Look Lord, My Shell Collection!

I don't usually like to post a couple videos in a row, but this clip of a sermon by John Piper really caught my attention again today. I had heard previously heard this sermon and it made an impact on me then, but hearing it again today was just a great reminder.

Recognizing your idols

On Wednesday night I heard a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll that really struck me, like hit me between the eyes and gave me a swift kick in the butt. He was preaching on idolatry and religion. He has a lot of great things to say by he gave a list of questions to ask yourself to see what some of your idols might be. It hurt and made me physically sick to go back and answer those questions. When I took a serious look at myself I realized the dreadful sin that I was committing against a Holy God, replacing the one, true, eternal God with temporary, futile idols.

Here's that list of questions that the Holy Spirit has used to prod me to more passionately pursue the true God and not the fleeting idols.

What am I most afraid of?
What do you long for most passionately?
Where do you run for comfort?
What do you complain about most?
What makes you happiest?
How do you explain yourself to others?
What has caused you to be angry at God?
What do you brag about?
What do you want more than anything?
What do you sacrifice most for?
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Whose approval are you seeking?
What do you want to control or master?
What comfort do you treasure most?

Here's the link again to Mars Hill Church Seattle to find the sermon

Why doesn't church feel like a family?

I found this excerpt from a sermon quite practical

Sermon prep for the Congregation - Consider how you listen

I was catching up on some blog reading this afternoon and was convicted by a couple of blogs posts written by Tim Challies on the topic of considering how we listen to sermons. I recommend giving both posts a read.

The first of the posts is excerpted from a George Whitfield sermon...These pearls of wisdom will help you listen to sermons in a way that will bring great blessing to your soul. Or as Whitefield said, “Here are some cautions and directions, in order to help you hear sermons with profit and advantage.”

The second post is a great list of ways we who do not preach can prepare for the Sunday sermon..."What we consider less often, I think, is that while a pastor bears great responsibility in preparing for and delivering the Word of God each Sunday, the listener shares in the responsibility. The church has no place for an audience. We are all to be involved in the preaching, even as listeners." - Tim Challies

What is the Glory of God?

As Pastor Don preached from 1 John this morning I was reminded of an article I read just yesterday on the glory of God.

The article I read was from the Desiring God website. On the glory of God, John Piper states...

The reason it is so important is because in the Bible I don't know of any truth that is more fundamentally pervasive than God's zeal to be glorified, which means his zeal for us so to think, so to feel, and so to act as to make him look as glorious as he is. We don't add to his glory...

What is it? I believe the glory of God is the going public of his infinite worth. I define the holiness of God as the infinite value of God, the infinite intrinsic worth of God. And when that goes public in creation, the heavens are telling the glory of God, and human beings are manifesting his glory, because we're created in his image, and we're trusting his promises so that we make him look gloriously trustworthy...
Read the rest of the article from Desiring God

Loving what we don't love

supremacy of man vs. supremacy of Christ

Can Singles have a Standard of Beauty?

In his sermon series on the book of Song of Songs, Mark Driscoll addressed the question "Can Singles have a Standard of Beauty?" His answer is something good to keep in mind as a single who looks forward to the possibility of marriage one day. His answer to the question is...

"No....."

"You need to marry someone you are attracted to. And I am talking attraction in the holistic sense. You are spiritually attracted to them. They love and serve Jesus. You are attracted to their ministry and what they're doing to serve and love others. You are attracted to them mentally. You like conversing with them and learning with them. You are attracted to the emotionally. You feel safe with them you feel connected with them. You are attracted to them physically...attraction is a holistic issues. To me again this is one of the disgusting things about friends with benefits and hooking up and cohabitation and porn. It's not a whole attraction it is just a physical attraction, that's it....The problem is if you are single and set a standard of beauty you are looking just at the physical, you need to look at it and consider it but not just that and then what about when you do get married and they grow or change...you'll be dissatisfied because you'll have a standard of beauty rather than a spouse."

Pray like Jesus

This morning I was thinking about unsaved family members of mine and how I pray and hope so much that they would be saved, yet in all my and others attempts to share the gospel they are still hard hearted and the Lord has not yet opened their eyes. I was discouraged. But the Lord brought to mind previous conversations I've had with believers on why we need to continue to pray for lost loved ones and a sermon series preached by Mark Driscoll that I listened to while flying back to Lakeshore last week.

The series is entitled "Pray Like Jesus". The series was good stuff and I recommend taking the time to listen, but I was reminded of one thing that he said several times. And it sounds very simple, like duh I should not have to remind myself of this. But God answers prayer. His answers are yes, no, or later.

I am encouraged to think that as I pray no matter what the answer God hears and answers. But there is still that hope within me that maybe God is saying later when I pray for the unsaved. I don't know for sure and no matter the answer he still receives the glory. But I am less discouraged now as I think there is hope that he will regenerate them and that he has heard my prayer. May the Lord's will be done.

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Driscoll's sermons in the series include:
Pray Like Jesus
The Lord's Prayer
The Gethsemane Prayer

Mars Hill Doctrine Series

This past week I had a little extra drive time as I was dog sitting and as a commitment to myself I wanted to make the most of the time that I had to grow spiritually in my relationship with the Lord. The majority of my time was spent listening to sermons. I listened to the sermons from the 2008 Founders Conference and then began in on The Doctrine Series preached by Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill in Seattle. For the most part I found this to be a great series a definitely worth listening to. I've made it through all but three of them and I look forward to hearing what Driscoll will bring to us from the scriptures.

Trinity: God is
Revelation: God Speaks
Creation: God Makes
Image: God Loves
Fall: God Judges
Covenant: God Pursues
Incarnation: God Comes
Cross: God Dies
Resurrection: God Saves
Church: God Sends
Worship: God Transforms
Stewardship: God Gives
Kingdom: God Reigns

John Piper on the prosperity gospel

That Christ May Dwell in You Richly

This past Sunday Pastor Don preached to us from Eph 3:17. It was a convicting sermon dealing with Christ dwelling in the hearts of believers and asking ourselves if Jesus is at home in our hearts... “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love”

Pastor Don said there were different ways cultivate Christ being at home in us and allowing him to have access to every portion of our life; we aren't to sit around wait. But we cannot just decide to make Christ the center of our being..Like a food you do not like - you can choose to eat it, but you can't just choose to like it. It is part of our affections, the more we eat it the more we grow to like it....the more time we spend with Christ and in his word, the more or affections change and he is able to take control of our being and be the center and our desire.

Two of the main ways to spend time with Christ and let our affections be controlled by him are through prayer and Bible Study.

1. Prayer – through prayer we can ask Christ to dwell in – to be at home in our hearts. As Christ dwells in us he is going to change us. He's going to help us throw away those things that are not glorifying to him and that we desire above him.

There are a couple ways praying can facilitate this

• A. We can ask Christ to dwell in us. We can pray: Christ – may passions are all wrong, I desire this rather than that, I desire money rather than you, I desire respect more than the word of God, I desire this more than you – change that in me God, I can't change it myself!

• B. Prayer time itself will facilitate Christ living in our heart. You get know know others by spending time with them. The more intimately we know Christ the more at home he is going to be in our heart.

2. Bible Study – This is how we get Christ in our minds. As we look at the Word we begin to store it in us. The memorization of scripture is huge in storing God's Word in our heart “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might sin against you.”

Memorization is one area that Pastor Don emphasized that is so important, but not focused on enough by most believers (including myself). I've recently begun getting up earlier so that I have time to spend with the Lord and focus on prayer and scripture study. I used to memorize a lot, but have not done that as much as I ought to recently, so I will be adding that to my daily Bible study time.

Take a couple minutes to listen to Pastor Don urge the people of Lakeshore Baptist Church to make memorization a priority in their life, it's a great admonition to treasure God's Word.

Specific, Selfless, and Spiritual

I was sitting here reflecting on the sermon preached today here at Lakeshore Baptist. Pastor Don preached on Ephesians 3:14-21 focusing on prayer. Prayer is something that I say I do, and I do, but often times do not pray as I ought. Pastor Don brought up many great points from this texts that I hope I can incorporate into my own personal prayer time.

3 Types of Prayer
I. Specific Prayer

• Paul is praying for strength and knowledge of God for the believers in Ephesus.
• Our prayers are often very vague
• We can go in with a plan as we pray. We can make a list of the things that we are going to pray for and specifics so we don't get distracted as we pray.

II. Selfless Prayer

• Paul was in prison but he was praying for others. Here he is not praying or asking for prayers of himself for comfort, relief, or release from prison he is focused on others.

III. Spiritual Prayer

• Paul is praying for spiritual issues in the life of others.
• We don't see here him praying for the sickness of so and so. If sickness and health are all that we pray for we are showing God where I priorities are. And if the physical is our only priority we are flirting with idolatry - we are worried about the tangible things more than the everlasting things of someone's spiritual well being. This is not to say, though, not to pray for those things. Praying for health and healing are good things and we have a miracle working God who can heal those things. But we just must make sure we know I priorities.

Other notes on Prayer
A. Paul is praying from Prison - Paul is not waiting until his circumstances are better, he sees the need to pray for the church and he's doing it while he is locked in chains in a Roman prison. We shouldn't wait until our circumstances are good to pray for others, we ought to pray for others if we are sick, homeless, or otherwise in distress.

B. Paul's prayer is a prayer of Passion - he bowed on his knees. It was as if we was begging God on his knees for the spiritual issues of the church in Ephesus.

C. Paul Prays to the Father - God is the Father of all families (of believers).

D. Paul is praying for power - Vs 16 - Paul is asking for strength for the inner being of the church. The stronger you are => the healthier you are => The more ready you are to fight of sin, temptation, depression, etc.
This strength comes from 2 places - through the Spirit and according to the riches of his glory.