A Tribute: some of my favorite quotes from John Stott

“All around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp on the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether.”

"Apathy, selfishness and complacency blossom everywhere in the world except at the cross."

"If the church is central to God's purpose, as seen in both history and the gospel, it must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously? How dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?"

“On earth she is often in rags and tatters, stained and ugly, despised and persecuted. But one day she will be seen for what she is, nothing less than the bride of Christ, “free from spots, wrinkles or any other disfigurement,” holy and without blemish, beautiful and glorious. It is to this constructive end that Christ has been working and is continuing to work. The bride does not make herself presentable; it is the bridegroom who labors to beautify her in order to present her to himself.”

"No one who has been to the cross and seen God's immeasurable and unmerited love displayed there can go back to a life of selfishness."

Soccer Camp for Kids

If you live in the Wilson area and have kids, consider signing them up for our annual soccer camp. It will be next week (Aug 1-5) at Community Christian School. You can get all the details at www.christbc.com.

New Church Website

Our new church website is now live. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think. I have really enjoyed working with Clover Sites. If you or your church needs a website update, check 'em out.

Some of my favorite features that Clover offers:

-Not only do you get a nice full website, but each of their sites comes with a mobile site for smartphones (a must today because so many people use their phones for internet access).

-Easy podcasting for the sermon archive.

-The "favicon" (little icon that shows up next to the site name when you bookmark it).

-The social links at the bottom of the page.

-Did I mention it was easy?

ESV Student Study Bible

There is now an ESV Student Study Bible. You can check it out, get it for 40% off, and get free shipping here.

Some Helps in Reading Proverbs

A few questions to ask as you read Proverbs:

• What is this proverb urging me to avoid?


• What is this proverb calling me to pursue?


• What consequence of obedience or disobedience does this proverb alert me to?


• How can I apply this proverb to my life today?


• How does this proverb reveal the character and will of God?


• How is Jesus the fulfillment or example of this proverb?

Some Helpful Principles to Keep in Mind When Reading Proverbs:

Context: Always interpret Proverbs in light of the rest of Scripture.

Meaning: Always interpret Proverbs as the original author intended. For example, many Proverbs are not meant to be taken literally (i.e. 22:29).

Application: Always remember that the goal of Proverbs is to change our lives, not simply to fill our minds.

Jesus: Always look for how the Savior is revealed through the wisdom of Proverbs (Luke 24:27). In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (Col. 2:3).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…” -Prov. 1:7

GET WISDOM: A Study of Proverbs

At Christ Baptist, we are doing a short summer series through Proverbs. You can listen to my message on 1:1-7 from yesterday here.

Praying for Sovereign Grace Ministries

The readers of this blog who know me at all will know that I have been influenced and helped by CJ Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). I've read everything CJ has ever written, listened to dozens of his sermons, visited Sovereign Grace churches, and met CJ personally.

So, needless to say, I was saddened last week to hear the news that serious accusations have been made against CJ and SGM. As a result, CJ is temporarily stepping down as president of SGM and is submitting to a process of searching his heart and seeking godly counsel.

You can read CJ's letter/blog post about all of this here.
You can also read SGM's letter here.

For those who are unfamiliar with the circumstances, here is a summary of what I understand has happened.

One particular Sovereign Grace leader has compiled and detailed these accusations and supported them with e-mails, phone calls, meeting notes, etc. This leader sent these detailed accusations to SGM pastors. Someone in SGM posted all of these documents online for anyone and everyone to read.

I've scrolled through the documents (I think its over 600 pages), and its not pretty. Did I mention that they are detailed? Painfully detailed.

My purpose in writing this post is simply informational. We need to be aware of what's going on. We need to pray that above all Christ will be honored and that all of this does not bring shame on our Savior. May God take these realities and use them to advance His mission in the world. I pray that SGM comes out of this stronger and more faithful and more humble.

I'm sure I'll have more reflections as more information becomes available. For now, let's all check our own hearts and realize that God cares how we respond to other's shame and humiliation.

10 Minutes of Glory

Last Sunday, I listed everthing the book of Hebrews says about Jesus. You can read the pdf here. Or, now you can listen to the audio of just that section of the sermon here.