Wise Judgements
“For many years biblical scholars have baulked at the idea that Jesus was a transcendent figure and have busied themselves redefining him in humanistic terms.
Is this due to the ‘secular’ spirit of the age that airbrushes the Almighty from the public square?
For a period in early the twentieth century some thought there was little we could know about Jesus, for example, in 1934 Rudolph Bultmann declared, ‘We can now know almost nothing about the life and personality of Jesus’. The pendulum has swung back so that in 1985 Ed. Sanders could say, ‘We can know pretty well what Jesus was out to accomplish… we can know a lot about what he said…’.”
– New Testament scholar Bishop Paul Barnett has published some fascinating work he’s been doing on the judgements of Jesus.
‘Logic on Fire’ trailer
At The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor shares the trailer for a forthcoming film, “Logic On Fire: the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones”.
Christmas mission, Christmas transmission
“For years I’ve been wrestling with how we might ever attract non-Christians to willingly engage with media that communicates the gospel. And then it hit me. The one time non-Christians do want to engage with the Christian message is at Christmas – and there’s no starker example of this than the church carol service. But there’s more. Each Christmas I’ve also heard media channels such as Classic FM playing lots of carols amongst their regular programming, even taking requests for carols!
How interesting that the Christmas story is being broadcast on secular media, to a Christmas-hungry audience. And so after years of wondering, an idea was born – Christmas Carols Radio…”
– Ben Vane, studying at Oak Hill College in London, had a great idea.
Check out Christmas Carols Radio and pass on the URL to your friends in time for Christmas.
[We first posted this link in October. Now’s the time to mention the site to your friends!]
Vinegrowers
Vinegrowers have a new website, complete with some articles to help us see the need for a disciple-making culture in our churches.
“Vinegrowers has seized on a vital biblical truth that’s too easily forgotten in the busyness and distraction of modern ministry life: the heart of Christian growth is God’s people speaking God’s word in the power of God’s Spirit.”
– Dr Lionel Windsor.
To Give Knowledge of Salvation to His People: A Christmas Mandate for Christian Ministry
“So many moments of our lives pass with almost no sense of significance. The twenty four hours in a day fade into the memory of the seven days of the week, then the thirty-odd days of a month, and then months into years. The years pass into the mist of memory.
But certain moments, certain days stand out in vivid contrast. These are occasions of bright and lasting memory — births, deaths, family reunions, and Christmases. Add to those moments like this, a commencement ceremony. There is something even more special about this ceremony, however, for this is the graduation of those called to Christian ministry, and this ceremony comes fast upon Christmas…”
– from Albert Mohler’s commencement address to be preached later today at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. (If you’re keen, the commencement ceremony will be live-streamed at 10:00 a.m. US EST Friday December12 – the same as 4:00am AEDT Saturday December 13.)
Related:
If you haven’t seen it, last year Southern Seminary gave thanks for 20 years of leadership of Albert Mohler in this 25-minute video. Worth watching – not just for the interesting history, but also a reminder of the value and importance of keeping a theological college faithful to the gospel.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
Christian cartoonist Adam Ford (Adam4d) offers this primer on the religion of many westerners.
(These concepts will be familiar to listeners to Mike Horton’s White Horse Inn.)
Winter (heart) warmers
From The Proclamation Trust:
“Last month saw our annual Autumn Ministers conference, the audio from which is now online. Vaughan Roberts’ opening and closing expositions from Revelation encouraged and challenged us in our ministry.”
Listen to both expositions here.
Vanishing Church? Latest 9Marks Journal
The latest 9Marks Journal has been released. The theme: Vanishing Church? Seeking the Right Perspective as Opposition Grows.
Download it as a PDF file.
Challenge and Choice — Australian Anglican Schools Today
“The book Challenge and Choice – Australian Anglican Schools Today by Dr Ruth Edwards was launched in Brisbane on Wednesday 3 December.
The work represents a significant attempt to not only survey the history of these religious schools but to map something of the future that lies before this sector.”
– See the story from the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn.
Preaching Matters: Charlie Skrine and contextualisation
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Charlie Skrine thinks through Acts 17 and contextualisation. Encouraging and helpful.
Themelios Vol 39 No 3 (November 2014)
The latest issue of the academic journal Themelios is now available from The Gospel Coalition. As always, a wealth of material, including book reviews. (h/t Andy Naselli.)
A new devotional book by John Piper for Advent 2014
John Piper’s new devotional book for Advent 2014 is now available here as a free PDF download.
Update: An audio version is this month’s free download from Christian Audio.
Do you proclaim the gospel on Sundays?
“How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story? Of course we want all our words to point to Christ. But what about the shape of the gathering, the liturgy?
If the famous dictum, ‘the medium is the message,’ carries any truth then we would do well to reflect not only on the words spoken, but also the structures and shapes to our times together. How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story?…”
– On the Church Society blog, John Percival quotes from an article by Graham O’Brien in Churchman.
Related: Paul Helm reflects on a church service he attended recently at an Abbey.
“I was at a service at an Abbey last Sunday, an unfamiliar venue for me. When I am at a service in an strange place, such as the service in this gaunt but undoubtedly beautiful building, being a visitor I tend to try to adopt the outlook of a visitor. What impression does what goes on in the great venues of English religion give to someone, who, like me on this occasion, joins the service as a one-off?”
Mark Dever interviewed
Marvin Olansky at World Magazine recently interviewed Mark Dever – about all sorts of things.
Watch it here (YouTube, 64 minutes including question time) – and read the accompanying article here.
Is God a Religious Pluralist?
In a recent issue of The White Horse Inn broadcast, apologetics specialist Greg Koukl spoke on ‘How are we to deal with the exclusive claims of Jesus in our pluralistic age?’.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…