Happy Reformation Day!!

It's been 489 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenburg.

Did you know that Luther had no idea the impact that would occur as a result of his action that day? He simply thought he was encouraging some healthy theological dialogue among scholars. Surprise!

Encouraging Our Trust

From William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armor, vol. 1, page 47:

To encourage our trust, the Lord often intervenes in mighty ways on behalf of His people. Sometimes He allows an opposing force to arise, so that at precisely the right moment He can raise up a more magnificent pillar of remembrance to Himself. This pillar will stand in the very ruins of that which contested His power. Thus, when He intervenes all must say, 'Almighty power was here!'

I Can't Resist...

...looking back at what some wrote not so long ago:

"Go ahead, crown the Tigers. They are more powerful than the Cardinals, better rested and generally better suited for a short series. They rolled through a difficult American League derby and should make the Cardinals go away, quickly and quietly...The Cardinals are a nice story. No, make that a great story. But the story should be coming close to its conclusion now." - John Heyman, Sports Illustrated online, 10/20/06

"When we get down to the baseball at hand, though, what we have are the well-armed and well-rested Tigers against a team that scrambled through a titillating Game 7 in the NLCS just to get here...But the Tigers, after stumbling at the end of the regular season, are a team that looks unstoppable. Tigers win in six games." - John Donovan, Sports Illustrated online, 10/20/06

"I don't see how this Cardinals team could hang on against the superior pitching and offense of any American League representative, least of all one with the pitching depth of the Tigers. The expected return of Zumaya makes it a little more of a mismatch, although I still think they would win this series without him. Tigers in five." - Keith Law, ESPN.com, 10/20/06

2006 World Champions: THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS!

WOOOOO---HOOOOOOO!!!!!

God and the Prefix "All"

From William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armor, vol. 1, page 45:

It has ever been and always will be the Father's will that we trust only Him. God demands to be called the Almighty; He insists we place our confidence in Him. That child is wise who does as his father bids. Man may be called wise, merciful, mighty; but only God is all-wise, all-merciful, almighty. When we leave out this prefix all, we nickname God and call Him by a creature's name, which He will not answer to.

Youngest Megachurch Pastor in America

When the Church at Brook Hills called Dr. David Platt this summer as their new Senior Pastor he was only 27 years old. Now 28, he might be the youngest megachurch pastor in American history.

How did Platt get into a prominent pulpit at such a young age. Well, for one, to say he has an above average intellect is a gargantuan understatement. By 25, he had 2 bachelor's degrees, 2 master's degrees, and a Ph.D. He was soon hired to teach preaching and apologetics at his alma mater (www.nobts.edu).

What excites me is that David is very passionate about God-centered preaching and ministry. Also, when David speaks there is Piperesque language, such as "spreading a passion for God's glory" and "...the preacher exposes the voice of God to magnify the glory of God." Throwing in a Martyn Lloyd-Jones quote in a recent Brook Hills message earns some brownie points as well.

When I was at the Desiring God conference a couple of weekends ago, I believe it was Tim Keller that quoted Lloyd-Jones from his book Preaching and Preachers where ML-J shared a story about a young up and coming preacher in Wales that God was greatly using and several older, experienced preachers were talking about how God might greatly use him when one of the older men asked, "I have one concern...I don't think he's been broken yet." To which the rest of the older men all nodded their heads in concerned agreement.

I'm not sure that David has been broken yet, but the word is that he is very humble. I pray so.

May God protect this young man and use him significantly for His glory.

Sam Storms on the Power of Praise

I made a discovery about worship that I believe is found repeatedly in Scripture. Unfortunately, whereas I read it, I never experienced the reality of it. I'm referring to the outpouring of divine power during times of praise. When God's people exalt and enjoy him, he releases his power to heal them, to encourage them, and to enlighten them, among other things, in a way that is somewhat unique. When God's people worship, he goes to war on their behalf (2 Chronicles 20). When God people worship, he enthrones himself in their midst (Psalm 22.3) When God's people worship, he speaks to them and guides them (Acts 13.1-3). When God's people worship, he delivers them from their troubles or comforts and sustains them in the midst of hardship (Acts 16.19-40).

- from Convergence, p. 44

Reflections on the 2006 Desiring God National Conference

For the second year in a row I was able to attend the Desiring God National Conference held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Last year's topic was "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God." This year? "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World." The conference was inspired by Above All Earthly Powers: Christ in a Postmodern World by David Wells. The speakers were David Wells, Voddie Baucum, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, D. A. Carson, and John Piper.

Last year six leaders from our church went, all men. This year the number was six again, only this time is was three couples. As much as I always hanging out with the guys, I prefer going with my wife! My in-laws keeping the kiddos made this possible. I'm eternally grateful. :-)

A few thoughts (in no particular order) on the conference and the trip, many of which are rather trivial:

1. It was exciting to see a full house. There must have been almost a thousand more attendees than last year.

2. The additional 1,000 were probably all under 30 years old. Piper has truly connected with young adults. I felt like I was standing in the cover article from last month's Christianity Today.

3. I really, really like contemporary music wed to rich doctrinal lyrics.

4. Minneapolis at the end of Sep/start of Oct is like a box of chocolates. Last year we froze our fannies off. This year was gorgeous (55-80 degrees).

5. Sometimes $150 a night is truly worth the money. They Hyatt downtown was very nice. (Lesson: Cell phones demagnetize hotel room keys.)

6. I was surprised how much I liked Tim Keller. The dude is very insightful and now I understand why he is so popular.

7. Emergent churches are essentially the new face of theological liberalism.

8. Emergent churches/communities/villages/whatevertheywanttocallthemselves are faddish and will either morph into a false religion or fade into leftist liberalism/irrelavence.

9. The Desiring God bookstore is the best. The rolled back prices didn't seemed a rolled back as last year, but maybe my memory is just bad. Still yet, the selection and savings were signficant.

10. I wonder how I would look if I shaved my head, grew a gotee, and got some really cool looking glasses (they would have to be attitudes b/c the good Lord has blessed me with good eyesight thus far).

11. The preachers/pastors looked very comfortable speaking to 3,500 people. The two seminary professors looked a little like they didn't know how to handle that many people, especially Carson.

12. Remember that game in PE growing up where everyone races to the center of the room as fast as possible to pick up a ball or something? C. J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris sat right behind us on Saturday night. Immediately after the session ended several young people (think 20s) raced to the ball, who happened to be Joshua Harris. He was very gracious and patient. He is definitely a rock star.

13. D. A. Carson didn't give a message, he delivered a 50-page paper. Maybe it's because he was late on Saturday night and I was tired. It was good, but it was too looonnnnnngggggggggg.

14. Every city should have an efficient public light rail system. We never needed a car all weekend.

15. The Mall of America is ridiculously big, ridiculously overpriced, ridiculously overrated, and... just plain ridiculous.

16. Minnesota in the Autumn is gorgeous. There were a handful of maples that were brilliant gold just outside the Hyatt.

17. The Pastor's Conference in Febrauary is a bad idea.

18. Favorite channels on the satellite radio on AirTran flights: #70 - Real Jazz, and #4 - Best of the 40s.

19. Books I bought at the conference:
What Jesus Demands from the World by Piper
A Hunger for God by Piper
Biblical Exegesis: Discovering the Meaning of Scriptural Texts by Piper
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by Piper and Taylor
Convergence by Sam Storms
The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms
A new ESV Bible to replace my worn out one.

20. DVDs:
"Suffering and the Sovereignty of God"
"Open Their Eyes"

21. Most shocking moment: the word "smartass" coming out of John Piper's mouth.

22. Don't believe anyone else who says otherwise. The Metrodome is one UGLY building. But very functional. Friday night the Twins played the White Sox there. Saturday the Twins again played the Sox there. Saturday night the Minnesota Golden Gophers hosted the Michigan Woverines there. Sunday the Twins played the Sox there.

23. Mark Driscoll is hip. Tim Keller and Voddie Baucum are cool. John Piper, D. A. Carson, and David Wells are...well, they try real hard.

24. I assume that the guy sitting in front of me Sunday morning was either (a)emergent, (b) lost, (c) ADD, or (d) troubled. He surfed the internet on his phone and played video games on the same during the entire Piper sermon.

25. C. J. Mahaney clicked his pen throughout Carson's lecture/message/marathon He sat right behind us with his feet on my buddy's chair and his Nike cap on.