New Audio Download Links
June 29, 2008
The most consistently popular post on any of my blogs is my list of links to free online audio downloads of Lectures, Seminars, Sermons, & Debates. I have recently added to this list two new links that I would like to draw to your attention. Currently, there are more than 5,000 downloads a month from the sermon archives at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship. And, Barry Creamer has returned to the World of Blog and has up links to download his radio broadcasts on Jerry Johnson Live and some of his most recent sermons. Both are excellent resources. Check them out.
The MP3 sermon archive from Bent Tree Bible Fellowship featuring sermons by Pete Briscoe, Stuart Briscoe, Steve Pruitt, Scott Dyer, and others.
Check out both his sermons and radio broadcasts. Barry teaches Humanities at Criswell College and Philosophy at other local Universities. I consider him to be one of the greatest preachers I know.
Your BC Isn’t My BC
June 29, 2008
The following is a story I like to tell from time to time to illustrate the problem of communicating when the sender and receiver are not working from the same worldview or when the same vocabulary is used but a different lexicon.
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There was a rather old fashioned lady, always quite delicate in her use of language. She and her husband were planning a weeks vacation to Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground asking for a reservation.
She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn’t quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn’t bring herself to write the word “toilet” in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old fashioned term “Bathroom Commode”, but when she wrote that down, Read more
A Prophet Without Honor
June 29, 2008
Today’s Scripture reading from Mark 6 reminded me of a story I once heard. I share both below:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” (Mark 6:1-4)
Soon after he became president in 1912 Woodrow Wilson visited an aged aunt he hadn’t seen in some time. She asked him what he was doing now. Read more
Paradise & Gehenna According To The Talmud and Midrash
June 28, 2008
There is a place in Eden and in Gehenna for every soul. The Zaddik receives his place and the place of a wicked man as well. By the same token, the wicked man receives his own place and the place of a Zaddik.
~ Hagigah, 15
No on partakes of the enjoyments of the World-to-Come because of his father’s merits.
~ Midrash Tehillim, 146, 2
Cheap Web Hosting?
June 27, 2008
“There is no such thing as cheap web hosting,” said my friend in a less than friendly way. We were talking about options for his organization’s website and he seemed determined to rule out any possible alternatives to what he is doing now despite his request that we talk about other possibilities.
Do you know why he thought there was no such thing as cheap web hosting? He has been working with a private contractor/consultant who not only charges to create and maintain the website, but is making big bucks by charging for every little add-on and accessory. My friend was in no way open to discussing streaming video because the additional bandwidth would put his costs through the roof.
The truth is that cheap web hosting is available despite what you may have been told. You just have to know where to look for it. At Web Hosting Metro plans start at $3.95 per month. And, don’t think they are going to lure you in with low prices and then jack them up with a series of “you need this also” items. In fact, their Power Plan for e-commerce sites is less than half of what my friend is paying for the basics, with no bells and whistles. Check them out.
Rejection Of A Jealous God
June 27, 2008
In the video at the bottom of this post you will see Oprah Winfrey explaining that her rejection of the Christian God and the initiation of her search for something else began when she heard her Baptist preacher say that God is a jealous God. Something about that didn’t set well with her.
Was her concern justified? Is God really self-centered? The below text is an excerpt from J.I. Packer’s book Hot Tub Religion
Taking The Stress Out Of Building
June 26, 2008
Our lives are much more intertwined with our buildings than we could ever imagine. This prompted Winston Churchill to say that we shape our building and then our buildings shape us. I have been through more building programs than I like to recall and I think that Churchill was spot one. Thus, we are forced to adapt to new ways of relating to both our new environment and to each other.
Every single building project in which I have been involved seems to have strained interpersonal relationships to the max. In each of these incidents the problems arose at least partially from failure to plan properly. But, few of us have a great deal of experience when it comes to this process, so inadequate planning is the norm, not the exception. So, how is one to avoid unnecessary transitional tension?
One way is to make sure that you are working with experts who can lead you through the process — a company with experience, people who know what they are doing. With more than twenty years of pre-engineered Metal Buildings construction experience, Apex Building Systems, Inc. understands the needs and concerns of their customers and strives to exceed their expectations in every way.
If you are looking for agricultural, commercial, industrial, residential, or any other kind of metal buildings you will want to check them out. And, Apex is proud to be known as a “GREEN” corporation, with the eco-friendly practice of using recycled metal in the production of their buildings. Cool!
N.T. Wright Surprised By Colbert
June 22, 2008
I don’t always agree with Bishop N.T. Wright, but he is always worth listening to. His attempts at explanation are often thwarted in the video below. Maybe his next book will be on Simple Christian Apologetics In A Comedic Setting.
Check out the video, and let me know what you think. What are the result of Christian attempts to share the message in an environment such as this? How does 1 Peter 3:15 apply?
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Are Professors Being Expelled?The Eschatology of Jonathan Edwards
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Clickbooth Is A Good Thing
June 22, 2008
I was referred to the Clickbooth CPA Network / Affiliate Network as an alternative to some of the other big dogs of online marketing. I agreed to check it out, but was skeptical at best. My skepticism was unfounded, these guys are great.
Let me share three reasons why I thoroughly appreciate Clickbooth;
1) I have frequently been embarrassed by some of the ads that have appeared on my blog that have been served up by some similar companies — I post what I consider to be a thoughtful article, perhaps on conservative theology, and then next to it a so-called contextual ad appears advocating some system by which you can pay to get the intergalactic creatures that torment you to be released and sent off to perish in a volcano in a foreign solars system, or some such nonsense. That isn’t exactly what I would call contextual. With Clickbooth I have control over everything that appears on my site. No more surprises. No surprises is a good thing.
2) I like their interface. It is easy to use. I don’t have to spend much time trying to navigate through screen after screen of material (none of which will let you use the back key as one prominent ad server functions) to find what I want and deploy it to my blog. Easy is a good thing.
3) They go out of their way to help you be successful with the campaigns you decide to deploy. Rather than all the caveats and warnings and challenges that some ad servers throw at you, Clickbooth goes out of their way to help you get the best results. Clickbooth gives you access to your own private account manager, and her/his picture and contact information appears at the top of every (yes, EVERY) page you are on. Further, Clickbooth’s Twitter Page texts you with timely information to help you get every advantage. In other words they help you make money online. Making money is a good thing.
Clickbooth is a good thing. Check them out.
Search For A Great President
June 22, 2008
Who were the truly great Presidents in the history of the United States? And how does one measure true greatness when it come to this position. After all, there have only been 43 men who have held this unique position, and they are spread across more than 200 years so it is in many ways very difficult to compare them.
In 1996 Arthur Schlesinger Jr. did poll ranking of the presidents using thirty-two experts (most academics). They did not include the two presidents who died shortly after taking office (Games Garfield and William Henry Harrison). The following are the results, as reported by John Maxwell Hamilton in Casanova Was A Book Lover
GREAT PRESIDENTS– George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt
NEAR GREAT PRESIDENTS
– Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman
UPPER AVERAGE PRESIDENTS
– John Adams, Monroe, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson
LOWER AVERAGE PRESIDENTS
– James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William H. Taft, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton
BELOW AVERAGE PRESIDENTS
– John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge
FAILURES
– Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and Richard Nixon
I am curious, what do you think makes a successful President of the United States? Most readers of this blog would move Ronald Reagan much higher on the list and William Jefferson Clinton lower on the list. What other changes would you make to the evaluations above?
