March 27, 2007
by John Pleasnick
Posts: 303
John Piper is often helpful to me in looking at life in a new way. Justin Taylor recently pointed me to a DG blog that had Piper answering this very question. Here’s the lead-in…
Why do adult bookstores and strip clubs cover their windows? The
obvious answer is so you can’t see in. But is there more to it than
that?
Listen to John Piper suggest why they really don’t want windows–and then offer a way to defeat lust that you may not have thought of.
March 20, 2007
by John Pleasnick
Posts: 303
Late last evening, I came across an excellent article by C.J. Mahaney entitled Interrogating the Legalist Within. "Legalism is seeking to achieve
forgiveness from God, justification before God, and acceptance by God,
through our obedience to God."
Just yesterday afternoon, I had been confessing that same tendency to God. As you walk with Christ longer, our dependence on Christ is often dulled by our environment and so we flip obedience from a response to the gospel to the means of God’s approval of you.
Legalism is insidious. It appears when you’re not expecting it and as soon as you let your guard down. I fear that we may have a fair number of Christian legalists in our own church. Some, like me, are fighting it; many are unaware of it, and some have grown so attached to that style of righteousness that they grumble and complain at others whose lives don’t attain to their self-made spirituality. Where do you fall in the mix?
To help assess your heart and to aid in the fight against legalism, take time to read C.J.’s article. It’s helpful and full of wise counsel. Here’s the intro to whet your appetite.
Pause for a moment and remember.
Remember where you were, and what it was like … that moment when
you understood the cross for the first time … when you really grasped
what happened at Calvary, and what it truly means that Christ died for your sins, what it truly means to be saved.
Remember the passion for Jesus you had? Remember the joy and
overwhelming gratitude to God that came from knowing your sins were
forgiven?
Now think about your Christian life today. Have you moved on to
other things? Maybe you’re primarily focused on fighting lust, or
pursuing godly relationships with the opposite sex, or battling pride,
or cultivating patience.
If so, life is probably quite different for you now. Perhaps you
often lack joy, or wonder why you can’t make greater progress in
spiritual maturity, or feel condemned when you sin. So you study your
Bible more, or attend another small-group meeting, or serve in new ways
at church, or read the latest book.
All these practices are good. Some are vital. But let me suggest the likely root cause of your problems… [Read more]
March 13, 2007
by John Pleasnick
Posts: 303
If you weren’t able to join us a couple weeks ago for baptisms, you really missed out. Steve and Amie Schwiezer hosted between 300-350 people from FBC for lunch and the celebration of 8 baptisms. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and worship as we heard story after story of how God had changed people’s lives.
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March 6, 2007
by John Pleasnick
Posts: 303
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 6:45am, fifteen men from Faith Bible Church will be caravaning to Grace Community Church in Los Angeles to attend the Shepherds’ Conference. Chris arrived there today with a group of men from the AZ training center. He’ll join up with us sometime in the day. Speakers include: John MacArthur, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, Ligon Duncan, Steve Lawson…and up until this week, John Piper. However, John Piper’s dad fell sick this weekend and then died today. (Please be in prayer for John Piper and his sister, Beverly.) So we know he won’t be there to preach tomorrow night, but we’re not sure who’ll step in for him…
Each year, Shepherds’ Conference is a rich and rewarding time away together. The teaching is both challenging and encouraging, but the fellowship together is the real treasure. Pray that God specially blesses our time away as He stimulates and provokes us to be better husbands, spiritual leaders and lovers of God.
If you’d like to see what we’re doing each day, here’s our schedule. And if you’d like to hear what’s happening at the conference, visit Tim Challies blog for live blogging of the conference.
February 27, 2007
by John Pleasnick
Posts: 303
At a seminar two weeks ago, John Piper gave a message entitled, Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel.
Taking Gal. 4:4-8 and Rom. 8:14-17 as his main texts, Piper demonstrates eight similarities between God’s adopting of us and our adopting of children:
He also reads a letter that he wrote to his wife, confirming the decision to adopt their daughter, Talitha. (HT: Justin Taylor)
You can either read the transcript or listen to the audio — note that the transcript is ususally condensed.