2 sundays ago, I began a new sermon series out of the book of James. The theme of James is that we as believers should have a faith that is alive. In every area of life, our faith should live and breath. Too often, I’m afraid, we live such segmented lives. We have our church life, family life, social life, and so on; but the idea of a divided life should not be in the thought of believers. In His atonement for us, Christ purchased us by his blood and he now lives in us and through us to accomplish his will and to conform us to his image. Therefore, our lives should be marked by genuine faith in him and a faith that transcends every facet of our being. To this end, James wrote and encouraged, often strongly, the church to live out their faith each day.

One of the greatest difficulties in living out our faith is when we face trials. These times of suffering and hardship can rattle and shake our trust in the Lord alone. James teaches us that God uses trials in the live of his people to test our faith and to grow us up in the faith. Believers, understanding that God is using trials for his purpose and glory are called upon to seek, by/in/with faith the wisdom that God gives so generously. Trials are not meant to tear down our faith but rather they meant to building us, maturing us, and shaping us to live by God’s perspective and to live with His identity.

We cannot pretend they are pretty nor can we wear rose color glasses when we consider the harshipd of this life. We can simply trust in the soveriegn goodness of our God and live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Only then, can we consider it pure joy when we fall into various trials…

Well, as you can tell, it has been a while since I have updated my blog and so I wanted to let you know that I am now the lead pastor at CrossPoint Baptist Church in Greenbrier, Arkansas. My family and I are truly enjoying the people here in our new place of ministry as well enjoying the glory of the unknown. It is interesting how the Lord works in our lives. He often uses such simple items to capture our attention; to remind us of His unfailing love and steadfast hope. I have been reminded of this truth as I have settled in here at CrossPoint. God nevers leads us where His soveriegn grace does not keep us. I am grateful for my Lord and His marvelous grace. I hope to become more active on this site and to discuss matters of faith, culture, and truth. I will seek to be original in my content; only allowing for articles that teach a wonderful truth from scripture. I am glad to be up to date.

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Sitting enthroned as King over all
Nothing escapes your attention, big or small
A Declaration to all of His greatness revealed
An Invitation to worship for all who will
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise
Infinite, Eternal, and Holy are His ways
No eye has seen, no ear has heard
The Greatness of our God’s matchless worth!

This a blog post from Desiring God that I felt really addressed the issue of faith and family:

A Crucial Word from Machen’s Mother
February 23, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

J. Gresham Machen, one of the great proclaimers and defenders of the Christian faith in the early 20th century, went through a season of fearful doubt on his way to solid confidence. Remarkably, it was his mother who spoke one of the decisive words of rescue. He tells the story:

The question is not merely whether we can rest in our faith, but whether we can rest in the doubt that is the necessary alternative of faith. We pass sometimes through periods of very low spiritual vitality. The wonderful gospel which formerly seemed to be so glorious comes to seem almost like an idle tale. Hosts of objections arise in our minds; the whole unseen world recedes in the dim distance, and we think for the moment that we have relinquished the Christian hope….

My mother [spoke to me] in those dark hours when the lamp burned dim, when I thought that faith was gone and shipwreck had been made of my soul. “Christ,” she used to say, “keeps firmer hold on us than we keep on him.”

My mother’s word meant…that salvation by faith does not mean that we are saved because we keep ourselves at every moment in an ideally perfect attitude of confidence in Christ. No, we are saved because having once been united to Christ by faith, we are his forever. Calvinism is a very comforting doctrine indeed. Without its comfort, I think I should have perished long ago in the castle of Giant Despair. (J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, 561)

Six Study EssentialsMark Driscoll

1. Have a good Bible.
Every Christian needs a good Bible that they can easily read and enjoy. A translation such as the English Standard Version (ESV), the ESV Study Bible is very well done, or the New International Version (NIV) is preferable as your primary reading Bible, although there are many other translations that are also quite good (e.g., New King James Version, New American Standard Version).

2. Have some good Christian books.
If you want to build a reference library, the first book you should buy is A Commentary and Reference Survey by John Glynn by John Glynn. That book will tell you which other books are the best resources available for in-depth Christian study and anyone who is serious about studying should have a copy of this book.

3. Have some good (free) online study resources.
There are many great websites that can help you do Bible word studies and such for free. Good examples include the following, with the first one built and run by Mars Hill elder, Zack Hubert:

ReGreek specializes in word studies from the Bible ’s original languages.
Crosswalk has many translations and Bible study tools.
Bible Gateway has many translations and Bible study tools.
CCEL has most of the major works from Christian history for free and a “Study Bible” feature that pulls up historical church commentary on specified verses.
E Sword has numerous Bible study tools.

4. Have some good Bible software.
If you can afford it, Bible study software provides some amazing resources and companies like Logos Bible Software are worth considering.

5. Have some good websites.
There are many great resources available for free on the web with articles, books, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and MP3s. The following are some recommendations:

Desiring God is the website featuring a large repository of sermons and articles from my friend, Dr. John Piper.
Covenant Seminary has a “Free Downloads” link on their front page that will enable you to listen to hundreds of hours of their class lectures on many areas of Christian study. I am grateful to my friends at Covenant who have given the church such a gracious gift.
Mars Hill Church is where hundreds of hours of my teaching is available for free and has been the number one podcast on iTunes for religion and spirituality.
carm has good articles on cults, world religions, and apologetical issues.
equip.org has good articles, book reviews, and more, on cults, world religions, and apologetical issues.
www.christianitytoday.com/historyhas some great articles on Christian history and biography.
www.monergism.com has an almost overwhelming number of free articles on nearly every theological issue from a Reformed perspective.

6. Have some good community.
Most of the Bible was written to communities of people and is therefore best studied in community with other Christians. For this reason, getting plugged into a Community Group and/or taking midweek classes in addition to regularly attending a Sunday church service is essential.
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Mark Driscoll’s blog

“We must never divorce what God has married, namely his Word and his Spirit. The Word of God is the Spirit’s sword. The Spirit without the Word is weaponless; the Word without the Spirit is powerless.” (The Message of Thessalonians pg. 34)

Preach the necessity for the Holy Ghost’s divine operations. … ‘Men must be told that they are dead, and that only the Holy Spirit can quicken them; that the Spirit works according to his own good pleasure, and that no man can claim his visitations or deserve his aid. This is thought to be very discouraging teaching, and so it is, but men need to be discouraged when they are seeking salvation in a wrong manner. To put them out of conceit of their own abilities is a great help toward bringing them to look out of self to another, even the Lord Jesus. The doctrine of election and other great truths which declare salvation to be all of grace, and to be, not the right of the creature, but the gift of the Sovereign Lord, are all calculated to hide pride from man, and so prepare him to receive the mercy of God.’
- C.H. Spurgeon (from Lectures to My Students)

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Teaching Children to Stand Alone
February 16, 2009

Do you know why children love their parents? It’s not because their parents are necessarily better looking or kinder than anyone else. Children love their parents because children have needs and parents meet those needs. I call that “need” love.

Do you know why couples have children? I believe they have a need to receive “need” love. In more simpler terms, they have a need to be needed. And that is a God-given need. The little baby has “need” love and the parents have a “need to be needed” love. That’s the reason there is such a wonderful bond right away.

But sooner or later, a child grows out of that “need” love. There comes a natural time when the child does not need the parent like he or she formerly did. And it’s the job of parents to help their children be able to stand alone. To the degree that parents can do that, they are successful.

Now, let me give parents a personal word of exhortation. Don’t try to hold your children too tight because they will pop out of your hand like a wet bar of soap. If you teach them to stand alone, they’ll come back and be the best friends you ever had. You work yourself out of a job, but you don’t work yourself out of a relationship.

Matthew 7:24 says, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”

Adrian Rogers

Welcome to The Legacy Institute

In a culture where everyone wants true love, passionate romance and deeply satisfying relationships, why do so many people seem sincerely baffled as to how to reach these ideals? At The Legacy Institute, we see this as a classic case of the “wrong directions.” In some instances, it may just be a case of accidental wrong turns or bad decisions. In many instances, it is more insidious: we know people who are selling the wrong map. The Legacy Institute wants to help get people back on the right road. The road that leads to wholeness and clarity in a culture of sexual brokenness and confusion. The road to sexual integrity.

Sexual integrity is expressing the gift of our sexuality throughout our whole lives in agreement with God’s intentional design. Living with sexual integrity means making smart decisions about physical sexual relationships. It means choosing to stay whole as a person, or moving toward wholeness if we’ve been hurt. But sexual integrity involves more than just making good sexual decisions. It also involves knowing who we are as men and women and choosing the most appropriate and compelling ways to express our male and female natures, physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually. When we live this way we don’t just avoid pain, we become whole, fruitful, life-giving people who offer our broken world a glimpse of the very nature of God Himself. When we live according to our design, we exert real power and influence and are able to truly expand the Kingdom of God, just by being what God made us to be.

At The Legacy Institute, our goal is to be catalysts of cultural change. Our mission, our vision and our values all point to the truth that our sexuality is more than just a physical act but rather the core of who we are as human beings. When we see our sexuality this way, we begin to think differently and to live differently. We see order and design in our bodies, our relationships and our families and we are inspired and empowered to make decisions that bring life, love and legacy to our world.

In the last 24 hours I have received several text messages, facebook messages, and I am pretty sure a homing pigeon stopped by too about today’s election. I think most people are simply ready for this day to be over with and to know who is going to be president. The messages I received were all relaying the same message and that is to vote for God’s will to happen today. Translated, that means I hope John McCain wins. I certainly have convictions about who should be elected and why and I base my convictions on what I believe scripture teaches. I know this sounds elementary but it is true. As Christ is formed in me, I see the natural outcome of Him being in charge of all I do. I know everyone doesn’t feel the same way and that’s ok. What I believe we forget is that God’s will is going to be done no matter who is elected. What if God’s will is for Obama to be elected? What if its for McCain to be elected? Are we going to base how we see the greatness of God based on the outcome of a vote? Our country is divided and has been for several years now. I truly believe that this will be a prime opportunity for God’s people to rise up and face the challenges of a divided nation with the good news of Christ. Lasting peace and reconciliation comes only when people are declared right by their Creator. Christ has brideged this impossible scenario by living, dying, and living again in order that our sins may be atoned for and the wrath of God satisfied. God has revealed his glory to us. His will is going to be accomplished. While I do not desire to see moral issues ignored or eroded, I do not want to assume that a Republican or Democrat is the answer we need for our country to be “Christian” again. What will you do if God allows us our nation to rise up and be strong? Will you become more devoted to him and live your life as a willing servant to Holy God? Will you go to the lake instead of worship? Will you become complacent instead of living with urgency? Will you seek to share the hope of Christ or will you hide your light under a basket so that no one sees? The hard truth about today is not which candidate wins but who in the Redeemed of God will rise up and lead in taking adavantage of these opportunites God has given us. Vote according to your convictions but live with the truth that God is sovereign over all. My vote and life are for the glory of God. Stand and Rise. Look at the fields, they are white unto harvest – Jesus