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Here are three things to remember on Election Day. (These are from a message I shared in church on Sunday: A Christian in the Voting Booth.)

1. The gospel is bigger than politics: Our faith is in Christ, not in any political party or candidate. Barack Obama is not the messiah. John McCain is not the messiah. Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came to make things right in the world.
2. The church is bigger than political parties: God is neither a republican nor a democrat. Believers may disagree with each other on many issues, but that should not affect our fellowship in Christ. When we share communion together, we gather not as republicans or democrats or independents or libertarians, but as Christians, united together by our common faith in Christ.
3. God is bigger than elections: (This is a good one to remember not just on Election Day but also on the day after, especially if your candidate does not win.) No matter how strongly you feel about one candidate or another, and no matter how disappointed you may feel if one candidate wins instead of another, God is bigger than all that. If the early church was able to worship God and spread the gospel under Emperor Nero, if contemporary Christians are able to worship God and spread the gospel in Communist China, trust me: we will still be able to worship God and spread the gospel under either John McCain or Barack Obama. And whoever is elected president, you need to respect that person as your newly elected leader and pray for them accordingly.

God is sovereign. God is in control. Let us pray for the election, let us do our part in voting as responsible Christians, and then let us trust God with the results.

I will be publishing one of the following posts on Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s election. Which do you think it will be? 🙂

Post #1: Congratulations Senator Barack Obama!

Congratulations, Senator Obama! You ran a long and strenuous campaign, and you have now won the 2008 Presidential Election. You were not my candidate of choice, and I strongly disagree with many if not most of your policies. However, you are the duly-elected next President of the United States. Therefore, I will give you the full honor and respect due your position and pray for you accordingly. At the same time I will continue to work and vote for those policies I believe are best as is my right and duty in a representative government. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family.

Post #2: Congratulations Senator John McCain!

Congratulations, Senator McCain! You persevered and defied all odds to win the 2008 Presidential Election in what should have been a Democratic year. I have had my problems with you in the past and did not vote for you in the primaries. However, I did vote for you on Tuesday as I felt you would do a better job as President than your opponents. I voted for you hoping that you will defend the rights of the unborn, cut government spending, protect our country during dangerous times, and appoint conservative judges to the bench. I trust you will fulfill these promises under which you campaigned and received my vote. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family.

Click here for more posts on Politics.

Yesterday’s message was called A Christian in the Voting Booth. The purpose of the message was to demonstrate how to think Biblically through various issues related to voting in the election on Tuesday. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. Do I have a Christian responsibility to vote?
    A. You are responsible to exert a godly influence.
    B. You are responsible to pray for your leaders.
    C. As a voter you share the responsibility of government.

II. How do I approach voting as a Christian?
    A. Voting on state issues (Massachusetts)
        1) State personal income tax
        2) Possession of marijuana
        3) Dog racing

    B. Voting on national issues
        1) The economy
        2) Foreign policy
        3) Moral issues (such as marriage and abortion)

    C. Voting for candidates
        1) Character
        2) Wisdom
        3) Leadership

III. Three things to remember.
    A. The gospel is bigger than politics.
    B. The church is bigger than political parties.
    C. God is bigger than elections.

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

Theology professor Roger Olson risks offending both Republicans and Democrats with his Ten Questions to Consider Before Voting. (And I guess I risk doing the same by posting them here!)

5 Questions to consider before voting Republican:

1. What will happen to the poor in a Republican administration?
2. Will a Republican administration pursue world peace?
3. How will a Republican administration promote mercy, compassion and justice for all?
4. Is a Republican administration likely to be unduly influenced by large corporations?
5. Can a Republican administration show respect for every human person’s dignity and rights?

5 Questions to consider before voting Democratic:

1. What will happen to the not-yet-born in a Democratic administration?
2. Will a Democratic administration keep America and others safe from terrorism?
3. How will a Democratic administration promote security and safety for Americans and others?
4. Is a Democratic administration likely to be unduly influenced by liberal special interest groups?
5. Can a Democratic administration show respect for traditional family values?

What do you think? Does Olson do a good job with his questions of identifying some of the main strengths and weaknesses of each party?

Don’t forget to change your clocks back one hour tonight, or else you will arrive at church fifty-five minutes early tomorrow … instead of five minutes late.

Related post: The Thief

Methinks this Obama supporter may have got a little carried away by Obama’s promises in his speech at the rally. (Video length: 0:26)
 

HT: Bob Krumm

“It was the most memorable time of my life … It was a touching moment, because I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car, I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, he’ s going to help me.” (Peggy Joseph; Obama supporter)

Click here for a recent list of Obama’s campaign promises (compiled by ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper). Not that all of McCain’s promises have been overly realistic either.

Update (7/15/2014): Six Years Later

Click here for more posts on Politics.

Check out these neat Star Wars pumpkins. Now that’s some fancy carving. I like the Death Star one the best. (Click on the image for a larger picture.)

Do you need a lightsaber to carve a pumpkin like that? Visit Wired.com to see more Star Wars pumpkins, including R2-D2, C-3PO, General Grievous and Chewbacca! (HT: Verum Serum)

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Related posts:

• Yoda Promotes Small Groups
• Tim Keller and Darth Vader
• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
• Jedi Squirrels
• George Lucas Syndrome

John Mark Reynolds offers the following 5 Halloween Hints. I’ll leave my own comments after each one.

1. Read Descent into Hell by Charles Williams. Great suggestion! Charles Williams’ novels are the best theologically-poetically-historically informed supernatural thrillers you will ever read. Question for John: Why did you pick Descent into Hell over All Hallows’ Eve?
2. Watch one of the following: Charlie Brown Halloween special; original Frankenstein; or The Village. I like all three, but I vote for Charlie Brown.
3. Recall for your family the righteous dead of your own line. If you don’t have a godly heritage, borrow the heroes of the faith. Interesting suggestion. I never thought of doing this.
4. Do give out candy and not tracts. I know a lot of Christians would disagree with me here, but I’m with John on this one. Maybe a tract with the candy, but definitely not instead of.
5. Scare a friend or family member. Hmmm. Watch out family and friends!

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for Halloween?

Ligonier Ministries is offering a genuine leather edition of the Reformation Study Bible for any gift amount from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2 while supplies last (retails for $69.99). Click here for details on the offer. Click here to read R.C. Sproul’s Introduction to the Reformation Study Bible.

Just in case you were wondering.

(Video length: 1:50)

HT: Steve Weaver

Happy Reformation Day! Also, be sure to check out the Reformation Day Symposium at Challies.com.

In September of 2007 Senator Barack Obama told Planned Parenthood that “the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.” Of course, this is either good news or bad news for you depending on what you think of the Act itself. (You can read more about what the Freedom of Choice Act entails and what effect it would have on abortion here: What is the Freedom of Choice Act?) How about you? Do you support or oppose the Freedom of Choice Act?

(Video length: 1:51)

Click here for more abortion related posts.

NEWSFLASH! TIME Magazine argues that experience is not necessary to be president — except that was seven months ago in March when they ran a two-article cover story on Sen. Barack Obama. Check out the following excerpts defending Sen. Obama’s lack of experience. (Where was TIME when people started attacking Gov. Sarah Palin as being light on experience?)

From: Does Experience Matter in a President?

Obama’s relatively light political resume … continues to be the focus of his rivals’ attacks [i.e. Hillary] … Obama’s credentials would be an issue in any election year. He would be sworn in at age 47, making him one of the youngest Presidents in history, and would arrive in the Oval Office with less executive experience than most of his predecessors …

Wouldn’t it be nice if time on the job and tickets punched translated neatly into superior performance? Then finding great Presidents would be a simple matter of weighing résumés … But it has never worked that way, which is why Lincoln’s statue occupies a marble temple on the Mall in Washington, while his far more experienced rival William Seward has a little seat on a pedestal in New York City.

If knowing the system is so useful, then second-term presidencies should be more successful than first-term. Instead, many Presidents lose effectiveness as they go along … To a keen student of human nature, all of life offers lessons in how to lead, inspire and endure. Lincoln’s ability to apply useful lessons from his motley experiences was among his most striking traits.

From: The Science of Experience.

In making the case that she would be a better President than Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton never forgets to summon the argument that she has more experience. But as the Florida State simulations show, experience doesn’t always help. In fact, three decades of research into expert performance has shown that experience itself … can actually hinder your ability to deliver reproducibly superior performance …

Experience is not only insufficient for expert performance; in some cases, it can hurt. Highly experienced people tend to execute routine tasks almost unconsciously … and they retrieve the information they need quickly, rarely pausing to apply rules … Which is not to say that, if elected, Clinton or John McCain would drive the country off a cliff — or that Obama, as a comparative novice, would be more cautious and less burdened by his habits. But the study of experience does indicate that the more seasoned candidates wouldn’t automatically outperform Obama as President.

Do you find TIME’s arguments convincing? Either way, it makes for some interesting reading seven months later and just days away from the election.

Related post: Obama, McCain and Palin TIME Magazine Covers