From the Together for the Gospel 2012 Conference here is Mez McConnell’s testimony:
Testimonies, Mez McConnel from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Never Underestimate the Power of the Gospel
Reply
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Such A Dramatic Opening!
Text: Matt 1:1-17
Have you ever read the opening seventeen verses of Matthew’s gospel and wondered why the New Testament would open with a genealogy? Could there not have been a more exciting and dramatic introduction? Is there not a better way to grab people’s attention that this?
At first glance, it really does seem to be such a strange beginning for the most exciting message the world could ever hear, the good news of Jesus Christ. And yet…
I remember hearing the testimony of a former Hindu, born and raised in India, who recalled his Christian conversion experience. In finding a New Testament in a hotel room drawer one day, he started reading the first page (Matthew 1) and was completed captivated by it. He explained that all the guru’s of Hinduism just suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and certainly without genealogical heritage of any note. Yet here in Matthew, he read of one who could trace his ancestry for thousands of years and could confirm he was heir to the throne of David, king of Israel. This could not have been more dramatic for this man, and before the sun had set, the man had repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
When Matthew was written, all claims of genealogy could be confirmed/denied by checking the Jewish records contained in the Temple. These records eventually were destroyed in the AD 70 but until then, were available to anyone who sought to check out Messianic claims. A side note is the fact that after the events of AD70, it would be virtually impossible for any Jewish man to be able to prove he was the Messiah.
The Chief End of Preaching
“What is the chief end of preaching? I like to think it is this. It is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence. As I have said already, during this last year I have been ill, and so have had the opportunity, and the privilege, of listening to others, instead of preaching myself. As I have listened in physical weakness this is the thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him.”
– D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers: 40th anniversary edition (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 2011), 110-111
Obituary for Common Sense
An Obituary printed in the London Times…..
Today, but died from heart failure at the brink of the New Year. No one really knows how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools; hospitals, homes, factories and offices, helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness.
For decades, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in from rain, the early bird gets the worm and life isn’t always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and it’s okay to come in second.
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including feminism, body piercing, politically-correct language and new math.
But his health declined when he became infected with the “if-it-only-helps-one-person-it’s-worth-it” virus. In recent decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing legislation.
He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers and enlightened auditors. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero tolerance policies; when reports were heard of six year old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; when a teen was suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch; when a teacher was fired for reprimanding an unruly student. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student.
Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and human rights lawyers stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional sports.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments, regarding questionable regulations…Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Friday Round Up
(1) There’s a variety of resources in this week’s Justification, the Church, the Sacraments, the Papacy and the Marian doctrines. Normally $17 it is just $5 in the online Friday sale. Perhaps you might consider ordering multiple copies to hand out to others who may be confused about these vital issues here.
(2) “Do you mean by that, asks someone, that the saints in the Old Testament were not forgiven? Of course I do not. They were obviously forgiven and they thanked God for the forgiveness. You cannot say for a moment that people like David and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were not forgiven. Of course they were forgiven. But they were not forgiven because of those sacrifices that were then offered. They were forgiven because they looked to Christ. They did not see this clearly, but they believed the teaching, and they made these offerings by faith. They believed God’s Word that He was one day going to provide a sacrifice, and in faith they held to that. It was their faith in Christ that saved them, exactly as it is faith in Christ that saves now. That is the argument.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Cross, The Vindication of God
(3) Some C. H. Spurgeon quotes:
“When we shall see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then may we expect to see ungodly sinners of their own free will turning to Christ.”
“My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, he is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is now doing for me.”
“Regarding the gospel, make it your ambition to be a copyist, never an original.”
“Faith goes up the stairs that love has built and looks out the windows which hope has opened.”
“If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do.”
“In one word, the great pillar of the Christian’s hope is substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in Jesus-this is the cardinal fact of the gospel.”
“No man can do me a truer kindness in this world than to pray for me.”
Pulpit Crimes
Some years ago, Dr. James White wrote a book entitled “Pulpit Crimes” which addressed the “crimes” preachers often commit in their pulpits. It was a strong call for handling the word of God correctly. Here is Dr. White presenting a teaching session based on the theme of the book (from Central Baptist Church in Honolulu, Hawaii).
Mormonism (Overview)
Dr. James White presents a two part overview of Mormonism at Central Baptist in Honolulu.
Part 1:
The Mormons pt.1 from Shane Sowers on Vimeo.
Part 2:
The Mormons pt.2 from Shane Sowers on Vimeo.
Jehovah’s Witnesses (Overview)
Dr. James White presents a two part overview of Jehovah’s Witnesses at Central Baptist in Honolulu.
Part 1:
Dr. James White JW’s pt.1 from Shane Sowers on Vimeo.
Part 2:
Dr. James White JW’s pt.2 from Shane Sowers on Vimeo.
Genius – The Movie
A Royal Baby?
What’s going on here? Baby? Parents? Great-grandchild? First School? Even the Twitter hashtag is #RoyalBaby. Are royal foetuses endowed with full humanity from the point of conception?
Hmmmm
I am sure that there will now be speculation frenzy to know who is being invited to the clump of cells shower?
I think it is safe to say that they are BABIES when they are wanted, and conveniently FOETUSES when they are not. See this article.