Longing for His Presence this Sunday and Beyond...

Charles Spurgeon is one of my heroes. I can't believe I haven't named a son after him yet. Lord willing--there is still time. :)
I read this paragraph this week that lifted my heart in prayer--begging God to make this a reality in the preaching of the word on Sunday morning (and beyond)...

Have you ever seen an assembly listening to an orator all unmoved and stolid? Suddenly, the Holy Ghost has fallen on the speaker, and the King Himself has been vis­ibly set forth among them in the midst of the assembly, and all have felt as if they could leap to their feet and cry, 'Hallelujah, Hallelujah!' Then hearts beat fast, and souls leap high; for where Jesus is found His presence fills the place with delight.

He then shares this experience of the Holy Spirit's presence in the worship service and its silencing affect on the people...

More than once we were all so awe-struck with the so­lemnity of the meeting that we sat silent for some mo­ments while the Lord's Power appeared to overshadow us; and all I could do on such occasions was to pronounce the benediction, and say, 'Dear friends, we have had the Spirit of God here very manifestly tonight; let us go home and take care not to lose His gracious influence.' Then down came the blessing; the house was filled with hearers, and many souls were saved.

God, make Your power overshadow us. Prepare us for its weight. Give us Your blessing and save many souls...in Jesus' name, amen.

Hymns are Not Gone...

I love the old hymns of that have been passed down through the church. I grew up with them and have not stopped appreciating them and I am glad to know that they are not going to die any time soon--in spite of the rejection of them in many churches. Of course, there are some lousy hymns just as there are lousy contemporary worship songs (that's an understatement!).

Check this out from Justin Taylor's blog:

Here's a cool project:

Page CXVI is a project started with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again.They are some of the richest, most meaningful, and moving pieces of music ever written.

For a limited time you can download the album for free.

HT: Lukas Naugle

And if you don't know about it, also check out the Reformed Praise website. Here's an introduction:

Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to bringing together the rich tradition of hymnody, especially from the reformers or those directly influenced by them, with the modern worship song movement. Sound like a bad idea? Please see our articles page for links to articles about reformed theology, worship, styles of music, and many other topics by various respected theologians and pastors pertaining to this issue.

We truly believe that an incredible wealth of worship music is being "lost" amidst a sea of often over-simplified contemporary praise choruses. Our worship songs should be full of biblical, rich, and powerful truth, truth that is all too often absent from modern worship songs. Hymns have long been a rich source of deep lyrics, but many traditional tunes used to sing these hymns hinder rather than help believers feel what they are singing. The modern worship styles (and there are many) offer a new arena to make these hymn texts come alive to new generations. When these classic and biblical texts are wed to contemporary tunes, the result is a truly powerful worship experience that enables God's truth to settle deep in our hearts and minds.

Sometimes You Wonder If They Are Listening

Have you ever taught or shared something with someone and you were wondering if they were listening. Enjoy this video of Ben Stein from Farris Beuller's Day Off.

Anyone...anyone...

Hacking Sin to Pieces

Two weeks ago at our Men's Freedom Ministry meeting Dana Jensen talked to us about killing sin. He had in mind primarily sexual sin, but the following Biblical principles apply to killing sin of all kinds. Thanks Dana.

Thoughts on applying Romans 8:13:

1. We kill sin by hacking to pieces old sinful habits and cultivating new righteous habits.
2. The instrument of killing old sinful habits and cultivating new God-glorifying habits is the heart.
3. We kill sin by abstaining from fleshly lust (1 Peter 2:11 and 1 Corinthians 6:18).
4. We abstain from fleshly lust by making no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14).
5. We abstain from fleshly lust by fixing our heart of Christ (1 John 3:3).
6. Sin is not killed when it is merely covered up (Proverbs 28:13).
7. Sin is not killed when it is only internalized.
8. Sin is not killed until the conscience is quiet.
9. Having a quiet conscience is a large part of effective evangelism.
10. Loud consciences are God's trumpet calling us to battle against sin.

I pray that you, with the guys in the Men's Freedom Ministry, will be challenged by these observations to put to death the deads of the body and LIVE!

Storytime with Daniel VanAcker

Often times God brings joy and peace to me through my children. There is something decidedly refreshing about the mind of a child. Recently, my son Daniel presented me with a story that he wrote (and typed) all by himself. At first I thought that it was just a bunch of random letters. As he read it to me however the words became plain. See if you can read it (below). Fabulous prizes for the one who gets closest.

wsthearwsanatthsnmwsdanielthekaslgaotutakdthentheagotunabadladsmgdonadwsbledednthead

Pursuing a Mark 10:15 faith,

Pastor Dave