Friday, June 27, 2008

Great Video

Starts slow but great at the end. A great reminder. Did I mention it's great?

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Great Stuff

One of the challenges I face is to clearly and succinctly explain what someone must do to be saved. It sounds like it should be easy - especially for a pastor! But, haven't you ever started to explain it to someone and realized it was taking far too many words and far too long to explain?
I came across this explanation from J.I. Packer who is a contemporary theologion:

To the question: what must I do to be saved? the old gospel replies: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To the further question: what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? its reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one's natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one's heart by the Holy Ghost.

And to the further question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on His mercy; ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch pray read and hear God's Word, worship and commune with God's people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you ("Introductory Essay to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ," p. 21).



Let Charles Spurgeon lead you in prayer:
Join with me in prayer at this moment, I entreat you. Join with me while I put words into your mouths, and speak them on your behalf— "Lord, I am guilty, I deserve thy wrath. Lord, I cannot save myself. Lord, I would have a new heart and a right spirit, but what can I do? Lord, I can do nothing, come and work in me to will and to do thy good pleasure.
Thou alone hast power, I know, To save a wretch like me; To whom, or whither should I go If I should run from thee?
But I now do from my very soul call upon thy name. Trembling, yet believing, I cast myself wholly upon thee, O Lord. I trust the blood and righteousness of thy dear Son...Lord, save me tonight, for Jesus' sake." (From Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1973], pp. 101f.)


Great Song of the Week

Michael English has a new cd out. I have only heard one song, but it's great. He still has the pipes, too. http://www.box.net/shared/uy8386dog4


you'll have to download the clip to listen - the player isn't working. I will fix that when I get a brain. If anybody knows how to embed this, I would welcome the tutelage. I said tutelage!


Great Website of the Week


http://dayspringpastor.blogspot.com/


Duh!





Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Look, I'm a Baby Blogger!






Welcome to the official blog of the pastor of Dayspring Christian Fellowship. I say official because obviously there are many unofficial Phil sites out there that hang on to my every word and like to pretend they know me. There are so many that google has refused to list any of them because it bogs down their servers! Go ahead, just google me and you will see - there is nothing out there!! Just another testament to how powerful my influence in the blogosphere is.

Ok, so I may be slightly full of it. Actually, I am just a guy that hopes to encourage and be encouraged by people in my own church and maybe a few others. My goal is for us to spur one another on to greater levels of holiness and discipleship for Jesus' sake.

So I will post things that I am reading and learning and I hope that you will do the same (and by you, I mean the 2 or 3 people that will ever stumble on to this blog).

I will post my first thought later tonight (and by tonight, I mean 6 months ago for you reading this). Right now I have to leave the office and clean up the mess that my autistic son made while I was gone with the kitchen sprayer. Actually, I wasn't gone with the sprayer, but...well, you know what I am trying to say.
Be Blessed,

Phil