Clear Vision musings

Steve Camp pulls no punches as he lifts up the real Jesus and exposes the current shams in a new song he’s written, Burn Your Plastic Jesus.

"Warning: Offensive post to Sunday-only Christians ahead. Proceed with caution." Thus begins Scott Head’s post today at These are the Generations of...  on The Revival that the Church Doesn’t Know About.

"We struggle with discussing the issue of sound Biblical doctrine, multi-generational vision, family worship, Biblical gender roles and the like because we know it easily offends those who also claim Christ but for some reason or another do not hold to these teachings in scripture. We struggle with how to discuss these things without being perceived as prideful or "holier than thou", or haughty. But in all honesty, we can’t cease speaking what the Bible says just so we don’t offend. Truth offends, it cuts, it bruises. If we speak the truth in love, we still offend, and that’s hard to endure. There IS a problem in the church today, it is a big, giant, trumpeting elephant in the room that everyone sees, but no one will discuss, because it will rock the boat. There ARE a vast group of people who come to church every Sunday but sit there stone faced and un-saved. There ARE preachers who do not preach the Word of God in all its convicting and edifying strength, …."

It is worth a click on over there to read the whole post.

SDG,
Lisa

Some things just bear repeating. Paul Washer is a clarion voice declaring the gospel straight up to America today. I recommended another of his messages back in March. I’ve listened to several others since then, and enjoyed them all. This series on the True Gospel is exceptional. But I’ll let These Are the Generations of … tell you all about it and provide the links.

SDG,
Lisa

I may have mentioned something we’d come across by this man sometime last year, but today I want to do a little more comprehensive post. A little over a year ago we came across a pastor/writer/speaker who is speaking out on the Christian family. We’ve loved "running into" him in several places over the last year. We think you’ll enjoy him too. Many of these resources are free. Some are not, but once you read/listen to the free ones we think you’ll find the others worth the investment.

I think the first place we heard him was on Dennis Rainey’s Family Life Today radio show speaking on The Home is the Key. Shortly there after Kevin Swanson interviewed him on Generations, on Why the Southern Baptists are Losing 88% of the Next Generation. Then we read an article by him in Biblical Worldview magazine, Education: The Forgotten Key to Discipleship. I checked out his website where I ordered The Ever Loving Truth (of which there is a book by the same title) and I thought something else, but don’t see it at the moment.

Next I got The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship CD from the 2006 National Conference for Uniting Church and Family. We listened to him and Paul Washer answer questions, mainly from young people - Part 1 and Part 2. Recently I got the 2 messages that now comprise the Children of Caesar DVD set, from American Vision. And finally ordered the book, Family Driven Faith.

I’ve also found several short clips on YouTube, including Why I Believe the Bible. And links to several messages. And another blog that has a TON of links. (I haven’t checked them all out to make sure they are still there.

That should be enough links to introduce you to him. Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

SDG,
Lisa

The Sword (the Word of God) rightly expounded and divided and The Swordsman (the Holy Spirit) rightly obeyed and honored, are both necessary for the preaching of God’s Word to bear the fruit heaven in ministry.
—great quote from Steve Camp’s blog

Steve Camp blogged on Jonathan Edwards’ "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" yesterday. Christians just don’t talk much about that anymore - an angry God that is. It certainly is not ALL God is. He is truly Love, perfect Love; and Good, perfect Goodness. But to be perfect love and goodness, He must also HATE sin. And He does. His Word tells us so. In fact, everything we can know for a fact about God is found in His Word. We have no other source for truly knowing Him as He is. We can’t make up our own little ideas of what we think God SHOULD be like. We take Him as He is, and as the Sovereign of the Universe.

You can head over there if you want to read or listen to Edward’s sermon.

If you don’t know who Jonathan Edwards is, you won’t find him on your local Christian radio station or your inspirational cable channel. He was a godly pastor whose preaching began the Great Awakening in the first half of the 18th century in America. Read more about him at Monergism.com.

Read part of the life of Jonathan Edwards. How feeble does my spark of Christianity appear beside such a sun! But even his was a borrowed light, and the same source is still open to enlighten me.
— Robert Murray M’Cheyne