Anything Meretricious?

My Hearer, are you seeking salvation by works—by anything that is meritorious or meretricious?
You are spending your money for that which is not bread!

Are you seeking a knowledge of salvation by your own feeling? Do you consult your frames of mind, hopeful or desponding, as one marks the rise or fall of a barometer? Do you dream of being prepared for Christ and fitting yourself to receive mercy?
This is to impose on yourself and to insult the Savior!

Christ needs nothing from you—He comes to bring everything to you! Even your sense of need He gives you.

All your fitness is to be unfit!
All your preparation for washing is to be foul!
All your prerequisite for enriching is to be poor as poverty can make you!

Come as you are to your God through Christ, the Mediator, and in Him you shall find salvation!

What To Do When Church is Cancelled

During the winter months in Arkansas, periodic storms of snow & ice often cause everything to shut down for a day or two - schools, businesses, dangerous roads, etc. So what do you do in the event that church is cancelled?   I'd like to suggest that just because your church services are cancelled, that doesn't mean the Lord's day is cancelled.  Of course, the fellowship of the body will be missed, but there is still great opportunity for men to lead their own flock in a time of meaningful worship.  Here are a few simple suggestions that will take little or no preparation on your part.

1. Sing :: If you have any musicians in your home, great - let them help!  If not, just sing a few well known hymns or choruses together.  Let the children take turns choosing a song.
2. Pray :: Share requests with one another.  Pray through your church prayer list.  Pray for those still suffering in Haiti.  Pray for your neighbors.  Pray for your government (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  I've never been around a child who couldn't think of something/someone to pray for.
3. Read Scripture :: An adult can lead by reading or they may let the children take turns.  Pick a passage that your pastor has recently been in or one that you're currently reading on your own.  Ask others for their favorite passages.  
4. Listen to a Sermon :: One of the great blessings of technology is the incredible amount of sermon audio available online today.  So take your Bibles and turn... just like you would at church, and listen to the preacher of your choice.  Here are a few sites to choose from:

• SermonAudio.com - You can find most any preacher that suits your theological & denominational preference here.  As far as I know, these sermons are free to anyone.
• Monergism - A great mp3 resource from a reformed perspective
• John MacArthur - you can search for any sermon by Scripture reference here
• John Piper - His sermon archives are available here
• Faith By Hearing - A wide & solid assortment of mp3 sermons searchable by Scripture text, topic, preacher, etc.

I trust this will be a helpful & encouraging resource for you.  Hopefully you'll see how easy this can be.  However, I want to caution you regarding your expectations - especially if you have little ones with short attention spans (or older ones with short attention spans!)  Don't expect this to go perfectly - because it probably won't.  You do want to be training your children to sit still and quiet, but you also want to remember that this is an informal time of worship.  For instance, if you're listening to a sermon and someone has a question, pause the sermon and discuss.
Have some fun with this - you might even tell the kids that they'll get to "go to church" in their PJ's tomorrow!
 
Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow - I'd love to hear how your family worship went!

(At least one church I know has a "come if you can" policy for inclement weather that helps avoid any confusion and lack of communication.)

A Quick Guide to 7 Features on Monergism.com

If you've never been to www.monergism.com   you need to bookmark it now.  There is rarely a time when I'm preparing a sermon or lesson that I don't visit monergism to search their wonderful collection of resources.  Below is an email I just received from this ministry that highlights the various features on their site:

1) Monergism Directory of Theology:

While many have been to the home page, less people know about our Directory page. Here we have easy access to links to all major categories on our website listed both topically and alphabetically. If you have not been to this page, it is probably the most important page to bookmark on the site. http://www.monergism.com/directory/

2) Theology FAQ:

A listing to frequently asked questions about a variety of essential topics and controversial issues. Read our recently updated FAQ entitled What is the Gsopel?

3) MP3 Library - New Feature!!!

This section of Monergism.com competes for first place as the most popular page(s) on the site. And it just got better. We recently upgraded the MP3 library by adding a blog-like 'recommended resources' feature on the home page which will be frequently updated to help direct you toward Christian multimedia that stands out as being worth your time. It is such a vast library that some may find it helpful to be directed toward specific resources. Bookmark this page and look at it frequently for updates.

4) Sermon Manuscripts

This is also a very popular part of the website. Look up any text of Scripture and you are likely to find writen expositions.You can also type in any Bible verse into the search box, and find a commentaries on that verse. But if you don't want to miss any, go to the page itself.

5) Hall of Contemporary Reformers

A list of biographies and resources from some recent prophetic voices which are Gospel-centered and Christ-honoring.

6) The Puritans and The Puritan Library

Perhaps the most extensive listing of Puritan resources on the web.

7) ReformedBooks.net

A ministry of Monergism.com which churns our weekly book reviews and ranks the top 3-5 books in every category.

In addition to these features, Monergism.com has begun hosting a significant number of Christ-honoring reformatted classic articles and resources. You can find some of them here.

You're Not Worthy

While studying to preach from Acts 13, I came across a rather difficult passage to understand.

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."
Acts 13: 44-46

My question was this, how did the unbelieving, Gospel reviling Jews "judge [them]selves unworthy of eternal life?" And, subsequently, can people today be guilty of judging themselves unworthy of eternal life? What does it mean to declare yourself not worthy?

The first image that came to mind (I'm sad to say) was of Wayne & Garth bowing down to their rock star gods. How I go from a study of the early church to Wayne's World, I have no idea. Thankfully, I moved on from this thought & found this explanation by Pastor MacArthur that was really helpful. Here's how he explains it:

If I take you to the Louvre in France and show you the Mona Lisa and you look at the Mona Lisa and say, "Oh, that's lousy art." I say, "My friend, the Mona Lisa is not on trial; you are. That's already been judged to be a masterpiece. You're a crummy art critic." The point is you pronounced your own sentence. You're not fit to judge art. If I take to hear one of the great masterpiece symphonies and we hear one of the great orchestras of the world play one of the greatest symphonies ever written and the music is just sweeping and moving and powerful and it's all over with and you say, "It's all right but I'll take James Brown," I'll say to you, "Listen, friend. That music's not on trial; you are. If you can't read that as glorious music, you don't know what music is. If you make a criticism of music that has been adjudged by time and men to be a masterpiece then the music's not on trial; you are." And let me say this: Jesus isn't on trial anymore either. We know who He is. But you are on trial and by what you do to and with Jesus Christ, you declare judgment on yourself. You pronounce your own sentence. (emphasis added)

Read the entire John MacArthur sermon.

So I ask you, in the words of Christ Himself in Matthew 22:42, "What do you think about the Christ?" Or to speak in the king's english, "What think ye of Christ?" That, says John Newton, is the test.

Aaron Job on "Being Thankful"

I'm not sure what prompted this sermonette from my son, but I offer it to you now to prepare you for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday season. This all occurred Thursday night after dinner. He came up with this script all by himself.

Script

5 things God gave us and why we should thank him.

1. Our house
2. Our property
3. Our food
4. Our parents
5. Our friends and family

We should thank him because

1. Without our house we could not rest and stuff.
2. We would not have a home without property
3. We would starve without food.
4. We wouldn't be here without parents.
5. We would be alone without friends or family.

God has given us a lot of things that we should be thankful for. Nov. 27 is thanksgiving, we should do more then just sit around the table, eat turkey and talk. We should do more than that. Thanksiving is about giving thanks to God for giving us these things that i mentioned earlier.

Isaiah 51:3
The LORD will comfort Isreal again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will bloom like Eden. Her baren wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving fill the air.



Below is the presentation of the above message. Enjoy, for many of you it'll be the shortest sermon you hear for a while.

Now, below is the original take that I tried to shoot with my cell phone. You can't hear Aaron Job very well (hence the need for the video above) BUT if you listen carefully, you can hear my sweet little 2 year old rattle off a few... um... noises while sitting on my lap. I promise it's not me you hear.

Be sure and watch to the end, because Anna (4) starts quoting one of her AWANA verses.

God Kills People

In preparation for a message I preached to our college ministry on Annanias & Sapphira (Acts 4:23-5:11), I listened to a sermon by C.J. Mahaney on the holiness of God. It was actually a sermon taking a look at the events surrounding the death of Uzzah, whom God smote immediately after he reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant. You can find the sermon here.

You would do well to listen to this message. Really. Mahaney addresses the question we all have asked about Uzzah & others who were suddenly struck down by God. That is, "Why did God kill him?". I think you'll find the answer rather astonishing. It's a lengthy 60 minute message, but you won't notice. Just listen.

On a related note, I found the Mahaney message via this new mp3 sermon collection featuring preachers such as Mahaney, MacArthur, Piper, Carson and many more.

Prophet, Priest & King - Alistair Begg Sermons

In my previous post, I quoted Alistair Begg in one of three sermons he preached for the FamilyLife staff several years ago. I'm pretty sure that's where I got the quote, anyway! I also mentioned trying to find the sermon audio, and I have! These are great messages that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Alistair Begg is pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio and heard daily on his radio program, Truth for Life. He's got a great Scottish accent which only makes his preaching that much better! If you've never heard him preach, perhaps you've seen him here. :o)

Click on any title, then "Save" to your computer:

Christ as Prophet

Christ as Priest

Christ as King

Without Conversion, Composition or Confusion

"Without conversion, composition or confusion"

The divine is not changed into the human - therefore no conversion.

The divine and the human do not coalesce so as to form a third entity - thus no composition.

The two natures are not mixed, so there’s no confusion.

I found the words above tucked away in an old email. They help describe Christ as the God-Man. The actual quote (and post title) is taken from The Westminster Confession of Faith in chapter VIII on "Christ the Mediator". And I think the explanation of the quote came from sermon notes I took while listening to Alistair Begg preach on Christ as Prophet, Priest and King at a conference a few years back. I'll try to find the audio to those three messages and post them here.

Todd Murray Sermons

There have been only a handful of men whose preaching ministry has affected me in life-changing ways. Todd Murray is one of those men. Now, when I say life-changing, I mean my jaw dropped, my world rocked and my theology was better tuned to the sounds of solid doctrine. Life changing.
Well, I just discovered quite a few of his sermons available online in one location. Anyone would do well to download these and listen as you are able. You'll also find all the information on his book about John Newton here as well. Enjoy.

Logos, Ethos, Pathos

From Kent Hughes’ commentary on Philippians:

There are times when I am preaching that I have especially sensed the pleasure of God.... There is nothing quite like it — the Holy Spirit filling one’s sails, the sense of his pleasure, and the awareness that something is happening among one’s hearers.

What has happened when this takes place? How do we account for this sense of his smile? The answer for me has come from the ancient rhetorical categories of logos, ethos, and pathos.

The first reason for his smile is the logos—in terms of preaching, God’s Word. This means that as we stand before God’s people to proclaim his Word, we have done our homework. We have exegeted the passage, mined the significance of its words in their context, and applied sound hermeneutical principles in interpreting the text so that we understand what its words meant to its hearers. And it means that we have labored long until we can express in a sentence what the theme of the text is — so that our outline springs from the text. Then our preparation will be such that as we preach, we will not be preaching our own thoughts about God’s Word, but God’s actual Word, his logos. This is fundamental to pleasing him in preaching.

The second element in knowing God’s smile in preaching is ethos — what you are as a person. There is a danger endemic to preaching, which is having your hands and heart cauterized by holy things. Phillips Brooks illustrated it by the analogy of a train conductor who comes to believe that he has been to the places he announces because of his long and loud heralding of them. And that is why Brooks insisted that preaching must be “the bringing of truth through personality.” Though we can never perfectly embody the truth we preach, we must be subject to it, long for it, and make it as much a part of our ethos as possible. As the Puritan William Ames said, “Next to the Scriptures, nothing makes a sermon more to pierce, than when it comes out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation.” When a preacher’s ethos backs up his logos, there will be the pleasure of God.

Last, there is pathos — personal passion and conviction. David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic, was once challenged as he was seen going to hear George Whitefield preach: “I thought you do not believe in the gospel.” Hume replied, “I don’t, but he does.” Just so! When a preacher believes what he preaches, there will be passion. And this belief and requisite passion will know the smile of God.

The pleasure of God is a matter of logos (the Word), ethos (what you are), and pathos (your passion). As you preach the Word may you experience his smile — the Holy Spirit in your sails!

A Living Epistle

In preparation for a recent teaching opportunity, I came across this sermon by Cornelius Tyree called "THE MORAL POWER OF A PIOUS LIFE" or known also as "The Living Epistle". It's long - so you probably won't read it all in one sitting, but you might take a few small bites at a time.

I was studying the salt & light passage in Matthew 5, and Tyree's words are helpful for us to know the importance of letting others see our "good works" that they might "give glory to God."

How can the attention of men be most effectually drawn to the great subject of Christianity? If there can be no sound conversion to God without thought and investigation—then how can men be induced to entertain the gospel proposition? The most effectual way to enlist general attention to the religion of Christ—is for its professors to display it in their tempers and conduct.

The best commentary on the Bible that the world has ever seen--is a holy life of growing likeness to Christ. The most eloquent sermon in behalf of the gospel that the world has ever heard--is a uniform, active life of piety. The best version of the Bible that has ever been made--is a consistent pious example. The Christian whose light thus shines, not only correctly renders--but beautifies the sacred text. His life and conduct are a sort of second edition of the written Scriptures--a living epistle which all can read, all understand, and that convinces and convicts all.

 

So, how are others reading your life?

Adoption

In preparing a lesson for our children's ministry, I came across the following quote at this site, from a sermon by L.R. Shelton, Jr., where he gives a great definition of our spiritual adoption:

Adoption is that act of God whereby I, who was by nature a child of wrath even as others, am, entirely of the pure grace of God, translated out of the evil family of Satan, and brought actually and virtually into the family of God, so that I take His name, share the privileges of sons, and am to all intents and purposes the actual offspring and child of God.

You can read the entire sermon here. Be sure to avail yourself of all the resources offered at Eternal Life Ministries.

Audio Links

I just posted this at our college ministry blog, and thought it might be helpful here at i am chief.

With a lot of help from my friend Gary, I present you with the following list of audio resources. If you know of any that we've missed, leave a link in the comments section. And, as always, use discernment with any of these links. I do not necessarily endorse everything at the links below.

1. Reforming My Mind blog is a great starter for MP3 downloads.
2. Adrian Warnock has a great list as well in his sidebar. (Also if you click the del.icio.us link, that will take you to his del.icio.us page that has lots more--it is organized too!)
3. Steve McCoy has the list for Tim Keller (also he just did a "podcast he enjoys" post)
4. Download Mark Dever's sermons or listen to some riveting interviews with guys like Piper, Ware, etc... at IX marks.
5. All of Mark Driscolls sermons are available to download for free.
6. You can listen to any of Phil Johnson's sermon's from his Sunday School class at Grace Community Church.
7. Al Mohler offers his daily radio show , he also puts his Sunday morning Powerline series up for download. If you go to the home page you will see all of the aforementioned as .xml feeds.
8. You can listen to C.J. and the guys over at Covenant Life.
9. Here's a compliation of many of D.A. Carson's sermons.
10. Sermon Index is a one-stop source for the good, the bad, and the heretical - so use discretion here.
11. Dear to my heart and especially for the ladies, Revive Our Hearts offers archived auido of many past radio programs . Search by Keyword, Topic or Date.
12. Then there's One Place, where you can get most anybody's sermons. Go here to get John MacArthur's.
13. Monergism, a puritanical & reformed motherload of resources, has an audio page with around 700 different options.
14. Don't forget, you can hear almost every sermon preached at BCLR going years back! Click here to search by Date, Title, Reference or Speaker.
15. And click here for a pretty exhaustive list of podcast links (if you don't know what a podcast is, maybe you should unplug your Walkman and take a stroll through Best Buy or something).

Sermon Notes for Kids

I thought I'd share a simple idea we use with our 6 year old to make the most of his time during the preaching service of our church. I've designed a sheet in MS Excel with blanks for the sermon notes - things such as Sermon Title, Preacher, Date, etc. (most of this info is found in our church bulletin). Then, I list 20 blanks for 20 words or phrases that he is to write down during the sermon.

Here's a sample:


The notes above are for a sermon that our pastor preached from Romans 12:4-8 (listen here, search by date or text). We try to discourage him from writing words like "the" or "he" or "God" - you know, frequent words; but rather to listen for key words or phrases. He's still not catching all the "key" words just yet, but this is a start.

Speaking of starts...we didn't start with 20 words. Here's how it progressed for us: at the age of 4, our church no longer offers child care during the evening service. So, at least twice a month, Aaron Job would sit with us during the evening service (on 2nd & 4th Sundays, we meet in small groups around our city). This is a good & gradual adjustment to "big church". We have our 4 year old daughter coming in on Sunday evenings now as well. For Sunday morning worship, five years is the transition age from children's worship to "big church". So when he turned five, he began attending the main worship service with us each week. We also will bring some of our children in during special services - missions, choir concerts, etc. as another way of slowly getting them accustomed to sitting with adults (our children's worship is also designed to prepare the children for this transition).

Once Aaron Job began to learn to write (I think it was when he was five...that's something my wife would remember) I would make a simple list of just five blanks for him to write words. Soon it grew to 10 words, then 15, and finally 20 (you should've seen the faces he made each time I'd increase the number of words!). Gradually, I hope to train him to listen for outline points and other key words & phrases.

Here's a list of 18 characteristics of a godly man found in Proverbs 16:16-33. The list was easy to follow, so I had Aaron Job listen for the 18 characteristics. He got them all (with a little help from mom & dad) and even included two extra at the end.

Of course, in his mind, the goal is to finish as soon as he can, so he can work on what he hopes will become blog fodder.

To get you started, you can download my form here for your own use. Of course you can customize your list to meet the needs of your children.

Church Discipline—"Do we have to?"

Several months ago, I received the following email from Jim Eliff and CCW ministries , I've copied and pasted it exactly as is below, providing some helpful (and much needed) resources on the subject of Biblical Church Discipline.

UPDATE: I've fixed the hyperlinks. Thanks, Gary, for the heads-up!

Church Discipline—"Do we have to?"

Recently, Mark Dever from Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Art Wilder, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta, Ga., spoke to a packed audience for a breakout session at the Southern Baptist Pastor's Conference on this very subject. We have given you a link to purchase this CD from the SBC, as well as some other resources from CCW that will help you think through the Church Discipline issue.

Click on the following:

~Dr. Mark Dever's presentation on church discipline at the SBC. Go to the first page of the site and click on the .pdf link for the Pastor's Conference (www.sbctapes.com).

~Hear or download (mp3) Jim Elliff's audio message on 1 Corinthians 5 called "What Do You Do with Immorality?"

~Click here for the article, "The Integrity of the Local Church".

~Bulletin insert, "What Do You Do with Immorality?"

~"Restoring Those Who Fall," a church discipline statement for use in the local church.

~Our Church on Solid Ground, our book that contains the above discipline document along with other documents for the preservation and unity of the local church. (It is useful to also have a "Membership Agreement" along with a church discipline statement, for instance.)

~"A Church Membership Recovery Model" by Doug Richey. This deals with the disciplinable issue of AWOL church members.

~"Southern Baptists, An Unregenerate Denomination," a hard-hitting but loving evaluation with practical helps for moving churches to either recover or discipline those will not attend or have become rebellious.

~"Removal of an Elder," guidelines for one of the most difficult church discipline situations.

Quinn on Indwelling Sin

As a short "Part 2" of the previous post, I just wanted to offer some practical points of consideration as we are on the subject of temptation & sin (we've specifically been discussing sexual sin, but this certainly applies to all sin).

Last Lord's Day, our Pastor continued in Romans 12 with the first two verses:

1I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

He spoke about no longer being "conformed to this world", or to quote the J.B. Phillips translation "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould...".

In today's world, where everything is "SENSATED" (appealing to the senses), and due to the overwhelming rise (seemingly) of sexual sin (i.e., Ted Haggard), Lance listed some dangerous categories under which we may find ourselves as we battle indwelling sin & fight against the world's mold.

I've listed them below, along with Scripture references, and you can listen to ther sermon here (you might have to search by date - 11/05/2006).

1. "No One Will Know" - Numbers 32:23·

2. "Casual Glance" - 2 Samuel 11 & King David - cf. Genesis 39 & Joseph....cf. Also Job 31:1
3. "It's No Big Deal" - Matthew 5:27; 6:22ff; Colossians 3
4. "I Can Handle It" - 1 Cor 10:12; James 4

And perhaps a safer category to be in:

5. "I Know Myself Only Too Well" - 2 Corinthians 5:10

Voddie on Sexual Temptation

By now most have heard or read about the horrible Ted Haggard story (read Haggard's official statement to his church, also check out Gary's compilation of blog reports on this story).

My thoughts? Only this - Before any of us get up on our self-righteous high horse, I want to share some sobering words from Voddie Baucham. I heard this while listening to his series on love and marriage.

(BTW, that's Baucham in the photo, not Haggard)

This is my slight paraphrase, but you'll get the idea:

The wisest man in the Bible fell into sexual sin, the strongest man in the Bible fell to sexual sin, and the godliest man in the Bible fell to sexual sin.

For me to think I'm above falling into this sin is to think that I'm wiser than Solomon, stronger than Samson, and godlier than King David.

Now, I'm not using this quote to say that we should expect this kind of behavior from people, I'm just trying to say this.

John MacArthur mp3 Motherload!

I was recently made aware of a new source of John MacArthur mp3's from Travis Carden. He's collected over a year's worth of MacArthur's sermons so far. This is taken from his website:

Grace to You is the wonderful expositional preaching ministry of John MacArthur at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. In addition to being broadcast internationally on radio, it is daily available via streaming media, download and podcast online at OnePlace.com. Though OnePlace only advertises the 52 most recent broadcasts, they've kept the Mp3's online from all the way back to September 22, 2005! Get them here! ... And if you appreciate this resource, please consider saying thanks.

The Parable of the Loving Father

A week ago, August 6th, I had the great privilege of hearing my favorite preacher - Dr. John MacArthur, preach in our pulpit. (no offense to my local pastors!). We were celebrating a 10 year anniversary of ministry at the Bible Church of Little Rock. Our pastor, Lance Quinn and his family have been serving here in Little Rock for an entire decade!! And, seeing as how MacArthur was Lance's mentor for 13 years, we invited him to come preach for the commemorative service (If you have a copy of MacArthur's book, "The Gospel According to the Apostles", look at the book dedication inside the front cover)
I had been anticipating this for weeks, and even had my 6 year old son excited about it (we occasionally listen to MacArthur sermons while riding in the truck together). Sunday morning I asked him, "Are you ready to hear John MacArthur preach?". My 3 year old daughter somehow got my words jumbled up in her head, and so she asked, "What's a Karma Parcher?"

Anyway...he preached from Luke 15 - the parable of the prodigal son. Only, he suggested that the parable wasn't about the son(s) at all, but about the loving father. He told us that when he preached through this parable at his church, it took him 5 one hour messages to get through it! (If you're on the GTY mailing list, you might have received this free sermon cd of a one-message summary of the parable). He also mentioned that upon completing this sermon series at GCC, something happened that has never before happened during his pastorate (I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing). He said when he finished the last sermon, the people sat in stunned silence - weeping. At this point, he had our attention.

Building on the Jewish culture of shame and honor surrounding fathers, Dr. MacArthur explained the very familiar parable in a way that I've never considered. EVERYTHING the son did towards the father was shameful, and EVERYTHING the father did in response to the son was shameful (in the eyes of the pharisaical crowd, at least). Even the eldest son, continued the shame with his ungrateful response to his brothers homecoming. The first son, MacArthur explained, represents the sinner. The older son, represents the Pharisees. The father - represents - of course, God.

I cannot begin to describe or summarize much more without doing a dis-service to his exegetical work, so I will only STRONGLY recommend that you download it and listen for yourself. The last few minutes are simply...well - stunning.

*UPDATE as of 8/21/06 - here's a better set of links for you:

Click here to order the original 5 part sermon series from GTY

Click here to order a 3 part series on the same parable (just condensed a bit)

Click here to order a single sermon on the same parable and read the transcript (VERY condensed, and without the dramatic ending)

Click here to download the FREE audio from the sermon he preached at BCLR. Use the search engine to find the title, "The Story of a Loving Father", or search for "MacArthur" or "Luke 15".

Serpents,Cyanide & Markian Manuscripts

The 4-foot timber rattler sank its fangs into the 23-year-old preacher's left wrist as he rejoiced in God.
Mr. Evans said he was 20 minutes into his tent revival he felt the Spirit ``move on him.'' He leaned over, reached into a handmade wooden box and brought out the rattlesnake. The congregants were still on their feet, their arms waving to and fro in celebration of the Lord, their boots damp from the dank North Georgia air.
The next few seconds were a blur. Mr. Evans never saw the snake strike, but he remembers the feeling.
``It hit my wrist. It was like a baseball popped me. I was preachin', just comin' to the end of my message - it was dark out - and I wasn't watchin' it.'' (quoted here)

This quote and the picture you see were provided over at Purgatorio, where pictures are allowed to speak for themselves. For those who might be new to Purgatorio, he's not an advocate of snake-handling ministries, don't worry. He's a good reformed brother.

Such ministries, however, are built solely upon one verse in the Bible:

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:18 King James Version (KJV)
It’s one thing to build an entire “ministry” around one passage of Scripture, it’s even another to build such a “ministry” on a text that, many scholars say, isn’t in the most reliable manuscripts.
This brings back the memory of a great sermon my pastor, Lance Quinn preached on the last verses of Mark 16 where he gave his studied reasons why vs. 9-20 of Mark 16 shouldn’t be included in the Canon.
Go here to the sermon download page, and search in the “Reference” box for Mark 16.
Now, to peak your interest even further…not only is it a great sermon, but in God’s providence, there were two men visiting our church that particular Lord’s Day who disagreed with Lance’s teaching & openly challenged him in the middle of the sermon!
Around 25 minutes in, you can hear one of the men speak out and disagree with Lance. You can’t hear clearly what he says, but from Lance’s remarks, you’ll get a good idea of the conversation. What impressed me was how calm & humble Lance handled these men and then immediately turned the focus of his sermon on the issues of signs & the gospel ministry. This was a great example of one “rightly handling the Word of Truth” and “being instant in season and out”.