I am going to pose a question and ask you to think for a minute or two before answering. Stop for a moment before you continue reading this article and answer this simple question. Who is the worst sinner you know? Chances are that you know hundreds of people. Perhaps a thousand. Think of all those people and ponder which one is the worst sinner of all.

I’ll wait.

Who did you think of? Perhaps you thought of a parent who did irreversible damage to you when you were only a child. Maybe you thought of a co-worker who delights in his own depravity, or maybe you thought of a friend or family-member who is imprisoned for what he has done. But if you were honest I hope you were able to admit that you know someone who is a far greater sinner than any of these.

Who do you know better than anyone else? Whose heart is laid before you in its entirety, so that you cannot escape the evil bubbling just beneath the surface and the far greater evil buried deep within? When I stop and think about the greatest sinner I know, I really have no choice but to admit that it is me. I am the greatest sinner I know. It feels good to say it. Good but humbling. I am the greatest sinner I know. I may not sin as much as the guy next door, but I see only a few of his evil deeds, so he cannot be the worst winner I know. I see every single one of mine. All day long, in everything I do and in every word I say, I see my own propensity towards evil.

I know how my heart grumbles when it should be glad, and how it is glad when it should cry out. I see how I can walk away from the poor, lonely and destitute and rarely think of them again. I know how I continually do the very things I least want to do and least should do, all the while avoiding those things I most want to do. Truly there is no end to the depravity of my heart. William Law, who lived in the 18th century, knew this. He said, “Nothing hath separated us from God but our own will, or rather our own will is our separation from God.” He said also that, “Self is the root, the tree, and the branches of all the evils of our fallen state.” The selfishness of my heart and my love for what is evil is both shocking and humbling. And it all begins with me.

The apostle Paul knew this. While there are few people in all of history most of us would be more eager to spend time with, and while there are few who have contributed more to the Christian faith, he looked into his heart and proclaimed himself the chief of sinners. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15,16).

Like Paul, William Law was the worst sinner he knew. He wrote, “We may justly condemn ourselves as the greatest sinners we know because we know more of the folly of our own heart than we do of other people’s.”

You are the worst winner you know. I am the worst sinner I know. Say it to yourself and let it sink in. Let it penetrate your heart and your conscience.

All is not lost.

Why did Paul proclaim himself the foremost of sinners? He was not dwelling on his own sinful nature, nor bemoaning his state. No, Paul was pointing, as he did in every area of his ministry, to the cross of Christ. The depravity of the apostle was great, but how much greater was the love of Jesus Christ! He received mercy so that Jesus might display His amazing grace.

In The Cross Centered Life, C.J. Mahaney writes of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet. “As Jesus reclines at the low table, leaning on one elbow, His feet stretched out away from the table, the woman stands over Him and begins to weep. All conversation ceases. The sound of her weeping grows in volume, filling the house and spilling out into the street. Her freely flowing tears wet His unwashed feet. She kneels down, takes down her hair, and with it begins to wash Jesus’ tear-stained feet. The she kisses them and anoints them with perfume as an act of worship.”

We have all heard this story many times. But maybe we have missed its full significance. This woman was not weeping out of remorse for her sin. She was not asking the Lord’s forgiveness, hoping that her cries would stir His heart to give her a word of blessing. She knew that she had already been forgiven. Her soul was cleansed, her past forgotten. And so she wept, crying out with joy, gratitude and devotion. Looking to the worst sinner she knew, she was filled with love for the One who had extended grace to her. And so she wept, providing for Christians of all ages a beautiful example of worshipful devotion. And so she wept.

The greatest of sinners requires the greatest Savior. I am the greatest sinner I know. Thankfully, because of God’s grace, I also know the greatest Savior. And so I weep.

The cover of this DVD proclaims, “This isn’t your typical tour of ruins and dusty artifacts. It’s history as exciting today as it was 2,000 years ago.” This is history for the modern American: fast-paced, funny and quietly educational. Did I mention that it’s also a lot of fun?

The DVD contains three episodes of what promises to be a great series:

1. Episode 1: Lost in Rome, the Forum & Palatine Hill, the Emperors during the time of Christ, the Arch of Titus and the destruction of Jerusalem.
2. Episode 2: The Circus Maximus, chariot racing, the great fire of Rome, Nero’s persecution of Christians and the Roman Pantheon.
3. Episode 3: Hannibal invades Rome, the Colosseum, the Gladiators and the early Christian influence.

The host of Drive Thru History is Dave Stotts. He’s cool enough to be interesting, and just geeky enough to be able to discuss history and archaelogy without seeming too far out of his element. His enthusiasm is not only visible, but is also contagious. While his attempts at humor occasionally fall flat, you’ll find yourself laughing with him more than you’ll be rolling your eyes at him. Driving a Smart Car (one of those impossibly-small cars Europeans so love) he takes the viewer on a tour of Rome, showing some of the greatest testaments to Rome’s glorious past: the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill, and of course, the Pantheon. He even manages to pick a fight with a Centurion outside the Colosseum (one who barely speaks English as you’ll see in the out-takes).

But this is not history simply for the sake of learning history. Woven throughout the artifacts and ruins is the story of the early church and even proof of Jesus’ Divinity. For example, Stotts spends a great deal of time providing the historical backdrop to the building of the Arch of Titus. At the end of the segment he shows some of the carvings on the Arch and we see that they depict the looting of the temple at Jerusalem by Roman soldiers. Stotts then calls us back to Jesus’ words which prophecied this very event many years before it happened. Similarly when discussing the early persecution of the church he shows that they prove Jesus resurrection since not many people would be crazy enough for something they knew to be a lie. The willingness of the early church to suffer and die for their faith proves that Jesus did die, for as Paul says, if He did not, the Christian faith is in vain.

The DVD offers plenty of worthwhile extras. There are out-takes at the end of each episode and a full audio commentary is available as well. If you have a DVD drive on your computer you’ll be able to access a helpful discussion guide.

This is a full-throttle, joyride through history, and one I highly recommend for the whole family. I noticed that the DVD is categorized as “General” and “Tween.” I am far from a tween, but enjoyed every moment of the presentation. And for future reference, I believe there are two DVDs still to come in this series: Drive Thru History: Greece and Drive Thru History: Turkey. I look forward to seeing them.

The video is available for sale at ColdWaterMedia and Focus on the Family.

Evaluation		Support
	Theology/Accuracy There isn’t a whole lot, but what is there is good.	Not available at Amazon
	Special Features Full-featured, with out-takes, audio commentary and a study guide.
	Uniqueness A unique spin on history.
	Importance It won’t kill you to miss it, but the kids will miss out on some good “edutainment.”
	Overall The first installment in what promises to be a great series. I recommend it.
More About Ratings & Reviews

Well how is this for an opportunity? I have been asked by Desiring God if I would be willing to live-blog the upcoming Desiring God National Conference which will be held in Minneapolis from the 7th to the 9th of October. This year’s theme is “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.” I thought about it for less time than it takes to type “of course!” and have committed to doing it. I am awfully excited about the opportunity. I’ll have the privilege of enjoying the teaching of people like Joni Eareckson Tada, Mark Talbot, David Powlison, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, and of course John Piper.

But that’s not all. I’ll be able to meet Justin Taylor, who is fast becoming a friend and probably some other God-bloggers. And I’ll also get to meet one of my oldest and closest blog-friends. Who is it, you ask? You’ll just have to look around and find out. I’m sure he’ll be posting about this as well, as it turns out that he is going to be my partner in crime. We’ll be just like Al Michaels and John Madden, but we won’t ever talk about “cankles.” I promise. Oh, and we won’t have one of those screens that allows us to draw yellow lines and arrows.

Anyways, this is a wonderful opportunity and I’m already counting down the days to October.

By the way, some details are still not settled, such as what site we’ll actually be writing to, and so on. But we’ll have that worked out long before we get to Minneapolis.

Susanna, over at her blog, has just posted a stimulating article she entitled “Pious and Reclusive for Christ” which discusses Christian children who attend public schools. I’d like to point out that Susanna, who is a particularly intelligent and beautiful blogger, just so happens to be one of my three little sisters. At this point she is the only one who blogs.

Susanna came across a post on another blog which extolled the value of Christian education (and I would assume this would mean the author is primarily an advocate of home education) and indicated that parents who allow their children to attend public schools are making a great mistake.

My sister goes on to detail some of the benefits of my parents’ decision to allow their children to attend public schools. She points to several relationships that led the friend to become a believer.