May 2010

Connected Kingdom Podcast, Episode 7

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/26/10

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A day late because of the long weekend up here in Canada, here is episode 7 of the Connected Kingdom. This week I had a neighbor sitting in “studio” with me, video taping the proceedings for a little “day in the life” he is putting together about me (to tell the truth, I don’t even totally understand what he’s doing, but I’m happy to let him into my life, boring though it may be). That got David and me thinking about the concept of a day in the life of a Christian and so we dedicated this show to discussing what it means to live as a Christian with a gospel focus on every area of life, from waking to sleeping and everything in between. I hope you’ll find it useful as you think about how Christians live lives that are not just marked by the gospel but that are transformed by the gospel.

If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or another program. As always, feedback and suggestions for future topics are much appreciated.

A La Carte (5/26)

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/26/10
  • 5

Mark Twain to Reveal All - “Exactly a century after rumours of his death turned out to be entirely accurate, one of Mark Twain’s dying wishes is at last coming true: an extensive, outspoken and revelatory autobiography which he devoted the last decade of his life to writing is finally going to be published.” (HT:Phil Johnson)

Eternal Perspectives Ministries - Randy Alcorn and his Eternal Perspectives Ministries have a nice new web site. You’ll want to check it out at epm.org.

A Primer on Roman Catholicism - Over at the Ligonier blog we are serializing a booklet by John Gerstner in which he explains Roman Catholic theology, focusing on the issue of justification. It is a good and helpful series to begin to understand the key differences.

A Matter of Trust - This article explains a couple of the ways that Google collects data about you. And this one tells you why you shouldn’t trust Facebook’s recent “apology.” I know I’ve been posting a fair number of this kind of link lately, but privacy is quickly becoming one of the most important online issues and I think it’s worth knowing about some of the collection points of your personal information.

Book Review - Bonhoeffer

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/25/10
  • 14

Bonhoeffer by Eric MetaxasIt was several years ago now that I began meeting regularly with a few Christian guys who live in this area. We would read through good books and then get together once a week to discuss them. Every Friday morning at 6(!) AM, we would meet in a local coffee shop and spend time dissecting and digesting classic books. It was in this effort, in this precursor to Reading Classics Together, that I first encountered Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Cost of Discipleship was the second book we read together, moving through it week by week, chapter by chapter. Like so many people before and since, I was introduced to the man by what most people consider his greatest work.

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A La Carte (5/25)

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/24/10
  • 7

Pornography: The Difference Being a Parent Makes - Al Moher: Steve Jobs is a businessman of unquestioned ability, a technological wizard, and one of the greatest orchestrators of ‘cool’ in world history. Nevertheless, he has not been known as a critic of pornography … until now.

Moishe Rosen, 1932 - 2010 - Ray Ortlund writes about Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, who went to be with the Lord last week. The New York Times writes about him as well.

Can an Individual Interpret Scripture? - Mounce answers this question. “2 Pet 1:20-21 are important verses for our doctrine of Scripture, and so it should come as no surprise that there are some differences of opinion on the meaning of the passage.”

Nike has taken the wraps off their big World Cup advertisement. I find it very interesting from this perspective: could an “outsider” look at this ad and think it’s anything but idolatry? Are we not making these men into gods? It is a brilliant ad, not doubt, but seems to highlight the way we idolize athletes and athletics today.

Victoria Day

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/24/10
  • 6

Today is known as Victoria Day up here in the Great White North. Way back in the middle of the nineteenth century Canada declared this day, May 24, a holiday, in honor of Queen Victoria’s birthday. And after she died it was officially established as a national holiday. Since then, “May Twenty-Four” as it’s known colloquially, has become Canada’s unofficial start to summer. This is typically the weekend when people head to their cottages for the first time and when those who stay behind get started on their gardens (since by now it’s pretty much a sure thing that there won’t be any more frost at night). Traditions on the day involve barbecues, beer and fireworks (not always the best combination). Many people refer to the day as “May Two-Four,” a reference to a case of beer.

This year has been especially warm and today is supposed to be beautiful—around 25 degrees (that’s 80 for you Americans) and sunny. It’s about the perfect weather for a day away from the desk; a good day to pick up the year’s first sun burn.

My plans today involve a little bit of reading, a little bit of writing, a little bit of hanging around and maybe a bike ride with the kids. Later in the day I’ll be heading out with the family to spend the evening with some friends. It’s got all the makings of a good day.

To keep you occupied as you go about your daily toil (you Americans can make fun of me in turn next week when you have Memorial Day) here are a few interesting and/or amusing things to read.

Creator or Curator - David Murray offers some good thoughts on the difference between preachers who are creators and preachers who are curators.

Crackdown in Bangkok - A series of powerful photos from Thailand.

The Black Keys to Amazing Grace - Thabiti posts an interesting video that includes a great rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

Pray for a Cure - There’s a Bible for everything and everyone. The Pray for a Cure Bible stands as further proof.

Football’s for Girls - But hockey’s for men. First, here’s a story about Duncan Keith, a good Canadian boy, who lost seven teeth in a hockey game…and just kept playing. And then here’s a commercial about soccer/football.

Why Memorize Scripture?

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/23/10
  • 33

A friend recently sent me an old article from John Piper entitled “Why Memorize Scripture?” Memorizing passages of the Bible is something I’ve developed more of an interest in over the past couple of years and, to my surprise, I’ve found that I’m actually able to do it—even to memorize extended sections if I am willing to put in the effort (not always a sure bet).

Piper offers a list of reasons why we should memorize Scripture. They are:

  1. Conformity to Christ - Bible memorization has the effect of making our gaze on Jesus steadier and clearer.
  2. Daily Triumph over Sin - As sin lures the body into sinful action, we call to mind a Christ-revealing word of Scripture and slay the temptation with the superior worth and beauty of Christ over what sin offers.
  3. Daily Triumph over Satan - When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness he recited Scripture from memory and put Satan to flight.
  4. Comfort and Counsel for People You Love - When the heart full of God’s love can draw on the mind full of God’s word, timely blessings flow from the mouth.
  5. Communicating the Gospel to Unbelievers - Actual verses of the Bible have their own penetrating power. And when they come from our heart, as well as from the Book, the witness is given that they are precious enough to learn.
  6. Communion with God in the Enjoyment of His Person and Ways - The way we commune with (that is, fellowship with) God is by meditating on his attributes and expressing to him our thanks and admiration and love, and seeking his help to live a life that reflects the value of these attributes.

These are six really good reasons. On the flip side, I suspect that the primary reason most of us do not commit more Scripture to memory is simply the difficulty involved. It is a difficult and time-consuming process to take those words and force them into our minds.

So how about you? Is Scripture memorization a part of your routine? Is it something you do as a regular part of your devotion to the Lord?

Resisting Christ's Mercy

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/22/10
  • 19

This week, while reading Richard Sibbes’ The Bruised Reed, I came across a quote I wanted to share with you. Here Sibbes offers a sharp warning against anyone who would resist Christ’s mercy. There are not too many people today who will preach what he teaches here.

There are those who take it on themselves to cast water on those sparks which Christ labors to kindle in them, because they will not be troubled with the light of them. Such must know that the Lamb can be angry, and that they who will not come under his scepter of mercy shall be crushed in pieces by his scepter of power (Psa. 2:9). Though he will graciously tend and maintain the least spark of true grace, yet where he finds not the spark of grace but opposition to his Spirit striving with them, his wrath, once kindled, shall burn to hell. There is no more just provocation than when kindness is churlishly refused.

When God would have cured Babylon, and she would not be cured, then she was given up to destruction (Jer. 51:9). When Jerusalem would not be gathered under the wing of Christ, then their habitation is left desolate (Matt. 23:37,38). When wisdom stretches out her hand and men refuse, then wisdom will laugh at men’s destruction (Prow. 1:26). Salvation itself will not save those that spill the medicine and cast away the plaster. It is a pitiful case, when this merciful Saviour shall delight in destruction; when he that made men shall have no mercy on them (Isa. 27:11).

Oh, say the rebels of the time, God has not made us to damn us. Yes, if you will not meet Christ in the ways of his mercy, it is fitting that you should ‘eat of the fruit of your own way, and be filled with your own devices’ (Prow. 1:31). This will be the hell of hell, when men shall think that they have loved their sins more than their souls; when they shall think what love and mercy has been enforced upon them, and yet they would perish. The more accessory we are in pulling a judgment upon ourselves, the more the conscience will be confounded in itself. Then they shall acknowledge Christ to be without any blame, themselves without any excuse.

If men appeal to their own consciences, they will tell them that the Holy Spirit has often knocked at their hearts, as willing to have kindled some holy desires in them. How else can they be said to resist the Holy Ghost, but that the Spirit was readier to draw them to a further degree of goodness than was consistent with their own wills? Therefore those in the church that are damned are self condemned before. So that here we need not rise to higher causes, when men carry sufficient cause in their own bosoms.

Harsh words? Yes, they are. But necessarily so.

Free Stuff Fridays

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/21/10
  • 6

Free Stuff Fridays

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Crossway, I name I know you’re familiar with (and, according to the survey results from a couple of weeks ago, the publisher you, the readers of this site, trust most).

Earlier in the week Crossway sponsored a post here, letting you know about four of their new books. Today they are giving away five prize packages, each of which contains all four of those titles. That means five winners will receive Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian, Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey, What Did You Expect? by Paul David Tripp and Doctrine by Mark Driscoll. That’s not a bad haul! And all you need to do for your chance to win is add your name and email address to the form below.

Crossway Books

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, you can click here and find a brief description of each. After Crossway mentioned these four books I took a poll to see if you’d like me to read and review one of them. The poll results were clear: you want me to review Mark Driscoll’s Doctrine, so I’ll be sure to do that in the weeks ahead. I have heard lots of good things about it.

Here is what the publisher says about the book: “Doctrine is the word Christians use to define the truth-claims revealed in Holy Scripture. Of course there is a multitude of churches, church networks, and denominations, each with their own doctrinal statement with many points of disagreement. But while Christians disagree on a number of doctrines, there are key elements that cannot be denied by anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus. In Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, Driscoll and Breshears teach thirteen of these key elements. This meaty yet readable overview of basic doctrine will help Christians clarify and articulate their beliefs in accordance with the Bible.”

Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

A La Carte (5/21)

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/21/10
  • 9

How Cul-de-Sacs Are Killing Your Community - Here’s an interesting article on how cul-de-sacs have impacted your community. Who’d have thought? (HT:T-Wax)

Keith Green: The Movie - “Nearly 30 years after Christian-rock pioneer Keith Green died in a plane crash, his widow and a Hollywood producer have teamed up to bring his story to the big screen in the hope of introducing a new generation to his music.”

Self-Realization or Self-Gift? - A good article from Boundless. “The prevailing social script provides a straightforward answer to my dilemma: Get education, get established in career, get financially established, and only then get married. (Of course, a hike across the globe is acceptable, even preferred, any time in between.) With relatively prosperous parents to support us, leisure time to spare, and an interconnected globe to explore, young adults today have the luxury of a cornucopia of options that a typical middle class young adult did not have in earlier American periods.”

Randy Alcorn on Kids and Pornography:

The Gospel vs Religion - Justin Buzzard shares a chart from Tim Keller’s Gospel in Life curriculum. It contrasts religion with the gospel.

Google TV - Google continues searching for total media dominance with their newly-announced Google TV:

Reading Classics Together: The Bruised Reed (VI)

  • Tim Challies
  • 05/20/10
  • 12

It’s Thursday again, which means we’re continuing our reading through The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. We are quickly drawing near to the end of this book—something that happens quickly when reading two chapters at a time. Another two or three weeks and we will be finished.

Summary

For some reason I found both of this week’s chapters more difficult than the ones that had come before. Somehow they seemed just a little bit less clear in their purpose. I’m guessing the fault is with me more than with Sibbes. Nevertheless, I did find it quite tough to orient myself.

In the first chapter Sibbes writes about people who offend Christ by in some way thinking little of his mercy. So he points to those who have a false despair of Christ’s mercy, those who have a false hope of his mercy, those who resist Christ’s mercy, those who presume upon that mercy, those who seek another source of mercy, those who mistreat the heirs of mercy, those who cause strife among the heirs of mercy, those who take advantage of the bruised and, finally, those who despise Christ’s simple means of mercy.

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