March 2011
1 post
The Mission of the Church
“The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus’ commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.” Greg Gilbert from What Is the Mission of the Church Posted via email from...
January 2011
1 post
Let all the nations praise the Lord
Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
August 2010
4 posts
The Gospel Song
(via Justin Taylor and Worship Matters) Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
The Prodigal
(via Worship Matters)
Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
Who Is the Bible Basically About?
(via The Gospel-Driven Church)
Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
Accepted for Christ's sake, or not at all
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 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...
July 2010
3 posts
Happy Fourth of July (1940 style)
Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
The Pastor and His Community
Download Mark Dever’s message from the 2009 Sovereign Grace Pastor’s Conference Mark Dever has some of the most interesting and thought provoking things to say about the local church and its responsibility to the community. Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
May 2010
1 post
Flee From Your Bad (and Good) Works
I have taken all my good deeds and all my bad deeds, and cast them through each other in a heap before the Lord, and fled from both, and betaken myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him I have sweet peace! David Dickson (Thanks to Tony Reinke) Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
April 2010
2 posts
A Horrible Potion
“All that mankind have heaped up to themselves against the day of God’s holy and righteous wrath — their forgetfulness of God, their selfish conduct, their disobedience, pride, worldly-mindedness, their filthy lusts, hypocrisy, falsehood, hardheartedness, and deceit — all are united and mingled in this cup, and ferment together into a horrible potion. ‘“Shall I not drink this cup?’ asks the...
Redemption Through the Blood of Christ
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of...
March 2010
2 posts
What Is the Mission of the Church?
Obviously, we must obey the two great commandments to love God and love neighbor. But do these commandments constitute the mission of the church? Or is the church’s mission something narrower, something shared by no other institution on earth, something we see modeled in the missionary work of Paul? At the very least, I would argue that the mission of the church is most clearly explained in...
Take Hold of the Promise of Grace Offered In...
“When the Law shows us our sin, our past life immediately comes to our mind. Then the sinner, in his great anguish of mind, groans and says to himself, ‘Oh, how damnably I have lived! If only I could live longer! Then I would amend my life.’ … Taking advantage of the weakness of our nature, Satan increases and aggravates these thoughts in us. Then it is impossible for the conscience to...
February 2010
4 posts
Vote Whig
http://www.despair.com/votewhig.html Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
Jim Elliot On Why He Went To Ecuador
I’ll tell you why I left. Because those Stateside young people have every opportunity to study, hear, and understand the Word of God in their own language, and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever. I have had to make a cross of two logs, and lie down on it, to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. When there is that much ignorance over here and so much knowledge and...
Far Away (for Haiti relief) by Lecrae
Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
Free Mark Driscoll Audiobook
Get Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll at ChristianAudio.com. Posted via email from casteel.info | Comment »
December 2009
6 posts
Learning From Post-Christmas Melancholy
It’s possible that this moment of melancholy may be the best teaching moment of the whole season. Because as long as the beautiful gifts remain unopened around the tree and the events are still ahead of us, they can appear to be the hope we are waiting for. But when the tree is empty and events are past, we realize we are longing for a lasting hope.
Read more here.
Man's Maker Was Made Man
Man’s maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.
-...
Have A Disturbing Christmas
Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner. The incarnation reminds us of our desperate condition before a holy God.
As long as we can keep him in the manger, and feel the sentimental feelings we have for babies, Jesus doesn’t disturb us. But once we understand that his coming means for every one of us either salvation or condemnation, he disturbs us deeply.
But don’t stay...
A Holy Ghost Housecleaning
“Many unbelievers now associate ministers with wife-swapping, wife-beating, no-fault divorce, gay affairs, and $10,000-a-night hotel rooms,” he wrote in a 2008 column. “We need a Holy Ghost housecleaning.”
What Did Santa Look Like?
Apparently, something like this.
Learn more here.
Saint Nicholas
Learn more about the real Santa Claus here and here.
November 2009
6 posts
Preventing Spiritual Amnesia
I have yet to come across a student who struggled with, or even abandoned, the faith, who did not, at some early point in their struggle, abandon the mundane routines of the Christian life: regular attendance at the preaching of the word, prayer, etc. etc. Boring they may be, but they are God’s means of preventing amnesia; and we forget them at our peril.
Carl Trueman - Themelios, Issue 34-3
Imagine the Evangelical Church Without The Gospel
So what might take the place of the gospel in our sermons and books and cassette tapes and Sunday school classes and home Bible studies and, above all, in our hearts?
A number of things, conceivably. An introspective absorption with recovery from past emotional traumas, for example. Or a passionate devotion to the pro-life cause. Or a confident manipulation of modern managerial techniques. Or a...
Raising Nerdy Kids
I really hoped my daughter would grow up to be a cool kid. I wanted her to be part of the popular crowd at school and be considered hip. But when she started sweating pop stars and other little girls in our area started getting into teenage television shows, I had to pause.
I hope I don’t help create one of these sheltered Christian girls that just goes insane when they get to college, but I...
Fear Of The Holy
This is where Freud missed the point. If people are going to invent religion to protect them from the fear of nature, why would they invent a god who is more terrifying than nature itself? Why would they invent a holy god? Fallen creatures, when they make idols, do not make holy idols. We prefer the unholy, the profane, the secular—a god we can control.
R. C. Sproul, Romans: The Righteous Shall...
Sinful But Still His Child
“…when the devil comes and says, ‘You have no standing, you are condemned, you are finished’, you must say, ‘No! my position did not depend upon what I was doing, or not doing; it is always dependant upon the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Turn to the devil and tell him, ‘My relationship to God is not a variable one. The case is not that I am a child of God, and then again not a child of...
No Other Gods
“You are to have no other gods.”
That is, you are to regard me alone as your God. What does this mean, and how is it to be understood? What does “to have a god” mean, or what is God?
Answer: A “god” is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need. Therefore, to have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in that one with your...
October 2009
3 posts
The Best Case for Christianity Is Jesus
Christianity is not first and foremost about a sacred place to pilgrimage to, a philosophical system to ponder, a moral code to live, a religious tradition to honor, or an impersonal god to experience. Rather, Christianity is about a person who claimed to be the only God and said he would prove his unprecedented claim by living without sin, dying for sinners, and conquering death through...
How Are You Righteous Before God?
Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil, yet God, without any merit of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin,...
An Agnostic At His Mother's Deathbed
From Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir, by Christopher Buckley I stammered out my thanks to Joe for everything he’d done for her. He asked, “Do you want to leave the respirator in or let nature take its course?” I said, “Let’s remove the respirator.”
I’d brought with me a pocket copy of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The line in Moby-Dick had lodged long ago in my...
September 2009
5 posts
Damning people to hell with what they love as...
John Piper and Thabiti Anyabwile address a flawed gospel.
The appeal to the carnal desires of men (wealth, ownership, influence, etc.) as the basis, evidence, and goal of worship of God is, to put it mildly, soul destroying.
But the biblical gospel is “Turn to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, to be reconciled to the True God, to escape the wrath to come, and live eternally in His...
iSix:5
Christian rap from Tempe, Arizona.
Download songs here and here.
(found at owenstrachan.com)
Kevin DeYoung Interview
Mark Dever interviews Kevin DeYoung, co-author of Why We’re Not Emergent and Why We Love the Church, about baptism, the emerging church, orthodoxy, finding the will of God, and more.
Listen here.
Christ As Lord Sermon Jam
Ravi Zacharias set to a beat.
Death is dead! Death is dead!
Free New Testament Audiobook
The free audiobook download for September from ChristianAudio.com is God’s Word Heard!
It’s the unabridged New Testament audio of the God’s Word translation.
Get it here.
August 2009
4 posts
O Love Incomprehensible!
See, God’s hands are nailed, they cannot strike thee; his feet also, he cannot run from thee: his arms are wide open to embrace thee; his head hangs down to kiss thee; his very heart is open! So that therein see, search, look, spy; and you shall see nothing therein but love, love, love, love to thee.
John Bradford (via Tony Reinke)
Don't Neglect Your Family
What good is it if you make disciples of your neighbors, co-workers, and friends, yet neglect to disciple your own family? This is what Paul meant when he said, “If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5). This Scripture is not just for pastors, but is also applicable for all Christian parents. The reality is that we are not...
Work In Your Hearts a Hatred of Sin
Work in your hearts a hatred of sin… If a man had killed your friend, or father, or mother, how would you hate him! You would not endure the sight of him, but follow the law upon him. Send out the avenger of blood with a hue and cry after thy sin; bring it afore God’s judgment seat, arraign it, accuse it, spit on it, condemn it and thyself for it, have it to the cross, nail it there, if it cry I...
July 2009
7 posts
WatchLecrae and Tadashi perform the song ‘Send Me’ live with Red Letter at Mars Hill Church.
WatchThe Face of Lincoln - presents Professor Merrell Gage, retired head of the Department of Sculpture at the University of Southern California, describing the life and career of Abraham Lincoln as he sculpts a lifelike bust of the 16th President, making physical changes in the subject’s hair, beard and expression to correspond to events in Lincoln’s life.
Countering Culture 3
Our only hope is men meeting Jesus and obeying his Word. We want the men to be different kinds of men, we want them to have different kinds of marriages, and we want them to have different kinds of children because they are sons of the King of Kings and that means something. And by different we mean holy.
Mark Driscoll, from his book Pastor Dad
Countering Culture 2
Married men who have sex outside their marriage, single men who fool around rather than seeking wives, fathers who walk out on their kids, and fathers who are too lazy to work hard and pay the bills all hate children by their actions. And because God is a father to the fatherless, they have made themselves enemies of God.
As Christians, we do not emulate these men in any way. They are the world,...
Countering Culture
To many Christians, the principles I have articulated may seem obvious, but they are nothing short of revolutionary in our day. Instead of enjoying the good life Scripture speaks of, many people are practicing the hookup-shackup-breakup game of death. Birth control is their savior, keeping them from the hell of marriage, children, and obligation. If that fails, abortive murder often suffices....
Independence Day Videos
You can learn quite a bit from a cartoon, especially if it’s a Schoolhouse Rock cartoon
Jesus Is Praying For You
It doesn’t matter how complicated, how desperate, perhaps even hopeless your life has become. No matter how overwhelmed you may feel by your problems, if your trust is in Jesus Christ, you can be sure that he is praying for you now and through that prayer he will provide for you the resources to bring you relief or enable you to carry on.
The most important thing that you and I need to learn...
June 2009
2 posts
Mostly Dead or All Dead
Total depravity, prevenient grace, and the Princess Bride