Open Air Preaching/Witnessing Rights by Shane C. Montgomery

You guessed it, that large bald guy is me!  The other large bald guy is my friend and brother in Christ, Mark. I am the goofy looking guy on the left.  This picture was taken during one of our Open Air Preachings from last year.  It is a good idea to have some knowledge on the Laws and your rights as a street preacher when you are confronted by the local authorities.  If you do any open air, it is only a matter of time before you will be confronted by the police, this is not a bad thing but you should know your rights, and I also suggest you contact the local officials and obtain a permit from the city prior to your outreach, and please keep this permit on your body, I cannot stress this enough!   The following is a list of rights you have, I have found it to be very helpful and I would encourage you to print this off if you plan to do any witnessing.  Keep it nearby and keep in mind, each state and city has different regulations.   Be careful and be obedient to your Commission to preach the Gospel!

"Your Commission Or Your Follies, What Will It Be?" by Shane C. Montgomery

"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"     1 Cor 9:16 (KJV)


 "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!"   I wonder today if we can relate to these words spoken by the Apostle Paul?   Do we find ourselves in despair and anguish on days and even hours that we remain idle?   Ah, am I touching upon a sore area now my friend?   More than likely, you have stopped reading this article.  Why?   Maybe it is of little interest to you, have you forgotten your commission so quickly my dear brother or sister in Christ?

"The City" A Classic Sermon on Witnessing by J.C. Ryle

THE CITY.

ACTS XVII. 16, 17.

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

“Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.”

Perhaps you live in a town, or city, and see more of bricks and mortar than of green fields. Perhaps you have some relative or friend living in a town, about whom you naturally feel a deep interest. In either case, the verses of Scripture which head this page demand your best attention. Give me that attention for a few short minutes while I try to show you the lessons, which the passage contains.

"Personal Holiness" by Arthur W. Pink

"That opinion that personal holiness is unnecessary to final glorification is in direct opposition to every dictate of reason; to every declaration of Scripture." -Augustus Toplady

By our fall in Adam we not only lost the favor of God but also the purity of our nature, and therefore we need to be both reconciled to God and renewed in our inner man, for without personal holiness "no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (behavior); because it it written, Be ye holy for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:15, 16). God's nature is such that unless we be sanctified, there can be no communion between Him and us.

"Saving Faith" by John Bunyan

When I write of justification before God, from the dreadful curse of the law, then I must speak of nothing but grace, Christ, the promise, and faith. But when I speak of our justification before men, then I must join to these, good works. For grace, Christ and faith, are things invisible, and so not to be seen by another, otherwise than through a life that becomes so blessed a gospel as has declared unto us the remission of our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ. He then that would have forgiveness of sins, and so be delivered from the curse of God, must believe in the righteousness and blood of Christ: but he that would show to his neighbours that he hath truly received this mercy of God, must do it by good works; for all things else, to them, is but talk. As for example; a tree is known to be what it is, namely, whether of this or that kind, by its fruit. A tree, it is without fruit; but so long as it so abideth, there is ministered occasion to doubt what manner of tree it is.

"How To Spend The Day With God" Richard Baxter

A holy life is inclined to be made easier when we know the usual sequence and method of our duties - with everything falling into its proper place. Therefore, I shall give some brief directions for spending the day in a holy manner.

Sleep

Measure the time of your sleep appropriately so that you do not waste your precious morning hours sluggishly in your bed. Let the time of your sleep be matched to your health and labour, and not to slothful pleasure.

Glenn Beck to Visit a Broke Town! Is His Visit Selfish? YES!

the Monkey House

The Mormon blow hard Glenn Beck visits Wilmington, OH, a town that has been completely devastated by the pull out of DHL.  Glenn Beck is a Mormon, he believes another gospel and is an active member in a ungodly cult.  Read this article from my son's blog, this story just might open your eyes to the dangers of this Fox News blow hard who cares nothing about anyone but himself.   Mormonism is not the same as Christianity!  Only Christ can save brothers and sisters, only Christ!   Not Glenn Beck!
http://themonkeyhousejournal.blogspot.com/2010/12/glenn-beck-steals-from-dieing-town.html

Be Holy!
Shane

"Modern Evangelism Unmasked" by W. F. Bell

The so-called "gospel" being preached in our day falls far short of that "glorious gospel" (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:11) of the New Testament. We are living in a time when preachers are telling sinners that they can be saved without repenting, without forsaking their idols, and without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ. The Bible doctrine of the sinfulness and depravity of man has been thrown to the winds. "Another gospel" and "another Jesus" has gained popularity, and "another spirit" is being received instead of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 11:4).

Evangelism and Witnessing Site of the Day!

 Today's Evangelism and Witnessing Site of the Day is

Solomon's Portico

Solomon's Portico is a blog dedicated to the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ. 

Craig is a close of friend of mine and a brother in Christ who has a true heart for witnessing.  You will be encouraged to get out and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ after reading this blog!

http://solomonsportico-craig.blogspot.com/

Be Holy!
Shane

"Reading and Searching the Scriptures" by Thomas Boston

1.   Follow a regular plan in reading the Scriptures, so that you may become acquainted with the entire Bible; and make this reading a part of your private devotions. Do not always confine yourselves only to read according to your set plan, so as never to read by choice, however, having a plan leads to the most edification. Some parts of the Bible are more difficult, some may seem very dry for an ordinary reader; but if you would look on all of it as being the very Words of God, never to be disregarded, but read with faith and reverence, then without a doubt you will find great gain.
2.   Be sure to mark those passages you read, the ones which you find most fitting to your situation, condition, or temptations; or those that you have found which touches your heart more than other passages. It will be most profitable for you to often review these marked passages.

"Issues in Hermeneutics" Prof. Herman C. Hanko

  I have read several articles, essays, and books on the subject of Hermeneutics, and in every single one these you will read of the importance of good, solid hermeneutics in the growth of the believer, but this article is different, this article does not deny the importance of Biblical Hermeneutics but rather it clarifies why it exist at all.  This is a section of a much larger article that can be found at http://www.prca.org/articles/issues_in_hermeneutics.html  it is rather long but well worth the read.  

"Born-Againism" by Richard Ochs

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."                  John 1:12-13 (KJV)


There is much talk these days about the rapid growth of the cults. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Mormonism, the Unification Church, and a host of lesser-known groups are making converts at astounding rates. Yet, the combined effect of all these groups is over-shadowed by a movement that in the last few years has grown to include over 30% of the U.S. population.

"The Incarnation and Birth of Christ" by Charles H. Spurgeon

A Sermon#57Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 23rd, 1855, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."—Micah 5:2.

HIS is the season of the year when, whether we wish it or not, we are compelled to think of the birth of Christ. 

Evangelism and Witnessing Site of the Day!

I would like to encourage everyone to visit this new blog, this lady has a true heart for "The Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls!"   Because we should always encourage and support Reformed Christians in their sharing of the Gospel and the spread of Sound Doctrine!

"Little Miss Wretched"

http://littlemisswretched.blogspot.com/


Be Holy!
Shane

"The Great Battle" by J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)

All men ought to love peace. War is an immense evil, though it is a necessary evil sometimes. Battles are bloody and distressing events, though sometimes nations cannot maintain their rights without them. But all men ought to love peace. All ought to pray for a quiet life.
All this is very true, and yet there is one war which it is a positive duty to carry on; there is one battle which we ought to be always fighting. The battle I speak of is the battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. With these enemies we never ought to be at peace; from this warfare no man ought ever to seek to be discharged, while he is alive.

"God’s Purpose of Grace" Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God; according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord — Ephesians 3:9-11.

According to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began — 2 Timothy 1:9.

"Arminianism: The Golden Idol of Freewill" - Augustus Toplady (1740-1778)

"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy Name, give glory for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake" Psalm 115:1

SOME expositors have supposed, that this Psalm was penned by the prophet Daniel; on occasion of the miraculous deliverance of Shadrac, Meshac, and Abednego, when they came out, unhurt, from the burning fiery furnace, into which they had been thrown by the command of king Nebuchadnezzar.

A Message from Bold

 Yep, that's me.  Spending another Friday night reading and blogging.  I would like to wish everyone a great weekend!  I know Christmas is only two weeks away and we all have tons to get done, gift buying, wrapping, snow shoveling, and not to mention the extra activities most local churches add to this time of year, youth group plays, soup kitchens and the like but please try to make a little time in all the hustle and bustle of Christmas time to share the Gospel.

Coming Soon from InterVarsity Press!

"Reformation Commentary On Scripture"

Reformation Commentary On Scripture will be a 28 volume work that presents comments by Protestant Reformation figures on the entirety of the Bible, Chapter by Chapter.

A Wealth of Reformation Commentary

The Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) will give you access to a wealth of Reformation-era commentary on Scripture that is largely unknown and for the most part unavailable in English. While the giants of the era, such as Luther and Calvin, will be presented, you will also be introduced to a host of figures with whom you might be unfamiliar, yet who contributed to the Reformation in important ways. In doing so, the RCS will demonstrate both the unity and diversity of thought that characterized this vital period in the history of the Church.

"The True Church" by J.C. Ryle

I want you to belong to the one true Church: to the Church outside of which there is no salvation. I do not ask where you go on a Sunday; I only ask, "Do you belong to the one true Church?"

Where is this one true Church? What is this one true Church like? What are the marks by which this one true Church may be known? You may well ask such questions. Give me your attention, and I will provide you with some answers.

Welcome!

Hello Dear Read,  


  No, the picture is not of me working on this blog, but I often think this young man might do a better job than me!
   
           I thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you might be encouraged by what you read here to go out into this fallen, pagan world and be a bold witness for Christ!   Don't be afraid to speak up for Our Savior, share the Gospel with your lost friends and family and as many strangers as you can as well. Remember, faith comes from hearing and they cannot hear if we do not preach!  They wont bite, at least no one has ever bitten me when I've witnessed to them.  You might get an angry person from time to time but honestly, they are few and far between, most times people are generally interested in what you have to say and most people actually are pleased that you care enough about them to share with them.  Some will be stand offish, but give it a try, it is good to be obedient to our Father in Heaven.  Also, I hope you will take some time to read the additional pages located at the upper right hand of the page.  The page names are listed here below,

In Defense of Evangelism in the Reformed Faith by Shane C. Montgomery

   

   My heart is often broken by people who are most like me in worship and doctrine.  Being a Calvinist and one who adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Shorter Catechism, I am confident in my directives to worship based on Scripture and my confession.   These same directives also teach on how my walk with Christ should proceed.  How I should mature and grow in God's grace.  Many people believe and trust in these directives the same as I do......... up to a  point.   

What is Calvinism?

  The great Princeton theologian, Dr. B. B. Warfield, describes Calvinism as follows:

"Calvinism is evangelism in its pure and only stable expression, and when we say evangelism we say sin and salvation. It means utter dependence on God for salvation. It implies therefore, need of salvation and a profound sense of this need, along with an equally profound sense of helplessness in the presence of this need, and utter dependence on God for its satisfaction. Its type is found in the publican who smote his breast and cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" No question there of saving himself, or helping God to save him, or of opening the way to God to save him. No question of anything but "I am a sinner, and all my hope is in God, my Saviour!" This is Calvinism, not just something like Calvinism, or an approach to Calvinism, but Calvinism in its vital manifestation. Wherever this attitude of heart is found and is given expression in direct and unambiguous terms, there is Calvinism. Where this attitude of mind and heart is fallen away from it however small a measure, there Calvinism has become impossible."

The Calvinist, in a word, is the man who sees God. He has caught sight of the ineffable Vision, and he will not let it fade for a moment from his eyes--God in nature, God in history, God in grace. Everywhere he sees God in His mighty stepping, everywhere he feels the working of His mighty arm, the throbbing of His mighty heart...Calvinism is just Christianity. The super-naturalism for which Calvinism stands is the very breath of the nostrils of Christianity; without it Christianity cannot exist...Calvinism thus emerges to our sight as nothing more or less than the hope of the world.

"Confessions of a Theology Geek" by Shane C. Montgomery

  In my house you will find a mess.  This I must confess, is nobodies fault but mine.  My wife is a very neat and orderly  person, she hates when anything is out of place and she will not and cannot relax until every thing is in its proper place.  Even my two children are neat, at 15 and 7 years old respectively, you would not think this to be the case, but they are.  I know they take this from their mother, they know to put something back in its place when they are finished with it, and for the most part she has trained me to do the same over the past 24 years of marriage.  God has truly blessed me with a loving wife who puts up with me and two great sons that at times appear to be more mature than I am. 

" Assurance and Humility" by A. A. Hodge

I think the first essential mark of the difference between true and false assurance is to be found in the fact that the true works humility. There is nothing in the world that works such satanic, profound, God-defiant pride as false assurance; nothing works such utter humility, or brings to such utter self-emptiness, as the child-like spirit of true assurance. Surely this can be known. If a person is self-confident, there is self-assurance; if there is any evidence of pride in connection with his claim, it is a most deadly mark- it is the plague-spot which marks death and corruption. But if there is utter humility, you have the sign of the true spirit.

"Suppose An Unholy Man Went To Heaven" by J. C. Ryle

Suppose for a moment that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do? What possible enjoyment could you feel there? To which of all the saints would you join yourself and by whose side would you sit? Their pleasures are not your pleasures, their tastes are not your tastes, their character not your character. How could you possibly be happy, if you had not been holy on earth?

"The Fundamental Principle of Calvinism" by Henry Meeter

CALVINISM A UNIFIED, ALL-COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF THOUGHT

The significance of John Calvin for the modern era is vividly described in these words: “The sixteenth was a great century. It was the century of Raphael and Michelangelo, of Spenser and Shakespeare, of Erasmus and Rabelais, of Copernicus and Galileo, of Luther and Calvin. Of all the figures that gave greatness to this century, none left a more lasting heritage than Calvin.1 To the investigation of the heritage of Calvin, the following pages are devoted.

"Pride" by J.C. Philpot

"I hate pride and arrogance." Proverbs 8:13


"The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished." Prov. 16:5

  Of all sins pride seems most deeply imbedded in the very heart of man. Unbelief, sensuality, covetousness, rebellion, presumption, contempt of God's holy will and word, hatred and enmity against the saints of the Most High, deceit and falsehood, cruelty and wrath, violence and murder--these, and a forest of other sins have indeed struck deep roots into the black and noxious soil of our fallen nature; 

"Faith and Assurance" by J.C. Ryle

  
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” (2 Tim 4:7-8)


AN assured hope, such as Paul expresses in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, is a true and Scriptural thing. I would lay it down fully and broadly, that a true Christian, a converted man, may reach that comfortable degree of faith in Christ, that in general he shall feel entirely confident as to the pardon and safety of his soul, — shall seldom be troubled with doubts, — seldom be distracted with hesitation, — seldom be distressed by anxious questionings, — and, in short, though vexed by many an inward conflict with sin, shall look forward to death without trembling, and to judgment without dismay.

"A Witness or a Hindrance?" by Shane C. Montgomery

Because we live the way we do while claiming to be God's people, we are guilty of blaspheme. By our false profession, we destroy the credibility of God.  Anytime we live in a manner that is inconsistent with what we claim to be, we are guilty of blaspheming the name of the Lord. We have taken His name in vain and we have testified before the world that our God is not worthy of our love and steadfast devotion. When we hide our light under a bushel and cease to be salt in the world, we become no better than the religious Jews who boasted about their Law and their relationship with God, but had no spiritual reality to back up their claims. 

"COMPASSION FOR THE LOST" by Charles Bridges (1794-1869)

          “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.” —Psalms 119:136


   IF the Lord teaches us the privileges of his statutes, he will teach us compassion for those who keep them not.


This was the mind of Jesus. His life exhibited one, whose “heart was made of tenderness.” 

"SIN’S PRESENCE" by A.W. Pink (1186-1952)

 "Sins Presence" 

   Taken from Vol. XXVII February, 1948  No. 2  of  "STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES" 


      “Search the Scriptures” John 5:39


 There are two sides to a Christian’s life: a light and a dark, an elevating and a depressing one. His experience is neither all joy nor all grief, but a commingling of both. It was so with the apostle Paul: “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing” (2Co 6:10). When a person is regenerated, he is not there and then taken to heaven,

"Useful Directions For Reading and Searching the Scriptures" by Thomas Boston

 There is so much to gain from reading the Puritans.  In this "relevant" world we find ourselves the Puritans are often scorned for being "unrelevant" and out of touch with our modern day problems.   God raised these men up for the edification of the people of that time and that place, but He also raised these men up for the people of this time and this place so we would be in serious error not to take advantage of the gift of the Puritans.  It has been centuries since the last of the Puritans put quil to paper but this doesn't mean they are to be left in the past.  Today we have a chance such as previous generations never had, we can easily find, purchase and read hundreds of books that were out of print for years and years.      The following is from Thomas Boston on Reading and Searching the Scriptures......  be Holy!        Shane C. Montgomery

"The Loss of A Friend" by Shane C. Montgomery

  Today being Saturday, as usual, I find myself busy in preparing for tomorrows Lord's Day worship.  Today is also the day winter has chosen to make it's entrance known to all of us here in the Cincinnati area, the snow is blowing hard and coming down very fast, I foresee a good deal of snow shoveling early tomorrow to have the church ready for service, I double as the maintenance man as well as a few other duties in our small church.   My wife Jeannie is getting ready to leave for work where she works as a job coach for mentally impaired adults and has just received a phone call that none of the people she works with are well enough to work today, so this will surely cause some added chaos today. 

The Danger of Christian Complacency Dr J. C. Ryle, First Bishop of Liverpool (1816-1900)

 The times require distinct and decided views of Christian doctrine. I cannot withhold my conviction that the professing Church is as much damaged by laxity and indistinctness about matters of doctrine within, as it is by sceptics and unbelievers without. Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with colour-blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. 

"Letter To A New Convert" by Jonathan Edwards, 1741

"My dear young friend, 
As you desired me to send you, in writing, some directions how to conduct yourself in your Christian course, I would now answer your request. The sweet remembrance of the great things I have lately seen at your church, inclines me to do anything in my power, to contribute to the spiritual joy and prosperity of God’s people there.


1. I would advise you to keep up as great a earnestness in religion, as if you knew yourself to be in a state of nature, and were seeking conversion. We advise people under conviction, to be earnest and violent for the kingdom of
heaven; but when they have attained to conversion, they ought not to be the less watchful, laborious, and earnest, in the whole work of religion, but the more so; for they are under infinitely greater obligations. 

"Justification, Not the End All of Salvation!" by Shane C. Montgomery

  
  It is getting to the end of the worship service, the hymns have all been sung, the testimonies given, the collection has long since been taken up for the week.   The pastor has minutes ago wrapped up another sermon on the importance of tithing and now the worship leader is on stage, his lovely, well dressed wife is sitting at the large, black piano, the lights shinning off the perfectly waxed surface of the Baby Grand.  The worship leader signals to his wife to begin playing a slow, moving song, you know the one, "All To Jesus" maybe, or one of the new Christian pop songs that have been burning up the radio waves, the worship leader ask that the lights be dimmed, he slowly walks the length of the stage and back, you can begin to see the moisture swelling up in his eyes,

"The Importance of Christian Scholarship in The Defense of The Faith"-J. Gresham Machen

   This Address was originally delivered in London on June 17, 1932.

 There are, indeed, those who tell us that no defense of the faith is necessary. "The Bible needs no defense," they say; "let us not be forever defending Christianity, but instead let us go forth joyously to propagate Christianity." But I have observed one curious fact-- when men talk thus about propagating Christianity without defending it, the thing that they are propagating is pretty sure not to be Christianity at all. They are propagating an anti-intellectualistic, non-doctrinal Modernism; and the reason why it requires no defense is simply that it is so completely in accord with the current of the age. It causes no more disturbance than does a chip that floats downward with a stream. In order to be an adherent of it, a man does not need to resist anything at all; he needs only to drift, and automatically his Modernism will be of the most approved and popular kind. 

"Directions for Hating Sin" -Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

The New England Puritan- Thomas Brooks

(1608-1680). Independent. Studied at Cambridge, developed a devotional Experimentalism in a sweet and pithy style. Wrote Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices; The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod; Apples of Gold, etc. One of the most quoted Puritans because of his masterful, proverbial English style.

The following is one of Brook's better known writings:  "Seven Characteristics of False Teachers"

"Top Ten Tips For Sharing The Gospel." by Shane C. Montgomery

 Maybe you have visited this blog in the past and asked yourself, "What is this blog about?  What's the deal here, is it encouraging Evangelism or is it discussing and promoting Reformed Theology?"  Well, it is both.  True it started to be more about sharing the Gospel and later drifted into theology but is there really anything wrong with that?

"The Ten Marks of a Flesh-Pleaser" By Richard Baxter

The signs of a flesh-pleaser or sensualist are these:

1. When a man in his desire to please his appetite, does not do it with a view to a higher end, that is to say to the preparing himself for the service of God; but does it only for the delight itself. (Of course no one does every action conciously with a view to the service of God. Nevertheless, the general manner or habit of a life spent in the service of God is absent for the flesh-pleaser.)

Cornelius Van Til's Presuppositional Apologetics

   "I take what the Bible says about God and his relation to the universe as unquestionably true on its own authority. The Bible requires men to believe that he exists apart from and above the world and that he by his plan controls whatever takes place in the world.  Everything in the created universe therefore displays the fact that it is controlled by God, that it is what it is by virtue of the place that it occupies in the plan of God. The objective evidence for the existence of God and of the comprehensive governance of the world by God is therefore so plain that he who runs may read. Men cannot get away from this evidence. They see it round about them. They see it within them. Their own constitution so clearly evinces the facts of God's creation of them and control over them that there is no man who can possibly escape observing it. If he is self-conscious at all he is also Godconscious.  No matter how men may try they cannot hide from themselves the fact of their own createdness. Whether men engage in inductive study with respect to the facts of nature about them or engage in analysis of their own self-consciousness they are always face to face with God their maker."

"Sodom and Gomorrah -or- Hillsboro and Greenfield, What's The Difference?" by Shane C. Montgomery

 "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that 
the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. 33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place." Gen 18:21-33 (KJV)


  Maybe you recognize these verses from Scripture, and maybe you don't. Maybe you have read the title of this blog and you are irate and furious at having the names "Sodom and Gomorrah" in the same header as our beloved "Hillsboro and Greenfield." 

How to Study the Bible by the Rev. James Stalker, D.D. 1895

  I must admit, I am drawn to 19th century Scottish preachers, something about their no nonsense approach to Scripture and to personal piety that brings me to want to read them and in this case we have the Rev. James Stalker who many might not have heard mentioned but deserves to be read today, he did not put out a ton of literature but what we have we should read.   I love this era of British preachers, Bonar, Ryle, Spurgeon and a little later on, my favorite, A.W. Pink.   So I present to you Stalker's guide to the study of Scripture.   May it bless and edify you!  

GOSPEL PREACHING COMMANDED by A. W. Pink

A.W. Pink
Taken from a sermon preached in Sydney during his Australian ministry in the 1920s.)

THERE are those who misrepresent the doctrine of election in this way: Here I am sitting down at my table
tonight with my family to tea. It is a cold winter’s night, and outside on the street are some hungry starving tramps and children, and they come and knock at my door and they say, “We are so hungry, Sir, Oh, we are so hungry and cold, and we are starving: won’t you give us something to eat?”

God Has Answers For Your Excuses with footnotes by Shane C. Montgomery

“I tried calling on God, but He didn’t answer.”

Isaiah 59:1-2- Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so

dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He does not hear.

(If you truly desire God, He will know and He will respond in your life. In our refusal to rid our lives of sin, God refuses us. Until we love God more than we love our sins, God will not answer! Repent, turn from all sin and trust in Christ and if you truly desire God then He will send His Holy Spirit into your life and begin the process of Sanctification.

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats? by Charles Spurgeon

  I had it on my heart to post on the epidemic that is spreading through the evangelical church today, that being the ever growing popularity of churches in the U.S and around the world for that matter willing to sell out and throw out sound Biblical expository preaching and to replace it with entertainment.  What use to be a somber and reverent "Lord's Day Worship" every Sunday morning is more and more being replaced with the cooler, hipper, and more crowd pleasing concept of "Sunday Morning Entertainment,"

DISCOURAGEMENT- Taken from A.W. Pink's Studies in the Scriptures, June 1948 Issue

  We turn now to consider its correctives; and obviously, these must be a diligent and resolute opposition to those evils which work in us faint-heartedness. As we have previously intimated, most of our
discouragements result from disappointments; and they, in turn, issue from unrealized expectations―the dashing of our hopes. Whether it be persons or things, when they yield not that which we look for, our
souls are cast down; and the stronger our expectation, the keener our disappointment when it be not fulfilled.

"Why So Many Bibles?" by Shane C. Montgomery

      There is more Bible buying, Bible selling, Bible printing and Bible distributing than ever before in our nation. We see Bibles in every bookstore; Bibles of every size, price and style. There are Bibles in almost every house in the land. But all this time I fear we are in danger of forgetting that to HAVE the Bible is one thing, and to READ it quite another.

~ J.C. Ryle

If J.C. Ryle thought there was a massive amount of Bibles in his time, what would he think if he was alive today?  I imagine he would be a bit overcome.