#worshipgod06conference

Pleasing Grief and Mournful Joy

John Newton was a slave-trader turned hymn-writer, a man who underwent a miraculous transformation that saw him leave behind a life of immorality and depravity to pursue the calling of a minister of the gospel. The amazing grace that had unexpectedly but permanently “saved a wretch like me” was his joy and meditation for the rest of his days, the topic of a thousand sermons, hymns, prayers and letters. Newton was an insightful pastor who was adept at peering deep …

October Baby and the Challenge of Christian Film

Hannah is in college when she receives the shocking news her parents hadn’t ever shared with her—she is adopted. Not only is she adopted, but she is the survivor of a failed abortion. Angry, confused and upset, she turns to her oldest friend Jason to help her through this difficult time. Along with his friends she embarks on a Spring Break road trip that leads her to go looking for her roots. That’s the plot of October Baby, a feature …

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Drawing Out the Infection

In my experience there is usually one of the spouses in a marriage that handles the majority of the doctoring and nursing duties. There is one who has the medical knowledge and who knows what to do when a child or spouse is injured or maybe just plain under the weather. There is one who can clean up vomit without having to don a hazmat suit. For my marriage, this person is most definitely Aileen. She is the one who …

Is Forgiveness Conditional or Unconditional?

Some time ago I promised an article on the subject of conditional versus unconditional forgiveness. I’ve had many false starts and have been largely unsatisfied with anything I’ve written on the subject. So I decided to simplify and to provide only an outline of my thoughts on the subject. I am, perhaps, a little less than perfectly confident in my beliefs on this subject which is why I do not wish to be too dogmatic. Instead, take this article this …

Even the Smallest Island

The Pacific Campaign of the Second World War is a fascinating slice of military history. In many ways, it seemed like a nonsensical series of battles between the United States and Japan–battles that ranks as some of the most horrifyingly brutal in the long and terrible history of warfare. As the Americans sought revenge for the devastation of Pearl Harbor, and as they sought to curtail Japanese aggression in the East, they fought their way across the Pacific Ocean, moving …

C.J. Mahaney: “The Pastor’s Priorities”

Those who had the privilege of attending the Together for the Gospel Conference, or who listened to the audio recordings (available here in MP3 or CD format), no doubt remember C.J. Mahaney’s plenary session which was entitled “Watch Your Life and Doctrine.” He took as his text 1 Timothy 4:16 which reads: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” He taught that, …

A La Carte (09/12)

Tuesday September 12, 2006 Music: Yesterday’s Sovereign Grace Ministries newsletter had news of SGM’s first Christmas album. “Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man (to be released in November), will focus on the incarnation of Christ. In October you’ll get a preview of the CD with a free download of the song “Hope Has Come” by Stephen Altrogge.” Church: Mark Moore, who blogs at The Resurgence, mentions running into a Joyce Meyer book signing. “The book that I went …

WorshipGod06 – Fifth Session

This evening’s session, the fifth general session of the conference, was primarily a time of singing and worship. I have attempted to capture an account of the evening’s events that those who have never attended a Sovereign Grace event may be able to understand how they worship. The evening began with “Come Now Almighty King” and soon transitioned to a Valley of Vision video featuring the prayer “Spiritus Sanctus.” Awe in God’s Presence: We sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” a cappella …

Discernment Filter: Forgive Yourself

Spiritual discernment is a subject that has been much on my mind in recent weeks. I have been thinking a great deal about how I can become more discerning and how I can serve others in helping them understand the value of discernment as well as the practice of discernment. To that end I have been attempting to formulate a “discernment filter.” I have been attempting to formulate a small set of rules through which I can pass a teaching …

Wednesday Miscellania

There are a few topics I have collected over the past week that do not merit an article of their own. So I thought I would compile a few of those into a single article today. Blue Like Jazz: Matt Redmond sent me an email letting me know that he had reviewed Blue Like Jazz. One particular thing caught my eye in his review. He asked, “Since when is autobiography an acceptable genre for Christian Spirituality? This may be the …