/jakesnodgrass

A Story of Spiritual Growth in Pain

2012-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. David Powlison - A personal story of Spiritual Growth from CCEF on Vimeo.

What Does it Mean to Be a Missionary

2012-01-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

David Bazan Living Room Show: Hard To Be

2011-12-27T13:45:00.001-08:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faaEh8yXex4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Jake Snodgrass
2-1 Cavalry
Squadron Chaplain
253-320-5546
580-747-7244
snodgrassjacob@gmail.com
jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

Sloppy Christianity in the Midst of Tragedy

2011-12-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

JBLM experienced another tragedy last night. Two helicopters crashed and killed four soldiers leaving families and friends reeling. It is so sad and it is such terrible timing with Christmas approaching. Four families hearts will be breaking this Christmas and I can't imagine the overwhelming sense of loss. With the news of tragedy those of us who know friends who fly and who work in aviation will naturally hope that our friend or neighbor is not one of the victims. No doubt when most of us hear that our friends are safe will say a prayer of thanks and be grateful that the ones we love are safe. However, be careful in the way we communicate that gratitude. If we 'thank Jesus' because our friend or husband is safe we may be communicating something unintentional to the victims' families. Jesus is worthy of our gratitude and praise in the midst of disaster and joy. When we articulate that feeling of relief we could be communicating that we are giving thanks that we are not feeling the pain of our neighbor and we then are saying something about Jesus. We may be communicating that he cared for us more than our friends and that Jesus is only to be praised when we are happy with results and blamed as absent when we are not. That is clumsy Christianity and poor communication of the truth.

True and Better -Tim Keller

2011-05-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

True & Better from Peter Artemenko on Vimeo.

American Widow Project on CNN

2011-05-30T09:58:00.001-07:00

American Widow Project on Today!

2011-05-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Great job Sarah! We love you and Evelyn

Article on Counseling Grief

2011-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Meltdown in the Produce Aisle—Grief Diary 4
Robyn Huck
I stopped in my tracks, my eyes glazed over, and I commenced to have a meltdown, right there in the produce aisle. It was the sight of the artichokes that did it.

I know, I know. Very few people in the world assign strong emotional content to the sight of artichokes. But these were beautiful artichokes. And, okay, more to the point is that my dad loved artichokes. And he attached an importance to them, because he considered enjoying them and eating them correctly to be part of our Italian heritage. In our home it was a rite of passage when each of us kids became old enough to have our own artichoke and not just a few leaves of his. I remember my little brothers and sister, at age 4 or so, proudly showing him their little teeth marks on the leaves, hoping to pass the artichoke test.

Certainly this is more information than you need regarding my family’s quirky dinnertime traditions. My simple purpose here is to make it clear that the things that bring me to the point of emotional overload as I grieve the death of my dad are unique—because I am unique—just as you are.

Grief comes to the surface again when the day’s events and pressures shred my thin layer of composure and remind me that something has been lost. It is shaped by all the details of life; where I’m at, what I’ve been through, how I think about life, God, and the purpose of it all. Every big and little thing in my life has an affect on what grief looks like at any given moment. It’s truly fascinating that this universal experience is such an individual one.

My artichoke meltdown was at the intersection between where I was at that moment (the produce aisle, after a long day of work), and something (the artichokes) that brought on all my wonderful memories of family life with Dad. It was a simple but overwhelming moment of missing him and knowing I will always miss him from here on out. The sadness took over.

But grief is more complicated than that, isn’t it? Many of my grieving moments are not about Dad at all. Sometimes the focus moves from losing Dad to fear I will lose someone else—my husband, my kids, my mom, my siblings. Experiencing a death reminds me of the very hard truth that everything can change suddenly. The scariness of an unknown future can take over.

And sometimes my grief goes even beyond me and my family. I think about the hard realities of life—there is so much hurt and so much sorrow out there. And as I weep, it joins me to that suffering and enlarges my sense of world’s brokenness. I cry for the people I know who are in pain, and I cry for all the ways people have hurt in all generations. And then the longing for something better takes over.

As I look carefully at the specifics of the sadness, fear, and longing that I’m feeling, I have to come to a conclusion: my grief says a lot about me.

If I were to come to you for counsel, what would you do? Are you going to pull out a book on “stages” of grief and tell me that I’m fitting some standard pattern and will “get over” it in 1 to 4 years? Or will you be concerned that I’ve seemed to skip a step or two? Please don’t do that to me.

Read More at CCEF

SBC Disaster Relief Gets NY Times Pub

2011-05-09T06:17:00.001-07:00

Check Out Photos From NY Times Story Here

RAINSVILLE, Ala. — Some couples spend retirement playing the nation’s best golf courses or hopping cruise ships. Not Marteen and Wiley Blankenship. They collect disasters the way other retirees collect passport stamps.

Volunteers with the Southern Baptist Convention's disaster relief food operation in Rainsville have been staples of the recent efforts to help out in Alabama. More The minute they got the call from Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief leaders that tornadoes had ripped through the South, the Blankenships grabbed their sleeping bags and sturdy shoes and headed out from their home in Decatur, Ala.

Together, they have cleaned up after Hurricane Katrina, mucked out flooded homes in Atlanta and built houses in Sri Lanka. And for the past week they were camped out here in a rural part of northeastern Alabama where 48 lives were lost and thousands more disrupted in the storms.

Mr. Blankenship, 70, and Mrs. Blankenship, 69, heated up chili and Salisbury steak, handing it out to people who drove through a church parking lot and packing it into Red Cross vans that carry meals into the remote countryside.

And they did it all for God.

“I thought when we were done working that I wanted to travel,” said Mrs. Blankenship, a former flight attendant. “I just never thought it’d look like this. But it’s our calling.”

With the ability to feed 20,000 people from one mobile kitchen, and a chain of command so tightly run it would make a military officer proud, the Southern Baptist teams are the backbone of disaster relief here.

Nearly 95,000 Baptists across the country are trained to handle disasters like hurricanes and floods. After the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, the Baptist group is the biggest disaster relief organization in the country.

“We’re the best-kept secret out there,” said Ron Warren, cleanup and recovery coordinator for the Alabama Southern Baptist disaster relief group.

Of course, thousands of church members are doing their part to help the South recover from the tornadoes. They raise money, sort clothing donations and hand out water.

They are what the veterans of large faith-based relief efforts call S.U.V.’s — spontaneous untrained volunteers. The efforts are welcomed, but they have nothing on what the Southern Baptists bring to a disaster. Read More

Preaching This Sunday May 9

2011-05-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

View Soldier's Chapel in a larger map

Letter from NAMB Concerning Disaster Relief in the South

2011-05-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) volunteers continue to serve in Alabama and throughout the Southern states that were ravaged by last week's deadly tornadoes. Already Southern Baptists have prepared more than 70,000 hot meals, completed more than 600 tree removal jobs and made more than a thousand ministry contacts. In all, we have served more than 5,600 volunteer days.

Baptist volunteers from at least a dozen state conventions are serving on the ground in Alabama and elsewhere as this response continues to grow. We will serve as long as we are needed, meeting immediate physical needs and always being ready to share a word of hope and encouragement that only Christ can bring.

The North American Mission Board is privileged to serve as the national coordinating entity for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief in times like these. Volunteers and equipment are provided by individual state conventions, while NAMB helps coordinated the multi-state response. More than 85,000 trained Disaster Relief volunteers and more than 2,000 Disaster Relief units are available to respond in times of crisis.

Right now, you can help meet urgent needs through your donation to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. NAMB president Kevin Ezell has recorded a new video message updating Southern Baptists on the latest relief efforts. Please consider forwarding this video to friends and sharing it with your congregation this Sunday. Help us get the word out about how Southern Baptists have an opportunity to meet these enormous needs.

Serving Together,

Your Partners at the North American Mission Board

Gospel Rhythms

2011-04-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Jeff Vanderstelt: Rhythms [VERGE 2010 Main Session] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Repentance and Minimizing Sin

2011-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Repentance is an act of faith. By repenting and confessing you are placing your faith that Jesus Christ is good enough, glorious enough and gracious enough to forgive, restore and redeem you. Sin is serious because it separates us from God and extinguishes our joy in him. It is so serious that Jesus came and died and so serious that we risk eternal judgement. If we take our sin seriously we will be burdened to the point of true grief. Our willingness to not diminish our sin and its true effects makes a statement about the power of Jesus and his work on the cross. See it? If we minimize our sin we are minimizing the true power of the Gospel to forgive that sin. I am one where often I value my reputation more than I hate my sin. I will minimize and hide my sin to protect my reputation and ultimately I am saying that I am prepared to reject the Gospel's joy and identity for others approval.
Our culture is one where we like to make excuses for our sin. I wonder if we are simply afraid to admit the full extent of our depravity because we fear people won't forgive or understand. When that is our fear then we expose who our god really is. God our Father sent his son Jesus Christ to pay for our sin and reunite us into an eternal relationship with him. Christ's death and resurrection has given us a new identity before God and that is we are accepted, justified, made right, loved and eternally forgiven. That is good, so good that we are freed from hiding, minimizing and excusing our sin. Godly grief brings unashamed and unlimited joy and freedom.

Preaching Schedule

2011-03-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

I am preaching this Sunday 20 March 1030 at Soldier's Chapel instead of the 27th.
The service will begin at 1030! Here is the location

View Soldier's Chapel in a larger map

Fwd: Live-Stream: Piper Preaching Tonight at 6:10 PM (CST)

2011-03-12T13:12:00.001-08:00

I encourage you to stream this with some friends!
>

> Tonight at approximately 6:10 PM (CST) we're live-streaming John Piper's sermon from the gospel according to John 8:12-30, titled "I Am the Light of the World."
>
> To view the live-stream, visit www.desiringGod.org/Live.
>
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Who Talks About Idols Among Friends?

2011-03-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

Who Talks About Idols Among Friends?

Ed Welch

Ever been to a dinner party with a let’s-find-your-idol theme? Probably not, and for good reason.
Here is the predicament.

Biblical counseling is not shy about identifying the idols of our hearts, and
Biblical counseling takes place among friends in everyday conversations.
These frequently occurring principles of biblical counseling seem incompatible. No one talks about idols of the heart in everyday conversations.

If a friend said, “please, identify my idols,” maybe we would try to help. Otherwise, it’s just not done, or hardly ever. I have talked with friends about their idols, maybe twice, which works out to about one time every eighteen years or so.

How many people have spoken to you about your idols? I hang around with people who know about idolatry, and I am guessing they know plenty about mine, but no one has ever talked to me about them — except my wife . . . multiple times, and she does it well. If my friends spent much time talking to me about the idols of my heart they wouldn’t be my friends after a while.

So, though it is a good thing to know your idols, it is not a good thing to make it a habit of identifying them in other people. Are we contradicting ourselves here? No — and here are three reasons why: Read More

Mars Hill Military Mission Link

2011-03-02T16:11:00.001-08:00

Mars Hill Military Ministry

Concert Hall or Banquet Hall?

2011-02-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

Bifrost Arts from josh franer on Vimeo.

Do You Use Power Point in Sermons?

2011-02-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was shown a PowerPoint slide in Kabul last summer that was meant to portray the complexity of American military strategy, but looked more like a bowl of spaghetti.

“When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war,” General McChrystal dryly remarked, one of his advisers recalled, as the room erupted in laughter.

The slide has since bounced around the Internet as an example of a military tool that has spun out of control. Like an insurgency, PowerPoint has crept into the daily lives of military commanders and reached the level of near obsession. The amount of time expended on PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation program of computer-generated charts, graphs and bullet points, has made it a running joke in the Pentagon and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“PowerPoint makes us stupid,” Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said this month at a military conference in North Carolina. (He spoke without PowerPoint.) Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who banned PowerPoint presentations when he led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, followed up at the same conference by likening PowerPoint to an internal threat.

“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” General McMaster said in a telephone interview afterward. “Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”

In General McMaster’s view, PowerPoint’s worst offense is not a chart like the spaghetti graphic, which was first uncovered by NBC’s Richard Engel, but rigid lists of bullet points (in, say, a presentation on a conflict’s causes) that take no account of interconnected political, economic and ethnic forces. “If you divorce war from all of that, it becomes a targeting exercise,” General McMaster said.

Commanders say that behind all the PowerPoint jokes are serious concerns that the program stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making. Not least, it ties up junior officers — referred to as PowerPoint Rangers — in the daily preparation of slides, be it for a Joint Staff meeting in Washington or for a platoon leader’s pre-mission combat briefing in a remote pocket of Afghanistan.
Read the Rest

The Problem With Advice

2011-02-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Problem with Advice

by Ed Welch

Two friends. One will give you advice. Good advice. The other will pray for you right then and there and will keep praying for you.

Which one do you want to talk with?

“It depends.” Yes, it does. Sometimes you might want some good advice. If you want to buy a new car or find the best cheese steak in town you would seek advice. But for most everything else, especially if it has hardships attached, you call the other friend.

Biblical counsel is not the same as advice. If you ask for advice, biblical counselors might offer it, but advice is not the essence of what we do. Biblical counsel is closer to the intentions of the praying friend.

The distinction is tricky but important.

Here are some of my concerns about advice:

Advice talks more than it listens. It gives quick responses based on what the advice-giver would do in a situation more than it considers the giftedness and priorities of the other person. For example, everyone has advice for a depressed person. Get out of bed, get dressed, take a shower, exercise, read your Bible, look for a job, and so on. That all sounds good, but it is out of reach for the depressed person. If you were depressed and heard these things you would immediately run to your other friend who would pray for you.
Advice gives specific direction. “Do this.” “Put her in time-out, in a room with no toys, for five minutes.” I have no complaints about specific direction, but, in the case of parenting, counselors usually discover that it is more helpful to consider the goals of discipline (e.g., physical safety, spiritual safety) and the parental motives for it (loving, shepherding). Once these larger purposes come into view, applications are a creative and conjoint effort that is suited to a parent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Advice is not known for compassion. It looks for problems and offers a solution. Usually, when a mother says, “my daughter is driving me crazy,” she is not looking for advice but for someone who will understand her unique parenting challenges. Most people are not really asking for advice! How many times have spouses spoken about a challenging time in their day only to have their mates break into advice? It happens all the time. The advice isn’t wrong, but usually the spouse just wanted a compassionate partner and listener. Having dispensed advice to my spouse before, I speak from experience.
Advice-givers rarely follow up with the person who received the advice. As such, they tend to assume that the person followed the advice and all went well, and confidently move on to advise the next person in the queue.
Different wise people can give different advice. Years ago my wife and I sought parenting advice from people in our church. We went to one couple and received advice. We went to another and received the opposite advice. Then we went to someone else to break the tie, which we implemented only to quickly discover that it was wrong for our family.
Advice can be right— but wrong. Job’s counselors were correct, in part. Sometimes bad things happen to people who need to repent. But their advice missed the mark. They reduced all bad events to personal sin and were blind to other features of God’s ways. Sometimes our advice is biblically true but doesn’t really address what is most important. For example, we can give someone decent advice on how to handle anger when the real problem is that the person is scared to death.
Read More at CCEF

The Angry Person: Always the Last to Know

2011-02-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

The Angry Person: Always the Last to Know

Ed Welch

Only once have I rebuked a class of students. It was a Doctor of Ministry class. Fine students, dead boring material – statistics, research design – though I tried my best to make it interesting. Some of thestudents were not putting in any effort.

I stopped for a moment from the fascinating world of t-tests and spoke personally to them. I said something like, “Some of you are not prepared for class and are just going through the motions. I want you to consider what you are doing here and decide if you want to continue.”

And a handful of students went home and repented. The next day they came and asked my forgiveness. They were, of course, THE WRONG STUDENTS. The ones who repented were diligent and faithful. Ideal students. The students who didn’t have the problem heard me; the ones who had the problem were deaf. This “deafness” is common, but with some sins, the consequences are far worse than those of uncommitted graduate students.

I am talking again about anger.

The problem with anger is that those who don’t have the problem take it to heart; those who are angry are confident in their right-ness and over time can become massively, utterly, completely deluded, blind and (this is no exaggeration) can feel quite good about themselves after bludgeoning someone close them, as if they have set the world aright. Arrgghh. I hate anger.
Read the rest of the article

The Lord's Supper as Missional Community

2011-02-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

The Lord's Supper as Missional Community
Jonathan Dodson » Mission Worship Church Community

I'd like to lay out the ingredients of the communion meal instituted by Jesus and observed by the church for twenty centuries. In laying them out, inspect yourself and your own diet. Are you keeping all three ingredients together in your communion with God?

The ingredients

We observe these elements in Matthew 26, where Jesus had his "last supper" with the twelve disciples. The gospel ingredient is present in Jesus' description of the bread and the wine, symbolizing his body and blood given for us. He would be betrayed and abandoned by men at that table, men just like us. The gospel ingredient reminds us we are worse sinners than we dare admit, but in Christ's body and blood, more forgiven and loved than we could ever fathom.

The community ingredient is when Jesus shares this first communion meal with his community of twelve—twelve persons in community, not twelve individuals. He emphasizes the community by asking them "all" to drink of the cup. They didn't drink as individuals, but as a new covenant community in his blood (1 Corinthians 11).

“He died to rescue us from our destructive diet and to satisfy us with the better meal of his Son & Spirit.

”Finally, there is the mission ingredient, which is more difficult to discern, but certainly present. Jesus tells the twelve that after that night he will no longer drink the "fruit of the vine" (wine) because he will wait "until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." The mission ingredient of communion is present in the promise of "new wine." Jesus will bring the new after the mission is complete. Jesus intimates mission by setting a vision of the future.

Read More

Dreams be Dreams

2011-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

Is the Need for Closure Biblical -David Powlison

2011-01-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Personal Battles with Depression from CCEF

2011-01-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.ccef.org/personal-experiences-depression

CCEF

Hood Video

2010-12-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

HOOD is where the heART is (teaser) from Jon Montana on Vimeo.

Come With Us to Mount Hood!

2010-12-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

HOOD is where the heART is from Jon Montana on Vimeo.

Here is a random video of some snowboarding on Hood. We think this is our destination so come and join is. Room, transportation, and food is paid for and the lift ticket and gear is on you.
Single Soldiers come join us on January 28-30

Emailing tweet from: Acts29News (Acts 29 Network)

2010-11-24T12:59:00.001-08:00

Acts29News: Acts 29 Candidate, Jeremy Hager, starting a church in Norman, OK. Pass along. http://ow.ly/2FspV
Original Tweet: http://api.twitter.com/1/Acts29News/status/7533947722399744

Sent via TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com)

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass
www.facebook.com/jakesnodgrass

Story of God

2010-11-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

Gospel Story at GCM COllective

Jeff Vanderstelt: Influence Through Mission and Vision

2010-11-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

a29 Bootcamp - Influence Through Mission & Vision from David Fairchild on Vimeo.

Church and Life: Steve Timmis

2010-11-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Timmis talks church and life from Sydneyanglicans.net on Vimeo.

Last combat brigade leaves Iraq

2010-08-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last combat brigade leaves Iraq

June/Iraq/Marriage

2010-06-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I am still in Iraq if you were wondering. Since it is June it is fairly hot and unfortunately has yet to reach its peak. I think it hit around 120 today and I am finding it hard to imagine what 130 or higher really feels like. We are entering our ten month and are getting close to coming home. If this is a marathon I am leaning forward trying to get this thing done. Getting close!

The ministry here has been good. It is hard work and sometimes progress seems slow but I have truly enjoyed the soldiers, the challenges and the uniqueness. You might be curious what makes ministry in the Army different than the pastorate. Here are a seven.
1. When people show up to church they have a weapon. If they don't like what you say it can be a little more intimidating...
2. No one ever complains about what I am wearing.... they are wearing the same thing.
3. No one minds when you go to long. Not it a hurry to get back to...war (ish).
4. I hear things on a daily basis you wouldn't traditionally hear as a pastor. I'll leave that there.
5. Pastoral counseling is usually conducted in a guard tower not an office.
6. My assistant is not some nice church lady but SPC Jacob Barbe...
7. No one complains about the music.

Marriage

I have been preaching through Ephesians at Warrior Chapel for the past five months. I have reached Ephesians 5 and now will focus on marriage for the next five weeks. With that, I would like to thank my wife and marvel at what she has accomplished this year in my absence. Our kids have participated in gymnastics, ballet, baseball, basketball, track, guitar and various other activities.She has served our church, small group, our FRG and Squadron. She has continued to be creative in life and has continued to grow in so many ways. I am proud that Heather is my wife, thankful for her character, and anxious to get home. So as I talk about marriage know that I am thankful for mine.

More to come on marriage

Free music from Red Letter

2010-04-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

I just got some FREE music from Red Letter and thought you might enjoy it. You can download it here: https://www.noisetrade.com/redletter

Valentine's Day Deployed

2010-02-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s Day in Iraq…

Valentine’s Day is not one of my favorite days. As a kid, I always thought it was dumb that I had to make or get cards for people even if I didn’t like them. When I got older, if I had a girlfriend it felt more like a day of extortion. Now, though my wife doesn’t put a big emphasis on the day, it is another opportunity for me to mess up an otherwise good month. I’m not big on sappy, fake sentimentalism and frankly it is really easy for me to mess up.
Where did Valentine’s Day come from?
The early Catholic Church of Rome attempted to ‘redeem’ crazy, naked drunk-fests into Christian holidays. Lupercalia was a holiday in the city of Rome that fulfilled this description. It was celebrated on the 13th through the 15th of February, and the holiday was largely dedicated to ensuring fertility. The Christianization of this holiday is a little more difficult to connect, but there is one popular legend. Roman Emperor Claudius II allegedly created a law that required many young men to remain single, forbidding them to marry. He believed that single men made better soldiers. There was a Catholic priest at the time named Valentine, and he refused the law and performed marriage ceremonies for Rome’s young men. When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail, and according to legend he was eventually martyred on February 14th. The legend goes on to say that Valentine, in his final act of defiance, sent a letter to his beloved that read, “From your Valentine.”
Valentine’s Day for Us?
We can gripe about Valentine’s Day, or we can use it as another opportunity to show our wives or loved ones how much we care. No matter how the holiday began, it has a pretty clear significance in our culture, and is celebrated the same every year. Don’t miss the chance to make your feelings for your wife or girlfriend visible. The level of your thought and creativity simply makes her feel special. She needs to know that you love her, and you should be willing as a man to make her a priority and meet her needs.
Your marriage may have “sucked” this year, and Valentines Day may seem like a waste of good energy. However, I encourage you to fight for your marriage in the same way you would fight in a firefight for the lives of the guys next to you. Make an effort and fight for your marriage. Why not start today? Pick up a phone, get on Skype and tell her that you love her. I don’t care if it is Valentine’s Day or not, a marriage that has been fought for is worth it.

Straight Talk About Debt - Dave Ramsey

2010-02-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

UNCLASSIFIED

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/career-money/features/20079-straight-talk-about-debt

Authentic Jesus: Missional

2009-12-14T00:47:00.000-08:00

Sermon Audio In John we have seen that Jesus is the light. He is source and foundational principle of the world and as such he came to live among men. His life was the embodiement of purpose and truth because he is the purpose. He also is Lord of the feast, the place where all of our appetites and hungers are satisfied. He turns over sin in our lives allowing us to be made new in a new birth. If you look at these things and add them with love you have a God who is and must be on Mission. If God loves, then he must bring us to himself to comprehend meaning, to feast, be made new and have new life. We have a missional God.

This is War Christmas Song - Dustin Kensrue

2009-12-12T23:11:00.001-08:00

NPR.org » Soldiers Pick Up Wreckage After Afghanistan Bombing

2009-12-08T10:04:00.001-08:00

http://m.npr.org/story/120350672

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass
www.facebook.com/jakesnodgrass

Jesus Renews: Born Again

2009-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

First just so you know when you click the link it will take you to the sermon. You can also subscribe via iTunes. The sermon this week is Jesus Renews: Born Again Born again? Sounds confusing, at least it did to Nicodemus. It sounds shrill in the ears of many modern day people. The concept that we are sons and daughters of our original father Adam and are therefore condemned and corrupted and must be born into a new creation is utterly senseless. But as we see, no matter what your class or status all men and women must be born again if they wish to see the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Renews: Turning over Tables

2009-12-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

Jesus Renews: Turning Over Tables The image we have of Christ as being an overly passive guy always gets thrown into a kink with this passage. Christ seems to be always pictured as a non-judgemental sweetheart with a never convicting tone. I grew up thinking he was an early Joel Osteen. Christ's purpose is clear in this passage. He has come to wage war against sin and I know he has more than a few tables to overturn in my life. I pray that by His grace He WILL!

God, Psychology, and Christian Care of the Soul :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

2009-12-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/81_Biblical_Counseling/2124_God_Psychology_and_Christian_Care_of_the_Soul/

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass
www.facebook.com/jakesnodgrass

Featured Media: Biblical Parenting | TheResurgence

2009-11-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.theresurgence.com/featured-media-biblical-parenting

Why should I want to be a Christian? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

2009-11-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/85/4402_Why_should_I_want_to_be_a_Christian/

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Jesus I My Cross Have Taken

2009-11-25T11:08:00.001-08:00

Prayed this song today thought you might enjoy

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.

Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.

Man may trouble and distress me,
’Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven’s eternal days before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

Jesus Renews: Water to Wine

2009-11-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

Audio Sermon: Water to Wine John 2:1-10 Jesus turning water to wine is a somewhat controversial miracle for Bible-belters.. Rather than getting hung up on explaining away the miracle I challenge to to look at what Jesus says about himself. Jesus tells us first that he is the true master of the feast. John 2:1-10 reminds us of the promise of Isaiah 25:6 and of the final marraige supper of the lamb. Jesus also shows us what he has come to do. He is here to make new and give life and he does so by his blood. Lastly he shows us that he has come to offer a feast. He has not come to offer rules to live by and commandments to follow. He has come to satisfy our hunger and deepest need.

Saturday Night Chapel November 14

2009-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 14 Nov we talked about calling. AUDIO SERMON Specifically we looked at the narrative of Jesus calling his disciples in the first chapter of John. There are great things for us to understand about Jesus calling. One thing is that Jesus calls us in a variety of formats but he always calls him to himself. Its easy to get fixated with a pastor , church or a leader and esteem him or them so much that we lose sight of who we have been called too. Jesus uses a variety of people to call us to himself. Ultimately he is the source and the destination of the call. Another thing we talked about is that Jesus, when he calls, calls us to leave. Sometimes its a location, lifestyle, world-view but we are always called to leave sin and follow after him. Jesus calls the disciples to follow him and they dropped their nets, left their location and followed him. We tend to want Jesus to come with us. We even pray that for people. "God, be with them." We rarely pray, "God, call them to be with you." We view God as some kind of travel companion who can keep you out of trouble. God calls us to leave and follow him. Last thing we talked about is that God never calls us in without sending us back out. He called Abraham and Moses and he immediately sent them out. Same goes for the disciples. When God called them to himself he told them they would eventually be fishers of men. Jesus called them in and sent them back out to reach and call the lost. While God calls us to himself and we remain with him in relationship he always sends us back out to reach the lost. Something to think about... Are we calling men and women in to worship God in our churches or are we calling them just to our churches? If we are calling men and women to Jesus, then are we sending them back out as God has intended?

2009-11-12T07:35:00.001-08:00

Christmas Renewal: Advent Conspiracy

2009-11-11T00:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night Chapel Sermon

2009-11-09T23:32:00.000-08:00

This is the third sermon in our look at the book of John. It's the only on we have recorded... more to come. Jesus the Light: Behold the Lamb

Scripture Memory Plan from ESV

2009-10-29T00:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.gnpcb.org/assets/bibles/esv.truth.memory.pdf

The Mars Hill Blog | Blog Archive » “I Am Not Defeated”

2009-10-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

http://blog.marshillchurch.org/2009/10/13/i-am-not-defeated/

This is a post that is a much need. Met Sarah at small group and she
has become a good friend of Heather's. She is experiencing the gospel
in such intimate ways through devastation that she has become a
teacher of all of us.

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

John Piper: Think Christ | TheResurgence

2009-10-15T10:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.theresurgence.com/piper-think-christ

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

2009-10-09T13:24:00.001-07:00

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Jesus the Light

2009-09-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

I have been working through my new preaching series through the book of John. I have given a lot of thought to my ministry as a chaplain and what I am called to do, including how I think and live.
Christ came as the light. This goes deeper than 'this little light of mine' and reflects the idea that Christ was the foundational piece of reality. He was not shaded by darkness but rather stood before them as the genuine article, the source of order, truth and meaning. He came as the light and stood before them, those he created, and they failed to recognize him. Ministry is and can be lonely, but Jesus has gone before you and been rejected in far greater ways. He was rejected as the light in a world he created.
Preach on and live against the current knowing Christ was also rejected.

Pastor Mark: Peter's House in Capernaum

2009-09-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is pretty cool

Peters House in Capernaum from Mars Hill Church on Vimeo.

Deployment on The News ... Manuel Finally made it on TV

2009-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

See if you catch Manuel.. let me know

Driscoll on Hour of Power..

2009-08-23T16:33:00.001-07:00

http://blog.marshillchurch.org/2009/08/21/pastor-mark-on-the-hour-of-power-this-sunday/?iphoneapp=1

Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World

2009-08-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Tim Keller at Desiring God Conference 2006. This sermon shaped a d
continues to shape my evangelistic efforts.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/1832/Video/

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

You ever feel like this guy?

2009-08-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Straight from Ames day!!

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWScTPfsupc

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

2009-08-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

http://blog.marshillchurch.org/2009/08/17/the-mars-hill-church-iphone-app-is-officially-available/?iphoneapp=1

Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Watching My First Abortion | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com

2009-08-17T19:30:00.001-07:00

This article has some saddening and revealing thoughts on abortion.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/212117

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

NYT: Investing in the gospel of getting rich - The New York Times

2009-08-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

There is something missing in the prosperity gospel.... Jesus Christ's
death for sinful humanity, redeeming us by his grace, and our patient,
content endurance by his grace.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32432565/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

2009-08-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

American Culture, Dog Killing, and Abortion

2009-08-14T15:38:00.001-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/9042494869287088200/comments/default

A thoughtful post here by Erik Raymond, wondering why everyone is comfortable condemning Michael Vick's ruthless behavior against dogs, but it's impolite to talk about the killing of unborn humans.

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Civil Religion Gone Awry?

2009-08-07T17:14:00.001-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/4783887060733682822/comments/default

Posted by Robert Sagers

Richard Gamble reviews The American Patriot's Bible. Here's a clip:

"Modern American evangelicalism has its own way of reconciling church and state. It imagines an ideal American founding on Christian principles, blames the nation's decline on secularists, and mobilizes politically active believers to 'reclaim' America as God's chosen land. It sees no inherent conflict between America and the gospel. Christianity is safe for America's political and economic order. In fact, a return to the Bible's wisdom and morality would automatically heal the nation and secure its bright future. No one need choose between allegiance to Christ and allegiance to America.

"Guided by these assumptions, The American Patriot's Bible attempts with breathtaking audacity to synthesize Americanism and Christianity."

Read the whole thing.

HT: Russell Moore

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses "Sunshine" at ACL Music Fest 2008

2009-08-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

I always love some music...

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bz1pCm-sUg

Chaplaincy 101: The Problem of Evil

2009-08-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-8942-St-Louis-Reformed-Christian-Examiner~y2009m8d2-Chaplaincy-101-The-Problem-of-Evil

Lecrae Faces Off with Denny

2009-07-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

Gage jamming

2009-07-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Gage's First Train Ride

2009-07-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Update on Holly McBlair/ Got a Kidney?

2009-07-23T11:20:00.001-07:00

Thought I update this from the blog

"Jim & Judy McBlair

Subject: Update on Holly

On July 9th, Holly went to the orientation on kidney transplant. They started her evaluation that day. She went back on July 16th for more testing.

Jim and I went to the orientation again on the 22nd. They were able to tell us that her creatinine level had already reached an 8. She has a few more things that needs to be completed and then her case will go to committee. Because of her age and otherwise good health she will sky rocket toward the top of the transplant list. They are hoping to get a living donor soon enough to not have to place her on dialysis.

There are some advantages of a living donor. They are able to test the donor's overall health to make sure it is as safe as possible and they can test for a match and the health of the kidney before it is removed. The living donors, between 18 and 60, have to be in good health or they can't donate, which also, insures a healthier organ for transplant. Sometimes, that means a longer length of time the kidney will function for the recipient.

They will be looking first at blood type. Holly is A positive. She can receive a kidney with a blood type of A or O. O is a universal donor. The positive and negative does not make any difference for a kidney transplant.

Next, they will do tissue typing. There are several possible tissue types and they will check to see how many will match, if any.

Thirdly, they will mix both the recipient's and the donor's blood to see if there is any bad reactions.

A viable donor, that does not match with Holly, could be paired with someone else needing a transplant who might have a viable donor that does match Holly.

I am going to be tested for donation. If anyone else is interested, they screen anyone, between the ages of 18 and 60, that would like to attempt a donation of a kidney for her, either directly or as a paired exchange. The screening is started when anyone steps forward, after she is oficially placed on the transplant list. They will screen several at the same time so that precious time is not wasted on waiting for results of one person before starting the next person..There is a living donor advocate that can give more information and couseling. The living donor advocate is concerned for the donor's continued good health. Holly's insurance is responsible for all of the donor's medical costs. There are other organizations that can help her to defray other expenses that might be incurred.

Love to all,

Judy

Me being negligent

2009-07-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFUH_6mN4PQ

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

International Justice Day

2009-07-20T17:16:00.001-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1PdkA-FGWw

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Re:Lit | Pastor Dad | eBook by Mark Driscoll

2009-07-04T14:09:00.001-07:00

Hey Dad's check out this book, give it a read and tell me what you
think. If you aren't a dad now you most likely will be and will
probably find parts helpful. The link is here below.

http://relit.org/pastordad/

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Matt Chandler - De-churched

2009-06-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

This is the biggest problem that I have encountered as a pastor or as
a chaplain. We don't teach the gospel we teach moralism and we attempt
to tie God's hands so that he must bless us. See prayer of jabez, name
it claim it, word faith movement all of which are not the gospel and
are nothing more than cleverly devised myths.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzTm3W2Ai7s

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

John Piper - God is Just in His Wrath

2009-06-30T06:19:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJlI7t1kuxw

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Training With the 2-1 Cav at JRTC

2009-06-25T11:17:00.001-07:00

Here is some shots at our training. There are lots of other pics I wish I could get but I am trying not to get killed.. or fake killed. I am having a good time and learning a lot. One observation I have made during my short time here is this.. As a Christian and a pastor who is familiar with the contemporary language I thought I grasped 'missional' living. I did understand it and practice it yet I feel like my knowledge of being missional was limited. It is a biblical talking point but I found that it had become more of a talking point than anything else. That was until I put on a uniform, bought a stetson, ran 35 miles in a week, sweat my brains out, rode in a stryker, used the restroom in port-a-johns that were being shared by 500 guys, walked three blocks to shower, tried to learn staff work, and most importantly am trying to learn a new language. All of this so I could look a guy in the eyes and tell him that Jesus Christ died in his place. My view of missional living officially has legs and it is way harder than simple talking points. It encompassed more than just being trendy, hip and modern but it is a sacrifice of life for another so someone might know Christ. I am in no way suffering... but I love this verse Colossians 1:24..

SBC Decline

2009-06-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/04/a-year-is-not-a-trend-decline-1.html

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

2009-06-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

http://theresurgence.com/johnson_thoughts-on-music-for-the-media-gorged-part4

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Evangelical Outpost 2.0

2009-06-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/6315939356196106744/comments/default

Joe Carter on the relaunching of EvangelicalOutpost.com:

The real value and benefit of EO has always been in helping to introduce readers of this site to the interesting people I've found.
In keeping with that mission, I've partnered with John Mark Reynolds and Dustin Steeve to change the format of this blog into an online journal. The change reflects our intention to introduce you a broad lists of young, up-and-coming evangelical authors who hail primarily from the site's sponsors, the Torrey Honors Institute and Biola University.

Matthew Anderson—one of my oldest blog buddies—will be joining me as a senior editor. Together we hope to help shape these young writers, honing their writing and reasoning skills and preparing them to provide thoughtful reflections on culture, politics, and religion from an evangelical Christian worldview. Our goal is to make EO an incubator for developing intriguing opinions and introducing interesting individuals.

In the process, we plan to bring you an engaging and entertaining mix of content, from book reviews and essays to opinion pieces and link lists (i.e., the return of 33 Things) and much, much more. We especially want to provide critical reflection on matters—daycare, cremation, etc.—that few of us stop to consider. Most of all, though, we plan to introduce you to interesting people—our contributors, our commenters, and our friends in the community of Christian bloggers.

Same address, just with more people in the house.

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Message on the Gospel and the De-Churched

2009-06-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Matt Chandler's Sermon at Advance09 . Preaching on the message to the De-churched

Tripping to Mt. Rainier For the Weekend

2009-05-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Since being in Washington we have been able to see the ocean..hang in a great city in Seattle and now see the largest mountain in the lower 48. We have had a lot of fun and have appreciated the shear beauty of Washington. These pictures don't even come close to doing what we saw today justice.

We are here and working!

2009-05-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

As many of you have heard we are doing good and getting settled in at Fort Lewis, WA. We live on post which is just south of Tacoma, WA. Our new address is 9876 Adams St. Fort Lewis, WA 98433. We live in a four bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood.... except for fairly consistent range fire and the occasional artillery thud. All of our stuff (household goods) arrived this week and we finally got internet yesterday and tv today. So we are officially up and running. The kids are doing well so far, they have been enrolled in school and are making some friends. They really miss their friends back home but are adjusting. Gage and Boyce are doing well and Gage is talking more... I know only two weeks or so and he changes more than you would think.
We have been encouraged to hear good reports of the children's ministry and youth back home. Big thanks to Travis, Trey and Jessy for their work on the youth and also a really big hand to Nallely for holding the group together on Wednesdays and really inserting herself as a leader. We are so happy for and proud of Angie. She is now leading the children's ministry so continue to pray for her and support her new leadership. So any ideas and thoughts about the children's ministry goes through her. There is nothing harder than trying to lead when you have a bunch of cooks trying to add to the stew and going around you. It doesn't matter if your name is Patton or Marshal it doesn't work. Adjusting to new leadership is always a challenge.

So what I am up to here as the new 2-1 Cav Chaplain? I have no idea... to some degree. The overall plan is to develop a ministry of presence, preaching and teaching that builds towards soldier resiliency. I am convinced that the resiliency that the Army desires for their soldiers is sourced in a Christ-exalting theology. If Christ provides the center then I can withstand temporary struggles in light of ultimate meaning. Soldiers will go through intense struggle, pain, loss and intense frustration. It is not an if but a when in light of their job. I am learning from others that many of them see Christianity as irrelevant to soldiering and many think that it will actually harm their soldiering. Notice I said Christianity and not Christ... because what most soldiers and frankly most people are opposed to is not Christ himself but religion. One of the problems many of you need to deal with theologically is the concept of God's will and trouble. I hear or read all the time... 'I am praying in faith so I know God is going to heal me, give this or do whatever." Ask yourself this, why are you sick, in need or in pain to begin with? Is it because you weren't praying enough? I actually heard at a Memorial Day ceremony this type of garbage. I wanted to ask.. "Are you saying that these men we are honoring who have died in combat didn't pray hard enough or didn't have enough faith?" What a disservice. You see this type of poor theology, with no biblical backing and it is actually more a reflection of new age mysticism than anything else, has been presented to soldiers. You pray this, do this, say this and God will protect your Stryker or Bradley. Then bam! They get hit and they lost faith because they equated Christ with safety, health and luck.
First let me say this. I believe that Christ does work miracles, does heal and does keep people safe. However, I believe that it is in accordance with His sovereign will and ultimate purpose which is for us to be ultimately joyful in him by glorifying himself. It is because he is gracious and merciful not because of our effort. His ultimate aim is not that we would be happy that we are safe.. but that we would be happy that we are Christ's in good or bad. If Christ's ultimate aim was for us to be happy, trouble free and safe Paul should be hacked. (which was his argument to the Corinthians.) So pain has meaning as it draws us to the reality of good and ultimate meaning Christ. It is there that we find deeper meaning. Here is where I am and I aim to preach clearly the true Gospel to soldiers. So that is what I am up to and what I am thinking through.
Move toward Christ.

Missional Militia: Work | TheResurgence

2009-05-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

http://theresurgence.com/lobaina_missional-militia-work

Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Free on iTunes: Understanding Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses

2009-05-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/5737574015516892185/comments/default

Michael Patton:

Wanting to understand Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses?
Rob Bowman's elective for The Theology Program, Understanding Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses is now available on iTunes for free.

Issues covered:

Are Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses Christian?
What is the Mormon view of the Scripture?
History of Joseph Smith
What about the New World Translation?
Why do Jehovah's Witnesses believe that celebrating birthdays are wrong?
Why don't either believe in the Trinity?
How are Christians to understand these beliefs?

Other electives also available from the same place:

Principles of Biblical Teaching, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
A Christian Philosophy of Religion, Paul Copan
Apologetic Methodology, Rob Bowman
Introduction to Apologetics, Rob Bowman

Also, don't forget that you can get the entire Theology Program at iTunes as well.

Introduction to Theology, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
Bibliology and Hermeneutics, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
Trinitarianism, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
Humanity and Sin, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
Soteriology, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck
Ecclesiology and Eschatology, C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyck

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Mahaney on Biblical Productivity

2009-05-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/5625844214012774082/comments/default

Tony Reinke:

Spanning more than four months on the blog, C.J.'s 17-part series on biblical productivity has finally concluded. Via email and in personal conversations many of you have requested that the series be provided as a single document to make it easier to print and read. And today we are making this entire series available as a single 36-page document. You can view and download the PDF by clicking here (0.6 MB):

Index of posts below:

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Together for Adoption Conference: Registration Now Open

2009-04-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/8114363409653836945/comments/default

Registration for the Together for Adoption Conference is now open. It looks great. Here are the speakers and topics:

Michael Easley, "Orphan Care and Jesus, the Great Servant of the Poor"
Russell Moore, "Adoption and the Renewal of Creation"
Scott Roley, "Adoption and the Pursuit of Racial Reconciliation"
Scotty Smith, "The Freedom of Adoption"
Ed Stetzer, "The Gospel, Social Justice and the Missional Church"

Kevin Twit of Indelible Grace will lead the worship, and Zach Nielsen will liveblog it.

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

2009-04-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Just as reminder... We are hosting the town hall for hope with dave
ramsey this Thursday at 7:00. Doors will open at 6:20 so come early.
Also don't forget about the men's retreat this Saturday at 10:00 am
one mile west and three south of Ames
Jake Snodgrass
CH 2-1 Cav
www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Six Biblical Guidelines for Loving Each Other Amid Differences

2009-04-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

http://theologica.blogspot.com/feeds/5039727359259612869/comments/default

Some excellent counsel from Piper to the pastoral staff at Bethlehem.

Let's avoid gossiping.
Let's identify evidences of grace in each other and speak them to each other and about each other.
Let's speak criticism directly to each other if we feel the need to speak to others about it.
Let's look for, and assume, the best motive in the other's viewpoint, especially when we disagree.
Think often of the magnificent things we hold in common.
Let's be more amazed that we are forgiven than that we are right. And in that way, let's shape our relationships by the gospel.

Read the whole thing for biblical support and explanation.

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Jake Snodgrass

CH 2-1 Cav

www.jakesnodgrass.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/jakesnodgrass

Well Here It Comes... Readying to Say Goodbye

2009-04-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest I get a little choked up about the what is coming in the next couple weeks. I will be leaving Ames Baptist Church as pastor and heading to the Army to serve as a Chaplain for the 2/1 Cav in the 2nd Infantry Division 4th Brigade. We are on our way to Washington state and my family will remain there when I am deployed to Iraq in the fall as it has been relayed to me. First I want to say that it has been an amazing experience pastoring in a church where I was raised. To care for the people who cared for me has been a great privilege. I will always be grateful to my community and I always hope to be a part of your lives. I feel that in this coming year you are going to be in great hands. Bryan and his wife Whitney are going to be an excellent addition to our congregation. I am confident that God has called him to our church and that in two weeks when he preaches that the church will enthusiastically call him to be their pastor.
My purpose and goals at ABC were very clear upon arrival and I thank God for the grace of giving a clear vision for the church. Though at times it was not shared I believe that God's work was evident and I believe he accomplished through me what he intended. Upon arrival we saw that in our community there was very little ministry to children and young people in general. It actually angered me and I felt that in order for our church to properly be a church we were called to preach the gospel to all ages. In fact Jesus specifically has a heart for children and rebukes the disciples for trying to shoo away kids and urges us to allow our faith to reflect that of children. However, we had abandoned the work of preaching to kids. This became step one and along with a new emphasis on expository preaching we stepped forward. Three years later we have moved in a positive direction and are on the cusp of reshaping our community for years to come. Not everyone has understood our emphasis on children, youth and young adult ministry, but it was always the goal and vision to turn the church over at the end of the three years with a broad based ministry emphasis. There now exists not only senior adult and adult classes but also robust children and youth ministries as well as a growing men's ministry and an established women's bible study. We are excited about where the Lord has taken the church. What we are the most excited about it not simply numbers or numbers of ministries but a growing affection for an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ in the church. There have been key individuals who have grown exponentially in their love of the Word and therefore their joy in Christ. This is what pleases me most.
It is my hope that the church will become missionally minded and grow in their eternal perspectives. That the people gain a vision for what is truly valuable. It is not religion, status, health, wealth, getting by.. but Christ. Christ is infinitely valuable and he has become the treasure of my life. When I look back at the three years of ministry I can see that I have grown up a lot, but what is more I see that Christ has grown as the treasure of my life. I hope you get what I have been given... more of my Savior.

I hope I get to say good bye's to many of you in the next two weeks. Please stop me if you see me outside or please come by. I will miss you dearly and I have tears welling up as I write this. Continue to grow in your vision for our church and our community. Don't allow the person of Christ to become weightless in your life.

Chandler- Jesus Wants the Rose

2009-04-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Empty Tomb and the Empty Urn - Russell Moore

2009-04-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Found this article on Christianity Today.. Pretty thought provoking ( if you are going to read it, read the whole thing otherwise you may get the wrong idea)

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/aprilweb-only/114-21.0.html?start=1

Men's Breakfast This Sunday at 9:00am

2009-04-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

For those with slow senses of humor... we are trying to be a little funny with the video. We have men's breakfast every 1st Sunday of the month. I think it is a step one in developing a more comprehensive men's ministry. One that develops comaraderie among men in our community and one that utilizes these men's God given leadership, innovative and creative gifts into the gospel community. The percentages of men attending church and leading are poor. IN the average church pew 61 percent are women and of the 39 percent that are men only a very few of those are between the ages of 18-29. Many things are to blame for male absence but probably the greatest reason is that the gospel is not being communicated in a male context. There is going to be more of an attempt to be men and involve men in the months to come. Join us as God is leading us to come to grips with the truth about men in our community.

This April at Ames Baptist

2009-04-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

1. Vintage Jesus Series Young Adult Sunday Mornings at 10:00am . We start every Sunday morning with coffee and music at the Summit House and then begin the series. There is a nursery for babies and Camp Nehemiah for children.

2. Men's Breakfast This Sunday April 5th at 9:00am at the Summit House. This Sunday the men will be having steak and eggs. We are working on a growing focus on men's ministry and you won't want to miss this Sunday.

3. Easter Weekend
- April 10th Good Friday Service: The Prodigal Son Part 1
- April 11th Easter Egg Hunt Sponsored by The Well a children's ministry of ABC. Thanks to the local Mason's for
financial support making this a community event.
- April 12th Sunrise Service at 6:45 am on the hill southeast of town. Get there at 6:30 to make the climb in time.
- Easter Morning - Prodigal Son Part 2

4. April 19 - Adult and Senior Adult Branson Trip. This is also church dinner at Ames Baptist.

5. Thursday April 23 Town Hall For Hope! 7:00pm. We will open doors at 6:00 and start discussion at 6:30. Call for questions.

6. April 24-25 Men's Weekend! The Men are going to get out, camp, and shoot at stuff. More details coming.

One Day Without Shoes

2009-03-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

This from TOMS,
"We often answer inquiries of, “How can I get involved? How can I help?” with a reminder to wear your TOMS everyday and share the One for One mission. On April 16th, however, we want you to leave your shoes at the door. Walk barefoot in an effort to create awareness about the impact a simple pair of shoes can have on one’s life. One Day Without Shoes was established in 2008, primarily on campuses around the US, as students rallied together for a one mile barefoot walk. This year, TOMS wants to inspire all individuals to take part. Perhaps you kick off your shoes during an afternoon meeting, or you walk 2 blocks barefoot, or carry your shoes in your hand just long enough for someone to ask, “Why?”[more]

Youth Worker Roundtable: Caring Amidst Crisis

2009-03-30T05:08:00.001-07:00

By Ron Jackson
Director, Community Life & teaches youth ministry, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, Kansas.
YouthWorker Journal writer Ron Jackson interviewed four experts on surviving and ministering during crisis. Dr. Allen Jackson (no relation), Professor of Youth Education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has worked with others to address the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Beth Lueders is an author and award-winning journalist who has documented stories in nearly 20 countries. Her latest books are Two Days Longer: Discovering More of God as You Wait on Him and Lifting Our Eyes: Finding God’s Grace Through the Virginia Tech Tragedy. Beth is founder and director of MacBeth Communications, a writing and editorial business in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Advertisement

Matt Rogers knows the pain of depression, doubt and grief. As co-pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship at Virginia Tech, he’s been able to use his four-year battle with doubt and depression to help many students understand and find ways to cope with their own struggles. He is the author of Losing God and When Answers Aren’t Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn’t.
Heather Snodgrass was a Young Life leader at Columbine High School from 1998 until 2004. She is currently the Children’s Ministry Director and Youth Leader at Ames Baptist Church in Oklahoma. [more]

Read more to catch Heather's full interview!

Great 'New' Financial Advice!

2009-03-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

(to watch just hit pause button and let it load :>)
Truly shocking method I know, but it might just work...

New ESV Bible Widget

2009-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

ESV Bible Widget
After receiving the suggestion from one of our blog readers a few weeks ago (send your ideas to blog[at]esv.org), we created an ESV widget for the OS X Dashboard.

This widget, once installed, will allow you to search by verse, keyword, or phrase from your dashboard, directing you to the ESV text within the ESV Online Study Bible. This widget works even if you don’t have a registered Online Study Bible account. You just won’t have access to the Online Study Bible features once there (though you can purchase the ESV Online Study Bible or test drive it for free through March 31st).[more]

Vintage Jesus Series Starting This Week

2009-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Young Adult Class that meets in the Summit House on Sunday morning at 10:00 am will be starting the new Vintage Jesus Series on this coming Sunday. The series will head us in the right direction, honestly looking at the person of Christ. Scripture presents Christ as he is, this series does a good job of pointing out this clear teaching in our common cultural vernacular. The series deals with many of the ironies in the Gospels with candor and brings Christ to life.
My hope for the series as a pastor is the that the young adults will be changed by the gospel, and understand and relate to Christ as their Savior, Lord and treasure.

Why such an emphasis on Young Adults? Look around at the churches in NW Oklahoma and in our state. Small town churches are getting older and the question becomes, what will happen to these churches and these communities in 20 years? First and most important, churches must start being churches and reach their community or people will never know the truth about Christ. The side result of not reaching the community is that churches will cease to exist. If churches cease to exist in these communities, the gospel witness will fade out and basic ministry will be an after thought. Who do you plan on burying you, marrying you and your kids, and ministering to you in hard times? Who is going to do all of that for the next forty years? Will kids continue to come to knowledge of Christ at VBS and what about youth being changed in youth ministries? My vision here at Ames Baptist is that we will labor to bring renewal and life to our church through Christ, an authentic Christ, that Young Adults will be reached, discipled, mentored and trained, and that Christ exalting ministry will be established and sustained. It starts when the church gets up from its table where they ask a waiter to serve and puts on the apron and gets to work. Christ exalting missional ministry is at stake. Classes like this, that portray Christ and his call to missional living are a start. Young Adults we want to see you there. Senior adults I hope to see you coming along side mentoring and discipling these couples and young people.

Here is a look at the class... the into is clearly satirical.

FromRe:Lit
Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus' mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was often mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted the crazy story to cover the fact she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad. In Vintage Jesus, one of America's most influential young pastors teams up with a seasoned theologian to lead you on a hilarious theological journey chasing Jesus through Scripture and pop culture.
[read more]

Recomendations
"Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears combine profound understanding of modern culture with weighty Christian doctrine that is faithful to the Bible, and it’s written in such an interesting style that it’s hard to put down. I strongly recommend it!"

—Wayne Grudem, author, Systematic Theology;
research professor of Bible and theology, Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona
[more endorsements]

Vintage Jesus Resources

Buy the book and get a free PDF version from Crossway

Watch Original Sermons from Mars Hill Online

Here is an original sermon that led to the series.