Jonathan Edwards on, The Only Happiness With Which Our Souls Can Be Satisfied

Jonathan Edwards was the apostle of joy despite the inaccurate message of the diabolical forces at work in the world which branded him as a hardbitten seething cauldron of judgment from his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." The politically correct commentary in his life deforms both the man and the message, which is more accurately summed up in the word, "happiness."

In his sermon on Hebrews 11, he says

...the enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean. — Therefore it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey towards heaven, as it becomes us to make the seeking of our highest end and proper good, the whole work of our lives, to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for, or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end, and true happiness?

Voddie Baucham Weighs in on Church and Home

Hang on to your hat and enjoy...

Our friend Voddie Baucham recently preached this at the Texas Baptist State Evangelism conference.

http://fccm.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=72

Voddie is an elder at Grace Family Baptist in Houston Texas,

www.gracefamilybaptist.net

You can learn more about Voddie at http://www.voddiebaucham.org/

Al Mohler on College Life Today

Al Mohler issues a "wake up call' regarding the contemporary college situation. Underlying the problem is a complete loss of understanding of a biblical theology of education.

Mohler writes:

"Yale was recognized for its annual "Sex Week" on campus; an event started by students but now supported by Yale faculty members and administrators... The undeniable fact is that education is in big trouble. Americans now lack any common conception of education in terms of its content or its process. The elite academic institutions of the nation have been taken hostage to the postmodern worldview... There is little hope for a secular recovery. The major institutions of higher education are now almost entirely captive to radical perspectives and the secular ideologies that compete for primacy on each campus."

http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-05

Education is not the only place we have set aside biblical coordinates. It has also happened in the church on issues of ecclesiology, discipleship and manhood and womanhood because people in the church do not think Christianly anymore about subjects before them. The result is that contemporary lifestyle options often trump biblical clarity. The Bible has much to say about education's requirements. Two fundamental principles of education from the Holy Scripture are that education is father directed (Deuteronomy 6:1-9), and the content is "the training and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:1-4).

Fitting these two principles in to modern education opportunities can be a challenge.

Daughters Wield Enormous Influence

Doug Phillips issues a call for the recovery of the Biblical pattern for fathers and daughters. His message is that we not devalue our daughters, through neglect or undue delegation of their training, but that fathers take an active role to give them clear and loving and Biblical leadership.

Daughters wield enormous power for cultural transformation through the spread of the gospel through their roles as helpmeets and mothers. They are key frontline evangelists of the next generation and they need to be equipped with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6).



Friday Night Intimacy Building Activities at the Vision Forum 2006 Father Daughter Retreat. These men would have their hair combed, faces shaved, ties put on and shoes tied by their dutiful daughters.

Doug Phillips on, Your Evangelistic Purpose

Vision Forum's 2006 Father Daughter Retreat



"We have watched the systematic annihilation of biblical manhood and womanhood and the destruction of the family. When you turn your hearts toward home, you fulfill an evangelistic purpose. You can be instrumental in leading thousands to Christ if you raise the next Lydia…"

"The transgenerational theme of the Abrahamic Covenant is about evangelism and a long term covenantal vision. As long as we are here in the earth, we are advancing the knowledge of God in every generation."

Raising Daughters in the Age of Feminism

"Vision Forum is not a ministry that covers every important issue before the church. We are part of the wall building activity in the area of the family, which is one of the most dynamic wars raging in the culture." Doug Phillips



Father Daughter Retreat Sound Bites From Doug Phillips:

"Feminism has gripped our culture. Here is some historical perspective. In the nineteenth century, the Queen of England said that feminism was a “mad wicked folly of women’s rights… feminists ought to get a good whipping..” There are not a hundred pastors alive today who would read anything like this out loud. We live in a time in history where we are out of sync with historic understandings of manhood, womanhood."

“The godly man sees four generations… in Psalm 128 he sees the peace of Jerusalem to the fourth generation."

"Daughters need to say, “The choices I make will make a difference in the next generation.” Daughters need to start thinking more important thoughts and having bigger plans than they had before. Life is not about figuring out the kind of life we want to live. When we signed up with Christ we signed up for His plan not our own."



Five Hundred Fathers and Daughters gathered for Sola Scriptura



Future Fantastic Husband, Samuel Turley, Handling Tasks at The Vision Forum Book Table



Sound bites from Scott Brown:

"Fathers need to prepare their daughters to be wives who are under submission, helpers to their husbands, mothers, keepers at home and domestic entrepreneurs."

"There is a real danger in raising picky un-pleasable daughters who are unable to follow an imperfect man. We have no business raising wimpy prima donna daughters."

I want to give a daughter who is ready to be a helper to her husband as he makes his way through life, even though he is a male, a sinner and a husband with an imperfect family background.

"I don't want her to be a primadonna expecting every perfection and comfort, but that she would be a dutiful helpmeet respecting her husband following him to the ends of the earth and helping and comforting him through any battles he might face."