"The longer I serve. . . the more I realize how essential it is to trust the gospel and allow God to work in the lives of people, the more I realize that grace is extraordinary and cannot be restricted to a theological box of my own system of thinking, the more I realize that getting people to buy into some system of my own making does not change who people are, and the more I realize that the gospel is about God and not about me."
– Devon Hudson, pastor of Grace Point Church

Devon hit it out the park with this post. Check out the full article here.

We spent the day hiking at Hanging Rock State Park. It's one of our favorite family getaway spots. We did the 4.2 mile Moores Wall Loop Trail. There's an observation tower on the top of one of the peaks where you can see miles in every direction. On the way back down the mountain, I took a couple of pictures of a rattlesnake that was out warming himself in the sun. Click on the picture for some more photos.

This past Thursday and Friday, Laurie and I attended the North Carolina homeschooling convention. The book fair alone was worth the drive! Homeschooling resources have come a long way in the last 25 years. We could have easily spent all day perusing the various curriculum vendors and still not seen everything. You'd better have an organized list or you'll end up spending way too much money.

My favorite speaker this year was Dr. Jay Wile. He had the keynote Thursday night and taught several workshops. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in nuclear chemistry. He has also published more than thirty articles in nationally recognized journals and has eight books to his credit including, Reasonable Faith: The Scientific Case for Christianity. He owns Apologia Educational Ministries, a company dedicated to giving people scientific reasons to believe in Christ. Read More...

I just finished reading a review of The Dangerous Book for Boys, and I am ordering a copy to read with my son, Robert. Authors (and brothers) Conn and Hal Iggulden believe that boys need to get away from the computer screen, go outside and learn to enjoy the world and make their way in it. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Be sure to check out Al Mohler's excellent review of the book. He contends that "a boy armed with this book will have a very fun summer indeed."

Congratulations to our two high school graduates! We'll be honoring them this Sunday with a special multimedia tribute. We'll also be taking a break from our current series in the Old Testament. I'll be preaching from Hebrews 11, looking at three issues that Moses had to settle in order to personalize God's purposes for his life:

• The issue of identity – Who am I?
  
• The issue of responsibility – What am I going to do with my life?
  
• The issue of priority – What's going to be the most important thing in my life?

This is not just a message to our graduates, it is a message for anybody who is interested in living their life with a clear sense of their God-given mission and purpose. Read More...

I just finished watching a video of Pastor Steven Furtick's sermon on baptism. He preached it on Mother's Day and they spontaneously baptized 209 adults that day! First in the tank was his mother. It brought tears to my eyes. Great message... simple, clear, concise and biblical.

You can watch it here.

Yesterday was a great day on so many different levels. Our worship team just keeps getting better and better! You guys are awesome! You're gifted, authentic and you do what you do primarily for an audience of One - thanks for leading the rest of us to do the same! Our children moved into their new classrooms, which look absolutely amazing thanks to the diligent work of so many. You dedicated servants know who you are - thank you and may your tribe increase!

We were back in the afternoon for Katie and Shawn's wedding shower. We love you both and are looking forward to June 23! Following the Financial Peace Seminar, Laurie and I drove down to Raleigh-Durham to pick Sarah up at the airport. It's good to have her home for a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to drinking way too much coffee together! Read More...

I recently listened to a really good message by Scott Hodge. He's the pastor who put together the video where people were asked their opinion of "Jesus" and then of "Christians." He showed that video in the message and then explored why there is such a disconnect between the perceptions that people have of Jesus and the perceptions those same people have of those who claim to be followers of Jesus.

In the message he shared some sobering stats he had picked up from David Kinnaman about the most prevalent misconceptions many people have about Christianity. Some of them include the perceptions that:

• Christians are judgmental. 87% of those interviewed claimed that we are not honest about our attitudes and our perspectives about other people. They doubt that we really love people like we say we do.
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• Christians are hypocritical. 85% believe that Christians are guilty of saying one thing and doing another. Their perspective is that we pretend to be something that is unreal and that we present a very polished image that is not accurate. They see the church as a place for only virtuous and morally pure people.
• 
  
• Christians are too involved in politics. More than three-fifths of those interviewed had this perception, as well as the perceptions that we are old fashioned, out of touch with reality, and insensitive to others. In fact, only 9% described Christians as people they can actually trust.

Read More...

I've enjoyed John Piper's writings for years. He is a wonderfully gifted pastor and teacher. I don't know John personally, nor have I ever read anything about his
family, but evidently, his son Abraham was a wayward son at one time. He has posted 12 Ways to Love Your Wayward Child.

I have appreciated the feedback concerning the new series, Old Testament Journey - Yesterday's Stories, Today's Questions. I also wanted to apologize for not being able to get two of the messages online. We have someone from Woodall's Music coming tomorrow to thoroughly check out our equipment and help us troubleshoot the problem. Hopefully, we'll be back in business asap!

Since we've been studying the Old Testament for the past several weeks, I thought you might get a kick out of this list of the top ten ways to know you need to study Genesis: Read More...

One of the books I'm currently reading is, The Big Idea by Dave Ferguson. In the first chapter he quotes something Don Everts included in a little book titled Jesus with Dirty Feet. It's worth pondering, especially in light of the video clip below.

Jesus was not a Christian.
He never asked anyone to become a Christian,
-- never built a steepled building,
-- never drew up a theological treatise,
-- never took up an offering,
-- never wore religious garments,
-- never incorporated for tax purposes.
He simply called people to follow him.
That's it.
That, despite its simplicity, is it.
He called people to follow him. . .
It is never more
-- than Jesus' call: "Follow me"
-- and a response: dropping familiar nets
-- and following, in faith
-- this sandaled Jewish man.
It is never more than that.
Two thousand years of words can do nothing
to the simple, basic reality of Christianity:
Those first steps
-- taken by those two brothers.
-- Peter and Andrew's theology
-- was as pure as it gets:
Jesus said, "Follow me." And we did.

These are street interviews in Chicago where people were asked their opinion of "Jesus" and then of "Christians." Very interesting responses. Why? Are there any implications to the way we approach evangelism?

We have a lot of fun on our church softball team, and last night's game was no exception. Along with playing very competitively, everybody also had a great attitude that honored Christ! I'm really proud of you guys!

We went up against Stone Memorial and they have a really good team. We exchanged leads throughout the game, but we were up by three in the top of the last inning. All we had to do was get them out and go home, but it didn't work out that way. They managed to score 4 runs and take the lead! Thankfully, we were the home team so we had another shot at it in the bottom of the seventh. Read More...

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16