Now Listening To...

New Blog Address

2009-07-30T12:24:00.003-05:00

This blog now lives at http://now-listening-to.blogspot.com

Date Night - Olive Bread

2009-03-21T12:24:00.003-05:00

This is the loaf of olive bread Angela and I made for date night Thursday evening. It's white bread with kalamata olives and rosemary. Delicious.

We made it to accompany cappellini pomodoro and a fancy garden salad.

I've decided to post date night updates in hopes that maybe some of you will realize you're missing out and start something like it with your own spouse.

One step closer to life

2009-02-07T10:56:00.002-06:00

Brilliant (sarcastic) point by Team TomInTheBox: Mars Lander Discovered AMD Phenom II

Storm clouds gathering

2009-02-05T17:33:00.002-06:00

In Canada:

MONTREAL, Quebec --Students in Quebec, Canada are being required to take a new Ethics and Religious Culture class that teaches that "all religions -- including pagan animism and cults -- are equally 'true.'"

Read the rest: http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29813

36 Years After Roe v. Wade: Is It Time to Move On?

2009-01-24T16:47:00.003-06:00

Russell Moore discusses the stance of the pro-life movement in the face of very likely major setbacks courtesy of the Obama administration: 36 Years After Roe v. Wade: Is It Time to Move On?

Did you know that FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act), the legislation Obama has promised to sign into law, would remove the right of physicians and hospitals to refuse to perform abortions (freedom of conscience). "Freedom" of "choice", apparently, would not apply to healthcare professionals and the health care industry.

Fight FOCA

Obama avoids divisive stands

2009-01-24T15:44:00.005-06:00

I am offended by the slant and tone of this article: Obama breaks from Bush, avoids divisive stands.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush's unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands. He focused instead on fixing the economy, repairing a battered world image and cleaning up government.

To be fair, the reporter has received criticism in the past for appearing to side with John McCain in this article: Analysis: Obama Chose Winning Over His Word.

The Future of the Prolife Movement

2009-01-17T22:44:00.005-06:00

This is an excellent discussion of the future of the prolife movement now that Barack Obama is about to be President. From NPR's Talk of the Nation, Thursday, January 15, 2009:
http://public.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/totn/2009/01/20090115_totn_01.mp3

The guests are Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, Jay Sekulow, from the American Center for Law and Justice, and a catholic priest. I especially appreciated Terry's frank and honest discussion of the issue (for instance, matter-of-factly referring to abortion as "child killing." I thought that Sekulow also argued fairly well, and the priest made a couple good points, too.

According to Wikipedia, Randall Terry is a womanizer and worse. I know nothing about this, I do not know whether or not any of it is true, and I certainly would not endorse that kind of behavior. His comments on this program on the issue of abortion were excellent.

(PS. I have no idea if anyone reads my blog. If you do, please let me know. I am considering posting more often, but don't want to waste too much of my time for a completely imaginary audience.)

This made me smile

2009-01-16T21:47:00.003-06:00

Click here if you have 16 1/2 minutes and would appreciate a pick-me-up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

Making Lemonade

2009-01-06T16:19:00.005-06:00

What a great way to make the best of a bad situation! Read how a radio station network found a way to spread Obama's wealth around--for life! Read about it here.

Is Tolerance Racist?

2009-01-04T16:03:00.002-06:00

Agree or Disagree? - American/Western tolerance is at least somewhat racist

I don't have time to gather articles and statistics to back this up, but I have a hypothesis that so-called "tolerance" is racist.

Here's my reasoning:

"Tolerant" people tend to be intolerant of orthodox Christianity, which says Jesus is the only way to God.

These same people seem to want to offer concessions and special status to Muslims, making allowances for their religious practices and even their religious legal code.

Islam is at least as exclusive as Christianity, and if embraced on a large scale in the West would much more certainly result in the destruction of the rights and freedoms so dear to "tolerant" people.

So, why are the tolerant intolerant of Christianity, but more tolerant of Islam? Here's my guess:

They think Christians should be smart enough to know better. On the other hand, they think Muslims can't help their ignorance.

That sounds like racism to me (I know both Christianity and Islam cross racial borders, but I can't think of a better term for it).

What do you think?

I have some other possible explanations in mind, too, but what do you think?

Good Stuff Store

2008-10-25T18:48:00.003-05:00

As an Amazon affiliate for 5 years, I have made close to $2.00. If you would like to help raise that incredible total, visit my a-store at http://krohse.com/goodstuffstore.html (and buy something).

Should We Be Patriots in the Pew?

2008-07-03T23:44:00.004-05:00

Should we have patriotic worship services? Can we celebrate our citizenship in heaven and at the same time celebrate our earthly national citizenship?

Russell Moore, Stanley Hauerwas (!?), and Mark Dever discuss the question. In case anyone cares, I agree most with Mark Dever, with perhaps a bit of Russell Moore thrown in.

Don't expect this show to answer all your questions, but it could possibly make you think about things a little differently.

Guest Host: Russell Moore
Page: http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2008-07-03
Audio File: http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/totl/2008/AMP_07_03_2008.mp3

2008 The Year of the River

2008-06-17T21:05:00.002-05:00

I guess so.

The Curse Motif of the Atonement by R. C. Sproul

2008-04-18T14:47:00.005-05:00

This sermon from Together for the Gospel '08 is shockingly beautiful. Jesus Christ redeemed me from the curse by becoming a curse for us. What does that mean? Sproul knows he doesn't understand it well or much, but what he shares will help Christians love Jesus more. Thank you, Jesus!

By the way, my conference book title suggestion was Beautiful Sacrifice: Life in Light of the Cross. This is the only message I've listened to so far, but in my opinion at this point, my title is still pretty good.

Preacher: R. C. Sproul
Audio File: here

Favorite Homeschool Merchandise

2008-03-27T14:37:00.006-05:00

And now, something a little different...

R. C. Sproul Interviews Ben Stein About Intelligent Design

2008-03-25T13:54:00.008-05:00

This video is well worth watching. I am looking forward to seeing the movie.

Host: R. C. Sproul
Description: Ligonier Blog
Google Video: Here

A New Name That No One Knows . . .

2008-03-18T15:52:00.004-05:00

A Sermon on Revelation 2:17b by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

Cornelius Plantinga Jr. is president of Calvin Theological Seminary. In 2006 he preached this sermon, which is a very encouraging call to avoid giving in to the world around us. Albert Mohler quoted from the sermon in this post: http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1115. I wanted to listen to it, so I hunted down the audio.

Preacher: Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
Manuscript: Here
Audio File: Here

The Lightlings

2008-02-17T20:39:00.004-06:00

R. C. Sproul's children's book, The Lightlings, is a great Christmas parable. On this program, you can listen to an well-produced reading of the book by R. C. himself with a musical score. In addition he discusses why he writes children's books. It's a great program.

Hosts: R.C. Sproul and John Duncan
Program: Renewing Your Mind
Audio File: http://broadcast.ligonier.org/podcast-media/rym20071114.mp3

The Ecumenism of the Abortion Clinic

2008-01-04T12:22:00.002-06:00

Russell Moore writes, "We are accustomed to seeing Evangelicals and Roman Catholics praying together outside abortion clinics and working together for pro-life legislation. But we don't think about a less pleasant ecumenism: Catholics and Evangelicals waiting together in the lobby of an abortion facility."

Read the rest here.

Building Bridges Conference: The Historical Record - Tom Nettles

2007-12-26T22:21:00.002-06:00

This is a great message from the conference on Calvinism recently held at Ridgecrest. Starting about 9 minutes into this message, Nettles starts explaining that "our common core of Baptist convictions are more consistently attested within the Calvinist system." By this he means that many of the dearly held doctrinal distinctives of Baptists are strengthened and more strongly supported by Calvinism than by other theological systems. Give it a listen.

Speaker: Tom Nettles
Page: Podcast
Audio File: Here

Will the Church Go Through the Tribulation? - Phil Fernandes

2007-12-26T22:01:00.002-06:00

This message from a 2003 AWANA regional conference is a good overview of reasons to believe in a post-tribulational pre-millenial return of Christ. Dr. Fernandes' description of how he came to this perspective is pretty similar to mine. I read every passage in the Bible related to the day of the Lord and the day of Christ, thought about them, and realized that I no longer believed in a pre-trib rapture. I thought maybe I was a heretic or something, but a little research showed me that what I had come to believe is actually the oldest Christian eschatology--historic premillenialism.

I don't know much about Dr. Fernandes beyond this message. The statement of faith on his website (http://www.biblicaldefense.org/) looks good. This message is nonconfrontational but clear.

Speaker: Phil Fernandes
Page: SermonAudio page
Audio File: Here

More on Mandatory Preschool and Parents' Rights

2007-10-18T13:53:00.002-05:00

As a follow-up to the Albert Mohler program on mandatory preschool, read Mohler's article "Parental Rights in Education -- Constant Vigilance Needed" here:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1028

Wine or Welch's - Patrick Abendroth

2007-10-06T11:38:00.003-05:00

Patrick Abendroth, pastor of Omaha Bible Church, taught on the subject of Christians and drinking in 2005. Here is the description of the messages from the Omaha Bible Church website:

The subject of alcohol ranks at the top of the list of controversial topics in the Christian community. While many believers distance themselves from alcohol due to the perceived unbiblical associations, we read of Jesus, who “came eating and drinking” (Matt. 11:19). How is the Christian to respond to the Bible?

Join Pastor Patrick Abendroth for a careful and distinctly biblical examination of alcohol. Through this three part series, Pat helps Christians to think biblically while answering the common questions that give rise to the current controversy.

Host: Patrick Abendroth
Page: Wine or Welch's
Audio Files:

If you would appreciate a fuller understanding of the issue of the "weaker brother" and "stumbling blocks," you should read or listen to these sermons by John Piper:

"Each One Should Be Fully Convinced in His Own Mind" Romans 14:1-9
"How to Welcome a Weak Brother" Romans 14:1-6
"We Will All Stand Before the Judgment of God" Romans 14:10-13
"Do Not Destroy the Work of God" Romans 14:14-23

The Problem Of Mandatory Preschool - Albert Mohler

2007-10-02T14:55:00.002-05:00

Apparently a number of politicians have plans to move toward mandatory preschool. To some, this probably sounds like a good thing - preschool can be expensive, so state-provided preschool might seem like a blessing.

I think it is a dangerous thing to allow the state to force parents to put their four or even three-year-olds in state schools. Children need to be with their parents. Already, kindergarteners in some parts of the country are being taught that homosexuality is acceptable and even good. Do we really want the children of our nation being indoctrinated with anti-biblical teachings at even younger ages?

I know the main argument is that an earlier start will make for smarter, better-performing kids in the long run. I don't believe it. What this attitude is really saying is that parents are incapable of teaching three and 4-year-olds what they need to know, so they should hand their kids over to professionals.

Parents, you can teach your 4-year-old whatever she needs to know at that age. Sure, send your child to (Christian) preschool--he or she might like it, and it might give you a little break, but it won't take the place of you teaching your child.

Rather than expecting the state to solve our problems for us, let's embrace the responsibility God has given us to raise our own children.

Host: Albert Mohler
Page: http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2007-09-28
Audio File: http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/totl/2007/AMP_09_28_2007.mp3

The Sovereignty of God - John Farese

2007-09-02T22:49:00.002-05:00

On the off chance that you have not seen this already on Eric Schumacher's blog (or wherever he found it), please take a few minutes to watch this video. Here is a man who can say that God is in control and that God is good, and I don't think any sensible person would argue with him.

I also recommend this video from John's appearance on Dr. James Kennedy's "The Coral Ridge Hour" in January of 2005:
56K (low quality)
ISDN (mid-quality)
DSL/CABLE (high quality)

Speaker: John Farese
Web site: Farese.com

"Sweet Fruit from a Thorny Tree - 2 Corinthians 1:1-7" by Alistair Begg

2007-09-02T19:02:00.002-05:00

This June, Begg, pastor of Parkside Church near Cleveland, was recovering from surgery. He gave this short message about making the most of illness and suffering. He shares some of Spurgeon's and his own thoughts on making the most of these times of hardship.

I am not currently suffering from any kind of illness or injury (praise God!), but I think it is good to think on these things right now so that my mind and heart is more prepared when trouble comes.

I have benefited from and appreciated every sermon and lecture I have heard from Alistair Begg.

Author: Alistair Begg
Audio page: Here
This message is not on the podcast, because I couldn't link to it directly.