What Makes a Bad Word Bad?

Paul Tripp examines language and the standard we are held to as believers.

Please note there is some coarse language used to make his point, so if you are easily offended, you've been warned.



HT: Seth McBee

How Would You Answer Larry King's Question?

You might have seen this video clip of Joel Osteen on Larry King Live before. If not, take a minute and listen real quick:



I think most Christians would agree that he didn't do the best job of answering that question (he actually agreed with that as well, and issued an apology back then), but what would you have said if you were put on the spot like that?

Kevin DeYoung, after qualifying that Osteen was in a tough position, takes that on with a fantastic response:

Here’s what I wish Osteen would have said:

"You know, Larry, that’s a huge question. On one level it’s hard to answer because it feels like a trap. ‘Will he or won’t he condemn everyone to hell?’ Well, it’s not my place to give the final evaluation for anyone. And I don’t want to sit here and say that I deserve to go to heaven more than someone else.

"Because the fact of the matter is none of us can merit heaven. God is holy and we are not. No matter how sincere we are or how many good things we do, we can’t begin to approach the purity and perfection of God. So we need a Mediator, a go-between.

"The Bible teaches that God sent his Son to be our Mediator. He lived the life we couldn’t and died the death meant for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says he was counted as sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. This great exchange is only possible by faith. Even Jesus said that those who don’t believe in him stand condemned already.

"And not because they don’t believe. God doesn’t punish people for not hearing about Jesus. He punishes us for being sinful sinners, for twisting what he has revealed to us in creation and what our own consciences tell us we should do. Without Christ, there’s no bridge between God and man, there’s no hope for a personal relationship with God, there’s no chance of being forgiven.

"Look, I realize that’s offensive to many people. But our desire is not exclude anyone. That’s why Christians believe in sharing their faith and starting new churches. We want everyone to put their faith in Christ and be his disciples. That’s what Jesus told us to do before he ascended into heaven. But I can’t accept that good Buddhists or sincere Hindus are doing just fine, because I don’t believe Jesus is someone’s personal God. I believe he is God. He is more than a personal Lord. He is the Lord over everyone and everything whether they recognize it or not. I can’t fully honor Christ if I pretend he is just one option among many. To say what I think your viewers want me to say would be to deny all that I believe is glorious, precious, and unique about Christ.

"See, the good news is Jesus is not just my personal Savior. He is the Savior of the world. That means he’s not my possession that I try to monopolize. No, he possesses everything and will gladly forgive all who turn to him in faith and repentance. Apart from Christ, no one can be right with God, no Hindus, no Buddhists, no Muslims, least of all this sinful pastor. But in Christ, there is salvation, joy, and new life for all who believe."

Page CXVI - Free Hymns Album Download

I posted on this last week, but now you can head over to the Page CXVI website to download the their first hymns album for free. This is only available this week.

Here's the tracklist from the first album:

1. Come Thou Fount
2. In Christ Alone
3. My Jesus I Love Thee
4. When I Survey The Wonderful Cross
5. Nothing But the Blood
6. Solid Rock
7. Joy

This is to help promote the second hymns album from Page CXVI, which you can pre-order starting today (you can also get an instant download as well).

I highly recommend checking out both the free first album and getting the new one. The first one was fantastic and I'm sure the second will be more of the same. Head over and get it now.

Music Video of the Week: Jonny Lang

Going back a way's for this one. Jonny Lang is one of my favorites. Amazing guitar player, fantastic voice. This is from his debut album when he was only 15 years old.

"Lie to Me"

Latest Update from Matt Chandler (w/ Lauren)

New Page CXVI Hymns Album

I was a big fan of Page CXVI's first hymns project, with their great renditions of "Come Thou Fount," "In Christ Alone," "Nothing But The Blood," "Solid Rock," and others. Now, they are back with round 2.

I received the following email this week. Pretty excited about this.

This will be the 1st of 4 new Page CXVI hymn albums released over the next 2 years. We are already well into the recording process for the rest of the albums and can’t wait to spread the hymns to churches around the world.

You will be able to purchase the new album on April 27th and pre-order physical copies that will be sent out May 4th. Wholesale orders for your churches bookstore will also be available at a discounted rate through the website as well. All downloads will include the official chord charts with correct CCLI numbers for each song.

If you have friends who have not heard of Page CXVI they will have a chance to download the first hymns album for one week starting April 27th.

Drum roll please. And now for the song list for the new album...

1. How Great Thou Art

2. Praise To The Lord

3. Jesus I Am Resting, Resting

4. Rock Of Ages

5. Abide With Me

6. Battle Hymn Of The Republic

7. Doxology

Check out more info at their website, and follow them on twitter at @PageCXVI.

Book Recommendation: Stuff Christians Like

So with things pretty hectic around here right now, I don't have the time to write a formal book review on this, but I wanted to recommend that all Christians go out and get the book Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff. If you're unfamiliar with him, Acuff decided to create a Christian version of the site stuffwhitepeoplelike.com. StuffChristiansLike.net was born.

The posts at the site are hilarious satire (except on "Serious Wednesdays"), and Acuff's wit and observational humor will have you rolling. For example, you may have heard of "The Christian Side-Hug," which "eliminates any chance of two crotches touching." Or you were taught the magic word to use before all other words in prayer to make them effective: "just." Or you've ever fallen in love on a missions trip and then broke up when you got back. Or maybe you really did think the sex on your honeymoon was going to be better than the second coming of Christ. Or you just love Crock-Pots.

These kinds of ideas were turned into a book, which encompasses a lot of posts from the site and maintains the short blog-esque style.

I bought the paperback book, but my wife and I listened to the audiobook format (which, incidentally is the free book of the month at christianaudio.com), which is read by Acuff himself. The material itself is great, but Acuff's delivery really adds that extra level to me. His dry, witty tone is perfect for the book, and my wife and I were routinely rolling.

I would highly recommend this book, both for the entertainment value, as well as the insightful look at some of the ridiculousness that is American Christianity. Some of it deserves to be mocked, and truth is communicated in ways that might actually wake some people up (or enrage them...). Either way, it's good to laugh at ourselves, and as you'll find out in this book, we provide an ample amount of material.

Being a Godly Husband and Father

Owen Strachen at The Gospel Coalition blog posted some points from Bruce Ware's talk to his church on being a faithful husband and father. As someone who fits both the husband and father categories, I'm always looking for resources from grizzled, proven, faithful vets to help me improve and grow in both roles God has given me. I found these points very helpful and thought I'd share.

These are from the handout given before Ware's talk:

1. Love. 1) Loving God increasingly w/ all my heart, soul, mind and strength; loving Christ and the cross; loving the gospel — these are the foundation for all else. Drawing from God all I need to be the man and husband God has called me to be is my strength and hope. 2) Loving my wife as Christ loves the Church — this is the umbrella principle for marriage; everything else flows from this responsibility and privilege (Eph 5:25ff).
2. Leadership. Biblical manhood involves cultivating, embracing, and exercising leadership initiative, especially spiritual leadership initiative. This is a principle that applies to young men and adult single men just as well as to married men. Cultivate, embrace, and exercise spiritual leadership initiative. In marriage, my love for my wife involves and requires that I exert leadership in our relationship. My headship of my wife means I’m responsible for her spiritual growth and well-being. And as a father, I’m responsible in ways that my wife is not for the spiritual development of our children (Eph 6:1-4). And again, to do this, I must be seeking God and growing personally. Only out of the storehouse of my own soul’s growth in God can I assist my wife to grow spiritually.
3. Example. Lead by example as much as by admonition and instruction. Set the example in: consistent times in the Word and prayer; in sacrificial service for your wife, children, church family members, and community needs; in giving faithfully, generously, and regularly of your finances; in humble admission of wrong-doing along with confession, asking forgiveness, and repentance. Fight pride, fight defensiveness, fight carnality before others.
4. Authority. All three points above imply and invoke the concept of male-headship. Yes, God has given special authority to husbands and fathers. Learn, though, the correct expression of healthy, constructive, upbuilding, God-honoring, Christ-following authority. Resist and reject the sinful extremes of 1) harshness, bossiness, mean-spirited authoritarianism, and of 2) laziness, apathy, lethargy, negligence, and abdication of authority to the women in our lives. Learn to blend firmness with gentleness, truth with grace, a firm hand with a warm smile.
5. Acceptance. Each of us is unique as God has made us. We should accept others’ differences w/o thinking ourselves to be either superior or inferior to others. In marriage, my wife is unique, and so in many ways, she is not like me. I need to accept who she is, prayerfully and sensitively seeking to assist her in changing what is sinful and needs to be changed, and accepting what is “just different.”
6. Listening. One of my wife’s biggest and most real needs is my attentive and respectful listening ear. She loves to share her experiences, thoughts, ideas, feelings, concerns, hurts, joys, etc. I can minister to my wife more than one might think by offering her caring, responsive, and respectful listening and interaction. Learn to listen sympathetically w/o rushing to “fix it” solutions. Connect first heart to heart, then later heart to head. Establish regular times of mutual sharing (yes, mutual), keep short accounts, and act on what you hear and learn.
7. Understanding. I need to live with my wife in an understanding way (1 Pet 3:7), to learn her needs, her sensitivities. I should seek to know the desires and felt needs of my wife and, when appropriate and possible, fulfill these. I need to discover her “language of love” and make every effort to love her in ways she feels loved.
8. Work. A man’s main sense of identity, responsibility, and purpose is found in his work. Wives want to take pride in their husbands, and taking pride in their work is an important part of this. Women are not meant to bear the financial weight of a marriage or family, so husbands must work hard and responsibly. As important as work is to a man’s identity and fulfillment, we must not allow work to overshadow our commitment to and time with our wives first, and also to our children. Work hard, work well, work to the honor of Christ, and then put work to rest.
9. Sexuality. My wife is my only legitimate sexual experience, and I am hers. So, learning to love sexually with increasing skill and pleasure is vitally important to the satisfaction and intimacy of our marriage. See human sexuality for what it is — the good gift of God to be experienced in marriage, as God has designed.
10. Home. She cares much about our home. The “honey-do” list is far more important to her than she is likely to let on. In love for her, I must pay attention to her requests and treat them as important. But more important even than this is cultivating the “culture” and “ethos” of our home. Develop an atmosphere of appreciation, respect, kindness, service, holiness, happiness, gratefulness, contentment, forgiveness — all as expressions of our love for God and one another.

You can also listen to the audio from the talk or download it.

Music Video of the Week: Owl City

Owl City - "Vanilla Twilight"

Matt Chandler & C.J. Mahaney at T4G

So grateful to God for these men. This is extremely powerful in multiple places, especially the prayers of these men of God.



What a fantastic picture...

Pastoring Your Family

I found this post at The Resurgence by Justin Hyde very helpful. It's about leading your family as a husband and father, 2 very difficult jobs. How do you point and lead your family towards Christ and teach them the truths of the gospel? Here are Justin's 10 points.

1. Routine
2. Intentional Evenings
3. Time To Play
4. Mealtime
5. Cleanup
6. Bible Time
7. Questions & Answers
8. Family Prayer
9. Bedtime
10. Explicit & Implicit

The whole post is definitely worth reading, but I particularly found the section on Intentional Evenings helpful and convicting:

I get home from work between 5:30PM and 5:45PM each night. But I have to prepare myself before 5:30PM so that I can hit the ground running when I walk in the door. Though I am invariably tired from my day's work, I have to remind myself that the most important part of my vocation happens after 5:30PM, not before. I am tempted to mentally "clock out" on my drive home, which would be easy. Yet I have to consciously prepare myself to give more energy, more attention, and more dedicated focus as soon as I walk through the door and am greeted by my 5 year old son, 3 year old daughter, newborn son, and wife than I have all day. This takes prayer, practice, and intentionality. It's easy to fail.

Husbands/dads, don't clock-out on your way home; be ready to be present and engaged; don't let your kids or wife expect to hear your formulaic: "I'm tired;" turn your phone off (I recently read something like this: "If you touched your wife as much as you touch your iPhone your marriage would be in a much better spot."); cancel your cable TV; repent of your addiction to new projects, hobbies, and distractions.

And this, from the concluding section:

The legitimacy of your "devotion time" is only as solid as the legitimacy of your devotional life. In other words, I reap the rich spiritual benefits at 7:30PM each night because I tilled the soil that morning, during the day, at dinner, and so on. Quality time doesn't replace quantity. In fact, you can only enjoy the quality because you've invested in the quantity. The implicit is the foundation that sustains the rest, only most people don't see the foundation so it's easy to ignore.

Gospel 101

Do you (or your church) fall into the trap of over-emphasizing or only emphasizing 1 of these 3 perspectives of the gospel?

1. The Kingdom aspect
2. The cross/bible/truth aspect
3. The heart/devotional/passionate aspect

Great video from Sojourn Church in Louisville talking about the danger of settling into only 1 of these 3 camps at the exclusion or at least reduction of the others.



HT: JT (via @jonmcintosh)

Sin Is Bigger Than Logic, But Not Grace...

I love the site, stuffchristianslike.net. It's fantastic site by Jonathan Acuff that uses satire to mock things about Christians that are strange and hilarious. I recently got the book Jonathan wrote and have been listening to the audio book with my wife (which incidentally is free this month at christianaudio.com). It's hysterical and has had my wife and I rolling at times.

Most of the posts/essays are satirical and humorous, but on "serious Wednesdays" Jonathan will throw out something pretty profound, which was the case yesterday with this post. The premise was that logic cannot defeat sin.

“Logic can beat sin.”

I wish that were true. I wish that in the battle of sin vs. logic or sin vs. rational action, sin always lost. That would make life so much easier. When faced with a dilemma, you could just pull out some algorithm and avoid sin altogether. “Should I gossip about my friend? That might get back to her and really hurt her feelings. Logically, I should avoid the drama that would come with that. I won’t gossip.” Or, “Should I cheat on my wife? The minutes of pleasure are certainly not going to be worth the possible years of hurt that causes. The value of cheating is far less than the value of growing my marriage over the long run, I’m not going to cheat.”

But life doesn’t work that way, does it? Men across the planet know their wives will be hurt by alcoholism. Dads around the world know ignoring their kids through workaholism is wounding them. People everywhere know that buying things they can’t afford with money they don’t have isn’t the smartest financial decision in the long run. But we still do it, don’t we?

Why? Because sin is bigger than logic.

I can’t think my way to a pure heart. I can’t logic my way toward sanctification. I can’t will myself to redemption. Sin is bigger and meaner and more powerful than everything in the world except one thing, grace. Only grace can beat sin. Only God’s love and power can defeat it. Porn or gossip or lying or anything else sin entices you with will crush you if you put your trust in your logic.

When we try to beat sin with logic, sin says “That’s adorable.” On the other hand, when we surrender, and admit like Paul that we keep doing the things we don’t want to do, grace has room to step in. And grace can win.

Grace and grace alone.

Music Review: Luminate - EP

Genre: Worship/Rock
Label: Sparrow
Release Date: March 23, 2010

Rating: 4/5

I’m normally not a big fan of EPs, especially not from new bands. My feeling has always been, if a band is really worth my time, why didn’t the record company think they were worth making a whole album? Every now and then, though, you get surprised as a band really comes out of nowhere to hit you with some real musical talent and potential. That’s the case with Luminate’s self-title debut. I’m not sure why we only have an EP from these guys, but here’s hoping for more from them very soon.

The band cites influences from U2, The Fray, Switchfoot, and the Killers. A combination of those bands is a good way to think of Luminate’s sound. They don’t sound exactly like any of them, but you can hear the inspirations coming through here and there. My favorite song was “Shine (Love is an Action),” which is an anthem for the church to live out the love of Christ in the world set over some atmospheric guitars that lead to a soaring chorus where lead singer Sam Hancock sings, “Shine, love is an action / Shine, starts with a passion / cause we want to be a heart that’s pure / so all we see that we are yours / Shine.”

“My God” follows and features an interesting guitar riff and syncopated drums and praises God for His mercy as we return to Him as the Prodigal Son returned home. The band slows down things with “Miracle.” These are some fantastic lyrics. As we wait for Christ to do something amazing for us, we need to realize He already has. Hancock sings, “I’m waiting on a miracle / Yes, I’m praying for Your Spirit, come / Oh, I’m waiting on a miracle / And You’re the One / You’re the One.” “Hear Our Cry” and “Fearlessly” round out the EP with similarly solid lyrics over pleasant melodies.

My only real negative with this album is that it’s only 6 songs. I really was left wanting more. The sound of the band isn’t anything completely new, but the songwriting is very strong. They seem to know who they are already and are comfortable with that. Despite their influences, they’re not trying to be anyone. This is just modern anthems of worship. They write from the heart with praise for God. Add to that some serious musicality and it’s a great match. Looking forward to more from these guys.



*This album was provided for review by Sparrow Records.

Book Review: Greg Gilbert - What Is The Gospel?

Genre: Christian Living/Theology
Publisher: Crossway/9Marks
Publication Date: April 1, 2010

“What is the gospel?” The answer to this question might seem obvious to some, although they might have a hard time really explaining it clearly. Others, influenced by post-modern thought or new-age spirituality, might define the gospel (if they think it can be defined at all) with vague terms about the Kingdom of God or the redemption of the world that leave the hearer wondering what exactly they are really espousing. There are a plethora of “versions” of the gospel out there, and it’s vital that we understand and can explain the true one, because, as Greg Gilbert points out in his new book What Is The Gospel, “An emaciated gospel leads to emaciated worship” (p. 20).

This superb little book is probably the clearest, most concise, yet thorough explanation of the gospel I’ve seen. Gilbert takes on many of the false versions of the gospel, but he only does so via clear articulation of the biblical truth. After establishing the bible as our authority when it comes to defining the gospel, the chapters simply walk through the biblical narrative:

• God the Righteous Creator
• Man the Sinner
• Jesus Christ the Savior
• Response – Faith and Repentance
• The Kingdom

He also takes on those who would want to diminish Christ’s cross and has a final chapter on the power of the gospel and our response to it as believers.

As Gilbert walks through these issues, clearly showing the bible’s teaching, he also tackles some of the subtle ways that people have subverted and distorted (intentionally or otherwise) the true gospel. For example, did Christ die to save us from our sins or from the effects of sin? Is sin simply a broken relationship with God or is it “traitorous rebellion” against our King that required Christ’s death to fix it? How do we gain access to the “Kingdom of God?” There are subtle differences in how we answer these questions that can have a giant impact on how we view and worship God, and ultimately whether or not we’re even Christians. Gilbert tackles the tough questions head on, providing gentle, yet firm corrections where needed.

This book has great potential as an evangelistic tool as one cannot read it and fail to hear the true gospel. For believers, it can serve as a great means to learn how to articulate the truths of the gospel better. It’s a simple message, really, but one that we need to make sure we have right. After all, if we don’t get the gospel right, everything else is ultimately pointless.

Music Review: Amy Grant - "Somewhere Down The Road"

Genre: Pop
Label: Sparrow
Release Date: March 30, 2010

Rating: 4/5

I grew up on Amy Grant. To this day, just the sound of her voice conjures up an amazing feeling of security and comfort for me. The smooth contours of her familiar vocalizations set over a beautifully professional CCM sound does it every time. To this day, “Lead Me On,” “Angels Watching Over Me,” “Oh How The Years Go By,” “El Shaddai,” "Thy Word" and other songs have a strange nostalgic magic over me, despite the fact that Amy Grant’s pop sensibilities are nowhere near my style musically now.

That made listening to her newest album, Somewhere Down The Road, a strangely beautiful experience for me. It’s hard to differentiate the current experience of the music from the pleasant feeling of being transported to my youth. I’ve come to the conclusion that the positive experience was both. Amy Grant is simply back, and this is a very positive thing for the industry.

“Better Than A Hallelujah” is a stellar opener, dealing with an honest look at life’s struggles and being authentic in our praise to God through these situations. Grant sings, “We pour out our miseries / God just hears a melody / Beautiful the mess we are / the honest cries of breaking hearts / Are better than a hallelujah.” The understated instrumentation makes this a powerful song. “Overnight,” a duet with Grant’s daughter Sarah, is vintage Amy Grant and shows that the talent was definitely passed on.

One of my favorite songs on the album is the pensive “Unafraid.” It deals with how faith in God can help us face all of life’s challenges without fear. Grant sings of her husband and children, and her discussion of her mother’s aging (“She just says heaven’s getting closer each day”) gave me chills.

Most of the album is very mellow (other than the fantastic, Sheryl Crow-esque “What is the Chance of That”), and there’s a maturity that’s a welcomed change in CCM. Whereas most new albums are shallow and lacking any real honesty and life-experience behind the lyrics, Grant puts herself out there, singing her doubts, fears, and faith with a confidence that comes from walking with the Lord through challenges and coming out the other side. There’s a somber, humble-yet-confident victorious feeling in many of the songs (see “Hard Times” and the title track).

The 12-track album includes 6 new songs, 2 previously unreleased songs, a new version of the classic “Arms of Love,” and 3 old songs that fit the vibe of the album well. Amy Grant has been one of the few constants in CCM over the past 3 decades, and it’s so great to hear new music from her and to hear her at the place where she is. Her trials have been well-documented, but she has persevered from teen musical phenom to seasoned vet in the industry beautifully. Here’s hoping we still have much more to hear from her.



*This album was provided for review by Sparrow Records.

Music Video of the Week - Sandra McCracken

Sandra McCracken - "In Feast or Fallow (Acoustic)"

Music Review: Robbie Seay Band - "Miracle"

Genre: Worship/Rock
Label: Sparrow
Release Date: March 23, 2010

Rating: 4/5

The challenge to stand out in the rock/worship genre is becoming increasingly difficult. The line between a straight worship album and crossing over into radio-friendly rock is blurring, and there are plenty of bands (such David Crowder Band and others) vying to occupy this space. It takes something distinctive to rise above the din here.

Robbie Seay Band, while not standing high above the rest, has at least cemented their spot among the genre's leaders with their latest, Miracle.

I didn’t necessarily have this opinion after the first couple of songs (“Love Invades” and “Awaken My Soul”). Although these are fine enough worship songs, there was nothing to really catch my attention. Then came “Kingdom and a King.” This powerful call to serve the “least of these” avoids doing so at the expense of the redemption aspect of the gospel. Robbie Seay’s beautifully raspy voice sings, “For the kingdom and the king / for his glory we will sing / for the rescue of our souls he has come / for the kingdom and the cross / oh the triumph and the loss / love has broken through and now redeemed / for the kingdom and the king.” Powerful.

From here, the band continues to shine on “Crazy Love,” which discusses how the grace of God can help redeem and restore our relationships, and on a stellar cover of Jon Foreman’s “Your Love Is Strong.” “Let Our Faith Be Not Alone” is also powerful, with its chorus-echo that emphasizes that a faith that is alone is useless.

The album loses a little steam towards the end (although I enjoyed the closer “Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go”), but overall, this is a strong worship album that seeks to glorify God and does so while pleasing the ears and heart at the same time. There’s still room for improvement and to push things musically a little more, but I find myself continually coming back to this album for encouragement and to re-orient my focus towards God. That’s about the best praise I can give a worship album in my view.



*This album was provided for review by Sparrow Records.

Come Awake

I know this is a little late for Easter, but it's still powerful. From Igniter Media:

Music Review: Stellar Kart - "Everything Is Different Now"

Genre: Pop/Worship/Rock
Label: INO
Release Date: March 9, 2010

Rating: 3.5/5

The 4th release from the “punk” rock band Stellar Kart, Everything Is Different Now, sees the band moving even further from the “punk” aspect and more towards a worship/pop sound, and the results are pretty solid if somewhat mixed. “All My Heart” kicks things off pretty well with a piano intro that launches into an upbeat worship song with soaring melodies. Newcomers to the band who appreciate this style will likely find quite a bit to like here.

A cover of Fee’s “We Shine” follows, which is an odd choice only because they chose to hardly change anything about the song. It sounds pretty much like an alternate mix by Fee. I like the song, but I wish they would have changed it up more. “Something Holy” was probably my favorite song on the album. It combines some programmed drums, layered guitars, and an anthem-like chorus that proclaims, “We were born to be a part of something holy / all of us are restless till we find / we were born to be a part of something holy / bigger than you and I / bigger than all our lives.” I thoroughly enjoyed this song.

The album contains a few other covers including “Spirit in the Sky” (solid and interesting cover), Matt Redman’s “You Never Let Go” (enjoyable but again not much different than the original), and Audio Adrenaline’s “Until My Heart Caves In” (with some fantastic vocals).

Overall, I found the album quite enjoyable if overly familiar in many places. It’s instantly memorable in the way that you feel like you’ve heard the songs before, but almost in a good way, if that makes sense. There’s nothing new here, but it’s not trying to be new. It’s just power-pop-praise music. On that level, it works pretty well.



*This album was provided for review by INO Records.

Love Life

HT: Zach Nielsen

How to Become a Legalist

Mark Driscoll:

Get the New Album From Red Letter for Free

Last week, Re:Sound (the musical arm of The Resurgence), released the first full-length album from the band Red Letter. Here's what Tim Smith, worship leader at Mars Hill Church in Seattle and head of Re:Sound, said about the album:

Re:Sound is very proud to announce the first full-length album from from my old friend Joel Brown and his band Red Letter. Joel has been my closest partner and collaborator at Mars Hill Church for the last 10 years.

Joel is now serving as the worship pastor at Mars Hill Ballard, our largest campus, which has freed me up to help out at another growing campus for this season. You can read more about his story here. It has been a huge blessing to me to see Joel grow from an intern to a pastor and one of the best leaders and songwriters I know anywhere.

I could not recommend a set of songs more strongly.

These 9 songs represent hundreds of hours of writing, refining, and recording, and each has a place in the worshiping life of Mars Hill Church. Red Letter joins lyrics born out of profound gospel reflection with aggressive music that matches the depth and weight of the text. I could not recommend a set of songs more strongly. Check it out today at Re:Sound. You can also see Joel and Red Letter streaming live all Easter Sunday as they lead at Mars Hill Ballard.

I would also highly recommend these songs. It's a fantastic mix of rock and worship, all aimed at glorifying God. And it's FREE through Noisetrade. My favorites are "Led To The Slaughter," "My God, My Father," and "You Have Opened My Mouth." You can listen to full samples and get the album at no cost (or for whatever donation you'd like to make) in exchange for your email. That's it. Enjoy.

Baseball is Here!

Baseball season is officially upon us. By far my favorite sport to watch and follow. My Braves got off to a great start yesterday, drubbing the Cubs 16-5. New 20-year-old phenom right fielder Jason Heyward even hit a 3-run mammoth HR in his first major league at bat.



Things are good. The Beautiful Marathon has begun.

The best play of the day, though, had to be Mark Buehrle of the White Sox. The video isn't the greatest quality, but this might seriously be the best play I've ever seen. Baseball's back!

Music Video of the Week: The Letter Black

The Letter Black - "Hanging On By A Thread"

The Power of the Cross

As you celebrate Christ's resurrection and triumph over death, consider what was accomplished on the cross. The resurrection is the validation that we do "stand forgiven at the cross." Christ's death has satisfied God's wrath.

Keith and Kristyn Getty - "The Power of the Cross"

The Cup of Christ - C.J. Mahaney

I've linked to this before, but Zach Nielsen posted it today and it feels so incredibly powerful on this day. Great reminder of what Christ faced in the garden and on the cross.

Good Friday

If you don't have the ability to attend a church tonight, or just want to watch this interesting service, Mars Hill Church in Seattle is streaming their Good Friday service. They are showing a 30 minute movie they made depicting the horror and pain of Christ's crucifixion. Here's a trailer:



From their website:

Good Friday is a day of remembrance when, as Christians, we solemnly reflect on the death of our Savior Jesus on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It is a sober reminder of what we did to God before our joyous celebration of what God did for us—resurrect from death and conquer Satan, sin, and death—on Easter Sunday.

“No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
- Jesus Christ (John 10:18)

Find a local campus and service time near you and join us on April 2nd.

Watch online and catch a live webcast of our new Good Friday film, if you are unable to attend a service in person.

What's Your Theory on LOST?

My wife and I have Netflix, which has enabled us to watch the series LOST, starting with season 1, up through the present, over the last 3 months. I think we're pretty lucky to experience it this way. We remember (pretty much) everything that's happened, and if we were frustrated at the end of one episode, we could just watch another. Now that we're caught up, I feel everyone's pain when no questions are answered each episode.

The amount of theories about what exactly is going on with the island and the alternate reality is astounding, but here is a pretty good compilation by Trevin Wax of some of them. There's plenty of biblical themes, philosophical ponderings, and assertions that we're just being messed with.

Trevin Wax:

• Chris Seay thinks it’s about Jacob and Esau, a theory I’ve long considered, although I’m wavering now.
• Amy Hall on the show’s vacillation between a God of grace and a God of judgment.
• Nancy Guthrie on the show’s portrayal of earning forgiveness.
• Philip thinks the show is telling the mythological story of Lilith. This proposal has some merit.
• Oscar Dahl thinks that the point of LOST is that there is no point. We’re all lost.
• Here’s what I think. This show better not end with someone waking up from a bad dream. That worked for Newhart. But I think I would pull my hair out if it’s the ending of LOST.

What's your take? Can't wait to find out what's happening, assuming they actually have a solid ending. I'll be really disappointed if they don't.