Happy 500th Birthday!!!

Today is the celebration of the oft maligned John Calvin's 500th birthday. He was born July 10, 1509. He is one of t he most misunderstood, reviled, loved, misquoted, revered men of Christian history. You should get to know him for yourself. Was he right all the time? NO. Was he a lot smarter than me. Uh, YES. Can you learn a great deal from his life and witness? ABSOLUTELY.

Three things to remember about Calvin:
1) His name is not a bad word.
2) His God is HUGE and SOVEREIGN.
3) His mind was brilliant.

Here are a few posts from around the blogosphere that will introduce you to the late, great John Calvin.

Ideas on How to Celebrate Calvin's Birthday... a good list of resources by the Sola Panel
Beginning of a 9 part series on Calvin's life and ministry at Desiring God
A Birthday cake idea from World Magazine over at Between Two Worlds
Desiring God's 1 day special on A Portrait of Calvin by THL Parker or you can download it for free.

Keep your eyes open on the web at great sites like these for more info on John Calvin.
Here is his Wiki.

Church: Love It, Don't Leave It

Kevin DeYoung and Tedd Kluck were guest columnists at the Washington Post yesterday. This is a great article and you should check it out. Here is an excerpt...

"Here's what Bono, Oprah, and the guru speakers on PBS won't tell you: Jesus believed in organized religion and he founded an institution. Of course, Jesus had no patience for religious hacks and self-righteous wannabes, but he was still Jewish. And as Jew, he read the Holy Book, worshiped in the synagogue, and kept Torah. He did not start a movement of latte-drinking disciples who excelled in spiritual conversations. He founded the church (Matt. 16:18) and commissioned the apostles to proclaim the good news that Israel's Messiah had come and the sins of the world could be forgiven through his death on the cross (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:14-36)."

READ THE ARTICLE HERE...

EZRA 2: God's Remnant

There will be no audio available for my sermon on Ezra 2. But, I do have some thoughts for this week as we seek to apply the word of God. Two thoughts for today that I mentioned yesterday.

1. Ezra 2 is not an easy passage of scripture to read, much less to preach. But 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes it clear that Ezra 2 is important and essential to our walk with Christ. Paul writes...
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Now, I know the names are intimidating (but wouldn't it be fun to name your son Pochereth-hazzebaim and be there on the first day of Kindergarten when the teacher takes roll?) and many of us automatically skip these passages of Scripture. But we need to start asking what these passages mean and deal with them.

2. In light of Father's Day, Ezra 2 makes a stirring statement about "heads of households." It was the "heads of households" who led the families to gives as they were able. It was the "heads of households" who led their families to value the Temple and the worship of God. It was the "heads of households who concerned themselves with the continuity of the covenant and the covenant people. God brought restoration THROUGH FATHERS.

The question for us as fathers is simple... How many fathers valued sleeping in on the Lord's Day as a "gift" from their wives and kids OVER the gift of leading their families to the house of the Lord to give, to serve, to WORSHIP? What kind of viewpoint will our kids have of their HEAVENLY FATHER if their earthly father values a pillow, a race, a game, "relaxation" over Jesus Christ?

My Wife, My Love

Today (Monday, June 15) Jo Anny and I celebrate 7 years of marriage. There has been no greater blessing found in Jesus Christ than Jo Anny. Her consistency, her passion, her skill as a mother and wife, and her passion for the body of Christ continually drive me to greater heights as her husband. I find myself constantly realizing the greatness of God's grace as I realize that He gave her to me. I pray that I will be able to fulfill my Godly role to present her holy and blameless before the Lord.
Jo Anny, thank you for your love, for your perseverance, for your patience, for our daughters, and for making it so easy to be your husband. I love you.

Vacation Bible School

I am so excited about VBS this year. As we dive into Peter's life and ministry, we will learn the following truths. Join us every day this week.
Monday: Because Jesus loves me and chooses me, I can follow Him.
Tuesday: Because Jesus is the Son of God, I can worship Him.
Wednesday: Because Jesus died for me, I can confess Him as my Savior.
Thursday: Because Jesus forgives me, I can still serve Him.
Friday: Because Jesus helps me, I can follow God's plan for me.

Preparing for Ezra and Nehemiah... Before the Pews

This Lord's Day , as I preach through Ezra and Nehemiah. As I prepared for this series, a few thoughts came to mind about preparation.

Every week, I spend upwards of 25 hours preparing sermons. My goals...
1. To be faithful to the inspired text.
2. To be faithful to the meaning of the text.
3. To be faithful to the purpose of the text.
4. To clearly expose the meaning and purpose of the text.
5. To apply the meaning and purpose of the text to daily life in our families, church, work, relationships, and personal holiness.

What do you do to prepare yourself for hearing and applying the Word of God? How can you prepare yourself to hear the Truth and then go and live the Truth? Here are a few suggestions for an expositional listener... BEFORE YOU REACH THE PEW THIS SUNDAY.

1. Be a Bible reader... Read Ezra this week. It's 10 chapters and can be read in no time. Then read each chapter or passage as the weeks go on.
2. Pray for understanding... Pray that the Holy Spirit would illuminate your heart and mind and cut to your heart through the Truth of Scripture.
3. Pray for Your Pastor... As he prays, prepares and preaches... He is the conduit being used by God to bring the Word of God into your life. I need your prayers.
4. Pray for Ears to Hear... Come to the pew prepared to listen and apply.
5. Prepare yourself physically for Sunday morning... Use Saturday night as a time of rest, not a time to stay up as late as possible. A rested mind on Sunday will be a transformed mind on Monday.

For more info on being an expositional listener, check out Thabiti Anyabwile's What is a Healthy Church Member? And/Or check out my discussion of the book here.

Enough Said???