Green Street Baptist Church: Audio Podcast

Intentional Living in a Digital World

Over the past couple of Wednesday nights, I have been teaching in a series that I have given the title, “Discipleship In a Digital Age.” We’ve been taking a serious look at how our faith should impact our online habits and our use of technology. With the rise of the digital age, church leaders must be careful to disciple people on how their faith intersects with technology use. The gospel impacts every area of our lives. It isn’t simply limited to our eternity; there is an application to tech use. Digital devices are neutral—neither good nor bad. They can be used for good and helpful purposes that glorify God. Yet we know that they can also be used for sinful purposes. Technology isn’t intrinsically good, nor is it inherently evil; it can and must be used in ways that honor and glorify God.

Lessons Learned

All of us desire meaning in life, and that’s true no matter who you are. Our search for it often leads us down winding paths filled with short-lived bursts of satisfaction that shine bright for a brief time but eventually wane. When we attempt to find ultimate meaning in the pursuit of pleasure, or through a successful career, or in our educational pursuits, we will eventually find all of these roads to be a dead end. For a season in his life, King Solomon tried to find ultimate meaning in things such as knowledge, pleasure, work, and wealth. As he reflected back on all of his pursuits under the sun, he described them as chasing after the wind. The things that he thought would satisfy him only ended up disappointing him in the end. Apart from God, it was all an empty pursuit. And in retrospect, he says to us here in this passage, “I learned my lesson!” We would do well to learn from his experience. What lessons did Solomon learn, and what application do they have for our lives today?

The Danger of Digital Distraction

Last week, I began a four part series that I’ve given the title, “Discipleship in the Digital Age.” Technology is a wonderful tool when kept in its proper place and when seen in its true light. However, it can also become a weapon that the enemy uses to war against our soul when too much is made of it. How should our faith impact our online habits and use of technology? That is the subject we’re considering. With the rise of the digital age, the church must disciple people on how their faith intersects with technology use. Christian parents ought to be discerning in this area. The gospel impacts every area of our lives. It isn’t simply limited to our eternity.

Trivial Pursuit

The words trivial and trivia can be traced back to a Latin noun meaning “a place where three roads meet.” In time, it also came to mean “of little worth or importance.” This is the main meaning of the word today. By this definition, the expression ‘trivial pursuit’ obviously refers to more than a board game. It is a way of referring to those matters in life which are supposedly inconsequential, a waste of time and energy. At first glance, it may seem that the author of Ecclesiastes is writing to us about trivial pursuits in life. But as we have already seen, he is writing from an ‘under the sun’ kind of perspective which he refers to as being ‘vanity.’ Some read the book and come to the conclusion that it is about the meaningless of life. And while it may appear this way strictly on the surface, Ecclesiastes is really about the meaninglessness of life apart from God.

Life in the Digital Age

I am so glad that you all are joining me tonight for this four part series that I have given the title, “Discipleship In a Digital Age.” Over the next few weeks, I want us to take a serious look at how our faith should impact our online habits and use of technology. With the rise of the digital age, the church has not done a great job discipling people on how their faith intersects with technology use. The gospel impacts every area of our lives. It isn’t simply limited to our eternity. There is an application to tech use. Digital devices are neutral—neither good nor bad. They can be used for good and helpful purposes. They can also be used for sinful purposes. Digital technology is neither intrinsically good, nor is it inherently evil. It can and must be used in ways that honor and glorify God and serve those who are made in His image…

Life Under The Sun

No matter where a person looks, no matter what direction he or she turns, there is no lasting satisfaction to be found—at least not in the temporal things of life. The reason is that we’ve been made for eternity. That is why only the eternal glory of God can fulfill the eternal void in the human soul. That is something that King Solomon knew a lot about. He had arrived at the pinnacle of life. For 40 years, Solomon had lived on the top of the mountain of success. His kingdom was a sight to behold. He had wealth, luxury, and plenty of wisdom to go with it. And despite being the wisest man who had ever lived, he allowed stuff to get between his relationship with God. Solomon had made it to the top, and he tells us in Ecclesiastes that it was a desolate place.

Glory That Satisfies

Last week, I began a series of messages on contentment and the search for happiness that is found in the heart of every human being. No matter who you are, no matter how old you are, I can guarantee that you have a desire on the inside of you to be happy. Where does it come from? I made the argument from Scripture that we have been hardwired for happiness and contentment. It is evidence that we’ve been made in God’s image. The creature’s longing for happiness is evidence of the Creator’s design. It is evidence that we have been made for eternity.

The History of the English Bible

Over these past eight weeks, we have considered how God’s Word was given by revelation. God revealed His Word to man, which means that we didn’t stumble upon the knowledge of God. He chose to reveal Himself. We also considered how His Word was given through inspiration. God moved the authors of Scripture to write as His Spirit directed. We spent some time looking at the subject of canonization, which simply refers to the list of books that make up authoritative Scripture. Beginning last week and concluding tonight, we’ve considered the field of translation. How did the Bible make it from those original manuscripts all the way to me?

An Invitation to Satisfaction

There are plenty of synonyms for the word in the English language, words such as happiness, joy, satisfaction, pleasure. Perhaps contentment is the best word because it is descriptive of the state of your heart more than it is the state of your emotions. Our emotions may fluctuate given our circumstances, but our contentment level in life certainly doesn’t have to. Happiness is a universal longing in every human heart, and yet it seems to be so very elusive. Many people spend their entire lives trying to be happy, only to come up short time and time again. That’s why I want to take some time and trace the subject as we find it presented in the Bible. What is contentment, and what is the secret to our possessing it?

The Bible: From Manuscript to Me

I want us to spend the next couple of weeks looking at how the Bible came all the way from manuscript to me, to this nice English translation that I hold in my hand. The processes that we will consider are known as transmission and translation. These words describe the process by which various scribes and copyists were able to reproduce the text of Scripture in a reliable manner. Then, the process involved monks and scholars and Christian leaders who worked hard, many of whom paid with their lives, to translate the Scriptures into the English language.