Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to <a href=”http://www.biblestudymagazine.com”>Bible Study Magazine</a> and a copy of their <a href=”http://www.logos.com/biblestudy”>Bible Study Library</a> software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine <a href=”http://www.biblestudymagazine.com/driscoll/”>Mark Driscoll</a> page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your <a href=”http://www.logos.com/demo”>Bible study</a> to the next level!

So this is hilarious. So much a new direction of ideas.

(Note: I know that Bush and Obama have different ideas about how these ideals are carried out…but they are saying they same stuff though, therefore…funny)

So yes…Abbie and I are still alive and still kicking. This has been one of the busiest seasons of life in quite sometime.

Quick update:

- We finally came back home on January 1st.

- After quite a long season of heavy snow, we have been experiencing flooding over this past week in the greater Olympia area.

- I started a new job working with the state senate.

- I wear a suit and tie to work everyday.

- I also believe that hell has officially frozen over.

I should also be posting soon on a topic that I was asked about via email a couple of months ago…hopefully.

Till then…

So…I’d like to apologize to those who will find this offensive due to their Arminian tendencies, and/or distaste for Calvinism in general…

Again, I’d LIKE to…but I’m not. Why? Because this is just plain funny…

So, I am very thankful to be back in Washington right now. We were flying back from my seminary graduation yesterday with a layover in Denver. However, our flight to Seattle from Denver was canceled. While Abbie is in line for the customer service desk, I call ahead to see what kind of flight arrangements we could hook up. The earliest flight that I could arrange was the evening of December 24th. However, we stayed in the customer service line (partially because we had no idea what we would do about our check luggage for the next three days!). When we get toward the front of the customer service line, they announce that they had created a new flight for Seattle at 7 am tomorrow. Well, we land tickets on that flight…and not just any tickets, but the prime real estate of exit row seats!!!

So this morning comes, and we go through security, board our plane, stow our carry ons and sit down in our seats. They close the doors, we start to taxi…and then the pilot comes on the intercom and states that our flight has just been canceled. So we pull back up, they connect the walkway to the plane and we wait. Then, the pilots comes back onto the intercom letting us know that he is not sure why, but they are not opening our door for us to get off the plane onto the walkway. Finally, the pilot comes back onto the intercom to inform us that our flight was not “un-canceled.”

So now, we are back in Washington…not at our house yet as we have heard there is a couple of feet of snow at our house. So we are staying with friends who are only at 15 inches of snow at the moment!

For both of you who read this and care…here is our update!

Thanks…and don’t try to flight to Seattle, Portland or Chicago for a while…

So apparently for this holiday season, Planned Parenthood is offering gift certificates. This might be one of the most appaling things that I have ever seen.

They say that it is because many women will need birth control and what not during these hard economic times. However, these gift certificates are not for birth control alone, as they are able to be used by the recipient for abortions as well.

Do we not realize that our Lord and Savior was conceived inside of a young teenage mother who was unmarried at the time? Under today’s ideology, Jesus would have been aborted before he took His first breath on his own. Yet, somehow, we have come to a place where we can give gift certificates that can be used toward abortion during a holiday that worships and celebrates the BIRTH of our Savior into this world.

Think about it…

This comes from The Contemporary Calvinist regarding this post:

There are four main points to remember when discrediting Calvinism. First, single out one contemporary author or theologian to act as a representative for everyone else. Second, paint a negative picture of Calvinism by focusing on just one or two historical incidents (e.g. the execution of Servetus). Third, avoid using scripture to support your claims. The last thing you want is to have people studying the issue for themselves to see if what you’re telling them actually makes any sense. Fourth, imply that while Calvinists may not say that those who disagree with them are lost, their theology actually demands that they believe it in their hearts. This last point is the most important because it trumps any argument the Calvinist may use in response. I mean, how much credibility can a guy have if he thinks everyone else is going to Hell?

This is a very accurate depiction of “The White Man’s” defense against Calvinism (along with many other attempts to discredit Calvinism). In this post, as well as the last post, I have no desire to debate the position that I’m posting. I just happen to find it funny honestly.

I might, however, be interested in responding if “The White Man” had used even one Scripture to discredit Calvinism on the basis of it being an unbiblical theological system. However, that was not found anywhere within its post (Shocking…I know).

This is outrageous.

Calvinists have often been called many things…but this would be a first in which Calvinists are referred to as actually being Pelagians (regarding their pre-fall position of Adam at least).

I’m not saying whoever wrote it isn’t smart…but whoever wrote it misconstrued Calvinism in my humble opinion.

I honestly have no intent in debating this position…it was just a first for me, so I thought I would post this.

D.A. Carson – Session 3 – Live Blog

John 11

First Surprise – Jesus comes upon a desperate plea for help and He demonstrates His love by delaying. In vv. 5-6, we see that it is because Jesus loved them that he waited instead of going to them. In delaying, no one could doubt that Lazarus was dead, and as such God was glorified along with Jesus being glorified due to what has happened (v. 4). Sometimes, the best thing for our faith is Jesus delaying.

Second Surprise – Jesus comes up against devestating loss and consoles grief by diverting attention to Himself. Martha comes to Jesus grieved in vv. 21-22 and Jesus responds to her grief by telling her that He was the resurrection and the life (vv.25-26). Jesus is telling them that there is no resurrection and no life apart from Jesus. Helping people without focusing on Jesus is not very helpful.

Third Surprise – Jesus comes up against implacable death, and displays His sovereignty over it by tears and outrage. Jesus is completely sovereign and therefore displays His emotions over the matter. The words “deeply moved” is actually ἐνεβριμήσατο in the Greek which means “outraged.” We should be outraged at death, despite the fact that death does not get the last word.

Fourth Surprise – Jesus comes up against moral and spiritual death and gives life by dying Himself. Two levels of irony. Caiaphas thinks that by killing Jesus, the Romans would not destroy Jerusalem and they would not perish. The first irony is that 30-40 years later, the nation perishes despite their killing Jesus. The second irony is found in Caiaphas prophesying absolute truth despite the fact that Caiaphas did not know what he was speaking of.

Q&A

1. How do you connect the young and healthy with resurrection theology? In older times, death was not treated at a distance, but rather death was an intimate part of life. As such, we should use energy in the church to work with those dying and those with chronic illnesses so that we understand that our days are numbered.

2. What is the biggest failure of pastors today when counseling people through a death? Different pastors have different sins. Some just want to comfort those who are just now dealing with death without ever talking about death and the One who conquers death in the normalcy of the church.

3. Who are the best authors today writing about the resurrection? The best book on the resurrection is by Tom Wright – The Resurrection of the Son of God; another good one is called “Who rolled the stone away?” Gordon Fee’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 15 on the resurrection at the end of the age.

4. Is there anything wrong with Christians being cremated? No…if we say so ontologically, then what do we do with those who have died in a house fire?

5. What is the biblical stance on the practice of redemptive prayer for the deceased? If speaking of praying for those who are dead so as to enter heaven. Though heavily practiced within Catholicism, there is no biblical evidence to justify this. The parable of Lazarus and the Rich man…their place was already decided upon.