by Bret Capranica | Jul 10, 2009 | Twitter
Enjoying a gorgeous morning. Thanking God for our country. Praying for the spread of the gospel and the health of the churches. # Been a busy day of prep for tomorrow. Enjoyed a break with the Gehrings, Fewells & Peters. Paul’s ribs are outstanding!! # I hear the fireworks (2nd night) but I’m too tired to stay up. I’ll be thanking the Lord for our freedom as my head hits the pillow. # Preparing for the day-prayer, the word then getting my heart around all of my responsibilities for the day. # Headed to gather with the saints. # Enjoyable fellowship with God’s people this morning. Time for som of Paul Fewell’s famous BBQ ribs-he sent us home with some yesterday. # Prepping for the evening service. Looking forward to celebrating our freedom in the US & our responsibility to pray for our country. # Just finished a finance meeting (in record time). Now to look over notes for tonight’s sermon. # Checking headlines: darn, I don’t think I’m gonna get a ticket to the MJ memorial. Perhaps I will wear a white glove all day tomorrow. # To the gym-clear the mind push the body. # Long day of meetings and working through a pile of admin. Thinking through moving my home office to the garage. What do you think? # RT @jeramierinne: The unregenerate has a duty to believe the gospel, even as a criminal in jail has a duty to provide for his family. # Waiting for the coffee-forgot one essential thing last night when Setting it up to be made when I awoke: water. Is...
by Bret Capranica | Jul 5, 2009 | Culture, Featured Articles
With Independence Day a day beyond us, how should the church engage its culture? Especially when we gather as a body, what is our responsibility to our nation? The following is an article from Pastor Michael Lawrance, of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. What do you think – what is the most biblical approach to engaging the issues of our country? (See also Bob Kauflin’s excellent article along these lines also). When I look out the windows of our church, I see the marble frieze of the Supreme Court and the massive dome of the Capitol Building rising just behind it. Being the associate pastor of a church that sits a mere five city blocks from the seat of legislative and judicial power in America, I am constantly reminded of the need to equip the members of Capitol Hill Baptist Church to be salt and light for the Kingdom of God in the midst of the quintessential city of man. How do we go about that task? Here are four steps that we have taken. Citizens of Heaven First, each Sunday we gather as citizens of heaven, not America. The good news of the Gospel is that the dividing wall of separation between Greek and Jew has been torn down and in Christ any of us can become citizens of heaven. (Eph. 2:14-22) And so breaking with decades of tradition at CHBC, we have removed the American flag, not only from the platform, but from the building. Being a major tourist destination, every Sunday we have visitors from around the world. But it”™s not just our visitors that...
by Bret Capranica | Jul 3, 2009 | Twitter
Fresh grapefruit fr our trees, strong coffee fr Starbucks, fun breakfast w my girls while mom is at the ladies fellowship-good to be home # Putting together my report on the Southern Baptist Convention for our church tomorrow evening. # Ok-that’s it. Gotta get to bed. Up far later than I like for a Saturday. Thankful for one morning service. # Finalizing prep for the day-first to dwell on the psalms and prep my heart. The Lord’s lovingkindness is everlasting. # Off to gather with God’s people-praying it will be a significant day of sanctification. # Left our worship a bit early to assist a brother pastor in a difficult situation in his fellowship. Praying for God’s good grace. # Welcome our new family member: Boyce: http://yfrog.com/5gvnluj # Just finished a great day of fellowship/mow to help get the kids and Boyce down for the night. # RT @edstetzer: Interesting: “Obama”™s new pastor is Lieut. Carey Cash, a Southern Baptist.” See http://www.getreligion.org/?p=14189 # In our pastors’ meeting (we’re on a break)-just finished prayer for our members. # Took the afternoon off to rest and be with the fam. Fun times! Boyce has only soiled the carpet twice today-Gotta watch where we step. # Kel has tendinitis in her shoulder & is not supposed to lift anything like…umm…children. Major problem. Should be an interesting week. # Just finished a tour of the days headlines-now to bring it all before the Lord in prayer. Long day ahead-looking forward to it. # Conventions don’t bode well for exercise and eating-so I’m off to the gym to begin recovery from last week. #...
by Bret Capranica | Jun 26, 2009 | Twitter
Headed to the gym-long day yealsterday-just ended a few hours ago. Big day today-sis-in-law geting married. # Home to mow the jungle (our yard)! Where’s the sun today? # Workout: check. Yard mowed: check. Haircut:check. About to head out for the wedding. # About to head home from an eventful day and a good time with family and friends-oh a a very nice wedding. # Uh oh-stuck on the freeway at 10:15 pm-massive wreck ahead. No one’s going anywhere for awhile http://yfrog.com/0etg0j # Made it home at midnight. Looks like people were seriously hurt (or worse) in the accident last night. Now to prepare my heart for the day. # I just became a member of the Twub for #sbc2009 at http://twubs.com/sbc2009 # Headed to church/we move to one service this morning!! Hallelujah! # Enjoyed baptism and communion in one gathering-very encouraged. Now to head home for a father’s day Pizza and a father’s day nap. # Headed in to a choir rehearsal-then music for this evening-the preac the entire book of Romans. # Headed to #sbc2009 and Louisville. First to figure out where we are staying . . . # Leaving San Diego is always anti-climatic. # In Dallas for enough time to run from one gate to another. Ah, the motherland! All hail the republic! #sbc2009 # Uh oh! A plane broke down in our gate-we are on the tarmack-may miss my connection. Will I reach Louisville before Justin? #sbc2009 # RT @DennyBurk: : SBC Exec.Comm. votes to ‘cease’ the ‘cooperative relationship’ between SBC and Broadway Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, TX. # Made it off the...
by Bret Capranica | Jun 24, 2009 | Southern Baptist Issues
What an enjoyable day it has been today at the SBC – primarily a day to celebrate the Lord’s goodness in the 150th anniversary of The Southern Baptist Convention. Our day began with the consideration of resolutions. This is generally a very lively event as it is an opportunity for people with strong convictions to attempt to have the convention publicly agree with those convictions. The most notable resolutions of the day were: 1. The resolution addressing Barak Hussein Obama. It was a good balanced resolution affirming Scripture’s call for us to pray for those in leadership over us. It also acknowledged his obvious love and commitment to his wife and children. The resolution was also clear in its call for the President to abandon his commitment to those policies that he promotes and Scripture directly opposes. 2. The resolution on adoption was a joy for me to affirm. It was also a joy to see Russell Moore with his three adopted sons with him as the Convention unanimously affirmed it. I enjoyed having him sign his recent book on adoption. Very little business seems to be conducted this year from the floor. Which made for a fairly positive Convention overall. The key preacher of this year’s convention was David Platt. His message this morning was a passionate call to keep our focus on the key issues of meeting the needs of others through the gospel and proclaiming the greatness of God. The afternoon for us was spent at Southern Seminary for the annual luncheon afterwhich we toured the campus. We watched the chapel service from Heritage Hall and...
