Our church received a resume recently from a man who, in his words, wanted to be the “Head of our church.” I thought I would pass this on to you as it was too good to keep to ourselves!

Age: Early 30s.

Marital Status: Single.

Political party: None.

Denominational affiliation: None.

Educational Background: Homeschooled.

College / Bible College: None.

Seminary: None.

Previous Church Experience: None.

Previous Employment: Carpentry.

References: We were unable to obtain any positive references from this guy. His neighbors don’t like him. Apparently he grew up in a poor, backwards community that has a reputation of nothing good ever coming from that area. We were told by his neighbors that he was homeless and that he has been seen leading what is considered to be a Zionist gang comprised of a bunch of uneducated teenagers and young men from questionable backgrounds (including one former Militia member with ties to some anti-government, terrorist organizations). We were also told that he is an alcoholic, a glutton and has been seen visiting prostitutes. FULL POST

In mid-2011, Markus Fischer and his creative team at Festo built "SmartBird"-- a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull. This amazing flying robot was unique in that it flapped its wings like a real bird. When Fischer spoke about his creation, the large audience sat quietly and listened to his every word. However, after they saw it fly around the room in which they sat, they gave him a standing ovation. They praised him for his brilliance. Plagiarism is the copying of someone else's ideas, and representing it as your own original work. Fischer copied his bird directly from God's design, and humbly took praise for it as if it was his own creation. 

Despite this copyright infringement, it is understandable why they praised him. He did something no other human being had managed to do. He made a flying, flapping, swerving bird. Sort of. It couldn't think breath, think, eat, and reproduce of itself. It couldn't even blink. Not that it needed to, because this was a blind bird. 

There are some who accuse God of being the ultimate egotist because they think that He demands worship. Scripture says "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." However, to praise God for the gift of life—for birds and all the amazing creation that surrounds us, is the right thing to do. To fail to praise Him and love Him with all of our "heart, mind, soul, and strength" for what He has done and who He is, is to be guilty of the sin of ingratitude. Worship is commanded because we are dull in mind, selfish in heart, blind to reality, and so ungrateful that we need to be directed to give God due praise.  FULL POST

If you listen to most modern preachers, they will tell you how God can help you. He’s your friend and He’s there for your happiness. He has a wonderful plan for your life.  However, with a spiraling world economy, the increase in global disasters, wars, unstoppable diseases, massive floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, tsunamis, and escalating violence, it’s not so easy to make the promise of a bliss-filled future for those who respond to the gospel. 

Words mean different things to different people. While some preachers would say that a “wonderful” plan means that God will be with us in the lion’s den, they don’t mention the lions, and so they are disillusioned the first time a lion looks at them as lunch. God isn’t portrayed in Scripture as some sort of divine butler who comes at the beck and call of humanity. There’s no promise of perfect happiness in this life. The Christian life is rather portrayed as the opposite. The Bibles promises tribulation, temptation and persecution for those who live a godly life in this sinful world. 

Consequently, skeptics are right when they say that the church is filled with hypocrites—those whose lives don’t reflect what we know they should. And our land is filled with those who think that they were once Christians who have fallen away from their faith. The following letter is typical of those in this category:  FULL POST

A Texas school district has spent eight years and over a million dollars to keep Jesus out of the classroom.  Now they are arguing that elementary school children do not have First Amendment rights.  

In late May, all seventeen judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the 8-year “candy cane case,” Morgan v. Plano Independent School District.  The case involves several students from this school district whose free speech was severely restricted by school officials. Such en banc hearings are rare, and only for cases of national impact.  This is such a case. Liberty Institute is representing these children who are now teenagers. Their stories are chilling. Literally. 

 First, there’s Jonathan Morgan. In December, 2003, for his third grade class’s “winter”party, where students give “goodie bags” to classmates, Jonathan chose to place pens shaped like candy canes in the bags he gave out. Each pen was accompanied by a laminated card entitled “The Legend of the Candy Cane,” explaining the Christian origin of candy canes.  Jonathan’s teacher stopped him from bringing the bags into the classroom because, she said, they contained a “religious” message.   FULL POST

In Psalm 1, Scripture gives us a clear picture of what a god ly person should be, as well as the reward of this godliness.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. (vv. 1–3)

Let’s meditate on these verses to truly understand their meaning and consider how they apply to parenting.

God says that you are blessed (highly favored) if you don’t listen to the world’s advice. If you are tempted to heed the “counsel of the ungodly,” consider that the world’s “ex perts” believe mankind evolved from monkeys. A little thought on our part should help us see why it’s wise not to listen to their ramblings, but rather listen to what the Cre ator has to say.

The fruit of the world’s godless advice is seen in the headlines of the daily news. Their counsel may sound right, but so often it proves to be wrong. For example, the world says that if you love your children, you will never physically discipline them. It says to seek alternatives rather than in flicting physical pain. FULL POST

It’s been said that if you have a question about something, ask a teenager. They know everything. Well, they think they do. One of my sons moved into an apartment with a couple of friends when he was a teenager. After about a year of his paying rent, I explained to him how much he could have saved if he had stayed at home. The thought of not paying rent, no utility bills, free food, and clean clothes must have spoken to him, because he moved back home and saved a bundle. He was soon in a financial position to support the woman of his dreams. This happened around the time he purchased a pair of generic sneakers for about $20. He said that he realized he had been wasting money on high-priced designer brands just to look cool. My boy had become a man.

More recently a mother asked me to talk to her teenage daughter about tattoos. The daughter was tempted to get one, so I suggested that she wait until she was in her early 20s, and then make a decision. When I added that the difference between 19 and 22 was about 10 years, both mother and daughter nodded in agreement. Tattoos are fine for those who want to mark themselves for life. I remember chatting with a very distressed man who complained that he couldn’t get a job. I told him that the words “F- - - You!” that he had tattooed on his chin, could have had something to do with it. He reluctantly agreed. FULL POST

One of the great mysteries about the holocaust was the seeming complicity of so many of the German people. Yet, I have watched World War 2 footage of the Allies (as they liberated Concentration camps) forcing those who lived around the death-camps, to go through them. They walked in with smiles on their faces and came out grief-stricken and horrified. I was left wondering how could they not know! They lived around the camps and could see the smoke billowing from the chimneys.

Didn’t they know what was going on in their own backyard? Did they know but were they fearful of the Nazis, and therefore remained silent? Or did they seriously think that the camps were nothing more than some sort of wartime confinement housing for Jews?

Do you know about America's holocaust? Do you know about what's going on in your own backyard? Or do you know what's happening, but you think that it's not a baby in the womb, and therefore it's not a "holocaust" at all. You think that whatever it is that’s growing within the womb is not human, and therefore can be eliminated like common waste. It's okay to get rid of it because it’s not human. That's what Hitler said of the Jews. He said that they weren't human, and that justified their elimination. FULL POST

Recently I asked my Facebook friends what they thought were some of the greatest threats facing the American church. Predictably the feedback swung from the polar ends of the theological spectrum. Some thought the Church was too worldly and some too legalistic. Some felt the church is too focused on outreach and not on discipleship. Others believe the Church isn’t culturally relevant enough and wasn’t committed to evangelism.

Some think the church is too Calvinistic, and others too Arminian. Some said bad Eschatology was too blame for the Church’s woes. Some blamed the youth pastors for undermining the parents, others blamed the worship pastors for dumbing down the songs and making church services seem like rock concerts. Some were for institutional or traditional models, and others preferred an Organic or house church approach.

Many were concerned about bad theology, false doctrine, Postmodernism and Humanism, heresy, Universalism, feel-good cheap grace messages, lack of holiness, prosperity gospel, lack of accountability and hypocrisy among leaders, lack of church discipline, Biblical illiteracy, bad Bible translations, too much political involvement, not enough political involvement, lack of the fear of the Lord and much more. However, there was one problem that was stated overwhelmingly above all the rest. FULL POST

This year, a number of Muslim leaders from around the world have called for an Islamic uprising. Some places that have sought political and religious tolerance and freedom have been met with severe dictatorial cruelty to crush protests. In the past year, we have seen political uprisings in Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco & Bahrain.

Louis Farrakhan

Now American leaders like Louis Farrakhan (famous for the "Million-Man March" on Washington, DC) are calling for American Muslims to be prepared to cause unrest and protest here in the United States.

Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. (born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is the leader of the Chicago, Illinois-based Nation of Islam (NOI). In a vitriolic speech before 16,000 devoted followers (and many thousands more over live broadcast) at the Saviour's Day event in February 2011, Farrakhan stated that this is a time of war. He says Armageddon is coming.

"Even OUR blood, will soon be running in the streets, " Farrakahn said. FULL POST