Luke's vault

Desmoulins on sin

2011-05-23T22:54:00.000+01:00

Camille Desmoulins, in a letter to his wife shortly before his execution:

I have dreamed of a Republic such as all the world would have adored. I could never have believed that men could be so ferocious and so unjust.

Lewis on love's vulnerability

2011-05-23T18:15:00.000+01:00

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

- C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Doctrine and the church

2011-05-19T12:03:00.000+01:00

Doctrine is, according to [Niklas] Luhrmann, the self-reflection of a religious community, by which it maintains its identity and regulates its relations with other such communities and the whole social system in general.

- p. 209, Alister E. McGrath, A Life of John Calvin

Spurgeon on grace and security

2011-05-18T11:57:00.000+01:00

From this sermon:

If the faith whereby I have laid hold on Christ to be my Saviour is altogether worked in me by the Holy Spirit, through Grace, then I defy the devil to take away that which he never gave, or to crush that which Jehovah Himself created in me! I defy my free will to fling away what it never brought to me! What God has given, created, introduced and established in the heart He will maintain there!

Highlighter pens and preaching

2011-04-05T12:37:00.000+01:00

Good advice from Mick Taylor about how to see what's really there in a text.

Bonhoeffer on sovereignty

2010-11-23T09:53:00.002Z

"I believe God both can and will bring good out of evil. For that purpose He needs men who make the best use of everything. I believe God will give us all the power we need to resist in all time of distress. But He never gives it in advance, lest we should rely upon ourselves and not on Him alone. A faith as strong as this should allay all our fears for the future. I believe that even our errors and mistakes are turned to good account. It is no harder for God to cope with them than with what we imagine to be our good deeds. I believe God is not just timeless fate, but that He waits upon and answers sincere prayer and responsible action."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and papers from prison

Bible and sin

2010-10-29T11:35:00.002+01:00

Inscription in John Piper's Bible by his mother: "This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you
from this book."

The Spirit's work

2010-10-29T11:10:00.000+01:00

"The Spirit of God produces both a subconscious influence bringing us to faith, and a conscious experience of power and personal fellowship that come through that very faith." - John Piper, When I don't desire God

Gutsy guilt

2010-10-28T21:31:00.000+01:00

In When I don't desire God (available as PDF here), John Piper describes Micah's attitude in 7:8-9 as "gutsy guilt", as opposed to the "cheap grace" derided by Bonhoeffer. It doesn't deny the seriousness of sin or the pain of discipline but it is confident in justification by grace alone:

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the LORD
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.

Gospel without words?

2010-10-21T15:52:00.000+01:00

"Saying 'Preach the Gospel, use words if necessary' is like saying 'Feed the hungry, use food if necessary.'"
- Ligon Duncan

When to repent?

2010-10-19T15:32:00.000+01:00

"The question is not, shall I repent? For that is beyond a doubt. But the question is, shall I repent now, when it may save me; or shall I put it off to the eternal world when my repentance will be my punishment?"

- Samuel Davies

Definition: Covenant

2010-10-05T16:21:00.000+01:00

Not an agreement reached between two parties after negotiations, it is unilateral in its origins (though bilateral in its outworking). i.e. Not like the UK's coaltion government formed in 2010.

Definition: Lovingkindness

2010-10-05T16:19:00.000+01:00

Hebrew = hesed

“God’s deep goodness expressed in His covenant commitment, His absolute loyalty, He obligating of Himself to bring to fruition the blessings He has promised, whatever it may cost Him personally to do that.”

- Sinclair Ferguson, Faithful God

Communion with God

2010-09-28T18:03:00.002+01:00

“Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day.”

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Caring for people or solving problems?

2010-09-21T22:03:00.001+01:00

Comment by Darrin Patrick:

Let's be honest with ourselves as shepherds. If we see people as problems to conquer, we are ultimately seeking our own personal victory. When we see people as precious sheep in need of the Good Shepherd, we will seek to show our people the victory that has already been secured for them by Christ. If we see people as problems to conquer, we are ultimately seeking our own personal victory.

Responding to Hawking

2010-09-04T14:47:00.006+01:00

Article by Professor John Lennox on why God is needed to explain the existence of the Universe here.

Calvin, quoted by Ray Ortlund:

“The Christian heart, since it has been thoroughly persuaded that all things happen by God’s plan, and that nothing takes place by chance, will ever look to him as the principal cause of things, yet will give attention to the secondary causes in their proper place.”

J. John:

"I am not at all surprised that Stephen Hawking did not find any proof for God in the incredibly complex mathematics of the Big Bang. Let us suppose for a moment that he had – that he had detected unmistakable evidence of God’s handiwork in the early history of the cosmos. On the one hand, it would be gratifying for the believer. Yet wouldn't it suggest that God was some sort of academic snob who only really wanted to reveal himself to those who were extraordinarily intelligent? What would such a revelation say to those of us who struggle to add up our shopping bills? Or to those who can't either read or write? No, I think I prefer the God of the Bible, who makes himself accessible through Jesus Christ to all who seek him."

Evangelicalism's greatest sin

2010-08-31T17:21:00.000+01:00

Terry Virgo on Matyn Lloyd-Jones: "His reply was that the greatest sin of the evangelical church was telling God what He could not do."

Anomalies

2010-08-29T16:15:00.000+01:00

"Anomalies must be expected along the conceptual frontier between the temporal and the eternal." - Marilynne Robinson

Calvin on loving our neighbours

2010-08-29T16:13:00.000+01:00

"...we ought to embrace the whole human race without exception in a single feeling of love; here there is no distinction between barbarian and Greek, worthy and unworthy, friend and enemy, since all should be contemplated in God, not in themselves. When we turn aside from such contemplation, it is no wonder we become entangled in many errors. Therefore, if we rightly direct our love, we must first turn our eyes not to man, the sight of whom would more often engender hate than love, but to God, who bids us extend to all men the love we bear to him, that this may be an unchanging principle: Whatever the character of the man, we must yet love him because we love God."

Quoted here.

Grace and love

2010-07-31T09:25:00.000+01:00

"There is no justice in love, no proportion in it, and there need not be, because in any specific instance it is only a glimpse or parable of an embracing, incomprehensible reality. It makes no sense at all because it is the eternal breaking in on the temporal. So how could it subordinate itself to cause or consequence?"

Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

CJ on preaching and pastoring

2010-07-14T23:22:00.000+01:00

Answering questions about staying fresh in gospel preaching, etc.

Backstage: CJ Mahaney from SBC Greater Things 2010 on Vimeo.

The importance of context

2010-07-10T15:02:00.000+01:00

They awoke early, frozen in fear at the thought of the day that lay before them. Others, including many past comrades had faced this enemy all too often and fallen. The battle lines were now drawn. The first glimpse of the Germans across the field brought pangs of terror, mixed with courageous hope. Maybe this is our time, our day, our victory. Flanked on either side by champions and heroes, the battle was about to commence. The prayers of the nation are with them. The whistle blows, and to the man they run to their uncertain fate.

Is this talking about World War One or the England-Germany match at World Cup 2010?

Used by Dan Hudson.

Emily Dickinson on temptation

2010-06-16T14:11:00.000+01:00

Crumbling is not an instant's act,
A fundamental pause;
Dilapidation's processes
Are organised decays.

'Tis first a cobweb on the soul,
A cuticle of dust,
A borer on the axis,
And elemental rust.

Ruin is formal, devil's work,
Consecutive and slow-
Fail in an instant no man did,
Slipping is crash's law.

Preaching and the emergent church

2010-06-02T16:22:00.001+01:00

E-book by Dr John S Bohannon available here.

Discerning God's call

2010-06-02T16:20:00.003+01:00

Darrin Patrick's series starts here. First part includes quotes from Luther, Newton and Whitefield.

Suffering and the sovereignty of God

2010-05-09T18:37:00.001+01:00

Book available online here.

Contents:

1 Suffering and the Sovereignty of God: Ten Aspects of God’s Sovereignty Over Suffering and Satan’s Hand in It
2 “All the Good That Is Ours in Christ”: Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us
3 The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God
4 Why God Appoints Suffering for His Servants
5 Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions
6 The Sovereignty of God and Ethnic-Based Suffering
7 God’s Grace and Your Sufferings
8 Waiting for the Morning during the Long Night of Weeping
9 Hope . . . the Best of Things

How to destroy the church you're leading

2010-04-20T21:33:00.002+01:00

According to Chuck Lawless:

Begin my ministry as a teacher and refuse to be a learner.
Assume that the “honeymoon period” as a church leader is the time to make as many changes as possible.
Expect to fix everything overnight.
Teach a theological system more than the Bible.
Study always and seldom “hang out” with people.
Blame undiscipled members for acting like believers who have never been discipled.
Pray reactively rather than proactively.

Single and lonely

2010-04-16T15:37:00.001+01:00

Article by Jayne Clark on finding intimacy.

Purpose of Genesis?

2010-04-16T11:33:00.002+01:00

"The Holy Ghost intended to teach us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go." - Galileo

Leaders who love

2010-04-06T22:44:00.000+01:00

“A man who is to do much with men must love them and feel at home with them. An individual who has no geniality about him had better be an undertaker and bury the dead, for he will never succeed in influencing the living. . . . A man must have a great heart, if he would have a great congregation. His heart should be as capacious as those noble harbors along our coast, which contain sea-room for a fleet. When a man has a large, loving heart, men go to him as ships to a haven and feel at peace when they have anchored under the lee of his friendship. Such a man is hearty in private as well as in public; his blood is not cold and fishy but he is warm as your own fireside. No pride and selfishness chill you when you approach him; he has his doors all open to receive you, and you are home with him at once. Such men I would persuade you to be, every one of you.”

C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students

Ortlund on zeal

2010-03-30T16:23:00.002+01:00

A post on right and wrong zeal.

How does the zeal of the flesh reveal itself? Because it’s driven by law, it treats people with law. It does not rejoice over them but finds fault, jumps to conclusions, accuses, is argumentative, doesn’t listen, gloats when a brother is down, and loves to come out on top. This zeal isn’t for God. It’s for Self.

How does the zeal of the Spirit reveal itself? In many ways. But its intensity is never at variance with this: “My yoke is easy”.

Lloyd-Jones on preaching (and desperation)

2010-03-17T16:00:00.001Z

“Seek him! Seek him always. But go beyond seeking him; expect him. Do you expect anything to happen when you get up to preach in a pulpit? Or do you just say to yourself, ‘Well, I have prepared my address, I am going to give them this address; some of them will appreciate it and some will not’? Are you expecting it to be the turning point in someone’s life? Are you expecting anyone to have a climactic experience? This is what preaching is meant to do. This is what you find in the Bible and in the subsequent history of the church.

Seek this power, expect this power, yearn for this power. And when the power comes, yield to him. Do not resist. Forget all about your sermon if necessary. Let him loose you, let him manifest his power in you and through you. . . . This unction, this anointing, is the supreme thing. Seek it until you have it; be content with nothing less. Go on until you can say, ‘My preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’ He is still able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers

C.S. Lewis on masturbation and fantasising

2010-03-17T11:58:00.003Z

"For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back; sends the man back to a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions no real woman can rival. Among those shadowy brides he is always adored, always the perfect lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on his vanity. In the end, they become merely the medium though which he increasingly adores himself... And it is not only the faculty of love which is thus sterilised, forced back on itself, but also the faculty of the imagination. The true exercise of imagination in my view, is (a) To help us to understand other people, (b) To respond to, and, some of us, to produce art. But it also has a bad uses: to provide for us, in shadowy form, a substitute for virtues, successes, distinctions, etc. which ought to be sought outside in the real world - e.g. picturing all I'd do if I were rich instead of earning and saving. Masturbation involves this abuse of imagination in erotic matters (which I think bad in itself) and thereby encourages a similar abuse of it in all spheres. After all, almost the main work of life is to come out of ourselves, out of the little, dark prison we are born in. Masturbation is to be avoided as all things are to be avoided when they retard this process. The danger is that of coming to love the prison."

(From a letter to a Mr. Masson dated March 6, 1956)

Piper on infants who die

2010-03-11T11:03:00.001Z

Spurgeon on God's love

2010-03-11T00:03:00.000Z

He loved you without beginning. Before years, and centuries, and millenniums began to be counted, your name was on his heart. Eternal thoughts of love have been in God’s bosom towards you. He has loved you without a pause; there never was a minute in which he did not love you. Your name once engraved upon his hands has never been erased, nor has he ever blotted it out of the Book of Life. Since you have been in this world he has loved you most patiently. You have often provoked him; you have rebelled against him times without number, yet he has never stayed the outflow of his heart towards you; and, blessed be his name, he never will. You are his, and you always shall be his. Jesus saith, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” God’s love to you is without boundary. He could not love you more, for he loves you like a God; and he never will love you less. All his heart belongs to you. “As the Father hath loved me,” saith Jesus, “even so have I loved you.”

Quotes from C.H. Spurgeon - the early years

2010-03-08T17:26:00.001Z

Banner of Truth, 1967

103 I have found, in my own spiritual life, that the more rules I lay down for myself, the more sins I commit.

159 I thought everyone a fool for doing anything except preparing to die.

189 I confess that I frequently sit hour after hour praying and waiting for a subject, and this is the main part of my study… after meditating on [the chosen Bible passage] for my soul’s own comfort – not the professional style of a regular sermon-maker, but feasting upon it for myself. Such simple food has done the people far more good than if I had been a week in manufacturing a sermon, for it has come warm from the heart just after it has been received in my own soul; and therefore it has been well spoken, because well known, well tasted, and well felt.

224 The saved man is not a perfect man, but his heart’s desire is to become perfect.

234 Let every man, called of God to preach the Word, be as his Maker has fashioned him.

263 When I came to New Park Street Chapel, it was but a mere handful of people to whom I first preached, yet I can never forget how earnestly they prayed. Sometimes they seemed to plead as though they could really see the Angel of the covenant present with them, and as if they must have a blessing from Him. More than once, we were all so awe-struck with the solemnity of the meeting that we sat silent for some moments while the Lord’s power appeared to overshadow us; and all I could do on such occasions was to pronounce the Benediction, and say, “Dear friends, we have had the Spirit of God here very manifestly tonight; let us go home, and take care not to lose His gracious influences.” Then came the blessing; the house with filled with hearers, and many souls were saved.

263 There is a confidence in one’s own powers which must ever be of service to those who are called to eminent positions, provided the confidence is well-grounded, seasoned with humility, and attended with that holy gratitude which refers all honour and glory to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. But, at the same time, there is nothing more true than the fact that the self-confident are near a fall, that those who lean on themselves must be overthrown, and that carnal security has but a baseless fabric in which to dwell.

378 Well, I did desire to glorify Christ, I did try to clear my conscience of the blood of all men, I did seek to tell them the whole truth, whether they liked it or not.

446-48 Comments on suffering

Newfrontiers theological papers

2010-03-05T16:36:00.003Z

Papers available when last checked here:

Atonement
Houses that change the world
Euthanasia
Masculinity
Death
Grace and holiness
Spiritual authority in the church
The 'faith' churches
What is a person
The authority of Scripture
Work and career
Christians and politics
The essential gospel

Spurgeon on humility

2010-03-05T16:30:00.000Z

Preach from Proverbs 18:12

Key Scriptures for resisting evil

2010-03-05T16:26:00.001Z

Your position as a Christian

“For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)

Tempted?

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22)

Afraid?

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Attack and defence

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power…” (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Luther on marriage

2010-03-05T16:25:00.000Z

A wife should make her husband happy to come home, and he should make her sad to see him leave."

Preparing people for baptism in the Holy Spirit

2010-03-05T16:24:00.000Z

From a talk by Mike Betts

Faith – do they believe the promise of Acts 2:38-39 is for them? It is a right of a Christian. May require a lot of time for this to sink in. Galatians 3:2. Need to get anticipation up. Don’t rush to pray with them until this has sunk in. People feeling unworthy – well that’s why you need the Spirit!
Repentance (Acts 2:38-39 again, and Acts 19:18) ‘Are you aware in your life of anything that you know is displeasing to God that are willingly holding on to?’ (Don’t go digging around but if there is something it will be something specific). If there’s nothing, then there’s nothing blocking.
Obedience (Acts 5:32) Flip side of repentance: ‘Is they’re anything you’re not doing that you should be?’ (Including ‘Are you willing to speak in tongues?’, issues such as forgiveness – resistance to what God requires).
Thirst (John 7:37). ‘Does it matter to you?’ It’s got to matter, almost to a crisis-point.
Ask (Luke 11:5-13). ‘You’re about to ask for the gift of tongues – do you trust God to take care of you and give you good things?’ Get them to ask God for what they want.
Receiving (Acts 19:2). Illustrations: pour a jug over the lip and the miracle will start (1 Kings 17). ‘I’ll start speaking in tongues and you can join in with me.’ Talk about what it will feel like, questions in your mind etc. Not about filling a glass up once but more about sails being filled with air – an ongoing thing.

Money and giving

2010-03-05T16:04:00.003Z

God owns everything, and I am His money manager

Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Leviticus 25:23 — “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”

Haggai 2:8 — “ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Deuteronomy 8:18 — “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

1 Corinthians 4:2 — “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

Romans 14:10-12 — “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat … each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

My heart always goes where I put God’s money

Ecclesiastes 5:12 — “The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”

Matthew 6:19-21 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Heaven, not Earth, is my permanent home

Philippians 3:20 — “Our citizenship is in heaven.”

Psalm 90:10 — “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

Psalm 39:5b — “Each man’s life is but a breath.”

I should not live merely for the moment but for eternity

Hebrews 11:25-26 — “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”

Giving is the only antidote to materialism

Ecclesiastes 5:10, 13-14 — “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless … I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.”

1 Timothy 6:9-10 — “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

1 Timothy 6:17-18 — “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

God prospers me to raise not my standard of living, but my standard of giving

Malachi 3:10b — “ ‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’ ”

Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 12:33 — “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Acts 20:35 — “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

2 Corinthians 8:7 — “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 — “God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9:10-13 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”

Headings and selection found at www.generousgiving.org

Satan uses sexual desire

2010-03-05T15:59:00.003Z

John Piper preach on 1 Corinthians 7:1-7

Celibacy is a gift to be celebrated
Celibacy is not for everybody
Marriage is a dam against the flood of fornication and adultery because it offers God's way to satisfy sexual desire.
Satan uses sexual desire

Charles Spurgeon: Preaching Through Adversity

2010-03-05T15:55:00.001Z

John Piper's sermon with biographical introduction.

Spurgeon saw his depression as the design of God for the good of his ministry and the glory of Christ.
Very practically Spurgeon supplements his theological survival strategy with God's natural means of survival - his use of rest and nature.
Spurgeon consistently nourished his soul by communion with Christ through prayer and meditation.
Spurgeon rekindled the zeal and passion to preach by fixing his eyes on eternity rather than the immediate price of faithfulness.
For Spurgeon a key to his perseverance in preaching through adversity was that he had settled who he was and would not be paralyzed with external criticism or internal second-guessing.
But in the end, the strength to go on preaching in the midst of adversity and setbacks came for Spurgeon from the assured sovereign triumph of Christ.

Loving the law

2010-03-04T13:20:00.001Z

What the law is for (and what it isn't) by Joe Thorn.

1. In the law we have divine direction.
2. Through the law we uncover our sin.
3. By the law we are led to the gospel.

Leadership not management

2010-02-25T17:03:00.001Z

“If one wants to distinguish leadership and management, one can argue that leadership creates and changes culture, while management and administration act within a culture" (Edgar H. Schein)

Joel on prayer

2010-02-25T12:14:00.002Z

Series posted on The Resurgence blog, includes:

Pray with perspective
Prayer with knowledge
Prayer is rigorous
Prayer is the priority
Prevailing prayer

Interpreting the Bible

2010-02-19T11:29:00.002Z

Updated version of D.A. Carson's essay 'Must I learn how to interpret the Bible?' available here.

Main issue is the question: 'What parts of the Bible are binding mandates for us, and what parts are not?' Twelve suggestions given for working this out:

As conscientiously as possible, seek the balance of Scripture, and avoid succumbing to historical and theological disjunctions.
Recognize that the antithetical nature of certain parts of the Bible, not least some of Jesus’ preaching, is a rhetorical device, not an absolute. The context must decide where this is the case.
Be cautious about absolutizing what is said or commanded only once.
Carefully examine the biblical rationale for any saying or command.
Carefully observe that the formal universality of proverbs and of proverbial sayings is only rarely an absolute universality. If proverbs are treated as statutes or case law, major interpretive—and pastoral!—errors will inevitably ensue.
The application of some themes and subjects must be handled with special care, not only because of their intrinsic complexity, but also because of essential shifts in social structures between biblical times and our own day.
Determine not only how symbols, customs, metaphors, and models function in Scripture, but also to what else they are tied.
Thoughtfully limit comparisons and analogies by observing near and far contexts.
Many mandates are pastorally limited by the occasion or people being addressed.
Always be careful how you apply narratives.
Remember that you, too, are culturally and theologically located.
Frankly admit that many interpretive decisions are nestled within a large theological system, which in principle we must be willing to modify if the Bible is to have the final word.

A church dominated by the gospel

2010-02-16T12:33:00.003Z

Ray Ortlund on what a gospel-centred church is like, including...

"A gospel-centered church preaches a bold message of grace — so bold that it becomes the end of the law for all who believe."

When sinners say "I do"

2010-02-09T12:21:00.001Z

Seminars on marriage from the author of When sinners say "I do" on...

Marriage and sin
Marriage and mercy
Marriage and grace

Why act if God is sovereign?

2010-02-02T10:10:00.001Z

John Piper:

Don’t stop because you can’t. Of course you can’t. But the fact that you can’t make electricity or create light never stops you from flipping light switches. The fact that you can’t create fire in cylinders never stops you from turning the car key. The fact that you can’t create cell tissue never stops you from eating your meals. So don’t let the fact that you can’t cause the new birth stop you from telling the gospel. That is how people are born again—through the living and abiding word, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Thoreau on singleness

2010-01-20T14:30:00.001Z

Henry Thoreau: "A man who goes alone can start today. But he who travels with another must wait until the other is ready."

J.O. Fraser on prayer

2010-01-16T09:53:00.001Z

Bunch of quotes and book recommendation from Terry Virgo.

Christians and art

2010-01-13T13:34:00.002Z

Thoughts based on James S. Spiegel's essay Aesthetics and worship.

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

2010-01-13T13:33:00.003Z

Jim Cymbala's book on how prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit was the foundation for the amazing story of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

In notes. Blog comments here.

The cross

2009-12-27T14:22:00.004Z

Mick Taylor's series on the cross on Steve Tibbert's blog.

Intro: what is penal substitution?
Biblical foundations, part 1: Old Testament
Biblical foundations, part 2: New Testament
Criticisms, new and old
Balance and harmony
Penal substitution is the linchpin
Conclusion and further reading

Newfrontiers and apostles

2009-12-24T10:18:00.003Z

Terry's series on the future of Newfrontiers and apostolic 'spheres':

Is it right to make children behave?

2009-12-10T16:36:00.002Z

John Piper answers the question, 'Why require unregenerate children to act like they’re good?' with three main points:

For children, external, unspiritual conformity to God’s commanded patterns of behavior is better than external, unspiritual non-conformity to those patterns of behavior.
Requiring obedience from children in conformity with God’s will confronts them with the meaning of sin in relation to God, the nature of their own depravity, and their need for inner transformation by the power of grace through the gospel of Christ.
The marks of devotion, civility, and manners (“please,” “thank you,” and good eye contact) are habits that, God willing, are filled later with grace and become more helpful ways of blessing others and expressing a humble heart.

Wright on marriage

2009-12-04T09:52:00.000Z

From Mark for everyone by Tom Wright:

"It's quite clear: the bond of husband and wife creates not merely a partnership or a working agreement but a new entity, a new human being." (p131)

Theological vision for ministry

2009-11-26T13:22:00.002Z

"A statement of how we intend to discharge Christian ministry and interact with our culture in biblical and theological faithfulness" from the Gospel Coalition. Asks five questions:

How should we respond to the cultural crisis of truth? (The epistemological issue)
How should we read the Bible? (The hermeneutical issue)
How should we relate to the culture around us? (The contextualization issue)
In what ways is the gospel unique?
What is gospel–centered ministry?

Carson apologetics videos

2009-11-10T09:36:00.004Z

Three videos here of D.A. Carson on:

How do I know God exists?
How can God allow suffering and evil in the world?
How can God be loving and yet send people to hell?

A young man's suffering

2009-11-09T11:27:00.001Z

Testimony about suffering and the sovereignty of God.

9 Ways to Know the Gospel of Christ Is True

2009-11-09T11:25:00.000Z

From John Piper:

Jesus Christ, as he is presented to us in the New Testament, and as he stands forth from all its writings, is too single and too great to have been invented so uniformly by all these writers.
Nobody has ever explained the empty tomb of Jesus in the hostile environment of Jerusalem where the enemies of Jesus would have given anything to produce the corpse, but could not.
Cynical opponents of Christianity abounded where claims were made that many eyewitnesses were available to consult concerning the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
The early church was an indomitable force of faith and love and sacrifice on the basis of the reality of Jesus Christ.
The prophesies of the Old Testament find stunning fulfillment in the history of Jesus Christ.
The witnesses to Jesus Christ who wrote the New Testament gospels and letters are not gullible or deceitful or demented.
The worldview that emerges from the writings of the New Testament makes more sense out of more reality than any other worldview.
When one sees Christ as he is portrayed truly in the gospel, there shines forth a spiritual light that is a self-authenticating.
When we see and believe the glory of God in the gospel, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that the love of God might be "poured out in our hearts" (Romans 5:5).

John Newton prepares to die

2009-10-30T14:12:00.003Z

From John Newton: from disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken

What is death to a believer in Jesus! It is simply a ceasing to breathe. If we personify it, we may welcome it as a messenger sent to tell us that the days of our mourning are ended and to open to us the gate of everlasting life. The harbingers of death, sickness, pain and conflict are frequently formidable to the flesh but death itself is nothing but a deliverance from them all.

Piper on Lewis on Hell

2009-10-29T14:43:00.001Z

Article here challenging Lewis' assertion that Hell is some people's choice.

Terry on the temple

2009-10-29T14:38:00.001Z

Quote taken from this post:

His own personal presence fulfilled its purpose. His unique, atoning sacrifice would make its sacrificial system obsolete, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the living stones of the Church would consign the Temple to history. At his death, the curtain of the inner sanctuary was torn from top to bottom. God had no further need of this particular building! Never again would it matter whether He was worshipped on this mountain or that (John 4:21). Geography was irrelevant. He now wants to be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth. Temples made with human hands are outdated and irrelevant.

Physical suffering and God's punishment

2009-10-27T09:48:00.003Z

Piper writes about how suffering sometimes correlates with immorality, now and possibly forever.

Hosier's reflections on 40 years of leadership

2009-09-10T14:10:00.001+01:00

John Hosier's thoughts:

1. Have faith in God
2. Pioneer or Persevere?
3. Be convinced
4. Implement the vision
5. Ask more from your people
6. Play to your strengths
7. Preaching and teaching
8. Go for students
9. Beware the latest fad
10. Don’t fret too much about those who leave
11. Use the different ministries
12. Pay attention to team
13. Be flexible
14. Develop an outside interest
15. Jesus before ministry

Carson on salvation and justification

2009-09-10T14:04:00.001+01:00

A paper prepared "for an informal meeting of Catholic and evangelical scholars."

Joy unspeakable

2009-08-18T16:36:00.002+01:00

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on baptism in the Holy Spirit: Joy unspeakable.

Chapter headings:

Baptism with the Spirit and regeneration
Blessed assurance
Something that happens to us
Filled with the Spirit
The sense of His presence
Joy, love, and understanding
Bold to speak
Baptism with the Spirit and sanctification
The sealing of the Spirit
Something worth striving for
Receive the Spirit
Seeking the baptism with the Spirit
When discouragement comes
Blessed are they that mourn
The church and Pentecost
The way to revival

Includes many stories of people's experiences of the Spirit.

On this baptism being a separate, experiential event to conversion…

You can be regenerate [i.e. a Christian] without being baptised with the Holy Spirit… The baptism with the Holy Spirit is always something clear and unmistakable, something which can be recognised by the person to whom it happens and by others who look on at this person.

On being certain that you’re saved…

It is a terrible thing, not only a wrong thing, to confuse saving faith with full assurance of faith… What the Holy Spirit does is make real to us the things which we have believed by faith, the things of which we have had but a kind of indirect certainty only. The Holy Spirit makes these things immediately real.

On how it is impossible to prescribe what baptism in the Spirit should be like…

All these variations [of how the Spirit comes to people in Acts] establish the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ in this entire matter. It is He who is the giver, it is He who is the baptiser. He does so in His own way and in His own time, and we must never lose sight of this all-important principle.

But on what we should expect…

There is not always the noise but there is always the sense of glory, the sense of awe, of the majesty of God; a sense of power, an assurance of salvation. It always leads to greater joy, and always gives boldness to witness.

On why being filled with Spirit is more important than good training and good planning…

[Jesus tells the disciples, surely the best-trained men ever, to stay in Jerusalem until the Spirit fell on them, Acts 1:4] when you look at it like that, you see how utterly ridiculous it has been for the last hundred years for us to put all our emphasis upon academic teaching and learning, as if that is the thing that is most essential to make a preacher… Are you trusting the organising power of the church? Or are you trusting in the power of God to pour out His Spirit upon us again, to revive us, to baptise us anew and afresh with His most blessed Holy Spirit?

On waiting patiently to be filled…

We are a people who always desire some short cuts, some easy method, some kind of ‘package’ blessing. And that is one of the great differences between the Christian literature of this present century and of the Christian church up to about the middle of the last century. People would seek a blessing for years before they received it. But there was purpose in it all; God was dealing with them and leading them along a given path. You will never know the heights of the Christian life without effort.

On the superlative joy of being filled with the Spirit…

The only thing beyond the experience of the baptism with the Spirit is heaven itself.

Help on avoiding legalism

2009-08-18T14:46:00.002+01:00

From Lee Irons:

"The way to avoid legalism is to believe that, as the Law teaches, only the perfectly righteous may be admitted into heaven. This counterintuitive premise accomplishes two things in a single blow: it crushes legalism and clarifies the meaning of grace. First, it crushes legalism because legalism cannot get off the ground unless the standard has first been lowered. But if the Law requires perfect righteousness, clearly the half-baked, imperfect obedience promoted by legalism will not do.

"Second, it clarifies the meaning of grace. Grace is that God provides and accepts the imputed righteousness of Christ, in place of our own inherent righteousness demanded by the Law, as the righteousness by which the unrighteous can attain heaven. Now that’s grace! The true Gospel, then, presupposes the Law as its antithetical counterpart. Otherwise grace is no longer grace."

Piper on mission

2009-08-18T14:35:00.001+01:00

"Go, send, or disobey."

Ortlund on Bible-reading with perspective

2009-08-10T08:53:00.002+01:00

Highlighting the difference between reading under law or in grace here.

Alcorn on the consequences of sexual immorality

2009-06-28T19:27:00.004+01:00

Randy Alcorn writes about the consequences of sexual immorality, highlighting the list he and his fellow-pastor came up with:

Grieving my Lord; displeasing the One whose opinion most matters.
Dragging into the mud Christ's sacred reputation.
Loss of reward and commendation from God.
Having to one day look Jesus in the face at the judgment seat and give an account of why I did it. Forcing God to discipline me in various ways.
Following in the footsteps of men I know of whose immorality forfeited their ministry and caused me to shudder. List of these names:
Suffering of innocent people around me who would get hit by my shrapnel (a la Achan).
Untold hurt to my best friend and loyal wife.
Loss of wife's respect and trust.
Hurt to and loss of credibility with children . ("Why listen to a man who betrayed Mom and us?")
If my blindness should continue or my family be unable to forgive, I could lose my wife and my children forever.
Shame to my family. (The cruel comments of others who would invariably find out.)
Shame to my church family.
Shame and hurt to my fellow pastors and elders. List of names:
Shame and hurt to my friends, and especially those I've led to Christ and discipled. List of names:
Guilt awfully hard to shake—even though God would forgive me, would I forgive myself?
Plaguing memories and flashbacks that could taint future intimacy with my wife.
Disqualifying myself after having preached to others.
Surrender of the things I am called to and love to do—teach and preach and write and minister to others. Forfeiting forever certain opportunities to serve God. Years of training and experience in ministry wasted for a long period of time, maybe permanently.
Being haunted by my sin as I look in the eyes of others, and having it all dredged up again wherever I go and whatever I do.
Undermining the hard work and prayers of others by saying to our community "this is a hypocrite—who can take seriously anything he and his church have said and done?"
Laughter, rejoicing and blasphemous smugness by those who disrespect God and the church (2 Samuel 12:14).
Bringing great pleasure to Satan, the Enemy of God.
Heaping judgment and endless problems on the person I would have committed adultery with.
Possible diseases (pain, constant reminder to me and my wife, possible infection of wife, or in the case of AIDS, even causing her death, as well as mine.)
Possible pregnancy, with its personal and financial implications.
Loss of self-respect, discrediting my own name, and invoking shame and lifelong embarrassment upon myself.

Carson on temptation

2009-06-28T19:24:00.002+01:00

Series available at Gospel Coalition, focussing on:

Adam and Eve
Jospeh
Jesus
Us

Just walk across the room resources

2009-06-24T15:37:00.005+01:00

Highlights

From Brickhill preaching series, 7 - 21 June 2009.

Principles:

It is God who saves.
What we do, we do for love’s sake.
It is normal life.
It requires faith, not a personality transplant.

Jesus made the ultimate walk across the room and calls us to do likewise: John 1:9-14, 20:21.

Many people go on a journey to faith (described by the Engel scale). To play a part in helping someone move from one step to another on this journey is hugely important.

We need to be filled with the Spirit and follow His promptings.

Develop friendships: be yourself, walk across rooms, find common ground. Share life: a two-way process. Discern next steps: ask questions and pray for wisdom to work out what you can do to help someone see that Jesus is the answer to everything.

Let’s carry the fragrance of God everywhere we go: doing good; sharing lives, love and stories.

Telling tales

Think of moments in your life when God has shown His goodness and how you can share these effectively through a story that is short, to the point, comprehensible and true.

The simple structure to follow is: problem, solution, outcome.

Sharing the gospel

We need to know the key elements of the gospel in order to share it appropriately:

God is our loving creator,
We are rebellious creatures,
Jesus came to rescue us from the consequences of our sins and give us new life,
Every person has to respond to this news.

The idea of ‘do’ versus ‘done’ is very important as it teaches us about grace.

A good step-by-step guide is Knowing God personally.

Recommended reading

Just walk across the room, by Bill Hybels.

Evangelism and the sovereignty of God, by J.I. Packer.

Apologetics resources

The purpose of apologetics is to provide good answers to important questions that people ask about Christianity (from 2 Peter 3:15).

Two books I’ve found particularly helpful are The reason for God by Tim Keller, and The case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

The Zacharias Trust is an organisation committed to training people in apologetics.

Apologetics.com and BeThinking.org

Quotes

“My life is in Your hands, God. Use me to point someone toward You today – I promise to cooperate in any way I can. If you want me to say a word for You today, I’ll do that. If you want me to keep quiet but demonstrate love and servanthood, by Your Spirit’s power I will. I’m fully available to you today, so guide me by Your Spirit.” (Bill Hybels, Just walk across the room)

“Major events have a role to play in church life, but the bedrock of gospel ministry is low-key, ordinary, day-to-day work which often goes unseen. Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” (Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total church)

"We're all called to be witnesses for Jesus - but there's a difference between a witness and a lawyer. A witness simply tells the courtroom what they have experienced. A lawyer, on the other hand, has to plead the case. An 'evangelist' is a bit like a lawyer - but not all of us are called to this specific task. However, we are all called to give an account of what we have seen, heard and experienced of God." (J. John, Breaking news)

“We may not trust in our methods of personal dealing or running evangelistic services, however excellent we may think them. There is no magic in methods, not even in theologically impeccable methods. When we evangelise, our trust must be in God who raises the dead. He is the almighty Lord who turns men’s hearts, and He will give conversions in His own time. Meanwhile, our part is to be faithful in making the gospel known, sure that such labour will never be in vain.” (J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the sovereignty of God)

Training and discipleship

2009-06-23T11:31:00.001+01:00

Bible study by Terry Virgo with helpful illustration.

"Christians aren't free. We're slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ and he wants us to respond positively to his training programme."

Pastor Dad

2009-06-23T11:26:00.003+01:00

"Scriptural insights on fatherhood" by Mark Driscoll. Available online as download, to buy.

Driscoll's reading lists

2009-06-17T14:19:00.011+01:00

Mark Driscoll presents reading lists for various topics:

Apologetics: introduction and methods, general, cults and world religions

Bible as Christian literature

Bible, making sense of

Biblical inspiration and authority

Church

Counselling

The cross

The cross, living in light of

Creation, science, and evolution

Faith to inherit

2009-06-11T13:49:00.007+01:00

Series by Terry Virgo:

Part 1: Faith and patience."To our surprise, the book of Hebrews tells us to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb. 6:12). Faith, it seems, does not operate only in the realm of the immediate, the here and now. In fact the faith that the Bible often highlights and celebrates is the faith that has to wait, yet keep believing."

Part 2: Don't be sluggish.

Part 3: Making the most of waiting. "Delay is not like the commercial time on TV – time to flick through the channels; time for short-term distractions until returning to the plot. Delay is part of the plot! Delay is God’s way of proving you, testing you to see what’s in your heart."

Part 4: What's in your heart? "It’s not for me to know why God tests you when He already knows you through and through. Your responsibility is to live this life in reverent fear and holy joy, trusting Him with every unexpected turn in the road and believing that the One who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all is not careless or capricious. He is not heartless or indifferent, putting us through pains that we don’t need to bear and delays that we don’t have to endure."

Using the Torah in today's society

2009-06-11T13:07:00.002+01:00

James K. Hoffmeier, professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, asked by Justin Taylor about taking guidelines from the Torah and applying them to contemporary society and circumstances:

"Direct application of OT laws is not easy, nor even desirable in a secular society. Christians are not under the OT law as were members of the old covenant community, but as Paul reminds us regarding the events recorded in the OT: “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11). Minimally one can look for the theological or moral principles behind the laws, and then apply them through the lens of NT doctrine."

Two rules for prayer

2009-06-05T17:14:00.002+01:00

RC Sproul states that there are two rules to keep when praying:

You should remember who is being addressed and who is doing the speaking.

That is, the first thing you are to remember in prayer is who it is you're talking to, because nothing will condition your prayer life more deeply than remembering that you're in conversation with God, the sovereign Creator and ruler of the universe.

Second, you are to remember who you are. You are not God. You are a creature. So prayer is not a conversation between peers; it is not a fireside chat among equals. This is the creature speaking to his sovereign Creator.

How Spurgeon responded to personal attacks

2009-06-05T17:05:00.001+01:00

"If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, for you are worse than he thinks you to be. If he charges you falsely on some point, yet be satisfied, for if he knew you better he might change the accusation, and you would be no gainer by the correction. If you have your moral portrait painted and it is ugly, be satisfied, for it only needs a few blacker touches, and it would be still nearer the truth."

Advice for newly-weds

2009-06-04T17:00:00.002+01:00

Suggestions from friends...

"The first 15 years are the worst"

“Keep Jesus central, always give time for communication and never stop courting.”

“The battle to keep God central in your marriage is definitely real but it's definitely one worth fighting for. (I didn't realise until I got married that most married couples struggle to do this.)”

“You can't change your spouse and the sooner you stop trying the quicker you'll learn to love them just as they are.”

“Good communication is so helpful and so important.”

“Have fun and create great memories together.”

“She needs to watch trashy detective programmes he needs to watch Match of the Day. Get over it.”

“1. Nothing competes with sex except prayer. 2. Nothing competes with prayer except sex (Based on 1 Corinthians 7, and the 7:7 challenge)

“1. Read The marriage book by Nicky and Sila Lee together. 2. Get a kingsize duvet...it's significantly bigger than a double and will prevent countless arguments. 3. Pray together lots. 4. Laugh together lots. 5. Don't play board games on your honeymoon...it'll only end in tears!”

“Train them up the way you want them to be!”

“Know that the rose-coloured spectacles will fade but what you discover will be like gold so long as you acknowledge and respect each other’s differences.”

“Always keep the lines of communication open because once they close they are difficult to reopen.”

“1. Find a regular ‘dating’ time every week- especially when children come along. 2. Forgive at least three times a day- or should that be thirty? (Read Choosing Forgiveness by John and Paula Sandford) 3. This person should be your best friend. How does that work?”

“Cultivate good habits”

“Like a good wine, marriage tastes great at the beginning but continues to improve with age…”

“Patience, love, patience, forgiveness, relax, don't keep a record of wrongs, more patience, be open to being different but embrace oneness, honesty, make time for one another, don't stop doing what you always did (dates, meals), patience, encouragement . . . . . and enjoy the journey!”

“Understanding what love really is - a decision to put someone first rather than just a soppy feeling. There’s a rather corny story called ‘Don’t hope, decide’ which makes this point.”

“The best piece of advice I was given was to keep my sense of humour – I've definitely needed it!

“Make your home where you have fun, relax, enjoy God together and everybody feels God’s love.”

“I think the one piece of advice I'd give at the moment (because it's something I'm trying to learn!) is to unashamedly, vigorously and deliberately make sure you have quality time for each other. Don't let business, work, ministry, emails or anything else rob you of each other!”

“The first thing that immediately came into my mind was the word 'listen' and then when I thought about it I added a word 'listen carefully'! Perhaps in the first flush of a relationship and even in the early days, months or even years of marriage this is not an issue as the other person is not only interesting but there is still much to learn about one another. Over time as a couple get to know each other this is both good, and not so good. It is good when both agree about a situation without having to have a huge discussion because they know each other so well - the disadvantage is that it tends to preclude the need for discussion, and that is not always so good! So get into the good habit of listening carefully to one another from the start.”

One friend really went for it:

“The apostle Paul says some stuff about marriage but the main thing he says is that marriage is to show the rest of the world what God is like. Make sure your marriage is prophetic like this (i.e. it reveals God's character to others). If you have tough times, it will almost certainly be because one or both of you have forgotten what your marriage is meant to be a picture of.

“So, the reason marriage is for keeps is because Jesus is absolutely faithful. So if you're unfaithful in marriage, it says Jesus or the church is unfaithful. If you're a harsh husband, it paints the picture of God being harsh. If you're an nagging or domineering woman, it suggests that it's OK for the church to complain or boss Jesus around.

“I cannot leave my wife without lying about what God is like. Will Jesus disown or abandon the church? No and so neither must a husband abandon or disown a wife. If I beat her up or shout at her or get impatient with her, I'm lying about how Jesus loves the church and laid His life down for her, how He tends her as if she were His own body (which of course, at a deep level, she actually is).

“A husband and a wife have a special privilege and responsibility having not only been made in God's image - male and female - but also joined together by Him to demonstrate the profound mystery of Christ and the church, of which marriage is meant to be an emblem.

“It all sounds very theological and theoretical and doesn't sound particularly practical until you start living the principle out in your marriage. Then it amazingly becomes about as practical as it can get. If you want a marriage to succeed, take your eyes of yourselves and make its purpose be about Jesus and the Church. If you can believe it, Jesus is the main reason for being married, not companionship, sex and procreation.”

Certainty and openness

2009-06-02T15:02:00.001+01:00

Mark Driscoll calls this "open-hand/closed-hand". Ray Ortlund comments really helpfully here, including this:

The Bible is our authority as we sort out what deserves certainty and what deserves openness. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 defines the gospel of Christ crucified for our sins, Christ buried and Christ risen again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, as "of first importance." Here is the center of our certainty.

From that "of first importance" theological address, we move out toward the whole range of theological and practical questions asking for our attention. The more clearly our logic connects with that center, the more certain and the less open we should be. The further our thinking extrapolates from that center, the less certain and the more open we should be.

When a question cannot be addressed by a clear appeal to the Bible, our conclusions should be all the more modest.

Grace bids me fly and gives me wings

2009-05-29T10:10:00.002+01:00

John Bunyan's wonderful summary of law and grace:

Run, John, run. The law commands
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
Better news the gospel brings;
It bids me fly and gives me wings.

Carson's poem about the incarnation

2009-05-28T13:57:00.002+01:00

Published by Justin Taylor

Before there was a universe,

Before a star or planet,

When time had still not yet begun --

I scarcely understand it --

Th' eternal Word was with his God,

God's very Self-Expression;

Th' eternal Word was God himself --

And God had planned redemption.

The Word became our flesh and blood --

The stuff of his creation --

The Word was God, the Word was flesh,

Astounding incarnation!

But when he came to visit us,

We did not recognize him.

Although we owed him everything

We haughtily despised him.

In days gone by God showed himself

In grace and truth to Moses;

But in the Word of God made flesh

Their climax he discloses.

For grace and truth in fullness came

And showed the Father's glory

When Jesus donned our flesh and died:

This is the gospel story.

All who delighted in his name,

All those who did receive him,

All who by grace were born of God,

All who in truth believed him --

To them he gave a stunning right:

Becoming God's dear children!

Here will I stay in grateful trust;

Here will I fix my vision.

Before there was a universe,

Before a star or planet,

When time had still not yet begun --

I scarcely understand it --

Th' eternal Word was with his God,

God's very Self-Expression;

Th' eternal Word was God himself --

And God had planned redemption.

Jerry Bridges on grace

2009-05-14T15:54:00.001+01:00

From The discipline of grace:

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.

And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they have earned God’s blessing through their behaviour. Guilt-laden believers are quite sure they have forfeited God’s blessing through their lack of discipline or their disobedience. Both have forgotten the meaning of grace because they have moved away from the gospel and have slipped into a performance relationship with God.

HT: Justin Taylor

Conviction or accusation?

2009-05-14T13:35:00.002+01:00

Some helpful biblical distinctions from Ray Ortlund:

1. The Holy Spirit puts his finger on a specific sin I have committed, something concrete I can own and confess, but the accusations of Satan are vague and simply demoralizing.

2. The Holy Spirit shows me Christ, the mighty Friend of sinners, but the devil wants me spiraling down into negative self-focus.

3. The Holy Spirit leads me to a threshold of new life, but the devil wants to paralyze me where I am.

4. The Holy Spirit brings peace of heart along with a new hatred of sin, so that I bow before Jesus in reconsecration, but the devil offers peace of mind with smug relief, so that I fold my arms and say, "There, that's over with."

5. The Holy Spirit helps me to be so open to God that I allow him to control the conversation, but the devil tempts me to take off the table certain questions I just don't want God to talk to me about.

Simplied missional living

2009-05-05T15:15:00.002+01:00

From an article by Jonathan Dodson:

Eat with non-Christians

Walk, don’t drive

Be a regular

Hobby with non-Christians

Talk to your co-workers.

Volunteer with a charity.

Participate in city events

Serve your neighbours.

Five things that are true about every child

2009-05-05T15:14:00.001+01:00

From a talk by Paul Tripp.

1. They were created by God to be revelation receivers.

They were never wired to figure life out on their own. You'll never ever know the things you need to know by just using the process of human discovery. You have to have supernatural revelation.

2. They are by nature interpreters.

Human beings do not live life based on the facts of our experience. We live life based upon the interpretation of the facts. We're meaning makers.

3. They are worshipers.

Human experience is not the most essential thing about the human experience. Worship is. It's what we're born doing and what we continue to do all of our lives.

4. They are hard-wired to seek glory.

We're glory oriented. Glory is why we like chocolate mousse cake and great movies and the last quarter of basketball games. And glory is why we exalt ourselves over others around us: we want to get as much as we can for ourselves.

5. They are self-focused and self-obsessed.

Sin causes us to shrink our lives down to the claustrophobic confines of our lives, our wants and our needs. It makes us incapable of loving anyone else.

God Is Writing Our Story, Not Us

Because these 5 things are true of all of us, as God is writing the story of our lives, we're always inclined to try and take the pen from him so we can write it ourselves.

The Bible is one long story with God's notes. Ministry to children—or ministry to anyone else—means helping them forsake the urge to write their own story, and accept instead that God is the author. Then their story will be embedded in God's larger story of redemption, so that in every circumstance they recognize that their life is about and for God.

Seven ideas for teaching toddlers God's Word

2009-05-05T15:12:00.001+01:00

From Abraham Piper:

1. Have an open Bible on your lap during story time. This reinforces where the story comes from—God's word.

2. Use short sentences and few words. Too many words overwhelm young minds.

3. Be animated in your facial expressions and tone of voice. This will help keep children engaged.

3. Incorporate movement into the story and singing. Children this age need to move their bodies. Movement helps them learn and remember what you're teaching them.

4. Create routines during the story/circle times by using songs, finger plays, etc.

5. Use repetition to cement biblical concepts in children's hearts and minds.

6. Keep it short and sweet. A story time of 5-10 minutes is the maximum children this age can attend to and sit for.

Seven principles of prayer

2009-05-05T15:10:00.001+01:00

As noted by D. Broughton Knox:

- Relationship

- Recognition

- Request

- Repetition

- Resignation

- Rejoicing

- Realization

Tozer on relationship with God

2009-04-30T15:50:00.002+01:00

"We have almost forgotten that God is a Person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can."

From The pursuit of God (full text available via that link).

What Christ achieved on the cross

2009-04-15T14:23:00.001+01:00

Highlighted by Justin Taylor.

Christ was all anguish
that I might be all joy,

cast off
that I might be brought in,

trodden down as an enemy
that I might be welcomed as a friend,

surrendered to hell’s worst
that I might attain heaven’s best,

stripped
that I might be clothed,

wounded
that I might be healed,

athirst
that I might drink,

tormented
that I might be comforted,

made a shame
that I might inherit glory,

entered darkness
that I might have eternal light.

My Saviour wept
that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,

groaned
that I might have endless song,

endured all pain
that I might have unfading health,

bore a thorny crown
that I might have a glory-diadem,

bowed his head
that I might uplift mine,

experienced reproach
that I might receive welcome,

closed his eyes in death
that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,

expired
that I might for ever live.

O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me,
All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished;
Help me to adore thee by lips and life.
O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight

Bonhoeffoer on Christian Living

2009-04-15T14:22:00.001+01:00

Highlighted by John Piper:

"The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call."

The restoration of all things

2009-04-03T09:41:00.000+01:00

Terry Virgo writes about the glorious future God has prepared.

J.I. Packer speaks to new Christians

2009-03-31T12:30:00.000+01:00

JI Packer Speaks To New Christians from Mike Anderson on Vimeo.

What the church is for

2009-03-25T16:38:00.003Z

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on what the church is for:

The primary task of the Church is not to educate man, is not to heal him physically or psychologically.... I will go further; it is not even to make him good. These are things that accompany salvation; and when the Church performs her true task she does incidentally educate men and give them knowledge and information...she does make them good and better than they were. But my point is that those are not her primary objectives. Her primary purpose is not any of these; it is rather to put man into the right relationship with God, to reconcile man to God.

We can't do everything!

2009-03-12T12:43:00.002Z

Bishop Ken Untener (though often attributed to Oscar Romero, Bishop of El Salvador) wrote:

"We cannot do everything. And there is a sense of liberation in realising that this enables us to do something and do it very well. It may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are the workers not the master builders, we are the ministers not messiahs, we are the prophets of a future not our own."