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by on 1.25.08

in light of my recent post on women

I wrote about women and the workplace yesterday. The subject of male/female relations and the Bible have long been an interest to me. It is a critical battleground today. Tim Bayly offers a post that deals mostly with the meaning of Eph 5.21ff, although it is ostensibly about politics. How many times have you heard or used the term ‘mutual submission’? Do you realize how unbiblical the notion is? Here’s a key comment, but read the whole thing. And don’t miss the comment of my online friend, Bill Mouser (10:43 time mark).

Those who hate authority, and specifically the authority of father-rule ordered by our Creator, make much of the “submit to one another” command, trying to use it to trump or confuse or hide or obfuscate the “wives submit to your husbands” command immediately following it.

Read the whole thing… [a little blogging lingo there!]

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Filed Under: Gender
by on 1.25.08

evangelical revisionism

A lot of ‘young fundamentalists’ repeat the mantra that fundamentalism is a ‘subset’ of evangelicalism. This same notion is perpetrated in a PBS interview I read today.

In the article, John Green, a senior fellow at the PEW Forum on Religion and professor of political science at the University of Akron, is interviewed about ‘young evangelicals’ and politics. Green repeats the revisionist notion that fundamentalists really are evangelicals.

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Filed Under: Fundamentalism
by on 1.23.08

on women and the workplace

Another science site I follow is The Scientist, “Magazine of the Life Sciences”. The site bills itself as a magazine for life science professionals. Many of the articles are waaaay over my head. However, I occasionally find useful information or sermon illustrations here. And it only takes a few minutes a week to scan the headlines for news of interest from the RSS feed.

A couple of articles recently highlighted a phenomenon many have observed in various ways over the years. It is the ratio of women to men involved in the science field. In an article entitled, “Fixing the Leaky Pipeline“, Phoebe Leboy asks the question, “Why aren’t there many women in the top spots in academia?” Another article, a blog by Ivan Oransky, asks, “Do women blog about science?“

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Filed Under: Gender
by on 1.22.08

now for something completely different

One of my life-long interests is space exploration. I wrote papers on it in junior and senior high school. I avidly followed the news of space exploration as a teenager. I remember lying in bed at kids camp, listening to the radio broadcast of “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The day was July 20, 1969 and I was 12 years old. The sounds of that crackly radio and the silence in my cabin at camp come back to me whenever I think about it.

One of the best ways I’ve found to feed my interest in space exploration is to subscribe to the NASA website with BlogLines. You can tap into it here. I don’t read every article in its entirety, but I scan all the headlines and read a good many of them. (There are often excellent sermon illustrations to be found as well.)

This week, something new came back to us from space.

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Filed Under: Preaching, Space
by on 1.21.08

our sermons, 1.20.08

It is a blessing to be back home again. Our people exhibited the grace of God in their thoughtful cards and letters to us concerning our recent sorrows. It is wonderful to be on the receiving end of this ministry because it is evidence that our own ministry among these dear folks has not been in vain. God is working in their midst, and I feel privileged to be God’s agent in bringing about some of that work – especially in those who have been converted and discipled almost exclusively through our ministry. I tell you, there is no greater thrill than this! 3 Jn 4.

Now for the sermon summaries…

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 1.20.08

a comment on comments

I do not publish all comments made to this blog. There is a weird blogging philosophy out there that seems to think that such practices are out of keeping with the spirit of blogging. That philosophy is nuts. This is my blog, I intend for it to present my point of view on various topics. I will not publish comments that don’t reasonably address the topic I am discussing or are off topic.

Further, I won’t publish even on-topic comments that use profanity of any kind. There is such a thing as ‘Christian profanity’. It uses weasel words in place of the world’s more salty ones and calls it slang. It is just profanity and needs to be repented of. Calling it slang is lying to yourself and before God. It is unbecoming of a Christian testimony.

Clear enough?

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Filed Under: Policy
by on 1.19.08

lloyd-jones on serving God in my spirit

“I have discovered this — and I have almost made a pledge and a vow on this subject — if ever I remotely mention anything medical, I notice a new interest at once! You see what I mean. That is human. That is the man. That is personal. And service in the spirit must never be like that. So let the congregation take this to heart. Congregations often spoil preachers; they encourage them to do certain wrong things. If the preacher starts speaking to their flesh they will respond, and they will show an interest which they were not showing in his doctrine, and the temptation to him is to give them more of the flesh, and to talk more and more about himself, and to display himself, and they will like it. They will smile, and they will enjoy it, and they will say, ‘It’s wonderful, and we have had a great time!’ And in the meantime Christ has been forgotten, and the spiritual message has not been emphasized, and has not been stressed. That is not serving God in the spirit. It is almost the exact opposite.”[1]

In my preparation for tomorrow’s message I came across this comment in Lloyd-Jones’ message on Rm 1.9, message # 16 in his first volume on Romans. The whole message is well worth your reading and meditation.

On this subject, the flesh is so prevalent in our lives that we are hardly aware of our own difficulties with it. May God grant discernment and more devotion to the Lord in our personal lives.

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

[1] D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Romans: The Gospel of God, pp. 211-212.

Filed Under: Preaching, Quotables
by on 1.15.08

on religious decline

Another story on the decline of religion in Canada – Keep the faith or pull the plug? – from  the Globe & Mail.

The article suggests that congregations must change with the times or face death and dismemberment. On the whole, the solutions suggested seem pragmatic and humanistic.

But compare the philosophy of liberal pragmatists with that of the discontented fundamentalist…

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Filed Under: Fundamentalism
by on 1.14.08

sunday after the funeral

On Friday we laid my dear mother-in-law to rest. Her remains lie on a hillside in rural Tennessee, next to her husband, in the midst of numerous extended family, and awaiting the resurrection. We alternate between joy for her current state and sorrow for our loss. We are self-centred creatures.

Sunday our family worshipped together at Grace Baptist Church of Dacula, pastored by our friend, Dave Wood. We heard a great message on stewardship in the AM and another message on Christian relationships from 1 Cor 6 in the PM. We also heard Andy Efting give a good lesson from Isa 13. I was struck by the need for faith – Isaiah was telling people to believe him when he said a great nation would come destroy Judah, and also that great nation would be destroyed by another great nation. In between, Isaiah described the yet future day of the Lord. In the midst of Ahaz’ day, Isaiah’s hearers must have wondered what he was talking about. It doesn’t matter what day we live in, a life right with God must be lived by faith in the Word of God – no matter how hard or strange that word may seem to us.

The music in all the services was stirring. I think we are especially sensitive to the message of spiritual songs now as we continue to mourn the loss of Debbi’s mother. Our daughter-in-law played a violin special of the Old Rugged Cross in the PM service. It is an arrangement she played for grandma’s funeral two days before. She told us she wrote the arrangement specifically for the funeral. As I read the hymn while she played, fresh tears formed.

You might pause to pray for Pastor Wood’s family this week. His mother-in-law is also about to pass on to glory, also dying from cancer. Our hearts go out to our brethren in need, but we know that another saint is about to enter glory, for which we thank God.

At home, we have a good report…

One of our deacons keeps me updated by e-mail and phone while we are away. Our pulpit supply preacher this time was coming from Vancouver, but missed the first ferry, causing him to miss the first service. Undaunted, my deacon took out a message he had been working on for some time and went ahead with the first service. Our guest speaker from Vancouver arrived in time to cover the second and third services. The report was a good day and good responses from our people.

I will get home later this week and post links to audio.

Praise the Lord for continued blessing and opportunity to serve Him.

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 1.8.08

precious in the sight of the Lord

KJV Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

NAU Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

My dear mother-in-law, Susan Kiser, is home with the Lord. She passed peacefully in her sleep early Monday morning. We had been expecting her passing since she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September. The Lord was pleased to allow her to live on into the New Year, but took her home on the day my wife was to fly down for her last visit. We have been praying for this day, since Mom’s condition was incurable and her life was uncomfortable the last weeks. Today the Lord answered our prayer. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Many jokes are made at the expense of mother’s in-law. I can happily testify that my mother-in-law was the best of women, one to whom the jokes did not apply. She was a trophy of grace and I thank God for her, and for the King James Only preacher whose ministry brought her to the Lord.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Family
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