UNUSUAL OBJECTS EDITION.

World’s largest piñata.

The world’s largest piñata was recently constructed in Philadelphia. It was 94 feet long, 24 feet wide, 60 feet high, and was stuffed with 8,000 pounds of candy. They used a wrecking ball to crack it open.

Floating guitar.

Water music anyone? Singer-songwriter Josh Pyke’s unusual vessel was designed by Australian guitar manufacturer Maton. The SS Maton is a giant-sized replica of Josh’s actual guitar.

Portable bench.

This portable bench was designed by Dutch artist Rogier Martens. You can find instructions for making your own here. This idea seems a little more practical than either the piñata or the guitar.

This is Part Three in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and the Minister:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin?

Consider–
    1. What a reproach it is to God.
    2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life.
    3. The dreadful loss which the church suffers as a result of
        prayerlessness of the minister.

It is the business of a minister to train believers up to a life of prayer; but how can a leader do this if he himself understands little the art of conversing with God and of receiving from the Holy Spirit, every day, out of heaven, abundant grace for himself and for his work? A minister cannot lead a congregation higher than he is himself. He cannot with enthusiasm point out a way, or explain a work, in which he is not himself walking or living.

How many thousands of Christians there are who know next to nothing of the blessedness of prayer fellowship with God! How many there are who know something of it and long for a further increase of this knowledge, but in the preaching of the Word they are not persistently urged to keep on till they obtain the blessing! The reason is simply and only that the minister understands so little about the secret of powerful prayer and does not give prayer the place in his service which, in the nature of the case and in the will of God, is indispensably necessary. Oh, what a difference we should notice in our congregations if ministers could be brought to see in its right light the sin of prayerlessness and were delivered from it!

Ouch! As a pastor, this one hits close to home. “A minister cannot lead a congregation higher than he is himself.” How does a pastor’s prayer life impact his congregation? How can you encourage your pastor in his prayer life?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Gospel

Yes, it’s a trick question. Archaeologists found coffins there containing the remains of most likely Herod’s wife and the wife of Archelaus, Herod’s son, but no Herod as of yet.

The bright red and elegant coffin of Herod, which was displayed last year, is now completely restored, along with a large tomb. Prof. Netzer ascertains that the red coffin is the burial coffin of Herod …

One big question remains: Where is Herod’s body? “We have only found a very small number of human bones at the site and have not been able to come to any conclusions,” Netzer said. “We have not yet finished digging and have only uncovered a small area.” But he does not believe the king’s remains will ever be recovered.

Todd Bolen summarizes the latest discoveries at Herod’s tomb over at BiblePlaces.com.

Related posts:
    • King Herod’s Tomb Found?
    • Is the Bible Relevant to Archaeology?

Who will be TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year 2008? Some of the top contenders include Barack Obama, Tina Fey (?), Michael Phelps, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. TIME will let you cast a vote, but the editors will announce their own selection on December 19. Judging from the TIME cover photos of the past year, I predict … (Click here for TIME covers from the past year.) Feel free to share your own prediction in the comments.

Update: No big surprise here, but TIME has indeed selected President-Elect Barack Obama as Person of the Year 2008.

This is Part Two in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin?

Consider–
    1. What a reproach it is to God.
    2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life.

It is a proof that, for the most part, our life is still under the power of “the flesh.” Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can tell what is the condition of the heart. The sin of prayerlessness is a proof for the ordinary Christian or minister that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness.

Much is said and many complaints are made about the feebleness of the Church to fulfill her calling, to exercise an influence over her members, to deliver them from the power of the world, and to bring them to a life of holy consecration to God. Much is also spoken about her indifference to the millions of heathen whom Christ entrusted to her that she might make known to them his love and salvation. What is the reason that many thousands of Christian workers in the world have not a greater influence? Nothing save this — the prayerlessness of their service. In the midst of all their zeal in the study and in the work of the Church, of all their faithfulness in preaching and conversation with the people, they lack that ceaseless prayer which has attached to it the sure promise of the Spirit and the power from on high. It is nothing but the sin of prayerlessness which is the cause of the lack of a powerful spiritual life!

Thoughts: Is it possible to have a vibrant spiritual life without prayer? Do you believe the church (overall) is weakened in its mission today due to a lack of prayer?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Minister

• 10 Things You’d Love to Say at Work But Can’t. From Michael Hyatt.
• LIFE Photo Archive. Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today.
• Mini-Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb.
• Missionary Taxi Club. Christian taxi drivers in South Korea use Christian radio in hopes of leading passengers to Christ. There are 450 members in the Missionary Taxi Club who have been meeting monthly for 25 years to worship and discuss opportunities to share the Good News with their passengers.

This is Part One in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and God:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin? At first it is looked upon merely as a weakness. There is so much talk about lack of time and all sorts of distractions that the deep guilt of the situation is not recognised. Let it be our honest desire that, for the future, the sin of prayerlessness may be to us truly sinful.

Consider–

   1. What a reproach it is to God.

There is the holy and most glorious God who invites us to come to him, to hold converse with him, to ask from him such things as we need, and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with him. He has created us in his own image, and has redeemed us by his own Son, so that in converse with him we might find our highest glory and salvation.

What use do we make of this heavenly privilege? How many there are who take only five minutes for prayer! They say that they have no time and that the heart desire for prayer is lacking; they do not know how to spend half an hour with God! It is not that they absolutely do not pray; they pray every day — but they have no joy in prayer, as a token of communion with God which shows that God is every thing to them.

If a friend comes to visit them, they have time, they make time, even at the cost of sacrifice, for the sake of enjoying converse with him. Yes, they have time for everything that really interests them, but no time to practise fellowship with God and delight themselves in him! They find time for a creature who can be of service to them; but day after day, month after month passes, and there is no time to spend one hour with God.

Do not our hearts begin to acknowledge what a dishonor, what a despite of God this is, that I dare to say I cannot find time for fellowship with him? If this sin begins to appear plain to us, shall we not with deep shame cry out: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone, O God; be merciful to me, and forgive this awful sin of prayerlessness.’

Thoughts: Have you tended to look at prayerlessness as weakness rather than sin? Have you ever considered prayerlessness as a reproach to God?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life

One of my favorite books on prayer is The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. (It is also titled Living a Prayerful Life.) Andrew Murray was a pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in the 1800′s/early 1900′s. He was part of the South African Revival of 1860. He also wrote more than 240 books, a number of which focused on prayer.

The Prayer Life was birthed out of a conference that took place in April 1912. At the time there was a sense that the church was generally lacking in spiritual power and effectiveness, and so over two hundred ministers, missionaries and theological students gathered in South Africa to study the problem and discuss it together. Murray writes in the foreword of his book:

“The Lord graciously so ordered it that we were gradually led to the sin of prayerlessness as the deepest roots of the evil. No one could plead himself free from this. Nothing so reveals the defective spiritual life in minister and congregation as the lack of believing and unceasing prayer. Prayer is in very deed the pulse of the spiritual life. It is the great means of bringing to minister and people the blessing and power of heaven. Persevering and believing prayer means a strong and abundant life.” (Andrew Murray; The Prayer Life, p. 8 )

After the conference Murray wrote The Prayer Life, both as a reminder of the things they had learned and as a way of sharing these things with others.

The first chapter focuses on the sin of prayerlessness, and I will be sharing with you some excerpts over the next several days. In the remainder of the book, Murray gives helpful instruction on overcoming the sin of prayerlessness and developing your prayer life with God. The Lord used this book to help form my prayer life as a young Christian, and though my prayer life is far short of what I wish it would be, I am grateful for the truths I learned from this book in those early years.

Here are the posts that will form the rest of the series. I will update the links on this page as each post is published. I invite you to follow along and share your thoughts and comments along the way. (If you are new here, be sure to subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future posts.)

The Sin of Prayerlessness:
    Introduction and Links to the Series
    1. Prayerlessness and God
    2. Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life
    3. Prayerlessness and the Minister
    4. Prayerlessness and the Gospel
    5. A Witness from America
    6. The Cause of Prayerlessness
    7. The Storm Center on the Battlefield

Tim Keller comments on the two brothers in the parable of the prodigal son.

“There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord. One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good.”
    – Tim Keller, The Prodigal God

HT: Challies: Book Review – The Prodigal God by Tim Keller

Related posts:
    • Melody in F (The Prodigal Son)
    • Parable of the Prodigal Puppy

Yesterday’s message in the Called series was titled Called to Persevere. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. God does not promise you an easy life.
    A. We live in a fallen world. (Romans 8:18-21)
    B. We should expect trials. (John 16:33; Acts 14:21-22)

II. God does promise to be with you.
    A. He gives you his peace. (Philippians 4:6-7)
    B. He gives you his presence. (Matthew 28:20)

III. God promises great benefits to those who persevere.
    A. Your faith is shown to be genuine. (1 Peter 1:6-7)
    B. You will grow in character. (James 1:2-4)
    C. He who perseveres to the end will be saved.
        (Matthew 24:12-13; James 1:12)

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Here are ten great quotes (also known as “Adrianisms”) from the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, former pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN.

1. Just because it doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.
2. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.
3. If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.
4. Sin is not just breaking God’s laws; it is breaking His heart.
5. We ought to be living as if Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.
6. Has it ever occurred to you that nothing occurs to God?
7. It’s what you sow that multiplies, not what you keep in the barn.
8. If you have a Bible that’s falling apart, you’ll have a life that’s not.
9. I wouldn’t trust the best fifteen minutes I ever lived to get me into heaven.
10. God grades on the Cross not on the curve.

You can find more quotes like these in the two-volume series: Adrianisms: The Wit & Wisdom of Adrian Rogers. (Volume 2 here.) Do you have any favorite Adrian Rogers quotes?

Three Great Books by Adrian Rogers:

                (Photo: American Humanist Association)

Last month it was the Atheist Bus Campaign in England. Now there is the Humanist Bus Campaign in the United States. From the Christian Post:

A group of humanists announced this week plans to plaster over 200 buses in Washington D.C. with ads bearing its “godless holiday” message.  Ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake,” will appear on the outside and inside of DC Metro buses starting next Tuesday and will run throughout December. Newspaper versions of the ads ran in The New York Times and The Washington Post this week.

The advertising campaign is part of an effort by the American Humanist Association to reach out to like-minded individuals around the nation’s capitol and elsewhere who might be interested in humanism. The atheistic group espouses the belief that one can live a moral life apart from a belief in a god or the afterlife.

Three Bible passages come to mind:

Jesus answered, “No one is good — except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

The apostle Paul wrote: “There is no one righteous … there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Oh well, let me wish a Merry Christmas to all my humanist friends anyways!

Related post: Atheist Bus Campaign