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by on 2.4.08

outrage is easy . . . or is it?

Last week I wrote that outrage is easy. It really is, isn’t it? I commented to a friend that I could simply be a ‘shadow-blogger’ of, say, Christianity Today, and bring you nothing but outrage all the time. So outrage is easy, and we could easily make outrage our constant focus.

In another post, I mentioned a well known Seattle church and pastor. In a recent sermon about worldliness, I commented on an announcement concerning the New Years Eve party held at their church:

Our second annual New Year’s extravaganza! Ring in 2008 in Red Hot Style. This New Year’s Eve party features internationally known artist, Bobby Medina & his Red Hot Band. This 12 piece big band does it all, from Swing, to Latin to Motown and beyond and are widely considering one of the top dance bands in the Northwest.

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Filed Under: Dever, Driscoll, Fundamentalism, Piper, Separation
by on 2.3.08

a diamond in the rough . . . carpet that is

New Years Eve at our Christmas fellowship, my wife noticed near the end of the evening that her diamond from her engagement/wedding ring was missing. Our 25th anniversary will be this year, so you can imagine her sense of loss. We searched everywhere, that night and then the next day. Nothing.

Today, after church, one of our older men noticed something in the carpet runner in our church hallway. He poked at it with his cane … and thought he saw a glint of light. There it was. Five weeks later, my wife’s diamond was found!

The fellow who found it told my wife, “I’ll sell it to you now!” What a bit of rejoicing! One of our ladies said, “it was a perfect end to a perfect day at church.”

Well, it was a blessing to us. It is just a thing, and we had given it up for lost. But we are rejoicing! Thank you, Lord!

I just thought I would share that with you. I’ll give you the update later.

don_sig

Filed Under: Family, Grace
by on 1.29.08

outrage is easy

As an observer of the wild world of Christendom such as it is in North America, it is all too easy to be outraged. Many things done and said in the name of Christ are outright travesties. It is easy to be outraged about them.

As a blogger, outrage is a constant temptation.

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Filed Under: Blogosphere, Fundamentalism
by on 1.28.08

prayer and worldliness – 1.27.08

Sunday was a wintry day. Attendance down a bit. For us, winter means temps around freezing, but usually very little snow if any. Also, for us, winter only lasts for about two weeks. Spring should be here in mid February.

Making Mention of You (Rm 1.9-10) || Audio || Notes

Two prayer emphases in this message: 1. What it means to constantly pray for others. 2. What I must do to bring about the answers to my own prayers.

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 1.27.08

a little something for Ryan Martin, et al

Free Bach!

Read all about it here.

Downloads are here.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Filed Under: Fun and games, Music
by on 1.25.08

in light of my recent post on women

I wrote about women and the workplace yesterday. The subject of male/female relations and the Bible have long been an interest to me. It is a critical battleground today. Tim Bayly offers a post that deals mostly with the meaning of Eph 5.21ff, although it is ostensibly about politics. How many times have you heard or used the term ‘mutual submission’? Do you realize how unbiblical the notion is? Here’s a key comment, but read the whole thing. And don’t miss the comment of my online friend, Bill Mouser (10:43 time mark).

Those who hate authority, and specifically the authority of father-rule ordered by our Creator, make much of the “submit to one another” command, trying to use it to trump or confuse or hide or obfuscate the “wives submit to your husbands” command immediately following it.

Read the whole thing… [a little blogging lingo there!]

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Filed Under: Gender
by on 1.25.08

evangelical revisionism

A lot of ‘young fundamentalists’ repeat the mantra that fundamentalism is a ‘subset’ of evangelicalism. This same notion is perpetrated in a PBS interview I read today.

In the article, John Green, a senior fellow at the PEW Forum on Religion and professor of political science at the University of Akron, is interviewed about ‘young evangelicals’ and politics. Green repeats the revisionist notion that fundamentalists really are evangelicals.

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Filed Under: Fundamentalism
by on 1.23.08

on women and the workplace

Another science site I follow is The Scientist, “Magazine of the Life Sciences”. The site bills itself as a magazine for life science professionals. Many of the articles are waaaay over my head. However, I occasionally find useful information or sermon illustrations here. And it only takes a few minutes a week to scan the headlines for news of interest from the RSS feed.

A couple of articles recently highlighted a phenomenon many have observed in various ways over the years. It is the ratio of women to men involved in the science field. In an article entitled, “Fixing the Leaky Pipeline“, Phoebe Leboy asks the question, “Why aren’t there many women in the top spots in academia?” Another article, a blog by Ivan Oransky, asks, “Do women blog about science?“

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Filed Under: Gender
by on 1.22.08

now for something completely different

One of my life-long interests is space exploration. I wrote papers on it in junior and senior high school. I avidly followed the news of space exploration as a teenager. I remember lying in bed at kids camp, listening to the radio broadcast of “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The day was July 20, 1969 and I was 12 years old. The sounds of that crackly radio and the silence in my cabin at camp come back to me whenever I think about it.

One of the best ways I’ve found to feed my interest in space exploration is to subscribe to the NASA website with BlogLines. You can tap into it here. I don’t read every article in its entirety, but I scan all the headlines and read a good many of them. (There are often excellent sermon illustrations to be found as well.)

This week, something new came back to us from space.

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Filed Under: Preaching, Space
by on 1.21.08

our sermons, 1.20.08

It is a blessing to be back home again. Our people exhibited the grace of God in their thoughtful cards and letters to us concerning our recent sorrows. It is wonderful to be on the receiving end of this ministry because it is evidence that our own ministry among these dear folks has not been in vain. God is working in their midst, and I feel privileged to be God’s agent in bringing about some of that work – especially in those who have been converted and discipled almost exclusively through our ministry. I tell you, there is no greater thrill than this! 3 Jn 4.

Now for the sermon summaries…

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
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