I am on writing leave this year, but I’m thinking I’ll probably not be affording this. See above. What do you reckon one of these costs? (HT: Alex Medina)

At the time, I was in reaction against an unhealthy strain of emotionalism that I had encountered in the charismatic movement. I do not mean to suggest that all charismatics are unhealthily emotive, but it was so with the little corner of the movement that I experienced in the early 90′s. The charismatics that I had been involved with were not gospel-centered, bible-saturated charismatics. On the contrary, they portrayed spiritual growth as moving from one emotional experience to the next. After a couple years of chasing such experiences and coming up empty, I became convinced that it was all vanity and that there had to be more to Christianity than this.

So after my charismatic burn-out, I sort of overreacted. I began to discount all religiously motivated emotion as manipulative and wrong. This conclusion had a comprehensive effect on my opinions about God and ministry. With respect to preaching in particular, I believed that the preacher did not need passion in the pulpit; he needed only the word. Emotive preaching and bible preaching were antonyms as far as I was concerned. Piper’s advice on preaching sounded to me like the charismatics that I was trying to get away from—a fixation on the heart at the exclusion of the mind. I believed Piper to be too concerned with the delivery of the sermon and not enough with the substance of it. I was wrong about Piper, but I did not know it then. I didn’t want to hear from him on this subject anymore.

Fast forward a few years. A subsequent sermon from Piper opened me up to a new perspective about the place of emotions in the Christian life. I became convinced that my allergy to emotive religious expression was a wrong-headed overreaction. I understood that my cessationism need not require cessation of feeling and heart.

It was during this period that I read Jonathan Edwards’s Religious Affections for the very first time. Edwards argued that “true religion” lies in “gracious affections.” In other words, true Christianity always results in a heart that is much-moved by the things of God. Emotions weren’t an optional add-on to the faith. They were part and parcel of saving faith. I found that truth confirmed all over the Bible, especially in the Psalms.

Edwards applied this insight to preaching, and this time I had ears to hear what I couldn’t receive from Piper years earlier. Edwards writes:

“If it be so, that true religion lies much in the affections, hence we may infer, that such means are to be desired, as have much of a tendency to move the affections. Such books, and such a way of preaching the Word, and administration of ordinances, and such a way of worshiping God in prayer, and singing praises, is much to be desired, as has a tendency deeply to affect the hearts of those who attend these means.” –Religious Affections, Yale edition, p. 122

In other words, Edwards is saying that preaching must be done in such a way as to move the hearts of listeners. Edwards’s belief in the sovereignty of God did not lessen his belief in means, but enhanced it. If God uses means, then sermon delivery matters. The preacher’s delivery should be compelling and emotive not disinterested and flat.

Must we preach with passion? The answer is yes. When the Bible is the subject matter, the preacher cannot show indifference toward God’s truth in his delivery. The matter is very much like a husband’s regard for his wife. A husband who is emotionally indifferrent about his wife does not honor her no matter how much he keeps his other wedding vows. He only honors her if her best attributes are reflected in his delight and admiration of her. And so it is with the way that a preacher speaks about God. There must be some correspondence between the truth of God and the manner of the preacher. A preacher with no passion is a man who has not seen God as He is.

The Seed [by Jake Hamilton, age 7]

Once upon a time there was a king and his arch enemy. The kings name was Zavior. His arch enemy’s name was Serpen. King Zavior was everything you could name. Serpen seemed good, but he was evil. Serpen was secretly gathering an army made of demons. King Zavior had an army made of angels. One day Serpen was sitting in his lair when one of his spies came in and said that King Zavior was having a party – a perfect time to attack! When the party came and it was time to attack the bad guys heard a war cry! It was King Zaviors army! Well unlike other books you’ve read where there’s the soldiers run away well this was diffrent. The soldiers fought and fought but Zaviors army won! [Crossed out sentence] The soldiers were killed and Serpen was bound in a pit for a thousand years and then [crossed out phrase] be let go to gather an army but they failed. Then he was judged and thrown in the lake of fire. After that, King Zavior reigned forever in peace. The End.

I really appreciated this one from the guys at Igniter Media, and I’ll bet many of you will too. I love you, mom and dad, and am always happy to be your tech support!

“What are you singing,” I asked.

He replied, “I’m singing to my God. I must always sing to my God!”

It turns out that this was his strategy for sharing the gospel with me! The rest of the trip was a delight. We talked about life, the gospel, and the nature of true Christianity. We prayed for each other, and then he gave one final exhortation at the end. You can see it below.

Psalm 136:1-9
¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
⁵ To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
⁶ To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
⁷ To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
⁸ The sun to rule by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

I travelled to and from Atlanta last week with my good friend Jim Hamilton. When we arrived back in Louisville yesterday, there was a reporter waiting at the security check-point. He wanted to interview us about our experience with the new TSA security procedures (video above, text version here). In short, he wanted to know if we had been through a full body scanner or had been patted down. Neither of us went through a scanner, but I did get patted down in Atlanta. For some reason, the reporter missed that detail and reported that none of the travelers he interviewed had been patted down. That was incorrect. I was.

In the interview above, I’m fairly untroubled by the new procedures, but then again the pat down I received was all above the waist. I might feel differently if I had to undergo the invasive search that I’ve seen in some of the pictures on television. In the comments section below, I’ll be interested to read how you feel about the new measures.

Our goal in talking to them is twofold. One, we are trying to convince them to choose life by directing them to “A Woman’s Choice Resource Center”—a crisis pregnancy center located just across the street from the abortion clinic. From there, we can offer them abundant resources to carry their babies to term and to care for them after they are born. Two, we aim to share the gospel with them as there is opportunity. Our desire is to save these unborn babies and to spare their mothers from making a decision that they will likely long regret. Our ultimate goal is to direct these women to Jesus.

The vision for this ministry began with Dave and Stacey Hare of Immanuel Baptist Church, but it spread to some members of my church after a sermon I preached last January on Proverbs 24:10-12, a text which reads:

¹⁰ If you are slack in the day of distress,
Your strength is limited.
¹¹ Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter,
O hold them back.
¹² If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?

Why am I writing about this outreach on my blog? There are several reasons.

First, after doing this the last two Saturdays, it has become clear to me that my experiences at the abortion clinic will become a part of what I write about on this blog. This post will be my background link whenever I do.

Second, I want to raise awareness about this ministry among evangelical Christians in Louisville. There is a need for other gospel-believing congregations to get involved with this kind of outreach. Dave and Stacey Hare have produced a set of resources to help train sidewalk counselors who want to speak for the unborn. The Hare’s are also available to come to your church and to train your people directly if need be. For more information about the outreach and how to contact the Hare’s, click here.

Third, I want people to know about Louisville’s crisis pregnancy center A Woman’s Choice Resource Center and to consider making a regular monthly donation to this work. A Woman’s Choice Resource Center assists pregnant women with free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, maternity/infant clothing, counseling, and information about adoption. The Center is a frontline effort at convincing women to keep their babies and at supporting them after they do. Moreover, this is an evangelical work that is committed to sharing the Gospel with each and every client. Here’s a link to their donation page.

Fourth, we need prayer. As you will find out, this is not an easy work. The abortion clinic has recruited their own volunteers to escort women from their cars to the clinic. So we are often in direct confrontation with the clinic’s escorts. As far as it is up to us, we want to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18), but these folks don’t feel that way toward us. So we need your prayers, the clinic’s escorts need your prayers, and so do these pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Keep an eye out on this blog for stories from the “Speak for the Unborn” outreach. They will be coming forth in very short order.

Leading up to today, my thoughts have been on a poem that I wrote on the occasion of our third anniversary. It’s not meant to be a sad ending, but a happy one. It’s a short narrative of a vision that I have of finishing well with my bride, whether she or I go first. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!

———————————

A TESTIMONY AND A PRAYER

The old man took her tired hand
to hold for one last time.
The years had fin’lly pressed her to
her final breaths of life.

Their wrinkled hands in warm embrace
brought back the long-gone years,
The memories of their happy times,
and those dissolved in tears.

The old man saw in her ill frame
the girl that stole his heart.
He saw in her that gracious gaze
that filled their home with warmth.

His mind turned back to lighter days
when she did make her mark,
The children her love reared for them,
Her single heart for God.

He also felt the weight of grace
that marked her many years,
How she had borne him patiently
when he did cause the tears.

The old man said, “My love, the time
was cruelly short to me.
I cannot say goodbye to you
and let your passing be.”

“How can I ever say farewell
or ever let you part?
You are my only precious thing,
the joy of my old heart.”

And as his eyes began to well,
she reached to touch his face.
And then her quivering voice began
to give one final grace.

“This is the day the Lord has made,
The one He’s brought to pass.
This day was written in His book
before my first was past.”

“The Lord has granted us to spend
together all these years.
He’s also granted all the joy
and even all our tears.”

“And though this is a bitter day,
we owe Him so much thanks.
Dear, we made it! By Him we did!
Yes, we made it! By grace!”
________________________

Oh Father, grant that we may see
our days as at their end.
Oh let us know the weight of grace
in every year we spend.

We make this prayer unto You,
for there is no one higher.
This testimony of Your grace
we desperately desire!