Saturday, November 7, 2009

Sense of need causes us to pray

From Kevin DeYoung’s post this morning titled, Prayerlessness is Unbelief:

If you know you are needy and believe that God helps the needy, you will pray. Conversely, if we seldom pray, the problem goes much deeper than a lack of organization and follow through. The heart that never talks to God is the heart that trusts in itself and not in the power of God. Prayerlessness is unbelief.

Prayerfulness, on the other hand, is an evidence of humility and faith, which is why God loves it when we pray.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Planned Parenthood Director Quits

Planned Parenthood Director Quits

A Planned Parenthood® director has resigned from a Bryan, Texas, clinic after witnessing an ultrasound-guided abortion. Abby Johnson, 29, said she had a "change of heart" and knew it was time to leave after she watched a fetus "crumple" as it was vacuumed out of a patient's uterus in September. "When I was working at Planned Parenthood, I was extremely pro-choice," said Johnson. But, after seeing the internal working of the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor, "I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart ... a spiritual conversion."

Speaking of her bosses, Johnson said, "Every meeting that we had, [it] was, 'We don't have enough money, we don't have enough money — we've got to keep these abortions coming.' It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers." She also noted that her bosses told her to change her "priorities" and focus on abortions, which made money for the office at a time when the recession left them hurting.

Planned Parenthood petitioned the district court to issue a temporary restraining order against Johnson and against the Coalition for Life, a pro-life group with which Johnson is now affiliated. "We regret being forced to turn to the courts to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff. However, in this instance, it is absolutely necessary," said Rochelle Tafolla, a PP spokeswoman. Johnson said she had no intention of releasing any sensitive information about her former patients at the clinic.

Without a doctor in residence, Johnson's clinic offered abortions only two days a month, but the doctor could perform 30 to 40 procedures on each day he was there. An estimated $350 for each abortion could net the branch up to more than $10,000 a month. Johnson said, "Ideally, my goal as the facility's director is that your abortion numbers don't increase because you're providing so much family planning and so much education that there is not a demand for abortion services. But that was not their goal."

A hearing is set for Nov. 10 to determine whether a judge will order an injunction against Johnson and the Coalition for Life. [FoxNews.com]

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The modern day church

Here are some quotes from things I've read this morning that causes us all concern about the present day church:

"But instead of living this way, we've created a whole brand of churches that do not depend on the Spirit, a whole culture of Christians who are not disciples, a new group of "followers" who do not follow. If all God asked for were faceless numbers to fill the churches, then we would be doing alright. Most of us would feel pretty confident. But simply having a good speaker, a service that is short and engaging, a good venue, and whatever else we add to the mix does not make for a "good" or "successful" church. God intended for His bride, those who claim His name, to be much more than this." Francis Chan, Forgotten God

The following quotes are from Nancy Leigh DeMoss' teaching this morning on the church at Sardis in Revelation 3 (see the entire teaching here):

But I have to say, as I survey fifty years of the landscape there, that I’ve seen a lot of religious activity and many people who were living decent lives, not living in major sin. But for the most part, I found the majority of so-called Christians in the West show few, if any, signs of true spiritual life. Now, there’s some notable exceptions, but for the most part, there’s little spiritual hunger, little heart, little discipline, little zeal, little passion for Christ, little love for Christ, and little willingness to sacrifice for His kingdom.

You are nominal Christians; Christians in name only. And we’ve said that our churches today, I believe, are filled with nominal Christians. I’m not just talking about our liberal, mainline churches that long ago ceased to preach the gospel. I’m talking about our Bible-preaching churches. I really, really believe there is a huge percentage, only God knows what that number is, of people who profess something they do not possess.

Don’t you often feel vastly outnumbered? If you’re trying to live for the Lord, if you’re trying to please Him, if you have a heart for holiness, if you lift up the standards of God’s Word, don’t you sometimes start to feel like, “We are the only ones who think this way? Like, am I crazy? All the other Christians . . . Why do they allow their kids to do these things? Why do they not protect their children and their minds and their hearts from these kinds of things?” Then you get thrown at you so quickly, “Oh, you’re just being legalistic.”

Well, there is such a thing as legalism. That’s another topic for another time. We’re talking about those who say, “I want to be holy.” That has become very out-of-date in the church today. It’s so, so sad.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New web site up

The church's new and updated web site is now up. Check it out here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Spurgeon on Scripture vs. my views

“My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than be inconsistent with the word of God.” - Charles Spurgeon


Saturday, October 31, 2009

Oct 31 - What a Great Day in Christian History

This is a post today from Dr. John Thweatt, a friend and pastor of First Baptist Church, Pell City.

What comes to mind when you think about October 31? If the first thing that comes to your mind is Halloween…I am afraid we have not done a good job teaching you Christian History.
492 years ago today, was a day that changed the course of the church for all time. On that day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Chapel. His desire was to begin a debate about abuses that he saw by the Papacy and the church. He had no intention on beginning a new church or even a movement. He simply wanted to see the church “reformed” that is re-formed by God’s word and in the image of Christ.

Out of the Reformation came five “battle” cries. These expressed the basics of the Gospel for their day. They have not changed over the past 491 years . . . indeed over the past 2000 years . . . though we sometimes forget them or we let other things push them aside. The
five battle cries of the Church then are the same battle cries for the Church today:
Sola Scripture — By Scripture Alone
Solo Christo — By Christ Alone
Sola Gratia — By Grace Alone
Sola Fide — By Faith Alone
Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone belongs the Glory

I’ll close with a clip from a movie on the life of Luther and by saying along with Luther in regard to the five battle cries–”Here I stand.”

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Preaching Sunday, Nov 1 in Atlanta

I am looking forward to preaching Sunday (Nov. 1) at Truth Tabernacle of Praise in Stone Mountain, GA at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern). This is the church my friend, Bobby Atkins, pastored before moving to Highland Terrance Baptist Church, Greenville, TX.