The band All Star United has released some good and fun songs over the years. Unfortunately I've sometimes found them to toe the line a little bit with their humor. On the whole, though, they write some memorable songs and songs that tend to speak to some of the trends in the Christian world. They have an album coming out in a few weeks and one of the songs is called "Song of the Year." Written by Ian Eskelin, who does most of all of the band's writing, it pokes fun at the trend of handing out awards for the best worship music. Here is a portion of the lyrics:
This is the song of the year
Let the message be clear
I don't need you to adore me
Cause it's all about God's glory
Something's gone really wrong
If we're chasing the song of the year
Testimony TestimonyTestimony Testimony
I'll never be the same
Holy holy worthy worthy
something something something something
That rhymes with Jesus' name
It's the song of the year
But God's still unimpressed
With our radio success
This is the song of the year
Let the message be clear
I don't need you to adore me
Cause it's all about God's glory
Angel choirs sing along
If it's really the song of the year.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Daily Quote
"How soon are we broken on the soft pillow of ease! Adam in paradise was overcome, when Job on the dunghill was a conqueror." - Thomas Watson
Wow.
(On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever," --Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.
"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," --Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.
"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body," --Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.
"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country," --Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC.
"That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it,” --A congressional candidate in Texas.
"Half this game is ninety percent mental." --Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark
"It isn't pollution that’s harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al Gore, former Vice President
"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix." --former Vice President, Dan Quayle
"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur." --Al Gore, former VP
"Traditionally, most of Australia’s imports come from overseas." --Keppel Elderberry
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." --Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina
"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record." --Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
"The word "genius" isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." --Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever," --Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.
"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," --Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.
"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body," --Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.
"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country," --Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC.
"That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it,” --A congressional candidate in Texas.
"Half this game is ninety percent mental." --Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark
"It isn't pollution that’s harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al Gore, former Vice President
"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix." --former Vice President, Dan Quayle
"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur." --Al Gore, former VP
"Traditionally, most of Australia’s imports come from overseas." --Keppel Elderberry
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." --Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina
"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record." --Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
"The word "genius" isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." --Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
He Sees It Best
“Remember the poor.” Galatians 2:10
Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could send them a large annual income; or He could scatter around their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps around the camp of Israel and rained bread out of heaven to feed them. There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best. "The cattle on a thousand hills"1 are His--He could supply them; He could make the rich, the great, and the mighty bring all their power and riches to the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He does not choose to do so. He allows them to experience need; He allows them to struggle in poverty and obscurity. Why is this? There are many reasons. One is, to give us, who are favored with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if there were no needy people in the world, we should lose the sweet privilege of displaying our love by ministering by our gifts to His poorer brethren. He has ordained that in this way we should prove that our love stands not only in word, but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we will care for those who are loved by Him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us. Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord's flock, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."2 Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart--recollecting that all we do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.
1. Psalm 50:10
2. Matthew 25:40
Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could send them a large annual income; or He could scatter around their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps around the camp of Israel and rained bread out of heaven to feed them. There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best. "The cattle on a thousand hills"1 are His--He could supply them; He could make the rich, the great, and the mighty bring all their power and riches to the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He does not choose to do so. He allows them to experience need; He allows them to struggle in poverty and obscurity. Why is this? There are many reasons. One is, to give us, who are favored with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if there were no needy people in the world, we should lose the sweet privilege of displaying our love by ministering by our gifts to His poorer brethren. He has ordained that in this way we should prove that our love stands not only in word, but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we will care for those who are loved by Him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us. Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord's flock, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."2 Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart--recollecting that all we do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.
1. Psalm 50:10
2. Matthew 25:40
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Word of the Day
pi day: March 14th. A "holiday" celebrated by math geeks everywhere. Pi is approximately 3.14, and March the 14th is 3/14.
omg t3h pi day d00d, we are so 1337, pi roxxors t3h boxxors!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Shift Happens
Shift Happens - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!
I've got to say this was a very interesting video to watch. Its just a bunch of facts and estimates, but it will really start to make you think. Definetly worth checking out.
Also, it has a sweet soundtrack to it.
Daily Quote
"Faith, without trouble or fighting, is a suspicious faith; for true faith is a fighting, wrestling faith." - Ralph Erskine
Friday, March 9, 2007
Jack vs. Chuck
It's quite clear that both Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris are forces that can't be stopped. That is, however, unless the awesome forces of fate somehow caused the two to meet in some sort of battle for ultimate supremacy. Of course, such a battle would have to be the result of diabolical forces manipulating the truth in an effort to rid the world of both Jack and Chuck.
In order for said battle to take place, the aforementioned diabolical forces would have to manipulate a situation in which both Jack and Chuck are under the impression they are working with pure intentions, when in fact they have been manipulated to destroy each other.
With much thought and careful consideration, the guys at Jack VS Chuck have painstakingly assembled the following scenario for how such an epic battle would unfold...
Click here for the rest of the story.
At this site you will also find a head-to-head overview, WWJBD? & WWCND? problem solving techniques, and a daily Jack/Chuck photograph for your viewing pleasure.
*WWJBD? = What Would Jack Bauer Do?
*WWCND? = What Would Chuck Norris Do?
In order for said battle to take place, the aforementioned diabolical forces would have to manipulate a situation in which both Jack and Chuck are under the impression they are working with pure intentions, when in fact they have been manipulated to destroy each other.
With much thought and careful consideration, the guys at Jack VS Chuck have painstakingly assembled the following scenario for how such an epic battle would unfold...
Click here for the rest of the story.
At this site you will also find a head-to-head overview, WWJBD? & WWCND? problem solving techniques, and a daily Jack/Chuck photograph for your viewing pleasure.
*WWJBD? = What Would Jack Bauer Do?
*WWCND? = What Would Chuck Norris Do?
Does Paul deny the physicality of the resurrection?
After discussing this question in class and thinking about this question for the past few weeks, I stumbled across this question of the day on the DesiringGod website. You can find it here.
Written by the DG staff:
Speaking of the resurrection from the dead, in 1 Corinthians 15:44 Paul writes: "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:44). Does this mean that believers will not experience a physical resurrection?
Virtually all commentators agree that "spiritual" does not mean "made out of spirit," but "directed by the Spirit." It is just like when we say someone is a "spiritual" person. Paul uses the word in this way in 1 Cor. 2:15: "The spiritual man judges all things..." Clearly Paul does not mean "nonphysical and invisible man" here but "man filled with and directed by the Spirit." Notice also 10:3-4, where Paul says that in the wilderness Israel ate "spiritual food" and drank "spiritual drink" from a "spiritual rock." Does Paul mean to say that these things were not physical? Surely not. The fact that they ate this food and drank this water indicates that it had to be physical. The phrase "spiritual rock" further solidifies this, for Paul clearly does not mean to say "nonphysical rock." He means that these things were sent from above and were under God's direction. And that's what He means when he says we will have "spiritual bodies." Thus, "spiritual body" is not referring to a change from physical to nonphysical, but a change from our lowly state to our glorified state where the Spirit will fully fill and direct our bodies.
What about 1 Corinthians 15:50, where we read: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." In Future Grace, John Piper responds to this question:
Written by the DG staff:
Speaking of the resurrection from the dead, in 1 Corinthians 15:44 Paul writes: "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:44). Does this mean that believers will not experience a physical resurrection?
Virtually all commentators agree that "spiritual" does not mean "made out of spirit," but "directed by the Spirit." It is just like when we say someone is a "spiritual" person. Paul uses the word in this way in 1 Cor. 2:15: "The spiritual man judges all things..." Clearly Paul does not mean "nonphysical and invisible man" here but "man filled with and directed by the Spirit." Notice also 10:3-4, where Paul says that in the wilderness Israel ate "spiritual food" and drank "spiritual drink" from a "spiritual rock." Does Paul mean to say that these things were not physical? Surely not. The fact that they ate this food and drank this water indicates that it had to be physical. The phrase "spiritual rock" further solidifies this, for Paul clearly does not mean to say "nonphysical rock." He means that these things were sent from above and were under God's direction. And that's what He means when he says we will have "spiritual bodies." Thus, "spiritual body" is not referring to a change from physical to nonphysical, but a change from our lowly state to our glorified state where the Spirit will fully fill and direct our bodies.
What about 1 Corinthians 15:50, where we read: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." In Future Grace, John Piper responds to this question:
'Flesh and blood' simply mean 'human nature as we know it'--mortal, perishable,In fact, if Paul had wanted to deny that the resurrection would be physical, he would have used the phrase "flesh and bone," which carried the meaning of physicality (cf. Luke 24:39). Instead, the phrase that Paul does use ("flesh and blood") carries with it no denial of physicality but is actually a Jewish idiom for our bodies in their present, sinful and corruptible state. So this phrase in no way implies that we will not have physical resurrected bodies. Paul is saying that our bodies in their present mode of existence--sinful and subject to decay--must first be changed into a form that is not subject to decay and sin before they can enter the kingdom of God. Is this not the meaning of his very next phrase: "...nor does corruption inherit incorruption"?
sin-stained, decaying. Something so fragile and temporary as the body we now
have will not be the stuff of the eternal, durable, unshakable, indestructible
kingdom of God. But that doesn't mean there won't be bodies. It means that our
bodies will be greater. They will be our bodies, but they will be different and
more wonderful." (Future Grace, 372).
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Daily Quote
"Eating rice cakes is like chewing on a foam coffee cup, only less filling." - Dave Barry
My parents are on a diet that requires them to eat things such as rice cakes, and this quote sounded almost exactly like something I heard my dad say last week at Applebee's while he was watching me enjoy a 9 oz. sirloin, mashed potatos, mixed vegetables, garlic bread and a Dr. Pepper.
My parents are on a diet that requires them to eat things such as rice cakes, and this quote sounded almost exactly like something I heard my dad say last week at Applebee's while he was watching me enjoy a 9 oz. sirloin, mashed potatos, mixed vegetables, garlic bread and a Dr. Pepper.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
A Great Supernatural Work
“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”John 3:7
Regeneration is a subject that lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to make sure that we really are "born again," for there are many who imagine they are, who are not. Be assured that to be called a Christian is not the same nature as being a Christian, and that being born in a Christian country and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no significance at all unless there be something more added to it. Being "born again" is a matter so mysterious that human words cannot describe it. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nevertheless, it is a change that is known and felt--known by works of holiness and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation that a man performs for himself: A new principle is infused that works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects his whole life. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: Man can do the one--God alone can do the other. If you have, then, been "born again," your declaration will be, "O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, You are my spiritual Parent; if Your Spirit had not breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I would still be ‘dead in trespasses and sins.' My heavenly life is wholly derived from You; to You I ascribe it. ‘My life is hidden with Christ in God.' It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." May the Lord grant us assurance on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.
From “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright (c) 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth for Life with written permission. Scripture quotations are taken from Holy Bible: English Standard Version, copyright (c) 2001, Good News Publishers.
Regeneration is a subject that lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to make sure that we really are "born again," for there are many who imagine they are, who are not. Be assured that to be called a Christian is not the same nature as being a Christian, and that being born in a Christian country and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no significance at all unless there be something more added to it. Being "born again" is a matter so mysterious that human words cannot describe it. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nevertheless, it is a change that is known and felt--known by works of holiness and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation that a man performs for himself: A new principle is infused that works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects his whole life. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: Man can do the one--God alone can do the other. If you have, then, been "born again," your declaration will be, "O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, You are my spiritual Parent; if Your Spirit had not breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I would still be ‘dead in trespasses and sins.' My heavenly life is wholly derived from You; to You I ascribe it. ‘My life is hidden with Christ in God.' It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." May the Lord grant us assurance on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.
From “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright (c) 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth for Life with written permission. Scripture quotations are taken from Holy Bible: English Standard Version, copyright (c) 2001, Good News Publishers.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Squirrels Gone Wild
Apparently this squirrel ate a little too much fermented pumpkin...pretty funny stuff.
Daily Quote
"When Christ reveals Himself there is satisfaction in the slenderest portion, and without Christ there is emptiness in the greatest fulness." - Alexander Grosse
Word of the Day
pre-pull: The act of pulling the car door handle at the moment the driver unlocks the door, rendering the attempt fruitless, and resulting in minor frustration and/or embarrassment.
"Could you unlock it Casey? I pre-pulled." - Jessica
"Could you unlock it Casey? I pre-pulled." - Jessica
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
Daily Quote
"Men think all things would be very glorious, it they might be done according to their mind. Perhaps, indeed, they would -- but with their glory, not the glory of God." - John Owen
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Jesus In A Pink Dress Overlooking The Grateful Dead, Part 1
At St. Louis' Mardi Gras celebration this year I found myself "missionally" checking out a Grateful Dead cover band. The venue was an old church in the process of being converted into a bar. The massive crowd, pushing and squeezing through the double doors longed not to hear about Jesus but "the Dead." "Hey, ya wanna take a shot," I was asked the moment I walked in. I declined. I'm too holy for "shots." As a devout Bible-thumping Jesus freak I pondered how this church became a bar? Then I saw it! I looked up and thought that maybe the church's death had something to do with the huge, pathetic mural of a sandy brown-haired Jesus wearing a pink dress.
Actually, it was a robe, but pink nonetheless. Seriously, in the mural Jesus was extending a slightly bent arm with a warm, soft hand to rescue Peter from drowning after failing to walk on water (Matthew 14:22-33). However, Peter's arms and forearms were ripped like a Muscle and Fitness magazine cover model in need of a steroid detox program. Peter, another white dude, was a lot more masculine than Jesus. I didn't know that.
Why was Jesus a blonde-haired white guy wearing a pink dress?
The cornerstone of the church building read "Gravois Avenue Church of God, December 13, 1942." Sadly, some 65 years later the building was now packed full of alcohol abusing, weed-loving, sexually liberated "Dead-heads," surrounded by 6 Jesus freaks (me and my friends), listening to incredible musicians.
Will your church devolve into a music venue for cover bands in two generations?
I don't know which was worse the effeminate pink-dressed Jesus or the fact that this church is now a music venue that served cheap beer. At one point I wanted to interrupt the show, grab a microphone, and start preaching (like a good "bullhorn guy"): "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! Hell is knocking at your door!" But then I realized that behind me would have been Jesus wearing a pink dress.
After my short sermon one of those hippie guys could have retorted, "Hey, Mr. black-guy-listening-to-Grateful-Dead-music-with-the-rest-of-us, the Kingdom of God is led by a dude in a pink dress?" The answer, of course, is "NO!!" The kingdom of God is led by a man who battled Satan and secured victory for his people (Matt. 10:34; 1 John 3:8).
Leon Podles, is his book, The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity, laments the feminized Christianity of the pink-dressed Jesus: "Christianity is now seen as a part of the sphere of life proper to women rather than to men, it sometimes attracts men whose own masculinity is doubtful. By this I do not mean homosexuals . . . rather religion is a safe field, a refuge from the challenges of life and therefore attracts men who are fearful of making a break with the secure world of childhood dominated by women. These are men who have problems following the path of masculine development."
Maybe this church died because the men had no mission? They were never initiated into the masculine image of Christ and therefore never entered into the battle of local mission.
David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going To Church, reminds us that 61% of the average adult U.S. church attendance is women, 80% of attendees at midweek church activities are women, and 90% of boys raised in the church will abandon it by time they turn 20-years-old.
If you combine the image of Jesus in a pink dress with the soft-spoken, effeminate "sharing" that some churches call "sermons" by preachers/teachers who sound like one of the Teletubbies having confused words like "meek" and "gentle" with androgeny, we may understand how churches become bars: churches without the Gospel, and God-made masculine men, eventually die.
Pastor Teletubby stands up on Sunday in a quiet, non-offensive voice, whispering pink platitudes, after people sing a love ballad or two to a pink-dressed Jesus, instead of preaching the hard, painful, inviting, comforting, electrifying, liberating, convicting, offensive, loud, unraveling, authentic, transforming, truth of the Gospel of Jesus who alone empowers and enables his people to fight in the ancient redemptive mission of God to redeem the whole creation.
"Men are looking for a real man to follow: dynamic, outspoken, bold, sharp-edged. They want a leader who is decisive, tough, and fair. They respect a man who tells it like it is and doesn't mince words, even when it makes them mad. Men most respect a leader who doesn't care what others think of him," says Murrow. Satan is real, hell is real, people are dying, sin is alive, repentance is needed, healing is necessary and people need a Jesus who bears a sword and fights for them and men pursuing death for the same cause.
Pastor Teletubby, offering a pink-dressed Jesus, is not capable of leading a church into the gloriously dangerous sufferings of Gospel-driven local mission advancing the Kingdom of God "wherever the curse is found." More to come. . .
http://theresurgence.com/ab_blog_2007-02-08_jesus_in_a_pink_dress_part_1Sweet Honda Commercial (UK)
Honda Civic Choir TV ad (UK) on Vimeo
Why are there not more sweet commercials like this in the United States?
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