ObamaCare: To Pay Taxes or Not to Pay Taxes

When it comes to paying taxes, tensions are already high.  Now that the new Healthcare Reform is on the way, tensions are through the roof, especially for those in the pro-life movement.  If abortions are to be publically funded, are we as Christians to pay taxes that may go towards performing this murderous act?  Well, Albert Mohler has done a service to the church by answering this question on his blog.  Read all of it here.

Hymns II by Page CXVI

I'm a sucker for old hymns set to new music.  If you are too, check out Hymns II by Page CXVI.  As a part of their promotion, Page CXVI is giving away their first album (which, by the way, is awesome!) for free this whole week.  So at the very least, download their first album, rock out a little, and if you like it, buy their newest one.

Should I Tell My Son He Was Conceived in Rape?

Russell Moore has written an excellent response to this question.

T4G 2010: Free Books

Since Together for the Gospel is mainly a pastor's conference (I know, I know, I'm not a pastor... but anyone is welcome!), the founders have made it their goal to help pastors build their library.  As a result, this is how many books I came home with after the conference.  I got 21 free books from the T4G conference, 12 free books from the Band of Bloggers meeting, and I bought 7 for myself.

Let's just say it was Christmas in April for Jon Seger.  I'll be reviewing some of these books on here as soon as I finish them.

Thank you T4G & Band of Bloggers for helping me build my library.  I pray it will not be wasted.

T4G 2010: Band of Bloggers Videos

Before the actual T4G 2010 Conference started, I took part in the Band of Bloggers meeting.  If you are not familiar with the Band of Bloggers, here is a quick snippet about them posted from their site:

"The Band of Bloggers was started with a vision and collaborative effort to unite bloggers who have a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It carries with it a desire that the gospel be normative in our lives, central in our writing, and powerful in our witness to the world."

The theme of this year's meeting was "Internet Idolatry & Gospel Fidelity."  The speakers included Justin Taylor, Jonathan McIntosh, Trevin Wax, and Jared Wilson.  Owen Strachan moderated the panel discussion afterwards, and the entire event was put together by Timmy Brister.  It was excellent and provoked much thought on my end about how I blog and use the internet.  I might just have to post some of these thoughts later.

Lastly, for those of you who are interested, here are the videos of the meeting.  If you have to listen to just one, listen to Jonathan McIntosh's short talk.

T4G 2010 Videos

Last week, I took a week off from work to visit my family in Evansville, IN and to attend the Together for the Gospel 2010 conference.  It was awesome!  In case you were wondering what you missed, here are all of the videos from the conference.  If you only watch a few, be sure to watch John Piper's, Thabiti Anyabwile's, Matt Chandler's, or Al Mohler's talk.  You can also check out T4G's resource page to get all of the audio from the conference as well.

Stay tuned.  I've got a few more posts to share with you about what I experienced at T4G 2010.


T4G 2010 -- Session 1 -- Mark Dever from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 2 -- R.C. Sproul from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 3 -- Al Mohler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 4 -- Thabiti Anyabwile from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 5 -- John MacArthur from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 6 -- John Piper from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 7 -- Ligon Duncan from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Special Session -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Session 9 -- C.J. Mahaney from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Book Review: Be Still, My Soul by Nancy Guthrie

My wife & I recently had our first child about 8 weeks ago.  What an amazing experience it was!  Getting to see our little boy for the first time melted my heart, and I was instantly in love.  Soon after that moment, reality struck.  Misha was exhausted from the delivery, yet we had doctors flooding in and out of the hospital room.  Then, there was the realization that our boy has to eat every 2 to 2.5 hours, which correlates into little sleep for Mom and Dad.  On top of that, Misha had some complications after the delivery, which were pretty scary for us.  If you would have asked my wife & I what a trials or suffering would look like in our lives, we probably would have said the death of a loved one or something like that.  Never in a million years would we have thought that suffering could come through such a joyous occasion.  Needless to say, through the birth of our first son, Davin, we had come face-to-face with a trial.

Yet, by the kind providence of God, I had just received Be Still, My Soul by Nancy Guthrie from Crossway on trials & suffering not 3 days before Davin was born.  It has proved to be one of the many things that helped us fully put our trust in God through the entire trial, knowing that this small and momentary affliction was given to us for our good and His glory.

Be Still, My Soul is a unique book.  Through the deaths of two of her children, the author is deeply acquainted with suffering.  As a result, Mrs. Guthrie has taken 25 different excerpts from classic and contemporary works alike on suffering that have helped her trust God in the midst of her many trials and combined them together into this one book.  The lineup of authors is outstanding!!  John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Tim Keller, Jonathan Edwards, D.A. Carson, Martin Luther, & Joni Eareckson Tada just to name a few.  This book is a gold mine of Christian wisdom & counseling for those who are suffering. 

I wish I had time to share with you all of the quotes that affected & helped my wife and I during our own trials, but if I did that, I might be sharing half the book!  Therefore, I'll leave you with five.

"When suffering sandblasts us to the core, the true stuff of which we are made is revealed.  Suffering lobs a hand grenade into our self-centeredness, blasting our soul bare, so we can be better bonded to the Savior.  Our afflictions help to make us holy."  - Joni Eareckson Tada

"God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves."  - Joni Eareckson Tada

"Is not some of the pain and sorrow in this life meant to make us homesick for heaven, to detach us from this world, to prepare us for heaven, to draw our attention to himself, and away from the world of merely physical things?"  - Don Carson

"We derive no profit at all from affliction - neither grace nor glory - until there is wrestling and exercise."  - Thomas Manton

"The deepest need that you and I have in weakness and adversity is not quick relief, but the well-grounded confidence that what is happening to us is part of the greatest purpose of God in the universe - the glorification of the grace and power of his Son - the grace and power that bore him to the cross and kept his there until the work of love was done."  - John Piper

If you are in the midst of much suffering, or are wanting to prepare for suffering, or are wondering what in the world God's purpose of such suffering could possibly be, or are trying to respond humbly in trials, this book is for you.  I cannot think of someone who should not read this book.

Buy it here.

Nancy Guthrie is also the author of Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, and Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow.  All well worth your time!

Simply Amazing Dunk

I used to be able to dunk like this back in the day... off of a trampoline!