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Month: February 2009 Page 1 of 2


There Do Meet in Jesus Christ Infinite Highness and Infinite Condescension

(Excerpt from a Jonathan Edwards sermon entitled The Excellency of Christ)

Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is higher than the kings of the earth; for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is higher than the heavens, and higher than the highest angels of heaven. So great is he, that all men, all kings and princes, are as worms of the dust before him; all nations are as the drop of the bucket, and the light dust of the balance; yea, and angels themselves are as nothing before him. He is so high, that he is infinitely above any need of us; above our reach, that we cannot be profitable to him; and above our conceptions, that we cannot comprehend him. Prov. 30:4 “What is his name, and what is his Son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Our understandings, if we stretch them never so far, cannot reach up to his divine glory. Job 11:8 “It is high as heaven, what canst thou do?” Christ is the Creator and great Possessor of heaven and earth. He is sovereign Lord of all. He rules over the whole universe, and doth whatsoever pleaseth him. His knowledge is without bound. His wisdom is perfect, and what none can circumvent. His power is infinite, and none can resist Him. His riches are immense and inexhaustible. His majesty is infinitely awful.

Something You Never See On a Trading Floor

Confusing the Effects of the Gospel With the Gospel (MP3)

This was a talk Mark Dever gave at the T4G conference this past year that is relevant to many discussions, postings and conversations I’ve been having lately with many different people in person and on the internet. To sum this whole thing up, Dever says at the beginning of this talk, “People try to improve the Gospel. But in improving the Gospel they end up losing it.”

Improving the Gospel (MP3) – Mark Dever

And while this is a legitimate concern I share in seeing the quick descent of much of evangelicalism, we who would criticize those we see as doing some of the very things Dever speaks of must be careful how we 1) come across to those we are in disagreement with, 2) how we say things, 3) that we don’t let such a concern distract us from the cause of the Gospel itself by being absorbed in finger pointing, 4) use wisdom when approaching  these situations, and finally 5) think carefully before you hit the send button about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it (Ben Davis).

Jihadist Training Camps on American Soil?

Postmodernism and The Emerging Church – Phil Johnson (MP3’s)

You Can’t Handle The Truth: Addressing the Tolerance of Postmodernism (MP3) – 3.3.2005

A Beginner’s Guide to Postmodernism (MP3) – 6.30.2006

What is the Emerging Church Movement, and why is it a problem? (MP3) – 7.1.2006

The Theory of Relativity (Understanding the influence of post-modern thought on the church today) (MP3) – 3.7.2007

How Did the Economic House of Cards Fall? (MP3’s)

These two three four five six radio programs on This American Life do an excellent job of giving an on-the-street perspective from the Wall Street investors to the lenders all the way down to the individual home-buyers and finally the results of the recession in everyday life. In addition, there is a very good explanation of how banks work and why they are becoming insolvent. If you haven’t dug in to understand how we have gotten into this mess, you must listen to these programs. Excellent journalism.

More in-depth economic analysis can be found here:

(Update: 9.28.2009 – Though they don’t come to this conclusion in these shows, after much investigation and personal reflection on the events of the last two years, I have come to the conclusion that the Federal Reserve is ultimately at fault for meddling in markets, making money super cheap to obtain, and promoting an environment of pure moral hazard. Certainly, all those who took the bait, everyone from lenders, to consumers, to those on Wall Street, are all responsible in some manner. But ultimate responsibility for the over-arching cause of the crisis is the reckless policy decisions of our central bank over the last 30 years, starting with Paul Volcker (as I understand it), who is oddly one of Obama’s economic advisor’s. It is unfathomable to me that the same people who promoted reckless macro-economic policies are supposed to be the same people to get us out of this mess … by spending us even further in the hole. Unbelievable. And contrary to the assumption that “no one saw this coming,” think again … watch below.)

Jesus As Judge

This isn’t a portrayal of Jesus we like to ascribe to Him very often because, frankly, it is terrifying. Tim Keller has concisely and eloquently said, “If we play down ‘bad’ or harsh doctrines within the historic Christian faith, we will find, to our shock, that we have gutted all our pleasant and comfortable beliefs, too.” And this is certainly true with how we envision Jesus. Jesus is fully God and as such He is the same God of the Old Testament. Yes Jesus is fully loving as clearly demonstrated in His very condescension to man, His whole life lived, His death, and His resurrection for sinners! Yet He is also fully just and is the very One who will judge the world. This seems to easily slip past us very often. There is simply no way to escape this picture in the Scriptures. And it’s either true or it’s not.

History of the Internet

A Biblical Response to the Church-Growth Movement (MP3)

John MacArthur does an excellent job of explaining the fundamental error lying at the heart of this movement in many of our churches: it is a misapprehension of 1) how God saves people, and 2) how God builds His church.

Reality Sets In

(Original): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/05/AR2009020502766_pf.html

(Archived): http://www.westerfunk.net/archives/politics/The%20Fierce%20Urgency%20of%20Pork/

Political euphoria, on the part of the people and the President, has now given way to reality. Obama seems to be winging most of his policy decisions so far. He instituted “sweeping” ethics reforms which I myself was excited about and yet nominated not just a few current and former lobbyists to top positions in his cabinet. This is simply amazing, not in a “see I told you and I’m glad this is happening to him” sense. No, I want Obama to succeed, honestly, because it affects all of us if he fails.

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