OK, here's the scoop. While driving five miles per hour at Lion Country Safari, I allowed Jesse to sit in my lap and Mommy took this incriminating photo. I just wanted him to get a closer view of the wild animals we passed within feet of our van, for instance the lions, rhinos...oh wait...that makes it even worse!
On a side note, Jesse was way more interested in the steering wheel than he was the zebras we'd just passed!
Here is my message from July 20 on John 13:1-17. It will be available online for about one month.
When William Carey served as a missionary to India, one of his chief aims was to translate the Word of God into the many dialects spoken in that vast land. He operated a printing press for this purpose and the amount of translated material was tremendous. On March 11, 1812, a fire ravaged the hall where production was taking place. Ten Bible translations perished entirely. Priceless dictionaries, along with fourteen fonts of oriental type, Hebrew, Greek and English type, steel punches, grammar texts and paper were gone. Years of work and thousands of dollars went up in flames. When Carey arrived at the scene, here's what he said.
The Federal Communications Commission was dealt a blow today when an appeals court decided that it was wrong to fine CBS corporation for its 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Yep, the infamous one in which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's shirt moments after singing "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song." I remember the game, but not the "moment." I was already so offended by the lyrics and choreography of the halftime show that year that I had turned off the TV, so I never saw it. The court stated that the FCC was wrong to fine CBS because the FCC may only issue fines in cases so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience" Not shocking? A sports game displaying nudity that is watched by children is not shocking?
Our courts have ruled that we cannot issue fines for nudity on shows in which children are an expected part of the audience. Tim Winter, of the Parents Television Council, said it best: "If a striptease during the Super Bowl in front of 90 million people— including millions of children—doesn’t fit the parameters of broadcast indecency, then what does?" Those who care about decency must surely fear where this will lead and whether or not the time will come when no Christian who is serious about holiness can have a TV in their home. Until then, Christians need to take control over what enters their home and what reaches their children.
Here is the message I preached July 13 during the AM services at FBCH. It is based upon John 12:37-50. It will be availale online for about one month.
While everyone was talking about Josh Hamilton's record setting Home Run Derby performance Monday night, here's a story that gets the record straight about the real difference in his life...Jesus Christ.
While on vacation, we got to see some of our cousins, both on Joy's side and my side of the family? So, it's pretty obvious which is the crazy side, right?
Above: Brenda, Jesse and Rachel with Joy's cousins in Greenville, South Carolina. Right: Brenda and Jesse with my cousins in Keystone Heights, Florida. Click on photo for larger view.
Here is my message on John 12:27-36, preached recently at FBCH. In this passage, Jesus spoke publicly about his looming death on the cross for the very last time. This sermon will be available for about one month.
WOW! I thought I'd seen fireworks before but not until tonight. Here was our view, only we were actually on the bank of the Saint John's River in downtown Jax. Best seats in the house. About half way through the show, Brenda and Jesse began to shout "We're winning! We're winning!" I don't know who was losing, but we were winning.
Tomorrow morning, we head north for a week of vacation. Our destination is South Carolina. On the way there, we'll drive through Lion Country Safari and stop at Jacksonville, FL to visit family and hopefully catch good fireworks on the fourth. Once in Greenville, we'll be visiting Joy's missionary cousins on leave from Guam and the foreign country called California. I'll be bringing four books: The Bible, The Legacy of William Carey by Vishal Mangalwadi, Islam at the Crossroads by Paul Marshall and Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby. In addition, we're coming equipped with lots of Christian Comedy my wife purchased online and about ten Voddie Baucham sermons for when I'm tired at the wheel and need to get fired up. Keep us in your prayers. I may post from Jacksonville if I get the chance.
Some battles must be fought. One such battle is the battle for marriage taking place in Florida. This November, we will vote on Amendment Two, a citizen sponsored drive to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The following is the article I posted in our church's July Newsletter, The Way.
Napoleon once said that in every battle, there is a fifteen minute window of time when the conflict is at its peak. Whoever wins during that fifteen minutes, he said, wins the battle. In the state of Florida, and across our country for that matter, the “fifteen minute window” is now. There is a battle for the heart and soul of the age old institution created by God known as the family. What is a family? How should we regard the family in society? Is the family a union which revolves around the marriage of a husband and a wife or is the family any combination of any number of people of either gender? And most importantly, why does it matter?
This November, voters will be going to the polls to vote on a number of issues. One of those issues will be an amendment to the Florida constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. “Amendment Two” as it is known is worded as follows: “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.” It could be that the most important issue will not be who we elect to congress or the oval office, but how we decide the issue of family.
As a church, we are not in the business of endorsing candidates. We are forbidden from doing so as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, but more importantly, we are too busy with the great commission to even desire doing so! If I believed that our nation’s problems could be solved with political solutions, I would resign as pastor and run for congress. We have every right, however, to speak out on issues in which Scripture clearly speaks, even when those issues intersect the political realm. As your pastor, I want to plead with you to do your part to see to it that Amendment Two passes this November.
Unfortunately, there is much confusion on this issue. Some see it as denying rights to those who practice homosexuality. In reality, no one is denied a single right by this amendment. This amendment merely keeps activist judges from creating a right which does not exist. Some who actually understand the biblical definition of marriage fail to understand why this should be a public issue. “Isn’t the definition of marriage primarily a religious issue? And as a religious issue, should our religious view of marriage be codified into law?” some will ask. But there are many reasons why marriage should be legally protected. Although marriage is a holy institution created by God, it is also an institution in which there is tremendous public interest. I would like to state a few reasons why.
First of all, marriage should be protected because marriage between a man and woman benefits society. For example, there are thousands of studies that indicate that children do better when they have a mother and a father in the home. These same studies also reveal that children in homes with homosexual “parents” do not fare as well. Simply put, children need a mom and a dad.
You cannot talk about same sex marriage without talking about the well being of children. If same sex marriage becomes law, then all laws banning homosexual or same sex adoption will be struck down. When same sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, one Catholic adoption agency, one of the largest in the nation, had to shut down rather than be forced to facilitate adoptions for homosexual couples.
“But what about divorce?” some will ask. While it is true that many single parents do an admirable job raising children alone, no one can deny that overall, children in single parent homes face struggles that other children do not. The fact that some children must bear this burden does not mean that we should saddle thousands of more children with an additional burden! Furthermore, if same sex marriage becomes legal, no language in your child’s public school sex ed class will be off limits. “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” will be standard reading for elementary students with parents having no recourse except to remove their children from public school altogether.
The state also has an economic interest in promoting traditional marriage. One columnist, Maggie Gallagher, put it this way: “There is scarcely a dollar that state and federal government spends on social programs that is not driven in large part by family fragmentation: Crime, poverty, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school failure, mental and physical health problems.” All of society benefits when traditional marriage is promoted. And by the way, it is common practice for our government to reward behavior which is beneficial. Because home ownership is beneficial to the economy, there are tax breaks for those who buy homes and pay interest and no such breaks for those who pay rent.
Another reason to vote yes on Amendment Two is because of the legal game of dominoes that will follow the legalization of same sex marriage. Once the definition of marriage is changed, there is no legal basis, no authority by which other types of marriage can be banned. As we have seen in the news recently, there are many polygamists in Texas, Utah and other regions of the country who are waiting in the wings. “Who are you to say that the loving union we enjoy is not worthy of respect under the law?” they will ask. “By what legal basis can you say that marriage is the union of only two persons?” Once that threshold is crossed, there is no turning back. This is why in nations where same sex marriage has become law, marriage has essentially become meaningless. Couples no longer marry, they merely co-habitate, because marriage loses its significance.
Perhaps the most disturbing result of same sex marriage is the threat to our religious liberty. Record this in your permanent memory bank: In every country/state where same sex marriage has become law, attempts to criminalize opposition to homosexuality have followed. Churches that speak out on this issue can be fined and their pastors arrested. Churches that do not allow same sex ceremonies on their property can be punished. Do you honestly trust the gay rights crowd when they tell you that they will not take us down this path, that America will be the first nation with same sex marriage to not criminalize opposition to homosexuality?
We are in our fifteen minutes. Of course, we know that the real solution to this dilemma is not simply to fight same sex marriage. Our battle plan is to lovingly reach out to homosexuals with the hope of the gospel and teach them how to experience real, Biblical change. My friend Tim Wilkins is a former homosexual who has helped hundreds, if not thousands of homosexuals find freedom in Christ. As Tim often says of this issue, “We need less heat and more light.” Yes, we should vote to protect traditional marriage. Yes, we should love homosexuals, even those who will not return that love. It’s not an either/or proposition. It is both.
In the weeks and months ahead, our church will be providing materials outlining even more reasons why we should adopt Amendment Two. I encourage you to take these materials and share them with others. And I look forward to the day when my red car is not the only one with a “Yes on 2” bumper sticker in our parking lot on Sunday morning! I ask you to register to vote, encourage everyone you know to register to vote, and then cast those votes in support of this amendment. Our state will reap the blessings for years to come.
Many are shocked to find that the secret to life is not what they think. In John 12:20-26, Jesus taught us that the secret to real life is the opposite of what many think. Here is my message on this text, delivered June 22nd at First Baptist Church of Homestead's am services.
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Fatherlessness is an epidemic in America. While some say that fathers are now optional for a society or family's well being, Scripture says otherwise. This is a message which I recently preached at First Baptist Church of Homestead on Father's Day, based on Isaiah 3:1-12.
