May 2008 Archive
Next Year Treat Your Pastor to The Basics (05/14/08 - 6 Comments)
The Basics conference is just wrapping up with a Q & A session involving the three speakers (Alistair Begg, Jerry Bridges and Voddie Baucham). They are answering questions put to them by the people attending the conference. Questions have varied from the spiritual qualifications of men and women who serve in worship teams, to the place of parachurch ministries in the life of the church, to the reason there is no cross at the front...
The Basics Conference - Alistair Begg (2) (05/14/08 - 1 Comments)
This morning Alistair Begg continued the message he began yesterday. In the first message he covered the first point and today he covered the final two. The Method The tools of the trade are words and the ministry we exercise is a ministry of the Word, proclaiming Christ as the living Word, by using words. Even a casual survey of church history shows that whenever the church has lost sight of the importance of the...
The Basics Conference - Jerry Bridges (2) (05/13/08 - 2 Comments)
Tonight Jerry Bridges provided his second address, this one look to 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 which says “For the love of Christ controls us [that we] live might no longer live for [our]selves but for him who for [our] sake died and was raised.” He continued to speak on the theme of preaching the gospel to ourselves. And in this case he taught that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves because it reminds...
The Basics Conference - Voddie Baucham (2) (05/13/08 - 0 Comments)
This morning ended with Voddie Baucham preaching his second message to us. In this message he wanted to ask Why do we preach what we preach? Why should we remain committed to preaching the gospel? Why should we make up our minds that this is all we will preach? There are so many other things that people are turning to. Why shouldn’t we turn to some of these other things? He turned again to 2...
The Basics Conference - Alistair Begg (05/13/08 - 6 Comments)
I love the relaxed pace of The Basics conference. Some conferences are almost frantic in their pacing; this one is relaxed and subdued. I like it! It makes for a very pleasant experience. This morning brought us Alistair Begg’s first message. For this message and the next his text will be 2 Corinthians 4. He began with an explanation of why he chose this text and how he approached it (and though this may sound...
The Basics Conference - Voddie Baucham (05/12/08 - 6 Comments)
In this evening’s session (and after a wonderful dinner or barbeque ribs and chicken) Voddie Baucham preached from 2 Timothy. He expressed great affection for the book of 2 Timothy pointing out that it is written by a man who is about to die; he is about to be martyred. There are two striking things in the book: first, he asks Timothy to come to him quickly. He is about to die and desperately wants...
The Basics Conference - Jerry Bridges (05/12/08 - 4 Comments)
Here I am in Cleveland to take in The Basics conference. I drove up here with my friend Jason and after an early start we arrived just around noon. We ate at a local restaurant and I continued my strategy (borrowed from Thabiti Anyabwile) of always asking the server just to bring me whatever she thinks I’d enjoy. So far it has proven a good strategy. I recommend trying it! The conference began at 3...
The Basics Conference (05/12/08 - 8 Comments)
I am off to Cleveland in just a few moments. I’ll be attending The Basics Conference which is held at Parkside Church (which is, of course, pastored by Alistair Begg). Cleveland is somewhere around five hours away by car so I decided to drive rather than fly. I will be there until the conference wraps up Wednesday at around noon. If you could remember me in prayer, I’d be grateful. Not only would do I...
A Family Prayer (05/11/08 - 6 Comments)
I went looking this morning for a prayer for Mother's Day. I guess the Puritans didn't celebrate Mother's Day (wasn't Hallmark around back then?) but I did find this prayer for the family in The Valley of Vision. It is called simply "Family." O SOVEREIGN LORD, Thou art the Creator-Father of all men, for thou hast made and dost support them; Thou art the special Father of those who know, love and honour thee, who...
April Book Giveaway Winners (05/10/08 - 2 Comments)
A week ago I announced a giveaway of some great books. Today I want to wrap that up and announce the winners. This month’s sponsor was Reformation Heritage Books. RHB publishes and distributes Puritan and Reformed books. Soli Deo Gloria Publications, which you know as a publisher that has done more than just about any other organization to bring Puritan writings back into print is now under the direction of Reformation Heritage. The Prizes 3rd...
Book Review - The Irresistible Revolution (05/09/08 - 29 Comments)
Love him or hate him, it is tough to accuse Shane Claiborne of being an armchair quarterback. He is not a man who seeks to convince people to do something that he is unwilling to do himself. Instead he calls Christians to live as radicals while he himself lives in a radically counterculture way. Claiborne is one of the founders of The Simple Way, a small but increasingly high-profile ministry among the poor in Philadelphia....
Reading Classics Together - The Seven Sayings (Chapter 2) (05/08/08 - 12 Comments)
Today those of us who are reading some Christian classics together are going to be looking at the second chapter of A.W. Pink’s The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. You can read more about this effort here: Reading the Classics Together. Two weeks ago we began our eight-week study of this book by looking at the Introduction to the book and last week we read the first chapter which dealt with Jesus’...
All Men Are Equal Down at the Cross (05/07/08 - 18 Comments)
Yesterday I wrote about sin, asking if sin is primarily something we do or something we are. Some questions arose in light of that article and I wanted to carry on a bit of discussion by looking further at the doctrine of human depravity. I have shared most of this in the past but felt it was well worth covering again. It is easy to see this doctrine as one that is terribly depressing and...
The Evangelical Manifesto (05/07/08 - 17 Comments)
You have probably heard about the Evangelical Manifesto—a document that has received some attention in the press over the past few days. This manifesto was made public for the first time just a few minutes ago and is now publicly available at anevangelicalmanifesto.com. According to those who drafted the document, “The two-fold purpose of this declaration is first to address the confusions and corruptions that attend the term Evangelical in the United States and much...
Sin: What We Do or What We Are? (05/06/08 - 33 Comments)
As anyone knows who has studied the life of Jonathan Edwards, he dedicated a large portion of his ministry to thinking, writing and teaching about the freedom of the will. And, of course, he eventually published a classic work dealing with the subject. In writing the book he thought back to the days when revival had swept his church, his community and the area around it. And as he reflected on the individuals who had...
Books and Beefsteaks (05/05/08 - 18 Comments)
Here is a quote from Mortimer Adler, author of the classic How to Read a Book. In this piece he explains the importance of making a book your own. There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property right you establish by paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. But this act of purchase is only the prelude to possession. Full ownership comes only...
Book Review - Rapture Ready (05/05/08 - 18 Comments)
It is no secret that Christians have a subculture all of their own. It is an expansive subculture that for some people can encompass almost every area of life. From music to television, movies to sports, Christians can enjoy all manner of entertainment, all of it “blessed” by one Christian organization or another. While the majority of non-Christians are generally unfamiliar with this subculture, I have come across some for whom it presents something of...
How We Kept Mother's Day (05/04/08 - 13 Comments)
On a couple of occasions I’ve posted short stories by Stephen Leacock. Well, one of my favorite Leacock tales is this one that he tells about Mother’s Day. It seemed appropriate today since we’re just a week away from the occasion. I plan to make sure that my family treats Aileen at least this well next Sunday. You’ll want to do same. One year our family decided to have a special celebration of Mother’s Day,...
Saturday Miscellania (05/03/08 - 2 Comments)
It is a rainy Saturday afternoon here in the Toronto area. I’m supposed to be heading out to coach a baseball practice at 2 PM but it’s looking rather doubtful at the moment. It seems like the kids are going to head into their first game with only one practice under their proverbial belts. It should be an interesting game to say the least. I’d guess at least 2 out of every 3 outs will...
Book Review - "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan (05/02/08 - 16 Comments)
There are many voices critiquing the North American church today. The voices come from both within and without; from those who love the church and those who hate it. We all know that there is something wrong. But what? In many cases the prescription is the same while the cure varies widely. In his new book Crazy Love, first-time author Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, regular speaker at Passion conferences...
Thinking Christianly About Economic Stimulus Payments (05/01/08 - 24 Comments)
The Economic Stimulus Payment is on its way. In the coming weeks Americans will be receiving a check, courtesy of the government. Eligible people will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples), and parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17. This is going to be quite the windfall for many families. John Piper recently wrote a short blog post he entitled Economic Stimulus Payment & Christ in which...
Reading Classics Together - The Seven Sayings (Chapter 1) (05/01/08 - 17 Comments)
Today those of us who have embarked on a project to read some Christian classics together are going to be looking at the first chapter of A.W. Pink’s The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. You can read more about this effort here: Reading the Classics Together. Last week we began our eight-week study of this book by looking at the Introduction to the book. This week we move on to the first...
