Are We Making Jesus Sick?

"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." -Revelation 3:16-17, 19

Ok, so I know I've posted a lot of sermons lately, and I promise to actually write something as soon as I can, but I can't pass up sharing this one, delivered yesterday by Eric Swinney, an elder of New Life Baptist Church. Also, here's an old blog entry on the same text.

More actual blogging coming soon, if the Lord wills.

Knowing & Loving God; & Be Biblically Emotional!

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." -John 17:3

"We love Him because He first loved us." -1 John 4:19

I thought I had already posted a link here to a sermon that God allowed me to preach this past January. I was going to re-post it, (something which I don't think I've ever done,) because I need to hear it again. Maybe that was a prompting of the Holy Spirit, because when I went back to find the blog post, I found that I never posted it. I pray it may be used by God to compel us toward a deeper personal knowledge and love of Him, and to hunger for the fiercely intense emotions which God commands of us in the Bible.

[The first bit of audio was cut off from this recording. All that is missed is the reading of John 17:3 (above) as the initial text of several in this topical sermon, and a very brief introduction.]

Staggering Joy

This morning I listened to a sermon by Sam Storms preached at the 2003 Desiring God Conference... I've been absolutely stunned. I think I may listen to it weekly, or as close to weekly as possible, at least for a time. It's called, "Joy's Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven." I cannot recommend it highly enough. Though much of it emphasizes truth which I've already believed, it's also brought several aspects of heavenly reality to my attention which I have never before considered, and which I believe will increase my capacity for joy in God and for progress in Christ-likeness both in this life and the next. May God be pleased to revolutionize your life along with mine through this powerful message.

Slow Going

I regret that I haven't been updating ye olde blog very frequently. But that's mostly because, for primarily financial reasons, I've opted not to have internet at my house. Consequently, opportunities to really sit and blog have naturally become sparse. I'm also still settling in at my new house-sitting gig, so most of my spare time is being spent there.

But I'm not giving up. With the relocation comes a new set of responsibilities and thus a necessary restructuring of my schedule. When that gets established, I have a couple of ideas about how to work around the no-internet thing, (unless some charitable reader feels compelled to donate the money for that! Hahaha... Ok fine, I'm just kidding. ...Unless you want to.) :-D

More soon. Don't touch that dial.

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ

These are the opening and closing sermons delivered by John Piper at the 2004 Desiring God Conference, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ. Both are absolutely tremendous. The second one contains the most glorious, passionate, soul-stirring exaltation of the infinite supremacy of Jesus Christ that I have ever heard. Why did God bother to create us as sexual beings? What does the Bible say about sexuality beyond the obvious behavioral prohibitions? How does personal knowledge of Jesus affect God-given sexuality, and visa versa? I encourage you to listen and reflect prayerfully.

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, part 1
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, part 2

A wealth of resources from the 2004 conference is available online here.