Please watch this short video of a newscast....it will explain so much!
http://bcove.me/yzagorpz
So, as long as I wrap the Gospel in “crap” (his words - not mine) it is still the Gospel? Again, I would encourage you to watch the video first to understand this question. The passage that should run through our mind is:
2 Corinthians 4:1-6:
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
I have a better idea, why don’t we just make it a policy that everyone that comes to church each and every Sunday, we give them a crisp $50 bill instead of a bulletin? Did you notice the news anchor at the end - he seemed to approve of such creativity? That is reassuring. I do not doubt, and in fact I am forbidden to doubt the motivation of these people. I will choose to believe the best and that their desire is simply to get people in their building to hopefully give them the Gospel message. But, what is it that will make the Gospel appealing to the human soul? Slick marketing? Prizes? Do we have to cover the Gospel in “crap”? Do we have to pull the "bait and switch" and try to trick someone to come to church? I know this is a crazy idea, but how about we tell people the truth? How about we present an unaltered Gospel? How about we build a relationship with our neighbors? Is Christ so unattractive that we need to wrap Him in a Wii or 3D TV? Do I have to give the old “spoon full of sugar” to help the medicine of the Gospel go down? The truth is, the Gospel embarrasses many believers - so many are ashamed of it. May God raise up churches, preachers, and fellow saints who just tell the truth, proclaim the Gospel correctly and not base success on how many we can pull a bait and switch on. He mentioned they had given away cars before, so we must ask at what point does this become sheer manipulation?
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A Wonderful Help in our Day...
Below you will find the link and the entire post from a blog dealing with pornography. In our society today, the average age a child has his first encounter with pornography is about 9 to 10 years old. The number of men and women today that are enslaved by this sin, even in our churches, would astound us if we actually knew. On a conservative estimate, I would say that I do not have a month that goes by that I do not walk through the Word with someone who has been touched by this sin. There is wonderful software today that can provide accountability, but there is no software for the human heart. Only Christ can do the work needed for that. I hope this blog encourages you to guard your eyes and heart, and will help many to be set free from this death trap.
From Bruce Roeder:
http://broeder10.blogspot.com/2011/04/pornography.html
Pornography
Just me typing this word in this blog may mean comments and messages from unsolicited sources encouraging me to whatever. Fortunately, the blog filter catches them all and off they go without my readers being exposed. Nevertheless, the temptation arrives to me uninvited and I have to deal with it.
And so do millions of Christian men, most of whom wish they didn't have to. Contrary to some popular notions many men do see porn as the poison it is but on the other hand feel powerless in its grip.
It's war. It's slavery. And it's everywhere. If you want to go to war start here.
Over my years of biblical counseling I've read not a few books and articles on the subject of pornography. Here I present to you three of the most useful and inexpensive tools of war that are based on Scripture.
The first is Mark Driscoll's Porn-Again Christian.
It's a free ebook. It's typical Driscoll. It does not pull any punches. Read it. Follow the directions. Young man, this means you because you were his original target given that much of the younger generation is given over to porn as "normal" including many young women. That's a shift and not a good one.
The second is Tim Challies Sexual Detox.
This one is free too in ebook form. It can also be purchased from Cruciform Press. It's cheap, well written and designed for guys "who are sick of porn." Think about that. Think about the title, Sexual Detox. It's an apt description. Pornography feels like an addiction. Detox is a necessary part of going to war.
The third is Delivered by Desire by Daryl Wingerd. This one is available through Christian Communicator's Worldwide. It's not free or cheap at around $15.00 but it's worth every cent. Daryl works hard to help men with the "how" of breaking through to liberty. That's the problem isn't it guys? I want to, but do not know how. Daryl shows how to fight.
Consider this from Daryl's first page:
Face Reality
You probably experience pornographic temptation almost every day and the Internet is not the only source. Try walking through a video store without being tempted to lust. Watch primetime TV without your conscience often telling you to look away. Find a grocery store where you can check out without standing next to a display of sexually provocative photographs.
The truth is, you live in a pornographic culture.
The world, the flesh, and the devil have all combined to give men a horrible theology of sex. In many ways it could be described as an anti-theology since God the creator of sex is not considered.
These three books discuss the horribleness of the anti-theology but more importantly the beauty of a God-centered theology of sex. To Him be the glory.
From Bruce Roeder:
http://broeder10.blogspot.com/2011/04/pornography.html
Pornography
Just me typing this word in this blog may mean comments and messages from unsolicited sources encouraging me to whatever. Fortunately, the blog filter catches them all and off they go without my readers being exposed. Nevertheless, the temptation arrives to me uninvited and I have to deal with it.
And so do millions of Christian men, most of whom wish they didn't have to. Contrary to some popular notions many men do see porn as the poison it is but on the other hand feel powerless in its grip.
It's war. It's slavery. And it's everywhere. If you want to go to war start here.
Over my years of biblical counseling I've read not a few books and articles on the subject of pornography. Here I present to you three of the most useful and inexpensive tools of war that are based on Scripture.
The first is Mark Driscoll's Porn-Again Christian.
It's a free ebook. It's typical Driscoll. It does not pull any punches. Read it. Follow the directions. Young man, this means you because you were his original target given that much of the younger generation is given over to porn as "normal" including many young women. That's a shift and not a good one.
The second is Tim Challies Sexual Detox.
This one is free too in ebook form. It can also be purchased from Cruciform Press. It's cheap, well written and designed for guys "who are sick of porn." Think about that. Think about the title, Sexual Detox. It's an apt description. Pornography feels like an addiction. Detox is a necessary part of going to war.
The third is Delivered by Desire by Daryl Wingerd. This one is available through Christian Communicator's Worldwide. It's not free or cheap at around $15.00 but it's worth every cent. Daryl works hard to help men with the "how" of breaking through to liberty. That's the problem isn't it guys? I want to, but do not know how. Daryl shows how to fight.
Consider this from Daryl's first page:
Face Reality
You probably experience pornographic temptation almost every day and the Internet is not the only source. Try walking through a video store without being tempted to lust. Watch primetime TV without your conscience often telling you to look away. Find a grocery store where you can check out without standing next to a display of sexually provocative photographs.
The truth is, you live in a pornographic culture.
The world, the flesh, and the devil have all combined to give men a horrible theology of sex. In many ways it could be described as an anti-theology since God the creator of sex is not considered.
These three books discuss the horribleness of the anti-theology but more importantly the beauty of a God-centered theology of sex. To Him be the glory.
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