Kenny Lee

A child of God | Husband | Dad | Dreamer

[challies @challies]

"There are too many men who are ministers before they know how to be Christians." (Richard Baxter)

[Esfandiar Baraheni @JustEsBaraheni]

Since 1997-98, teams are 4-1,640 when trailing by 7+ in the final minute of the 4th quarter/OT in the playoffs.

The Pacers account for THREE of those wins.

ALL in these playoffs.

[Jared C. Wilson @jaredcwilson]

Someone will always have better coffee, better music, better facilities, better speaking. Showcase Christ and His gospel. No one can improve on that.

[Alec Stapp @AlecStapp]

thinking about this again

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

As G.K. Chesterton once said:

"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."

[Seth Troutt @Seth_Troutt]

hey this is pretty good @faithfruitmin

[Todd Whitehead @CrumpledJumper]

On the anniversary of its debut: In defense of the most infamous stat combo in the history of on-air graphics, a thread 🧵

[Jeremy Treat @JeremyTreat5]

Everything hinges on union with Christ.

[challies @challies]

"Without prayer, our sermons may look good on paper — they may even sound good in the pulpit — but you can bet that they will never leave the church parking lot." (Michael Fabarez)

[Spurgeon Library @SpurgeonMBTS]

"The devil is not dead, and sparks still fly upward. Herein is your joy, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave you nor forsake you."

- Charles Spurgeon

[J.C. Ryle @JCRyle]

Famous last words of 10 Christians who were martyred for their faith.

They loved not their lives unto the death.

(THREAD)

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

As you begin new resolutions, remember:

Spiritual disciplines are not about making you more precious to God. They’re about making God more precious to you.

[Derek Rishmawy @DZRishmawy]

Eventually Christians are gonna be spotted as the people with more than one kid, kids with disabilities that can be detected in utero, and their sickly and elderly still with them.

[Glenn Packiam @gpackiam]

The way the gospel writers begin their story of Jesus gives us a clue about their message:

Matthew takes us back to Abraham— a new covenant is here!

Mark starts us with good news— a new King is here!

Luke takes us back to Adam— a new Human is here!

John takes us back to Genesis— a new creation is here!

[Sophie Levasseur @refsojourner]

Calvin-ism 🧵

1/ Total depravity

[Catherine McNiel ☕📚🌱 @CatherineMcNiel]

The only "Christian Voters Guide" I've ever found helpful. Or Christian.

[Jon Acuff @JonAcuff]

I realized recently that every time I criticize someone else I do it so that I look smart.

A better use of my time would be to ask the question, “Why do I feel dumb right now?”

That would give me an answer I can work with.

Gossip offers such a temporary relief to insecurity.

[challies @challies]

"We need fewer aspiring conference speakers and more faithful pastors committed to their local churches." (Jason Helopoulos)

[Seth Troutt @Seth_Troutt]

I've changed my go-to definition for sexual immorality (aka "pornea" in Greek).

I used to define it as: "any sexual activity that isn't between one woman and one man in marriage."

Now I define it as: "any sexual activity that isn't consensual and mutually edifying between one woman and one man in marriage."

Why the change?

First, 1 Corinthians 7:4 teaches that there is mutual authority over sex in marriage. Just as launching a bomb requires two keys to be turned simultaneously, both people need to give a green light for sexual activity.

As a pastor, I've learned the hard way that marital rape is more common and misunderstood than I had assumed. I've heard it said, "The only consent I needed was 'I Do,'" and, to be clear, that mentality is evil, its outside of God's design for sex, and God hates it. It's "pornea."

Second, sex isn't something the wife does "for" the husband or the husband does "for" the wife. Instead, in a healthy marriage, sex is something "we do for us." It is about connecting with, serving, and enjoying one another.

Yes, sex is procreative by design, but it's also designed to be pleasure-filled. The sex book of the Bible, Song of Songs, doesn't mention children. Procreation only requires the husband to climax, but healthy marriages engage in sex far more often and continue to do so later into life, far beyond the singular motive of procreation.

A selfish lover, especially when it's the husband, betrays God's design for marriage by failing to represent Jesus, who nourishes and cherishes His Bride (Ephesians 5:29). Moreover, when husbands prioritize their own pleasure, they betray the One Flesh metaphor: "Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies; He who loves his wife loves himself" (Ephesians 5:28).

God created sex to be the climax of the union of two whole persons who are publicly, legally, financially, spiritually, and sexually One. He designed oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, phenylethylamine, and prolactin to work within our bodies to bond the couple together when sex is mutually edifying.

This is not to say that husband and wife both need to be spontaneously in the mood at the same time as though the stars are aligning. There is almost always a high-drive and a low-drive spouse, where the low-drive spouse responds to the initiation of the high-drive spouse. There is a difference between being "willing and able to be put or get into the mood," "being in the mood," and "Sorry, honey, but I don't think I have it in me today."

So, it's not that my first definition was wrong per se, but it wasn't specific enough to address common pastoral problems that I see in the church. In addition, it missed the opportunity to highlight the key purpose of sexual connection within marriage.