I remember having a conversation with my brothers and a friend of theirs in which the subject of Samson’s salvation came up. Their friend exclaimed, “I don’t even know if that guy was regenerate!” Of course Samson broke his Nazarite vow on several occasions, made multiple rendezvous with pagan women, cohabited with one, and committed suicide in some vain attempt …
Understanding the Cross: Responding Godly in an Ungodly Age, Part 2
5 quick things that I use in my life to respond in a godly way and to fight back certain sins (I am grateful for men like Pete Schemm, Dwayne Milioni, and Danny Akin who have helped me compile this list, this is not exhaustive, but I believe it is helpful): 1. Dwell and meditate on what the cross has …
Understanding the Cross: Responding Godly in an Ungodly Age
This post will “piggyback” on Jon’s “Teaching Teens about Temptation.” I had the privilege last night of speaking to some of the teens at my church on the topic of responding in a godly way. I will share with you a little bit of what I shared with them and steps I take to be respond godly. I hope this …
Teaching Teens About Temptation
A few days ago I got to speak to the teens in our church about temptation. Temptation comes to ALL of us. There are many temptations that teens face: “fooling around,” internet pornography, peer pressure, tearing down others to make yourself look cool, drugs and alcohol, smarting off to parents, self-righteousness among the holier-than-thou churchy teens, etc. I confessed …
An Examination of “The Cross and Christian Ministry” with Implications for Southern Baptist Life, Part 1
Carson, D.A. The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005. Pp. 137. This post is the first in a series of two. This post summarizes the book and provides many pertinent quotes (which are bolded) for our examination. The next post will examine the implications of this work for Southern Baptist Life. …
THE MEANING OF COLDPLAY’S “VIVA LA VIDA” AND THE GOSPEL OF KING JESUS
This post is a little different from some of our normal posts, but it does fit with the vision and purpose of Baptist21. The church needs to be able to interact with the culture in which it lives and ministers. We need to have winsome answers for the questions they are asking. This will help us engage culture with the …
Basketball and the Kingdom of Christ: An Open Letter To Students Concerning Boyce College Basketball
It was going to take a lot of focus, commitment, teamwork, energy, skill, and discipline for Adam to accomplish God’s will, subduing and ruling over the whole earth. Sadly, as we all know, he didn’t have what it took. Genesis 3 tells us that his loss of focus and commitment to God’s purposes cost us everything. Fortunately for us, God …
Great Commission Lectures and Insights from Romans 9: We Don’t Have Time to Play Games in Church or With Our Lives
I have been hearing for sometime about the preaching of David Platt. A friend of mine said of Platt that he knows of no one who preaches with such urgency and passion. I have to say the first time I heard him was last week in a lecture series that he preached at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and he …
The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Reversal of Babel
One of the biggest regrets of my life was not taking Spanish in High School because knowing Spanish would be such a help in ministry. Our church is focused on ministry to Spanish speaking people both locally and nationally. We send dozens to Guatemala on mission each year, and my wife and I had the privilege to go a …
“Nothing New Under the Sun”- Philadelphia’s Answer Given
From time to time, here at Baptist21 we will post a question posed to some of our faithful forefathers. Today I post a query that was posed to the Philadelphia Baptist Convention in 1748. We would like to hear from you. How would you, had you been a member of the convention, answered and advised this church? In a few …