Russell Moore made a stand about teenagers and cell phones.  In doing so, he makes some points we as parents need to prayerfully consider.

Article: Does Your Child’s Cell Phone Preach Another Gospel?

National Public Radio, not usually a friend to Christians in America, had an unusually positive story about Christian movie making this morning.  They highlighted to movie Fireproof (which I haven't seen yet - I want to see it as I have heard raving reviews of it).  What I thought was just amazing is that they have a clip from the movie with a brief explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The clip at the end describes man's sin and God's provision - the death of Jesus Christ to reconcile God and man.

Article and audio with movie clip: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100927647

Indeed, "the stones will cry out."

In my sermon for Sunday, February 15, I had to think through the question of female ordination.  Does the fact that Deborah served as a prophetess and a judge mean that men's and women's roles can and should be the same in the church?

In reading and praying through the passage, it became clear to me that Deborah was primarily an influencer, not a leader.  She is not a good example for female ordination as she clearly did not see herself as an oppointed minister.  Her primary role in the nation of Israel was to influence and inspire the men (namely Barak) to lead with God's promises.  She did not lead in battle, but even in battle she played the part of a counselor and a prophetess, brining inspiration and influence.

Biblical roles in the family and the church are noticably complementarian, not egalitarian.  Men and women have different callings in the family and in the church.  Women often have to step in to fill the roles of men when the men are weak.  This is not right.  And yet, even with differing roles, that does not mean that women are less valuable.  It is a difference of calling and responsibility.  I am called to be a pastor, not the president.  Does that make the president any less valuable in the eyes of God?  No it does not.

Two documents were immensely helpful to me in this:
First, The Womanliness of Deborah: Complementarian Principles from Judges 4-5 by Barbara Mouser
Second, The Valuable Ministries of Women in the Context of Male Leadership: A Survey of Old and New Testament Examples and Teaching by Thomas Schriener

These valuable resources are available online for you to read.

The 2009 Desiring God Pastors Conference has been posted online.  This will be my listening diet and encouragement over the next few months.  I know it will be fantastic learning and growing.

Russell Moore gives good items to consider to a parent thinking about giving a cell phone to their children.

CJ Mahaney interviewed John Piper about his personal devotion and strengthening himself for ministry.  As an admirer of John Piper, I thought these things would be helpful to share as a good example.

"As severity is ready to punish the faults which it may discover, so charity is reluctant to discover the faults which it must punish." - St. Augustine

This advertisement was supposedly blocked by NBC from being aired during the Superbowl because of it's "political nature".  It's point is well made though.

  

Recently, I've been using a useful computer tool that allows me to log into all my computers whether I'm sitting there or not.  It is a free computer program called LogMeIn.  You can download it at www.logmein.com.    I can log into my work laptop while I am at home and I can log into my home PC when I am at work.  I love it and I recommend it.  Not sure about the security issues, but it appears to be legitimate software with sufficient protection.

Focus on the Family put out a podcast of Allistar Begg on the search for a godly spouse.  It is a good talk to consider as you seek out the person you will someday marry.

Search for a Godly Spouse: Part 1
Search for a Godly Spouse: Part 2

How does ministering the gospel relate with working to make a difference in the major social issues of our time?  In this article by Charles Colson, he hits what I think to be the right issues - ministering the hope of the gospel, building up covenant families, communicating a Christian worldview, and speaking on the issues that matter most to us.  Evangelicals are being pushed to the back seat in the current political climate.  But there is still much that we can and should do.