I am blessed to have a Bible study where I work. Wayne Simien came and spoke there last Thursday.
I got to introduce Wayne, one of my all-time favorite Jayhawk basketball heroes. Wayne explained why he walked away from a pro basketball career to pursue Christian ministry with Called to Greatness.
Wayne proved to be just a regular guy, completely humble and fun to hang out with. He shared his testimony of coming to faith in Christ while in college, gave some unique insight into the life of a professional athlete, and encouraged the audience to follow Christ in every aspect of life. His message is worth listening to; in fact I hope entire families will gather and listen together! CLICK HERE to download the audio.
Wayne before he spoke to our Bible study group.
Wayne and others from the Bible study, posing by the poster used to promote the 10/20 event.
The Bible study group at my work put on a parenting seminar luncheon on August 4th. The guest speaker was our very own Dan Pentimone, a pastor at Christ Fellowship of KC, who also works with me downtown!
Whether you have children now or plan to in the future, you will benefit from this study!
Here is the advertisement we ran in our company email ...
One of the toughest jobs you will ever face is parenting. With all the influences confronting your children, how do you assure that you have the strongest influence?Join the Bible Study Group in KC for lunch as we discover what the Bible says about this important topic.
Do you want children who respect and honor you?
Are you preparing your children to face the tough decisions of life?
Is it really possible to raise children where you have the strongest influence over them even through their teen years?
I commend the UK artist S.O., the newest member of Lamp Mode. His lyrics are saturated with Christ-exalting rhymes and wrapped in a smooth hip hop beat, professionally produced by Lamp Mode!
My favorite song so far is Highs and Lows. S.O. describes how in his walk with Christ, he goes through painful lows, then like in the Psalms, he looks to Christ and is lifted up.
(So I ask myself) Why are you downcast my soul, hope in the Lord/See Him hanging there on the pole for the filthest thoughts/The most wicked of hearts, He died for you S know it/This is truth, objective how do you then blow/Repentance and faith, bear fruit man show it/Have that cross up in face endure and know Him/Be strong in the grace that’s found solely in Him/Satan will pray tricks by reminding you of your sin/But He died for them all, remember Calvary again/Never let it leave your brain/and things will never be the same/The Lamb of God was truly slain, rose up from the grave though/And justified in His name up the praise go!/Yeah, and that will never change/This that high up on the ride that I better crave/My help and my God who is centre stage/And His Spirit in I no better way/
It is a huge blessing to work for a company that sponsors employee network groups, including a Bible Study Group. We occasionally have guest speakers who come and share from God's Word.
This post is a way to 'open the vault' so to speak and share this treasure of Biblical wisdom from some of the guest speakers to the Bible Study Group since early 2008. These recordings worked best for converting into mp3 audio (unfortunately several others could not be converted due to technical issues).
Click the play button on the left of each item to listen here, or download the mp3 files by right-clicking and selecting Save-File-As.
Ever read through the New Testament? If not, or if it's been a while, ... it's now easier than ever! In fact, CCW has a reading plan that will take you through it in 90 days!
I thought it would be cool to put this 90-day plan in a spreadsheet (CLICK HERE) with the following features:
Input a start date and all dates auto-populate so you know what to read on what date
Check-boxes (for you 'box-checkers') so you know what passages you have read*.
Download this file (Microsoft Excel) today! If you get started by October 3rd you can have the New Testament read by the end of the year!
Soli Deo Gloria!
*Note: checked boxes are not meritorious toward salvation (i.e. Titus 3:5, Eph 2:8-9), however the Scripture is God's chosen instrument for revealing Himself to sinners (Rom 10:17) and causing growth in the believer (2 Tim 3:16)!
I am downloading the audiobook of A.W. Tozer's Pursuing God, free in July from ChristianAudio. Click here for details. If you want to skim the book before downloading, you can read it online here.
Here is a quote to spark your interest:
How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of 'accepting' Christ . . . and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd. (pp. 16-17)
I have heard Tozer quoted countless times so I look forward to hearing this classic.
Free music abounds, so I thought I would wrap these together into one post. I expect there is something for everyone ...
This is last minute (it's today), but if you enjoy listening to a master concert pianist, and live in the north part of KC, check out Andrew Sheffield do his thing TODAY! He is giving a free piano recital at 2:30pm at New Hope Church of the Nazarene, located on North Oak, just north of Briarcliff Road. Andrew has a gift for music and uses it to edify the body at FCC where her serves as worship leader.
Another gifted musician who needs more pub is Nathan Clark George. I talk about him often, and for good reason! He has now added a new free tune on his site. The music is great, but even better are the words. Here is the first verse:
All men are but mortal, all flesh fades like grass Only through deaths portal to, eternal life we pass This body here must perish, before it gains reward Heavenly joys to cherish, for the ransomed of the Lord
Click here to see how he came up with the song, and download it for free!
As we travel the spectrum of musical styles, let's kick off our shoes and pick up a fiddle! I came across this delightful video in a google search for the Rolf Family (featured in this post).
Finally, slap on your ear goggles (headphones) on and pic up the mic. If you enjoy theology AND rap music, you can download a free album from iSix5 (short for Isaiah 6:5), from Grace Bible Church in Tempe, Arizona. If you're like me, and don't catch all the words, here are the lyrics. Good stuff, lots of Scripture, lots of theology, Christ-exalting. Here is a quick taste:
God Himself is guardin what He placed inside of me/ And His indwelling Spirit is constantly reminding me/ I was filled and sealed to let the flesh die to me/ Conforming to the image of Him, cuz I'm tryna see/ Less JG, that's why I am denying me/ I must decrease to increase His notoriety/
Thanks, Andrew B for that one!
Sorry polka fans, I have nothing for you.
**UPDATE! Devon pointed me to this newer video of the family performing at Silver Dollar City. Enjoy! **
I can't recommend this sermon series enough. In light of Haiti and anything that might be shaking your world right now, grab your Bible and let D.A. Carson discuss "where God is" in the midst of all this suffering.
Click here for the sermon series at the 2008 Omaha Bible Church conference.
Someone on Facebook asked if anyone knew any good 'reformed' podcasts. Thought it was a great idea for a post. Here are some that come to mind (in no particular order). Please feel free to comment on this post and add your favorites!
Just heard our associate Pastor, Bryan Neal deliver a sermon on 2 Tim 4:6-8 to our church at Countryside yesterday. I worked while I listened so I can't do it justice, but I will say it is worth the listen.
It has some sound preaching and gripping stories that illustrate what our desire for God's word ought to look like. Pastor Neal shared a story of a blind lady and the lengths she went to in order to 'read' the book of Mark, something we often take for granted. Also, he shared two stories from the antique roadshow and how they represent the right and wrong way to treasure the Faith.
Someone pointed me to these interviews and and I just recently found time to listen. Russell Moore (Together for Adoption) sometimes fills in for Al Mohler on his radio show, and has interviewed LeCrae Moore and Flame (Marcus Gray) on two separate occasions.
These men have been redeemed out of the 'hip hop' culture and are sharp, articulate, born again, and growing in grace. I think Marcus Gray is a student at Boyce College. They are creating music that is Christ-exalting and yet the highest quality! What other genre can you learn about terms like the 'hypo-static union', 'expiation', 'propitiation', and more, in such a fun way?
Anyway, chances are if you enjoy hip hop already, you'll enjoy these interviews. But even if you don't like hip hop, I say give them a listen and you may even praise God for gifting His sons in so many various ways! If nothing else it's kind of funny to hear Russell Moore talking about reaching the guy in the car next to you bumping the loud rap music. I didn't agree with all of the contextualization philosophies discussed by Moore, but it was a blessing to hear testimonies from these young men.
Click here for the Lecrae interview on July 16th. Click here for the Flame interview back in July of 2008.
If you are interested in sampling some of these guys' music, they both have a MySpace where you can here some of their music. My personal favorite is 'Joyful Noise' because it has both of these guys praising Christ in some smoking tandem rhymes!
I am not a regular listener to Focus on the Family, but this interview with Mike Yankowski is definitely one to catch! It is stunning to hear the story of these two men who walked the shoes of the homeless for months. Really gives insight into the plight of the poor.
This is a great sermon a brother in Christ shared with me. Every American who professes Christ out to listen to Washer's powerful message calling us back to a Biblical view of His church. Paul Washer - 10 Indictments Against the Modern Church in America
Read the transcript here, or play/download video or audio here.
Check out this unbelievable quote from the transcript:
Here in America because of the last several years, several decades of evangelism the idea of 'born again' is totally lost. It only means that at one time in a crusade you made a decision and you think you were sincere. But there is no evidence of a supernatural recreated work of the Holy Spirit in your life. If any man, not if some men, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. (2 Cor 5:17) And now it is the same today. What do we face? I will tell you what we face. ... What we face is the sinners’ prayer. And I am here to tell you, if there is anything I have declared war on it is that. You say. “Brother Paul...” Yes, in the same way that infant baptism, in my opinion, was the golden calf of the Reformation, for the Baptists and the Evangelicals and everyone else who has followed them today, I will tell you, that sinners’ prayer has sent more people to ell than anything on the face of the earth. You say, “How can you say such a thing?” Go with me to Scripture and show me, please. I would love you to stand up and tell me where anyone evangelized that way. The Scripture does not say that Jesus Christ came to the nation of Israel and said that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, now who would like to ask me into their hearts? I see that hand.” That is not what it says. He said, “Repent and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15)” Now men today are trusting in the fact that at least one time in their life they prayed a prayer and someone told them they were saved because they were sincere enough. And so in their salvation if you ask them, “Are you saved?” they do not say, “Yes, I am because I am looking unto Jesus and there is mighty evidence giving me assurance of being born again.” No. They say, “One time in my life I prayed a prayer.” And they live like devils. But they prayed a prayer. And some of them... I heard of one evangelist who was coaxing a man to do that thing. Finally the man felt so uncomfortable the evangelist said, “Well, I’ll tell you what. I will pray to God for you and if it is what you want to say to God, squeeze my hands." Behold the power of God. Decisionism, the idolatry of decisionism. Men think they are going to heaven because they have judged the sincerity of their own decision. When Paul came to the Church in Corinth he did not say to them, “Look, you are not living like Christians so let’s go back to that one moment in your life when you prayed that prayer and let’s see if you were sincere.” No, he said this, “Test yourselves, examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith. (2 Cor 13:5)” Because I want you to know, my friends, salvation is by faith alone. It is a work of God. It is a grace upon grace upon grace. But the evidence of conversion is not just your examination of your sincerity at the moment of your conversion. It is the on going fruit in your life. It is the ongoing fruit in your life. Oh, my dear friends, look what we have done. Isn’t a tree known by its fruit? What 60%, 70% of America thinks it is converted, born again. We kill how many thousands of babies a day? We are hated around the world for our immorality. Yet we are Christian. And I lay this squarely, the blame, at the feet of the preacher.
