The Caffeinated Christian

How do you reconcile a world that can be so fun with one that can be so cruel?  How is it that we can live in a world of such amazing victories, but at the same time suffer sheer terror? Join us for answers, Sunday morning, June 30 at Liberty Baptist Church of Dalton, GA ( www.libertybaptistchurch.ws ).  10:00 a.m. breakfast and panel discussion on terrorism.  11:00 a.m. service honoring those who help keep our communities safe. Freedom Sunday Intro Video from Brian Branam on Vimeo . bumper video

August 11 we ( www.libertybaptistchurch.ws ) will begin using a valuable resource from author Francis Chan entitled Multiply .  The reason I like this book is because it is solid, simple, and short! As a pastor you are always looking for ways to get your people grounded in the Word quickly and to bring them to a place of Spiritual health where they are bearing fruit and bringing other people to Christ.  As simple as this may sound, this is not an easy task.   The Bible is a HUGE book.  It is not only huge, but it is old and difficult for most people to understand.  As a pastor, I need something that can help people grab on to the story quickly.  You may not understand everything you read in the Bible, but if you can grasp the basic concepts and the premise of the story you are at least heading in the right direction.  Multiply spends a great deal of time helping its readers become well acquainted with the Biblical story and its redemptive theme in Christ.   Life is crazy.  

The Supreme Court has now ruled on two monumental marriage cases, and the legal and cultural landscape has changed in this country. The court voted to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and remand the decision of the Ninth Circuit in the Proposition 8 case, holding that California’s Proposition 8 defenders didn’t have standing. The Defense of Marriage Act decision used rather sweeping language about equal protection and human dignity as they apply to the recognition of same-sex unions. But what has changed for us, for our churches, and our witness to the gospel? In one sense, nothing. Jesus of Nazareth is still alive. He is calling the cosmos toward his kingdom, and he will ultimately be Lord indeed. Regardless of what happens with marriage, the gospel doesn’t need “family values” to flourish. In fact, it often thrives when it is in sharp contrast to the cultures around it. That’s why the gospel rocketed out of the first-century from places such as Ephesus and Philippi and C

In a Jan, 2006 article published by Salon entitled The Man Behind Abercrombie and Fitch , Benoit Denizet-Lewis commenting on statements made in an interview with A and F CEO Mike Jeffries writes,  “As far as Jeffries is concerned, America’s unattractive, overweight or otherwise undesirable teens can shop elsewhere.  ‘In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not so cool kids,’ he says.  ‘Candidly, we go after the cool kids.  We go after the all American kid with a great attitude and lots of friends.  A lot of people don’t belong in our clothes, and they can’t belong.  Are we exclusionary?  Absolutely.’” Why there has been so much recent backlash over comments made over 7 years ago, I have no idea.  Maybe there are not many people who read Salon.  Maybe it took 7 years for a nerd to actually read Salon and get mad about it.  Maybe there have been bigger things going on in the world for anybody to care deeply about the comments of a man who

High night of 447!  Way to go crew!!!

By  Hara Estroff Marano , published on November 01, 2004 - last reviewed on February 19, 2013 Parents are going to ludicrous lengths to take the bumps out of life for their children. However, parental hyperconcern has the net effect of making kids more fragile; that may be why they're breaking down in record numbers. Maybe it's the cyclist in the park, trim under his sleek metallic blue helmet, cruising along the dirt path... at three miles an hour. On his tricycle. Or perhaps it's today's playground, all-rubber-cushioned surface where kids used to skin their knees. And... wait a minute... those aren't little kids playing. Their mommies—and especially their daddies—are in there with them, coplaying or play-by-play  coaching . Few take it half-easy on the perimeter benches, as  parents  used to do, letting the kids figure things out for themselves. Then there are the sanitizing gels, with which over a third of parents now send their kids to school, ac

Worship in the Story of God from Brian Branam on Vimeo . If you would like to know the one place where your soul holds together, where life finds meaning, where every man can account for the reason he was born, it is the worship of God. We could also say in the same breath, that when we do not worship God, the center of our life finds no stability, life has little lasting meaning, and man struggles to find purpose in his life. The worship of God pulls everything together.

Be a Woman from Brian Branam on Vimeo . We are led to believe that the Biblical picture of women is archaic, narrow minded, oppressive, and chauvinistic; that it is written by males in a male dominated society and in that way it cannot be trusted. However, we see the woman of Prov 31 is financially secure, adored by her husband and children, and brings stability to her home. Modern feminism just can't seem to offer the satisfaction of these biblical concepts.

Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?  And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up , and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”  Matthew 11:3-5 We had just read this passage together as our Scripture reading for the morning.  I followed the reading by introducing the topic for the day; miracles.  We live in a culture heavily influenced by naturalism.  As a result we no longer believe in miracles.  We could even say that our culture is offended at the thought.  We deem them as figments of the unscientific imagination.  Miracles may be the false hope of the ignorant but they are not within the scope of reality for the enlightened.   We expect nothing.  John the Baptist expected more.  The man who baptized Jesus, who heard the voice of God, who saw the Spirit of God de

With the smartphone and the rise of social media there isn’t much of us that remains unpublished.  Every thought is Twittered.  Every relationship is Facebook official.  Every image in our path is on Instagram.   I’m new to the whole Instagram thing, but I’ve always wondered how people produced such intriguing pictures with an iPhone.  Now I know, it’s the filters.  It’s a throwback.  The whole thing is brilliant.  Just shoot a picture, slide your finger, employ a filter and you can make your $600 smartphone take pictures that look like they came from your mom’s $49, 1983 Kodak.          In an article published at www.pcworld.com “ Why is Instagram So Popular? ” MacWorld Executive Editor Jon Seff, explains why these low-fi pics have such mass appeal. “The vintage look and feel of the photos incite a sense of nostalgia, of the good old days, or of a different era.”  He also says, “Instagram aficionados aren’t interested in originals, or in exactly replicating reality.”  Seff

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."  Genesis 1:1-2 There is certainly a place for the discussion of how God created the earth.  Is it young or is it old?  How long is a day?  How do we reconcile the Bible and science?  While these topics may be profitable, it is vital that we do not lose God in the debate.  The author of Genesis is not as concerned with how God created the world as he is about telling the story of the God who created the world. After introducing God (Gen. 1:1) the author introduces the world (Gen. 1:2).  The news is not good.  For the ancient readers of the narrative the choice of language is sinister and unmistakable.  The earth was without form and void.  It had no meaning.  There was nothing but chaos.  There is no surprise here because it seems that the earth is the victim of a

Be a Man from Brian Branam on Vimeo . Society has a lot of definitions for a man and woman. What we are seeing in our culture is that as we struggle for the meaning of equality we are trying to make man and woman the same. The end result is a lot of chaos in marriage and in society. Though we are equal we are not the same. It is detrimental to manhood for it to mimic womanhood, and vice versa.