The Beauty of God's Creation

I often marvel at the beauty and detail that exists in creation. I have been studying the creation account in Genesis 1 and I cannot tell you how often I set my Bible down and simply reflect on the unimaginable power of God. It leaves me absolutely speechless, and I often find myself in a state of confusion and awe. To dwell on the fact that God created all that we see, smell, hear, see and touch with His words alone, or as John Piper puts it, "with the flick of His little finger" should really bring all of us to our knees. What a great Creator we have, and how marvelous is His creation!

What is incredible is how little I understand about God's creation. I knew that the detail He showed when creating the animals was far beyond human possibility, and I also know that humans carry the same desire to create that God has. However, I had no idea that this creative impulse existed with such an artistic degree amidst the animals as well. To understand what I am talking about, please view the clip below.

Ben Stein on Intelligent Design

Some of you may remember Ben Stein from the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off. Here is a reminder for those who may have forgotten.



Or, maybe you recall the game show that he hosted on Comedy Central a few years back,




Well, our good friend Ben Stein has left all of that behind him and is now a proponent for Intelligent Design. In mid April, a movie will be released that is in favor of Intelligent Design titled, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed hosted by Ben Stein himself. Rather than try to explain what Mr. Stein is trying to accomplish, I will just let him do the talking. The following clip is taken from an interview between R.C. Sproul and Ben Stein, and my goodness is it encouraging.





It is important to note that Ben Stein is not (to my knowledge) fighting for Christianity, but rather for the freedoms to teach Intelligent Design and to discuss it in universities and schools without being "expelled" for those beliefs.

Twelve Days of Luther - Day 12

We have reached the final day in the Twelve Days of Luther. As a perfect conclusion, we will see the historical result of Luther's work. From Luther to Calvin to the Puritans, Luther's writing would forever change how we look at our faith, and how we live our lives under the lordship of Jesus Christ. This video also shows just how imperfect Luther was, and that even he did not get everything right. (His views regarding Jews.)



I learned quite a lot from this series, and I hope that you all did as well. Thanks to each of you for the encouragement I received during this series, and may God use these videos to bless others in the days to come.

T4G Promo Videos

As I said in a previous post, I am very excited for this conference. The videos below were just posted on the T4G website and can be viewed at www.t4g.org/promo. I have also made the videos available below (pictures courtesy of T4G) for your convenience. If you haven't registered for this conference, registration closes on October 31st and there were only about 300 spots available as of last week. In other words, register now. Click on any of the pictures below to watch a short promo video for each speaker.

CJ Mahaney

John Piper

Al Mohler

Rc Sproul

Mark Dever

John MacArthur

Ligon Duncan

Panel

Twelve Days of Luther - Day 11

The Diet of Worms ends and Luther is taken to a place of hiding. While he is absent from Wittenberg, a revolution takes place that both suprises Luther, and saddens him as well. He realizes the radical stance he has taken, and the violence that has erupted because of it.

The Cry from the Cross

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a C.J. Mahaney sermon that I had somehow missed on my iPod. I had an hour's worth of walking ahead of me, so this message fit the bill nicely. I had no idea what was in store for me as I listened, but by the time I had reached my friend's house for Saturday morning bible study, I was practically in tears. It was at that point that I realized how beneficial this message would be for my small group meeting the Thursday before Easter. Well, that day is today! I believe that Christians everywhere could benefit from this as well, so I have posted the message below in order to help all of us to recognize and be affected by the cross, and also to prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of our risen Lord!

Together for the Gospel (aka T4G)

Yes, the rumors are true. I am officially signed up for the Together for the Gospel conference. That means that from April 15th-17th I will be getting an earful from the following men, each addressing a specific topic:
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Ligon Duncan - Sound Doctrine - Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry: A Joyful Defense and Decleration of the Necessity and Practicality of Systematic Theology for the Life of the Church

Thabiti Ayabwile - Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church

John MacArthur - The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability

Mark Dever - Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology

RC Sproul - The Curse Motif of the Atonement

Albert Mohler - Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution

John Piper - How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice

CJ Mahaney - Sustaining a Pastor's Soul
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This should be a very exciting, encouraging, and challenging few days. I have learned quite a bit over the last few years from each of these men. Out of the eight speakers I am least familiar with Thabiti, but after listening to him in a recent 9Marks interview, I am really looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

You know, with this conference rolling around, I have begun to realize how incredibly nerdy I am. While most people go see their favorite band perform, I go see godly men preach. I go and hear from my favorite writers. Instead of buying loads of CDs, I'm stocking up on books, more books, and even more books! I'm so thankful that God has given me an insatiable thirst for knowing Him more fully.

I would ask that, those of you who frequent this blog, please pray that I would have discernment in what I learn from these men. Anyone can fall under the temptation of praising the acts of men, and I am no exception. Pray that I would praise God for whatever good comes from this conference, rather than praise men.

Lastly, I can't explain how happy I am that I get to spend the duration of this conference with my good friend Eric Conn. Eric, the duel begins my friend. Be prepared for absolute and total humiliation!