This Message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, January 30, 2008, and was taken from 2 Peter 3:1-18.
Monthly Archive for January, 2008
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, January 27, 2008, and was taken from Jeremiah 11:18-12:6.
In the passage before us we find four principles for living a godly life in an ungodly world. If you live godly, it will leave you vulnerable, and therefore:
- Godly living demands that you count the cost.
- Godly living demands submission to God’s will and places confidence in his righteous judgment.
- Our peace and security rests in the certainty that God will bring all of his enemies to justice.
- When our sinful hearts dare to question God’s goodness or question his timing, his loving heart brings us back in line.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, January 27, 2008, and was taken from Mark 13:1-37.
Uncertainty is difficult to deal with. The contents of Mark 13, concerning the return of Jesus, is a prime example. In dealing with last things there is, however, certainty in these three areas:
- Jesus is coming again, literally, visibly, physically.
- There is great uncertainty concerning the events surround Jesus’ coming.
- We better be doing the task he has given us when he returns: preaching the gospel.
Interpretation of biblical prophecy is not an exact science. We should not be concerned with defending one particular view. What should concern us is dealing faithfully with whatever text is before us.
What principle do we learn from this text to teach us how to live?
- We are not to be alarmed by tumultuous times.
- We are to long for his appearing.
- We are to remain focused on the task assigned in verses 28-37.
We should not be so focused on the details that we miss the message, which is Jesus’ return.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, January 23, 2008, and was taken from 2 Peter 2:1-22
Yes, I know that blog news has the shelf life of a ripe banana, but other things have pressed me hard the past few weeks, so get over it.
The one and only possibly legitimate concern expressed by Wade Burleson a few weeks back in his post concerning the possible election of Dr. Albert Mohler as president of the SBC, is one of conflict of interest. As I understand it, the convention president appoints the nominating committee, which in turn submits a list of people to be voted on at next convention to serve as trustees of the various SBC entities. The conflict would possibly arise because Dr. Mohler happens to be president of one of those entities, namely, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
In his post Pastor Burleson points out just such a scenario and draws a comparison between the possible election of Dr. Mohler later this spring and the election of Dr. Paige Patterson ten years ago.
But take a look at this Baptist Press article announcing Dr. Mohler’s upcoming nomination:
Three former Southern Seminary presidents also were elected to the
office of SBC president — James P. Boyce (1872-1879), E.Y. Mullins
(1921-1923) and John R. Sampey (1936-1938). Other former SBC presidents
who were elected to the office while serving as president of a seminary
were Paige Patterson (1998-2000) while at Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary, W. W. Hamilton (1941-1942) while at Baptist Bible
Institute, the forerunner to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary,
and L. R. Scarborough (1939-1940) while at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary. While there is precedent for a seminary president
to be SBC president, Mohler agreed that most SBC presidents have been
pastors.“This is healthy as the norm, and one of my hopes is
to encourage more pastors to be deeply involved in the life of our
denomination so that they can help to lead Southern Baptists in this
new era,” he told the TEXAN. “Given the indirect nature of the trustee
appointment process, I believe that Southern Baptists have adequate
protections against any conflict of interest. Above this, however, I
would pledge to lead in every dimension — appointments included –
that would make Southern Baptists proud.”
I find it a bit dishonest that Pastor Burleson would mention only the one example, while there were in fact six. And oh, the example he gives. It is no secret that Pastor Burleson has no special fondness for Dr. Patterson, and maybe for good reason, but come on. Give me a break. Comparing these two is like making a close comparison between Jack Armstrong and Jack the Ripper, simply because they both have the same first name. And on the use of terms, do you think that Dr. Mohler could be described as a sycophant (a person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer)? First he’s unelectable because he’s a Calvinist, then later in the same post he shouldn’t be elected because he’s a sycophant.
And my word, you would never guess we’re talking about the Southern Baptist Convention. I would be concerned too, if we were talking about a scenario involving the executives of Enron, or maybe the bosses over at the United Auto Workers Union. How much trouble can a seminary president cause in one year? If he missteps, don’t vote him a second term. Remember, we’re talking about someone “presiding” over a group of autonomous churches. Like Dr. Page has said numerous times in his public addresses “Presiding over the SBC is like trying to herd a bunch of cats.”
This reminds me of a dog who would chase me out of its yard simply because someone else in a brown uniform kicked it five years ago. It never occurred to it that maybe I wasn’t the same guy, and maybe I didn’t make it a habit of kicking dogs, and just maybe its master might want me there to deliver the goods he has ordered. I think Pastor Burleson is having a hard time distinguishing between a few misguided, uninformed leaders and at least one good - the right man for the right job - one.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, January 20, 2008, and was taken from Mark 12:35-43.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, January 16, 2008, and was taken from 2 Peter 1:12-21.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, January 13, 2008, and was taken from Jeremiah 11:1-17, and Galatians 3:13. [Editor's note: Our apologies for the numerous recording flaws found herein. We are fairly sure the problem was due to a lapel microphone problem that has since been corrected.]
If your contract begins with the word “curse” (2:00) you may be in trouble.
A study of the grace of God in salvation from the above texts:
- God rightly demands total, absolute obedience as the condition for our enjoying the benefits of fellowship with him.
- We must recognize our universal failure to live up to the standard which God has given us.
- In light of 1 and 2 above, God’s justice demands that the terms of the covenant he has made with us be carried out. Every single one of us lives under the curse of God.
- The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus bore that curse in our place if we turn to him in faith and repentance.
[01/15/08 Editor's note: It has been brought to my attention that the video is not showing up in some of your browsers. I have since added links to the source pages in hopes that you will be able to view the clips there. If you still cannot view the video, perhaps you should switch to Firefox.]
A good bit of the negative vibrations in certain circles concerning Dr. Albert Mohler revolves around a couple of events at last year’s convention in San Antonio. Here are a couple of video clips from San Antonio - SBC Convention ‘07. Watch them and you be the judge.
The Garner BFM2000 Motion
“The Baptist Faith and Message is not a creed, or a complete statement of our faith, nor final or infallible; nevertheless we further acknowledge that it is the only consensus statement of doctrinal beliefs approved by the Southern Baptist Convention and as such is sufficient in its current form to guide trustees in their establishment of policies and practices of entities of the Convention.”
The Debate over the Garner Motion
(If your browser does not play nicely with my site and you are unable to view the video clip below, go here.)
The SBTS report
(Again, if your browser does not play nicely with my site and you are unable to view the video clip below, go here.)
Tell me, after listening to him, do you think Dr. Mohler “gave to our denomination the proverbial finger” within the context of this seminary address?I also have to ask one question: What sober-thinking brother, committed to sola Scriptura would honestly want this motion to govern the faculty-hiring practices of our seminary trustees? On second thought, maybe the majority of messengers present and voting at the 2007 convention didn’t know the full implications of what they were voting on.
This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, January 13, 2008, and was taken from Mark 12:28-34.
How do we define what it means to know Christ and to live for him? Biblical faith’s aim is not my personal fulfillment, but the glory of God. Biblical faith is God-centered, not man-centered.
- vs. 28-30: Biblical faith stands in awe and wonder of the God who is, and is utterly consumed with the very thought of him.
- v. 31: Biblical faith is marked by a passionate devotion to others. You cannot separate love of God from the love of others.
- vs. 32-34: To acknowledge agreement with and appreciation for biblical faith without a wholesale committment to it is to fall short of saving faith. Being “near” the kingdom is not the same as being “in” the kingdom.
What is essential for salvation is a radical transformation from the inside out. Nothing short of conversion will do. What is needed is to come to an honest awareness and acknowledgment of your sin which brings you to a point where you flee to Christ for salvation.
Some sobering lessons from this message:
- It is entirely possible to grown up in church and have Christian parents - and not be a Christian.
- It is possible to study theology and learn great things about the Bible and its history - and not be a Christian.
- It is possible to hear the grace of Christ preached all of your life and be trusting in your own goodness and your own ability to please God.
- It is possible to be gospel hardened and to seal your own damnation, even while in the church.
- It is possible to fool every one, and to have the preacher to preach a beautiful message at your funeral, and assure everyone that you are resting in heaven, and you be in hell instead.
- It is entirely possible to be within an inch of the kingdom of God, but to be an inch away is still to be outside of the kingdom of God.
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