Does anyone have resources for giving a local talk on bitcoin for interested folks at my church? Specifically looking for handouts or outlines to work from. Thanks in advance!

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 7th) The Reach of Almighty Grace It shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God — Hosea 1:10 Sovereign grace can make strangers into sons, and the Lord here declares His purpose to deal thus with rebels, and make them know what He has done. Beloved reader, the Lord has done this in my case; has He done the like for you? Then let us join hands and hearts in praising His adorable name. Some of us were so decidedly ungodly that the Lord's Word most truly said to our conscience and heart, "Ye are not my people." In the house of God, and in our own homes, when we read the Bible, this was the voice of God's Spirit in our soul, "Ye are not my people." Truly a sad condemning voice it was. But now, in the same places, from the same ministry and Scripture, we hear a voice, which saith, "Ye are the sons of the living God." Can we be grateful enough for this? Is it not wonderful? Does it not give us hope for others? Who is beyond the reach of almighty grace? How can we despair of any, since the Lord has wrought so marvelous a change in us? He who has kept this one great promise will keep every other; wherefore, let us go forward with songs of adoration and confidence. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 6th) A Strong Heart Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord — Psalm 27:14 Wait! Wait! Let your waiting be on the Lord! He is worth waiting for. He never disappoints the waiting soul. While waiting keep up your spirits. Expect a great deliverance, and be ready to praise God for it. The promise which should cheer you is in the middle of the verse - "He shall strengthen thine heart." This goes at once to the place where you need help. If the heart be sound, all the rest of the system will work well. The heart wants calming and cheering; and both of these will come if it be strengthened. A forceful heart rests and rejoices, and throbs force into the whole man. No one else can get at that secret urn of life, the heart, so as to pour strength into it. He alone who made it can make it strong. God is full of strength, and, therefore, He can impart it to those who need it. Oh, be brave; for the Lord will impart His strength to you, and you shall be calm in tempest, and glad in sorrow. He who penned these lines can write as David did-"Wait, I say, on the Lord." I do, indeed, say it. I know by long and deep experience that it is good for me to wait upon the Lord. #faith #bible #christian

My pastor has a new book out, $2.99 on Kindle. Radical Moses: The Amazing Civil Freedom Built into Ancient Israel.

Amazon

Amazon

If you are eager to know more about the goodness of God's law for His people in all ages, you've gotta read this. "Has God really left it up to us to discover the best way to govern ourselves? Is "trial and error" on a national scale the best we can do as we form our civil governments? Imagine if God suddenly formed a bunch of people into a nation from scratch one day. Imagine God giving them a structure for their government and a relatively small set of rules and concepts for the purpose of protecting the most vulnerable members of society. It might be worthwhile to study those things. Of course, that is precisely what happened in the early stages of the biblical narrative. God brought Israel out of Egypt and constituted it as a new nation, regulated by the Law delivered through Moses. The Law of Moses created a radically free nation. So free, in fact, that modern "liberty lovers" in the West would shy away from it as dangerous and unworkable. If one of these people were suddenly transported back to that situation in Israel, it would seem like the government had disappeared entirely. Imagine a philosophy that framed a system in which you might go your entire life without ever having to deal with a government official. This is what God gave Israel through Moses. It was a system built on the concept of individual self-government under the commandments of God, with a judiciary that could handle flagrant violations. And, by "handle" we mean it comes to the aid of victims, procuring their restoration and real justice. If you're ready to be challenged in the direction of genuine liberty, this short study of the Law of God, the national "constitution" that God made, will do the trick. Topics include the structure of government in Israel; crimes vs. sins; positive and negative law; the evil of executive government; criminal punishment; victim's rights; slavery; caring for the poor; love of sojourners; and honest money." #faith #bible #christian #biblestr #reformed

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 5th) With Me Wherever I Am The Lord will be with you — 2 Chronicles 20:17 This was a great mercy for Jehoshaphat, for a great multitude had come out against him; and it will be a great mercy for me, for I have great need, and I have no might or wisdom. If the Lord be with me, it matters little who may desert me. If the Lord be with me, I shall conquer in the battle of life, and the greater my trials the more glorious will be my victory. How can I be sure that the Lord is with me? For certain He is with me if I am with Him. If I trust in His faithfulness, believe His words, and obey His commands, He is assuredly with me. If I am on Satan's side God is against me, and cannot be otherwise; but if I live to honor God I may be sure that He will honor me. I am quite sure that God is with me if Jesus is my sole and only Saviour. If I have placed my soul in the hands of God's Only-begotten Son, then I may be sure that the Father will put forth all His power to preserve me, that His Son may not be dishonored. Oh for faith to take hold upon the short but sweet text for today! O Lord, fulfill this word to thy servant! Be with me in the house, in the street, in the field, in the shop, in company, and alone. Be thou also with all thy people. #faith #bible #christian

Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. — Acts 17:29-31 #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 4th) Victory without Battle But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen — Hosea 1:7 Precious word! Jehovah Himself will deliver His people in the greatness of His mercy, but He will not do it by the ordinary means. Men are slow to render to God the glory due unto His name. If they go to battle with sword and bow, and win the victory, they ought to praise their God; yet they do not, but begin to magnify their own right arm, and glory in their horses and horsemen. For this reason our Jehovah often determines to save His people without second means, that all the honor may be to Himself alone. Look, then, my heart, to the Lord alone, and not to man. Expect to see God all the more clearly when there is no one else to look to. If I have no friend, no adviser, no one at my back, let me be none the less confident if I can feel that the Lord Himself is on my side; yea, let me be glad if He gives victory without battle, as the text seems to imply. Why do I ask for horses and horsemen if Jehovah Himself has mercy upon me, and lifts up His arm for my defense? Why need I bow or sword if God will save? Let me trust, and not be afraid, from this day forth and for evermore. Amen. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 3rd) Out of Spiritual Death And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves — Ezekiel 37:13 Indeed it must be so: those who receive life from the dead are sure to recognize the hand of the Lord in such a resurrection. This is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes that a man can undergo - to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death, and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God, the Lord and giver of life. Ah me! How well do I remember when I was lying in the valley full of dry bones, as dry as any of them! Blessed was the day when free and sovereign grace sent the man of God to prophesy upon me! Glory be to God for the stirring which that word of faith caused among the dry bones. More blessed still was that heavenly breath from the four winds which made me live! Now know I the quickening Spirit of the ever-living Jehovah. Truly Jehovah is the living God, for He made me live. My new life even in its pinings and sorrowings is clear proof to me that the Lord can kill and make alive. He is the only God. He is all that is great, gracious, and glorious, and my quickened soul adores Him as the great I AM. All glory be unto His sacred name! As long as I live I will praise Him. #faith #bible #christian

"No Government can expect to prosper which refuses to recognize religion, which deals with its subjects as if they had no souls, and cares not whether they serve God, or Baal, or no God at all.” JC Ryle #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 2nd) Follow to Know Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord — Hosea 6:3 Not all at once, but by degrees shall we attain to holy knowledge, and our business is to persevere and learn by little and little. We need not despair, though our progress may be slow, for we shall yet know. The Lord, who has become our Teacher, will not give us up, however slow of understanding we may be; for it is not for His honor that any degree of human folly should baffle His skill. The Lord delights to make the simple wise. Our duty is to keep to our main topic, and follow on to know, not this peculiar doctrine nor that, but Jehovah Himself. To know Father, Son, and Spirit, the Triune God, this is life eternal: let us keep to this, for in this way we shall gain complete instruction. By following on to know the Lord, we learn healing after being torn, binding up after smiting, and life after death. Experience has its perfect work when the heart follows the trackway of the Almighty Lord. My soul, keep thou close to Jesus, follow on to know God in Jesus, and so shalt thou come to the knowledge of Christ, which is the most excellent of all the sciences. The Holy Ghost will lead thee into all truth. Is not this His gracious office? Rely upon Him to fulfill it. #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (September 1st) Abiding in Obedience, in Love If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love — John 15:10 These things cannot be parted - abiding in obedience, and abiding in the love of Jesus. A life under the rule of Christ can alone prove that we are the objects of our Lord's delight. We must keep our Lord's command if we would bask in His love. If we live in sin we cannot live in the love of Christ. Without the holiness which pleases God, we cannot please Jesus. He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the love of Jesus. Conscious enjoyment of our Lord's love is a delicate thing. It is far more sensitive to sin and holiness than mercury is to cold and heat. When we are tender of heart, and careful in thought, lip, and life to honor our Lord Jesus, then we receive tokens of His love without number. If we desire to perpetuate such bliss we must perpetuate holiness. The Lord Jesus will not hide His face from us unless we hide our face from Him. Sin makes the cloud which darkens our Sun: if we will be watchfully obedient and completely consecrated, we may walk in the light, as God is in the light, and have as sure an abiding in the love of Jesus as Jesus has in the love of the Father. Here is a sweet promise with a solemn "if." Lord, let me have this "if" in my hand; for as a key it opens this casket. #faith #bible #christian

"Love and law are mutually inclusive; Paul sees no incompatibility between them. In fact, the Older Testamental law is the norm for love’s activity; the law shows one how to love his neighbor. Love is the summation or recapitulation of the law." -Greg Bahnsen #faith #bible #christian

"Love and law are mutually inclusive; Paul sees no incompatibility between them. In fact, the Older Testamental law is the norm for love’s activity; the law shows one how to love his neighbor. Love is the summation or recapitulation of the law." -Greg Bahnsen #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (August 31st) Divine, Ever-Living, Unchanging But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you — 1 Peter 1:25 All human teaching and, indeed, all human beings, shall pass away as the grass of the meadow; but we are here assured that the Word of the Lord is of a very different character, for it shall endure for ever. We have here a divine gospel; for what word can endure for ever but that which is spoken by the eternal God? We have here an ever-living gospel, as full of vitality as when it first came from the lip of God; as strong to convince and convert, to regenerate and console, to sustain and sanctify, as ever it was in its first days of wonder-working. We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass, and tomorrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah. Opinions alter, but truth certified by God can no more change than the God who uttered it. Here, then, we have a gospel to rejoice in, a word of the Lord upon which we may lean all our weight. "For ever" includes life, death, judgment, and eternity. Glory be to God in Christ Jesus for everlasting consolation. Feed on the word today, and all the days of thy life. #faith #bible #christian

New coop is up! Old coop is destroyed. #backyardchickens

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (August 30th) Solace, Security, Satisfaction Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow — 2 Samuel 23:5 This is not so much one promise as an aggregate of promises - a box of pearls. The covenant is the ark which contains all things. These are the last words of David, but they may be mine today. Here is a sigh: things are not with me and mine as I could wish; there are trials, cares, and sins. These make the pillow hard. Here is a solace - "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant." Jehovah has pledged Himself to me, and sealed the compact with the blood of Jesus. I am bound to my God, and my God to me. This brings into prominence a security, since this covenant is everlasting, well ordered and sure. There is nothing to fear from the lapse of time, the failure of some forgotten point, or the natural uncertainty of things. The covenant is a rocky foundation to build on for life or for death. David feels satisfaction: he wants no more for salvation or delectation. He is delivered, and he is delighted. The covenant is all a man can desire. O my soul, turn thou this day to thy Lord Jesus, whom the great Lord has given to be a covenant to the people. Take Him to be thine all in all. #faith #bible #christian

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. — Robert Murray McCheyne #faith #bible #christian

I used some panels I had left over from a shed I had that got destroyed in a storm to improve what I call my "chicken compound". Then I added a nice heavy duty tarp to keep my girls dry. This is still a work in progress, but I'm happy with it. There will soon be 12 hens in there, 8 call it home right now. Next on the list is a bigger coop to add on the outside. Who else in nostr land has chickens? #backyardchickens

The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. — Psalm 34:7 #faith #bible #christian

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (August 29th) Plentiful Refreshment Their soul shall be as a watered garden — Jeremiah 31:12 Oh, to have one's soul under heavenly cultivation; no longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord! Enclosed from the waste, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power, one's favored soul is prepared to yield fruit unto the Lord. But a garden may become parched for want of water, and then all its herbs decline, and are ready to die. O my soul, how soon would this be the case were the Lord to leave thee! In the East, a garden without water soon ceases to be a garden at all: nothing can come to perfection, grow, or even live. When irrigation is kept up, the result is charming. Oh, to have one's soul watered by the Holy Spirit uniformly - every part of the garden having its own stream; plentifully - a sufficient refreshment coming to every tree and herb, however thirsty by nature it may be; continually - each hour bringing not only its heat, but its refreshment; wisely - each plant receiving just what it needs. In a garden you can see by the verdure where the water flows, and you can soon perceive when the Spirit of God comes. O Lord, water me this day, and cause me to yield thee a full reward, for Jesus' sake. Amen. #faith #bible #christian