Friday, July 27, 2012

Adopted for Life

One of the best books I've ever read is Russell Moore's Adopted for Life.  Today on his blog, Moore reflects on the past ten years since he and his wife walked out of a Russian orphanage with their two boys.  He writes:

As I’ve written in the book, God used this experience to upend my whole life. He taught me much about his Fatherhood, much about the gospel, much about community, and much about the mission of the church. But people sometimes ask me, “In the years since, what have you learned about becoming a family through adoption?”

The main thing is that convictions forged there in the July heat of the former Soviet Union have only crystallized more. As the father of five now, some by that adoption and some by the more typical way, I’m as convinced as ever that adoption, into a family or into the Family of God, is “real.” There is no such thing in God’s economy as an “adopted child,” only a child who was adopted into the family. “Adopted” defines how you came into the household, but it doesn’t define you as some other sort of family member. In the Book of Romans, Paul defines all Christians, both Jew and Gentile, as having received a common “spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15; 9:4).

I'd encourage you to check out the full post, where he talks some about the difficulties of adoption.  Also, as he does in the book, he writes about what the past ten years have taught him about the Church.



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sanctification & Holiness

Here's a two-part discussion between two guys that God has used to teach me a lot about the Bible and the Gospel.  John Piper (pastor for preaching & vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, on the left) and Tim Keller (pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, on the right) discuss sanctification & holiness.


Part 1:


Part 2:

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Lego Music Video

This is one of my new favorite music videos.  I can't resist a good song with Lego animation.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

NBA Nostalgia

It's been a looooooong time since I've posted anything on here, but I just had to post these videos I browsed tonight.  I've been a sports fan most of my life, especially basketball, and I've got the VHS tapes to prove it.  Lots of games on tape - from NCAA Final Fours to each game of the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals to even some regular season college & pro games - and quite a few NBA store bought videos.  My favorite one was probably Michael Jordan: Come Fly With Me, which my brother and I (and other Jordan fans we knew) had memorized word for word.  But battling for my next favorite were the first two videos in the NBA's Superstars series.  They featured highlights of different players set to a single song each.  I remember turning these on the TV, and then playing basketball with my brother or friends on the NERF hoop or adjustable (up to 6 feet in our basement) Dr. J. hoop.  Here are some of my favorite from those videos: