Recommended Sermons & Videos
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Pastor Doug Wilson
Doug Wilson is probably one of the best modern Pastoral resources for proper application of the Bible to government, and provides many excellent resources for education. Canonpress.com is the central website associated with Doug, and links to all of his and his Church’s resources. “The Plodcast” and “Blog & Mablog” are excellent for short videos and podcasts explaining various concepts and featuring Doug weighing in on modern topics and controversies. Following are some of Doug’s productions which PLI finds most applicable and educational as they relate to PLI’s mission, goals, and tenets.
Pastor Cary Gordon
Pastor Cary Gordon emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic as a shining example of a church leader who understands the role of the Church in informing the state of its duties and God-given limitations. Pastor Gordon has led his church and others to successfully combat legalization of sodomite marriage in their state, and preached a powerful sermon entitled “Three Choices” in which he explains well the Christian understanding of limited government and the tyranny that results when the people and their representatives do not stand for the laws of God as the basis for just government.
I could not more highly recommend this sermon, which is why it is shown on the Homepage, the “From Homepage” section below, as well as at the top of this page. Make sure to buckle up and grab your notepad because Pastor Cary provides an education regarding America’s government and it’s birth from Christian ideals of limited government, natural law, and Biblical law based jurisprudence, the likes of which most have probably never seen. Where some would say that this is a prioritization of America and the Constitution over the Bible, I have no doubt that those who are truly in the Spirit and have any sense of understanding of the beauty of Liberty, God’s perfect law (James 1:25), and actual Biblical justice will be blown away and worked in to the zeal and fervency of a correct, Godly, Biblical patriotism for America and the defense of the Christian ideals on which it was indeed founded.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many issues with doctrine and understanding within the Church. It has become very clear and very apparent that many within the Church, and unfortunately many in leadership, are lacking greatly in understanding of the concepts of liberty (James 1:25, 1 Peter 2:16) and how our government in America was established to protect our right to worship God from a civil perspective. Pastor Cary Gordon hammers this point home well in full humility and wisdom as he explains how backwards many church’s handling of the pandemic have been.
While overall I have been a fan of “The Gospel Coalition” throughout the years, as Pastor Gordon confronts in this video there has been a marked shift towards progressivism in some of the writers and editors on the platform. Undoubtedly, “The Gospel Coalition” and Tim Keller have served many in the faith with good and correct teaching. Unfortunately it is quickly being exposed in these even mildly trying times just un-sturdy and shaky these Christian structures are that have no doubt been built upon the correct Cornerstone, but with poor material and biblical design. That is why it is more important than ever that we correct these teachings now so that the Church can continue to be the light and salt of the earth when the serious birthing contractions hit …
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
The truth does often hurt because our emotions are frequently based on lies. While what we feel is a “real” feeling, real emotion, it may in fact be driven by a false perception or lies. Rev. Peterson doesn’t hold back from delivering this truth, and also invites all walks of life to hear it from him. He is definitely worth checking into and this video of his is especially worth watching. I will advise caution as you approach his teachings simply because I haven’t studied his works deeply.
Dr. Joseph Mattera
Dr. Joseph Mattera is runs an international ministry seeking to influence government and cultural leaders with the Kingdom of Christ. Click through the slides below for links to blog posts from Dr. Mattera on topics relevant to PLI’s mission. See the “Online Sites” section below for a link to Dr. Mattera’s website containing more material from his ministry.
Kirk Cameron with Ben Shapiro
Jordan Peterson
While not a Christian, Jordan Peterson still has a great amount of wisdom. insight, and alignment to several topics that are indeed biblical. Dr. Peterson is very bold and courageous in his standing for truths, and where he aligns with scripture we can certainly learn and stand with him, and ultimately Christ. Dr. Peterson is more unashamed to stand for truths that align with the bible than many of us in the Church are unashamed to stand for Christ, who will be ashamed of us if we are found in this state when He returns (Luke 9:26). Ultimately Christ is our example of how to stand for such truths, but Dr. Peterson certainly provides a tangible example and inspiration for what it may be like to do so from a perspective of faith.
A quick “one, two, punch” to the current rhetoric surrounding the concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusivity, Dr. Peterson deconstructs and shows us how backwards and inverted current understanding of these topics are. It is obvious from my own personal experience in the Church that many “knowledgable” Christians lack biblical understanding and wisdom as to how the Bible truly speaks to these concepts. While Dr. Peterson doesn’t bring us to the Bible for his assessment, I strongly submit to you that what he says is in fact true and aligns with scripture. It would be could to listen to this video several time and meditate on the concepts so that you too can push back well against the present darkness surrounding these ideas.
Before you go running away because of the title, know that he is not saying that the concept of “diversity” itself is a lie; in fact, a quote from his article reads: ““Diversity” is a word that, on the face of it, masquerades as something positive—because it is positive, in some of its manifestations.” … The focus of Dr. Peterson’s article is discussing the issue with modern rhetoric and re-definition of the meaning of “diversity”. I do feel that Dr. Petersons approach to the issue is ultimately a bit shallowly rooted in only science and numbers, which are by no means invalid points or arguments, but ultimately do not get to the true depth of the issue from a biblical perspective. Never-the-less, when paired with the prior-cited video of his regarding the same topic, I think this article makes for some nice “mental enforcement” of the issue.
Topics to Study
Clicking topic title links to a page!
Biblical Jurisprudence & Covenantal Duty
In a time where we are seeing movements for “defunding the police”, claims of an injustice justice system, and use of the false morality of “equity”, a visitation to the biblical basis for jurisprudence, a.k.a “the theory or philosophy of law”, is in order. With many in the western Church currently running around with self-righteous pitchforks of “social justice”, it is clearly evident that the understanding of justice and biblical law has been lost and perverted. To the right are media slides with three resources for education on these topics; included is a five part series of articles on fundamentals of biblical law, found on kingdomandabolition.com (links to the five parts are found at the bottom of each page), which is the recommended starting point for beginners.
Protestant Resistance Theory
Discussed in “The Liberty Book”, this is the exact doctrine that supports the phrase “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God”, which is often quoted as coming from Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson. Though neither of them saved Christians as far as we are aware, they learned of this doctrine from Christian’s themselves who know that government and authority are instituted by God to be a terror to evil doers (Romans 13), and that God’s people ought to stand up against the authority when they become evil themselves. Every Christian should study and meditate on this concept until they are well educated in understanding of these duties so that they can fulfill them if and when the time arises …
To quote directly from the source linked to by the title, “Some of the Reformers viewed church discipline as the third mark of a true church, the other two being sound preaching of the Word and proper administration of the sacraments.” So, according to the Reformers, Church discipline really ought to be viewed as “the third mark of a true church”, and yet I’m willing to bet that the majority of western Christians can’t even name one time that they’ve participated in the process or seen it carried out? It is the responsibility of both the flock and the leaders to carry out and submit to Church discipline, and yet it seems to be one of the most untouched doctrines in the Church these days. We are all called to participate by approaching one another “one on one” first to see if we will win our brother or sister back from sin (such as living with a girlfriend or boyfriend before marriage), to escalating the issue to leadership if they do not respond. Real grace is shown when we lovingly approach people about sin, if we are qualified (see verses about “logs in your eye”), and help steer them to Christ and the truth; it is not love or grace to allow someone to continue in sin because “well, I’m a sinner too” …
Online Sites
As always with any knowledge and wisdom that we get from others, we should sift it through the Word to discern if it seems to align with ALL of scripture. Sometimes people will arrive at major and impactful conclusions that SEEM biblical, and often falsely use bible passages as premise, but are in fact countered by a verse or two somewhere in scripture, rendering their conclusion false. Scripture does not contradict itself, so when we find others to be seemingly in contradiction to scripture, we should ask the Lord to open our eyes in the Spirit to receive His wisdom to understand the truth correctly. Long story short and as the old saying goes, “chew up the meat and spit out the bones” always applies.
Staseos is a relatively new site, founded in 2018, dedicated to bold and unapologetic Christian thought. Their “About” section describes their site quite well, saying: “Staseos is a platform for the bold, counter-cultural Christian. Our mission is to fearlessly illuminate unpopular, controversial, and often ignored issues for the glory of God.”
With articles already providing counter-culture thought on George Floyd, as well as speaking out on what appears to be Tim Keller’s drifting into liberal progressivism, such as I have also covered here , Staseos is well on their way to being a site of salt and light to the world as we are called to be. Some contributors to site are friends of PLI, and we’d definitely would recommend checking their site out.
Dr. Joseph Mattera runs an international ministry focused on influencing leaders of nations and culture with the Gospel message and realities of Christ’s sovereignty over government and culture. He has many writings which can be viewed for free under his blog section, and more which can be accessed for a fee. From “covenantal duty” to kingdom centered theology, Dr. Mattera is plowing along the same lines that PLI aims to be.
Canon Press is the publishing company associated with Doug Wilson and his church. They have a host of resources and materials from books to podcasts on everything from marriage to protestant resistance theory. We’d highly recommend checking their site out and looking to Doug and associated ministries for excellent biblical wisdom and application of biblical truth to culture and the civil sphere.
Though not as comprehensive as the other sites, defytyrants.com is specifically dedicated to “the lesser magistrate doctrine” mentioned in the topics to study and can be a place of warm welcome to those who have fervency and zeal for such things. It provides education as well as news regarding action of current tyrannical laws and those who are standing up in duty to push back. This is a great taste of encouragement to see modern day liberty warriors standing for God’s perfect law of liberty (James 1:25, the Gospel) and how it should be rightfully worked out in government and civil institutions. Most specifically, a great discussion on the destructive influence of Christian “pietism” can be found on this site, which is a topic all Christians should understand and flee from in their faith.
Quoting straight from the site: “The “Black Regiment” was a group of patriot-preachers from virtually every protestant denomination located throughout Colonial America at the time of America’s fight for independence who courageously preached the Biblical principles of liberty and independence. The moniker stems from the tendency of these patriot-preachers to wear long, black robes in their pulpits.”
This list at Chuck Baldwin’s site is a list of pastors across modern day America who we can consider “Black Regiment” pastors committed to the preaching of God’s perfect law of liberty. Chuck acknowledges that he does not know, nor necessarily agree with, the overall theology of every pastor on the list. It is simply to unite Christ followers are the Gospel and it being properly worked out in government and institutions.
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From The Home Page
Constitution 101 - Hillsdale College
A necessary course for all Americans, and especially Christian American’s in our modern, chaotic times. The Constitution of the United States of America reflects the hearts, mind, body, and soul of the Puritan founders of our country who’s faith and theology were beyond instrumental in winning even unbelievers to see the value in a nation built on the Law, natural and moral, and promises of God. We will not be able to properly stand for good and usher in the Kingdom if we do not understand what the Bible has to say about being God’s people and being in covenant relationship with Him. While the Bible and The Liberty Book are better resources for understanding those topics in depth, The Constitution reflects and codifies all of that theology and understanding into the established rules for governing our nation. Everyone should take this course and meditate deeply on the Christian roots of all that went into the founding of our great country.
"Monumental" - Kirk Cameron
Many know of Kirk Cameron and his career as a Hollywood actor; I personally had never heard of him until I saw this documentary he produced. While I’ve heard that some aren’t partial to him from knowing him through his career, I implore you to set aside your partiality and watch this movie. Kirk tracks down the Puritan’s path from escaping persecution in Europe to their founding of America and all that went into the formation of the ideals that birthed the formal governance of our nation. Though the production quality of the film has something to be desired, the content, message, and final point of Kirk’s journey are all essential for having a proper heart of understanding as to what our forefathers went through to give us all that we have.
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The context of this video is of Cary advocating strongly for his congregation’s participation in voting in their state elections to see that God’s natural law is upheld. While you may not personally feel an attachment to what is occurring in Iowa, his message could not be more relevant and important to walking as a Christian in our current times. As we watch wicked and lawless people tear down systems and institutions based on God’s law and heart as displayed in the Bible and through Christ, and as their lawlessness comes closer and closer to home (I don’t mean to fear-monger here; unfortunately, it is the reality), Cary’s points and advocacy should be heard and embodied by all.
