CHARLES SPURGEON: AGAINST EMERGENCE ELOQUENCE

For awhile fascinated by the siren voice of vain philosophy and affected culture, many of the churches have drawn perilously near to the rocks of heresy and doubt, but divine grace is visiting them, and they will shake off the spell.

Everywhere there is a cry for the gospel, for men who will preach it in the love of it, for ministers who will live it, and inoculate others with its life: the church is growing sick of essayists, and asks for men of God. She is weary of word-spinners, and pretenders to deep thought, and she cries for men full of the Holy Spirit, who are lovers of the word and not speakers only.

Soul-winners will soon be in demand, and your genteel essayists will have to carry their dry goods to another market. Sane men do not need fiddlers, while the life-boat is being manned to save yonder perishing ones from the devouring deep. (Online source)
Charles Spurgeon

The Mega House of God at rest

I go to a large, but not the largest church in West Michigan. And I grew up in a smaller church. So there are soem stark diefferences in style, design, and therefore differences on Sunday Morning. Here are some pictures of some Mega churches when they are empty. Amazing to me. why can't we just preach and sing songs of praise to Him? All of the other stuff is for man alone, not God. I get so tired of churches expanding and spending because they can, and not because they should. When a church pays off a mortgage, what a blessing! But do not then expand, or move, or buy because you can. Use the gifts fo money for God, not for a new big screen, or a new coffe bar, or stage lighting etc.



Lakewood Mega Church ~ Houston


Joe Johnson says on Michael Paulson's Articles of Faith blog, "With the Mega Church project, an interesting point of tension lies in a secular treatment of contemporary religious practice within Mega Churches. . . .This body of work attempts to reveal the mechanics of creating faith by capturing the wires, computers, light bulbs, and cords that are used to construct mysteries on stage for the faithful. The rawness of the abandoned mega-space and the eerie familiarity of its commercial fixtures question the intention and business of faith in the 21st century."

These are good photos....take a look. And look at joe's website for more. There are some great photo's.



Desk. Fort Wayne, IN. 2007 © Joe Johnson. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas.


Seating. Temperance, MI. 2006. © Joe Johnson. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas.


Stage Set. (Children's sermons) Munster, IN. 2008 © Joe Johnson. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas.

More images are available on the photographer's and the gallery's websites.

A New and Powerful Pro-Life Tool

A New and Powerful Pro-Life Tool
May 19 by Ingrid Schlueter

It’s Ingrid here with another armchair dispatch on behalf of preborn babies. As I wait for my own baby to arrive, I am reminded again and again of the barbarism we have embraced in this country with abortion. I am grateful for the work of Shari Richard. Nearly 20 years ago, I interviewed her on her new video, Window to the Womb. Back then, the grainy, black and white ultrasounds were all there was to try to “prove” the humanity of the unborn child. Technology has changed. America’s unwillingness to recognize the personhood of the preborn has not. But new technology affords an even more intimate look at the beauty of preborn children in the womb. Shari has updated her Window to the Womb video with the new 3D and 4D imaging available. It is breathtaking to see these children smiling, frowning, sucking their thumbs and kicking around in their little world, completely unique and beautiful human beings who are trusting completely in their mothers to take care of them. Click here to see the 4D ultrasound images I just had done of our baby. To think that they are murdering these babies in clinics like Dr. Tiller’s in Wichita on a weekly basis is monstrous. Yes, abortion is the conduct of moral monsters. Below is the press release from Shari Richard. Spread the word about her newest DVD. It is a powerful pro-life tool.
New Pro-Life Video Provides Updated ‘Window to the Womb’ and Historical Perspective
MEDIA ADVISORY, May 19 /Christian Newswire/ — Almost twenty years after the debut of the videos Window to the Womb and Eyewitness to the Earliest Days of Life, which brought ultrasound images to the masses for the benefit of unborn children, sonographer Shari Richard is following up with Eyewitness 2 and Window to the Womb 2 “The Next Generation,” this time employing the latest revolutionary digital ultrasound technology of 3D & 4D imaging.
In addition to the updated imagery, Window to the Womb 2 includes a documentary about Ian Donald, the pioneer of clinical ultrasound who opposed The Abortion Act of 1967. Richard, who continues Donald’s legacy, takes you through the 50 year battle of abortion fought with the scientific technology of ultrasound. Also included is the testimony of Richard and other post-abortive men and women who break the silence by sharing their personal stories about the grief, pain and healing from abortion.
The powerful imagery from the latest ultrasound technology, combined with the history of the movement and the moving testimony of those who have suffered from abortion personally makes Window to the Womb 2 a comprehensive tool for schools, medical groups, Pregnancy Care Centers, and pro-life advocates. As an introductory offer the complete 3 Disc package can be ordered together for $30 off the retail price. Bulk discounts are also available. Information on ordering these and other videos and CDs can be found at www.unborn.com.
Over 500,000 of Richard’s first pro-life videos, Window to the Womb and Eyewitness to the Earliest Days of Life were distributed and translated worldwide. Her testimony before the U.S. House and Senate in March of 1990 during the first hearing on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) brought national media attention. President Obama has made it a priority to implement FOCA during his presidency.
Shari Richard is an Obstetrical Ultrasound Expert and Educator whose medical experience spans 35 years. She is the founder of Sound Wave Images, an international organization established in 1990 to network with medical professionals, Pregnancy Care Centers and schools to provide educational resources and ultrasound training. In 1992 she established the first Medical Pregnancy Center in Michigan and continues to provide consulting and training for Pregnancy Centers nationwide. Shari has appeared on national radio and television programs, and has presented lectures for schools, pregnancy centers, and fund raisers for pro-life organizations.
For information regarding interviews, speaking engagements, or ordering, visit http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/www.unborn.com/contact.htm or call 1-800-364- 4942

Where is your Joy?

This is my first post on my first blog. Rightly so it should be of value. So here it is, a quote from John Piper. What do you think?

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? "
— John Piper (God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself)