Persecution: A price to pay for being a Christian?

Is this what we can expect in the not too distant future here in America?

A testimony of Dr Daniel Wong, a professor at The Master's College, who faced persecutions as a Christian first hand from Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution in China.

(John MacArthur) I am absolutely 100% convinced that the weakness of the church in America, the superficiality of the church, the shallowness of the church, the hypocrisy of the church is directly related to the absence of any cost or any price to be paid to be a Christian. If you dont have to pay a price, heh, just jump on the bandwagon. If persecution came to America, you see a very different kind of Christianity. A whole lot of people who are really good to talk about Jesus wont be talking about Jesus any more. Who profess to know Jesus and to be part of the church, they will stop talking very fast if the price was as high as it is for some people.

http://www.gty.org/videos

Do You Desire God? – Paul Washer

A Paul Washer sermon jam on the simple truth that if your truly in Christ you will desire Him! I'll Be Honest, will you? www.illbehonest.com Grace Community Church San Antonio, Texas www.gccsatx.com

THE NEW DOWNGRADE CREATES NO CONTROVERSY TODAY

Good read!

Once Upon A Time, In A Place Far Away, Proper Doctrine Used To Matter To The Church

This apostasy continues to grow; the spiritual blindness becomes darker, and mainstream evangelicalism has largely rejected Sola Scriptura in favor of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism and for spiritual adultery with the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC). And so we’ve now reached the exact same place in the visible church as that once encountered by Charles Haddon Spurgeon with the encroaching liberals in the Baptist Union of his day.

Read the rest of this post by Ken Silva
http://apprising.org/2009/07/the-new-downgrade-creates-no-controversy-today/

The Wonder of it All! (Jeff Noblit)

Repentance, salvation, grace, and forgiveness are very often terms that are confused by many. Here, Jeff Noblit drives home why these theological terms are not just theological terms but a true blessing for the believer in Christ.

Charo Washer’s Testimony – Paul Washer’s Wife

I posted an interview with John MacArthur about a letter he received from a listener who after 10 years in the ministry stopped believing in God. It's so hard to understand how that can happen. Perhaps Charo Washer's Testimony can make it more clear. Here's a woman who after serving for 12 years as a missionary, the Lord saved her soul in 2004. She was hearing her husband, Paul Washer, preach on examining yourself. For 12 years she was self-deceived into believing she was a Christian and then God saved her. I believe there are so many in the church who are deceived as she was. Some abandon the faith like John MacArthur's listener. Many continue in a false sense of hope and when they die, are greeted by the Lord's words: "I never knew you" and some, praise God, are saved as was the case with Charo Washer.

What Has Happen to America and What is the Solution?

Returning to the Word of God

Dr. Michael Youssef does not hold back in this passionate clarion call of what is expected of the church of Jesus Christ in these perilous times. The persecution of Christians is increasing rapidly throughout the world as well as in America. Our country is moving away from its Biblical anchor and the majority of pulpits in America have gone weak and refuse to mention sin, the cross and the inerrancy of Scripture. Dr. Youssef offers an analysis and a plan of action for the remnant. God’s people need to drop to their knees and then rise up and contend for the Word of God.

Re-posted from: http://www.worldviewtimes.com/

What about Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist, and Jewish people?

Is Jesus the only way as he claimed in the Bible? "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6

John Piper puts the record straight in an extract from a sermon titled - “Not in This or That Mount, But in Spirit and Truth” John 4:16-30.

A Call to Wonder - Paul Washer

This is awesome, a must see!
This video was found on HeartCry's vimeo page... All Glory to God!

Emerging Towards Convergence

Wow! This article really puts all the pieces of the Emergent Church puzzle together! A must read!

By Sarah H. Leslie

The Emergent/Emerging Church movement is heading towards a crash collision with the New Age movement. In fact, it may already be happening before our very eyes. The Discernment Research Group has reached the inescapable conclusion that this is intentional and it has been planned for over a generation.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/07/emergence-towards-convergence.html

Ray Yungen Contemplative Prayer Preview

This is the really scary stuff that is slipping into the church today!

Ray Yungen presents the framework of the contemplative prayer life from the desert fathers and explains how some of today's Christian leaders are endorsing this same method in today's generation. Did they find something to benefit the body of Christ, or unlock dangerous occult practices of the past?

When Believers Stop Believing: Portrait of an Apostate

Very sobering interview!

"...it’s the letter you never want to get. It’s the story you never want to hear. You want to believe that anybody exposed to the truth of the gospel over a prolonged period of time, deeply exposed to it by listening to CDs and reading books and being ten years in the ministry, is going to continually discover the ever-increasingly glorious truth. You don’t want to believe that somebody who is listening to teaching and reading books and ministering and studying and sharing the gospel is finding it has diminishing returns and ultimately ends up an apostate. That seems completely counter to what we believed to be true about the essence of divine truth that it becomes richer and richer and more fulfilling and more wonderful all the time. So this is the kind of reverse of that, that’s very hard to understand." -John MacArthur

Read or listen to the interview with John MacArthur here:

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/GTY119

‘Gospel Entertainment’ Company Continues To Expand Vision

by Ingrid Schlueter

“Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice. The result is that we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.”"
— Neil Postman

I was walking past a big video display at a National Religious Broadcasters convention in Indianapolis just as the Sunday “worship” services were being announced. It was announced that “entertainment” during worship would be provided by Cece Winans. I wondered if even one other person walking by saw the idea of worship and entertainment as incompatible. The authors of this press release saw no contradiction in terms as they promote their “Gospel Entertainment” company.

Years ago, Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death described a culture where no tyrannical leader would have to ban books. Books would no longer be a threat because the entertainment obsessed culture would remove anyone’s desire to ever pick up a book. We are there now, and not just in secular culture, but among evangelicals who long ago abandoned any taste for the deep things of God. As my earlier post pointed to the crude, puerile foolishness of the Saddleback improv comedy group, who would want to study the Scriptures and delve into doctrine when potty jokes are so much more fun

Re-post from: http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/

Gimme That Showtime Religion

John MacArthur

Can the church fight apathy and materialism by feeding people's appetite for entertainment? Evidently many in the church believe the answer is yes, as church after church jumps on the show-business bandwagon. It is a troubling trend that is luring many otherwise orthodox churches away from biblical priorities.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A163

Why and How I Am Tweeting by John Piper

Good read!

Why and How I Am Tweeting :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

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The Gospel Summary

The Gospel Summary from bob mata on Vimeo.

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15

The Persecution and Endurance of Christians

We know Christians are being persecuted all over the world. For the most part here in the U.S., Christians have been insulated from persecution but there are many indications that this is about to change.

Watch John MacArthur talk about

The Persecution and Endurance of Christians, Pt 1

Luke 21:12-19

"...Human life will also in a very particular way be defined by a third component...distress, and in particular distress of Christian believers by persecution. Distress of Christian believers by persecution, look at verse 12. And I believe this would have been the hardest thing for them to comprehend. But before all these things, before nations start making war with other nations, before kingdoms start taking on kingdoms and you have wars stretching across the globe, before massive earthquakes, great plagues, great famines, terrors from the sky, all of these kinds of things, before that...in other words, most immediately this is what will happen. “They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My namesake.” Persecution of the disciples of Christ. That very group to whom He was speaking, which certainly included the Twelve and perhaps some others who were true followers of Jesus, the first thing that’s going to happen is the opposite of what you would expect. This is so shocking to them..." -John MacArthur

Husbands and Fathers

Over the past week I have been listening to several sermons by Paul Washer on husbands and fathers. I know that I haven't been the model husband and father but after listening to these sermons I realize now how much I have fallen short of what God intends for us.

I urge you who are husbands and fathers (or even those who expect to be someday) to listen to these sermons. It will be a wakeup call for those who are serious about being conformed to the image of Christ. -Art

The Bishop Discovers Heresy?

Because truth has become relative even in the church, most believe there is no such thing as heresy.

Albert Mohler writes: "the only heresy recognized in much of liberal Protestantism is the heresy of believing in the possibility of heresy. This is not only a matter of observation -- it is a declaration proudly made by many, who declare the categories of heresy and orthodoxy to be both It'sout of date and out of style."

Read the full article here:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=4129

What Is Biblical Repentance?

Repentance is not mentioned very much these days and if it is, it is grossly misunderstood. John MacArthur does a good job explaining what true repentance is in this short essay.

What is Biblical Repentance - John MacArthur

Repentance is no more a meritorious work than its counterpart, faith. It is an inward response. Genuine repentance pleads with the Lord to forgive and deliver from the burden of sin and the fear of judgment and hell. It is the attitude of the publican who, fearful of even looking toward heaven, smote his breast and cried, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" (Luke 18:13). Repentance is not merely behavior reform. But because true repentance involves a change of heart and purpose, it inevitably results in a change of behavior.

Read the rest of the article here:

What Is Biblical Repentance? :: Grace to You

HIRED SHEPHERDS

Read the followup commentary from last week's Christian Pimps by Coach Dave Daubenmire

There has always been a true elite of God’s leaders. They are the meek who inherit the earth (Mat. 5:5). They weep and pray in secret, and defy earth and hell in public. They tremble when faced with danger, but die in their tracks sooner than turn back. They are like a shepherd defending his sheep or a mother protecting her young. They sacrifice without grumbling, give without calculation, suffer without groaning. Their price is above riches. They are the salt of the earth. For the cause of the kingdom, we need more of them." (Author unknown.)

http://www.newswithviews.com/Daubenmire/dave161.htm

50 Reasons Why We Are Living in the End Times

By David Reagan

In this keynote presentation filmed before 2,300, Dr. Reagan organizes the Signs of the Times that point to the Lord's return into six categories: the signs of Nature, Society, Religion, World Politics, Technology, and Israel. From these broad categories, he then draws 50 specific signs that clearly indicate we are living on borrowed time in the End Times.

50 Reasons Why We Are Living in the End Times: Part 2

By David Reagan

"I have personally been searching the Bible for years in an effort to identify all the signs that show we are living in the end times and soon return of Jesus Christ. It has not been an easy task to get a hold on them. That's because there are so many of them, both in the Old and New Testaments. I have found that the best way to deal with them is to put them in categories, and in doing that, I have come up with six categories of end time signs. The following are the first two categories."

50 Reasons Why We Are Living in the End Times: Part 2

The Few

Your Best Life: Now or Later? (1 Peter 1:3-5)

"Lately I've had the occasion to fly a lot around the country, preaching here and there. Even though Im here on Sundays, it seems like my weeks have been spent in airports, sometimes for a long time, as Ive had mechanical delays and things like that. And Ive become very much aware of a book that I knew was out there but I see literally all over all the airports that Ive been in, in the last month or so, it has been labeled, at least, the best selling religious book of the time. The title of it is Your Best Life Now. I have seen stacks and stacks and stacks of those books everywhere Ive gone." -John MacArthur

See the video here:
Your Best Life: Now or Later?

A Warning and An Open Invitation

"God's universal love is revealed not only in common grace and His great compassion, but also in His admonition to repent. God is constantly warning the reprobate of their impending fate, and pleading with them to turn away from sin. Nothing demonstrates God's love more than the various warnings throughout the pages of Scripture, urging sinners to flee from the wrath to come." -John MacArthur

Read the rest of this article by John MacArthur here:
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A111

Ten Indictments Against the Modern "Church"

Preached Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at the Revival Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Washer delivers a urgent appeal to the Christians and Churches in North America that many have been believing a false gospel and have false assurance of their salvation. He lists 10 indictments against the modern Church system in America. This is a historical urgent message, tell others and spread the message. We need a reformation and revival of a biblical standard!
- Greg Gordon (Revival Conference Organizer)

Full transcript of this message can be found here.

Osteen vs Washer

Way of the Master Radio played clips of Paul Washer preaching on Total Depravity and then interlaced clips of Joel Osteen talking about his message... what a contrast! The clip is a couple of years old but if you haven't heard it, it's worth a listen!


Also check out this 10 minute Washer on Osteen video.

Saved or Self-Deceived

John MacArthur on Matthew 7:21-27:

"Perhaps this is the most tragic text in all the Bible. The reality is there will be people one day who stand before the Lord, many of them, who will assume that they are about to enter heaven only to be told they’re on their way to hell. This is the worst possible illusion that someone can have, to be mistaken about your eternal destiny, to be mistaken about your salvation."

Watch, read, listen or download part 1 here.
Watch, read, listen or download part 2 here.

Born Again?

"You hear that phrase thrown around a lot these days. Seems like everywhere I go, I run into folks who claim to be "born again." As I wrote in last week's column, who am I to judge the salvation of another." -Coach Dave Daubenmire

Read the full article here.

Take the Bible “seriously, but not literally.”

Listen to Anne Robertson from the Massachusetts Bible Society talk about how she takes the Bible "seriously, but not literally."



This is so typical now of those who call themselves Evangelical. Because truth is relative today and really just a matter of one's opinion the bible becomes not the Word of God but some words about God. People pick the things they like and question or ignore the things they don't. What you have left is a truly "holy" bible.

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. -Jude 1:4

Read the full article by Ken Silva here

Christian Pimps

“Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.” -Sam Pascoe

The title speaks for itself. Good read.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Daubenmire/dave160.htm