From A Quest for More and based on Romans 8:22-25:

Being ungodly is not just about committing a certain lists of sins.  It is also about finding fulfillment outside of God, which leads me to commit an endless list of sins of the heart … We are supposed to groan because there are things that we have been promised but do not yet have.  We are supposed to groan because the full expression of God’s Kingdom has not yet come.  We are supposed to groan because we are not yet all that God shed the blood of his Son for us to become.  We are supposed to groan because the temporary pleasures of this physical world do not satisfy us; they always leave a void in our hearts.  We are supposed to groan because in every situation and circumstance we see the damage that sin has done and is wrong.  We are supposed to groan because we recognize how we each give into the temptation to seek in the physical world what we can only find in the Lord and what will only be fulfilled in eternity.  This side of eternity, groaning is meant to be the default language of the big kingdom.

Or the day Comcast killed the music.  Sorry about the lack of posts, no internet at the office this week has kept we away from the blog.  What does Comcastic mean to you?  Hopefully they will have things up and running next week.

There is a right and wrong way to use words.  The New Testament spends many verses discussing this principle.  Sinclair Ferguson is preaching at Desiring God’s National Conference this year on this subject.  This brief video, giving a taste of what is to come, is very challenging in itself. If you have never heard of Sinclair Ferguson, get to know him, listen to him, read him. There are many men that impact my life and ministry. Outside of my father there are three men alive today that stand out clearly, Eric Alexander, Peter Jeffery, and Sinclair Ferguson. I could list others that shape my pastoral ministry, but these men shape my theological and teaching ministry. There is a depth, soberness, and sincerity about their preaching that I long for in my own.

The title is all I will say on the phone call.  I had several posts I intended to write today.  They will have to be written another day.  For now I am reduced to posting the lyrics of a Sovereign Grace Hymn.   (it is not my pain, but feeling the pain of another)

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

So quiet my restless heart, quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart in You

I promise not to turn this blog into a sports blog, I will stick to theology and Christian living and a few family tidbits.  However, the Rick Greenspan news story caused too much disturbance to simply let it go.  Several months back we, IU Fans, watched a coach leave a program he did considerable damage to in his few years there.  He resigned and was given $750,000 to buy out his contract.  In what other line of work can one nearly run a  business into the ground  (they are awaiting sanctions, have self imposed sanctions, and do not have a single player left on the roster that Sampson recruited less than 5 months after his leaving)  and walk away with as much money as many people will expect to make in a lifetime!  Well, we now have to watch $441,000 more be given to the Athletic Director who took “a risk that should not have been taken” and hired Sampson.  Again, a very nice severance package for a guy who has has “failed” in his job.  Oh yeah, he got the rights to any book he may want to write too.  Now there is a book not even Purdue fans will want to read.  Did I mention we dished out $66,000 to buyout the assistant coach who helped Sampson break the rules while Greenspan was not watching? Doesn’t it seem like it is better to be really bad at a job and be employed by IU than to be really good at a job in the real world?

Bring on the Crean and Crimson!

It is Saturday again.  It will be Sunday again tomorrow, and this means many will make their familiar way, to a familiar church building, to hear a familiar preacher preach the familiar Word of God.  This is a good thing, a great thing even.  However, we must be certain it does not become a too familiar thing so that we become “bored with good preaching“.  Here is an article from Pastor Paul Martin on the subject.   Let us head the warning and use it to help in preparation.

A family came to GFC a few months ago and could not stop talking about how glad they were to “hear the Word again.” I warned them, as I warn others in their situation, that they must guard their hearts from an over-zealous enthusiasm. Although it is great that they are being fed, even bland food feels like a feast to a malnutritioned man. What will they do when they have regained spiritual sustenance and find that the preaching is Biblical, yet quite average? If they train their senses to feel something is “good” only when they receive some kind of spiritual high, they could very well end up running from place to place looking for that high, not the Word.

There are still others that are so used to being well fed that when summer comes, or relatives visit or some other fancy strikes, they feel quite free to skip church to play.

Both these folks would do good to heed the careful wisdom of John Newton:

A Famine of the Word
Gladness was spread through Israel’s host
When first they Manna viewed;
They labored who should gather most,
And thought it pleasant food.
But when they had it long enjoyed
From day to day, the same;
Their hearts were by the plenty cloyed,
Although from heav’n it came.

Thus gospel bread at first is prized,
And makes a people glad;
But afterwards too much despised,
When easy to be had.
But should the Lord, displeased, withhold
The bread his mercy sends;
To have our houses filled with gold
Would make but poor amends.

How tedious would the week appear,
How dull the Sabbath prove?
Could we no longer meet to bear
The precious truths we love!
How would believing parents bear
To leave their heedless youth,
Exposed to every fatal snare,
Without the light of truth?

The gospel, and a praying few
Our bulwark long have proved;
But Olney sure the day will rue
When these shall be removed.
Then sin, in this once favored town,
Will triumph unrestrained;
And wrath and vengeance hasten down,
No more by prayer detained.

Preserve us from this judgment, Lord
For JESUS’ sake we plead;
A famine of the gospel word
Would be a stroke indeed!

Hymn 49 in Olney Hymns
John Newton

I received a free sample of the ESV study bible over the gospel of Luke today.  It looks to be a very helpful new study tool and has wonderful reviews from many evangelical leaders, including, Jerry Bridges, John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Driscoll, and CJ Mahaney.   It appears to be an OT Surveay, NT Survey, and Study Bible all rolled up into one volume.  The intro, outline, and charting of key themes before each book are well done.  The color maps and diagrams are outstanding.  The study notes are helpful.  I need to study more, but I do not find them quite as helpful as the New Geneva Study Bible or even MacArthur’s, but they are on par with these study bibles.  If you are interested in purchasing one through Edgewood Bookshop please let me know, because it looks as if we will have to pre-order or wait.  It retails from $49.99 for hardback, to $239.99 for Calfskin.   Bonded leather retails for $74.99 and genuine for $94.99.   Early orders should receive discounts ranging between 30-40% off.

In our first ever guessing game here at Blasted Gourds we had some wonderful guesses.

Rob Moore figured out it was a Wordle, but that does not count for much.  Darrell Brandenburg got stuck on the shoe aspect, but gave some wonderful guesses.  Rachel Mahl figured out what portion of Scripture it was and Todd Fisher figured out that it was one of my sermons.  All in all, no one got it perfectly correct, but Todd and Rachel came the closest, so they win the big Gulps (Rob I will get an extra straw for you)!

This wordle is from the Sermon I preached on 2 Kings 6:8-23 entitled the Message of Elisha.  The footprint represents the beauty of the one who brings good news, and I love the way it emphasizes God and his goodness.  Psalm 62 and Hosea 13 were quoted so that is how they come in, as well as the bear cubs.  Thanks for playing!

Well, we have no winner in the what is it contest, but we have had some good guesses.  It is a Wordle, Rob Moore gets props for getting that right.  But the content of the wordle has yet to be guesses.  The answer will be revealed tomorrow, so you still have time to guess!  Maybe we should involve a prize?  Winner gets a Ricker’s Pop.

Here is a helpful post on Desiring God’s Blog dealing with common sins we like to blame others for rather than confessing them and turning from them. 

1) Anger:I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, or if my kids behaved better, or if my spouse were more considerate.

2) Impatience: I would be a very patient person if it weren’t for traffic jams and long lines in the grocery store. If I didn’t have so many things to do, and if the people around me weren’t so slow, I would never become impatient!

3) Lust :  I would have a pure mind if there weren’t so many sensual images in our culture.

4) Anxiety :  I wouldn’t worry about the future if my life were just a little more secure—if I had more money, and no health problems.

5) Spiritual Apathy :  My spiritual life would be so much more vibrant and I would struggle with sin less if my small group were more encouraging, or if Sunday school were more engaging, or if the music in the worship service were more lively, or if the sermons were better.

6) Insubordination :  If my parents/bosses/elders were godly leaders, then I would joyfully follow them.

7) A Critical Spirit :  It’s not my fault that the people around me are ignorant and inexperienced.

8 ) Bitterness :  If you knew what that person did to me, you would understand my bitterness. How could I forgive something like that?

9) Gluttony :  My wife/husband/roommate/friend is a wonderful cook! The things they make are impossible to resist.

10) Gossip :  It’s the people around me who start the conversations. There’s no way to avoid hearing what others happen to say. And when others ask me questions, I can’t avoid sharing what I know.

11) Self-Pity :  I’ll never be happy, because my marriage/family/job/ministry is so difficult.

12) Selfishness :  I would be more generous if we had more money.