2nd Commandment

I am preaching on the 'Second Commandment' which I technically can't say. I should say I am preaching on Ex. 20:4-6, because it seems that we cannot agree on how to label the ten commandments. Found this on Wiki-pedia.

Sweet New Site

I found this today and not sure how new it is but being able to read some of the puritan works for free as PDF files makes me want to buy an iPad.

Check it out:

http://www.puritanlibrary.com/

Christian Language

I have dreamed about making a video like this for years. Awesome!

HT: Thabiti

Jousting in Mexico

My Favorite T4G Message -- So Far

T4G 2010 -- Session 5 -- John MacArthur from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Francis Chan leaving Simi Valley

Surrender from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

HT: JT

Gravité from Renaud Hallée on Vimeo.

Contentment

Encouraging words from Tim Keller on how to find contentment through the gospel:

If grace has really changed our hearts, we don't ultimately care if life goes the way we want it, as long as we have him. The joys of acclaim, wealth, and power are nothing compared to the eternal acclaim, wealth, and power we have in him. A "weaned child" is not just someone who knows this in principle, but who has worked gospel truths into his or her soul as spiritually sensed realities. Internally, this quiets the soul into profound contentment and poise. Externally, it means humility, a willingness to learn from others and also to trust God. The believer realizes that the reason God's actions are often opaque is not because we are wise and he is foolish, but because he is too "great" and "wonderful" for us.

Read the whole article here.

The Truth About Envy

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Proverbs 14:30

Envy is that place I go to compare myself to others and make myself more than I really am. Envy leads to a false sense of reality.

“I could have written that book. I had all the ideas that he had.”

“I could have hit that pitch blindfolded. If only I had been given the chance to play.”

“My kids could have gotten into that college, if they had just listened to me.”

“I could have gotten that promotion if I was given the same projects as her.”

We like living in false reality because often our own reality is difficult to accept. Our own reality is filled with the challenges that have always held us back. Reality exposes our weaknesses and makes us acknowledge them.

The truth about reality is that is shakes us to the core. Handling the full weight of our human brokenness can lead to the greatest of despairs. However, it also makes us confront the truths about who and what we are.

This is where the gospel is so precious. The gospel says that I do not need to make a false presentation of myself before God. The Gospel says that I can come with nothing of benefit and be given all the gifts of heaven. The Gospel says that I am no longer in need of envy because the treasures of the world are placed in me. The Gospel says that there is nothing in my inheritance that will rot away. There is no power over me which has not be conquered through the grace and mercy of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Tuesday Ted Video

The Depth of Sin

11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason;

First: Sin attacks our thought process.

Sin is the lack of rationality. It creates the defeating phrases that roll through the mind. Sin allows us to accept less than what we were created for. It is the force leading away from prayer, reading the Word of God, or meditating on the gospel.

The gospel makes us rational. It calls us to experience a renewing of the mind. The Gospel says that we are precious because every moment can be used to glorify God. Furthermore, it calls us to prayer, reading of Scripture, and meditation on Christ. The Gospel calls us to pursue one another in genuine love. It is the hope that we can achieve what was lost in the fall.

12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit

Second: Sin seeks compete ownership.

Sin's goal is idolatry. It's goal is to distract every thought towards itself. It wants to become the god of our heart. It's goal is not only to preoccupy us, but to own us, and then destroy us. Sin is relentless in its pursuit of itself. It traps us into believing that we should only pursue ourselves and no other.

Jesus is our true owner. He is the one who bought us from sin. His goal for us is complete humanness; not a half-baked, sub-human existence. His ultimate goal for us is eternal community.

13we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder;

Third: Sin offers empty promises.

Oh the joys that sin promises all of us that seek after its fruit. We believe that we are seeking after pure things but in the end it is really just a chasing after our own heart. Sin loves to convince us that we have what we need. Sin loves to convince that it can provide what we long for, yet takes great delight in leaving us bankrupt.

The gospel of our savior fulfills every promise. There is no lacking in the body of Christ. Every tear will be wiped, and every wound will be healed. Death will reign no more, and life will ring eternal.

14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”—

Fourth: Sin loves community.

Sin desires community to replace the gospel. Sin doesn't care what we rally around as long as we do not rally around the gospel. Community is a tool that can be used for evil as much as it can be used for good. Community can even design itself to look like good, when it is completely engulfed by sin. Community can be a destructive force used by sin to separate us from Christ.

The Gospel calls us to center ourselves on Jesus Christ and him alone. Jesus provides us with wonderful gifts like community so that we can know Him more. Let us not fall into the trap of loving community, for community sake, lest we turn it into its own idol. Community is so much more powerful when it is rooted in the work of Christ.

Easter Story