Desiring God – the Way a Bible Teaching Ministry Should Be

by | Jun 27, 2007 | Miscellaneous

In my estimation, Desiring God is one of the genuine ministries among the public personalities many of us love and from whom we derive great spiritual benefit. 27 years of audio, text and some video sermons free of charge? Two decades of pastors’ conference lectures free of charge? Books at drastically reduced rates. Periodic sales on cases of books to use as outreach tools. Back in February, I and my two co-pastors had the privilege to visit the Desiring God headquarters while attending the Conference for Pastors. It was a serious, but simple ministry. The gentleman who took us on a tour the facility admitted to us that they were losing revenue quickly since offering so much for so little or for no cost at all. But making money was not the issue for them. Much more could and should be said about this valuable ministry. For me it is exemplary. I want to learn to be more like the folks at Desiring God (not that I have much to offer) – their attitude and approach to ministry appears to be genuinely focused on, well. . . serving. Thanks to this ministry. May many more rise up like you. Be sure to check out the wealth of resources they offer: What Is On Our Site :: Desiring...

$5 Piper Frenzy

by | Jun 26, 2007 | Reading

O.K., so Abraham Piper over at the desiringGod.org blog encouraged bloggers to write about which Piper books they recommended in light of tomorrow and Thursday’s big sale. What, you didn’t read about it in the “Short Caps” section? You need to pay more attention. So, here’s my list: Essential Piper Actually, my first Piper book was The Supremacy of God in Preaching. I try to read this once every year. I list it first because, whether pastor or pew sitter, this book is a short but strong punch for lighting your heart on fire for the glory of God.. Desiring God, without question is the essential book among all of them at desiringGod.org. All Piper books appear to be an application of this foundational one. This was the second Piper book I read. I have read it three or four times since. The last chapter of suffering is magisterial. Let the Nations Be Glad. What does missions exist? Because worship doesn’t. Enough said, GET THIS BOOK. Future Grace was actually my fourth Piper book. I am currently reading through it with a men’s group every other Thursday evening. How does Desiring God apply to daily living and overcoming sin – this one is essential. Don’t Waste Your Life. What a book, if for nothing more than the “shells” quote, this book will cause you to wonder why you are sitting where you are reading silly blogs like this rather than pouring your life out on the mission field. My wife and I invested in a few cases of these to hand out to our Sunday School class, family members...

And Some Say There Is No Politics in Roman Catholicism

by | Jun 26, 2007 | Catholicism

I have finally come to my senses and see why it is better to be Catholic – that is if you are the Pope. You can simply change the rules when you want to. It is especially good to do it when the previous infallible pope made a mistake. Well done for a church that some say never changes 🙂 Pope changes rules for electing successor | Top News |...

No Longer a Downward Spiral

by | Jun 26, 2007 | Culture

I’m no longer convinced that you can call our trajectory toward a “Sodom” society a downward spiral. It seems more like a greased, strait-lined slide. The opening news story in my RSS reader this morning was entitled, “Court Upholds Prisoners’ Right to Porn.” According to the report: “The Supreme Administrative Court in Stockholm last week ruled that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service had no right to deny a rape convict access to his porn magazines.” -begin rant- You have to be kidding me. The top court made a ruling, that cannot be appealed that a convicted rapist cannot be denied pornography? How is it possible that anyone could come to this sort of asinine conclusion? How could it be that any clear-headed human being would think a violent sex offender should have every right to stuff his lust with the kind of material that would serve only to fuel his passion to recommit his crime? Judges. The educated elites of Swedish culture made such a decision. On the other side are the prison officials. No doubt they lack the intellectual prowess of the judicial branch of Swedish government to determine what is best for the moral rehabilitation of violent criminals. According to the report, “Prison officials had argued that reading porn would interfere with the man’s rehabilitation program. They also said the magazines posed a security problem for staff and other inmates because they could increase the risk of the man relapsing into criminal behavior.” Duh. However, the Supreme Court said, the prison officials could not make the case. They could not prove that pornography would increase a...