Preaching the Cross, Part 2: Before You Preach the Cross

"Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross." What do I mean?

To answer this question from my previous post, I offer this:

When I say, "Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross," I mean that you must come to the cross of Christ before you can preach the cross. Any person who has grown up in the church or has ever attended can preach about the cross, but no one can preach of the cross until they have bowed the knee to the crucified, buried and risen Savior.

Be reminded that this is not a "stop and go" way of coming to the cross. Rather, this is a "come to the cross, cling to the Savior and let the gospel marinate" way of coming to the cross. Furthermore, being able to preach the cross of Christ is not about having knowledge about the cross, but rather, it is about being changed by the gospel then allowing the Holy Spirit to preach the life-changing power of the gospel through you.

Have you been to the cross?

Next: Preaching the Cross, Part 3: Living A Cross-Centered Life

Preaching the Cross: Before You Preach the Cross

Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross.

What do I mean?

Preaching the Cross, Part 1

Once again, I apologize for my absence from blogging. It's been rather busy in life right now..newly married (check my wife's blog for pictures), working more and so on. I've also been reading and thinking a good bit as well.

First of all, I have been reading "Preaching the Cross" by Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan, R. Albert Mohler Jr., C.J. Mahaney, John MacArthur, John Piper, and R.C. Sproul. The message of this book seeks to encourage us to preach the cross and the message of the gospel every time we open the Word of God. The writers challenge readers to pursue gospel-saturated, preaching-centered ministries. I'll post more on specifically what I am learning through reading this book soon.

Secondly, this book has opened my eyes further to the fact that there is a lack of clearly presented and proclaimed gospel while in the pulpit. Be reminded that a simple altar call at the end of the service is NOT a presentation of the gospel of Christ. Why should a lost person respond to an altar call in which they talk to someone further about what it means to follow Christ when they do not even understand why they are responding to an altar call in the first place? Preach the cross!

Every time the Word of God is opened, the FULL gospel must be presented. A clear gospel presentation does not include water: so do not water down the gospel! Preach the cross!

Friends, it is imperative that we explain and present the gospel in a clear manner. We must not merely "share" the gospel but we must detail the gospel even in the pulpit. I hope this serves as a reminder to preach the gospel in all areas of life and ministry. Let's be a body of believers that are known for preaching the cross. Now, go and preach the cross!

There will be more to come...

Obviously, it worked...

Today was Southern Seminary's 2009 graduation. The whole service went great and may God bless those who have completed their seminary work and begin their ministries. Here are a few snap shots from the graduation...



Again...



I tell ya, it was a hot day to have graduation. We had to wear suits and ties because of the event. Don't get me wrong..I enjoy looking sharp, but not in the hot weather! Because of the heat of the sun, our boss bought spray sunscreen and obviously, it worked great! But make sure you apply it everywhere...



Overall, it was a great day that started at 5:30am and ended at 7pm once I got off work at Sherwin-Williams. Once off work, Michelle and I enjoyed the rest of the day with Qdoba's and Target. The life.

In the Studio

So, today I went up to campus to prepare the video cameras for SBTS graduation tomorrow. I got to work, but since it was raining, we did not test the cameras. Instead, Josh and I went up to Dr. Mohler's radio studio to do some work on the microphones. While Josh worked in the booth, I was able to sit in Mohler's seat to test the mics.


From the other side:



It was really neat to be in the studio and to see the desk and computers that Dr. Mohler works on during the radio program. In case you were wondering, there were no problems with the mics. He's ready.

Check it out: The Albert Mohler Radio Program

Working hard for Sherwin-Williams..oh yeah..

15 5-gallon buckets of sealant at 60 lbs a barrel = nearly 900 lbs.
8 1-gallon buckets of sealant at 10 lbs a gallon = 80 lbs.

I hauled nearly 980 lbs. of sealant today for work..and I had to load and unload it pretty much by myself..not bad, eh?

Decibels + Doctrine

Normally, on the way home from work in the evenings, I enjoy listening to Wally at WayFM. He played a snippet of an interview from a Christian hard rock band and I was encouraged by what I heard. Normally, when I see pictures or hear the music of Christian hard rock bands, I start to wonder what their motivation is for playing because most pictures you see or music you hear looks just like the world. That is one soapbox I won't get on right now.

This particular Christian hard rock band was stating their purpose for the band and they talked about how it was their purpose to minister to people. I was like, "Wow." I could not believe he said that, but it shouldn't surprise me in the first place because as Christians we are suppose to minister to people. Some bands just want to rock out and be nominal about Christ, but this band was different. Yes, they look like the world and their music sounds like the world, but their doctrine is completely different.

Even today, I heard about another band who is singing about the dumps of life and the addictions that fester and how Christ can redeem a person from that lifestyle. I say "redeem" because people do not need to be rescued, they need to be redeemed from sin. So, all in all, I was impressed and encouraged by this snippet of an interview.

Here's a plug for WayFM.