Resources

What was Baal worship and why was it so popular? It is a mistake to think of Baal worship as some kind of otherworldly practice that never happens today. On the contrary, it happens all the time in the form of cultural variations of the same general patterns that we see in 2 Kings 21:1-9 and 2 Kings 17:7-23. We know that there were usually lots of people gathered, often on a high hill (like a theatre or stadium) to observe public sex, just like we see in movies and television and on the internet (Numbers 22:41, I Kings 12:25-33). We think that our watching these things is different than the idolatry of old, but this is not so. The whole community came out and all of the best pagan ideas for success in crops and fertility were promoted, just like a business seminar that promotes unbiblical ideas that justify the worldliness of its origin.  The wicked personalities (promoters and performers) were respected and given the platform (like rock stars and Hollywood’s “People’.) Some of them were great dancers (like Brittany Spears and Madonna) while others were great musicians (like Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney) (I Kings 15:12-14). In our day, people who go to our churches celebrate celebrities when they should be doing the opposite. Psalm 101:1, 3 says “I will walk in my house… I will set no wicked thing before my eyes…” People danced around the Asherah pole, which was nothing more than a phallic symbol. It is quite possible that these poles functioned somewhat like the poles in what are called, “gentlemen’s clubs.” The people also acted out lustful, licentious, bawdy scenes for the enjoyment of all who came (Isaiah 57:5-8; Deuteronomy 23:17). They had all the different kinds of sexual experiences on display including men with women, men with men and all of the combinations that are popular today in sit-coms, movies, and news reports. On top of that, they invited the crowd to participate (I Kings 14:24). The children were the real losers, though, as some of them were actually sacrificed on the altar of the sex and the success (2 Kings 16:3-4). To participate, you had to reject your children. Does this remind anyone of the 48 million babies in the US who have been aborted on the altar of convenience and immorality? Baal worship, in reality, corresponds exactly to activities that most people freely participate in today. They do so without really understanding the na

Ephesians 6:1-3 commands children to obey their parents "because it is right." Here are ten reasons why it is "right" to obey. 1. It is right because it pleases the Lord. You want God's blessing in everything you do. Imagine God is against you. Imagine God's displeasure upon you? Paul speaks to the Colossians that your honor and obedience is "pleasing to the Lord" (Col 3:20). God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5, James 4:6). The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18). 2. It is right because children need to learn it when they are young. Pride makes children think that they should be in control. Here is the reality. Children are blind to their lack of wisdom and experience. Children don't see themselves the ways mature people see them. Ecclesiastes 10:3, gives a picture of what this looks like, "Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool." Children are naturally deceived about themselves. Children want all the authority and responsibility of adults without having the maturity, the thinking process, and the financial ability to be on their own. They want the same authority as the parents, but they do not have the same wisdom and experience as parents. 3. It is right because rebellion is connected to the self-driven impulses that characterize evil – even demonic activity. God calls it "divination" (1 Sam 15:22-24). "Rebellion" is like "divination." Divination, at its core, is rejecting God and going to another source. It is despising His ways. This independent spirit of arrogance is like idolatry. Whe

Let me share one of my father’s favorite Proverbs. He quotes it regularly: > "... when he sits in his house, when he walks by the way, when he lies down and when he rises up." I am the fortunate son of a father who repeated and followed these instructions. That is one reason I love Proverbs 24 -- a chapter that is of tremendous value to fathers. It lists and explains some of the most important priorities and techniques of a wise father, and warns him of pitfalls to avoid. For good or for ill, all fathers are builders. With each invested moment, a father builds something. Thus, building is the subject of Proverbs 24. > "Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking. Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate." Proverbs 24 is the last chapter of Proverbs that Solomon wrote (the remaining chapters were penned by the men of Hezekiah). In this chapter, Solomon confronts two issues. First, he deals with the problems of envy and a man’s desire to fit in with other men. And second, he challenges men to build their families with wisdom and knowledge.  Solomon shows us six techniques of the wise father:  1. The wise father rejects evil role models (v. 1-2) 2. He builds with Wisdom’s materials (v. 3) 3. He establishes his house with understanding, (v. 3) 4. He fills the rooms of his household with precious and pleasant riches (v. 4) 5. He seeks the best counsel and is strong (v. 5-6) 6. He escapes the tragedy of a foolish irrelevant life (v. 7)  Let’s take some time to consider each of these principles. THE FIRST TECHNIQUE  > "Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking." (Proverbs 24:1-2) Here we find the first technique of a wise father.  These two commands are directed straight at the heart of a man. Solomon’s first

In the Old Testament law, there were many ceremonial laws that seem very strange to us. For example, there are laws of uncleanness that prohibit touching a corpse, declare uncleanness in birth, sexual intercourse, menstruation and semen discharge. These are ritual states of uncleanness, not moral uncleanness. These things are not evil in themselves, but they were matters of ceremonial uncleanness. In the Old Testament law, God was making distinctions between pure and impure (Lev. 29:24-26). These laws are meant to teach us that we are set aside for holiness. All day long we divide all activities into holy and unholy. We ought to distinguish everything.  Perhaps the central text that addresses menstruation is Lev. 15:19-23: > “If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.” In Lev. 18:19, we encounter the command against sexual intercourse during menstruation: > “Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity.’ Then in Lev. 20:18, we find that it results in being cut off from the people: > “If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.” There are several passages that mention menstruation: Lev. 12:1-5; Lev. 15:25-30; Lev. 20:18; Lev. 30:22; Ezek. 22:10; Gen. 18:19; Gen. 18:11; Gen. 31:35; Isa. 64:6; Mat. 9:20 and Luke 8:43. Some of the uses of menstruation are metaphorical pictures of spiritual uncleanness. For

We live in a society where the acquisition of debt has become as American as apple pie. It has not always been this way. For example, in 1900 most homeowners owned their homes outright and those who had mortgages were required to pay 50% down with a 5 year payoff. It was not until after WWII that Americans began to use debt more freely as loan requirements were progressively loosened and lenders were protected by federal laws. At the same time when mortgage debt opportunities expanded and evolved, consumer debt has skyrocketed. The severity of this can be seen from various angles. It was recently reported that 63% of Americans are from financial disaster and cannot deal with a $500.00 emergency and that s have less than $1,000 in savings. How should we think about debt in such an environment, where nearly everyone seems to have plunged themselves into debt? We should turn to the Bible! The most important questions regarding debt have nothing to do with what the people around us are doing and thinking. The most important questions for Christians are these: What does the Bible say about debt? Is my thinking aligned with the message of Scripture? I have collected my understanding of what the Bible teaches about debt under the following four headings: I. Debt is not prohibited in Scripture. II. The absence of debt is praised in Scripture.III. God regulates the processes of borrowing and lending.IV. God warns about the dangers of debt. I. Debt is not prohibited in Scripture  You will not find a Bible verse that declares, “thou shalt not go into debt.” It is permitted and therefore, it is not necessarily sinful to get a loan. Not only does Scripture permit it, there are many principles, practices and requirements that God gives to govern the practice of both borrowing and lending. However, just because there is not an explicit prohibition, we should not consider the matter closed. There are many things we know are wrong even though there is no explicit command. For example, there is no command against gambling, but most Christians would regard this as a sinful practice. II.

Did your father protect his family? Are you protecting yours? In this short message, Scott Brown argues that there are five things a father must do to protect his family: First, fathers protect their families by being aware of the danger they are in. Second, they protect their families by beholding the face of Jesus Christ. Third, they protect their families by trusting in God. Fourth, they protect their families by reading and teaching the Word of God in their homes. Finally, they protect their families by teaching their families to honor the God-ordained authorities that are in their lives.

How do you know if you are a Christian? Scott Brown points out nine tests of salvation from the little, but significant, book of 1 John. 1. 1 John 1:5-7 (Walking in the Light)  5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 2. 1 John 1:8-10 (Confession of Sin)  8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 3. 1 John 2:3-4 (Obedience) 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 4. 1 John 2:9-11 (Love for the Brethren) 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 5. 1 John 2:15-17 (Hatred for the World)  15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever  6. 1 John 2:24-25 (Perseverance in Doc

Here is a short lesson in Biblical Manhood: Manhood Goes After It – In bringing children to church What does it mean to be a man with children?  Here it is: Manhood goes after it. Manhood rises up and teaches.  Manhood directs.  Manhood protects. The pinnacle of manhood is Jesus Christ who gathers disciples and conquers his enemies. He crushes the head of the serpent. He contradicts His enemies. He speaks the truth. He destroys the works of the devil. Manhood does not wait for womanhood to power up. Parents, Men, Fathers, this is how you ought to approach taking your children to church. It is a pivotal discipleship event. Each week we send you the preaching text and the songs to sing so you can teach your children. We do this to give you a resource to teach them. First, we want you to teach your children what the preaching text means. Then teach them what the songs mean and how to sing them with vigor. Brothers, lets shake off all sloth and get after it. Let nothing stand in your way. We are looking for a mighty flock of men: Ezekiel 36:37-38 regarding men.  “I will increase their men like a flock. Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” Richard Baxter makes it clear just how much we need families to do their part to teach the younger generation: "We must also have a special eye upon Families, to see that they be well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of church and state, depending much on Family-government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we undo all. What are we like to do ourselves to the reforming of a congregation, if all the work be cast on us alone, and masters of families will let fall that necessary duty of their own, by which they are bound to help us! If any good be begun by the ministry in any soul in a family, a careless, prayerless, worldly family is almost sure to stifle it, or at least very much hinder it. Whereas, if you could but get the rulers of families to do their part, a

With the prevalence of age segregation of all kinds in the modern church there can be a lot of confusion and misunderstanding, and sometimes even distrust, about what family integrated churches are and why we structure our churches in this way. While family integration may seem novel today, if we look at history we can see that the innovation is really the program driven, divided church - family integration is an attempt to return to a more historic, and biblical, way of doing church.

Scott Brown explains in this video that revival often occurs when you see the significance of your sin and the effect that it has. The house built on the sand will be destroyed. Have our homes today been destroyed because we have neglected to follow the clear commands of Scripture in regards to child raising and marriage? Matthew 7:26-27 (NKJV) - "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

There is a crisis. Christian youth are rapidly leaving evangelical churches for the world. This well-recognized disaster has been the topic of significant discussion in recent years for both church leaders and modern new media. DIVIDED follows young Christian filmmaker Philip Leclerc on a revealing journey as he seeks answers to what has led his generation away from the church. Traveling across the country conducting research and interviewing church kids, youth ministry experts, evangelists, statisticians, social commentators, and pastors, Philip discovers the shockingly sinister roots of modern, age-segregated church programs, and the equally shocking evidence that the pattern in the Bible for training future generations is at odds with modern church practices. He also discovers a growing number of churches that are abandoning age-segregated Sunday school and youth ministry to embrace the discipleship model that God prescribes in His Word.

When God created the world, he not only made all the things we see in the world, he also made a family and gave them a command - to make more families. As we trace the Bible's teaching on the family throughout the pages of scripture we see the beautiful plan of God for families in a broken world; He takes a man and woman, unites them in a covenant of love with each other, and instructs them to raise children. All to make his glory known and to be a picture displaying the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ.