll and CJ Mahaney.

The conference is only $35, plus your meals and a hotel room, which we can share to help cut down on the costs. Tim and I, along with a couple of others are planning on going. Want to come with us? Let me know! Visit the conference site for more details.

Wow, I seem to have completely fallen off the blogging train! I’ve got some serious catching up to do. I thought I’d jump back in with some completely random thoughts (I think others have called it a “mind dump”)... here goes:

• With today’s historic inauguration, I’ve been thinking about Paul’s instructions to Timothy - “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (I Tim. 2:1-2). Need some help getting started? Check out these pastoral prayers here, here, and here.

• I finished up Mark Driscoll’s, Death By Love a couple of weeks ago. In a word: awesome! I particularly appreciated his chapter on ‘Unlimited Limited Atonement.’ In fact, I shared a quote from that chapter in this past Sunday’s message. After quoting II Timothy 2:23-25, Driscoll wrote, “When Jesus-loving people wrestle with issues like this, our attitude must be one of hearing each other rather than of winning debate points, and our goal must be finding God’s truth by working together toward it rather than protecting personal beliefs.” Amen, amen and amen!

• Most important of all, I had a hot date last night! Laurie and I had dinner together at the Olive Garden in Roanoke, followed by a Roanoke Symphony Orchestra concert. Both events were creative Christmas gifts (an “instant-date-package”) from our three children. Sarah, Emily and Robert – thank you! Your Mom and I had a terrific evening together!

In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us to be very careful how we live - not as unwise, but wise, making the most of every opportunity. Don Whitney has put together an insightful list of TEN QUESTIONS to ask yourself at the beginning of a new year.