T4G 2008 Message Titles

I've posted the Message titles for T4G. I can't wait! Your thoughts?

-Justin C.

What To Do When You've Preached A Lousy Sermon

This past Sunday night I continued preaching through Revelation by expounding Christ's letter to the church in Sardis. I believe I conveyed all the main points of the passage, but immediately after preaching felt that I had done a lousy job. I preached the truth, but it wasn't preached with the clarity, power, and conviction that I would have liked. The passage is so rich, and I feel my people left having not tasted its glory. I've even considered preaching the same passage again this Sunday night, just to have another chance at helping my congregation sense its weight.

So, how do you handle it when you feel a sermon didn't go well? Any good counsel to offer?

Spurgeon on Preaching

"Do not say what everybody expected you would say. Keep your sentences out of ruts. If you have already said, 'Salvation is all of grace' do not always add, 'and not by human merit,' but vary it and say, 'Salvation is all of grace; self-righteousness has not a corner to hide its head in.' . . . . Occasional resorts to this system of surprise will keep an audience in a state of proper expectancy." (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 137).

ht: Wilson

The Pros and Cons of Church Choirs

What do you guys think about church choirs? Are they Biblical? Are they helpful? If you could have your preference, would your church have a choir? Why or why not?

Children and the Church

Brothers, lets begin a discussion that is important and not talked about much.

At what age should beliving children become members of a local church?

When can a child fulfill the committments of a church covenant?

Why would we baptize a child but not allow them to be a member of our church?

I'm totally undecided on this issue. I'm really wanting to learn from you guys.

-Justin C.

Did You Heed Piper's Advice?

He was hoping pastors wouldn't waste MLK weekend. So, did you preach/teach on or mention issues related to ethnic diversity? If not, why not? If so, how did it go?

On Sunday night I gave a talk, "Four Reasons Why I'm Thankful for Ethnic Diversity." It got a little tense at times, but I think most of the folks eagerly received it. What were the four reasons?

1. Because it shows there can be unity in the midst of diversity.
2. Because it shows the beautiful creativity of God.
3. Because it can cause us to grow in our capacity to love others.
4. Because it gives God more glory than otherwise.
   

Music for the Glory of Christ

More on the "secular/Christian" music issue. Here's Bob Kauflin on Can Christian Musicians Play Secular Music for God's Glory?

Here are his main points to consider:

1. What is my motive for wanting to be involved in secular music?
2. A Christian's success in the secular music industry is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing.
3. Secular music doesn't necessarily mean godless or anti-Christian.
4. We can't judge musicians motives from a distance.
5. Being involved in secular music doesn't justify abandoning the church or minimizing faith.
6. The world needs to see people who've been changed by the gospel in every arena.
7. Not all music by Christians needs to expound the full gospel.

Driscoll's Controversial Interpretation

In a few weeks I will be preaching from 1st Timothy in a sermon entitled "Manhood and Womanhood in the Family of God" which deals with gender roles in the local church. Of course, one of the key passages I'll be dealing with is 1st Timothy 2:12-14. In that passage, Paul argues from Genesis that women are not to have authority over men or teach them. One of his arguments is that it was the woman who was deceived, not the man. How are we to understand that argument?

Mark Driscoll has written what I think is one of the most provocative and controversial interpretations of this passage. I am not in full agreement with it. However, I would like to hear your opinions about his comments or Paul's argument.

(By the way: Driscoll is very blunt in his preaching. You've been warned.)

Without blushing, Paul is simply stating that when it comes to leading in the church, women are unfit because they are more gullible and easier to deceive than men. While many irate women have disagreed with his assessment through the years, it does appear from this that such women who fail to trust his instruction and follow his teaching are much like their mother Eve and are well-intended but ill-informed. . . Before you get all emotional like a woman in hearing this, please consider the content of the women’s magazines at your local grocery store that encourages liberated women in our day to watch porno with their boyfriends, master oral sex for men who have no intention of marrying them, pay for their own dates in the name of equality, spend an average of three-fourths of their childbearing years having sex but trying not to get pregnant, and abort 1/3 of all babies – and ask yourself if it doesn’t look like the Serpent is still trolling the garden and that the daughters of Eve aren’t gullible in pronouncing progress, liberation, and equality.

Thoughts?

Awakened Out of a Dream

Here is Jonathan Edwards on hell in his sermon "That Such Persons Are Very Imprudent and Foolish Who Don't Consider Their Latter End" in the book, The Blessing of God: Previously unpublished sermons of Jonathan Edwards:

'Tis not at all more eligible to suffer tomorrow than today. You will hate pain and sorrow and torment as much when you come to die and after you are dead as you do now. You will not be at all more insensible of pain in that world that looks to you like a dream. Then in this world it will not look like a dream when your time comes, but you will be awakened out of a dream, for a person's sense and perception will be abundantly quicker and more lively hereafter than at present.

Sam Storms Conference

The Sam Storms conference is just one month away (February 15-17).

I've posted an invitation and resources on my blog. Be sure to check out the link with Sam's audio sermons!!

In anticipation, here are some questions:

1. When did you first hear about Sam Storms?

2. What Sam Storms books have you read? Favorite?

3. What questions do you want to ask him while he is here?

-Justin C.

Agape and Porneia

Okay, so a few months back we had this long drawn out debate about divorce and remarriage here on the blog. I think it was a healthy debate, but I have no desire to do it all over again. However, I did have a thought tonight that I think might could be helpful. If you remember, one of the key disagreements in the whole debate (perhaps the key disagreement) was over the meaning of the word porneia in Matthew 5. With absolutely no offense intended towards anyone, it seemed that for some porneia could only mean "sexual immorality", and not "premarital sex". Despite our going back and forth time and again, I could not seem to convince the others that porneia can mean "sexual immorality" in general or "premarital sex" more specifically. In Matthew 5, I believe the more specific meaning is in view.

Then tonight I was thinking about the Greek word agape (because of a discussion in Carson's Exegetical Fallacies). My thoughts went kind of like this: If we were to ask most any pastor to talk about the meaning of the Greek word agape, his eyes would immediately light up and with a big grin he would talk about how this word refers to that divine, unconditional love of God that we experience in Christ. It is the best kind of love in the world. And, of course, he'd be right. Kind of.

See, there are places in Scripture where agape does not refer to divine, unconditional love. In 2nd Timothy 4:10, for example, Paul tells us that Demas forsook him because Demas loved [agapao] this present evil world. In the Septuagint, the word agape is used in reference to Amnon's incestuous rape of his half sister Tamer (See Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, p.31).

Agape has a general meaning: "love", which can have a variety of connotations. But agape can also be used (and often is) to refer to a particular, specific kind of love: "divine, unconditional love". Only the context tells us whether the general or specific meaning is intended.

This is exactly the case with porneia. Yes, it has a general meaning of "sexual immorality". But there is also sufficient evidence to show that it can have the specific meaning of "premarital sex" (a kind of sexual immorality). To argue that the word can only have the general meaning is to misunderstand how Greek words (or even English words) work.

Of course, this doesn't answer all the questions. One would need to prove that porneia can have this more specific meaning and then prove that the context points towards that meaning in Matthew 5. I won't rehash all of that -I think it has been sufficiently shown. I just thought the analogy with agape might be worth sharing.

Faith and the New Birth

In case you missed it or for further consideration... Does Regeneration Precede Faith and Does It Matter? [pdf]

A Pastor's Story

How does our theology explain what happened here?
How could things have turned out differently?

ht: purgatorio

Christians Who Don't Listen to Christian Music

Hey guys, what do y'all think about this? I've recently read of some Christians who say they don't listen to "Christian" music (meaning those with Christian labels or in the Christian music industry). I don't have the links readily available for you but I read Derek Webb say it in an interview, Reformissionary (Steve McCoy) write it in a post, and another couple of bloggers who were "up" on music in the mainstream.

And I must say that I've been very interested in it because I haven't really listened to "Christian" music (or any music at all) within the last couple of years... just talk radio or sermons. I just got tired of the same old weak stuff that I heard on the radio.

Then, the other day I read the post, Samson and the Evangelical Community, by JD Greear. Here's the quote I posted on my blog.

Rather than engaging the culture, they retreated from it; rather than confronting the culture, they absorbed it. In other words, they were of the world but not in it.

Sadly, I think this describes our American evangelical Christian community. We are separated from the world, living in Christian enclaves reading Christian literature, watching Christian TV, listening to Christian music and talking with only Christian friends. We are separated from the world.

So, there it is again... Christian music. Have y'all thought much about this along with other media (movies, tv, books, other lit.)? What have you concluded?

January Theology Breakfast

January Theology Breakfast

Topic: "DOES REGENERATION PRECEDE FAITH AND WHY IT MATTERS"

Speaker: Jim Upchurch, Assoc. Pastor at Red Oak Baptist

Where: Southside Baptist Church, Rocky Mount

When : 7:00 AM

Who's Invited? Pastors and laypeople who have an interest in theology.

How long does it last? The actual presentation with questions and answers should last about 45 minutes. Those needing to get to work are welcome to come and leave early.

See you there!!