Rocking Hymns

Check out these newly released hymns from Mars Hill Seattle!  (If you’re into that kind of thing).

Daniel Wallace on Newly Discovered Gospel Texts

If you were interested by this discovery, Daniel Wallace gives a good assessment here of what these texts could mean for our understanding of the Bible’s historicity.  The old argument that the Bible has been changed too many times to trust it has never had any real evidence or support.

The absolute, most important, best thing that you can do for your pastor is

by VinothChandar posted here

What is the best thing that you can do for you pastor? Compliment him on his “outstanding, almost Charles Spurgeon-like sermon”? Give money to the church? Give your time and skills to the church? Not heckle him? Admire him for his manly beard? While those are all wonderful things, they are not the best thing that you can do for you pastor.

The absolute, most important, best thing that you can do for your pastor is to pray for him.

Daily prayer

Make it your daily prayer that you may have an increase of faith. According to your faith will be your peace. Cultivate that blessed root more, and sooner or later, by God’s blessing, you may hope to have the flower. You may not perhaps attain to full assurance at once: it is good sometimes to be kept waiting; we do not value things that we get without trouble. But though it tarry, wait for it. Seek on, and expect to find.

~ J.C. Ryle

An Invitation from Vision Night

If you came out for Vision Night last night, thank you. I get excited just thinking about the grace of God operating in our midst and how Trinity could contribute to the transformation of Myrtle Beach. However, there was one crucial element that I forgot to talk about last night. Proverbs chapter 16 states that “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD… Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.(Proverbs 16:1-3 ESV)” I really think we have a great plan for growing Trinity, and I think we might actually accomplish it. However, unless God is at work, the most crucial aspect, that of changing hearts for eternity, will never happen. Every revival in the history of the church has happened when Christians, recognizing that they could not do what only God can do, got down on their knees to pray (check this out for an example). Prayer is the humble confession that we believe in God, not ourselves. Unfortunately, prayer for the church has been lacking since I’ve been here at Trinity, and I must accept part of the blame for not prioritizing prayer over struggling in my own efforts. To that end, I would like to invite as many of you as are in Myrtle Beach to join me at Trinity on Thursday at noon for six weeks to kneel before the Lord and seek His grace. This meeting will be solely devoted to praying for the church. It will not be a liturgical service. It is not a “healing service” strictly speaking (although I expect that as we take prayer seriously we will see people healed). We will simply be meeting together to pray for the mission of the Church. Please join me and I look forward to seeing God do amazing things in our midst as we rely not on our efforts but His strength.

The Church’s One Foundation

We sang this hymn Monday night at Trinity, enjoy.

 

The reach of Praying Moms

 

Christian mothers, your child may be far away from the sheltering home, voyaging on the stormy sea, or dwelling in some distant climate beyond your voice. But he is still within the reach of the mightiest power a mother can wield – the power of prayer! And although you cannot throw around him your maternal arms to shield him from the evil of the world, you can invest him with your wrestling believing petitions, and secure on his behalf the Arm which encircles the globe, and is mighty to save. Oh that the Church of God may be filled with such praying mothers!

Octavius Winslow, “The Christian Family.”

Grace narrative identity

There are two basic narrative identities at work among professing Christians. The first is what I will call the moral-performance narrative identity. These are people who in their heart of hearts say, I obey; therefore I am accepted by God. The second is what I will call the grace narrative identity. This basic operating principle is, I am accepted by God through Christ; therefore I obey.

People living their lives on the basis of these two different principles may superficially look alike. They may sit right beside one another in the church pew, both striving to obey the law of God, to pray, to give money generously, to be good family members. But they are doing so out of radically different motives, in radically different spirits, resulting in radically different personal characters. When persons living in the moral-performance narrative are criticized, they are furious or devastated because they cannot tolerate threats to their self-image of being a “good person.”

But in the gospel our identity is not built on such an image, and we have the emotional ballast to handle criticism without attacking back. When people living in the moral-performance narrative base their self-worth on being hard working or theologically sound, then they must look down on those whom they perceive to be lazy or theologically weak. But those who understand the gospel cannot possibly look down on anyone, since they were saved by sheer grace, not by their perfect doctrine or strong moral character.

– Tim Keller

We will be surprised

I do not know when Christ will come again. I would think it most presumptuous if I said that I did. I am no prophet, though I love the subject of prophecy. I dislike all fixing of dates, and naming of years, and I believe it has done great harm. I only assert positively, that Christ will come again one day to set up His kingdom on earth, and that whether the day be near, or whether it be far off — it will take the Church and the world exceedingly by surprise!

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Coming Events and Present Duties

It is always on His ” blood & righteousness” alone that we can rest

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all.

This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His ” blood & righteousness” alone that we can rest.

B.B. Warfield, Works vol VII pg 113

Are you ready to hear Him

Let us learn to live the life of faith in Jesus more than we have up to this point. Ever to be found by the fountain side—ever to be eating Christ’s body by faith, and drinking Christ’s blood by faith—ever to have before our minds Christ’s dying for our sins—Christ’s rising again for our justification—Christ interceding for us at God’s right hand—Christ soon coming again to gather us to Himself—this is the mark which we should have continually before our eyes. We may fall short—but let us aim high. Let us walk in the full light of the Sun of righteousness, and then our graces will grow. Let us not be like trees on a cold north wall—weak, half-starved, and unfruitful. Let us rather strive to be like the sunflower—and follow the great Fountain of Light wherever He goes, and see Him with open face. Oh, for an eye more quick to discern His dealings! Oh, for an ear more ready to hear His voice!

~ J.C. Ryle

Old Paths, “Forgiveness”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 209.

A.I.M.S.

by John Piper

I have a new acronym.

Along with I.O.U.S. and A.P.T.A.T. and A.N.T.H.E.M. I now use A.I.M.S. to help me maintain my Christ-consciousness through the day.

A. I will call to mind the stupendous truth that Jesus is ALIVE. (Luke 24:5–6)

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

I. I will remember the breathtaking reality that Jesus is IN me. (Romans 8:10).

“Christ is in you.”

M. I will ponder the all-comforting fact that Jesus is MIGHTY. (Matthew 28:18).

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

S. And I will savor the sweetness that Jesus is SATISFYING. (John 6:35)

“Whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Seek the fruit of the Holy Spirit rather than the gifts of the Holy Spirit

 

The host of the show and his wife were doing everything they could to pigeon-hole Pope Shenouda into their myopic and misguided charismatic worldview. “Surely, if you believe in MY Jesus, then you believe in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit…” the host said in his inimitable way.

Pope Shenouda’s response I will never, ever forget. Patiently, quietly, calmly, without distraction and without appearing incensed in any way, he said the following, in his rich, deep, and thick Egyptian accent:

“It is written in Galatians (he said, “wrrrriten”—with a trilled ‘r’ and “Ga-lah-tea-ens”!) 5 the fruit of the Spirit: ‘Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control.’ It is better,” he continued, “to seek the fruit of the Holy Spirit rather than the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Because the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they can lead to pride and selfishness. But the fruit of the Spirit will lead to holiness.”

*Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Church

read the whole post here on MIRACLES AND THE MUNDANE LIFE

In tune for the Kingdom

Wherever you may live, and whatever may be your trials; however great your difficulties, and however small your helps; nothing should prevent your aiming at the highest standard, to behave like one who believes that Christ is coming again! You should resolve, by God’s help, to live so that the day of Christ shall find you needing as little change as possible! You should seek to have . . .

your tastes so heavenly,

your affections so spiritual,

your will so subdued,

your mind so unworldly —

that when the Lord appears, you may be thoroughly in tune for His kingdom!

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Coming Events and Present Duties

You must come to Christ first

I pity those who try to be holy without Christ! Your labor is all in vain. You are putting money in a bag with holes. You are pouring water into a sieve. You are rolling a huge round stone uphill. You are building up a wall with untempered mortar. Believe me, you are beginning at the wrong end. You must come to Christ first, and He shall give you His sanctifying Spirit. You must learn to say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Christ is All