fighting discontentment with the church

Here's a great article from 9Marks about discontentment with the church.

be careful what you wish for

Verse: "But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked..." (Deuteronomy 32:15)

Commentary: Sometimes our prosperity leads to rebellion.

Resolution: Always be thankful for my hardships knowing that they lead me back to the sublime presence of God.

new series at somanorth

We started a new series at somanorth called "Revolution." It's based off of the revolutionary teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount.

Randy Walters, Steve Eriksson, and I will be preaching through most of the Sermon on the Mount. We'll only be skipping the passages that I just preaching on. For instance, I spoke on lust last January so we'll skip that passage and move directly to Jesus teaching on divorce.

I hope you can make it!

pragmatism is rampant

What is pragmatism?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines pragmatism as "the approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of success of their practical application." In other words, if it works, then it's right.

As you can probably guess, a pragmatist is in danger of ruining their life because they base their reality on what works rather than what is true or good or right.

This is why God warns against pragmatism in the Bible.

In 2 Chroncles 28 we learn that King Ahaz has his back against a wall. So he decides to sacrifice to a false gods since they seem to have helped others. Ahaz literally says in verse 23, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.”

Unfortunately, what is right must never be determined by what seems to work; Hence the rest of verse 23, "but they were the ruin of him and of all Israel."

Why am I blogging about pragmatism? It's because I hear it all of the time!

It usually sounds like this...

"I normally wouldn't have done it. But since it worked, it must have been God's will."

"I figured since it worked for , why not?"

We must never determing our values by what works. Rather, we must determine our values by God's Word. Else, we will find ourselves in ruin for straying from His revealed will.

ESV Study Bible is now Available for Pre-Order

In my opinion, this is the best study Bible that has ever been published.

Here are some sample pages...

Married!

Proverbs 18:22 - "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

Update on Sermon Posting

I'm finding it hard to upload my sermon manuscripts onto this blog. (Oy vey!) If your interested in hearing them, I recommend our podcast at somanorth.com.

Crackdown on Russian Protestants

Here's a New York Times aricle/video on the crackdown on russian protestantism.

This is exactly what the early church was experiencing under the Roman Empire. Early Romans saw the church as a mysterious religious sect known for their odd displays of religious affections. For instance, the Lord's Supper was misunderstood as cannibalism.

How did the early church overcome these stereotypes?

Answer: Good behavior.

This is the reason Paul and Peter continuously plead with early Christians to make a good name for themselves. (For instance,See Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:12-18) They knew that in order to overcome these crazy stereotypes Christians must prove to outsiders that they are actually model citizens.

Application: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."

in other news...

Elderly woman leads her car-jacker to Christ....



"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:21-25)

Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

A powerful video from our nations most powerful prophet... (runtime is less than 3 minutes)