Reformation Day Thanks

Door of the Schlosskirche (castle church) in W...
Door of the Schlosskirche (castle church) in Wittenberg to which Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses, sparking the Reformation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

496 years ago today Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. Not sure how many Churches mark this day as the start of The Reformation – arguably the greatest revival in the history of the Church. Even in a secularised West we still benefit from this recovery of the Gospel.

Many Churches will have an alternative to Halloween, maybe a ‘light’ party in contrast to the darkness of Halloween. But Reformation Day isn’t an alternative. It’s an opportunity to remember something that under God actually happened in history, much like the Gospel itself. As Christians we don’t have to pretend about anything, we deal in facts, things that happened.

Other Churches will have something for the kids but will also mark the day by a Historical Lecture or perhaps celebrate by remembering ‘The just shall live by faith’. Our Salvation, and your Salvation if you are not yet a Christian believer, depends not on what you do but on what God has done, what Jesus accomplished for all who will ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’.

The Gospel is at the heart of Reformation Day and it should be at the heart of every day and especially in the preaching.

Praise God for the Gospel. Have a blessed Reformation Day.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

Martin Luther

A Clear and Present Danger: Religious Liberty, Marriage, and the Family in the Late Modern Age — An Address at Brigham Young University – AlbertMohler.com

A Clear and Present Danger: Religious Liberty, Marriage, and the Family in the Late Modern Age — An Address at Brigham Young University – AlbertMohler.com.

English: Al Mohler, President of Southern Bapt...
English: Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To anyone that believes in Religious Liberty, please read this address by Al Mohler.

‘An address delivered at Brigham Young University by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on Monday, October 21, 2013.’

A couple of taster paragraphs:

Heterosexuals did a very good job of undermining marriage before same-sex couples arrived with their demands. The marriage crisis is a moral crisis and it did not start with same-sex marriage, nor will it end there. The logic of same-sex marriage will not end with same-sex marriage. Once marriage can mean anything other than a heterosexual union, it can and must mean everything. It is just a matter of time.

This is what brings me to Brigham Young University today. I am not here because I believe we are going to heaven together. I do not believe that. I believe that salvation comes only to those who believe and trust only in Christ and in his substitutionary atonement for salvation. I believe in justification by faith alone, in Christ alone. I love and respect you as friends, and as friends we would speak only what we believe to be true, especially on matters of eternal significance. We inhabit separate and irreconcilable theological worlds, made clear with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity. And yet here I am, and gladly so. We will speak to one another of what we most sincerely believe to be true, precisely because we love and respect one another.

I do not believe that we are going to heaven together, but I do believe we may go to jail together. I do not mean to exaggerate, but we are living in the shadow of a great moral revolution that we commonly believe will have grave and devastating human consequences.

Interview with Carl Trueman on critiquing Big names

Carl Trueman was on The Janet Mefford Radio Show yesterday. There are some excellent points made. Worth a listen.

Carl is first up so download / listen online by going to the page HERE.

BBC News – Religious groups ‘preaching’ in schools, claims report

Here’s a news story (BBC Link below) to illustrate the bias existing in the UK. There is no such thing as ‘Neutrality’ – it’s a myth.

The National Secular Society (NSS) bemoans Christians going into schools but the default they conveniently neglect to mention is that Atheism is more often than not already assumed in the classroom. What they don’t like is their own view challenged. If they really were about ‘Equality’ then having Evangelical Christians going into schools to speak of their beliefs wouldn’t be a problem. And, there’s nothing to stop RE teachers inviting representatives of other faiths to present their beliefs. In fact, I would encourage it.

As regards Creationism – they can’t even explain how something can come from nothing (that’s no pre-existent matter). Christians do have an answer. They might not like it but they have to keep the faith of Atheism come what may. Mind you, the report will be a good attempt at getting something out of nothing!

BBC News – Religious groups ‘preaching’ in schools, claims report.

Just Visiting

The lady opposite the person I was visiting was told yesterday there was nothing more they could do. She was told the holiday they had planned for December should be brought forward. Pretty sobering.

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The Abortion Debate – Tonight

Arrived in my inbox. Don’t know if it will be recorded or available as a download.

David Cameron: I wish I hadn’t forced through gay marriage law | Mail Online

David Cameron: I wish I hadn’t forced through gay marriage law | Mail Online.

Radical Islam in the House

I’ve started listening to The Janet Mefford Show, downloading (Available through iPlayer) to listen on the way to work. I listened for the first time to Dr Oliphint (Covenantal Apologetics) on the show and was pretty shocked by some of the other stuff – particularly the Homosexual ideology and Islam. I was a bit skeptical to begin with, the concern was if Janet was a fundamentalist nutcase. Some of her callers gave me that impression. But I have to say she has some excellent guests and to be honest I now lament afresh the fact there is nothing like it over here in the UK. It would probably be shut down over here as a show that promotes hate speech – even though that’s far from the truth. Disagreement is becoming more and more problematic. I heard via another online broadcaster (not Janet) the term ‘Gaystapo’ for the first time to describe the Homosexual lobby / agenda / ideology. Whilst the term may not be that helpful I think we get the point. Basically, disagree and expect to be dealt with. And it’s really no different when it comes to Islam. The cry of Islamophobe is fairly common here – we had it from the BBC Question Time audience just last Thursday – compete with (measured) applause.

Back to the point of the post. It was on Janet’s show (yesterday I think) I heard an interview with Dr Michael Coffman to discuss his book ‘Radical Islam in the House’. Whether he went too far in his prognosis is hard to say, but if 10% of what he says is true America (Could be too late for us, unless the Lord graciously steps in) seriously needs to wake up – and fast. I know nothing of Michael Coffman but I’m about to order the book on kindle – here’s the blurb below:

Product DetailsProduct Description
Radical Islam In the House exposes the very real Islamist threat to America. It’s no longer lurking at America’s door, it has already penetrated deeply into the federal government and our culture. The over arching goal of the leadership of every major Islamic sect is to create a global Caliphate or world government.

Iran wants to create world chaos to allow the Shi’ite Muslims to form a Shia Caliphate. While allowing Iran to obtain the nuclear bomb will be catastrophic, there is an equally dangerous Islamist cancer that is systematically Islamizing American politics and culture; Wahhabi Islam.

Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi Islam is the foundation of al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Al Qaeda uses violence, while the Muslim Brotherhood uses stealth and deception. By preying on political correctness, they have convinced most Americans they are peaceful, share the same God and want to coexist. While peaceful coexistence may be what the average Muslim wants, it is not true of the Islamic Brotherhood leadership. The Brotherhood has a well-developed, step-by-step plan to turn America into an Islamic controlled nation within a few years as part of their world Caliphate.

Nearly all Muslims believe that the return of the Mahdi, their messiah, is eminent. When that happens he will lead Islam into global conquest and a global Caliphate. This story quite literally leaps off the pages of the Bible in ways non-Jews, Christians and even Muslims will find shocking.

Very few Americans know that Obama’s Kenyan family is steeped in Wahhabi Islam, or that prior to the 2008 election Egyptian TV and radio bragged that a Muslim was going to be president. The implications are stunning and should be understood by everyone — before it is too late.

No offence here then!

Josh Williamson is arrested twice for upsetting someone by his preaching of the Gospel of Christ whilst the gentlemen in the picture are presumably allowed to carry on in front of the police without even a threat. No breach of the peace here then! Am I missing something – please tell.  Unless I’m living in an alternate universe, surely there must be something wrong – just a little bit.