Results tagged “gospel”
The Gospel: The Key to Parenting (09/30/09 - 21 Comments)
Last week I reviewed Bill Farley's new book Gospel-Powered Parenting. I recommended it highly, saying it had "just the right combination of affirmation (your struggles are universal struggles, your joys are universal joys) and exhortation to both encourage and challenge me in all the right ways." After I reviewed it, I found there were a few things I wanted to ask the author. I went ahead and asked if he would be willing to do...
The God Who Gives Strength as Needed: An Interview with Terry Stauffer (07/10/09 - 21 Comments)
On September 28, 2008, I was shocked to read these words on the blog of Terry Stauffer, a man I had met at a couple of conferences and who has long been a reader and commenter at my blog: "Last night at about 4:45 our precious 14 year-old daughter Emily was attacked and killed as she was out for a walk. We don't know a lot of details, but we know that two young men...
We Really Did It! (05/07/09 - 8 Comments)
When I was a child my father would occasionally take me to work with him. Dad did not work in an office so this was not a typical "take your child to work" situation. Dad was a landscaper and a day with dad was a day in the hot sun. It was a day of hard work, hauling, digging, planting, watering, tending. As a child I would grow discouraged at how little I could do...
The Greatest Hindrance to the Gospel Today (01/09/09 - 31 Comments)
Some time ago I mentioned that I had been asked by a magazine to submit an answer to this question: "What is the greatest hindrance to the gospel today?" Since the magazine has now been published, I can print the answer at my site. So here goes... You know the oft-told story, I am sure. G.K. Chesterton, along with other prominent authors of his day, was asked by The Times to answer this question: "What's...
A Righteous Man (11/11/08 - 13 Comments)
Every believer carries a measure of the guilt for Jesus' death. Was it not for our willful disobedience to God's perfect Law, we would have no need of a Savior. We acknowledge in song that it was our hands that drove the spikes into His and sometimes speak about driving the nails into Jesus' hands every time we sin. We speak figuratively, of course, knowing that although we were not present at the time of...
The Badder the Bad... (10/27/08 - 20 Comments)
Over the weekend I read Michael Horton's new book Christless Christianity. I greatly enjoyed reading it (despite chapters that were slightly longer than my attention span) and found that it gave me a lot to think about. A few days earlier I had read a new book by Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas. What a contrast there was between the two of them. Throughout his book, Horton emphasizes the importance and transcendence of the...
The Dream is Over. The Endless Day Has Begun. (10/05/08 - 13 Comments)
I've met Terry Stauffer a few times--at Together for the Gospel and at least one or two other conferences. He has been a regular commenter at this blog and maintains a blog of his own. He serves as pastor of Edson Baptist Church in Edson, Alberta. Earlier this week I was shocked to receive an email from my pastor pointing to this entry on Terry's blog. "Last night at about 4:45 our precious 14 year-old...
Calvinism and Evangelism (09/29/08 - 21 Comments)
One of the joyful challenges I face in maintaining this blog is answering the questions of Christians who are wrestling with issues related to Reformed theology. I receive many questions from people who are new to the doctrines of grace or who are fighting through them for the first time. I try to answer as many of these questions as I can, though admittedly, a few do get away. Some time ago a reader asked...
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...
T4G - Mark Dever (04/16/08 - 7 Comments)
We enjoyed a break of almost an hour and then gathered together again to sing “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” and to hear Mark Dever’s session. He discussed the temptation to improve upon the gospel. His talk was built upon five “calls” that are dangerous to the gospel—five ways churches may be tempted to adapt or shrink or expand the gospel message in order to make it more palatable. The First Call -...
Together for the Gospel (in Canada!) (03/12/08 - 17 Comments)
Some time ago I was talking with a friend who pastors a church in this area and we discussed how much we enjoy what is being accomplished and modeled through Together for the Gospel. We talked about how we wish something like that could happen in Canada. And from there we realized that maybe, just maybe, it can happen. There are going to be plenty of Canadians attending Together for the Gospel and it seemed...
Distrust, Suspicion, or Love? (01/18/08 - 25 Comments)
I grew up in a Christian culture in which very little evangelism took place. How little? Well, the first adult I ever witnessed getting baptized was my wife (she was my girlfriend at the time) and that was when we were eighteen or nineteen. It was the first time our church had ever baptized an adult. And what’s more, it was the first time most of the people who attended that church had ever seen...
Reality Check (IV) (12/29/07 - 5 Comments)
One of the distinctives of a conference geared at youth is that the people in attendance tend to have a kind of youthful enthusiasm. You know what I’m referring to, I’m sure. They are excited to be at a conference, are exciting to be with their friends, and are excited to be learning from good and godly speakers. Sometimes this enthusiasm can last well into the night and, when I got my light off at...
Reality Check (II) (12/28/07 - 4 Comments)
Matt Fowler preached the conference’s first sermon and did so from John 6:22-27. These well-known verses fall shortly after the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water—two of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. This crowd had been privileged to see both of these miracles. People reacted to the feeding of the 5000 by attempting to take Jesus and to force Him to be king. Using these verses, Matt laid down the Reformed (biblical) gauntlet,...
It Was My Sin that Held Him There (11/12/07 - 21 Comments)
As seems to be the case with most children, my friends and I went through a stage where we found great joy in tying people to things. In second or third grade we would take turns being the guys who would grab the skipping ropes and twist endless knots, fastening one of our friends to a tree or fence or flag pole. And, of course, we would take turns being the unfortunate one who was...
Lifted Up (11/04/07 - 6 Comments)
I wanted to begin today by sharing a few words of wisdom from my daughter who just turned five: “In heaven you can’t die, so you can eat popcorn and hot dogs at the same time and not have to worry about choking.” I just thought you’d all like to have one more thing to look forward to in eternity. Of course one could well ask, “If there are hot dogs in heaven, could it...
Guarding the Deposit (10/25/07 - 13 Comments)
“O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you...” One of my favorite television programs is Antiques Roadshow. The program affords people the opportunity to present their antique possessions—whether furniture, paintings, toys, or anything else— and to have them appraised by some of the world’s foremost experts in antiquities. For every episode the producers single out ten or fifteen items and show an expert providing a detailed description and valuation of the item. Each section closes...
"Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges (10/04/07 - 15 Comments)
Confronting the Sins We Tolerate A new book from the pen of Jerry Bridges is always a noteworthy event and this month we're blessed to see not one, but two new books bearing his name. The first of these, published by NavPress, is titled Respectable Sins. "The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major...
Jerry Bridges Preaches the Gospel to Himself (09/28/07 - 8 Comments)
In his new book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges writes about the important discipline of preaching the gospel to yourself every day. Realizing that many people have heard of this discipline but do not know how to practice it, he provides an overview of how he does so. I found it helpful and trust you will too. What could be more important than beginning each day with a fresh understanding of the great work of the...