Who Killed God?

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." -Mark 14:35-36

Good Friday is the day we celebrate the Good News—Jesus Christ died in our place for our sins. On Good Friday we remember that the cross is something done by us: we murdered God. Then on Easter Sunday we remember that the cross is something done for us: God died in our place to forgive our sins. Mars Hill has produced a 30-minute film that is essentially a word-for-word compilation of the four Gospels accounts of Jesus’ death. I highly recommend watching it this Good Friday. You can download it for free at http://whokilledgod.com/. Here is a preview.

The Tragedy of a Self-Centered Life

From Joe Thorn, on the dangers of living a self-centered life:

"The tragedy of a self-centered life is that in centering on ourselves we ultimately wind up alone; isolated from others and God. Even if we have many possession, friends, and prestige, by exalting ourselves to the highest point possible we have no one else to look to for help, because we allow for no peers. No one is beside us for genuine fellowship. Even worse, there is no God above us in whom we find our redemption, purpose, and identity."

I was taken out at the knees when I read this paragraph, because I have seen this in my own life. Repent of living a self-centered life and run to Christ’s loving arms. You can read Joe’s whole post here.

Why Aren’t We Filled with the Spirit?

From Jonathan Dodson, Pastor of Austin City Life:

“The Holy Spirit is the bastard child of the Trinity for Evangelicals.” Crude but true. We’ve abandoned him, like a feral child, failing to realize the profound power and grace he wants to give us. There is so much confusion about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, confusion we must clear away if we are to recover the power of God for gospel ministry and life."

Read the whole post here.

How Deep The Fathers Love For Us

I have been listening to the Mars Hill Good Friday Live Music album during this Holy Week. One song in particular that I wanted to point out is “How Deep The Fathers Love For Us.” The lyrics are amazing. I pray they weigh as heavy on your soul as they do mine as we approach Good Friday. You can stream and download the album for free here.

05_How_Deep_The_Fathers_Love_For_Us.mp3 Listen on Posterous

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Mumford & Sons - New Song: "Lover's Eyes"

A new awesome song from Mumford & Sons. I can't wait until their concert in Omaha in June.

Monday Is For Music - TGC Sing Them Again Hymn Sing

Last week, the 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference kicked off with none other than a hymn sing, gathering together and exposing before a new generation of eager, cross-denominational, Gospel-loving evangelicals some of the heavy-hitters in the hymns movement: Kevin Twit and Indelible Grace (Sandra McCracken, Matthew Smith); Mike Cosper and Sojourn Music. Noisetrade is now giving away a free sampler of these artists. It features a song from each artist performing at the Hymn Sing. The sampler also includes a PDF of the chord charts for the six songs. Just enter your email address & zipcode below for a free download from noisetrade.

 

Avett Brothers "Back Home Again"

The Avett Brothers covering John Denver's "Back Home Again" with a little backstage discussion beforehand. Unique view of one of the best bands in the world. This is just plain good for your ears and souls.

via (Reformissionary)

Monday Is For Music - TGC Sing Them Again Hymn Sing

Last week, the 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference kicked off with none other than a hymn sing, gathering together and exposing before a new generation of eager, cross-denominational, Gospel-loving evangelicals some of the heavy-hitters in the hymns movement: Kevin Twit and Indelible Grace (Sandra McCracken, Matthew Smith); Mike Cosper and Sojourn Music. Noisetrade is now giving away a free sampler of these artists. It features a song from each artist performing at the Hymn Sing. The sampler also includes a PDF of the chord charts for the six songs. Just enter your email address & zipcode below for a free download from noisetrade.

 

Kindle Deals: The NIV Gospel of John: With Devotional Notes ($0.00)

The NIV Gospel of John: With Devotional Notes
Author(s): N/A
Publisher: Zondervan eBooks
Kindle Price: $0.00

Product Description
John's Gospel sheds a unique light not only on the ministry of Jesus Christ, but also on the nature of his relationship with God the Father. This eBook also includes a special section of 'Subjects on the Theme of Salvation' that gives insight into 15 subjects of salvation. NIV 2011. The New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible is the world's most popular modern-English Bible-easy to understand, yet rich with the detail found in the original languages.

Audiobook Deals: Churched by Matthew Paul Turner (Free)

Churched
One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess
Author: Matthew Paul Turner
Narrator: Matthew Paul Turner
Runtime: 4.8 hrs. - Unabridged
Publisher: Matthew Paul Turner
Downloads: ZIP, MP3 or M4B
Price: FREE

He spent his childhood trapped within the confines of countless bizarre, strict rules. And lived to tell about it. In this first-hand account, author Matthew Paul Turner shares amusing-sometimes cringe-worthy-and poignant stories about growing up in a fundamentalist household, where even well-intentioned contemporary Christian music was proclaimed to be "of the devil."

Churched is a collection of stories that detail an American boy's experiences growing up in a culture where men weren't allowed let their hair grow to touch their ears ("an abomination"), women wouldn't have been caught dead in a pair of pants (unless swimming), and the pastor couldn't preach a sermon without a healthy dose of hellfire and brimstone. Matthew grapples with the absurdity of a Sunday School Barbie burning, the passionate annual boxing match between the pastor and Satan, and the holiness of being baptized a fifth time-while growing into a young man who, amidst the chaotic mess of religion, falls in love with Jesus.

“WHAT THE?! A Christian man plays with his snake in a tub (to explain sin)”

I'm sorry!!!

via (jesusneedsnewpr.net)

Matt Chandler - TGC Session 7 "Youth"

Chandler began by sharing about trials at the Village Church and in his own walk through brain cancer. The Book of Ecclesiastes speaks into the reality of life and gives a message we need to hear.

God constantly calls us back to remember—remember who he is, what he’s done, and his commands intended for our joy. Remembering God’s work on our behalf rightly redeems our rejoicing in him.

Revisiting the Ecclesiastes 11:9 command to rejoice, Chandler explains that by remembering God, we get beneath our rejoicing in mere youth to rejoice in what God has done for us in Christ.

He concluded with three exhortations:

   1. Be regenerate: believe the gospel
   2. Live in constant meditation on the gospel
   3. Walk by spirit, not by flesh: marvel at the gospel

Listen to the audio of “Youth” by Matt Chandler.

(via desiringgod.org)

Kindle Deals: NIV Study Bible

Zondervan NIV Study Bible
Author(s): N/A
Publisher: Zondervan
Print List Price: $34.99
Kindle Price: $6.99
You Save: $28.00 (80%)

Product Description
Disclaimer: This eBook has been optimized for reading on color screens, but will still function effectively on other devices.The World's Bestselling Study Bible, Now Revised and Updated. Clearer. Stronger. Better. The Zondervan NIV Study Bible is the #1 bestselling study Bible in the bestselling NIV translation. Since its first release in 1985, the Gold Medallion Award-Winning NIV Study Bible has become the treasured and trusted companion of millions of avid Bible users. For 2008, the NIV Study Bible's 20,000-plus study notes and other features have been thoroughly edited, revised and improved. Unmatched in any other Study Bible, these notes have been crafted to reflect the most current conservative Bible scholarship. Other study features place at your fingertips a treasury of instant commentary from today's top evangelical scholars. Icons highlight notes of special interest in the areas of character study, archaeology, and personal application. Simply put, you won't find study notes as complete, up-to-date, helpful, and easy to use anywhere else. Referred to daily by millions of pastors, students, church leaders, and other Bible readers around the world, the renowned Zondervan NIV Study Bible notes are the crown jewel of the world's bestselling study Bible. The over-20,000 notes are the handiwork of the same translation team that produced this Bible's text, the New International Version. The same exacting, conservative scholarship that brought you today's most read, most trusted Bible translation went into creating the most celebrated, widely used Bible study notes in existence. Like no other Bible, the Zondervan NIV Study Bible places an entire resource library for Bible study in your hands. The most read, most trusted translation now has the most up-to-date study system available anywhere.

FEATURES:* Full text of the most read, most trusted New International Version * Over 20,000 study notes, thoroughly revised and updated by a team of NIV translators * 900 Character Profile icons * 425 Archaeology icons * Almost 3,000 Personal Application icons * Introductions and outlines provide valuable background information for each book of the Bible * Maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations visually clarify the stories in the Bible * 16 pages of full-color maps plus timelines and presentation page * Words of Christ in red * NIV concordance plus subject and study notes indexes

Monday Is For Music - The Joy Eternal

This week is a new band called The Joy Eternal. They have just released their EP called "A Sweet and Bitter Providence." You can pick it up on Amazon for $5.94 and I highly recommend it.

“Pain and trouble are a very real part of life and no one is exempt from it and yet we invest our time, our energy, and our money trying to create a pain free existents but the truth is there is a day of adversity set on all of our calendars and rather than trying to escape or run away these songs recognize the reality of suffering and seek to offer real hope and real joy.”

 

 

THE PARODY YOU WERE WAITING FOR: ‘Sunday’ (or God’s ‘Friday’?)

Via (www.jesusneedsnewpr.net)

Get into bed with Google

Get into bed with Google: Top ranking search optimization techniques
Author(s): Jon Smith
Publisher: Infinite Ideas
Price: $0.00

Product Description
It's all very well having a stunning website, but what if browsers can't find you? What if you're not visible on the main search engines, and on Google in particular? Making your site Google friendly or employing SEO should be a priority because if you don't rank on those results you may as well not have a website at all - it's that serious. Get into bed with Google can help you optimise your website. The 52 brilliant ideas contained within are canny and quick fixes that should result in immediate benefits to your site. This second edition of the bestselling Get into bed with Google contains new material on social networks and Google analytics that will catapult readers' websites to the top of search results pages. Simply brilliant.

About the Author
Jon Smith was part of the start-up team for Amazon.co.uk, Kitbag.com and The Florist Exchange. As a consultant for the venture capital firm Chase Episode 1, he was tasked with improving and researching business plans submitted by companies looking for investment. Since 2003 Jon has been managing director of Inpress, an organisation set up to provide sales, marketing and technical support to independent publishers for which he received three years funding from Arts Council England. Jon is also the author of Smarter business start-ups (978 1 904902 26 3) and Web sites that work (978 1 904902 18 8) both available in the 52 Brilliant Ideas series.

A Desiring God Rap by Curt Allen, a.k.a. Voice

Listen to "Desiring God" by Curt Allen (a.k.a. "Voice")—

 

Yay though I walk through the valley of the death man, I wasn't killing sin it was taking my last breath man. I was more than stressed man wasn't living right and it was like I know what's right but my life would go left man. Death was my best man married to my sin and I was on my way to hell for the wedding reception. I was lost but some horizontal and vertical wood formed a cross, and placed upon it a man who was there and stood for the lost. Life is free but it cost the price of blood and this sacrifice is Christ who chose the right to be judged. Instead of me, over time I went from blind to now I better see, my problems began in Genesis 3 I'm God's enemy. I mean I was and it's all b'cuz the blood drops, so I'm thanking God that he didn't allow some clots. Blood flows and love shows where the buck stops is here, be clear at the cross all pride flops.

Hook
Everything I do and everything I pray,
Is all to worship Christ, so when I obey
I'm Desiring God, Desiring God

V2
You died fully and you would rise fully,
You are alive fully opened my eyes fully.

To see I'm responsible now to worship you, you brought me in from the dark into the light from my past life like a curfew. The pleasure of God, I willfully now pursue, no longer afraid being a chicken that's for Purdue. My spirit heard you, the joy I turn to, is being most satisfied knowing in that you're glorified. Them other stories lie, the foundation of my happiness is found in exactly this you were crucified. And now I worship in Spirit and truth, and pursue being glad and having others being glad in you. And making much of you, my joy does that, being most satisfied in you glorifies you plug that. Lord help us love that, nothing is above that, Christian Hedonism, We don't live just to believe in Him. We long to be with him, til then be satisfied knowing that when it's in him he is mostly glorified.

Hook
Everything I do and everything I pray,
Is all to worship Christ, so when I obey
I'm Desiring God, Desiring God

V3
You died fully and you would rise fully,
You are alive fully open my eyes fully.

To see the beauty of the gospel displayed, Jesus Christ He was raised so be amazed he went under for 3 days. Then he rose and ascended sinners are now amended that believe in Christ, that's right, judgment’s suspended. That for his own glory, now he brings us into his own story, Christ would atone leaving His throne on His own for me. The Bloodshed was his alone and it was not gory, but the most beautiful ending to end my glory. And live for His United in Christ, finding my joy in the Dangerous Duty of Delight. What Jesus Demands From the World's more than allegiance cuz God is the Gospel it's impossible not to see this. So Let the Nations Be Glad, Life as a Vapor, will end then we'll be Seeing and Savoring Christ the Savior. But for now the challenge is life is hard so I'm Battling Unbelief When I Don't Desire God.

Hook
Everything I do and everything I pray,
Is all to worship Christ, so when I obey
I'm Desiring God, Desiring God

Curt Allen (a.k.a. "Voice") serves as a pastor at Solid Rock Church. You can follow him @ayvoice and hear more of his music at ihearvoice.net.

via desiringgod.org

Curt Allen is at it again. A solid song about Desiring God. Hit the links and give it a listen.

Mumford & Sons - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Here is one of my favorite hymns performed by one of my favorite bands. You’re welcome!

Robbed Hell - A Parody That Accomplishes Its Task

Robbed Hell - C.A.S.T. Pearls Presents from Canon Wired on Vimeo.

Monday Is For Music - God Of Victory

The Village Church released their long anticipated album God of Victory on April 1, 2011. I have been listening to it non-stop since than. It is one of the best albums I have ever bought and worth every penny. It debuted at and continues to hold on to the #2 position in the Christian & Gospel charts in iTunes and sits at #46 overall.

If you know anything about me than you know how much I love theology. Well this album is no exception; it just drips with rich theology. I love how each song is based on and is supported by different scriptures. This album and The Village Church is a great example for all churches and bands to follow.

Here is one of my favorite songs, You Are Faithful.

07_You_Are_Faithful.mp3 Listen on Posterous

The Village Church also provides chord charts, lyrics as well as background stories to all of the songs on the album on their website. You can purchase the album for $9.99 on iTunes or for $8.99 on Amazon.

Drop The F-bomb In Church!

Apparently it is now ok to drop the F-bomb in church. Really!?

Monday Is For Music - Who Is KB

Today’s recommendation is an album that I got about a week ago and it’s been on non-stop repeat since than. It’s from ReachRecords newest artist KB and it introduces KB to the world. The album is called “Who is KB?” ReachRecords is giving the album away in the second heat of their MARCH MUSIC MADNESS event.

To learn more about KB go here.

Visit the MARCH MUSIC MADNESS homepage to download or click here to for an alternative download.

 

"Recaptured" Grace-Driven Effort

I was listening to a little Flame today & the song Recaptured came on. As I listened to the lyrics of the song I was convicted. Check out some of these lyrics:

Jesus died, He did more than just give us some help
So help me understand why we still living for self
We live for our families, For our money and cars
We live for our happiness, cause our pleasure is lord
But ain’t we seen yet, that that just doesn’t work
Living for self can only lead to dozens of hurts
We’re taking steps towards death, but looking for hope
Because we were captured by sin
We were seized, now we need to be captured again
That’s why we need to pick them scriptures up
Start praying and fasting, And ask the Father to forgive us of
Forgive us for laziness, Forgive us Lord for our pride
Forgive us for worldliness, Forgive us cleanse us inside
Cleanse us Lord from telling lies, Cleanse us from our selfishness
Cleanse us from our fear of man; We need more than help from this
We confess our lack of love, We confess selfish ambition
We confess to You our lust, Oh Lord bring us to repentance...

"A key piece to anyone recovering from a broken and sinful world is an understanding of what the problem is. Everyone knows there is something wrong with the world, but what you think the problem is will determine how you try and solve it. Unfortunately, most people spend all their efforts on symptoms rather than the disease that’s causing those symptoms." -Matt Chandler

This statement is true in my own life and in the lives of so many others. We need to not put a bandage on the symptoms, but attack the disease before it kills us. God may be using lyrics like this, piercing scriptures, or your own community of friends to convict you of sin. Recognize that sin, don't sit in self-pity and use grace-driven effort to fight it.

01_Recaptured.mp3 Listen on Posterous

It's Friday, Friday Gettin' down on Friday

It’s Friday!!! Just incase you forgot here is Rebecca Black to remind you along with what days follow Friday.

Need It Daily

Tedashii is one of my favorite Christian rappers. His new album “Blacklight” drops on April 26, 2011. It’s going to be awesome. ReachRecords has release two singles off this new album. Here is the newest one.

Need It Daily Ft. Pro

I love that the ReachRecords artists rap straight up theology. You can download this new single on iTunes now and the whole album on April 26th.

The G.O.S.P.E.L. In 5 Minutes.

This is one of the best spoken word representations of the Gospel I have ever heard. I just keep listening to it. I pray it sinks into all our souls.

A Special Free Audiobook

The last several weeks have generated significant amounts of discussion and debate regarding the release of Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell. The Resurgence has a great post called "A Chronology of Rob Bell on Hell" that lays out a ton of different reviews and interviews on the subject.

While there are many great resources available on christianaudio that discuss this topic, none is more timely or informative than Jesus: The Only Way to God by John Piper. This powerful & short audiobook illustrates clear biblical doctrines of salvation, the gospel, faith, and hell, and is imperative for thinking rightly about the eternal purposes of God.

This free download expires on March 31st at midnight PDT!

Monday Is For Music - Songs for Lent

I wanted to let you know about a new hymn project featuring many of the producers and artists associated with Red Mountain Music.  Brian T. Murphy, who produced all of the Red Mountain records, recently started a new project called "New York Hymns". You can learn more about the new project at www.newyorkhymns.com. New York Hymns just released a new record featuring many of our favorite Red Mountain artists, plus many new artists. The new record is now available as a completely FREE download from Noisetrade.

The theme of the new record is on the Season of Lent, focusing on the Stations of the Cross. Brian asked songwriters and producers from all over the country to write songs and contribute. The result is a haunting, lovely, 20 song album for Lent; which really runs the course from grief to hope. To learn more about New York Hymns, and to download this new record for free, you can visit www.newyorkhymns.com.

iPhoneography: Coffee With Erik Raymond

So Joe Thorn posts random photos taken from his iphone. They are awesome looking. I am no photographer but I love the idea and I am going to totally plagiarize it from him. Shhh don't tell him. Just kidding, go check his photos out and as long as you are on his blog, look around and read some posts. 

Here is my first picture. I hit a local coffee shop to do a little studying & catch up on some of my favorite blogs. You can find Erik Raymond's blog here.

Photo above taken with the iPhone 4, and processed with the Camera+ app.

 

Man To Spend Lent As Monks Did, With Beer

As someone who enjoys God, the occasional beer, and its history, this story caught my eye when it came on the local news last night. Having read The Search For God And Guinness by Stephen Mansfield (review later) this winter I can understand what J. Wilson is taking about in his study of the monks and the nutritional value a good brew had hundreds of years ago. This is in an interesting story and one that will certainly tick off a lot of fundamentalist Christians. Beer has a deep history in the Church. Most people are just too closed minded to it to even learn of all the good that came to the Church because of beer. A quote from Wilson’s KCCI interview that I thought was awesome was “I want to educate beer people about God & God people about beer.” My hope is that J. Wilson does not loose the real meaning of Lent on his study of monks and their brew. What say you about this?

Find J. Wilson Online

• KCCI Story
• Des Moines Register Article
• His Blog

The adventure that J. Wilson is embarking upon relates to monks from Germany, but it’s going to get a lot of attention by Easter, so here’s the press release:

“Working to nourish their bodies through during the lengthy 46-day fast during Lent, the Paulaner monks of Neudeck ob der Au in Munich are credited with developing the doppelbock style of beer in the 17th century. Packed with carbohydrates, calories and vitamins, this unfiltered ‘liquid bread’ sustained the monks from Ash Wednesday to Easter, and over 300 years later, the rich history and quality of this beer is well-known throughout the world. With this in mind, blogger J. Wilson is embarking on a historical study, fasting on doppelbock for the same 46-day stretch that the storied German monks once endured — and live to tell the tale.”

“This will be no small undertaking,’ Wilson said. ‘I will be working with both a doctor and a spiritual advisor as I attempt to tell the story of this facet of the monks’ livelihood.”

“While the end product of the project will be a book, Wilson has set up a separate blog (Diary of a Part-time Monk) to chronicle elements of the fast as it unfolds. ‘The goal is to post short, daily tidbits on how the fast is proceeding, with occasional clips uploaded to brewvana’s YouTube channel,’ Wilson said.”

Monday Is For Music - Folk Rock

Today's musical suggestions are two of my favorite bands in the Folk/Rock genre. They are “The Avett Brothers” and “Mumford and Sons” respectfully. These bands were an acquired taste for me. The Avett Brothers were first introduced to me by my brother a few years ago; I have to say that I really didn’t care for The Avett Brothers at first. It wasn’t until the album “I And Love And You” came out that I really got into them. It was a “gateway” album, it awoke my inner hillbilly. I would categorize Mumford and Avett as two different genres even if Amazon doesn’t. Mumford’s music is more folk sounding to me while Avett is has more of a bluegrass sound to it. However you label it, it is pure awesomeness in my ears and two of my top listened to bands in my iTunes library. Below are a few links to my favorite albums and some other resources.

Mumford and Sons

• Sigh No More - Favorite album, but they only have one available in the US.

The Avett Brothers

• I And Love And You - Favorite album
• Emotionalism - Second favorite album

Check out The Avett Brothers full album catalog here.

The Avett Brothers - Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise Video

 

Westminster Catechism Rap

Have you ever heard D.A. Carson rap? Curtis Allen put together a rap about the Westminster Catechism with D.A. Carson. Hey Piper isn’t the only one with mad rap skills. Enjoy!

voice-westminster.mp3 Listen on Posterous

“Westminster Catechism” (lyrics)

Verse 1

We non-stop hey we non-stop hey we in the Lord and we going to the top hey. We got the catechism and we won't flop hey, we nonstop hey we nonstop hey we on top. Of our history, reformation chivalry, Westminster Catechism teaching on divinity. Dealing with the trinity, the Westminster longer is a monster so today we dealing with its mini me. 1647 let's go back and visit the, year it was completed to edify the community. Believers live in unity was part of the purpose, to train lay persons in matters of what was worth it. Doctrine and belief, believe in the doctrine we own our sin we not looking for Johnny Cochran's. Now we don't idolize with idol eyes we know that Scripture is where the Lord has epitomized the Father so why bother with the catechisms? Because they simplify for you and I'm glad they did them. We get a vision of this comprehensive document, one of the most important in the church and it’s opulent. They didn't know I know that word, we gonna get into the Q & A next verse. 107 questions we won't do all of them, you probably think it's wild I'm rocking with Dr. Carson.

Hook

Do you know what the chief end of man is?
And how the Father, Son and Spirit do manage?
Do you know if you want you could know this?
The catechism hey the catechism hey

Verse 2

Let's get into some questions 107 of ’em broken down into sections. The first 12 of ’em deal with God as creator, the manner of his decrees, and trinitarian nature. 13–20 is dealing with humanity our sin and it's cause we should all be God's enemy. 21–38 is getting real meaty, the nature of Christ, his office, and how he redeemed we. All of these are solid but personal homage is paid I been affected by 27 and 28. Christ’s humiliation, his exaltation, 4:4 of Galatians, Psalm 110 are stating. 39–84 filling out commandments, 85–97’s dealing with the sacraments. 98–107, what you will find there, is some good instruction on the Lord’s prayer. Yeah, now I ain’t saying it’s the best right I know it ain’t the Scriptures but we riding with the “Westside.” Question 3 what do the Scriptures principally teach, concerning God and his duties for those who believe. Sweet, 92 what is a sacrament, a holy ordinance by Christ was instituted as a means of grace man get that catechism out, while you bobbin’ your head go read what I am talking bout.

Curtis Allen also put a song together about the Heidelberg Catechism. You can read about it here and download it here.

When Prayer Becomes Easy

Jonathan Dodson had a great guest post on his blog recently on prayer. This is a subject that I struggle with as I am sure a lot of you do as well. I thought this was a good statement from the post: “Prayer becomes easy, enjoyable, necessary, & satisfying when we become aware of our frailty and emptiness.” You can read the whole blog post on Jonathan’s blog here.

The Holiness of God by Dr. R.C. Sproul - Free Download

Now celebrating 25 years of publication, this classic can help you better understand the biblical picture of God’s awesome holiness and why it is so foundational to God-centered, God-honoring theology and Christian living. In The Holiness of God , R.C. Sproul demonstrates that encountering God’s holy presence is a terrifying experience. Dr. Sproul argues that this struggle is nonetheless necessary because it is the only way to cure our propensity to trust in ourselves and our own righteousness for salvation. (cited from Ligonier)

Now Ligonier in partnership with ChristianAudio is making The Holiness of God available for download as their free audiobook of the month. You can go grab it here and while you are there check out the large catalog of audiobooks that ChristianAudio has available.

Men Are In A Restless Pursuit After Satisfaction.

“Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth’s broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet.”
— Charles Spurgeon

Monday Is For Music - Hymns

Today I wanted to point you to some of my favorite bands who happen to sing hymns. Now before you close your browser, read on and give some of these a listen. These aren’t your grandma’s hymns. There has been a resurgence lately to try and bring the good solid rich theology of hymns back to the people of my generation. Bands like PageCXVI, Red Mountain Music and Coram Deo Church have done a great job of doing this while at the same time updating the music to be relevant to our culture and style. There still remains a pretty big range in musical style though. I'll provide the links and you can listen for yourself. Below are some of my favorites that I own.

Coram Deo Church

• Doxology

PageCXVI

• Hymns I
• Hymns II
• Hymns III

Red Mountain Music

• All Things New

Red Mountain Church

• Help My Unbelief

Ascend The Hill

• Take The World, But Give Me Jesus

Honorable Mention - I don't own but still REALLY good!

Soujourn Music - Any Album

To See The Curse Removed -The Journey Church

Free Stuff!!!

As always I am providing you with some free download links and some free resources to the albums above. Enjoy.

Coram Deo Church

• Doxology - Digital hymn book

PageCXVI

• Hymns - Two free hymns

Red Mountain Music

• All Things New - Stream the full album
• Lyrics, Chords, b-sides & more

Red Mountain Church

• Help My Unbelief - Free download

Ascend The Hill

• Take The World, But Give Me Jesus - Free download

Kendall Payne - Pray

My wife emailed me this video this morning and it took me out at the knees. I had to share it with you. It is a song by Kendall Payne called Pray. The lyrics of this song along with what Frances Chan shares at the end are powerful.

Lyrics

 

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends 
While the road we walk is difficult indeed 
I couldn't not ask for more than what you've already been 
Only that you would say these prayers for me
May your hearts break enough that compassion enters in 
May your strength all be spent upon the weak 
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head 
May they all fall, come crashing down around your feet 
May you find every step to be harder than the last 
So your character grows greater every stride 
May your company be of humble insignificance 
May your weakness be your only source of pride 
What you do unto others may it all be done to you 
May you meet the One who made us 
And see Him smile when life is through 
May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they'd be 
And when you look upon the broken 
May mercy show you what you could not see 
May you never be sure of any plans you desire 
But you'd learn to trust the plan He has for you 
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire 
May you fight with all your life for what is true 
I have prayed for you now all of my dear and faithful friends 
But what I wish is more than I could ever speak 
As the way wanders on I'll long to see you once again 
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me? 
Oh, that you would pray for me

 

A Day With The Monks!

I recently had the opportunity to get away from the busyness of life for a day. Last weekend I was at Saint Benedict Center for a day of Sabbath and solitude. It was amazing. It was the fist time that I have done this and certainly not the last. The monastery is located in the hills of Schuyler, Nebraska, about an hour west of Omaha. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this. The facilities at Saint Benedict's are absolutely amazing. I was stuck, but the architecture, the expanse of the facility, the beauty of the grounds, and the amazing art on display from various countries where I assume they have missions work happening. Being as big as it was, and having a few catholic groups there on retreat, you almost never saw anyone and it was so quiet you could hear the mice think. I set up in the solarium next to a wall of windows the overlooked the lake. The sun showed bright all day which kept me nice and warm as I studied through out the day. It was an awesome day of study, refection and prayer. Below are some pictures I took while I was there. Enjoy.

What If Your Reputation Is Unjustly Bad?

I will be the first to admit that I have "fear of men" issues and have trouble believing that I am already approved and accepted by Jesus. This leads to pleasing people and worrying about what others think about me so much that it can make me sick. I read this great post from John Piper today that really nailed me and this issue. Take a look at this issue through Gospel lenses:

[Jesus] told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:7–11)

Jesus says it is better to be thought worse than you are, and then be publicly vindicated, than to be thought better than you are and then be publicly humiliated.

Yes, but what if you take the lowest seat and no one comes to invite you to the front? What if your reputation in this world is always worse among men than it is with God? What if your life is one continual false accusation (Matthew 5:11)? “We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Psalm 44:22; Romans 8:36). “We have become like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:13).

This parable does not promise that people will always come through for you. They won’t. Some will think you worse than you are till the day you die.

What this parable ultimately promises is that at the final wedding feast, Jesus himself will set things right. Your reputation will be vindicated. Truth will come out. The whole universe will know if your reputation was wrong.

So here’s the life-changing truth: It is better to be thought worse than you are now, and have the Lord set things right in the last day, than to be thought better than you are now, only to have Jesus put you in your place in the end.

In other words, don’t care much about whether your family and friends and acquaintances and enemies know what you are really like. Be true, be real, be humble, and let the Lord settle the matter in the end. In that day, the price of taking the lower place will be seen to be very small.

This is a re-post from Desiring God. You can find the original post here and many more resources from John Piper here.

Monday Is For Music - The Ember Days

Today I want to point you to a band by the name of “The Ember Days.” The Ember Days began as an attempt to explore worship music in its fullest sense – passion and devotion, spoken through their widespread musical influences to a new generation of worshipers. I first found this band on Come and Live while searching for new free music. Initially I did not really care for them but as I listened on, the lyrics and the music did their job and I was a convert. This is an amazing band that I highly recommend them. Their lyrics are piercing and their music is moving and healing. They are one of my top five bands as evidenced by my Last.fm play counts. One of my favorite songs they sing is "It Is Well" which I blogged about here. Click the links and check them out.

Albums

• Your Eyes Light Up (2007)
• The Ember Days EP (2008)
• Finger Painting EP (2010)

Free Music From The Band

• Your Eyes Light Up (2007)
• The Ember Days EP (2008)
• Finger Painting EP (2010) - Two Songs

 

Monday Is For Music

Today I want to point you to a band by the name of “The Civil Wars.” I discovered them back in December 2010 when they released a digital45 called “Tracks in the Snow” on NoiseTrade. The Civil Wars is an indie folk duo made up of vocalist Joy Williams and guitarist John Paul White.

New Album

You can get “Poison & Wine” off of their new album “Barton Hollow” for free right now on Amazon. You should RUN and download it, love it and then purchase the rest of the album which is only $7.99 right now. 

Free Music From The Band.

• Live at Eddie’s Attic EP - Their first EP
• Tracks in the Snow [Digital45] - Two Christmas Songs
• Poison & Wine - Off of their new album “Barton Hollow”
  

 

Mumford & Sons, and The Avett Brothers at the Grammys

Here are the performances of Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and then both of them backing Bob Dylan at the Grammys. I could have done with out Dylan, but hey I have never really liked him. The Mumford & Avett performace was epic. If you missed it enjoy, if you saw it like me & want to keep re-watching it enjoy. Check out Amazon for Mumford & Sons as well as The Avett Brothers.

What is God's Will for My Life?

I listened to a really good and challenging message from Darrin Patrick this week. He was preaching out of Prov. 3:5-6 and answering the question “What is God's Will for My Life?” As someone who hit 30 years old this year and has looked back on the last 30 years with some since of sadness at what has been accomplished and a longing to change that for the future. I have been asking this question. You can download the message on iTunes here or the direct .mp3 here.

R.C. Sproul wrote a great little book called "Can I Know God's Will? (Crucial Questions Series)" In it he goes through and explains all the different will’s of God. I would recommend it as a good resource for further study.

Here are the notes I took as I listened to his message:

Scripture was written in genres of literature.

• Law (A command from God that I must always obey.)
• Promise (A guarantee from God that will always be true.)
• Proverbs (Short descriptions about the way things generally go in this world.)

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut. 6:5 Matt 22:37 – LAW

Love your neighbor as yourself Lev.19:18 Mark 13:30 – LAW

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus Rom. 8:38-39 – PROMISE

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you Heb. 13:5 Deut. 31:6 – PROMISE

A generous man will prosper Prov. 11:25 – PROVERB

Whoever oppresses the poor will come to poverty Prov. 22:16 – PROVERB

Proverbs are situational. Laws and promises are not. If you try to apply these proverbs or some narrative of the Old Testament and make it binding on your life when it was never intended to do that you will be disappointed and you will doubt that God really wants to lead and guide you.

Gods Will

Sovereign Will (Events that God has ordained or decreed that will happen.)

• Jesus will return.
• The gates of hell will note prevail against the Church.

Moral Will (Laws that God commands us to keep.)

• Sexual purity.
• Lying.
• Cheating.

Personal Will (Promptings that God invites us to and to follow.)

• Do I move?
• How many kids do I have?
• Should I marry this person or not?
• Should I take this job?
• What treatment option should I choose for my illness?
• When should I retire?

As you understand God and how he works sovereignty, that he really is in control of everything (A) and you are obedient to what God requires of you morally (B) you will have more clarity on what God wants for you. More clarity, not perfect clarity. This side of Heaven we just wont have 100% clarity (1 Cor. 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.) Our biggest problem though for the most part is not clarity, its rebellion and fear.

Our problem with Gods personal will is not that He has not reveled it to us; it’s that we don’t want to do it or we are too afraid to trust Him. The scriptures have to do a work in us with regard to this. Every time God shows us what He wants us to do personally it will expose our rebellion & it will expose our fear.

How can I know God's will for my life?

God reveals his will to those who are surrendered to Him.

• Trust in the lord with all your heart.
• Our surrender brings God’s clarity. Prov 3:6.

God reveals his will to those whose minds are being transformed by scripture.

• Do not learn on your own understanding. Lean on God’s. Transform your understanding.
• Transformation involves information. Transformation involves discernment. Read your Bible. Psalms 119:105
• Wisdom comes from studying the Bible.
• Read it! Study it! Do it! Teach it! (Ezra’s example)

God reveals his will through the wise counsel of others.

• You have a team of counselors around your life (friends). The question is not are they counseling you, the question is, is it wise counsel?
• Most people surround themselves with collective ignorance. We surround ourselves with friends that have the same idolatry as we have, the same sins we do. They won’t challenge us on our sins because in doing so it will challenge their sin. They won’t rebuke you for how you handled a certain situation because they don’t want to be rebuked for their sin. This is why very few people grow in relationships.
• Surround yourself with WISE counsel! This can’t be fulfilled by one person, so have a team of wise people around you.

Here’s our biggest problem with God’s will. We want Gods will more than God. We seek His hand and not His heart. When we seek God for God, (not looking to get something) He is delighted to reveal his will to us.

Breathe On Me

I was sitting in church on Sunday and the worship team sang this song from Todd Fields called “Breathe On Me.” The following two lines of the song hit me like an emotional freight train.
 
Forever, you are my reason for living
Merciful Savior unending
Breathe on me

Forever, You are the God of my story
Write every line for Your glory
Breathe on me

God brought all of these thoughts of His never ending mercy in my life. Even in tuff situations I go through, how merciful is He to allow me to walk through a trial to expose sin in my life. Difficulty in the life of a beliver is a sure sign of redemptive love. God will take us where we haven’t intended to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. The worship team followed up with “How He Loves.” Well when you really reflect on His mercy in your life and how much He really loves us, it was just too much to bear. I was a blubbering baby at this point.

Here is the full song with lyrics.

  
Download now or listen on posterous

04_Breathe_On_Me.mp3 (4758 KB)

Breathe On Me Lyrics

Verse 1:
Find me here, in this place
Son of God, Saving Grace
At this hour, all my days
Breathe on me breathe on me

Verse 2:
Morning star, shine Your light
As I walk through this life
God of power God of might
Breathe on me breathe on me

Chorus:
Forever, you are my reason for living
Merciful Savior unending
Breathe on me

Verse 3:
When I'm weak, You are strong
Your breathe in me will be my song
In You my King, I belong
Breathe on me breathe on me

(Chorus+Chorus 2)

Chorus 2:
Forever, You are the God of my story
Write every line for Your glory
Breathe on me

Bridge:
Breathe on me, breathe on me
When I am weak, You are strong
Your breath in me, will be my song
When I am weak, You are strong
You are strong

(Chorus+Chorus2)
(Verse 1) to end

Disclaimer: I don’t really know anything about Todd Fields. From what I can see he is kind of like Steve Fee or Chris Tomlin. Looks like he is from Andy Stanley's church, Buckhead.

Behind The Scenes of "The Social Network"

IMDB has given us 93 minutes of “behind the scenes” footage of the movie The Social Network, for free! I loved this movie. Probably my number one movie of 2010. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did an amazing job on the soundtrack to this movie also. I absolutely love it. Give it a listen on Amazon.

Here's the footage:

• Part One - Commencement

• Part Two - Boston

• Part Three - Los Angeles

• Part Four - The Lot

It Is Well

I was listening to this awesome song by "The Ember Days" on my way to work this morning. The song is "It is well." It’s a rendition of the famous hymn by Horatio G. Spafford. The words of the song really hit me this morning. So I thought I would share it with you. Below is the official music video.

Here are the lyrics to the song.

VERSE 1:
I am but a child in the hands of my Lord
Oh, he carries me through rushing rivers, takes me home
When I cannot see, will my faith sustain?
I will find my strength in your love, oh, in your love

CHORUS:
It is well with my soul... x4

Verse 2:
You are my God who gives breath to my lungs
Maker of all, to you I belong
I hold the hand of my father up above
I have no fear, carried now by perfect blood

CHORUS x4
ENDING:
Oh, oh, oh, with my soul... x4

Lucky for us The Ember Days is a open sharing band. You can download the song "It Is Well" for free here and you can download their EP from NoiseTrade for free here. Enjoy!

Monster Midwest Snow Storm

A powerful winter snowstorm pounded us in Iowa with heavy snow, ice, high winds and freezing temperatures starting Monday night through mid-day Wednesday. We got about 7 or so inches of snow. The kicker for us was the wind. 20+mph winds with 50mph gusts for 24 hours made for some good snow drifts.

Wednesday mid-morning when the wind finally died down I looked outside and to my surprise the driveway was fairly clean. The wind had blown all the snow out. So I suited up to see how the road looked. I walked out into the road and up onto the 5’-6’ deep snow drift that was about a quarter of a mile long. Knowing that we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon we settled into some snowed in activities.

To my amazement the county road grader did come that afternoon. He managed to get stuck twice trying to plow through that massive snowdrift. I shot some video of him plowing in front of the house. It took the road grader about an hour to plow a one lane path through the snow drift.

Now I feel as though I must give you some back story for this next part. In Paul Miller’s book “A Praying Life” he writes that we need to just ask God for the little things that are important to us even if they may seem dumb or we think why would God care about this. He also states that we often don’t think prayer works because we don’t see God in the story He is weaving in our lives and that we nee to keep track of the things we are praying for  how/what He is answering. Anyway, I prayed that morning “God I know the road grader is going to really plow me in. You know I don’t own a snow blower. God please send someone with a plow to plow me out.” Now in five years of living in this house the road grader doesn’t care about you as a homeowner. He will plow a 7’ pile at the end of your driveway and that is your problem. Well today was different. As I was sitting in the kitchen thinking there is NO way I am going to be able to shovel all of that. The road grader started working on the end of my driveway. I stood there in total amazement. I prayed right there and thanked God for answered prayer. Now someone might say “well he was going to do that regardless of you praying or not. Maybe, but please put your cynicism aside long enough to see that I prayed that someone would plow my driveway and that prayer got answered. The driveway got plowed. As a cherry on this prayer sundae, as Elicia & I were out with our shovels cleaning up around the mailbox, my neighbor who has watched me shovel for 5 years brings his tractor down and helps to scoop out. Our God is amazing.

Here are a few pictures of the road grader as he plowed by the house. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Kissing Social Media Goodbye!!!

As I learn more reading my Bible and things in my life are stripped away as part of Christ's sanctification process, I have come to the realization that Jesus is calling me to laydown something very close to me. Something I love a lot and am very passionate about, social media.

Here are some reasons why I'm leaving for a while:

1. Need for Spiritual Refreshment

I am looking forward to directing some of the time I would have wasted looking at social media to more prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading.

 

2. Other Important Responsibilities Vying for My Time

• I only have so much time at night with my family and I find that I spend way too much of it looking at the screen of my iPhone instead of engaging my family in meaningful ways.  

• I want to be more intentional about personal & family devotions. A good book that convicted me on praying and personal devotions was "A Praying Life by Paul Miller."

• I want to get more into personal reading and journaling. I have got a great start on this already. I have read some great books in the last six months like, "A Praying Life by Paul Miller," "Can I Know Gods Will? by R. C. Sproul" and "What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace? by Richard Phillips." I recently bought an Amazon Kindle and have collected of some great books that I am looking forward to diving into.

 

3. Social Media Can Be Addictive.

I do not want to be constantly concerned about my statistics, Facebook comments, and Twitter followers. The best way to avoid the danger of caring too much about all this is by taking a break from it all for awhile.

 

4. Social Media Is Inherently Self-Promoting.

Social media may have good and helpful content, but in my heart it has become an idol and a way to promote myself before others. I have become a self-centered and self-absorbed person whose contributions to the Kingdom will be diminished in the long-term. Having used social media consistently for a long time now, I think it is wise to take a step back and evaluate the spiritual effects (both good and bad) that social media has on me.

Now that being said Social Media in and of it's self is not a sin. God created ALL things as good. He created food to be enjoyed, wine to make glad the heart of man, & sex to be enjoyed within marriage. Sin entered the world and fractured all of this. So now we no longer just enjoy food, we worship it (gluttony), enjoying alcohol can lead to alcohol abuse, sex to lust and on and on the cycle goes. You get the picture. It is not the object, (i.e social media, a good steak, a glass of wine, sex with your spouse) that is the sin but the heart of the sinner that is the issue. John Calvin once said that "The heart is a factory of idols." God has shown me this area of sin in my heart. I have, like Paul says in Romans 1:25 " started "worshiping created things (social media) rather than the Creator."

There are some great people doing some great things with social media. Here are a few of my favorites that God has used to speak into my life. They are not in any order.

Twitter

• @AlbertMohler
• @TimmyBrister
• @PastorTullian
• @ErikRaymond
• @ScottyWardSmith
• @JustinBuzzard
• @JoeThorn
• @JohnPiper
• @EdStetser
• @ReidSmonaghan
• @TrevinWax
• @JaredCWilson
• @MattChandler74
• @theResurgance
• @Acts29
• @PastorMark
• @StevekMcCoy
• @Burk_Parsons
• @PaulTripp

Blogs

• Joe Thorn
• Desiring God
• Acts 29
• Eric Raymond (Ordinary Pastor)
• The Resurgence
• The Gospel Coalition
• Justin Taylor

So, on January 31, 2011 I will be deactivating my Facebook account and leaving Twitter for an unknown amount of time. I do plan on returning, Lord willing to social media once this idol has been delt with. I have always loved the Internet and social media but left unchecked it has become damaging to my soul. I debated saying anything but felt I owed it to you so you didn’t wonder what happen to me. Should you need to get a hold of me you will have to email or call me.

 

5. Places Where You Can Find Me.

• YouVersion. One of my goals this year is to read the Bible in a year. So you friend me on YouVersion join me as an accountability partner and let's read together.
• This blog. I want to get back into blogging again some from time to time you may find a post here.