We gather tonight for the second installment of Sound Worship. Seating is limited and only a limited number of walk-up registrations are available. If you plan to come, you will need to get there early because once the registrations are filled, no more can be taken.

Even if you can not attend, we covet your prayers for the weekend. We pray God is exalted. We pray we are humbled. We pray to see, hear, and sing of the grand, good and gracious work of Jesus Christ. Thank you.

For my money, there never has been a better player than Willie Mays. Mays turned professional ball parks into playgrounds. When he played baseball he made it look like me and my friends playing on the dirt fields around the corner from our home. They called him “Kid” for good reason. When you watched Mays play, you quickly realized that there was nothing on the baseball field that he couldn’t do. Whether it was run, catch, hit, or throw when Mays was in his prime he was the best at it all.  Admittedly, I didn’t get to see him in person (his prime was a little before my time), but I have seen the films and looked at the stats, read books, and listened to commentaries of eye witnesses. The testimony of them all is still the same – “That Giant Kid is great!”

Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all time. And he would be my favorite player of all time, except for one other person. It is difficult to imagine that I would have a favorite player besides Mays, but Jackie Robinson gets top billing in my book. Without Jackie, there is no Willie.

By now everyone should know the story of Jackie Robinson. He was the first African-American baseball player in the Major Leagues in the modern era. He was a supreme athlete. An all-american football and track star at UCLA. Robinson was the first person ever to earn varsity letters at UCLA for four sports: football, basketball, track, and baseball.  And though he stood out in all of them, baseball was actually his worst sport. Yet, he would go on to be the  Rookie of the Year (1947) and National League Most Valuable Player (1949).

Robinson didn’t have the natural giftedness of Mays. He wasn’t groomed by his father from an early age to be the greatest baseball player in the world, like Mays was. Robinson didn’t have a Jackie Robinson like Mays did. What Jackie endured, he endured often times alone. What Jackie did have, however, was true courage, intestinal fortitude, and an integrity that was only matched by a fire to succeed. Jackie Robinson is my favorite baseball player because he is more than a baseball player. He is truly an American hero. Willie Mays has the greater stats and awards, and well he should. No one ever played the game better.  But Jackie has first place in my book. No stats will ever measure what he meant to this country. No award can ever truly say the difference he made to baseball and the world. Thank you, Mr. Robinson.

If you’re interested in two really outstanding biographies on Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson, check out Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend by James Hirsch and Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad.  Until then, to wet your appetites, check out these clips:

Say Hey! Say Willie!

(In the last scene of the video, Willie Mays slides in safe at home for an inside-the-park homerun, and Jackie Robinson comes in from third base to argue the call with the umpire – Awesome!)

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?

The Bible calls our worship and praise to God a sacrifice (Heb. 13:15). We also understand that God is not simply interested in our offering any type of sacrifice, but the sacrifice must be in accordance to what he has prescribed. As Cain discovered, God is not just interested in the fact of sacrifice, but also in the content. The content is determined by knowing who God is.

What happens in worship is that we declare what we understand to be true about God and what he has said about the sacrifices offered up to him. Let us seek to understand him rightly, so we can offer up a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to God (Heb. 12:28).

If you have not registered already, it is not too late to do so for the low rate of just $10. You can register here, but remember today is the last day to register at that rate. The rate at the door is going to go up to the bank-breaking cost of $15!

Here is the jam-packed, content-filled schedule.  Hope to see you there!

Friday, Feb.24

5:30pm Doors open

7:00 Main Session

7:30-8:15 Main Session Message (Anthony J. Carter) – What Happens When We Worship

8:30-9:00 Open rehearsal for Saturday’s Guitarchestra and Choir performance

8:30-10pm Dessert reception and live music

Saturday, Feb. 25

9-10am Continental Breakfast

10:00 Main Session Begins

10:30-11:15 Main Session Message (Bob Kauflin) – Before the Face of God: Worshiping in the Presence of Holiness

11:30-1:45pm Workshops and Lunch

• Creative Songs Outside Your Culture (James Ward)
• The Means By Which We Sing (Ed Pugh)
• The Importance of How Songs Impact Worship: Ordering Songs so They Serve the Word (Bob Kauflin)

2:00 Open Forum Q&A with conference speakers and workshop facilitators

3:00 Conference Ends

Sunday, Feb.26

9:30am Sunday School

11:15 Sunday Morning Corporate Worship (Bob Kauflin leads music)

To illustrate this point, Keller pulls from, of all places, Harry Potter.  He writes:

Remember Lily Potter, the mother of Harry Potter? In the first book of the series, the evil Lord Voldemort tries to kill Harry, but he can’t touch him. When the Voldemort-possessed villain tries to lay hands on Harry, he experiences agonizing pain, and so he is thwarted. Harry later goes to Dumbledore, his mentor, and asks, “Why couldn’t he touch me?” Dumblemore replies that “Your mother died to save you…love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. No scar, no visible sign…[but] to have been loved so deeply…will give us protection forever.” Why is Dumbledore’s statement so moving? Because we know from experience, from the mundane to the dramatic, that sacrifice is at the heart of real love….

Therefore it makes sense that a God who is more loving than you and I, a God who comes into the world to deal with the ultimate evil, the ultimate sin, would have to make a substitutionary sacrifice….The cross is the self-substitution of God.

As the song says,

They hung him high;

they stretched him wide;

He hung his head;

for me he died.  

That’s love!

Let the countdown begin! The second installment of the Sound Worship Series is just two weeks away (Feb. 24-25)! The first weekend was full of encouragement and learning. This one promises more of the same. If you have not done so already, now is the time to register (you can’t beat the price!). We would love to welcome you to East Point Church and to join with you as we discuss and discover “What’s in Gospel Worship.“

Here are two books by Kadir Nelson that are particularly well-written, and even better illustrated. Remarkably, Nelson is both the author and the illustrator. These books are marketed as children’s book, but I am confident that not only will children find them interesting, but you older folks will too. In fact, the vivid portraits in the books are worth the price of the books alone. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself tempted to cut some of the pages out and frame them.

The first book is Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans. This is general sweeping overview of American history with a particular view to African-Americans. Nelson begins the book with the American Revolution and reminds us of the inherent contradiction that was America’s war from freedom. In commenting on one of his the early portraits in the book, Nelson says:

“I think it was the irony of this country that [was] created with the concept of freedom, yet a large part of the population [was] held as slaves. So we start this great story about freedom, and then we have our first president sitting on his horse; he’s proud of his achievement, and yet his slave is sitting there holding his hat.”

Here is an NPR interview with Kadir Nelson discussing this award winning book.

The second book is We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. One the more fascinating dramas of American history is the development of the Negro League, and the huge contribution baseball made to the breaking down of color barriers in American society. Jackie Robinson is one of my favorite athletes. But he was only one of the many men who made Baseball a truly American sport.  Here is an NPR interview with Nelson discussing this book as well.

Again, these books are marketed as children’s books. However, I challenge any adult not to be engrossed with the history and the vivid portraits these volumes deliver. Check ‘em out. You’ll be glad you did.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for a good book on marriage, one of these would surely fit the bill:

Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage to Make us Holy More than To Make Us Happy by Gary Thomas. The subtitle says it all. This may be my favorite book on marriage. I first read this book years ago, and the subtitle alone still challenges me. And while I would not want to draw a hard-line between holiness and happiness, I am reminded not to think of either of those biblical blessings as the world does. Thomas is good writer. His writing is penetrating and thoughtful.

What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul Tripp. Tripp writes with a gospel-centeredness that makes you grapple with your sin. And yet always offers sin-overcoming hope in Christ. Good book.

When Sinners Say: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey. I have used this book more often in marital counseling than any other. It is not as lengthy as the others, but it gets right to the heart of the matter. My wife married a sinner, and I must never forget that she is reminded of that everyday.

The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy and Kathy Keller. This is a relatively new book. In fact, I bought it this past week on Kindle and read it as I was preparing for this past week’s sermon. I was pleasantly surprised with the ease of reading, and the pastoral insights. It has already found its way into my top five.

God, Marriage, and the Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundations by Andreas J. Kostenberger and David W. Jones. Ok, I must admit that I have had this book on my shelf for a while now. It was not until this week in preparation for the sermon that I actually began reading it. Now I can say that it is the best book on marriage I have read. This book provides the most comprehensive biblical theology of marriage I have seen. If you are looking for a theology of marriage, this is it.

Again, I am not saying that these are the best books on marriage. I have not read all books and thus would not dare make that statement. However, these are my personal favorites, and the ones I highly recommend. If you are looking for a good, biblically grounded resource on marriage, either or all of these will do you well.

Life Together by Bonhoeffer. I really don’t believe I have ever read a book of this size that was so quotable. It seems Bonhoeffer was tweeting before tweeting was cool.

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan. As I preached on Mark 9:42-50 last week, I thought Chan’s book on hell would prove helpful.  I was right. The book is both brief and insightful; soberingly and biblically faithful. It has been added to the books I am recommending to anyone looking for a book on the biblical doctrine of hell. Also, this was the first book I ever purchased and read entirely on my iPad. Welcome to the iworld.

Our Secure Salvation: Preservation and Apostasy by Robert Peterson. This has quickly become my favorite stand-alone book on the doctrine of Preservation and Perseverance. In fact, the entire series of books, Explorations in Biblical Theology, are a definite worthwhile get.

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz. I am half way through this resource and I am enjoying it greatly. This is a well written book on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history, John Brown.  I hope to finish it sometime in February. There are already new books waiting to be cracked open.

The men of East Point Church gathered together at the home of Bro. Whitlock and enjoyed the hospitality as he and his wife welcomed us graciously. The food was great, the fellowship was rich, the accommodations were welcoming, and the conversation was challenging and edifying.

Though the food was rich enough for us to make the trek out to the Whitlock’s house, the conversation enriched our time even more. I am alway encouraged to hear the men sitting around discussing the deeper things of the faith and making practical application of truths revealed to us in the Scripture. This morning we chopped up the subject, Perseverance, Preservation, and Apostasy  (a good book on the subject is Our Secure Salvation by Robert Peterson).

We discussed the life of King Saul and God’s dealing with him. We looked Hebrews 6 and what the implications of that passage are for the believer. We discussed the need for faith and repentance as being the nonnegotiables of regeneration. We were reminded of the need to encourage each other in the faith, and not take our faith or fellowship for granted (Heb. 10:24-25). Also, we are to be adding to our faith, so as to make our calling and election sure (2Pet. 1:10).  We were comforted with the words that though we are called to persevere and actively pursue a life of faith, ultimate it is God who graciously and powerfully keeps us from stumbling (Jude 24).

Yes, Mr. Charles, it was a beautiful morning! There was plenty of Son-shine both outside and inside that house this morning. Just reflecting on it is causing me to look forward to the Communion of the Saints tomorrow as we continue our mutual encouragement.  Can’t wait! O, what a day!

Don’t forget to listen to Ray Charles. I didn’t put dat link on there for nothin’ ,