Why I Use Extensive Notes In Sermon-Delivery

See pp. 27-29 (Chapter 7, Notes & Delivery) of the following work for my answer:

http://www.vincentcheung.com/other/preachword.pdf

A Quote from Charles Spurgeon Regarding John Gill

"My eminent predecessor, Dr. [John] Gill, was told, by a certain member of his congregation who ought to have known better, that if he published his book, The Cause of God and Truth, he would lose some of his best friends, and that his income would fall off. The doctor said, 'I can afford to be poor, but I cannot afford to injure my conscience;' and he has left his mantle as well as his chair in our vestry."

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[C. H. Spurgeon, Autobiography , 2 vols. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1973) 2:477]

Against Dispensationalism

http://www.againstdispensationalism.com/95theses.shtml

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(from the link . . .)

What follows should not be interpreted to mean that NiceneCouncil.com nor the historic Bible believing church would place every dispensationalist outside of the Christian faith. We acknowledge that most are dedicated to the foundational orthodox doctrines of Christianity. Unlike the sixteenth century dispute over the doctrine of justification, this is an in-house discussion, a debate among evangelical Christians. We recognize and treasure all born again believers who operate within a dispensational framework as brothers and sisters in Christ.

However, we must remember that Paul loved his fellow apostle Peter and esteemed him the senior and more honored of the two of them. Nevertheless, when it came to a point of theology that had profound implications for the purity and health of the Church, Paul was constrained by his love for Christ and the Truth publicly to withstand Peter to his face. (Galatians 2:11)

Therefore, because we believe that dispensationalism has at least crippled the Church in her duty of proclaiming the gospel and discipling the nations, and out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed in a series of videos written and produced by NiceneCouncil.com under the title The Late Great Planet Church. And as iron sharpens iron we request that every Christian, congregation, and denomination discuss and debate these issues. By the grace of our great Sovereign let us engage in this debate with an open mind and an open Bible. Like the Bereans nearly two thousand years ago, let us “search the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things are so.”

Christian Water Baptism in the New Testament

In the New Testament (NT), there are 71 references to various forms of the word "baptize" (i.e., baptism, baptized, baptismal, etc.). Of those 71 references, only 19 passages refer to Christian water baptism. I distinguish Christian water baptism (or, believer's baptism) from other NT usages of baptism because there are different types of baptisms mentioned in the NT . . . the baptism of John . . . baptism of trial . . . baptism of the Holy Spirit, etc.

Out of the 19 passages that deal with believer's baptism, 11 are simply indicative references to people being baptized; that is, there is no theological significance attached to those 11 indicative verses, as they only tell us that a baptism has, is, or will be taking place.

So, here we are. Out of the the 19 passages in the NT that are relevant to believer's baptism, we are left with only 8 verses from which we can deduce any theological/doctrinal significance.

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to be continued . . .

Uncle Jesse Duplantis vs. Your Intellect, Parts 1 and 2

If you can stomach three and a half minutes of being intellectually assaulted via exegetical gymnatics, take the time to watch the following clip, where health/wealth/prosperity preacher Jesse Duplantis denies that the Tower of Babel was ever built.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_uKZhtntkk&feature=related

Or how about his claim that you choose when you live and you choose when you die (since life and death are in the power of your tongue and not God's)?? This one's only 45 seconds long, for the weak of stomach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgrScaBSOHg

Now, as my Dad says, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something's wrong there . . . something's bad wrong. What's sad is that hosts of professing believers follow hard after such false teachers. What's worse is to hear those misguided folks defend such a heretic. Sad, sad, sad!

How long shall we put up with this dangerous rubbish? How long, Church?? We have lost our minds when we cannot call a spade a spade. Are we too ignorant, lacking good discernment? Are we cowards who know better, but who are content to keep our mouths shut so as not to offend. We can do much better than this! It’s simply another example of Uncle Jesse hurdling sound exegesis and good reason to hold to his presuppositions (i.e., the health, wealth, and prosperity false gospel).

On the Synthetic Health, Wealth, & Prosperity Gospel . . .

"The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts." (1 Samuel 2:7)

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Ideas have consequences! Put another way, how you think is inextricably woven together with how you act. We are experiencing this in Technicolor during the subprime mortgage meltdown. Prosperity preachers have turned tens of thousands of devotees into willing dupes for predatory lenders by convincing them that the Bible promised them homes they didn’t work for full of good things they didn’t buy.

Faith mega-star Rod Parsley is a prime offender. With reckless abandon he exhorts followers to experience abundance and luxury as a means of producing its reality:

"Some of you better get ready to drive around in neighborhoods where you never thought you’d be able to afford to live. Some of you better go down to that Lexus and Mercedes dealership and just sit down in one of those things with that leather all over it."

If asked to give a reason for the hope of the luxury that lies within them, Parsley simply instructs followers to respond, "Well, I’m just feeling out what my Father is going to give me . . . I heard a word from the man of God, and when I obeyed that word, it unleashed that anointing into my life, and I’m on my way to houses I didn’t build, full of good things I didn’t have to buy."

Together with a host of prosperity preachers ranging from Paula White to T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer such prosperity preachers have created a crisis in Christianity and the culture that I could scarcely have imagined two decades ago. –Hank Hanegraaff

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After reading this, I was reminded of the following word - a biblical admonition/rebuke - from Pastor John Piper (take a look):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGzqIcbvARw