Savior
I am a Christ-follower. This is where I write about my journey.
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A historical perspective on the political cost that often comes with speaking truth to power.
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Sin & Salvation: A Study in Contrasts
Delivered during the 2013 Easter service at Oxford Valley Chapel. Listen online: In 1135, King Henry I of England died with no clear heir to the throne. His only legitimate son William had died 15 years earlier in a shipwreck. He did, however, have a daughter named Matilda and he desired for her to inherit... Read More
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Christians through the ages have always been interested in evaluating the health of a church.
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The inspiration of the Word of God is like the incarnation of the Son of God. When the Son of God became a human being he became vulnerable to abuse and death. When the Word of God became human language, it became vulnerable to ambiguity and misunderstanding. —John Piper, Does James Contradict Paul?
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When one sees men, weak by nature, leaping forward to death, and not fearing its corruption nor frightened of the descent into Hades, but with eager soul challenging it; and not flinching from torture, but on the contrary, for Christ’s sake electing to rush upon death in preference to life upon earth, or even if... Read More
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10 Important Things We’ve Forgotten About Evangelism
Listen to the sermon: Part 1 Part 2 1. Evangelism is not about winning an argument, it’s about preaching the gospel. The word evangelism literally means to bring the good message. Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 that preaching the gospel is not about intellectual superiority, it’s about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.... Read More
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On the outskirts of Hudson in southern Columbia County lies a small, county jail. You probably wouldn’t stumble across it unless you were looking for it; it’s tucked back away from the busyness of Route 66 and aside from the standard prison issue razor-wire fence is a rather unexceptional complex. For 12 years now, my... Read More
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Unfortunately, sex has gotten a bad rap in Christian circles.
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Key Elements in the Process of Counseling
This weekend, my wife and I and several others from our church have been enjoying sessions at the National Association of Nouthetic Counseling’s Counseling and Discipleship Training conference. There have been a lot of practical advice given for those just getting started with biblical counseling. Here’s a brief summary of our sessions from last night... Read More
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Anyone who’s spent any time on the Internet knows there is a growing sentiment of hatred towards religion. Spend a few moments perusing Digg or the Huffington Post and you’ll find droves of people decrying the evils of religion, religious thought or faith in general. In fact, one of the most common forms of this... Read More
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Would Jesus Care About The Cake?
“The poor you have with you always…” Matthew 26:11 I must have missed the “always” somewhere in previous readings. But they came back today. Yeah, the couple living on disability I wrote about last year who were sleeping on benches and needed food and money. They scared me out of an email-induced stupor when they... Read More
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Listening Selections To Keep You Occupied
Since I’m far too busy redesigning Plasticmind.com to write a post, I thought I’d hook everyone up with some sermon podcasts you may find helpful: Fish Like You Mean It – August 12, 2007 Pastor Jesse’s Ordination Service – July 29, 2007 – Carl Barr, Dan Skogen and Keith Gardner (Don’t miss this one, there... Read More
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Saturday was rough. Sunday was worth it. The ordination service on Sunday was awesome. Carl Barr, a long time friend and evangelist, directed a challenge to me personally while my dad gave a powerful ordination message. Then when I knelt as the guys came around to pray over me, the whole church rumbled with a... Read More
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It’s 1:50 a.m. on a Friday night Saturday Morning. My ordination council begins in 9 hours, but I can’t sleep. My mind is a whirlwind of TULIP’s and canon’s, common grace and dispensations, inspiration and preservation. Dad was good enough to give me his questions early. They’re really good and, as usual, thought provoking. I’m... Read More
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Ordination: Ministerial Confirmation or Religious Hoop-jumping?
In just under a month, I’ll be sitting in a room, surrounded by a group of my elders. For several hours they’ll be questioning me. Then at the end we’ll all eat. No, it’s not my Bar Mitzvah. July 28th is my ordination council. For those of you unfamiliar with the process of ordination, it’s... Read More
