Tag: Christian

Our Time is Short

~ fundyreformed ~ 5 Comments

I just found out that, Larry Lawton, a regular commenter on my blog, passed away this Sunday. He was a close blogging acquaintance and online friend. He frequently commented over at Sharper Iron.

He leaves behind a wife and young son (2 years old, or so, I think). His obituary is here. From this Sharper Iron discussion, I learned he died of an infection coupled with his having no spleen. He was just 37 years old.

I know Larry loved Jesus and loved studying the Bible. He was a good father and cared for his family, even as he pursued theological education. He will be missed.

Larry’s death reminds us that our time is short. It also calls us to face the realities of life and death. It argues that we should all live with eternity in view, as we have no sure bet that we will be here tomorrow, next week or next year.

Recently, my oldest daughter, has been learning about death. Her friends’ grandfather died a few weeks ago, and then on Saturday we attended the funeral of her great grandmother. She’s been growing through all of this and her simple faith is encouraging. As we drove away from the funeral, Saturday, she made up a song, and the words go something like this:

When someone dies, I won’t be afraid.

I won’t worry. I won’t be sad, I’ll be happy.

I’ll just trust in God.

In the face of death — and I can only imagine how hard this must be for Larry’s wife and family — we all can do no better than follow the advice of my daughter’s song. Since Larry knew Christ, let’s not worry or fear, let’s trust in our God!

Living a Life Worth Living

~ fundyreformed

My gifted friend, Nathan Pitchford, just posted a personal manifesto. If you’ve ever read some of Jonathan Edwards’ life resolutions, Nathan’s list of goals will seem quite similar.

And while he does craft his resolutions to his specific life-calling, Nathan’s principles and goals will serve to encourage, inform and edify you. They challenged me, even as they excited me.

If you have a few minutes, you really should check out his post, and prayerfully contemplate just what God would have you do with your life.

Together Again… for the Gospel

~ fundyreformed ~ 6 Comments

It’s hard to believe that it has been 2 years since the first Together For the Gospel conference. I remember the excitement I had as I blogged about the event (which I couldn’t attend). Then and now, I consider the conference a wonderful display of, and needed encouragement towards, Christian unity. And not just unity, but unity coupled with doctrinal commitment to the true Gospel. We don’t have to sacrifice doctrine to gain unity. Both are important, and T4G demonstrates this well.

This year, I also could not attend, but I suspected the messages would be available online for free, as they were in 2006. I’m not sure if the speaker panel sessions will be available, like last year, but the seven messages are available for free online.

And while you are there, you should check out Together For the Gospel’s updated website. The messages from last year are available as well as their doctrinal statement.

To encourage you to listen to the messages (I plan on eating them up on an upcoming road trip), let me direct you to Tim Challies’ liveblogging of the entire conference. Thanks to Tim, you can get a taste of the event and each message.

Let me conclude by quoting from T4G’s “about us” page.

Together for the Gospel (T4G) began as a friendship between four pastors. These friends differed on a number of theological issues, like baptism and the charismatic gifts. But they were committed to standing together for the main thing””the gospel of Jesus Christ..

So they began a conference which occurs every two years and aims principally at encouraging other pastors to do the same””to stand together for the gospel. And now this conference is evolving, as God pleases, into an informal network of church leaders who all share this ambition and who intend to encourage one another to do the same…..

Update: Josh Gelatt has collected some quotes and personal reflections on the conference which you may enjoy: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

“The Power of the Cross” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

~ Bob Hayton ~ 8 Comments

Happy Easter, everyone. This song is a wonderful Gospel-centered song from the authors of “In Christ Alone”. I hope its message blesses you as you contemplate Christ this Easter weekend.

The Power of the Cross

Words & Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath””
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

Final Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God””slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

 © 2005 Thankyou Music.

You can preview and order sheet music, as well as listen to a sample of the song at Keith Getty’s website, here. You can also listen to several different versions of the entire song for free on Rhapsody.com. I would recommend this one from Keith & Kristyn Getty’s CD In Christ Alone & this one by Stuart Townend on The Best Live Worship Album…Ever. Learn more about the music of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend here.

More on Casting Crowns

~ fundyreformed ~ 4 Comments

Click to see this CD on Amazon (and listen to song samples)While we’re on the theme of music, I thought I’d point out a good review of some of Casting Crowns’ songs by my blogging friend Will Dudding.

It made me remember my previous look at the motivations behind Casting Crowns and Mercy Me, which might be a good follow up to Will’s post for you all to check out. Casting Crowns is one of my favorite Christian music groups and I’ve highlighted their great song: Who Am I?, and also their 2nd album Lifesong, and its title song.

As you see the challenging lyrics that Will shares, maybe one fact should encourage you. This group is enormously popular and has sold more than 2.5 million records in a couple short years. This doesn’t count there newest album which came out a few months ago. The first song on that to hit the radio was number 1 on the charts for 19 weeks straight, which gives you the idea of their popularity.

And in this case, I think this shows that Christians (at least the kind that listen to and follow CCM) are hungering for a deeper message and really are trying to grow in the Lord. Granted I wholeheartedly agree with the criticism that much of CCM is shallow and trendy today. But there is a real turn around happening. And Casting Crowns isn’t the only group producing some real soul-searching, deep, faith-building songs.

To check out Casting Crowns more I recommend using Rhapsody.com which allows you 24 free online songs a month. Just search for Casting Crowns and tune in.