Spiritual Warfare

My next series of messages will be "The Invisible War." For six weeks we will take a close look at what the Bible teaches about spiritual conflict. Most of our study will center around the sixth chapter of Ephesians, but we will use several other passages to give us some light on this difficult topic.

People tend to go one of two ways with this topic. They go overboard, or they ignore it. Both are wrong. Our purpose will be to find the clear teaching of Scripture on this matter. Here's my projected sermon titles and a few books I have found helpful.

The invisible war sermon series

Soldiers of the Cross
Dressed for Battle
Battlefield: the mind
Exercising Kingdom Authority
Standing firm in prayer
Fighting for your family


Books
When the Enemy strikes - Charles Stanley
Kingdom Authority - Adrian Rodgers
The Invisible War - Chuck Ingram
Spiritual warfare in a believers life - Charles Spurgeon
Commentary on Ephesians - John McArthur

I've noticed quite a bit of spiritual resistance as I've studied and prayed for this sermon series. At times I've had trouble concentrating, the phone rings at inopportune times, people distract me, there are truths in these messages that Satan does not want to get out!

Steven Austin Wimberly








The two or three of you out there who actually waste your time reading this blog might have noticed that I have not posted lately . . . well here's why.

Steven Austin Wimberly was born Feb. 7. He weighed 7.7 pounds and was 20 inches long. In case your wondering, he is the eighth wimberlite!Of course, you need a few more pictures of the family, then - back to the business!

Bald is beautiful baby!

Here's the rest of the kids before Steven A. burst onto th scene. (the cat and I have an agreement, she doesn't bother me, I don't step on her head!)

BLUE LIKE JAZZ

A few months back I picked up Blue Like Jazz at the Christian book store. The book has been taking college campuses by storm. In fact, the young lady working the register said that all her friends at the university had read it, and that she fully intended to. To be honest, I wish I could go back and tell her not to waste her time.

Blue like Jazz was a total let down. Donald Miller seems to have a hard time understanding the concept of biblical holiness. Was it sinful for him to get drunk and smoke pot while leading a church youth group? He never admits that it was. Was it sinful to drink and curse at your roommates while playing video games? Apparently not. Donald Miller's Christianity is way cool, too cool for the Bible if you ask me.

What ever happened to taking up one's cross and following Christ? What about the Biblical admonitions to speak only that which is good and helpful to your brother? Being a Christian is and has always has been countercultural. Jesus was not and is not "cool." I agree with Shane Walker of 9 marks ministries, "The only antidote seems to be twofold. The first is to reintroduce young Christians to the biblical Jesus: the person who died an agonizing death for their sins, who will tread the winepress of the wrath of God, and who listens to their prayers. The second is to begin the battle against the cool. The godly must begin to prove in the pulpit, in writing, and in their lives that Christianity is the deadly enemy of the cool. And the cool is the Western postmodern entertainment driven culture that has tutored our children and ourselves for the last fifty years."

Brokebake Mountain, Pt 2

I hope you will take a minute to read Casey's Tripp's rather eloquent rantings in the comments section. What do you think a Christian response to such movies should be? How do we as Christians fight this culture war? Let me know what you think.

Collin

Brokeback Mountain, Pt 2

I hope you will take a minute to read Casey's Tripp's rather eloquent rantings in the comments section. What do you think a Christian response to such movies should be? How do we as Christians fight this culture war? Let me know what you think.

Collin

Brokeback Mountain

I have to admit that I have not seen this movie, nor do I ever intend to. I have read editorials and commentaries from every point of view of possible, and what I have found is disturbing. Film makers are doing their best to disguise this movie as a epic romance. The reality? Brokeback mountain is just another attempt by the radical left to mainstream their favorite perversion. The homosexual community hopes this movies will gain public support for their cause, possibly influencing future legislation aimed at granting minority status to gays and lesbians. Brokeback mountain is just another propaganda piece in the ongoing culture war that eats at our nations soul.

How should we as Christians respond? Most should not see the movie. The R rating is for graphic language, nudity, and sex scenes. We can should speak about our Scriptural convictions. We must pray for our nation and for those trapped in a lifestyle of homosexuality. Above all, we must put on love, which is the perfect bond of peace. Harsh judgmentalism is never the answer. We must stand for the truth, but do so with humility and compassion. I like the way Phil Boatwright states this in his Baptist Press article: "Scriptures say homosexuality is an abomination (Romans 1:26, 1 Corinthians 6:9). But we must guard against false superiority. Upon reexamination of those verses, it becomes apparent homosexuality is not all that's abhorrent to the Heavenly Father. In fact, we are all blameworthy of some infraction. However, those developing a spiritual awareness soon find themselves ashamed of the natural man's disobedience to God. We don't parade our peccadilloes. We are not proud of our transgressions, nor do we try to convince society to accept them. With God's help we will conquer these faults. With His mercy, we will be forgiven."