Sunday, April 30, 2006

May Study


Here is the book for May that I plan to study through.


Tuesday, April 25, 2006

More reflections on worship


Yes I am still reading about preaching as worship. I came across this post by Steve Camp about 7 perceptions of what biblical worship is not. Here are his seven points.

1. Biblical Worship is not Emotional Exuberance

2. Biblical Worship is not Mystical Experience

3. Biblical Worship is not Musical Performance

4. Biblical Worship is not Religious Ritual

5. Biblical Worship is not Asceticism

6. Biblical Worship is not Self-Indulgence

7. Biblical Worship is not Self-Actualization

His point in 3 is what we talked about two weeks ago. Worship is not just singing. Singing is one form of worship. Preaching is a part of that worship.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Expository Exultation


Last Tuesday in our youth leadership class, I spoke about the idea of preaching as worship. I found this a week later. It is by John Piper. He talks about preaching and it's role as a part of worship.

The Place of Preaching in Worship

Monday, April 17, 2006

Spiritual Watchmen


In his instructions to Timothy about how to be an elder, Paul says "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Timothy 4:16) How can watching our life and doctrine save not only us, but also others?

Our lives are constant examples to others. 1 Timothy 3:2 says an elder must be above reproach. In fact, Paul says in 3:4 that an elder’s family is to be an example. Our lifestyle choices can drive people away from Christ and His church. We need to guard against letting our life be a stumbling block for others. As leaders in our youth group, are you living as an example to our youth and their parents?

How can our doctrine save others? Paul says in 4:13 that the responsibility of an elder is to "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching." Elders are to be watchmen of God's word. We need to be able to teach that word and doctrine to the congregation. Our doctrine has an impact on people’s salvation. As an example, if we teach salvation by works, we lead people to a hollow relationship with the Lord. They are sent down a wide road of destruction. We need to cherish and learn Biblical doctrine. We also need to understand what doctrine is essential. What doctrines are "hills to die on?"

So this week, ask yourself where have I let my guard down? My life or my doctrine? Also, what doctrines do you think are essential? Post here which ones and why.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Mark Dever


The internet can be a blessing and a curse. It is full of a lot of junk. There is also a bunch of beneficial material. I found one of the greatest treasures of the internet.

Some of you know who Mark Dever is. He graciously spoke at the 2005 OBC Pastor's Conference for us. He is the pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. He runs the 9Marks ministry. He is also involved in this whole blog thing along with 3 other pastors.

He has posted a Microsoft Word file that lists all the sermons taught at CHBC from November 1993 through December 2005. It also lists who taught it and what was the main scripture passage. Most importantly, each sermon has a link that takes you to a page where you can download the sermon and an article about the sermon. All for FREE!

What a treasure chest of biblical teaching. Here is the link.

CHBC Sermon List

Sunday, April 09, 2006

2 more weeks

I am still working in a secure government building. They won't let me bring my laptop into the building. I should be finished in about 2 weeks. Hopefully I will have internet access again and be able to pick up the frequency and quality of posts.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Doing Our Job


I am encouraged as a part of this group of youth leaders that we are doing our job. Paul starts off by warning Timothy about false teachers and encouraging him (in choosing others) to teach doctrine carefully and truthfully in 1 Timothy 1:3-4. Over the past year, both male and female students have assumed teaching positions in the youth group and the leaders have met with these youth to ensure proper instruction. As we focus on developing leaders, much like Paul was doing, we must pay particular attention to how we teach and how our students teach. This is a central and necessary characteristic of an effective leader. As a part of this team, I feel affirmed about our efforts with the youth and a renewed focus on student teaching. I pray these words of Paul will be echoed in the lives of our youth.

Scott

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Application of scripture


Tonight at during our leadership class, we were talking about the application of scripture. I mentioned the series Phil Johnson is doing about gambling over at the Pulpit Magazine blog. I think it is a good example of how to apply scripture to an activity in our life that is not expressly forbidden or approved by scripture. Here are the links to the series. I will update this as he adds to it.

Let me know what you think.

Introduction Is Gambling OK? Don't Bet on It
Gambling: Some Definitions and Distinctions

1. Gambling vs. Faithful Stewardship
2. Does 'Mutual Consent' Eliminate the Evil in Gambling?
3. The Sin of Putting God to the Test
4. Gambling: The Moral Antithesis of Charity