Live in the Denver Area? Looking for a Good Reformed Church?

Got a chance to worship this Lord's Day at the  Coram Deo URC in Denver.  The pastor is my old friend, Rev. Carl Heuss.  If you live in the greater Denver area, Coram Deo meets at the Denver Christian School in Centennial.  There are a number of folk here who are White Horse Inn listeners, and two of the current elders were members @ Christ Reformed in Anaheim.  If you are new to the Reformed faith and looking for a good church where you can ask questions and find a sympathetic ear, this is the place for you.  If you want more information, you can email Rev. Heuss @ cheuss@msn.com

I'm a bit surprised, however, that the Denver Christian School would allow Rev. Heuss to enter a nut restricted area! 

Purple Mountain's Majesty

We have been playing tourist in the Colorado Springs area for the past few days.  I took this shot of Pike's Peak and a brewing thunderstorm from the Garden of the Gods.  Shucks . . .  I missed the tour @ Focus on the Family.

 
Although I am terrified of heights, I actually made it out on to the bridge over Royal Gorge--one of those places I wanted to see since I was a kid.  I was fine until I looked down and saw the Arkansas River 1500 feet below through the planking.  That was it--made a hasty retreat back.  We arrived just in time to watch a large car club--about 50 Plymouth Prowlers--make their way across the bridge.  Too bad they weren't Shelby Mustangs.

BTW--I  finally took delivery on the new family SUV.  If you have to ask about gas mileage, the M3 Stuart is not for you.  But trust me, no one will ding my paint with their doors, no one is gonna "road-rage" me, and the next guy who turns left in front of me will be very sorry.   Fort Carson has a number of tanks outside the main gate, including this M3 Stuart (a very small light/scout tank).  Did anyone else read the "Haunted Tank" comic books when you were kids?   I've been interested in Stuarts ever since . . .  Finally got to see one.

The Return of Issues, Etc.

Molly's got the scoop (Click here: We’re getting closer . . . « Augsburg1530). 

"Jeff and Todd have signed a contract with KSIV-AM 1320 in St. Louis. All of their studio equipment is in and connected. So the team will be furiously testing, testing, testing until they open the mic on June 30. On weekdays, Monday-Friday, starting June 30, the program will be webcast around the world for two hours, 3:00-5:00 (Central), on the Internet at the Pirate Christian Radio website:  The second hour, 4:00-5:00, will be broadcast in the St. Louis area on AM 1320."

Update on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 03:43PM by Kim Riddlebarger

Here's the new website (Click here: Home of the NEW Issues, Etc.).  They are even taking calls (on a taped call line) in advance of the June 30 kick-off.

Dueling Bible Parks and Links to Other Stuff Around the Web

Now this is ironic.  The owners of the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL (TBN) want to build another such themed park in Nashville, TN.  Not to be outdone, a group of developers wants to build "Bible Park USA" in the same city.  Since the Holy Land Experience offers a daily reenactment of the crucifixion, imagine the job boom in Nashville when two Bible theme parks start hiring thin, long-haired young men who look like Jesus and/or disciples.  Can't you just picture the long line of big, swarthy types, auditioning to play Roman soldiers.   This is gonna make it tough for the evangelicals in Nashville.  Where to take the youth group?   Which park does a better job reenacting Jesus' passion?    Click here: Two Bible parks? It's possible | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

In a further note of irony, a development group wants to build an evolution museum in Petersburg, KY, directly across the street from the local creation museum.   That ought to be fun.  Jesus fish on cars in one parking lot.  Darwin fish on cars in the other. Click here: Nobel Intent asks: what do you think of an evolution museum?

A Tacky Firing and Links to Other Stuff Around the Web

If you are a baseball fan, you've heard all the about the tacky way in which the Mets handled the situation with their manager, Willie Randolph.  Mets management kept telling him one thing, all the while planning to fire him.  Then, for some reason known only to the heartless hacks who own the team, they let Randolph travel all the way to Anaheim (where the Mets are playing the Angels).  Then they fire him and his two most trustworthy assistants at 12:01 AM, (3:00 AM in New York), when hopefully, no one will notice. 

Reading this (I don't care a whit about the Mets, but think highly of Willie from his days with the Yankees) it struck me . . .  Where have I heard this before?  The way in which the Mets owners (the Wilpons) handled this, bears a striking resemblance to the way in which LCMS President Kieschnick and David Strang orchestrated the firing of Todd Wilken and Jeff Schwarz, along with the cancellation of Issues, Etc., on Monday of Holy Week.  As you read Olney's lambaste of the Mets, see if you see the same parallels I do to the bureaucrats running the LCMS.  Click here: ESPN - Buster Olney Blog

Speaking of baseball, baseball fans will rejoice in this great resource,  a concise and seemingly exhaustive set of links to every news story and blog dealing with baseball.  Boy, it would be nice if someone would do this with websites of interest to Reformed Christians.   Everything a baseball fan could ever need is on a single page!  Click here: Baseball

The Ole Summer Slow-Down

Well, it is that time of the year when my vacation rolls around, and when the consistory at Christ Reformed grants me some time off from my church duties to write, read and study.

All of that is to say that Rev. Marcelo Souza (Guy de Brasil) will take over my duties at Christ Reformed while I take some time off.  It is nice to be "preached to" for a change and to sit in the pew with my family.

We have a couple of short trips planned, and I'll be attacking the growing pile of books in my study I haven't had time to read.  I'm also working on a series of articles for Tabletalk, as well as preparing for my Spring 2009 stint in the classroom @ Westminster Seminary California (Dr. David VanDrunen is on sabbatical, and I'm teaching one of his courses).  I've also got a chapter due for a book on church planting, and then I have several book proposals to finish.  I'll be plenty busy, but I'll get a break from the pressure that goes with pastoral work.

All of that is to say, blog posts here at the Riddleblog will slow down and be a bit sporadic for much of the summer--I'll still post when I feel like it, or if Zrim needs clobberin'. 

Sorry, I won't be taking any email questions until I resume my pastoral duties again, Lord willing at the end of August. 
 

Waldron's Response to John MacArthur

Here's the scoop from the publisher:

At the 2007 Shepherds' Conference, Pastor John MacArthur delivered a controversial message entitled, "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist." In this book, Dr. Sam Waldron addresses the assertions of MacArthur historically, exegetically and theologically. Although his arguments are rigorous, the entire tenor of the book is level-headed and irenic. This "friendly response" grants modern day Amillennialists the opportunity to thoughtfully engage their Dispensational brethren.

With charity, this book exposes the fallacies--historical, exegetical and theological--inherent in Dr. MacArthur's presentation...Thank you, Dr. Waldron, for showing us how a theological refutation may be done with grace and kindness...James M. Renihan, Ph.D.

Samuel Waldron's "friendly response" to John MacArthur's "millennial manifesto" will go a long way toward setting the record straight about what Reformed amillennialists actually believe about the church and Israel...I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in this controversy...Kim Riddlebarger, Ph.D.

Samuel Waldron's response to John MacArthur's controversial sermon, "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist," is a gem. In a gentle spirit, and with an awareness of what is at stake, Waldron makes a persuasive case against MacArthur's unlikely claim that true Calvinists must subscribe to the tenets of dispensational premillennialism...Cornelis Venema, Ph.D.

 

For ordering information,  Click here: Reformed Baptist Academic Press

Who Said That?

"Obedience is the number one ingredient to Life Eternal; yet, it’s the very least practiced among the religious world.  We will all be sentenced and receive our reward according to our works. Notice first The Book of Yahweh.  Revelation 22:12— And behold, I come quickly, and My Reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work will be."

Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please no google searches or cheating.   

Update on Sunday, June 15, 2008 at 06:53PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is one of many bizarre rants that can be found on the website of Yisrayl ("Buffalo Bill") Hawkins.  A former Abilene, TX, policeman turned "prophet," ole "Buffalo Bill" has been predicting the end of the world (September 2006, June 12, 2008).  He's also been busted for polygamy.

A Sermon on Psalm 84

Here is today's morning sermon from Christ Reformed Church on Psalm 84--"A Day in Your Courts"

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20080615-Courts.mp3

Jesus Is Coming Back on June 12 (Oops!) and Links to Other Stuff on the Web

Check out the chapter introduction to the Book of Revelation from the new ESV Study Bible (coming in October).  This will surely set a new standard for study Bibles.  Now, if only they'd put the Reformed confessions in the back! 
Click here: http://www.esvstudybible.org/images/excerpt-revelation-
intro.pdf.

Don't you just hate it when you go to all the trouble of setting a date for the Lord's return, and then it doesn't happen?  They've got trailers full of food and everything . . .   You'd think "Buffalo Bill" Hawkins would have learned a thing or two after he made the same prediction back in September, 2006.  Seems like this guy is on cable 24/7.  How can anybody take him seriously?  Wait, I should know that answer to that . . . Click here: ABC News: Texas 'Prophet': Doomsday Begins June 12

I hope this one is a joke.  Supposedly, theologians (Roman Catholic) are preparing for the eventual encounter with a real-live alien, you know, Area 51 stuff.   Klatu!  Verada!  Nikto!    Click here: Christian Theologians Prepare for Extraterrestrial Life

Finally, it looks like the Issues, Etc., crew is getting closer and closer to being on the air again.   Sure will be good to have them back.   Scroll down for pictures of the new facility.   Click here: Augsburg1530