the Josh Martin Band blog

New Songs

2009-07-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year since our last blog post. LAAAAAAZYYY! But anyway, I have been writing some new songs and for our next, next album. We just about have our new project finished up (two more songs) but summertime is hard to get together to record. Hopefully, we can get it finished up in the next month and have it ready by September. I've spent quite a bit of time in the last year studying modern history (WWII to now). And it is affecting my writing. I have been working on a new song that I have probably wrestle with more than any I have ever written. It's called "All Things". I believe that the death, burial, and ressurection of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in all of history. And if that is true, then all of history must come to bear on it....hence the name, "All Things". Everything from WWII to Korea to Kennedy, Nixon, Vietnam, and 9/11 are influencing this song. And it is topped off by a Charles Spurgeon quote......"When we cannot see the hand of God we must trust his heart!" It may not make this album, or any album for that matter, but it is causing some good reflection for myself. More updates soon....

Musical Influences Part 3:James Taylor

2008-05-06T03:04:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time that I heard James Taylor (or at least knew that it was him). When I traveled with 180 Degree Ministries several people would come up and say, “you sound a lot like James Taylor”. Of course, it seemed like everybody would tell you that you sounded like somebody so at first I just chalked it up to…..whatever you would call that. But after about the third time I had determined to find out who this guy was. I had actually heard several of his songs but didn’t realize that it was him. I caught a commercial on CMT about a blended concert of James Taylor and The Dixie Chicks. I made arrangements to watch it. I didn’t get to see much of it for some reason. But the first song I heard was “Carolina in my Mind”. All I could think was, “I have got to have a copy of that song.” I had a tendency towards folk, storyteller type music to begin with and when I heard this song, I became a James Taylor fan for life. Contrary to what I had been told, I don’t think I sound like James Taylor. In fact, his voice has a pure quality to it that I don’t think I have heard in anybody in any genre. Needless to say, as an acoustic player I have learned several of his songs. It’s just good music. If I were stranded on an island with a cd player and could take only 3 cds one of them would be James Taylor’s greates hits. Since these posts are about musical influences I guess I should talk about how he has influenced me. I think the influence is found in songs that we do as a band that are just my guitar and the vocalists. Songs like “What I couldn’t do” and “Mexico Breeze”. I’ve got a new one called “Sweetest Taste” that is definately being shaped by the doctor of acousticology. Here’s a clip. I hope you enjoy.

Musical Influences Part 2: Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-04-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

If you have had any conversations with me about who I think the top songwriters of our day are, then you have heard me talk about Steven Curtis Chapman. When I was in my teens, Steven Curtis Chapman was the first contemporary Christian singer that I had listened to. All of the youth kept referring to this new song that they called, “Saddle up your Horses”. Come to find out, the title was “The Great Adventure”. This was a watershed moment for me musically. I had only been familiar with southern gospel music as far as christian music goes and this was something I was attracted to immediately. Contemporary music was still considered “heathen” in the rural areas in which I lived but this heathen was going to have more impact on me than I realized. Obviously I am not alone when I say that he writes music that relates to people. I am not the only person who thinks so. Steven Curtis Chapman has won so many Dove Awards that they have been jokingly called “The Stevies”. I have patterned much of my songwriting after this guy. The way that he takes thoughts and phrases them. Some of them are elaborate and others very plain and powerful. I think our words, whether common or colorful, need not get in the way of the message. This guy excels at both. I have never talked to Steven Curtis Chapman but if I had the opportunity, I would thank him for the hours of thoughtful phrasing that have made the gospel clear and made the glory of God central. Steven Curtis Chapman is one of the most overlooked guitarists in the music industry. His playing has been overshadowed by his writing and singing. But he is a fine musician. If you arent’ convinced, try playing his stuff like it is suppose to be played. It’s not your common 1’s, 4’s, 5’s, and 6 minors. You have to know your instrument well. Here's a clip I like.

Musical Influences Part 1: The Roots

2008-04-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

No, “The Roots” is not referring to a new age “earth” band. I simply mean where my love for music began. I grew up in a home where Southern Gospel Music was heard almost nightly. My parents sang in a gospel group known as “The Franklins” for about 20 years and then my father went on to sing with a group called “The Noblemen”. He now sings with a group called “The Garry Polston Family”. My home church in those days would have southern gospel concerts every couple of months and I got to meet a lot of up-and-coming singers and musicians. Several of them sing on those Gaither videos now. If I wasn’t hearing it live, I was hearing it on tapes, 8 tracks, or records. That’s right, records! But to be honest with you, I hated it for much of my childhood. That is no surpise to me now. Before I became a Christian, my heart was at odds with the Creator and his Gospel. It would have been strange to like hearing such messages in song. But as the Lord began to convict me of sin and change my heart I learned to love some of the things that I would hear in those songs. I came to love a song called “First Day in Heaven”. Not the fast one, but the slow one. Some of it went like this: “And God’s own hand shall wipe Away the tears from every eye And death itself shall lay down and die” I went through a spell where I thought that Southern Gospel music only sang about heaven and it bothered me that the songs were so consumed with it. I thought that they should be about more than that. There are a lot of SG songs about heaven. But when I compare them to what I hear on contemporary christian radio these days, I think that theologically, SG has the edge. I never thought I would say that but it’s true. Specifically talking about the radio and specifically in the last 4 or 5 years. The good, the bad, and the ugly exist in any genre of music. But while thinking about my muscial influences, I have noticed I like people from a little bit of everywhere. At age 16 I began to play bass guitar with a southern gospel duo (later trio) called “Willing Heart”. I have also sang in a gospel quartet known as “The Captial City Boys”. So my love for those rich harmonies has influenced what I write greatly. Many songs in the Josh Martin Band lend themselves to SG harmony. It makes for a unique sound. Rock guitars and SG harmony–can they work together? I think so. We’re doing it either way! One group in particular that I have grown to love and have influenced my music is the SG group “Gold City”. You need to go hear "It's Still the Cross". Best SG song in 10 years!

Musical Influences: Prelude

2008-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about who I listen to and how it affects my own writing. It has gotten me listening to some old CD's that I haven't heard in a long time. Some of these CD's are the first CD's ever made by an artist in the early 90's. Yes, that's right, I'm getting old! But not as old as Doug and Danny. Anyway, I will be posting a little about some of my musical influences here in the next few weeks so stay tuned (no pun intended).

Together For The Gospel

2008-04-18T03:22:00.000-07:00

This week I was fortunate to attend the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. This conference is the best conference I have ever been to. They have only had 2 of them and I have been able to attend both. This last one was especially cool from a JMB standpoint because I was able to give one of our DVDs to John Piper. I have been a long time fan of his writings and have written several songs after having read his books. Songs like "Get up to a high Mountain", "Not so easily pleased", and "Wrap me in your cross". I don't know if he will ever listen to it. He may be thinking, "What kind of freak is this guy!" But either way, if someone had written a song after something that I had written, I would at minimum be curious. I don't really expect to hear from him or anything because he is a very, very busy guy. But I felt like he should at least be aware of it. If not here, he will be aware of his impact on folks like me in eternity. God has really used Dr. Piper to show me that I have way to small of an image of God. By His grace that is changing.

The DVD Is Finished

2007-12-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

The DVD is finished and it's good. It also comes with a copy of the audio cd, a plus. So, for $15 you can get a DVD of the live concert and a cd to play in your car (or home stereo). I thought I'd post on here since there has been very little activity in months- life is busy for everybody. Speaking of busy lives... Kelly and Erricia had their baby, Haylee Niccole, on November 14! Pretty exciting for the whole Josh Martin Band family. You can check out Kelly's blog for some picture and a video. Other than that, not a lot has been going on. If anyone else ever posts anything on here, they may have more news, but I'm out.

DVD is ready.....almost!

2007-09-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

We should have our new DVD ready for our Ninevah trip next weekend. It will be the first time we will have had it out for people to get and we are excited about it. We will have it in the store shortly. Just thought you might want to know.

Music: The Handmaiden of Theology

2007-07-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

Back during the middle ages there where a couple of sayings that have really struck a chord (musical pun intended) with me. The first is this one: "Theology is the queen of the sciences and music is her handmaiden". The second is "Theology is the queen of the sciences and philosophy is her handmaiden". Music I believe can be a shared handmaiden. Music is a means of expression, not the end of expression. Music expresses how we feel or think. It is nothing apart from the passion that drives it. You may say, "what about jazz music? Some of it doesn't even have words!" Though it may lack words, it does not lack passion. And it is driven by something...some passion. So what drives the music that I write? Who does this "handmaiden" serve? I try to write music that is theologically informed. It is my desire for music to be the handmaiden of theology. I want the words I put together and the music that we play to serve as an avenue for biblical and systematic theologies. The term "theology" comes from two greek words. "Theos" means "God". And "logos" means "word" or "study". Hence, "Theology". So theology means a "word of God" or "studying God". It really bothers me when I hear people, pastors in particular, say that we don't need theology. Do you really believe that we do not need to know more about God? That is what I want my music to do, give you words of God. I want it to give you things to worship him about. Things praise him about. I want my music to stir you to love him. You can't love what you do not know. Philosophy has gotten my attention as of late. It is really interesting to me to see why people think the way they do. Where have the cliches and thoughts that fill our society come from? You may not know it, but most of them have come from philosophers. There are big name philosophers like Kant, Hume, Aristotle, Marx and so forth. But there are other philosophers that have taken music as a handmaiden. Bob Dylan and John Denver are two good examples. Their philosophies about life and how we live it permeated their music. I want this to be true of mine. I don't necessarily agree with all of their assessments but they realized one of the greatest avenues for thought-provoking discussion--Music. With all of this said, my style of writing is changing slightly. The content will be the same, The Gospel. But it will be more finely tuned. I am trying to write about how the Gospel affects how we live, think, and act. From the reality of our sins to how we view education and social issues. The gospel is offensive and beautiful at the same time. It won't let us stay the way we are and it will constantly be reminding us that we don't have everything figured out. So here is the first line of a new song and it speaks my fears and hopes for each concert "I've come to talk about your heart, I've come to talk about our sin, Knowing that if I do, You may not invite me again" God bless you, Josh

Back in the Habit

2007-07-18T09:11:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since we guys have gotten together to practice and play because we have taken most of the summer off. But our fall schedule is beginning to thicken and I have gotten two calls for bookings this week. We will be getting together to practice some new stuff and old stuff (if we can remember how they go). Just a little update. Things are picking back up again for the fall. Later.

Hoodwinked!

2007-05-18T12:06:00.001-07:00

Bert has threatened to take away my summer job if I don't give up this battle. Since Bert is the camp director at Cedarmore, where I'll be working this summer, I'd be wise to listen to his friendly warnings before things get too serious. So, here it is Bert: I surrender. I had a pretty good run for a few weeks with just a few minor problems. I'm quite proud of myself! Thanks for keeping up with my escapades for this long and I hope this means that the rest of the band will start to blog again. See ya around.

I've Escaped

2007-05-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've escaped from Josh's clutches! It wasn't very easy, in fact is was quite difficult. I had to wait until he was asleep, pick a few locks, call in a few favors, learn a second language over the past two days, and change my middle name, but it worked. I'm free! I'm back at the home base now waiting for the rest of JMB to attack- I'm ready for them. If anyone still wants to offer their assistance, I'd be more than happy to take it. We could use man-power, money, ammunition, and a few good cooks. If you're interested just give me a call at 1-800- HELPDPH... Oh yeah, I changed my middle name to Patrick.

Captured!

2007-05-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've been captured by the enemy! Josh Martin has got me locked up in his Spurgeon room at his house- I've been here for the past few days. I still have some troops back at the base so JMB can't just waltz in... yet. I got away just a few moments to write this post but it's got to be short or else Josh will realize I'm gone. If I can stick around just long enough to gain some key information on their attack, this kidnapping will be worth it. I'll just play the waiting game and soon... Oh man! He's back and coming downstairs- don't forget me!

Day 9

2007-05-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today has been an invigorating day- I feel like I could take on the world right now. I don't even think I'm going to need those extra troops that I previously blogged about, which is a pretty good thing. You see, my auxiliary troops have umm, how should I say this... left my side. It seems that while the situation was nice and safe, they were willing to lay down their lives but as soon as the real threat of war set in, they ran. Perhaps I should have listened to my good friend Mr. Machiavelli and used only native soldiers. Oh well.

Day 8

2007-05-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

I'm surrounded- I'm not sure how much longer I can hold these guys off. Andrew and Kelly have both already infiltrated my seemingly impenetrable barricade and now Josh and Bert are both threatening to strike. I thought I could handle their attack, but now I'm not quite sure. I guess I can rest in the fact that if I go down, I'll go down in a blaze of glory. I haven't given up, I'm just preparing myself for the worst- defeat by the rest of JMB. So, on that note, I'll leave you now with some words of wisdome from The Band: "All good things must end. Like three heroes in a story, let's go out like we came in- in a blaze of glory." Until tomorrow...

Days 6 and 7

2007-05-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry about no update from yesterday's battles. It was a pretty busy day. Josh called to give me some pretty lengthy threats- I expect his initial attack any minute now. Am I worried? Not a bit. To quote the great Stonewall Jackson once said, "Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave." I've been pretty busy trying to balance this war with my finals; but, I just finished my one test for the day and I should be free to gaurd my blog. Keep checking for updates.

Day 5

2007-04-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this! I was told that we would have a truce for Sunday's since everyone should be spending time at church and with their families. But, it seems that the drummer has decided to pop in his head and do some posting around here. Things are getting pretty serious- my fortress has already been penetrated by Andrew and Kelly so the only two left are Josh and Bert. I have a feeling that Josh will try to post any day now. I haven't seen or heard from Bert so far throughout the war... maybe he's planning an air attack...? I'm not sure how much longer I can hold 'em back guys. This war may be coming to an end and I may not be victorious. Remember me.

The Drummer Checks In

2007-04-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well. I don't post here for a while, and it seems Derek's trying to take over the place. Not so fast! As he mentioned earlier - yes, I have my own blog, and I've been fairly busy with my full-time and part-time jobs lately. So, I'll give my best attempt to update our faithful fans with what I've been doing. For JMB, I've worked on the first mix of our live DVD (and CD?) recording. After gathering some input from the band, I'm now moving into the editing stage and mix #2. Since I operate a recording business on the side, I've yet to be able to do this due to other concerts and projects I've been working on (sorry guys!). I should be able to start mix #2 this week. My job as a graphic artist is keeping me busy, as well. It's our busy time of the year, and I've taken on more responsibility lately. The good thing is, it makes the day go by fast. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet the keyboard player from MercyMe, Jim Bryson. I do work for a lady that went to high school with him, and she was able to introduce him to me before their concert at Rupp Arena. Not only did I get to meet him, but he also took my roommate and me on stage to check out his setup. While on stage, I also checked out the drums (of course). Jim's a super nice guy. Hopefully, I'll get the meet the rest of the guys the next time they come close. So... there you go. That's what's been going on with the drummer. How 'bout the rest of the band (besides Kelly, who already posted). Down with the revolution! - Andrew

Day 4

2007-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

I just got word of an ambush that is supposed to happen some time later tonight. If the rest of JMB thinks they can out-smart me, well... they're wrong. We just received another truckload of ammunition and rations that should last us a few more weeks. Did you hear that guys? Weeks! Do you feel like giving up yet? I'll tell ya, if you can't stand the heat... get out of my kitchen. I got a nice casserole in the oven- a casserole of extreme pain and humiliation. I also got some nice sides simmering on the stove- tasty defeat and some delicious, buttered anguish.

Day 3

2007-04-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today has gone rather swimmingly. You may have noticed that ol' Josh got in to comment on a previous post but I'm not threatened at all. It's not like he broke my barrier, he merely threw in a comment, almost like making a phone call into the blog, or sending a letter. His comment is not his presence and I will not be defeated. I'm still keeping a close eye on this blog and no one has tried to get by me today... still scared I suppose. However, the moment they do try to enter, I have an entire army to help me. Some fellow bloggers out there have discovered my little situation over here and have promised their support in my time of need. These are some serious bloggers and I'm glad to have them on my side. Viva la revolucion!

Day 2

2007-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today is going better than yesterday, so far no one has broken through the gate. I've decided to leave my post at the gate and instead hide in a nearby trench that I've prepared for the occasion. Hopefully my absense will lure in my opponents and I will be ready with a sneak attack as they approach. On a slightly happier note, this is one comfortable trench. I've got some nice pillows and blankets down here, as well as a generator and a tv. Hey, it's going to be a long day, I need someway to pass the time. If I can just stay alert I should be able to fight off any attacks they may have. My only hope for winning this war is if they attempt to enter one at a time- if they band together, there's no way I can fight them all off. As of right now, it doesn't seem as if they are conspiring against me. I'll keep you updated. Stay the course.

Drats

2007-04-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

It seems that Kelly noticed I was away at church and snuck in to do some posting. I'll have to be more careful from now on. I guess his "cruise" was just a decoy to lead me into a false sense of security. Tomorrow, I will be victorious. It's ok a lose a small battle (or in this case a short battle) but when all is said and done, this war (and blog) will be mine.

What yonder lurks?

2007-04-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well it had actually been a while since I had even looked on here. I happened upon D's challenge to the other band members and since I'm not on a cruise at this moment (as much as I would love to be) I thought I would give a little fight here. As a thirty-one year old married mailman/musician...not much goes on in my day to day life. I had a conversation with Josh the other day about his new blog and he suggested that I should start one of my own. Trust me......there's not much to know. I will admit....I am probably the most boring member of The Josh Martin Band. However if I were to start a blog this is pretty much how it would go: Got out of bed this morning.....Thank you Lord! Went to work at the Post Office today......Thank you Lord? Spent most of the day trying to out run dogs...... Delivered some mail in the process...... Went home from work......Thank you Lord!!!! Kissed the wife.......Thank you Lord!!!!!!! Decided to eat cereal instead of a real meal again..... Spent some time reading the Word.......THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!!!! Hit the couch for Deal or No Deal or whatever reality show is on...... Fell Asleep on the couch not too long after sitting down...Thank you Lord! Hit the bed........Thank you Lord!!!!! and........... .......... .......... REPEAT Wow......as I look at that....it is pretty depressing....maybe I should challenge myself to shake it up a little. But not tonight.....there is a good show coming on and I need to get off of here and find the couch. God Bless!!!!!! Kelly

Day 1

2007-04-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Whew, that was a close call. For a second I thought that my opponents had somehow locked me out of the blog... I was just putting in the wrong username- no biggie. Day 1 has gone rather smoothly, as I suspected. I've set up camp near the gate since that's the most vulnerable section- the high walls and barbed wire make it pretty impossible to get in anywhere else. So far, no one has opposed me but I expected that to change as the word gets out and my opponents realize what I've done with their blog. The way I see it, I only have to worry about a few of them and the rest will fall right into place. Doug is already out of the way since he's not a contributor to this blog so that means I've got Josh, Andrew, Kelly, and Bert still on my radar. Andrew has his own blog, so he may not put up much of a fight at first. He's also been pretty busy with work so that should keep him fairly distracted. Kelly, it seems, is always on a cruise- no big stuggle there. Josh just started a new blog, a new job a few months ago, and he's usually busy with church matters. He's a big guy, but I think I can take him when the time comes. But that still leaves Bert. Bert's the sneaky one (I'm sure you all remember our little KGBme incident last year). If anyone is going to give me problems, it's Bert. I'll have to be on my toes for this one. Over and out.

New World Order

2007-04-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Alright, this is now my blog. If the rest of the band is just going to abandon it then I'm going to take over. What exactly does this mean? Who knows? But, I'm declaring war on the other contributors to this blog. If they want to keep a part of it for themselves then they're going to have to fight me for it. It's a New World Order baby, and I'm not giving up without a fight. Sounds a little excessive? Maybe so, but you gotta fight for what you believe in.

Viva la revolucion!

Still Breathing

2007-04-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, it's been a little quiet on here since the DVD and I'm here to reassure you that we're still alive. The DVD process is going well and we're trying to work out all of the audio issues. I think JMB is going to try and get together within the next few weeks to finish it up and take a look at the video and perhaps record some extra footage (maybe some interviews?). On another note- where is everyone? I've had the last 3 posts on this blog, and this isn't even my primary blog. Has the rest of the band abandoned the blog? Come on guys! Blog!

Thanks

2007-04-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take this time to say thanks to all of you who came to our concert on Saturday- it was such a fun night. As I type this I'm listening to the first mix of the audio recording and I can already tell that this project is going to turn out great. Keep your eyes on the website for a release date and come see us at our upcoming gigs. I can't wait to see you there!

The Big Day

2007-03-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, that time is upon us. We've been anticipating and preparing for this moment since the beginning of the year and it's finally here. Tomorrow is the big day for our DVD recording. (7 PM at Cedarmore). I just wanted to throw out one more invite while I had the chance. Chances are, if you're at this blog, then you got here through our website- but if you haven't seen the website in the past few days, go check it out! (7 PM at Cedarmore). Andrew's got directions on there coming from all directions so no one has any excuse for getting lost. We're all extremely excited about this opportunity... a little freaked out, but still very excited. (7 PM at Cedarmore) We've got one final dress rehearsal tonight where we will work out all of the non-music stuff (lights, words on screens) and try to mesh it together with the music stuff. Sure, it'll be a late, hectic night, but when we're done we will be completely prepared for the real deal on Saturday. (7 PM at Cedarmore) Ok, so probably not completely prepared... but can anyone really be completely prepared for anything? Anyway, it's going to be a great night of worship and hopefully a great night of music. We're still going to give away an iPod (8 gig nano, I'm pretty sure... don't know about color) so come one come all. I can't wait to see you. (7 PM at Cedarmore) Oh, and I almost forgot- the concert is at 7:00 PM at Cedarmore.

Youth Ministry?

2007-02-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

A man whom I highly respect has recently spoken out against youth ministry as a ministry within the local church. He is in favor of family ministries as opposed to segregation of those families into different groups. What do you guys think? I am a youth minister so I have some concerns about these comments. But I always want the bible to be my rule for life and especially for ministry. Just so you know, I am not looking to resign anytime soon but I have some questions for you. So here are my questions for you guys. Can a biblical case be made for youth ministry? Should we have seperate ministries for men, women, children, youth, etc..., or should we minister to folks as a whole body without segregation? If this was the mainline thought pattern it would greatly affect the JMB. Obviously, the JMB should not be the focal point of this issue but I would be curious for your thoughts. Answer any of those questions you want. What think ye?

Derek's New Place Of The Bloggings

2007-02-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I've decided to move my blog over to wordpress- check it out. http://derekhughes.wordpress.com

My top 5 JMB songs.....

2007-02-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

It's a little weird to rank songs that you have written but here goes.... 5. "One True Healer".......Although we don't do this song much anymore, it is still one of my favorite songs. I very much dislike the way I sound on that song but there is a meaning there that I hope that those who hear it will understand. All of us are looking for something to "heal" us. We're all broken by the affects of sin. Sin has broken everything. There is only one true healing that we will ever experience. And it is only found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 4. "Clumsy Believer"..........This is a relatively new one and has not yet been recorded officially. But it really spells out how I feel sometimes. Plus it has a line from on of my favorite hymns, "Come thou fount of every blessing". 3. "Mexico Breeze"......No, that is not the name of the latest military operation, it is one of my favorites. Mexico will always hold a special place in my heart and that song is very nostalgic for me. 2. "Get up to a high mountain"..........I love this song. This is my favorite song all around. You are probably thinking, "why is it #2 then?" Well, I'm glad you asked because #1 right now is............... 1. "Christ is our Life"..........This is a new song for us. We haven't played it out yet but will hopefully do that this weekend. I normally wouldn't rank a new song at #1 but I think this song has really captured what has been going on in my life in the last few months. I struggle with idolizing things. And you do too, even if you don't think so. Most sins are double doses of problems. Here is what I mean by that; Greed has the power to keep you from knowing that you are greedy. Idols have the power to keep you from knowing you have idols. We struggle with things and we know that we do, but there are sins hidden deep within us that have become so much of our normal day life, that we don't even have a clue to their affect on us. The only way we can see this is to have the gospel break our hearts just like it did when we where first saved. I will be posting more about this song in a full length post but until then, this is my list of songs, be that as it may. Now that I have done my list, I guess we are just waiting for the rest of the guys................

Andrew's Top 5 JMB Songs

2007-02-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

Ok...here's mine (in no particular order): 1. Not So Easily Pleased - Personally, it's a fun song to play. Not to take anything away from the lyrics (which are great), but I really enjoy the song once we get to the solos at the end - fun times. 2. Get Up to a High Mountain - I think lyrically and musically, it's one of our more powerful songs. I know Josh is a big fan of Third Day, and this is our one song that I think could pass for a Third Day song. 3. Learning More Everyday - From a listening standpoint, I love it when everything kicks in after the first few vocal lines. Other than that, it's another uptempo song that's fun to play. 4. Wonderful Cross - This is my favorite worship song. I think my favorite version of this done by the David Crowder Band. Next favorite is the JMB version. 5. Sweet Embrace (new version...) - Our new version of this song is pretty cool. Brandenburg has been the only crowd to hear it so far. The rest of you will have to come see us soon to hear it! ;-) honorable mention: Folsom Prison Blues - Josh is right - we'd make one heckuva country band!

My 5 Favorite JMB Songs

2007-02-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, since the playlist thing didn't go over too well, we'll try something a little different. I get asked all the time, "Derek, what's your favorite Josh Martin Band songs?"... ok, so I don't really get asked, but I'm sure someone's thinking it... ok, so they probably aren't, but I'm still going to ask for you. So, what are my five favorite JMB songs? 5) Working Out My Day (Josh Martin Band)- I know it's an old one, but that song is fun to play. Wow, we haven't played that in a loooong time. 4) What Part Of Go (Not So Easily Pleased)- This used to be one of my least favorites but as you can see I'm liking it more and more each time we play it. It's provides lots of opportunities to feed off of each other in our concerts. 3) Wonderful Cross (no version released yet)- Although we haven't recorded this yet for an album (it'll hopefully be on the DVD) it's still going to make the list. The Wonderful Cross is one of my favorite worship songs and I think our version could stand against any other version that's out. Also, The Wonderous Cross was my grandpa's favorite hymn, so this song has some special meaning to me. 2) Wrap Me In Your Cross (Not So Easily Pleased)- This is a very close second. I think it contains some of the best lyrics that Josh has ever written. 1) I Am (Not So Easily Pleased)- Hands down, my absolute favorite JMB song. This song conveys a feeling that we all go through- Where is God in the times that I don't feel saved? The intro and end of song are so much fun to play- I love digging-in on the low D and C. Now it's time for the rest of the band to post their top 5... hopefully.

Apologetics Friday (but on sunday)---Thinking about thinking

2007-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

Thinking about thinking Faith and Reason Ideas and their consequences Logic and emotions Philosophy 1. Faith and Reason What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the assurance of the things we hope for and the conviction of things that we have not seen. What is reason? A basis or cause for some belief or action. Some have said, “Faith is a blind leap into the dark”. What do you think? Do you have to abandon reason to have faith? God has given us both faith and reason. Christ does not call us to “leap into the dark”, but step into the light. 1 John 1:5,6 2. Ideas and their Consequences We need to understand the consequences of our ideas and beliefs. The bible commands it. 1 Peter 3:15 God has given us a mind to think with and tells us to use it for his glory. Romans 12:2 and Matthew 22:37 Our ideas or beliefs always have consequences. Think about this for a second. If you believe that God is holy and just and there will be a day of judgment, that belief has consequences for your life. You will not want to rebel against this holy God. The consequence of your belief is a change in your heart towards God. And that will result in a change in your actions towards God. Ideas can have good or bad consequences. Those who believe they can breathe under water may drown trying to. Those who believe that gravity doesn’t affect them may jump off of the empire state building. Muslims who believe that martyrdom will get them to heaven will fly planes into buildings. This is a bad consequence that stems from bad ideas. On the other hand, believing that getting your shots from the doctor may keep you from getting the measles. Believing that there is a cure for cancer has lead to many major medical breakthroughs. So you see that some ideas have good consequences. But those consequences come from the root of the issue and that is whether or not the belief is true or valid. 3. Logic and Emotions Logic is a gift from God and is to be used for his glory. God has made us as reasonable creatures. And reasonable creatures should strive to think logically. God has also made us emotional creatures. This means that our emotions and logic should not contradict each other but compliment. For example, looking both ways before crossing the street is a logical thing to do. If you cross safely, your emotions are stable and you are pleased. If you look both ways and then proceed to cross and are nearly hit by the moving traffic, you emotions react. Your heart beats rapidly, you tremble, and you are scared. This emotional response is also logical. It makes sense that you would react this way, you were nearly killed! So logic and emotions are not opposed, but they can be unbalanced. Logic and emotions must be complimentary to one another. Emotions are good but they cannot determine what is true. Feeling good about something does not make it good. If smacking your brother makes you happy, it doesn’t mean that it was right. Emotions are the part of the soul that appreciates and responds to life. We cannot trust our emotions to determine truth for us. But when the truth is revealed to us, let us not stifle our emotions. Let them well up with worship to our God. Let them compliment the truth and logic that you found. Emotions cannot be the key factor for reasoning. 4. Philosophy Philosophy has often been described as thinking about thinking. Proverbs 4:5,6 We should aspire to gain this wisdom. The greek words that make up the word philosophy are “philia”, which means love, and “Sophia” which means wisdom. So the word “philosophy” means “loving wisdom”. This is not anti-christian. We should not be scared of philosophy. Although some philosophers and their thoughts are hostile to Christianity, we should not be afraid to examine why we think the way we do. Philosophy has determined much of the way you think right now. Many clichés that you have heard came from the lips of philosophers. Some of the greatest theologians of the church were also philosophers: Augustine, Aquinas, Anselm, and Jonathan Edwards. Philosophy asks questions such as “What is real?” “How do you know it is real?” “What is truly good?” The problem comes when we seek our reasoning above the reasoning of scripture. Scripture must be our final authority. This is even philosophical. We turn to scripture because it is truth. All philosophy and philosophers desire to be true. Truth is the goal of philosophy and the bible is our ultimate source for finding it.

Apologetics Friday----The Existence of God

2007-01-19T05:53:00.000-08:00

The Existence of God 1. The Law of Inertia (first cause) 2. The Ordering of Creation 3. Incurably religious Human Beings 4. Moral Laws Objections to the Existence of God 1. Christianity is just a crutch 2. Paradox of the Stone 3. Christianity is exclusive 1. The Law of Inertia The law of inertia states that “An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force”. This is the first of Newton’s Laws. If this law is true, then there must be a first cause. There must be something that starts things off. Why does the earth rotate around the sun while spinning itself? The plates beneath the earth shift and stars fly through the universe. Comets and asteroids fly through our universe….what sends them flying? There has to be a first cause and that first cause is God. 2. The ordering of Creation Every building you see in your town was designed by someone. Buildings do not evolve on their own. They do not just pop out of the ground with 2x4 studs and trusses. Someone designs them and someone builds them. They have an order to them. So does every “natural” thing. Trees function a certain way. They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. It is the same oxygen that we breath. Is that just a fluke? The human eye is so complex that all parts of it are dependant upon the others for their existence. So it is impossible for the eye to evolve. All parts must be present or it cannot exist. 3. Incurably religious human beings Have you ever noticed that almost everyone believes in a god of some form? Don’t confuse this with faith but this is just a simple belief that “a god” exists. Why is that? I think it is because of Romans 1:19,20. Your conscience can’t deny it. During times of disaster such as tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc… you can’t find an atheist! Everyone believes in a god when they are about to die. Not necessarily faith, just belief. Even atheists have beliefs. 4. Moral Law Even those who deny the existence of a God have a sense of right and wrong. What sets that standard for them? If there is no supreme being that sets the standards, how do they know what is right? How can they say that rape and murder are wrong? By what standard are they measuring those things? The staunchest atheist will tell you that murdering innocent children is wrong. When they tell you this, ask them how they come to that conclusion. Objections to the Existence of God 1. Christianity is just a crutch for weak people. When one considers the fact that over 500 people saw the resurrected Christ, I am not so sure that this faith is a crutch. If anyone ever knew how to effectively kill a person, it was the Romans. Jesus died. The Romans would not have messed this up. They were the best at killing people. The “swoon theory” is full of holes. Had Jesus remained dead, Christians should be the most pitied of all people on the earth. But he didn’t remain dead. He is alive! That is not a leap into the dark, it is a step into the light. 2. The paradox of the Stone The paradox of the stone is the question of God’s omnipotence. It goes like this, “Is it possible for God to create a stone so heavy that he could not lift it?” If you answer “no”, then God cannot do everything and if you answer “yes”, then God still cannot do everything. At first glance you may think that this is a valid question but let’s look a little deeper at it. First of all, the atheist (or whoever) is posing a question that they wish for you to answer logically but the question is not logical. The “Law of Non-Contradiction” states that two truths cannot be opposed to each other. God’s omnipotence is defined by Thomas Aquinas as saying that God can do anything that is possible. This would include things that are impossible to you and me. God could take the earth and cast it into another galaxy. You and I could not do that. But for God to contradict himself or oppose himself can never be an option. That option is non-existent. The question cannot be answered without a little understanding of term “omnipotent” and all sides using logic. Some have said that God could indeed do both of these even though it is a contradiction. The problem with that is that it denies the orderly ways that we see God revealed in scripture. This paints a picture of a God who does things arbitrarily. This is not the God of the bible. 3. Christianity is exclusive. Some say our God cannot exist if it denies all other forms of religion. This argument will get nowhere. If a God exists, and he is really God, then he can be as exclusive as he wants. The reality is that God has commanded all men everywhere to repent and believe. He is not excluding you, he is inviting you. If you choose another way, then you have excluded yourself. To be God means to be Sovereign. Something has to be ultimately sovereign. If God is not sovereign, then whatever denies him is sovereign over him. God is real and he is Sovereign.

Prayer

2007-01-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hey, this is Derek. I just wanted to ask you all to pray for me tomorrow as I share the gospel with the youth group at Master's church. Marc (the youth minister) asked me to speak a few weeks ago and, right away, I knew that God wanted me to preach the gospel to these youth. Many of them are lost and I'm praying that God will move in their hearts tomorrow and claim them as His own. Thanks guys.

Apologetics Friday--Part 1

2007-01-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

Dr. Rick Cornish has published a series of books that are great tools for quickly getting a grasp of subjects. The books that I know of are called, "5 Minute Apologist", "5 Minute Theologian", and "5 Minute Church Historian". They give you the barebones facts about events, doctrines, or whatever. "5 Minute Apologist" is the one that I personally own and have used some of his teachings with my youth group. I recommend picking this little book up and reading it and referencing it. Especially if you are pressed for time and have a desire for understanding. These little books are great for bible studies and contributing godly answers in a time when everyone sees truth as relative. Here is the first of a series that I have written that I will be teaching the youth in April. I have adapted much information from his book to do so. Enjoy! Some common worldviews 1. Theism 2. Polytheism 3. Deism 4. Atheism 5. Humanism 6. Pluralism 7. Post-modernism 1. Theism Q. What is theism? A. Theism is the belief in one infinite, personal God. Deuteronomy 6:4 1 Corinthians 8:6 Why I am a theist 1. Theism has undeniable evidence. 2. It is the explanation of good and evil. 3. Logic, science, and reason all support theism. 2.Polytheism Q. What is polytheism? A. Polytheism is the belief in many finite, personal gods who rule distinct realms of the universe. (exp. Greek mythology) Problems with polytheism 1. Nature is eternal, not the gods. Therefore, nature has given birth to the Gods which is opposed to God creating nature. 2. The world is an arena of chaotic competition between the gods. Their interests clash with one another. 3. These gods are finite which means they do not live forever. 4. “Multiple gods” fails by definition. There cannot be more than one God or else he is not really god. 5. These gods have the same weaknesses as humans. What is so godlike about that? 3. Deism Q. What is Deism? A. Deism believes that God created the world, but then turned his back and is uninvolved and unconcerned with it. God set the world to run by natural law. Problems with Deism 1. Deism denies miracles because God does not intervene with humanity. The problem with this is that it contradicts itself. Creation of the world from nothing fits into the miracle category. If there are no miracles, then there cannot be a created universe. 2. No consequences for anything. Nothing really matters because we face no judgment, no eternal life, no salvation. 3. Modern science has demonstrated that the universe is not mechanical. The so called “absolute natural laws” are not absolute after all. 4. Atheism Q. What is Atheism? A. Atheism is the belief that there is no God. Problems with Atheism 1. It cannot be affirmed. No one can prove that there isn’t a God. 2. All atheists believe that some things are right and some things are wrong. Without a moral standard given by a holy God, then right and wrong do not exist. They believe things to be evil but cannot give an explanation of what determines it to be evil. There must be a “good” to define a “bad”. 3. They cannot live out their belief. They get angry when people die but cannot explain their anger. They shouldn’t be mad. For an atheist, death should be completely natural. 5. Humanism Q. What is Humanism? A. Humanism is the belief that humans are the supreme being. It is the belief that we find the solutions to life’s problems within ourselves. Problems with Humanism 1. If humans are supreme, which race, gender, color, social status, or genetic make-up determines the path for the human race? 2. Why do we have undesirable traits such as hatred, envy, and pride? If we are God, then shouldn’t these things be changed by our determination? Why aren’t they? 3. At what point did humans discover their divinity? 6. Pluralism Q. What is pluralism? A. Pluralism is the belief that all religions and worldviews are equally valid. Problems with Pluralism 1. Pluralism claims to be an exclusive truth in itself. It contradicts itself. The very thing it tries to overcome, it produces. 2. It violates logic. Jesus and Muhammad cannot both be the only, final source of God’s truth. 3. It destroys morality. This view will lead to spiritual implosion. It would take good and evil and make them the interchangeable with no distinctions between them. 7. Post-Modernism Q. What is post-modernism? A. Post-modernism is the belief that nothing can be absolutely true and it rejects all other worldviews. Problems with Post-modernism 1. Post-modernism is a contradiction within itself. It denies all worldviews but it is a worldview within itself. 2. Everyone believes something. If you reject that last sentence, you reject it because you believe something else. 3. If nothing is absolute, then nothing can be truly known. If you have any questions or would like further explanation of a point, please leave a comment saying so. This is just basically the outline for the first study. Some of it may not make sense without some explanation.

Derek's Playlist

2007-01-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

Alright, since Andrew has thrown down the challenge, I will accept and share my own playlist. 1) This World (Caedmon's Call)- Caedom's Call is my absolute favorite band and this is one of my favorite songs from them, if not my favorite. They have so many great songs that it's near impossible for me to pick just one. Which is why number 2 is... 2) Not The Land (Caedmon's Call)- Hey, it's my list, I can feature as many artists as I want! This is one of the most rocking songs I have ever heard, especially when the chorus kicks in and Derek really adds the growl to his voice. Ahhh, musical bliss. 3) When He Calls (I'll Fly Away) (Gold City)- That looks a little confusing- Gold City is the artist, not I'll Fly Away. I have to have at least one southern gospel song on this list, and chances are it's going to be about heaven. The studio version is pretty good, but it's amazing live. The tenor singer finishes the song with a note that would make a dog's ears bleed. 4) Callin' Baton Rouge (Garth Brooks)- Oh man, oh man. This song pumps me up every single time I hear it. My favorite version is from his Double Live album- when every thing drops out but the drums in the chorus, I can't help but pound my fist in the air and belt out those lyrics at the top of my lungs... "Hurry up won't you put her on the line, I gotta talk to the girl just-a one more time" 5) For The Love Of God (Andrew Peterson)- This happens to be the most played songs in my itunes. Andrew Peterson is one of the greatest songwriters I've ever heard. He uses the lyrics and music to paint masterpieces in the minds of his listeners. This is a great song about his family and love. 6) Washin' & Wonderin' (Stroke 9)- I can't stay away from that catchy, 90's, power-pop rock. (I'm not sure if that's a real genre, or if I just made that up). Sam (ex-JMB drummer) and I used to jam on this song back in 7th grade. Man, those were the days. 7) Dance (Derek Webb)- Although not one of his more deep, theologically challenging songs, Dance is a great tune nonetheless. Derek wrote this song after a conversation with his grandmother as she told him her entire life story. 8) Take It Easy (The Eagles)- I love when the banjo kicks in about half way through. 9) Tiny Dancer (Elton John)- I used to play and sing this song all the time (don't ask me to now, I've already retired it... a few times) so whenever I hear it, it brings back many fond memories. I remember playing this song once at GSP for Mary Beth... it's probably why she digs me so much. 10) Cruel Kindness (Inside Out)- I love a cappella groups and this is the best one I've heard. If I had to pick a favorite song from Inside Out, it would probably be this one for the great background harmonies in the chorus. 11) Friend Like You (Big Daddy Weave)- If I ever get in a good bass playing mood, this is usually the song I want to hear. Each bass line on the album is solid, interesting, and downright fun to play. This song always gets my blood flowing and my fingers itching to groove. 12) God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)- I feel that the Beach Boys are too often unappreciated in the music world and the genius of Brian Wilson was too easily forgotten. I especially love the end of this song when the vocals start layering on top of each other. 13) Piano Man (Billy Joel)- Here's another song I have played many times, but I still never get tired of hearing it. This was the first song that Mary Beth heard me sing and play so it has some special meaning to me. I love the line "And the piano it sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer." On the word "carnival", he sings it more as a shout and slightly out of tune... I'm not quite sure why I like that part so much, but I do.

Andrew's Playlist

2007-01-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Here's my playlist - a la iTunes Celebrity Playlists.... sans the "Celebrity" part... 1. Ants Marching (Dave Matthews Band) – my all-time favorite song by my all-time favorite band. Not so much for the lyrics, but the energy of the music, especially live. 2. Hold Fast (MercyMe) – the first time I heard this song, I thought it was one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard. I still feel like that way, and it’s just as powerful live as the studio cut. 3. Superstition (Stevie Wonder) – the horn lick in this song is one of the catchiest snippets of music ever. Funky. 4. Pictures of You (The Cure) – I’m a child of the 80s, so I figured I needed to have an 80s song or two. 5. Here Am I (MercyMe) – the epitome of living the Christian life. We’re called to “go.” 6. Where the Streets Have No Name (U2) – one of those songs you wish were longer. If U2 wrote five more verses and repeated the chorus several more times, I wouldn’t have complained. 7. Speed of Sound (Coldplay) – my favorite song from 2005. I would love to see Coldplay live, and hear this anthem. 8. Is It Any Wonder (Keane) – another rock anthem. I would love to be a part of writing a song like this. I have a rule to only play this song loud in my car. All talking stops, the volume goes up, and I just listen. 9. Wonderful Cross – I didn’t label an artist for this because it’s been performed by praise bands everywhere. I prefer David Crowder Band’s version, which I’ve heard twice live. Aside from that, I think the Josh Martin Band’s version is second-best. Not to mention it’s a song about the focus of my faith. 10. Every Breath You Take (Sting) – Another great 80s song. 11. To Make You Feel My Love (Garth Brooks) – everyone has their favorite love song, and this is mine. (maybe the rest of the band will post theirs?? hint, hint) Later, Andrew

Apologetics Fridays

2007-01-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hey for the next few weeks I will be putting up some stuff about apologetics on fridays. I don't think that you can ever reason someone to faith but I do believe that God has used apologetics for many things. It is definately a great tool for evagelism. It will "stop the mouths" of those who would lead others astray. It will also help us to know why we believe what we believe. Most imporantly, we have a biblical mandate given to us in 1 Peter 3:15 to always be ready to give an account for the hope that we have. We are not only commanded to tell people what we believe, but why we believe it. We will start next friday with establishing a biblical worldview. This is becoming more and more crucial in this post-modern age we live in. We will discuss post-modernism as well. until next friday.............

2006-12-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

(no caption really needed to know what he's thinking)

How People Change--Part 3

2006-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

There are two basic schools of thought about change. One focuses on the emotions and one on the will. The religious world focuses on the will most of the time. If you are down on yourself they say, “Buck up, be strong, grit your teeth and bear it, hang on you can get through it, tough it out, it will be ok.” They place all of the emphasis on the will, your ability change things. Your determination to not settle. And we even say these things, “I am not going to do this anymore. I am not going to keep sinning like this.” You see understanding that something is wrong and applying your determination will not bring lasting change. It does not work. Why? The second school of thought, which is often found in the secular world focuses on the emotions. They tell you that you are practicing self-defeating thinking. You need to change the way you think, you need to do something nice for yourself. They try to get you to feel better about yourself by focusing on your emotions. They try to bring real change by changing your thinking and for those of you who have suffered emotional stress, this may change you for a while, but you will relapse back into it again. Because real change has not occurred. Now, that’s a lot of stuff to think about. I have been thinking about this for several months and it is still a lot for me to grapple with. Don’t miss this right here. If you are totally confused about everything I have said this morning, make sure you get this. Read 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 again. Listen to this. This is the key to real, lasting change. “Beholding the glory of God brings real change.” Listen to me, do not miss this. Josh Martin was converted to Christ when he beheld the glory of God. Seeing that changes you. Here is what I mean. I had heard the gospel many times as a child and it did not change my heart. Why? I didn’t get it. I believed Jesus was God’s son. Of course I believed he died on the cross for sin. I believed he rose from the dead even. But it didn’t change me. Why? Because I knew the facts, but I was yet to behold his Glory. The eyes of my heart were veiled. But when I actually turned to the Lord in faith and repentance, not just knowledge, I could behold the glorious truth of who he is and what he had done and I was transformed. God removed the veil and I could see him in all of his glory and it changed me. When you see him as glorious it will change you. You will experience true repentance because you will turn from your sin in sorrow and to Christ in faith. You don’t want that anymore, you want Him. This is not just true of conversion, but it is true of all of life and it is true of all change. All real change occurs this same way. Let’s break down these verses for a second and see the truth of what is being said here. v.15 Moses was not glorious. The glory on Moses’ face will fade but the glory in the face of Christ will not. V16 You must turn to the Lord, not your determination, not your emotional fix but to the Lord V17,18 When the veil is removed we can see him and it will change us. And it doesn’t end with conversion. But from one degree of glory to another. In all of life. This is how we are sanctified in heart and body. Look at other places where Paul does this. 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 When Paul wants the Corinthians to be generous he doesn’t just scold them. He takes them to the Gospel. He explains how Christ tasted poverty so that we could be rich. When you see that, you will want to give. And you will do it without any pressure. It will indeed be of your own free will. Ephesians 5:22-27 Wives, Because Christ is your savior and you have submitted to him, and he holds your life and you following Him, submitting to your husband shouldn’t be an issue. Husbands, because you know the spousal love of Jesus Christ, when he could have left and probably should have left you, he stayed and gave you everything. Loving your wife this way shouldn’t be an issue. It always go back to the Gospel. The Gospel is what will change us. Seeing that glory will change us. I want to end today the way Paul ended this thought in 2 Corinthians 3:18“For this comes from the Lord who is Spirit.” I want us to acknowledge the glorious truth that this change only occurs because of the working of God. Let’s be sure that he gets the credit for this. Let’s be sure that he gets the glory so that others may see who we credit this work to and then they, with unveiled face, may behold this same glory and be changed. If there are any questions, feel free to ask. I can say, "I don't know" as well as anybody. But who knows, I may have an answer.

How People Change--Part 2

2006-12-08T05:24:00.000-08:00

Now that we have established that even those whose hearts are hardened toward God are hardened by something, what motivates us to change? Let’s look at some motivators that do not bring lasting change. Real change happens on the inside and is evident on the outside. Outward change is often a sign of inward change but not proof of inward change. I can have a change of actions without having a change of heart. We often ask what would Jesus do? This helps us conform our actions but you would be surprised what you could do with a hard heart. This was the main problem with the Pharisees and much of the problem with the religious world today. We honor Christ with our lips, but our heart is far from him. We have cleaned the outside of the cup without having touched the inside of the cup. Why do we do that? Why did the Pharisees do that? Why do we so often conform our actions without conforming our heart? Motivators Guilt is a motivator. And guilt will change the way you act but it will not change your heart. Because the change that you make in your actions almost never removes feelings of guilt. If they are removed, they come back and you find yourself in this vicious cycle of never being freed from that guilt. It changes your actions but it does not change you. Whole change must occur or it is not real change, it is a cheap imposter. Fear is a motivator. This is probably the greatest motivator for change that never brings real change. It too will change your actions but it will not change your heart. I do not teach the youth to not have pre-marital sex by scaring them into thinking about the consequences of an STD. This tactic may change their actions but it does not change their heart and the heart must be right or the actions don’t mean a thing. Jesus told the Pharisees I want you to follow the law but follow it with both heart and actions. This fear motivation will not lead you to real change. This is true of my own conversion. I didn’t come to Christ because I was scared of Hell. I was just as scared of Heaven. Hell hurt and Heaven was boring and I didn’t want to go to either. Heaven is not the goal of the Christian life, Christ is the goal of the Christian life. Being with love ones in heaven is not the goal, being with Christ in heaven is the goal. You cannot scare me into a relationship with Christ anymore than you can please me into a relationship with Christ. This talk of heaven leads me to the next motivator I want to talk about. Pleasure is a motivator. This is true for everyone in here. We are motivated by pleasure. We change our jobs so that we can make more money to have more pleasure. We change the way we relate to each other so that we can find pleasure in each other’s company. If you can go on a cruise to the Bahamas for the same price as a weekend at the lake, you will change your plans from the lake to the cruise because it brings you more pleasure. Do you see this? Do you see how pleasure motivates you? Pleasure changes the way you do almost everything but it can never satisfy the need for more pleasure which means it does not bring real lasting change. You will need to change something tomorrow to feel more pleasure so it is never a real change but many endless changes. These are just three of many motivators that will not bring real, lasting, Godly change. There are too many of these to list to put into one sermon but these are the most common I believe. I will post what I believe the Bible teaches about change on Monday.

How People Change--Part 1

2006-12-06T06:45:00.000-08:00

There will be seveal posts on here in the next week that I am taking from a sermon I preached a few weeks ago about change. With New Year's right around the corner, people will soon be talking about their New Year's resolutions. Sadly, most of our resolutions fall through the floor. But I think it is helpful to get a biblical perspective on change. From conversion to true sanctification, not just moral conformity. Here goes. Read 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 We all have things in our life or about us that we would like to change. And we would do anything in the world change them. Some things we want to change are things that we should want to change because they are bad or unbecoming of us. In particular these things are mostly sin that we struggle with. We want to change some things because we just don’t like them. They are not bringing any harm to us or anyone else but we want to change them because we simply don’t like them. I have things like that. One thing in particular is my voice. I hate to hear myself recorded. When the JMB produces a new CD, I never listen to it after it’s finished. The last time I purposefully listen to it is in the studio for the final mix. Once it’s done, I’m done. I don’t want to hear it because I don’t like to hear my voice. But I continue to sing despite my voice, because I want people to hear the truth in the lyrics. I don’t have to sing as well as Mac Powell of Third Day, I just want to write music like King David. It is not my first priority to sound like Steven Curtis Chapman, but to write music that is as solid as his. I would change my voice if I could but it’s really not that important and it doesn’t keep me from doing what I feel the Lord has called me to do. Some of you have the same issue here. Some things you want to change don’t really matter that much. But some things do. And that is what I want us to look at today. How do people change? But not just for a little while, how do we change for good? It is really silly that people think that Christians are the only ones trying to convert people. The following is an article from the New York Times written by Mark Lilla. He starts off the article talking about how he had a "conversion experience" as a child but now totally denounces all claims to be a Christian. He goes to a Billy Graham Crusade in queens to write about it for the paper and talks with a young man who had gone forward and surrendered his life to Christ. Here is what he had to say: “I found it hard to conceal my bafflement, since Billy had not said much at all. You must be born again - that was it. I felt a professorial lecture welling up in my throat about the history and psychology of religion. I wanted to expose him to the pastiche of the biblical text, the syncretic nature of Christian doctrine, the church's ambiguous role as incubator and stifler of human knowledge, the theological idiosyncrasy of American evangelicalism. I wanted to warn him against the anti-intellectualism of American religion today and the political abuses to which it is subject. I wanted to cast doubt on the step he was about to take, to help him see there are other ways to live, other ways to seek knowledge, love, perhaps even self-transformation. I wanted to convince him that his dignity depended on maintaining a free, skeptical attitude toward doctrine. I wanted. . .to save him. I thought I was out of that business, but maybe not. It took years to acquire the education I missed as a young man, an education not only in books but in a certain comportment toward myself and the world around me. Doubt, like faith, has to be learned. It is a skill. But the curious thing about skepticism is that its adherents, ancient and modern, have so often been proselytizers. In reading them, I've often wanted to ask, "Why do you care?" Their skepticism offers no good answer to that question. And I don't have one for myself.” (emphasis mine) You will be converted by something. The writer says that we should stay skeptical of all doctrine.....all doctrine but his doctrine! All beliefs but his beliefs! Everyone has a set of beliefs and everyone has been converted by something. Even the most post-modern of the post-modernists have a set of beliefs that they, deep down, believe you should conform to. How silly it is to think that Christians are the only ones concerned with converting people. So, the question is not "will you be converted?" The question is, "What set of beliefs will have it's way with you?" I will continue with more of the sermon on Friday.

Small Crowd/Large Crowd

2006-11-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that when attendance is up at church, the leaders spirits are up? And when attendance is down, the leaders spirits are down. The same thing is true for us, not just pastors. Sadly, this is even true for me when it comes to music. As I look back at this year and contemplate the different concerts that we have done, it seems that our better concerts have been with larger crowds and that leads me to ask the question "why"? Why are the concerts with larger crowds better than the ones with smaller crowds? We have had our share of both. There were a few concerts that if we hadn't brought our families, we wouldn't have been singing but to a handful of people. Other concerts had people scanning the room for a place to sit because it was so full. The big shows were better than the small ones. Why? I think this is true for everyone no matter what the venue. I am not necessarily talking about attendance but whatever it is that brings this kind of behavior. I hope this doesn't get too long but I am going to elaborate on that for a second. I am a youth pastor as well as the lead singer of the Josh Martin Band. When a lot of kids are coming to youth, I'm excited. When attendance is small, I get depressed. Most pastors are the same way. I once worked as a manager at a Winn-Dixie Marketplace. When sales where up, everyone was in a good mood. When sales where averagre or a little below..........not so much. I hope you can apply this to whatever it is that you do. Whether you are a factory worker, pastor, blue collar, white collar, career woman, or stay at home mom. All of us go to the end of our day with something that we fall back on. We all have something that, even if everything else falls through the floor, we rest confident in it every night when we lay down our head. It could be the way you manage your family. You may say, "Whatever else happens in my day, it doesn't matter, I am still a good parent." We all have something that we are using to justify ourselves everyday. Tim Keller calls these "functional saviors". We all have something that at the end of the day will be our savior. A little confession of my own here......I have found that one of my functional saviors has become knowledge. I am very eager to learn anything that i can to grow closer to God. My top ten books of the year can be seen at my other blog www.reformationundergoud.blogspot.com . I love learning things. I traveled as a missionary after high school and was not able to go to college or seminary. I would love to do both but I am finding that reading has been almost a supplement for those things. But as I began to grow in knowledge, so did my pride. Knowledge had become my functional savior. This is how you can see your functional savoir. Functional saviors are really idols. You may think that you don't have any idols in your life, but trust me, you do. You say, "I am a Christian and Christ is my idol. I am obediently following him and not looking to anything else." Well, that's a nice thought but it's not completely true. All of us have idols but the problem is that we can't see them until we learn how to spot them. This is true of everyone, believers and non-believers. Here is how you spot them; I will borrow a little from Tim Keller here. Idols are simply good things that have become ultimate things. This can be anything from knowledge, family, food, your job, your social class, etc. Even ministry can become and idol. You know that these things are idols by seeing your reactions when they are tampered with. If a good thing is lost, you get upset and cry. If an ultimate thing is lost, you want to jump off a bridge. If a good thing is blocked from you, you get mad or angry. When an ultimate thing is blocked, you get bitter, you can't sleep. Do you see why you act the way you do? The things that you overreact to tend to be the idols in your life. If knowledge is my idol, and you disagree with what I think, I get bitter at you because you are questioning my funcitonal savoir. You are drawing into question the thing that I am banking on. If my family is my idol, when they die, I am devastated at the loss and I sink into deep depression. I have lost what I am banking on. This is how you spot them. How do you get rid of them? Your heart can never go without an idol. So idols are not removed, they are replaced. God has designed your heart to hold something dear. To have an object of affection. That object of affection is to be Christ. So now that you know Christ is to be your idol, you will fix it, right? It will never happen if you are planning on just changing it. You have this idol because you find something glorious about it. There is something about it that you feel you cannot do without. When something else becomes more glorious than your idol, you exchange it for that new thing. May I present a solution? The Gospel is the center of the Christian life. The gospel is not just what we preach to non-believers, it is something we must preach to other christians. We need to hear the gospel continually. Why? The gospel changes us. It continually reminds us of the ultimately glorious thing and that is Christ. Look at the examples in the bible that Paul has given us. In Ephesians 5 he tells husbands and wives how they are to treat each other but he doesn't just say, "Wives, submit to your husbands because I say so!" or "Husbands don't you dare cheat on your wives!" Keep reading what Paul says. He takes them to the gospel so that they can see the glorious truth of Christ and that is what changes them. Seeing Christ changes us (2 Corinthians 3:15-18). Christ will be our idol when we see him as glorious. This is getting really long. I will stop for now. If you anyone has any interest in me expounding more of this please leave a comment saying so and I will do it. But I hope that you see this truth so that attendance and sales are not what are justifying you at the end of the day. I hope you will be identified with Christ and not any lesser thing.

Scientific Reasons for a Young Earth Doctrine

2006-11-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you for participating in the discussion about the age of the earth. With this last post, I’ll present some general observations based on the findings of modern science – findings that are generally accepted by all scientists, nevertheless, leave old earth advocates scratching their heads. I will offer observations based on these findings that, when viewed through the lens of the Bible, will provide very reasonable explanations. Let’s begin. Observation I: The Human Population – Recorded history only goes back to about 3000 B.C. Over that time, the following statistics can be reasonably calculated: the human population grows at the rate of 2% per year, 20,000 people per million are added annually to the population and the population doubles every 35 years. I will not attempt to argue from a uniformitarian position that would base pre-historical rates and processes on rates and processes that we observe today. However, observe how grossly disproportionate the statistical findings must be to assume an old earth model. Over the past million years of human existence (as assumed by secular science), the current population would yield the following statistics: a growth rate of 0.000015% per year, the annual addition of 15 people per million to the population and the population would have only doubled every 30,000 years. Given a conservative scenario where there is only 0.5% of population growth to allow for war, disease, famine, etc., we can easily work backward to a single set of parents in just 4000 years. Observation II: Polystrate Fossils – The Old Earth assumption is that the geological record is made up of layers (or strata) laid down over billions of years. Polystrate fossils are fossils that cross through one strata into one or more other strata(um). This is a huge problem for Old Earth geologists when it comes to fossils of organic or living organisms. What happens to a dead fish or plant when left exposed to oxygen, bacteria and weather? It will decompose in a very short period of time. If these strata were laid down over millions or even just a few years, how could a fossilized tree cross several strata? In fact, trees on both the North American and European continents have been found to do just that – occasionally with the root ball of the tree pointing up! This contradicts the millions of years between strata belief system but strongly support the belief in a catastrophic layering resulting from a worldwide flood. Observation III: T-Rex Blood Cells – In March of 2005, paleontologists in Montana found a T-rex leg bone encapsulating un-fossilized tissue that contained red blood cells. Upon further examination of this tissue, it was found to be “elastic” in nature – meaning when it was manipulated, it returned to its original shape. Young Earth advocates have predicted this scenario for some time but it threw the secular scientific community for a loop. Little has been published on the find and few in the liberal media jumped on (what I would consider to be) the scientific find of the century. You can read more about the find as well as view microscopic pictures of the cells here: Science Now. Notice that they didn’t find the tissue until the fossil was reluctantly compromised to load it into the helicopter. Paleontologists are very careful to preserve their finds, so “breaking” them open would be unthinkable – besides, when you believe they are million of years old, you wouldn’t expect to find anything but more fossilized bone. However, I wouldn’t find it surprising at all to learn that many of the fossils sitting in museums today could, upon internal examination, contain similar tissue. Observation IV: Continental Erosion – Several sedimentary and erosion rates can be measured and compared to the resulting deposited material. In an Old Earth model, at the current rate of erosion, all the earth’s continents would have been leveled long ago. The deposits on the ocean’s floor should be much deeper than they are now at current rates. In fact, if the rate at which the continents are eroding into the oceans has been constant, they would have accumulated to their present day level in just 12 million years – nowhere near 3,000 million years that secular science deems the oceans. Additionally, salt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silicon, sodium, tin and uranium are eroding into the oceans at a measurable rate. Again, based on the current rates, the oceans would have reached toxic levels a long time ago. Creation Science maintains that the conditions of these processes can be easily understood in light of a worldwide cataclysmic flood. Observation V: Petrified Tree Rings – In the petrified forest of Yellowstone, there is an area called Specimen Ridge where there exist many layers of exposed petrified tree trunks 10 to 12 feet tall, having only the root-ball and no roots. The common interpretation by both secular and creation scientists is that they were deposited there by a catastrophic event (volcanic or flood event) from a distant location. Secular science automatically assumes that the layers were laid down over millions of years during many different events. John Morris, who holds a Ph.D. in geological engineering and is the president for the Institute for Creation research, made a prediction in 1975 concerning these petrified trees. If the rings of one tree could be analyzed and compared to the rings in trees in other layers and a common pattern established, it would verify one common event and source for the trees. In other words, if the trees could be proven to have lived through the same climate and weather patterns it would establish beyond any reasonable doubt they were laid during the same event – in Dr. Morris’ case, he believes that event was the Noahic Flood. In fact, Dr. Mike Arct assembled his Ph.D. dissertation on this very idea in 1991: “Dendrochronology in the Fossil Forests of the Specimen Creek Area, Yellowstone National Park.” In his dissertation he describes this “signature” ring pattern in several different layers, demonstrating and concluding that the various trees grew at the same time and must have been transported to this location during the same catastrophic event. There are many more dating methods that yield ages for the earth and universe that are much, much younger than secular science and Old Earth advocates claim. These include: rapidly decreasing magnetic decay; lack of meteoritic activity as well as a presence of soil fit to support plant life in the geological layers below the topmost layer; the rate that helium is formed from radioactive decay verses it’s measurable amounts – levels both atmospherically and below the surface, yield a model less than 40,000 years; a molten earth would have cooled to its present temperature in much less than 4.6 billion years; the moon moves away from the earth at a measurable rate and would have long since spun out of orbit in 4.6 billion years; it would only take tens of thousands of years for the tall crater walls on the moon and other planets to have leveled out due to gravity – they are still tall; the number of comets we have in our solar system verses the rate at which they are destroyed would have sent them to extinction long before we were around to observe them. What of the methods that yield billions of years? The only scientific methods that yield old earth dates (billions of years) are flawed because they are based on unlikely assumptions. This method is called radiocarbon dating. I could devote an entire post to that subject if anyone wishes. In conclusion, Creation Science purports that most of the findings that produce much younger ages for the earth can be easily understood and explained in light of a biblical framework including a cataclysmic and worldwide flood. We could devote another post to the flood of Noah and its effects if anyone wishes. The point is that there exists much more data to support a young earth than an old earth. I believe the fact that you never see these dating models referenced or taught – even though there are many more of them – is evidence that secular science is scared to give up any ground at all when it comes to the 4.6 billion years they cling to. Please respond with your ideas. I have enjoyed the time with you; thank you for participating in the quest for truth! Biblical Reasons Theological Reasons Historical Reasons Young Earth or Old?

Biblical Reasons for a Young Earth Doctrine

2006-11-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here’s the rub when it comes to the scrutiny of Genesis 1: there is only one real interpretation for the Hebrew word “yom” during the creation account. It either means long age or one rotation of the earth around the sun. Textually speaking, it could be either. However, if we were to read this chapter with no outside influence, even in the original language, we would naturally understand it as meaning a literal 24-hour “day”. The fact is the rest of Scripture views it that way. Even the Creator, Jesus himself, who was not only there but authored the creation event, obviously interprets Genesis 1 as a literal day. Consider the following: 1st: What does the Hebrew word “yom” mean? It is defined to mean a literal 24-day or to describe a longer, undetermined length of time. Genesis 35:3 for example, “the God who answers me in the “day” of my distress.” However, if the “yom” in Genesis 1 is supposed to be understood to mean something longer than a normal day with and evening and morning, it would be the only occurrence in Scripture that: --Wasn’t in a defining or prepositional phrase (e.g., “in the day of” or “at the age of fifty”) --Was accompanied by an ordinal (e.g., …evening and morning, the “first” day) 2nd: At the end of the first day and at the end of every subsequent day of creation, God defines exactly what a day is: “and there was evening and morning, the first day.” 3rd: On day four of creation we get further clarification for what a “day” constitutes: “the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night…and there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.” 4th: God spoke in Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh.” God himself is drawing a direct parallel between our workweek and his. With no distinction between the “yom” of creation and the “yom” of man’s workweek. God also wrote with his finger in Exodus 31:17, “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” 5th: Christ and the Apostles believed there were people on the earth from the beginning (not billions of years after the beginning): Jesus told the Pharisees in Mark 10:6, “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.” Not billions of years after the beginning of creation... --> Jesus says in Luke 11:50-51, “…so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Able to the blood of Zechariah…” Jesus obviously believed his first prophet, Able, was there at the beginning – the foundation of the world. Not billions of years after it had been set into motion. --> Jesus also said of Satan in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning,” making reference to Cain’s murder of his brother Able. --> Jesus prophesies about the tribulation in Mark 13:19, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of creation that God created until now.” According to Jesus, there has been some measure of tribulation since the beginning. If man didn’t enter the picture until billions of years after the beginning, then what was the object of this tribulation? --> Paul writes to the Romans in 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world.” First, for the attributes to have been perceived from creation there must have been someone to perceive them. Secondly, this is another passage that supports the idea that the creation is there to point us to God. Why have it sit undergoing mindless processes for billions of years before man is on the scene to marvel at it? --> I Peter 1:20 and Revelation 13:8, 17:8 speak of the Lamb that was slain or the names that were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world. What purpose could God have in billions of years of death and decay before his redemptive plan for man was set into motion. The elect were obviously elected from the foundation, why wait? In conclusion, if pagan philosophies since ancient Israel have battled against the God of the Bible with this idea of timeless matter and processes, don’t you think that Jesus and the Apostles would have been careful to not to misrepresent the creation account? In fact, they were very clear. By their own testimony they believed that man and the fall happened from the beginning of creation – not thousands of millions of years after it. Any one of these evidences unaided presents a weak case for a young earth. However, combined as a body of evidence, it is difficult to ignore. If there is some other reason for the universe to have existed for billions of years it is perplexingly hidden from us in Scripture. So what of the scientific evidence for an old earth? Well, I’m glad you asked… stay tuned… Biblical Reasons Theological Reasons Historical Reasons Young Earth or Old?

Theological Reasons for Young Earth Doctrine

2006-11-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

Progressive creation is careful to identify its position as NOT involving a God-guided evolutionary creation mechanism. However, it still claims the geological ages and record as understood by secular science. In other words, the sedimentary layers containing the fossil record were laid down over 3 billion years (give or take 500 million). This position requires two things to be true: ONE: Animals must have been living for around 3,000 million years (yes, that is another way of saying 3 billion – it just helps me better realize that it is a really big number). TWO: Animals must have been dying for around 3,000 million years (as evidenced in the fossil record). To straightforwardly embrace the geological ages, along with its record of millions of years of animals living/dying, also requires a reconciliation of the following: #1. If the universe, earth, plants and animals had been around for thousands of millions of years before God created man, then what purpose did that creation have? #2. If animals had been dying for three thousand million years before man was even created, then what of the earth’s bondage to death and decay as a result of man’s sin? #3. If death and decay had been taking place for thousands of millions of years before man was created and sin entered the world, then what of God’s creation that He described as “good”? #4. If animals had been living and becoming extinct (as evidenced in the fossil record) for millions of years before man was created, then what of the Dominion Mandate? To hold to an old earth position, one must now reconcile the requirements the Progressive Creation position demands with these core doctrine (this is what I meant by concentric effects). Point #1: God created us ultimately for his glory (Isaiah 43:7, 21; Jeremiah 13:11). That is a core doctrine. What purpose would there have been in thousands of millions of years of death and decay before God created man? Genesis 1:14 explains the reason for the stars, sun and moon: “And let them be for appointing time and for seasons, and for days and years.” Why have the universe exist for fifteen thousand million years just to act as a clock for us for a few thousand years – a mere blip on the radar? Yes, I know, “the heavens declare” God’s glory too. Yes, but declares to who? Us! Point #2: From a Progressive Creation point of view, death, decay and mindless geological processes have been taking place for billions of years before the fall. I cling tightly to the doctrine of man’s inherited sin nature and the earth’s bondage to death and decay (began in Gen 3:16-19 and described in Rom 5:12; 8:19-23). A large part of the theology surrounding salvation hangs on it. The theology of sin nature, death and decay are core doctrine to our Christian beliefs. They are clearly presented in Scripture. If death and decay were already taking place, then how impotent was the sentence issued to man and the earth because of the fall? I also anticipate a day when the earth will return, as in Eden, to an absence of death and decay as foretold in Is 11:6-9. “The wolf will lie down with the lamb, and the leopard with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” Point #3: Progressive Creation also must explain how God could call the thousands of millions of years of a cold, cruel process of geological upheaval and death, “good.” What of God’s creation that He described as “good” at the end of each creation day? What did God mean by his comments on the end of the sixth day recorded in Genesis 1:31, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good”? Death, extinction, pointless processes, catastrophic volcanic events…? Doesn’t sound too “good” to me. Point #4: The Dominion Mandate spelled out in Genesis 1:26-30 and clarified again in Psalms 8:4-8 clearly sets man over creation. He was to name it, subdue it, populate it and live off of it. It would have been anarchy to issue such a stewardship mandate over a system that had been created and set into motion billions of years earlier. In this scenario, what purpose was served by the animals that had become extinct before man was created? I guess they just missed out on the name thing… Bear with me for a closing thought. Note that Progressive Creation still holds to a special creation of Adam and Eve, fully formed (Gen 1:26; 2:7) with an appearance of age within the same timeframe young earth advocates propose for the creation of the earth. Why wouldn’t God create everything with an appearance of age – not to deceive us, but to give us a working useful creation from the start? If he created eggs and embryos first, who would have cared for them? If he created stars without creating the light between them and the earth, we wouldn’t have been able to see them. For the sake of clarification, I don’t believe that God created the fossil record to make the earth appear “old” – that would be deception. I believe that the geological table and the corresponding fossil record were laid during the flood of Noah. I believe there are many more evidences revealed in the biblical record, that when studied for what they are, will support the findings of pure modern science and a young earth doctrine. Speaking of the biblical record… stay tuned… Biblical Reasons Theological Reasons Historical Reasons Young Earth or Old?

Historical Reasons for a Young Earth Doctrine

2006-11-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

I once assumed that “old earth biblical doctrine” was a direct response to Darwinian Evolution. According to Henry Morris, as he explains in his book “The History of Modern Creationism,” this idea of space, time and matter being around “forever” has been a “core doctrine” of every pagan philosophy of antiquity. Consequently, it has plagued monotheistic religions all along the way. This inevitably happens when we begin to feel the need to view the Bible through the lens of our culture instead of viewing our culture through the lens of the Bible. According to Morris both ancient Israel and the early Christian Church “repeatedly resorted to various allegorical interpretations of Scripture, involving some form of long-stretched-out creation, seeking to combine creationist/redemptionist theology with pagan humanistic philosophy. Almost inevitably, however, such compromises ended in complete apostasy on the part of the compromisers.” It is interesting to note that a majority of the founders of modern science (including Isaac Newton) held to a literal biblical chronology. Even Charles Darwin himself began his career as a biblical creationist. According to his writings, he then slipped into a form of progressive creation, then to a form of theistic evolution and finally onto a totally atheistic/naturalistic mechanism for evolutionism. Morris also chronicles a brief rebirth of creationism in the early 1900’s. This resurgence, however, was compromised by an attempt to integrate “modern” science into the biblical record. The result was the eventual fading of all of these movements and organizations, including: the Religious and Science Association, The Creation Deluge Society, the Evolution Protest Movement and the American Scientific Affiliation. All of these organizations attempted to compromise the biblical record by accepting old earth doctrine as core to their beliefs. In contrast, the Institute for Creation Research was founded in 1970 and has steadily grown to its present day influence as a training and research facility that has gained a worldwide audience of students and supporters. Additionally, many young earth organizations have begun to amass and grow over the past couple of decades including: Answers in Genesis, the Creation Research Society, the Center for Creation Research and many others. You may be saying, “So what? All that was a long time ago and modern science has shown us much more today about the age of the earth.” Remember our number one rule? Let’s start with the Bible and not science. All I am trying to show here is what happened historically when a non-literal interpretation of the Bible was embraced to try and make it fit what society was currently donning as the most fashionable paradigm. Historically, when biblical theology attempted to embrace an old earth doctrine, it led to less than lucrative results. Speaking of theology… stay tuned… Biblical Reasons Theological Reasons Historical Reasons Young Earth or Old?

It's That Time Again

2006-11-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks. Long time no blog. Well, at least here at the JMB blog. I've blogged a lot on my personal blog. But, that's beside the point.

It's that time again! JMB will be playing at Centerfield's Cowboy Church this Friday, and at Brandenburg's Country Church on Saturday. My first-ever gig with JMB was at Cowboy Church a couple of years ago (even though I didn't become a member of the band until our live recording). We played Brandenburg for the first time last year, and I really enjoyed that show. That room sounds great! We're looking to see whoever may be there Friday Saturday....

2006-11-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

You gotta see this....too funny

2006-11-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

Me and Andrew at the Desiring God Conference
To see how I dealt with Andrew at the DG Conferece just push play.

Did you Vote?

2006-11-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

I hope that you guys that are of voting age went to vote yesterday. Voting is a priviledge that we have in this country that many people in other countries don't have. I use to not really care if I voted or not. I thought, "My one vote won't make a difference anyway". But I have since realized the importance of supporting candidates who share the same values as myself. Here is my only beef with election time: So many people say, "You should vote because people have died so that you could!" I have heard more Christians say that than I have heard them say, "Christ died so that you could be reconciled to God!" I guess my beef is not with election time as much as it is with the degrading of the cross. Voting is extemely important but it will always stand in the shadows of the cross. If you must tell someone that a person has died for their benefit, I pray that you will tell them of Christ, not just christian soldiers.

New Song

2006-11-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

I have written a new song this week called, "Clumsy Believer". I got the idea from the Bebo Norman concert that I was fortunate enough to attend. He was talking about how he is so clumsy with his faith. I feel the same way. You'll have to come to a concert to get the full story. Hope to see you there!

Please Read This

2006-10-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a great article about which understanding where lines are drawn when it come to doctrines that so often divide. Please read this. http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-07-12

Literal or Figurative?

2006-10-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

What is your view on biblical interpretation? Do you believe, in other words, that the beginning of Genesis is figurative or allegorical in content or literal? I hold to a literal interpretation of ALL scripture unless the text CLEARLY forces me to do otherwise. A general rule of thumb for me is that you will rarely (if ever) find the need to have a figurative interpretation unless dealing with a prophetical text. Even in prophecy, however, only when it is obviously communicating a picture of events to come (Daniel statue - already fulfilled; revelation beast - not fulfilled). I can see the wisdom of God not wanting to reveal every detail of a future event – can you imagine if we knew the exact time of the rapture? On the other hand, I cannot see what wisdom there would be in communicating the reality of the past in riddles and word pictures. In areas of history, we can (and I maintain, must) embrace a literal interpretation. The danger is in the placement of the line. Once drawn, it is anyone’s game to play in its location. Its placement inevitably lands right smack in the middle of the gray area between what we understand about Scripture and what we don’t. When standing before my Judge, I’d sure not want to be forced to explain, “Well, I just understood those things as a kind of a story.” In light of Paul’s challenge to Timothy to rightly handle God’s Word, I’d much rather have these words to offer: “I took your Word seriously. If I erred, I erred on the side of understanding your words to mean exactly what they said.”

Young Earth or Old?

2006-10-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Should Young Earth Doctrine Be Considered Core? I frequently find myself in conversations where I hear the phrase, “I believe that the earth is old/young but it doesn’t really matter because it isn’t a fundamental doctrine.” In an effort to evade miscommunication, let me begin our discussion by explaining that I believe your conviction about the age of the earth is not an issue central to salvation. However, as my father and I were discussing this afternoon, embracing one doctrine almost always has a concentric effect on other doctrine. We could examine many cases of this, but our discussion of the age of the earth should prove quite adequate as an example. There is too much on this issue to discuss in the body of a single blog post; so, I will lay some ground rules, clarify some definitions and layout a framework today. I welcome any and all feedback and discussion as we journey through this topic. I propose one basic rule: the Bible is our first and final authority in all matters. This includes all areas of life (spiritual, moral, scientific, etc.). As always, we will attempt: 1. To understand passages of scripture from their biblical and historical context. 2. Let scripture interpret scripture, where often it does. 3. Begin with scripture as our starting point (not science). I’d like to clarify some basic definitions from the outset. Within evangelical circles, there exist two major views on creation and the age of the earth: 1. Old Earth: the universe is around 15 billion years old, the earth around 4.6 billion, life around 3.5 billion, and that the fossil record was laid over millions of years of animals dying and being fossilized in the sedimentary layers that make up the geological table embraced by modern science. 2. Young Earth: the universe, earth and life were all created in the six literal 24-hour days described in Genesis 1 between 6,000-15,000 years ago and the geological table we see is a result of Noah’s flood (flood geology). For our discussion I will be referring to the two major doctrines embraced by conservative theologians on each side of this issue of the earth’s age: Progressive Creation and Scientific Creation. Progressive Creation (formally known as the Day-Age theory) is the term most theologians use to describe their old earth doctrine. This is a clear distinction from the Theistic Evolutionists (who believe that God used evolution as his means to bring everything into existence) and Gap Theorists (who purport a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2). Theistic Evolution and the Gap Theory (as well as many other theories that attempt to include God into an old earth model) have slowly but steadily lost support over the last couple of decades due to biblical inconsistency and/or a lack of scientific support. While rejecting an evolutionary mechanism, progressionists purport that God “progressively” created and populated the earth over the course of billions of years. Their basic interpretation of Genesis 1 is that the “days” of creation represent long ages. Progressive Creation’s most prominent advocate today is a Christian scientist named Hugh Ross. He has written many books on the topic such as: “The Creation and the Cosmos” and “Creation and Time.” Many respectable theologians, including Norman Geisler, R.C. Sproul, Bill Bright and others, embrace this doctrine. Scientific Creation is the term most used to describe those who embrace a young earth doctrine. Core to this position is a literal interpretation of the creation days and “flood geology.” Flood Geology in a nutshell is the idea that the sediments of the geological table were laid down during the catastrophic and worldwide flood of Noah. Henry Morris has been called “the father of scientific creation.” He is the founder of the Institute for Creation Research and has written extensively on the subject in many technical as well as laymen’s books. I recommend “The Modern Creation Trilogy,” “The Genesis Record” and “Scientific Creationism.” Scientific Creation is embraced by many respected theologians such as: Chuck Smith, Tim LeHay, John McArthur, Albert Mohler, and many others. In the next four posts I will tackle this issue from four different angles. I will attempt to explain why I believe that Young Earth Doctrine is an important doctrine due to: 1. Historical Reasons 2. Theological Reasons 3. Biblical Reasons (Biblical record) 4. Scientific Reasons Please let me know if this even interests anyone or if you’d rather not see this issue discussed in this particular forum. I will happily and graciously respond accordingly. Otherwise… stay tuned…

the Josh Martin Band blog

2006-10-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

Testthe Josh Martin Band blog

the Josh Martin Band blog

2006-10-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

Does this thing work? the Josh Martin Band blog

What's going on folks?!

2006-10-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Been a while since we have seen some of you guys. So, how are things going? Anything going on in your lives that you would like to share, good or bad?

Oh yeah, life goes on

2006-10-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

For those who never venture over into my own little world that I call my blog, I'll bring my next post over here. Hello all. How are things? Let me tell me, things are great over here. I'm still at good ol' U of K and loving it. Midterms are upon us so I'm a little swamped, but nothing too bad. My honor's class is definitely my least favorite class at the moment and I am very ready to be finished with it. I'm not really enjoying the reading or the papers that I have to write but I'm dealing with it. I've got all of my work turned in and I'm passing so I guess there's no real complaints. Life with Mary Beth is good. We've been together for 1 month now (as of Monday) and things are still going great. We don't get many chances to see each other besides weekends but we are managing. God has blessed us so much and any amount of extra work and travel that we have to do is well worth it. I'm missing JMB and music together, but it's always like this around this time of year. I'm really looking forward to our two gigs at the end of November. Hopefully we'll get some practice time in before we have to travel and maybe work up some of those new songs (hint, hint). Well, I'm really just typing this so I have an excuse to not finish my homework but now I'm starting to feel bad about my procrastination tactics so I guess this is good bye. I'll see you when I see you.

VACATION TIME IS HERE AGAIN

2006-10-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

VACATION TIME IS HERE AGAIN Current mood: excited It's the night before the big day! We head off again on another cruise tomorrow morning. We are so excited that my mom is able to come along on this one with us along with Ericcia's dad and step-mom and her brother and sister in law. It has been eighteen years since mom has been on a cruise, so I am anxious to see her reaction when she sees how much bigger the boats are these days. We will be getting up way to early in the a.m. to head to the Lexington airport. We don't take off till 8:30 but Ricci (Ericcia's dad) wants to get an early start just in case we have vehicle problems so they are going to be here at 6 a.m. I don't leave that early to be at work at 7:30....lol I understand though. The boat will be leaving from Tampa FL. and we will be visiting Costa Maya, Belize, Grand Cayman, and the Cayman Islands (I think). I plan on gaining about 5 pounds while I am gone and really do not plan on doing a whole lot other than eat. Anyhow, please keep us all in your prayers as we head out tomorrow and I will try and update as often as I can. Kelly

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 3

2006-10-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

“Here Comes the Sun,” and “On the Road Again” are the theme songs for today. The sun finally showed itself this morning, and we’re preparing for the trip home. Just a short closing session and worship set remains. For the Morning Show, we performed our rendition of “My Girl” titled “Sunshine.” We’ve recorded the entire weekend, and plan to post some of the performances on the audio section of our site. Look for these soon! We had a great time learning and growing with the VU campus ministry folks. We look forward to joining them at next year’s retreat.

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 2

2006-10-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today has been an eventful day. The band opened the Morning Show with our own rendition of “Smokey Mountain Rain” titled “Illinois Rain.” Our weather forecast from yesterday was dead on – it’s still raining. We opened the morning worship with some more upbeat stuff to get the kids moving. This afternoon, we discovered a few things: • Not all Bibles include all 66 books of the Bible (Andrew’s new NASB left out Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah and all but two chapters of Job). • Derek can, occasionally, have a striking resemblance to a Smurf • When we actually rehearse songs, we can sound fairly good. During the free time, we decided to have a rehearsal. Feeling the need to add more worship songs to our sets, we learned “Grace Like Rain” by Todd Agnew and “Sometimes by Step” by Rich Mullins. We debuted both songs in the evening worship set. Look out for these new worship songs at a gig near you (we have also recently added “God of Wonders” to our catalog). After the evening worship, the Late Nite Live game was “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” The band and Matt Walton formed the Kentucky Headhunters team. We rocked the competition, but unfortunately, the partial judges gave the victory to a student team. Our reference to aliens listening to bluegrass was quoted several times by other teams, and our party skit was the “funniest things I’ve seen in years,” according to Mike Cabell. Nevertheless, we finished third in the competition. Thus concludes Day #2.

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 1

2006-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

We're just wrapping up the first day of the Vincinnes University campus ministries retreat at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp in Flora, Illinois. The big story here is rain - and lots of it. Some storms have rolled through, but nothing too severe. Word is that it will rain most of the weekend, which puts a "damper" on the situation. Rumor has it, Noah's ark was seen floating in the distance earlier this evening. Never fear! We're still having a great time. Approximately 60 students made the retreat. Matt Walton is this weekend's speaker. We heard an introduction tonight, and we're all looking forward to what God has laid on his heart for the weekend. The full band wasn't able to make last year's trip, but we're in full effect this year. Doug, Bert, and Kelly weren't with us last year, so they're getting the VU experience for the first time. We're also playing with our snappy new soundboard for the first time this weekend. It makes us feel like a real band having a nice, new, very large soundboard. More to come!

Coming soon..........

2006-09-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Bert and myself attend church at Harvest Community Church. I just wanted to let you guys know that on or church's website in the next few weeks there we will be putting up our weekly sermons and a "Learning Biblical Theology" class that Pastor Kevin and myself are teaching on monday nights this fall. You don't have to have a seminary education to understand what we are talking about (I'm teaching, it can't be too hard to understand!). You will be able to check this out in the next week or so. You can access the site by clicking on the link for Harvest Community Church on our links page. Later.

"A Year With the Parents"

2006-09-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

I had discussed briefly on the message board a few months ago about putting together some resources for Youth Workers. In November I will be making the first of these resources available for anyone who wants them. The first series will be titled, "A Year with the Parents". This will be a monthly Bible Study starting in January that youth workers can send to the parents of their youth. It will stress the importance of parent's knowing and being involved in their child's spiritual growth. These bible studies will hopefully encourage and edify parents as well as shaking up some of the apathetic ones. Be watching for this series in November. You will be able to download it right from our website completely free. If you are a parent of a youth or if you are a youth worker, I strongly encourage you to do this. God Bless!

Good Luck Derek!

2006-08-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to publicly wish Derek good luck on his Freshman year of college. We are praying for you homey!

I guess this makes me eligible....

2006-08-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of us sometimes struggle with thinking that we are not good enough to know Jesus. The truth is....we're not. But we can find great hope in the words of Jesus himself as we read the story of how Jesus called Levi (aka "Matthew") to follow him. Here is the story. "After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:27-32 (ESV) I am very glad of that last line! Because all of us are sinners. Most of us have a tendancy to fall into the same problem that the pharisees do. It is really easy for us to pick out everybody else's problems and not examine ourselves. It is not that the pharisees didn't do the right things, they just did the right things with the wrong motives. They acted like they cared about God's law but they didn't. They were more in love with being right than being with Jesus. But we find tremedous hope in these verses! Jesus came to call those of us who are sinners. He calls those who realize their need of Him. We need him and we need him more than anything. Today, how will you respond to such an amazing God who comes and gives himself to those who don't deserve him?

Come see us!

2006-08-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, we know... Kelly is back from vacation. Since no one else is posting anything new I guess that I will have to. To all of you who have never seen the Josh Martin Band in concert I urge you to come see us this month. We'll be here in Frankfort on the 20th (I say "here in Frankfort" because that is where I am), Harrison County High School on the 26th, and in Shelbyville at the New Hope Baptist Church on the 27th. For those who have seen us... you should come back and see us again. You'll probably notice some new elements to our live shows including airborn guitar solos, lasars, and pyrotechnics. Am I lying? Maybe... but there's only one way to find out for sure!

I'm Back!

2006-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hey folks.......I'm back from a long needed vacation! The houseboat was great and it was fun to just hang out in the water and do nothing. We did get to do some tubing while we were out there which was too much fun. I hadn't done that in YEARS! I also attempted to ski for just the 2nd time in my life and I actually made it up for about 30 seconds or so. Pretty impressive for a short fat guy. However, after all that tubing and very little skiing I did, my body is not liking me at all right now and I think the only part of me that doesn't hurt are my fingers. I'm looking forward to get back in the groove of things and start working towards my next vacation in Oct. Another cruise! whoooo hoooo!!

What if Jesus said "NO"

2006-07-19T06:23:00.001-07:00

Luke 18:13--But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" What if Jesus said no? Could you imagine crying out to God for mercy and his reply be "no". Would that be unfair? I mean, don't the rules say that if I cry out for mercy God has to give it. Let there be no mistake about it, there will come a day when it will be too late to cry out for mercy but that day has not arrived yet. Would it be unfair for Jesus to tell us no in this present day? It would not be unfair. I hope we never ask for what is fair with Christ. We have life today because of the unfairness of God. If God pronounced nothing but judgement and wrath upon us, it would be a just judgement. It would be deserved and he would be right for doing so. However, God does not overlook our sin when we are forgiven. Christ paid the penalty for our sin. Our sin was dealt with by Jesus and he took the punishment (the wrath of God) in our place. This is what is meant by substitutionary sacrifice. Christ was our substitute on the cross. This is not fair. Christ being completely without sin was punished as if he were a sinner. In the same breath we must also realize that just as Christ was counted a sinner (even though he was not morally a sinner) we get counted as righteous even though we are not morally righteous. Christ got the credit for our sin and we got the credit for his righteousness. Again, this is not fair. But it is a reality for all who will repent of their sins and believe on him. Jesus will not say no. We have the promise of John 6:37--"All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Until the day of Christ's return, he will never say no to those who draw near by grace through faith. It is my earnest desire that we would all realize this truth and stand in awe of the grace of God. It is an awesome thing. It is unfair, but it is a reality. It is the good news!

What if Jesus said "NO"

2006-07-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Checking In

2006-07-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks... it's been quite a while since I've posted here at the JMB blog. First things first - Derek got a haircut. Saw him working in Kroger today... His hair is quite short now. Sad thing is, the ladies are still gonna love him. Stinkin' Derek. One of our biggest fans - Nele - has returned home to Germany. We played a concert for her going-away party last week at The Point. We - Derek more than most of us - miss her already. She was fun little German. Hopefully we'll see her again soon. Get us a gig in Germany! New songs are on the way! We'll be rehearsing a bit over the next month of so to learn some new material. Not only originals, but also some new praise & worship songs. Gotta keep things fresh, ya know. Don't worry - I'm sure you'll still hear "Drive" at every concert :-) Live downloads? Be on the lookout for lots of live MP3's on our website. I've been recording our past few shows, and they haven't turned out too bad. We're hopefully gearing up for a new live CD, and possibly a DVD. In the mean time, we're enjoying some time off... hanging out with friends & family, vacationing, etc. August will be busy, and we're looking forward to getting back on stage! See you all soon...

Dull bass player news

2006-07-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't read my blog I think I'll update you a little bit. I will be getting a new bass tomorrow. Although it won't officially be mine until I pay for it (probably Sunday) it will be mine enough to take home and play... which it good enough for me! It's a 1978 Rickenbacker 4001. People unfamiliar with that name may recognize it as the bass used by Paul McCartney (later Beatles and Wings), Lemmy of Moterhead, Chris Squire of Yes, and Geddy Lee of Rush (in earlier years). I'm excited to see how I can use it in JMB shows. We'll see...

Happy 4th of July

2006-07-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th! I also wanted to pass along some words of a song that really helps us to remember our purpose here. "My first allegiance is not to a country or a land, My first allegiance is not to democracy, but, It's to a King and a Kingdom." As we celebrate the freedom we have, let's remember that even in this land we call America, we are still immigrants and only in Christ can we know freedom. God Bless!

New Equipment

2006-06-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

The JMB has been fortunate to have the equipment that we have used for the last couple of years. However, we are finding good reasons to replace some of it. The main speakers that we have been using are getting pretty old and we are starting to get a buzz out of one of them. We are trying to get a new monitor system of sorts. We meet tonight to discuss our options and see what is the best option. You may not care about this stuff, but just in case you have ever wondered what we talk about, well, there you go!

We are now on MySpace

2006-06-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hey folks.....I got to thinking of another way to get our name out there.....check us out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/thejoshmartinband Kelly

New toy

2006-06-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Just a few hours ago I returned from Cinn. Ohio with, hopefully, my tonal salvation. The new Line 6 Bass Podxt Live. It's an amp modeling system that gives me the options of playing through 28 different amps, 22 different cabs, 4 different mic options, and over 50 different stomp boxes. It will probably be accompanying me to every JMB concert from here on out and I hope that I can finally be pleased with my bass tone. I just finished messing with it for the night and I am looking forward to Thursday when I can use it live.

Galatians 1:11,12

2006-05-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:11-12 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” We have seen in recent weeks that the gospel is being distorted among the church and it seems to be happening the same way that all biblical doctrines are distorted. Even today, just like back then, distortions of the gospel are arising within the church. But these distortions are always the gospel of man. Man-centered gospel leads to man centered theology, which in turn leads to man-centered worship which, produces more man centered gospel (although it’s not really gospel). You may be reading this and thinking, “aren’t you being a little extreme?” Well, let’s look at some aspects of your local congregation and when they gather to see if this cycle is true; Man-centered gospel verses God-centered gospel. Man-centered gospel—a message that focuses on man being the chief end for which Christ came to die. God-centered gospel—a message that focuses on God’s glory being the chief end for which Christ came to die. Example of man-centered gospel: Jesus came and died for me. Example of God-centered gospel: Jesus came and died for me for the glory of God. This may not seem like too much of a difference but let’s see how this affects your theology. Man-centered theology—a system of theology that makes man the center of all doctrine. God-centered theology—a system of theology where all other doctrines are subject to the doctrine of God. Example of man-centered theology: All events in life are ultimately determined by man. Example of God centered theology: All events in life are ultimately determined by God. This greatly affects our worship. We do not sing of the glory of God but of the glory of man. Man-centered corporate worship—man becomes the focal point of songs, prayers, and preaching God-centered corporate worship—God becomes the focal point of songs, prayers, and preaching Example of man-centered corporate worship: “He took the fall, and thought of me, above all” Example of God-centered corporate worship: “God of wonders beyond our galaxy, you are holy, holy” The problem with man being the center of the Gospel stems from pride, which stems from our sin nature. The gospel is not something that we can afford to get wrong. We are not talking about stuff such as infant baptism verses believers baptism or taking communion every week verses quarterly. We are talking about the message of the cross. That message is the very power of God for those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). I have said this before and I will say it again—we must preach the gospel to each other as believers. And it can’t be a man-centered gospel. The church in Galatia was experiencing the affects of a man-centered gospel. Paul is writing to the church to clear up the confusion. The gospel that Paul is preaching is not man’s gospel. He received it from the Lord. He was not taught it. Christ revealed it to him. Paul did not learn the gospel from Ananias but received it from the Lord (Acts 9). The gospel as laid out in the bible is the only gospel that has the power to save and sanctify. I cannot say this enough; WE MUST GET THE GOSPEL RIGHT!!

It's getting closer.....

2006-05-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

We are almost through with the new cd............I think. Everyone has all parts, vocal and instrumental, fixed to their liking and we are down to the final mixing. Andrew gave us a rough mix sunday night after our concert at the Point Community Church and hopefully the next mix will be final. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Galatians 1:10

2006-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We have seen in the last few verses that Paul is astonished at the Galatians hasty turn to another gospel other than what he had preached to them from the beginning. Those in Galatia that taught a gospel other than what Paul had taught were not only attacking the gospel but also attacking Paul’s character. As Paul preaches salvation by grace through faith he is accused of preaching a “easy” gospel. He is not preaching a salvation by “works” but by “faith”. This is contrary to what the false teachers are preaching. This salvation by faith alone would stand against the customs of Galatia. Later on in this letter Paul explains a couple of the things that the Galatians have evidently been sliding back into. In chapter 5 Paul address the circumcision that many were clinging to for salvation by presenting the truth that circumcision and uncircumcision do not account for anything but “faith working through love”. In chapter 4 Paul addresses his concerns for the Galatians in their ritualistic practices in observing special days in order to gain favor. Paul’s main purpose in writing this letter to the Galatians is to once again proclaim the truth of the gospel that salvation is wholly of grace and not of any human effort or work. No one is good enough or can do enough good things to save themselves. Our salvation is, from beginning to end, the work of God. Here in verse 10 we see Paul defending the claims that had been made about him preaching an easy gospel to gain approval with men. By the time of this letter Paul has been persecuted harshly for proclaiming the gospel. The testimony of Paul’s life is sufficient reason for the Galatians to know that he is not seeking the approval of men. Paul had suffered such severe persecution that had he been seeking his own well being, he would not have been a servant of Christ. Paul had faced tremendous hardships, but he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Paul did not seek the approval of men but to please the Christ who saved him.

Big Words

2006-05-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

I must admit to all of you that I am extremely illiterate when it comes to talking about computers. I know what a monitor is and a keyboard and a mouse. I know what CD-Rom is and I know just enough to check my email and blog. That's about it. Pentium, mega-bites, ram, modem, gigahertz, and Celeron are all words that I have heard but just really don't have a clue what they mean. I have no interest in finding out either. I just found out the other day by experience that you can't play MP3 stuff on a regular CD player. But some of you know what all of these words mean and are probably laughing at the fact that I don't. You may think it is crazy that I am probably using all of those things as I type right now and don't even know it. How in the world could I grow up surrounded by computers and not know what these things are? There are computers at my house, at the office, in my cell phone, on the engine in my car, and we even use one in our church services. How could I be around so much technology without knowing the language? The answer is simple--I just don't care about any of it. I don't care about my computer. I am just using it to serve myself. I don't care what goes on inside of it as long as I can depend on it and it works for me. Hopefully by now this is sounding familiar and you are getting the point of this post. But for those of you who think that this is just more proof that I'm clueless, I will spell it out for you. Justification, sanctification, regeneration, election, propitiation, glorification, the Trinity and imputation should be as common language to Christians as gigahertz and modems are to the technologically advanced. Baseball players know what the DL is, football players know what a touchback is, and christians should know what justification is. There are thousands of terms that we use everyday to explain and communicate our passions. How often do we ignore the truth of God's word because we are too lazy to find out what words like propitiation mean? I think the truth is that we don't know because it has never been taught or we don't care. God's word is not burning in the hearts of pastors so they begin to do cute things to make up for it. To think of what we have traded for humor makes my stomach turn. One of my grandfathers fought in WW2 and the other fought in Korea. When they stepped on the battlefield they knew the hand signals. They knew the codes and they knew the manuevers. They knew the language. We are at war. We better know the codes and we better know the language. Because we must be able to use the full armor of God or we will die.

Busy week

2006-05-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to apologize to the few faithful devo readers. It has been a busy couple of weeks and I have just not had time to write them. But next week is looking better so hopefully we will be back to Galatians. Later Taters......

Why do we want to believe it?

2006-05-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

In all of my study of "The Da Vinci Code" refutations I am yet to see anyone answer this question; Why do people want to believe it? This question staggers me more than the claims in the book. We know what Dan Brown says and we know what prominent theologians and every pastor with a blog says, but none of them answer this question. (at least none that I've seen. They may be out there but I haven't seen them.) Here are some thoughts on why I believe people want to believe it. Not why they believe it, why they want to believe it. 1.) Everybody loves a conspiracy.--I must admit that I myself would rather watch "Conspiracy" on the History Channel to see the theories about the JFK assasination than study his credentials to be president. Who doesn't love a good UFO story?! Does anybody remember the guy who worked at Area 51 that came out talking about the aliens he saw only to be dismissed as having never worked there. I have watched hours of that stuff. 2.) It is much easier to justify my actions if the standard has been lowered.--All sinners look for justification, just not at the same place. Our only hope as sinners is the righteousness of Christ. There is no hope offered in a fallible Christ. Many people find justification for their actions in believing there are no absolute truths. Let's be honest, this is exactly what this boils down to. 3.) There is power in numbers.--Over 40 million copies sold, translated into 42 languages. The average reader has a tendancy to think they are somewhat "smart". "If 40 million people are buying it, it must have something to it." People don't want to be ignorant of religion or history, they just are. When was the last time you knew of a church history book selling over 40 million copies. After picking up this fictional book most readers will retain small, seemingly insignificant statements from this book and assume them as fact. If I read a fictional book about a teenager in a gang on the streets of New York, I don't assume that teenagers, gangs, and New York are fictional. I could go on and on but there really is no need to. I am sure that you have reasons why if you think about it. Tonight my youth are going to learn about the Council of Nicea. ha, ha. I couldn't imagine ever hearing that in youth. Ignorant kids make ignorant adults.

Galatians 1:6-9

2006-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:6-9 Galatians 1:6-9—I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or and angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. I wish there was some way to simultaneously cast these verses into the hearts and minds of all Christians, especially since the recent uprising of the “Gospel of Judas”. Many questions are being raised about things such as “The DaVinci Code” and the “Gospel of Judas”. This is good in one sense and bad in another. It is good because it is calling us to give an account for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15) which in turn drives us to understand why we believe what we believe. It is bad because most doubts and fears are not coming from the world, but from within the church. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Evidently, the 21st Century is not the first time that the Gospel has taken fire from false teachers. Paul tells the Galatian church, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you……and are turning to a different gospel”. Paul was astonished at the turning away of the Galatians. Those who are not in Christ are naturally going to turn aside from the true Gospel. It is part of our depravity (Romans 3:12). We have had God’s word for hundreds of years and yet because of our lack of knowing it, we are shaken by the claims of “new discoveries”. Galatians 1:6-9 is a perfect picture of what Paul would have to say to the Church of America. Throughout all of Paul’s letters he is constantly preaching the gospel to the church. You may think that this sounds odd because the church should already know the gospel, right? But for different reasons, we must continue to preach the gospel to each other as believers. Preaching the gospel is not only the means by which salvation comes, it is also a part of the means of our sanctification. The same message that brings us to God is the same message that continues to keep us with God. Steven Curtis Chapman once wrote, “No heart loves greater than the one that is able to recall the time when all they knew was shame.” There are none who cherish the gospel more than those who know the gospel. Paul pronounces a curse to all those who would distort the gospel or preach a gospel contrary to the one that he has preached. The gospel that Paul preached was a crucified and risen lord. The word “accursed” is translated from the Greek word “anathema”. Anathema carries some weight with it. You can see the importance of the gospel when you understand what Paul pronounces over those who distort it. If someone is anathema they are, “cut off from salvation”, or “damned”. This should tell us something about the importance of getting the gospel right, and preaching the gospel to each other. Paul felt so strongly about the power of the gospel that to distort it or to turn to another gospel would be spiritually suicidal. I hope that the recent attention that the media has given to false gospels and fictitious claims would not turn your head. These are neither new findings nor is this the first time these issues have come up. It doesn’t take a historian or theologian to refute these claims. It just takes the church being the church.

Recording Drums...again

2006-04-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

IMG_0295.JPG
Originally uploaded by AndrewD300.

Hey everyone... Andrew here. I'm in the process of laying down new drums tracks for the new album. Since Josh decided to redo his vocals, it gave me enough time to get the new drums recorded. So far, so good! I'm halfway done, and should have all tracks completed by next Tuesday, if all continues to go well.

Click on the picture to be taken to a gallery of pictures of the set up in the makeshift recording space I'm using.

Wednesday Devo

2006-04-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week and it is about to get busier. I haven't had time to write a devotion for the website but I ran across and article by John Piper that you don't want to miss out on. The article is about repentance and it is something that we as amercians can definitely use to hear more about. Check it out. You won't be sorry. http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/041906.html A little side note: I am going to hear John Piper speak this friday in louisville. I will tell him you guys said "hey".

New Cd Update

2006-04-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

After listening to the rough mix of the new JMB cd I have to admit that my vocal performance is quite lacking. I am going to re-record my vocals which will push back the release date. The new release date is ......whenever. I was so worried about getting good mic levels and hitting the right notes on the first time through that I didn't feel the songs at all. I didn't sing them like I believed them. I didn't realize how dead it was until the rough mix. I will say that Andrew has done a superb job of mixing the instruments. I have said this before and I will continue to say this until it ceases to be true; I get to play music with my favorite band. Not everyone can say that. These guys are my favorite musicians. I couldn't imagine playing without them. You are a lucky man Josh Martin!

Galatians 1:4,5

2006-04-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:4,5 Galatians 1:4,5—who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. It’s very easy to pass over greetings when we read the bible but this is the third week and we are still looking at the greeting. I told you this would take a while! The reason we are still in Paul’s greeting is because it is so jam-packed with truth about the glorious things of God. His authority and death defying power (v.1), his grace, peace and lordship (v.3), and now in verses 4 and 5 we see other incredible truths. Right away we notice what was done for us. Christ gave himself for our sins. After all, noticing what affects us is part of being human. By nature we are self-absorbed people. But through the Spirit we are awakened to the glorious truths that the taking away of our sins happened because it glorifies God, not because it glorifies us. You can look at Christ’s taking of our sins in two ways. One is biblical and the other is not. You can say, “Christ took away my sins! I must be glorious!” Or you can say, “Christ took away my sins! He must be glorious!” Now, none of us would openly say, “I must be glorious!” but if our view of the cross centers on us rather than on the glory of God, we have already said this in our hearts. Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus took away our sins. Yes, we get the benefits of the cross. But He must get the glory. The glory of God is the ultimate reason for the existence of everything. Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.” There is an age coming that is not evil. It is an age where those in Christ will look upon his face and not die. It will be an age where the glory of God will be so much more than we could ever dream it to be. Our wandering hearts and wandering eyes will be so satisfied with what we see and feel that nothing will enter our being that does not directly flow up in praise to Him. Christ came to deliver for Himself the church that they might be to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:12-14). Christ gave himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil age and this all happens because of the will of God. The fact that those in Christ have been delivered is owing completely to the will of God. It is not owing to any good work we have done. We can’t pray enough. We can’t read our bible enough. We can’t do enough good things. We cannot avoid enough bad things. You can’t lay down your life for the Kingdom of God enough. Our salvation is owing to the fact that God in his sovereignty has chosen to save sinners. We are saved because it is his will to save us, not because it is ours. We can want to be saved all day long but if God in his Grace had chosen to not save sinners, our desire to be with him would be useless. Paul explains this in detail in Ephesians 2. It was God’s will for Christ to go to Calvary and die for sins. It was God’s will for His own son to die a death that he did not deserve. It was God’s will for Judas to betray Christ. Many of you will struggle with these truths and I struggle with them sometimes myself but the bible is very clear that these events came as a result of God’s ordaining that they be. Nothing catches God by surprise. He is not removed from his throne because of disobedient men. Joseph was sold into slavery because it was God’s will. He told his brothers, “You meant this for evil, but God meant this for good” (Genesis 50:20). He didn’t say “God turned this into good”, he said, “God meant this for good.” God is sovereign over all things. Nothing can escape his hand (Deut. 32:39). Paul closes his greeting by stating that God gets the glory for all of this. The ultimate end in all that has been said and done is the glory of God. We must never claim the glory that comes from our being saved. It must always flow directly to God. No one is good enough to save themselves. We get the benefits, He gets the Glory. Christ took our sins, he gets the glory. We are delivered from this present evil age, he gets the glory. He saves sinners like us because it is according to his will, he gets the glory. Glory will flow forever and ever, and he gets that glory!

Am I really saved?

2006-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

If we are honest with ourselves, we have all asked ourself this question at some point in time. Especially when we begin to struggle with a particular sin. One thing is for certain, we are saved by grace alone and our salvation is not a result of any work. If we are saved, then doing good things didn't save us. In the same way, doing bad things won't "unsave" us. So if our salvation is strictly of grace, how can we know if we are saved? We are saved by repenting of our sin and placing faith in whatChrist did in the crucifixion and resurrection. This is all of grace. When I talk to anyone about being a christian, we talk about Jesus being savior and lord. Most of us would talk about Christ being both of those things. And if we are saved, then Christ is both of those things. But how do we know if he is savior and lord of our life? There are several ways of testing ourselves that are found in 1 John. Romans 8:16 speaks of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit so we can know that we are God's children. Their is an inward assurance given by the Holy Spirit but sometimes we don't "feel" it and start to doubt our salvation. Here is an old post that may help you if you are struggling with this. Jesus is to be our lord and savior and TREASURE. A true believer will treasure Christ above all things. They will at least have a desire to know him more and live for him. Where Your Treasure Is Matthew 6:19-21—Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. (NLT) I believe that no other verses in the bible will bring a man to examine himself more than these particular verses. This small passage of scripture crashes on our soul like the waves of a hurricane, consuming every aspect of our life and if taken to heart, will allow Christ to cleanse us from our own selfish desires. Where is your treasure? With whom or what do we spend countless hours? If we take a look at the words and actions of Jesus, we find one common denominator and are able to see the treasure of His life. Everything that Jesus did or said portrayed His love for the Father. The Father was Jesus’ treasure and his heart remained with the Father. Jesus was not looking for approval in the eyes of man nor was he looking to astonish them. He simply loved His father and because of His love for Him, He loved us. If you remember, the Sadducees and the Pharisees questioned Jesus about which commandment was the greatest. Jesus replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” Jesus was not in love with serving the Father. Jesus was not in love with the attention that followed Him as He served the Father. He simply was in love with the Father. It is not our responsibility to determine the treasures of others but to only decipher our own. Only one thing will last throughout eternity. Will this be your treasure or will your treasure fade and rust away with time? Take a look at your heart and what it stands for. Where are your thoughts? There is your treasure. It’s that simple. No amount of reasoning can change that.

New Blog

2006-04-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say tell ya'll (that's you all for the yankees out there) that I have started my own blog. It's called "the musings of a reformed bassist" and you can get there by clicking on my name over to the side, I think. Although I don't post very often on this site, I plan on posting everyday, or multiple times a day on my new blog. I was going to wait until college started to start blogging but I've decided to go ahead now- it's not like college is the start of my life or anything! I just started this blog today so don't expect much now- maybe you should give it a few weeks so you won't be disappointed once you get there. Side note: I am an awful speller so I constantly have dictionary.com pulled up as I type and I was checking my spelling of "disappointed" just now and the definition that it gave me was "Thwarted in hope, desire, or expectation". That sounds cool. Anyway- that's all I got- check out my blog!

The Gospel of Judas

2006-04-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

Matt Perry is the pastor of Boone's Creek Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. He has written an article on "The Gospel of Judas" on his blog. I recommend checking it out. www.bromattsblog@wordpress.com

Galatians 1:2,3

2006-04-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:2,3 Galatians 1:2,3—and all the brothers who are with me, To the church of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole law is summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:34-40. We are to love God and love each other. If the whole law can be summed up with those two commandments, then I believe that everything that belongs to Christianity can be summed up in the greetings of Paul’s letters. “Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Why not just say, “Hope things are going well”? Or “how’s things at the church”? Since the bible is the inerrant word of God, there must be a reason why Paul would always address his letters with the pronunciations of Grace and Peace—Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3. Why does he do this? Why is this important? Well, Paul isn’t here to explain himself but it speaks mountains to me. Grace. Just think about that word and all that it carries with it. Our salvation was bought with a price and that is grace (1 Corinthians 6:20). Saving faith is a gift from God and that is grace (Eph.2: 8,9). We were granted repentance and that is grace (2 Timothy 2:25). We were resurrected from spiritual deadness and that is grace (Eph 2:5). We have been predestined, called, justified and glorified and that is grace (Romans 8:30). God will finish what he starts in us and that is grace (Phil. 1:6). Think about it. That is enough to make a Baptist shout! But what is so amazing about grace is that it is greater than our sin. Grace does all of the things listed above because it is greater than our sin. Praise God! Our sin is disgustingly vile and gross and we need to feel that. The cross will not mean to us what the cross really is if we do not get that. Our sin requires punishment and Christ paid for it on the cross for all who would repent and believe. This is the breath-taking amazement of grace. Grace is the avenue in which all spiritual blessings are bestowed upon us. We receive these blessings only because grace is indeed greater than all our sin. Grace removes sin. Peace. Who doesn’t want this? Peace comes as a result of trusting in the claims of the Gospel. If you are in Christ, then you are at peace with God, period. Romans 5 is an incredible chapter with incredible truths that we often times would dismiss as unbelievable. We don’t always feel like we are at peace with God. Sometimes I struggle to really believe this. How often do we feel like God is mad at us for not doing our daily devotions? How often do we feel like God is mad at us because we didn’t pray all day? Sometimes I think we would rather have the law than grace. Our emotions can really mess with our minds. That is why regardless of feelings, we must trust biblical claims. Paul claims in Romans 5 that through Jesus Christ we have “now received reconciliation”. NOW! Not later. NOW! Let that speak peace to your soul and thank God for that peace that he has provided through his son. We were all enemies of God at one time (v.10) but through the gracious gifts that Jesus purchased for us on the cross, we are now his friends. Do not let our own personal “laws” abolish this truth in our heart. If you are truly Christ’s then you are at peace with God. Knowing this helps to empower you to live the life of faith. Just as Paul pronounced his blessings on the church at Galatia; so I pronounce mine on you as we conclude. “Grace and Peace to you.” May God grant you grace that overcomes the death-grip of sin and peace that calms the stormy waters of your soul. God bless you.

Recording Update

2006-04-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ok........So I haven't posted on here in a while and I don't use a lot of big words like Josh does in his devotions, but I will give you an update on what is going on with the recording. Josh and Derek came over yesterday 4-6-06 and we finished all the vocals, so we are now ready to ship the product over to Andrew to begin mixing. I know it has been longer than expected for this to be ready, but I will take the blame for this one. However, I am real excited to hear the final product. Andrew did a great job on mixing the live project and I have no doubt that he will do even better with this one. Till next time. Kelly

Galatians 1:1

2006-04-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:1 Galatians 1:1—Paul, an apostle---but not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the Dead— When Paul states to believers that he is an Apostle it is more than just simply saying, “Josh Martin, youth minster”. The age of the apostles was an incredible time. There are some today who believe that the apostolic age has never ended, but I would disagree. If you press me I will give reason why, but that is not the goal for today. The term apostle simply means “messenger” or “one who is sent”. An apostle is one who gets sent by someone or some organization to do a particular task or deliver a certain message. In one sense, we could say that during the 60’s Adlai Stevenson was an apostle of John F. Kennedy. Adlai Stevenson was the press secretary for the president. Adlai was given a message to give to the press about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Adlai would be an apostle in this sense because he was sent out to deliver a message. We do not use this term often because when we refer to the word apostle we are talking about the Apostles sent out by Jesus. This is what Paul is getting at right from the start of his letter to the Galatians. Paul states that he is an apostle, but—he is not an ordinary messenger. He states the he is not an apostle sent “from men nor through man”. He does not want to be classified as one who was simply sent as we would send off missionaries today. He doesn’t want to be classified with those whom the church may send for a particular reason. The message that Paul was carrying was the message that makes up most of the New Testament. When Paul wrote to the Galatians he claims to be writing the very words of God! This is not an ordinary messenger! This is the one who brings the message of Salvation to the Gentiles. Paul was the direct avenue for sharing this gospel with the Galatians. Praise God for sending us such a messenger! Paul speaks of being given the stewardship of God’s grace for the Ephesians and how this was given to the apostles and not just anyone (Ephesians 3:1-5). He also tells that this is all of God’s grace and not by any credentials that he possessed. The apostles sent out by Jesus were not sent in the same way that we are sent. The foundation of the God’s household is the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Something that may seem out of place but holds great significance is the last part of verse1. “Who raised him from the dead” seems at first like added information. What does this have to do with the rest of his greeting to the Galatians? Why throw those words in the sentence? First of all, a risen Christ is very important to Paul. It is important to all who are in Christ, but for Paul, it was a visual (or should I say blinding) reality. Paul was converted after Christ had risen. Paul was not speaking as one who had faith only, but as one who had witnessed first hand that Christ had risen. He did not walk alongside Jesus like the other Apostles and this proved to be a point of contention for many people because Paul was not ordained to the office of apostle while Christ was a mortal. To deny the authority that Paul exercised would be to deny power of the resurrected Christ. Secondly, Paul recognizes the fact that Christ is supreme over all things and wants to state that from the start. Paul was exclaiming that he was sent by the supreme authority and that his words should be taken as directly from that authority. Through his resurrection, Christ proved that all things are subject to him—even death. There is not one thing that happens in life that is not under the authority of God. The same God who sends food and famine, sun and rain, tsunamis and drought, life and death, the God who gives and takes away is the same God who is speaking through Paul. His words are not to be taken lightly. I believe that Paul addresses the resurrection here so that all who read would know that these words are to be the authority to which we answer. All things are subject to him without exception. So the question that we will look at every week until we are through this book is—So What? Why does this matter? This matters because the same Christ who made Paul an Apostle and rose from the dead is the same Christ who has called us by name unto Salvation. Therefore, we must gain from this verse that the words of Paul are not only words from Paul. Many will write off the letters of Paul and the theology he taught because they do not believe them to be the word of God. We will see in the coming weeks Paul’s own defense for why His words are from God. Heed the words of God as they have come from Christ through this apostle. They are authoritative. They are inerrant and infallible. They are the very words of God.

The Book of Galatians

2006-04-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

We are going to start going through the book of Galatians for our Wednesday devotions. We will probably be in the book for quite a while. Anytime you systematically go through a book it takes time. But I have found that this is how I learn and grow. Hopefully you will too. God Bless!

Freedom Experience Benefit Concert

2006-03-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

I, for one, had a blast at the Freedom Experience benefit concert this past week. Despite being a little under the weather, I still had a great time. There was a GREAT crowd on hand for a Tuesday night in Pleasureville. I'd like to say THANKS to everyone who came out and donated to the cause. We raised a very healthy amount of money - praise God! We hope you enjoyed the new songs! Leave a comment to let us know some of your favorites. 'Til next time.... -Andrew

Who' it gonna be?

2006-03-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

LSU, Florida, George Mason, UCLA Give me your picks.

Wednesday Devo

2006-03-29T04:21:00.000-08:00

How to Make Big Decisions “Love God and do as you please.”—Augustine Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.—Psalm 37:4 “Love God and do as you please.” That is a motto that all of us should apply to our decision-making. Now for some of you, that is just not spiritual enough. It took me along time to realize that God is not playing hide and seek with his will. He doesn’t go hide it somewhere and then ask us to go find it. He has very clearly shown us in scripture where it is and how to know it. Through the past few years of working with youth, many have struggles when they graduate high school. They want to go to college but seem torn between deciding on where to go. They say, “ I really like these two schools but I want to make sure that what I decide is God’s will.” To this I would reply, “Are either of these choices blatantly sinful? Can you be salt and light in either of these places? Do you have a desire to please God? If it’s not sinful, if you can be salt and light, and if you have a desire to please God, then for just pick one and go. There is no reason to think that it would not be God’s will. Somewhere along the line we have picked up this notion that discovering the will of God is nearly impossible. We pray and pray and pray and pray and receive no clear signs of which direction to go or decision to make. Don’t misunderstand me, we need to always pray and seek God about decisions because we are sinners and need our pride and selfish desires to be revealed to us. But if our desires be Godly desires, what make us think that it would not be God’s will? God has called us to live holy lives, to love Him with our whole being, and to love our neighbors. He has called us to live lives that glorify him and that treasure him above all things. He has also called us to delight ourselves in him and that is when decision-making becomes much easier. If we are delighted with all that God is for us in Jesus, we are going to want to please him. And that means that our decisions are going to reflect our love for Him. How often do we wait for a feeling or sign before we act. God has given us his word and most of you who are reading this have several copies of it. One thing is certain; we will not know God’s will if we do not know his word. Don’t rely on feelings or signs. That churning in your stomach that you think may be a sign from God may only be the White Castle you had for supper last night. Our emotions and feelings are incredible, God-given gifts. But if you are not grounded in his word, they will lead you astray. Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew what was in man (John 1:24,25). Neither should we trust ourselves. The only place that we can trust is the Word of God. God’s word tells us that for those that delight in him, he gives them the desires that they have. These desires don’t come from ourselves, they come from God. How do you tell the two apart? Ask yourself these 5 questions. This is what I do now when I have to make a decision and want to make sure that it is a Godly one. 1. Is this decision grounded in scripture? 2. Is this sinful? 3. Is this wise? (Thanks Bert) 4. Does this decision reflect my Love for God? 5. Will this Glorify God? If the answers to these questions are godly answers, then I do just as Augustine said to do, “Love God and do as you please.” Some of you aren’t going to buy into this. This is going to sound way too unspiritual. The opposite is true. There is nothing more on target than delighting ourselves in God and making our decisions based on his word.