Questions for Hillsong's Leadership RE: Repentance & Homosexuality

I have questions regarding Hillsong's doctrinal statement and how it relates to recent statements made by Hillsong's leadership as it pertains to homosexual sins.

The Hillsong Church's Statement of Beliefs (online source) clearly states:

We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.

Hillsong believes that a person (regardless of their sins) can receive forgiveness of their sins and the new birth through repentance and belief in Jesus Christ. This repentance then is demonstrated through a person's submission to God's revealed will, i.e. abandoning their sin and bearing fruit in keeping with their repentance.

That being the case, Hillsong's Statement of Beliefs conversely teach that an impenitent sinner (regardless of their sins) does not receive forgiveness of their sins and the new birth. One of the sure signs of impenitence would then logically have to be an openly sinful lifestyle that is marked by open rebellion to God's revealed will for our lives.

Since scripture is explicitly clear that homosexuality is sinful in both thought (Rom 1:24–27, Jude 1:7) and deed (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9–10, Jude 1:7), a person who claims to be a Christian who is openly and proudly participating in a same-sex relationship is, by definition, impenitent and should not be considered a Christian, yet alone a "devout Christian".

Therefore, how can it possibly be loving to homosexuals (since dying in impenitence results in spending eternity in Hell), faithful to the scriptures and in obedience to Christ and His Word, for Hillsong to not boldly and publicly proclaim that homosexuality is a sin and call homosexuals to repent and receive Christ's forgiveness and the new birth and then submit to God's will for their lives, as their Statement of Beliefs so clearly says is necessary for salvation?

Is Hillsong's Statement of Beliefs a sham? What's the point of having a Statement of Beliefs if you don't publicly preach and practice in accordance with what it says?

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

My Perspective on Tullian's Sin

It has been very interesting to watch the fallout and discussions regarding the announcement, this past Sunday, that Tullian Tchividjian had resigned as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church after having admitted to an affair. One of the reasons it has been interesting to watch is because several weeks ago I had been brought into the circle of men and a few women who were briefed on why Tullian had taken a leave of absence nearly 10 weeks ago and what his plans were going to be moving forward. None of us were aware of Tullian's affair. But, all of us were aware of the turmoil of Tullian's life these past 10 weeks.

Last Thursday afternoon, I was informed of Tullian's moral failing and briefed about the pending announcement of his resignation and in an instant I experienced a profound moment of clarity that caused me to understand just how evil and tireless the devil is.

There are some who want to use the occasion of Tullian's sin to move the theological football down the field in the hopes of scoring some points. But, ultimately the folks doing that are short-sited and are missing much of the data that would be needed to make an informed assessment.

As one who has far more data to work with than many others, I must admit that the whole series of events leading up to last Sunday has shaken me to my core. The reason for this is simple. I just witnessed one of the most elaborate satanic schemes pulled off in modern history. The devil concocted the perfect plan to tempt a pastor to sin and the devil left nothing to chance.

The entire scenario from beginning to end was designed to take a pastor to the brink of what he could bear and then provide the perfect temptation in the midst of the turmoil that would then end his pastoral ministry while nationally dragging Christianity and Christ Himself through the mud.

The plan was perfect. It was executed flawlessly and the devil played Tullian and a whole lot of other people the way a concert violinist would play a Stradivarius. It was breathtaking to watch.

Now there is a man who is reeling from his sin and the sins committed against him. His family has had not one but two nuclear bombs tear them apart. An entire church has been thrown back on its heels and there are many people around the country and the globe who've had their faith shaken to the core by the news of Tullian's sin. Furthermore, Christianity itself has taken a hit. Christ's enemies have been given comfort and have viewed this whole affair as even more proof that Christianity is a crock just days before the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make same-sex "marriage" the law of the land.

This was like a perfectly planned and orchestrated terrorist attack and all I see are a lot of dead and wounded bodies strewn everywhere.

When Jesus taught us to daily pray, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" He was not giving us empty words to mindlessly recite. The Apostle Peter put it this way, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

With Tullian's sin, and believe me when I say that just like Adam, Tullian is responsible for this whole mess, we've witnessed one of the most vicious "lion attacks" of our day. If Tullian Tchividjian wasn't safe from such an attack then no gospel preacher in the pastoral office is safe either.

"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." - Ephesians 6:12

The work of caring for the wounded has only just begun and my prayer is that repentance, forgiveness of sins and reconciliation will win the day. But, thus far, I have seen very little that would give me hope along those lines and truth be told, I think I took some shrapnel in the blast.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

Can You Spot the Easter Paganism?

To those who claim that Easter is a pagan holiday and that true Christians cannot celebrate it, I have a simple question:

Can you identify the paganism in my church's upcoming church service celebrating Christ's bodily resurrection from the grave?

Here's what we're going to be doing.

---

I will proclaim, "He is Risen!"

the congregation will respond, "He is risen indeed, hallelujah!"

We will confess our sins and hear Christ's forgiveness

We will sing three hymns during the course of the service:

1. I Know That My Redeemer Lives
2. Jesus Christ is Risen Today
3. Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds

 

We will read Psalm 118:15–29 responsively

Three passages of scripture will be read

Exodus 15:1–11

1 Corinthians 5:6b–8

John 20:1–18

I will preach on Jesus' victorious bodily resurrection from the grave while exegeting John 20:1–18.

We will receive the Lord's Supper

We will pray as a congregation for our nation, the church and the sick and needy in our community.

We will receive the Lord's Benediction

---

Please tell me which part of this church service is the "pagan" part?

You can either leave your answer on my Facebook Wall or email me at talkback@fightingforthefaith.com

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” (Colossians 2:16)

“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:5–6)

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

Photos that are Precious To Me

A few years ago I watched in grief and horror as my friend Dr. Michael Horton had his theology and character maligned because of a photograph that he taken embracing Rick Warren with a statue of Calvin sitting on a table between them.

The people who posted the photo on their blogs and social media used the occasion to slanderously interpret the photograph as proof that Dr. Horton had changed his theology and was now endorsing Rick Warren’s aberrant doctrines and methodology. But, nothing could be further from the truth and time has proven them wrong.

In the course of my public ministry I have also taken photographs with men and women who are false teachers and heretics and have experienced my character and theology being attacked by slanderous misinterpretations of those photographs. But, the truth of the matter is that those photographs are very precious to me. One of the the reasons that they are is because I am forgiven heretic.

If you know my story then you know that I spent almost a year in cult and by the grace of God a dear sister in Christ took the time to research the cult that I and my wife were in and then invited us to her home for a meal and then opened the Bible and helped us see that what we were being taught was not what God’s word said.

My heart breaks, literally, for everyone of the false teachers that I critique on my radio program and by God’s grace I have had the opportunity to speak face to face with some of the people whom I have critiqued on the air. In some cases I’ve been able to build unlikely friendships with some of them.

That being said, it is also important for me to state that I believe that it is my duty to not publicly discuss these friendships. As much as it is dependent on me, I keep these friendships private because I do not want to ever be seen as exploiting them.

Therefore, it is important to for you to know that every photograph that has ever emerged on the internet of me speaking with or posing with a false teacher, aberrant teacher, or heretic has been put there by someone else.

I always find it fascinating that some people judge these photographs by mere appearances as if one of the possible interpretations of these photos is that I am tacitly giving approval to a false teacher's theology or their ministry (phrases like "not a snowball's chance in hell" come to my mind when I read such interpretations).

The fact of the matter is photographs capture a moment in history and unless someone is reporting the words that were spoken in that moment, it is almost impossible to understand what that photo means, especially to those who were part of that moment.

The more I am invited to speak at different venues the more likely it is that I am going to meet and be photographed with false teachers, heretics and aberrant teachers (it seems to go with my job). But, I want everyone to know that each of these photos have deep meaning to me because I experienced the conversations and know what was said in the moments in which they were taken.

Each photo, to me, is precious because each one represents an opportunity that I had been given by God and had used to love a false teacher by speaking the truth to him or her in love and in true concern for their eternal soul.

Sadly, those who are quick to post the these photos are also quick to offer false interpretations of these photos without ever reaching out to me in order to learn the context or the details of the conversations that took place in the venues where these photos were taken. They mistakenly believe that they can somehow perceive the correct interpretation without any research or any conversations. Ironically, many of those who do this believe that they are exercising discernment when in fact they are just being lazy and irresponsible.

True discernment requires withholding judgement until you know the facts of a matter.

As Christians, Jesus tells us to “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24)

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

Did Jesus Teach More About Money Than Heaven and Hell Combined?

There is a popular statement that many pastors are telling their congregations now-a-days, but if you take the time to fact check this statement you will find that it is patently false. That statement is, "Jesus taught more about money than heaven or hell combined." This statement is often passed along by pastors who are delivering sermons on money management or tithing and I took the time on the October 16th, 2014 episode of Fighting for the Faith to fact check this statement.

Below, is the relevant portion of that episode of Fighting for the Faith.

So, the next time you hear someone pass along the statement that Jesus taught more about money than heaven and hell combined, send them a link to this page so that they will know the truth and no longer pass along false information about Jesus.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

The Year of Flo?

@stevenfurtick declared 2015 to be the year of Flow? Details here >>> http://t.co/1BbtLKs3Se #elevationchurch pic.twitter.com/81EvoX1Rvs

— Chris Rosebrough (@piratechristian) January 14, 2015

Why Perry Noble Can't and Won't Admit that Hebrew Has a Word for Command

Perry Noble is in a no win situation. On Christmas Eve he told everyone at NewSpring that there is no Hebrew word for command. He didn't say it once, or twice, he repeated this claim throughout the entire message.

Since then, myself and a number of other Christians in the media like Dr. James White and Janet Mefferd have pointed out the patent absurdity of Noble's claim. In fact, one need only read Mark 10:17–19 to realize that Jesus called them commandments and in Christianity there is no higher authority than Jesus.

So then why won't Perry Noble just admit that he was wrong and that he made a mistake?

The answer is very simple.

The reason why Perry Noble can't and won't publicly admit that Hebrew has a word for command is because he claimed that the message that he delivered on Christmas Eve was laid on his heart by God.

Here's what Perry Noble said:

During the message Noble claimed that God put it on his heart to preach the message and everyone on staff at Newspring gave him the green light.

If Perry Noble publicly admits that he was wrong and confesses that there is in fact a Hebrew word for command, then that would prove that neither he, nor anyone on the leadership team at NewSpring, receives direct revelation from God.

Since God cannot lie (Titus 1:1) if there truly is a Hebrew word for command (such as צָוָה) then God did not tell Perry Noble to say that there wasn't.

If God did not tell Perry Noble to say there was no Hebrew word for command then according to Deut 18:20–22 that would make Noble a false prophet.

If Perry Noble is a false prophet who does not truly hear God's voice, as he has repeatedly claimed over the years, then it is highly doubtful that Perry received a vision from God to start NewSpring Church as a "church for the unchurched", as he claims that he has.

In other words, if Perry publicly admitted that there was a Hebrew word for command it would destroy all his credibility as a vision-casting leader.

What is at stake for Perry Noble is...everything.

That is why Perry Noble can't and won't admit that Hebrew has a word for command.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

This is one of the largest...

This is a photograph of one of the largest... pic.twitter.com/DEtuxSLx76

— Chris Rosebrough (@piratechristian) January 12, 2015

Jesus Called Them Commandments, Mr. Noble

On Christmas Eve, not only did Perry Noble make the outrageously false claim that the Hebrew language has no word for command (see the graphic on this post to see the proof that this is not true), he claimed that God was the one who laid it on his heart to preach that.

To add insult to injury, this past Sunday Noble defended his false claim by saying, "I didn’t try to rescind the Ten Commandments. I simply declared that they are actually promises from God, because Ten Command…–that word command in Hebrew–it is not command, it is saying. I have resear… I have gone back and talked to people in Israel that confirm those things (Online Source)."

In other words, Perry Noble, rather than retract his false claims regarding the commandments has decided to dig in and double down. But, here's Noble's embarrassing problem, Jesus called them commandments, not promises.

A brief survey of the words of Jesus will suffice in proving this fact.

Quick note: the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, not Hebrew. The Greek word for commandment is entole, and it means:

ἐντολή,
1. an order authorizing a specific action, writ, warrant,
2. a mandate or ordinance, command
a. of commands by pers. in high position
b. of commands given by divine authorities
c. of commandments of OT law.

Below, are examples of how Jesus referred to the Old Testament imperatives.

Matthew 5:18–19: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 15:1–4: “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’”

Matthew 22:35–40: “and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Mark 10:17–19: “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.”

Notice that in Mark 10:17–19 Jesus quotes directly from the ten commandments, and Jesus does not call them promises, he calls them commandments.

Jesus speaks Hebrew. Jesus grew up in Israel, and Jesus is God in human flesh. In other words, Jesus is the very God who gave these commandments and Jesus knows full well what His intention was in giving them and Jesus calls them commandments of God and says they were commanded by God.

So, who are you going to believe?

Are you going to believe Perry Noble who admits that he does not know Hebrew but claims that there is no word in Hebrew for command or are you going to believe Jesus who speaks Hebrew and is the God who gave the commandments and calls them commandments commanded by God?

As for me, I'm going to go with Jesus.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

Athanasian Creed

Written against the Arians.

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal. As there are not three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles, but one Uncreated and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none: neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son: neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; But the whole three Persons are coeternal together, and coequal: so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

Perry Noble Drops the N-Word on Christmas Eve!

On Christmas Eve, not only did Perry Noble claim that the Hebrew language has no word for "command" (see this episode of F4F to hear and see this debunked), Perry Noble also dropped the N-word.

But, what burns my cookies is that most Christians won't care one bit about the fact that his sermon was factually and theologically false but they will be upset that he inadvertently dropped the N-word.

The video is posted below.

Logos 6: A Quick Review

As the listeners of my radio program know, I review the sermons from some of the most popular pastors, sorry that should read vision-casting leaders in Evangelicalism and over and again I demonstrate that these leaders twist God's word and habitually (and I would even argue intentionally) mishandle and misapply the Biblical texts in their quest to be relevant and appeal to as broad an audience as possible (Matt 7:13–14). As a result, I receive countless inquiries from people about where to go in order to properly learn and study God's word. As a pastor, Christian talk radio host and student of the scriptures, I can think of no resource that is as important to have, use and master than Logos 6. Logos is always open on my laptop and at times I feel like I live in this program. Any Christian, regardless of how long they've confessed faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins will greatly benefit from Logos.

I had the opportunity to preview Logos 6 before it launched and I was literally blown away by the new features. Particularly helpful for my ministry work was the addition of Propositional Outlines which takes any Biblical passage and breaks it down into a usable and simple outline which then, for me, becomes the bone structure for my sermons. Also, the ability to quickly view what my favorite commentaries say about any particular passage and then store those quotes that I find most useful saves me so much time in preparing my sermons that I almost feel guilty, almost ;-). In addition, the Exegetical Guide now lets me quickly and easily see the textual variants for any passage that I am studying. To put it simply, thanks to Logos 6 I can now study the scriptures with even greater depth in only a fraction of the time that it used to take me.

Here are some screen shots of my Logos work space as I prepared last Sunday's sermon.

But, don't think for a second that Logos 6 is only for pastors and Bible scholars. It isn't!

The tools that Logos offers are every bit as useful for beginning, intermediate and advanced students of the scripture. The maps are amazing and help Bible students understand where the events of the Bible took place and how, in some cases, the geography impacted those events. Logos 6 also has expanded its media library to include before and after photos of archeological sites that help a person see what those sites not only look like today but what they looked like in Biblical history. Below, I've put a before and after screen shot of the city of Jericho.

There are far too many features to discuss in this review and I recommend browsing the videos of the Logos YouTube account to make yourself familiar with all of the tools that Logos 6 has to offer. The reality is that Logos 6 is like the über Google of Biblical studies and no two people will use it the exact same way. Anyone who wants to seriously study God's Word should own and use Logos 6 and anyone who is a pastor or teacher in Christ's church would be foolish to not avail themselves of the powerful tools that Logos has to offer. I am convinced that if more pastors and laypeople took their study of God's word seriously there would be far fewer false teachers and Bible twisters than there are today.

One more thing, the new Visual Copy feature is simply amazing and easy to use. I've been having a lot of fun with it. Here are some samples.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

A Reformation Day Prayer/Hymn

This Reformation Day, let us reflect on the prayer that Martin Luther set to music in the hymn entitled "O Lord, Look Down from Heaven, Behold".

This could have been written today.

O Lord, look down from heaven, behold
And let Thy pity waken:
How few are we within Thy Fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken!
True faith seems quenched on every hand,
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;
Dark times have us o'ertaken.

With fraud which they themselves invent
Thy truth they have confounded;
Their hearts are not with one consent
On Thy pure doctrine grounded.
While they parade with outward show,
They lead the people to and fro,
In error's maze astounded.

May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us
Who proudly say: "Now, where is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
By right or might we shall prevail;
What we determine cannot fail;
We own no lord and master."

Therefore saith God, "I must arise,
The poor My help are needing;
To Me ascend My people's cries,
And I have heard their pleading.
For them My saving Word shall fight
And fearlessly and sharply smite,
The poor with might defending."

As silver tried by fire is pure
From all adulteration,
So through God's Word shall men endure
Each trial and temptation.
Its light beams brighter through the cross,
And, purified from human dross,
It shines through every nation.

Thy truth defend, O God, and stay
This evil generation;
And from the error of their way
Keep Thine own congregation.
The wicked everywhere abound
And would Thy little flock confound;
But Thou art our Salvation.

Written by Martin Luther in Erfurt in 1524

The Questions Five Two Doesn't Want You To See (and won't answer)

Last night I took some time to read through the Five Two Network's Facebook and noticed that some people with discernment were challenging their claims regarding the Biblical basis for Sacramental Entrepreneurs. What I found to be stunningly preposterous was what the Five Two Network said in their defense of Sacramental Entrepreneurs. Here is what was posted:

I decided to chime in and ask Five Two some tough Biblical questions in order to get them to clarify this statement. After posting the questions I went to bed. When I woke up I wasn't surprised to find that my questions had been deleted from their Facebook. Sooooooo, I reposted them and added a few more questions. Here is what I wrote:

Not surprisingly, my questions and all challenging questions that were posted on the Five Two Network's Facebook page have been deleted.

If Five Two has Biblical truth on their side why do they refuse to Biblically explain their position and provide solid Biblical answers to those people who are asking the tough Biblical questions?

Could it be that they're not interested in Biblical truth but instead are feigning allegiance to Biblical truth while openly acting contrary to it?

One thing is certain, no dissent and no Biblical challenges are permitted by the Five Two Network.

In other words, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated by the community.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

I Survived the First Two Blood Moons T-Shirt

I survived the first two Blood Moons t-shirt http://t.co/GOqQORsfh8 pic.twitter.com/nTKuhhcArc

— Chris Rosebrough (@piratechristian) October 8, 2014

Ken Silva Memorial Service

Click Here to download the Order of Service

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Ken Silva Interview on F4F Pilot Episode

In 2007 Fighting for the Faith was not a daily radio program. At that time, F4F was a concept and in 2007 I recorded several pilot episodes to begin working out the concept.

In the 3rd episode of the F4F pilots, I conducted my first radio interview and the person I interviewed was Pastor Ken Silva.

Here is the July 11, 2007 pilot episode of F4F and my interview with Ken Silva:

Time Off to Grieve

As many of you know, late Monday night I received the tragic news that one of my closest friends, apologist and pastor Ken Silva had died.

The news hit me very hard.

Ken and I have been friends for almost a decade and together we were two of the first and most vocal discernment bloggers (ODM's as our opponents called us) on the web. Ken and I collaborated and conspired together on many defenses of the Christian faith against the heresies of the Emergent Church movement and the abuses of the Seeker-Driven church and its leaders. Ken would often provide me with what he called "covering fire" for the work that I was doing and his favorite way to end our many phone conversations was to say, "we ride to the sound of the guns."

Without a doubt, Ken and I kept each other sane during a time when the church was slipping into greater and greater apostasy and doctrinal insanity.

Fighting for the Faith and Pirate Christian Radio are heavily indebted to the tireless and selfless research and courage of Ken Silva.

The grieving process has not been easy for me and despite my desire to get back into the fight, I am not emotionally able.

As scripture says, there is a "time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:4). This is my time to weep and mourn the death of my dear friend. But, I do not “not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). No! I have hope knowing that my grieving will give way to laughter and dancing on the day when our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ appears. On that day Ken and I and all the saints will be reunited and never again be torn apart by death.

In the meantime, I need to take the remainder of the broadcast week off so that I can work through my grief.

I will be back on Monday, October 6th.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

@PirateChristian

Farewell and Godspeed

Ken Silva 1955-2014 pic.twitter.com/mn3npz2L4E

— Chris Rosebrough (@piratechristian) September 30, 2014

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalms 116:15)

The AALC Passes Resolution Urging the ELCA to Repent!

This past week I travelled to St. Paul for the biannual convention of The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) and two very important things happened at that convention. The first is that The AALC elected Dr. Curtis Leins to be their Presiding Pastor. (Dr. Leins is a solid Confessional Lutheran). The second is that the AALC passed a resolution urging the ELCA to repent and seek forgiveness for their heresies. The text of the resolution that The AALC passed yesterday morning is reprinted below:

Whereas, the foundation of Lutheran doctrine has always been "Scripture Alone;" and

Whereas, the ELCA has consciously departed from the clear teaching of God's Holy Word and denied "Scripture Alone" by chasing after the false spirit of the age, such as blasphemously affirming homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle and pronouncing God's blessing on same sex marriages and;

Whereas, no church body claiming Christ Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords has the authority to deny or alter God's Word or modify God's expressed definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman;  and

Whereas, silence as a church body can be misconstrued as a tacit approval of the ELCA's rebellion against the authority of God's Word;

Be it resolved, that for the sake of the truth of the gospel and the salvation of souls, The AALC urges the ELCA, on the basis of scripture to repent of their false doctrine, renounce the spirit of the age, and seek forgiveness for their blasphemies through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, The AALC urges the ELCA to bear fruit in keeping with repentance by submitting to the highest authority in doctrine and life, namely the Holy Scriptures. We further direct the Presiding Pastor of The AALC to personally communicate this position to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and make public, via the media, The AALC's urging of the ELCA to repent and seek forgiveness.