We drove up to Liberty University tonight to watch Emily receive her “nursing pin” having been formally accepted into the nursing program at LU. The ceremony was held inside the main auditorium at Thomas Road Baptist Church. It was a nice ceremony. I posted more pictures on my Facebook page.

Along with receiving their pin, all the nursing students carried a candle that was lit during the ceremony, signifying that they are bearers of the light of Christ. The ceremony ended with all 120 plus sophomore nursing students on stage singing together. It was a nice touch on a memorable evening. Emily, your Mom and I love you and are very proud of you!

How Sharp the Edge? Christ, Controversy, and Cutting Words

Wow! I’ve listened to more than a hundred sermons by Mark Driscoll and I do believe that this one may very well be one of the best! In Matthew 11:6 Jesus said, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.” Amen!! In a nutshell. . . it was a challenge to:

1. Feed the sheep.
2. Rebuke the swine.
3. Shoot the wolves.
4. Bark at the dogs.
5. Pray for the shepherds.

As a shepherd myself, it was very convicting. Pray for me, indeed - thank you. Ask the Lord to enable me to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. (II Timothy 4:2)

“It is disturbing to me that some churches see discipleship as a formulaic course of study instead of a lifelong journey as a sinner saved by grace. Following Jesus is not accomplished by completing 8 classes in the basement of a church. It is a complete abandonment of our self in favor of the person, work and mission of Jesus.”

– Don A. Carson (Link)

In honor of my daughter who has an understanding and appreciation for music that is vastly beyond that of her Dad:

When man's natural musical ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes an art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, His product and His gift; we marvel when we hear music in which one voice sings a simple melody, while three, four, or five other voices play and trip lustily around the voice that sings its simple melody and adorn this simple melody wonderfully with artistic musical effects, thus reminding us of a heavenly dance, where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress and embrace.

A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.

(Martin Luther, 1538, in his foreword to a collection of chorale motets)

Okay, three posts in one day, what gives? Hey, I haven’t blogged in a week, so I’m making up for lost time.

No, I’ve just got plenty of good stuff to pass along. I’m jacked about the new study that Tim is starting this Sunday with the Sr/Jr High! It’s based on the book, Do Hard Things by two teenagers, Alex & Brett Harris. Laurie, Robert and I are reading this book together. We’re just a couple of chapters in at this point, but my early review would be: outstanding!

The book is basically a challenge to teenagers to rebel against the low expectations our society has of teenagers: “Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last. We do.” – Alex and Brett

You can check out more information about the study and “REBELUTION” at therebelution.com.

Take a minute to pray for Tim and the kids that will be participating in this study. If you’re a member of CC and the parent of a junior or senior higher, please make every effort to have your kids here each week. In fact, instead of just dropping them off, consider staying. You’re welcome to sit in on the discussion, or you can hang out in the gym and connect with the kids who are coming.

Don’t forget that we’re planning to open our new clothes closet to our community on Saturday, October 4 from 9:00am until noon. I don’t have the words to express how much I appreciate, and how proud I am of Debbie Baumier’s tireless efforts at transforming the “church basement” into the remarkable ministry area that is now - wow!! She would be the first to say that she’s had a lot of help. . . and so to everybody who has helped clean, build clothing racks, paint, help with the construction, donate clothing and so much more – THANK YOU!

In anticipation of our Grand Opening on Saturday, October 4th, we could still use some volunteers. Here are a couple of ways you can help.

1. We need a few people to sit at the sign-in table and greet newcomers.
2. We could use a few folks to help people look for clothing, and just help keep the racks and shoes in order.
3. We need someone to take care of the snack table. We’re planning to serve coffee, juices, water and snacks.
4. We need some ladies (or gents) to make some of the goodies for the snack table.
5. Most importantly, please cover the entire ministry in prayer!

If you’d be willing to help, please contact Debbie.

It’s been said that you can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.

That may be a cliche, but it’s true. It’s the heart of what I’ve been trying to get across in our stewardship series. In fact, this past Sunday, in looking at the example of the Macedonian Christians in II Corinthians 8, I had an opportunity to share what may be the most important thing that I share during the entire series, namely, that we give because we love.

Seriously, as a general rule, people give, not because some preacher gives you a list of ten reasons why you should tithe – no, we give because we love. In the message on Sunday, I shared that Laurie and I have always lived by a strict budget. But this past year, we’ve needed to come up with some extra funds that weren’t in the budget to help out our girls. Hey, stuff happens, right? Read More...

Balance is not a goal. Someone who is balanced is standing still. You don’t want to be balanced, you need to be leaning. Lean into your marriage. Lean into your relationships. Lean into God.
– Mark Beeson (link)

Proverbs 31:8-9 instructs us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”

When you think about speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves – the helpless – I can’t think of anyone who would qualify any more than the little one who may not yet be born, but who is still, in every sense of the term, a person created in the image of God.

But what about those who are born and left to die? Meet Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor, who appeared as a guest on Hannity and Colmes, where they were discussing whether the law should protect babies left to die after failed abortions.

Mission accomplished! The surgery to repair my hernia went fine today, although Dr. Berry did tell Laurie that it was a large, complicated hernia. I guess that’s what I get for waiting for two years to have it fixed! It’s been a long day but I’m home in an easy chair making good use of my laptop and pain meds. I know a lot of you guys were praying for me – thank you!

"Times of revival are seasons in which many nominal and spiritually sleepy Christians, operating out of the semi-Pharisaism of religion, wake up to the wonder and ramifications of the gospel. Revivals are massive eruptions of new spiritual power in the church through a recovery of the gospel. In his sermon on Mark 9 Lloyd-Jones was calling the church to revival as its only hope. This is not a new program or something you can implement through a series of steps. It is a matter of wonder."
– Tim Keller in The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” – Acts 3:19 (emphasis mine)

It only took me two and a half years to preach through Romans.  

John Piper’s next Sermon Series

I feel vindicated :)

This past Sunday’s service was awesome! Our worship team... the singing and praise... the two special interpretive dances... wow! Nathan’s opening welcome about the importance of relationships – all of it was powerful! I typically am always pretty excited to preach, but Sunday’s service was so moving, I absolutely couldn’t wait to get into God’s Word with you guys.

And then everybody’s response to the message was out-of-the-park encouraging to me. Who would’ve ever thought that a sermon on “giving” could be so much FUN! I am so thankful for the hunger you have for God’s Word! I’ve told you before, as a preacher, when you get to preach in a room full of believers who are genuinely excited about God and His Word, it’s like throwing gasoline on a fire!

We drilled down into the first 12 verses of I Chronicles 29 and saw that EVERYTHING belongs to God, comes from God and is disbursed by God. If you weren’t able to be with us, you can listen to the message here. If you were at Christ’s Church on Sunday, then you’re going to love this video by Steven Curtis Chapman: Read More...

Last week was a blur. I felt like I was still playing catch-up after getting back into town following our trip out to Bowling Green. Then we had a full house over the weekend, which was terrific! My brother and sister-in-law were able to stay with us for a couple of days, and my Dad drove down and joined us Sunday afternoon. It was also great to have Emily home for the weekend.

I wanted to remind everybody that I’ll be kicking off a new series of messages Sunday on the theme of stewardship. I realize the word “excited” is probably the most over-used word in our vocabulary, but what can I say. . . I am really excited about this study! Sunday we’re going to talk about the difference between ownership and stewardship – i.e. who really owns our “stuff”? If you’d like to get a head start, spend some time reading through I Chronicles 29, especially verses 10-19.

One other reminder. . . to the guys who may be reading this blog, if you’re not already involved in a small group, consider yourself officially invited to the new men’s group that is starting soon! It will meet in the home of Dave Eanes on Thursdays at 7:00 pm. I’ll be leading the study, and it is open to all men. The official “start date” will be announced soon!