Killing Sin for Our Joy

Wednesday is for Prayer

A perennial issue for all believers is dealing with temptation. We want our lives to reflect the holiness that Christ both purchased for us and desires in us but we all stumble in many ways. Here’s a quick three minute video that offers help and direction for how to deal with sin so that the glory of Christ is displayed in our lives so that an unbelieving world sees the glory of the gospel and our Savior.

“Oh Lord my God, when I in awed wonder consider all that You have done for me in Christ, I long for Your holiness to be reflected in my life. My trouble is that I don’t pause long enough or often enough to gaze in wonder at the beauty of the cross and the rescuing-love of Christ. Make my passion for holiness grow. Make it burn into such a flame that all my temptations to sin are consumed in the conflagration or a holy passion for You.” 

Marty Schoenleber, Jr. is the founding pastor of one church, the interim pastor of another and the church planting trainer/mentor of over 200 other church planting pastors. He is adjunct professor of Church Planting at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and has taught Preaching at the International School of Theology, and Evangelism at Moody Graduate School of Theology. He is also the Director of the Saint John’s Pastoral Center, a pastoral care and retreat center located in a growing number of Bed and Breakfast houses across the mid-west. His latest book is Picking a President: Or Any Other Elected Official (CrossBooks, [late May 2012]). To enjoy a free subscription to his blog, log-on to www.chosenrebel.wordpress.com, where you can post your comments, view past blogs in our archive and read the latest reflections on church planting, Biblical Expositions and musings about church, culture and spiritual formation. Follow Pastor Marty on twitter @1Chosenrebel4JC.

 

On April 9, A.D. 30, Everything Changed: N.T. Wright on Easter

Excellent video to prepare your heart for the reality and joys of Easter. Defending the faith for the joy of the nations.

On April 9, A.D. 30, Everything Changed: N.T. Wright on Easter.

 

The Way of The Cross Will Surprise You

Weekend Musings

Got this off of the Sacrificial Poets Facebook page. It is titled THE VOICE OF JUSTICE. 

 

The People of God Should Never Live for Something as Small as the American Dream

Thursday is for Discipleship

Sometimes you hear a song and your heart cries out, “Oh God, help me live that way.” This is one of those songs for me. I hope to create/motivate a band of believers at Trinity Church in Watseka, IL who resonate with its lyrics and passion and, before I die, a thousand church planters who will live passionately for and like Christ, taking the gospel to every nook and cranny they can get to love people who are far from God into the loving embrace of the Savior.

Pray with me. The people of God should never live for something as small as the American dream. Lyrics are below the video link.

This american dream;
not what it seems
Maybe were still breathing
but were all asleep

Cause I wanna live until I die,
don’t let the devil bury me alive
When my heart stops let me go home,
don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul
Ohhhhhhhhhhh My heart and soul

Pretty cars and pretty houses
Pretty people all grey 
If this dream is what your after
Then dream is where you’ll stay 

Cause I wanna live until I die,
don’t let the devil bury me alive
When my heart stops let me go home,
don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul
Ohhhhhhhhhhh My heart and soul

Our biggest run is in the darkest living (X2)

Cause I wanna live until I die,
don’t let the devil bury me alive
When my heart stops let me go home,
don’t let the suburbs 
I wanna live until I die,
don’t let the devil bury me alive
When my heart stops let me go home,
don’t let the suburbs kill my heart and soul

 

Poetry that Slaps You into a Smile

New Poem from My Son

My son is getting a bit of a following on youtube.com with a number of slam poetry performances. Here’s his latest. I know of at least two churches and the comments reveal that a number of English teachers are using some of these efforts to inspire their students. Would you pray for him and ask that God would use his skill to impact a generation to truly live for Christ with every fiber of their being.

 

Eric Metaxes; T.D.Jakes; James MacDonald; The Elephant Room; G.K. Chesterton and much more

Weekend Links

If there is one link you click on here, let it be the first. Eric Metaxas gave an outstanding and bold address at the National Prayer breakfast that truly should not be missed. As always, I don’t vouch for all these links except to say that they are all thought provoking and that’s part of what this BLOG is all about.

Prayer

Eric Metaxas at prayer breakfast: Bold, Confident, Humility in the Power of the Cross (Don’t miss this article and its associated video. The video is somewhat long, but every second is worth it.)

Doctrine

Elephant Room 2: An Evaluation on the T.D. Jakes Interview (Former Oneness Pastor)
Relating to Those We Think are Outside Orthodoxy (Ed Stetzer)
Seven Thoughts on the Elephant Room and T.D. Jakes (Kevin DeYoung)
Elephant Room Debrief (James MacDonald and Company)
Post-Elephant Room Debrief and Interview 2 (MacDonald and Company)

Leadership Lessons

Lessons from Joe Paterno’s Failure (Leadership Freak)

Cultural Engagement

Jim Moran, Racist Pig (Michele Malkin)
Three Cheers for RomneyCare! (Ann Coulter, Romney supporter)
Letting Islam Dictate Public Policy in America (Oliver North)
Obama’s Contraception Mandate Violates the Constitution (Matt Cover)
The Art of Growing Food organically (Liza Burkin)
Negative and Positive Morality (G.K. Chesterton)

 

When are We Most Like the Apostle Paul?

Thursday is for Discipleship

Hey folks, not much time today so I thought I would post the link to a video we just did down in Watseka, IL to encourage the congregations of Trinity Church to begin to take the gospel outside the four walls of the church and into their neighborhoods.

I hope that it stimulates not only them but many others to begin to think and pray hard about how to make Jesus the issue behind the doors of every home in every neighborhood in America. That won’t be done by a video. It won’t be done by any one church or denomination, but by God’s grace and God’s Spirit, it could be done by God’s people, depending on God’s Spirit to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven.

If the video is helpful, check out this link to some Intensely Local ministry ideas.

 

Grab Your Soul and Shake It!

Jesus lives. Don’t quit. Don’t stop. Don’t give in. He’s coming again. He lives, he lives, and he reigns. Grab your soul and shake it!

 

New Tyler Saul Movie Review

Here’s the link.

 

Chan is Right: There is no middle road with Jesus

Here’s a don’t miss video from Francis Chan. Some things are so simple and Francis Chan nails it with this brief presentation on obedience to the voice of Jesus. May we all be quick to obey the word of our Savior in everything, everywhere, everyday.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7MdYV8gRws]