Posted in General on Jul 21st, 2010
“All those expressions of unworthiness which Christian practice puts into the believer’s mouth seem to the outer world like the degraded and insincere grovellings of a sycophant before a tyrant, or at best a façon de parler like the self-depreciation of a Chinese gentleman when he calls himself “this course and illiterate person”. In reality, however, [...]
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Posted in General on Jul 8th, 2010
Today marks the 269th anniversary of Jonathan Edwards preaching his most famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield, CT. I’m reading through it after pastor Rick Holland’s wife Kim posted a tweet mentioning it. Though I won’t try to summarize it because I just can’t do it justice, the point Edwards [...]
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Posted in General on Jun 5th, 2010
One week from now, I’m marrying the sweetest young lady I’ve ever known. It’s the second most important decision of my life, and after getting to know this amazing woman over the last few years, I must say that I have no doubts about whether or not I’m making the right choice. Here are a [...]
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Posted in General on Jun 2nd, 2010
I’ve been with my company for over two years now, and I have to say it’s an amazing and unique place to work, where I’m continually thankful for the opportunities I’ve already been given to learn, the people I’ve had the privilege of getting to know, and the financial stability that has been provided. My desire is [...]
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Posted in General on May 18th, 2010
I have Christian friends who refuse to challenge the misconceptions that non-Christians have about Christianity, because they would much rather be thought well of by not rocking the boat than to have anyone look down on them. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m just barely starting to learn what this should look like, [...]
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Posted in General on Apr 27th, 2010
A fascinating article in the Boston Globe called “Separate truths” caught my eye yesterday after Ligon Duncan pointed it out via Twitter. Are all religions basically the same? Are Gods from different religions pretty much the same one? Can’t we all just get along? These are serious questions that deserve our examination. Stephen Prothero starts off [...]
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Posted in General on Feb 14th, 2010
I asked some of you to pray for Andy Smith and his fiancee Katie Johnson last year, when Andy was in a terrible motorcycle wreck in my hometown, Bakersfield. Now I’d like to share an update on Andy’s story, and it’s worth the few minutes it takes for you to read this article from the [...]
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Posted in General on Jan 18th, 2010
So on Thursday morning, I was thinking about how I could help the situation in Haiti, and came up with the idea of a local benefit concert. Long story short, the first show kicked off Friday night, and we raised over $900 from generous donations. All proceeds went directly to Three Angels Children’s Relief, an [...]
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Posted in General on Dec 28th, 2009
The other night I had the privilege going back to serve some appreciative men and women in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. You really start to see your comfortable life in a different light when you’re talking with those who have no place of their own to rest their head. The best thing I [...]
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Posted in General on Dec 10th, 2009
I have no idea how to do justice in describing the message I just heard. Of all the media I view and pass along in my sometimes too-connected social-networking life, listen to this one if you could only pick one thing. I’m not going to trick you into thinking it’s short, because it’s an hour [...]
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Posted in General on Nov 22nd, 2009
New & Recommended! (For reading, listening, watching, doing) Here are a few things to check out and get involved with. Instead of a separate write-up for the following book, album, movie, blog, and events, I decided to just toss everything into a quick list. Book to Read “Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, [...]
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Posted in General on Nov 2nd, 2009
In the Old Testament passage about Daniel’s friends getting thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel chapter 3, check it out in context), I’d like to point out an important detail that we can’t miss, because of how relevant it is to the brand of Christianity that’s popular here in comfortable Southern California. [...]
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Posted in General on Aug 12th, 2009
Back in June there was a phrase that Gunner used on rawchristianity.com, “argument from silence,” that caught my attention. He used it in reference to possibly our culture’s most powerful method of convincing us that God is not important. I’d like to briefly add to this suggestion that we, both as a whole culture and as [...]
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Posted in General on Aug 5th, 2009
Last week I visited Kevin at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center as a part of the team from the church delivering meals to him and his wife. Kevin Mather was on a bicycle ride with some friends here in Santa Clarita last month when he was hit by a fast-moving vehicle, and the injuries to [...]
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