FROM THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 12, 2011

What Bob Dylan Got Right by John Piper

In 1979 Bob Dylan recorded the song "Gotta Serve Somebody." For those who listen with biblically informed ears the refrain echoes Paul and Jesus:

Paul: "You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness" (Romans 6:16).
Jesus: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24).

Dylan's refrain:

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed,
You're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord,
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

This is one of the truest songs Dylan has written. John Lennon was so angry with it that he wrote an obscene counter-song, "Serve Yourself," which was so bad, Yoko Ono published an apologetic explanation of it in 1998.
To celebrate Dylan's getting this truth so right, I have written new lyrics, not because they are better, but because they are updated for my religious world.  Click here to continue reading.


Secret Church: How To Study The Bible by David Platt

TREASURE IN OUR HANDS
By David Platt

I want us to read Psalm 19: 7 through 11 together. You have got it listed there on the front page of your notes. Let’s read this out loud together.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;

the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. (ESV)

We have a treasure in our hands with the Bible. The Word is Perfect. It is Perfect. This book and the words contained herein is Perfect. The Word is Relevant. We are going to see all these things unfold tonight. The Word is Good. It is very, very good. The Word is Clear. The clear is not hard to understand. I hope that we see that tonight. The Word is Eternal. It lasts forever. Heaven and earth pass away. My Words will never pass away. The Word is True. And here is the deal. The Word is Available. It is available.

And I want us to pause for a second here and remember that we are indebted to a guy named Jerome. I don’t know if you realize it or not, but Jerome has had a pretty big impact on your life. Jerome back around 400 AD took the Bible and he translated it into Latin. It is a huge moment where the Bible was being translated into another language and being made available to more people, then came along a guy named John Wycliffe. John Wycliffe took that Latin translation and he began to translate it into English. He was accused of being a heretic. He suffered persecution for his willingness to take the Bible and put it into the language of the common people. Those who got it were threatened for even pulling it out. Then came a guy named William Tyndale. Tyndale took Wycliffe’s translation of the Latin and made the first translation of the English from the Greek and the Hebrew and the Latin, pulling them altogether. He intended to complete the whole Old Testament and the New Testament, but he didn’t finish the Old Testament. He died in 1536. He was executed and his body was burned because of his commitment to translate the Bible. His associate John Rogers completed his work of the Old Testament. His associate John Rogers was martyred. The point is this. The Bible we hold in our hands is a result of men and women who have laid their lives down to give it to us. Far be it from us today to take this Word and leave it on our door steps or on our chest by our beds at night and not dive into it and see what it means for our lives. We have a treasure that is in our hands called the Bible. It is worth giving our lives to study it. This is the Bible that we have.


Newt Gingrich And A Lesson From King David by Michael Youssef

While I am not in the business of endorsing candidates, this blog is designed to help people see events and situations not so much from a personal standpoint, but a biblical one….this one is no exception.

A number of years ago, I gave a series of messages on the life of King David of old. I entitled the series, “A Portrait of a Champion.” One of the messages in that series was called, “Champions Know How to Repent.” Even a great champion for God such as King David messed up “royally” and had to repent. ...

This brings me to Newt Gingrich. While many people have, and will continue to throw stones at the former Speaker’s past marriage failures, I am glad that Newt is a man who knows how to repent. After all, isn’t that all that each of us can do? ... Click here to continue reading.


11 Reasons To Worship With Your Family By Jason Helopoulos

Most evangelical Christians are aware of the importance of secret and corporate worship, but fewer have even heard of family worship. What is family worship? It is pretty simple. Tonight, sit down with your family on the couch or at the dinner table. And then . . . pray together, read the Bible together, and sing a great hymn of the faith together. There are many reasons for doing family worship, but let us just mention a handful.  Click here to continue reading.

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah