Hark! Spring Celebration 2009 approacheth!

Start praying and thinking about whom to invite to Spring Celebration 2009 on May 8 (about 1.5 weeks away)! This looks like a great opportunity to invite friends to hear about Jesus and how He saves people.

"Don't Waste Your Live" lyrics

Did some of those lyrics go by too quickly for you in Lecrae's "Don't Waste Your Life" music video (which is related to John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life, which Desiring God has online for you to read for free)?

Well, Desiring God (John Piper's ministry) which produced the music video, has the lyrics up online.

More about Don't Waste Your Life at dontwasteyourlife.com.

Big Truths for Young Hearts

Parents, Bruce Ware's new book Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God looks like a very helpful resource to help you explain theology to your children.

Justin Taylor interviewed Bruce Ware about the book.

"Imagine a respected theologian devoting himself to training a new generation of pastors and scholars in the seminary classroom. Now imagine him driving home at night to teach that profound theology in simple terms to his children at their bedsides. Now imagine this father compiling those bedside conversations into a book available to all pastors, parents, and children alike. Imagine no more. My friend Dr. Bruce Ware has done it."
- C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Church camp sign-ups

Church camp this year should be a lot of fun! I look forward to hearing Dr. George Fox open up the Word of God, jamming with the worship band, going to Greg's session, and playing TIGers in volleyball. And the youth will get Gavin as a break-out speaker--that should be interesting.

Anyways, the deadline to sign up at the lower price is this Sunday. Scholarships are available!

"Don't Waste Your Life" music video

Check out this awesome new new music video from Lecrae: "Don't Waste Your Life."

I love the message: don't waste your life! Instead, live for Christ!

VBS informational meeting tomorrow (and next Sunday)

There's an informational meeting about helping with VBS
tomorrow and next Sunday (I think they're the same thing both weeks)
at 1 pm
in the CY room.

I'm heading up the worship band this year, and I might have a hand in some other things as well. I hope to serve alongside many of you!

John Piper's conversation with Death

is here.

Jesus Paid It All

The cross means the world to me. No hope without it! That's why I love to belt this out from the bottom of my heart:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

(A free mp3 of this song is available from Sovereign Grace Music at its Together for the Gospel Live page.)

And they call it "Good" Friday...

It was a Friday of absolute horror and evil. So why do we call it "good"?

Isaiah tells us:

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:3-6, ESV)

Biblical manhood and womanhood links

While I'm talking about Biblical manhood and womanhood, let me include a few other links:

For both guys and girls:
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (This is a big site, which means that it has a lot of helpful things and interesting things, but it's easy to get lost in.)

For guys (I already linked to this before):
How does a boy become a man?

For girls (I already linked to these sites before):
Girl Talk (There's a lot of interesting stuff here. Look in the Categoreis on the left-hand side of the page.)
Radical Womanhood (There's a lot of interesting stuff here, too. Look in the Categories on the left-hand side of the page.)

How does a boy become a man?

I'll be teaching at Singspiration on Friday, and in preparing for my message, I remembered a fascinating magazine issue of The TIE from Southern Seminary. It talks about how to prepare to become a man.

You can read and print it online.

Featured articles:

• "Show yourself a man" by Randy Stinson
• "When does a boy become a man?" by Albert Mohler
• "The marks of a godly husband" by Jaye Martin

My favorite article: "When does a boy become a man?"