Album: Masterplan – Ben Pakula

Earlier in the year, Lionel Windsor reviewed Ben Pakula’s album –

“Ben Pakula’s new album – Masterplan – is available on iTunes and at the CEP Store. I love Ben’s work, and so do our kids. It’s a powerful rock style combined with words that teach profound truths about God, Jesus, humanity and the world. Often, when our kids ask us questions about Jesus or something in the Bible, we find ourselves answering simply with a quote from one of Ben’s songs. As soon as we quote Ben, the kids go, “ah, right, I get it”!

Ben’s latest album, Masterplan, is a “biblical-theology concept album” – i.e. “a musical presentation of the whole story of the Bible, focusing on the centrality of Jesus.” It’s especially good for early high schoolers, but it works for everyone. Here are some highlights for me…”

– Read the full review (with links to song previews) at Forget the Channel.

It’s not ‘Lost’, it’s not a ‘Gospel’

“Today the British Library plays host to the launch of a book by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson provocatively entitled ‘The Lost Gospel – Decoding the Sacred Text that reveals Jesus’ Marriage to Mary Magdalene.’

According to reports in the Sunday Times last weekend the book – which is described as historical – claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered two children with her. It also claims that there was a previously unknown plot on Jesus’s life when he was 20 and an assassination attempt on Mary and her children.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church at Oxford University summed up his view of the book succinctly to the Sunday Times saying: ‘It sounds like the deepest bilge.’…”

– The Church of England responds to what seems to be the marketing campaign for a book and TV special.

To End All Wars

Here’s Glen Scrivener’s throught-provoking contribution to Remembrance Day.

Four ways to God

Tony Payne writes, “I suppose it’s like looking at old baby photos, but over the past month or so I’ve been browsing through some of the classic early articles in The Briefing.

… I couldn’t help returning to an article that I also highlighted in the special edition that marked our 21st birthday back in 2009 — ‘Four ways to live’, which appeared in Briefing #3, in May 1988. This foundational article discussed four competing sources of religious authority (the ‘authority quadrilateral’), and how the Christian is to view each one.”

– It was a good article in the days when they produced The Briefing using a Mac Plus and a LaserWriter, and it still is. Read the extract here.

Don Carson on Jeremiah

In July, Dr. Don Carson (Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) spoke at the STAND for the Gospel conference at Howick Baptist Church in Auckland.

His theme was theme: “The Weeping Prophet: Jeremiah Confronts the 21st Century”.

The talks are available – audio – video. (h/t Faith by Hearing.)

The Zimzum of Love — a review

Rob Bell’s new book on marriage, The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage, may get some local coverage. Dave Harvey has a review:

“In Love Wins Bell introduced us to his “new” way of understanding heaven and hell. At least he used the Bible. In The Zimzum of Love, the Bells reference the Bible a total of three times, one of them being a reference to John 3:16 signs at football games.” (h/t Tim Challies.)

SMBC 2014 Missions Conference audio

“Global Church Planting – The Church’s Mission to the Nations” was the theme for this year’s SMBC Missions Conference.

Craig Ott (Professor of Mission and Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Mike Raiter, were the keynote speakers.

Audio recordings of their talks are now available for download.

Andrew Sach on preaching Revelation

In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Andrew Sach encourages preachers to preach the ‘scary’ book of Revelation.

Albert Mohler on John 15:18-27

In a recent sermon on John 15:18-27, Albert Mohler reflects on what it means to be hated by the world.

Listen here, or watch here.

A mighty balsa wood boat

“As Paul prepared to leave the church elders in Ephesus, his love for the church, anxiety about what would come, and sorrow at his departure brought forth tears. Presumably he was leaving a tiny group of people behind, a small boat afloat in a sea of paganism.

Paul obviously believed that God was doing a great work there, but that’s not what it may have looked like. In this group of people, God’s great work in gospelling the world and bringing them to salvation was going ahead – but if you were to look at the actual people and what actually occurred, it must have seemed like a balsa wood boat adrift on a sea that was threatening to swallow it up.

If you ever get the chance to do ‘last words’, you generally choose significant ones. The last words of the apostle to the eldership of the Ephesian church are no different…”

– A most encouraging word from Peter Jensen, based on Acts 20, given at the 2014 Nexus Conference.

Free Reformation Day resources from Ligonier Ministries

“In celebration of Reformation Day, for the first time ever we’re replacing our usual $5 Friday sale with Free Reformation Day Friday.

Until 11:59pm ET on Friday, October 31, 2014, [2:59pm AEST Saturday, November 01] you can download the following digital resources for free.”

– A generous gift. eBooks, plus audio and video resources on the Reformation, with a focus on Martin Luther and John Calvin. (Around 2GB in total.)

Senator encourages involvement in Solidarity Sunday

Senator David Fawcett spoke yesterday about the persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians, under ISIL, and informed the Senate of Solidarity Sunday. (YouTube.)

Pray for Christians who are ‘living in Babylon’ this weekend

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, calls for prayer for persecuted Christians on the Barnabas Fund Day of Prayer, this Saturday, November 1st:

“The fires of anti-Christian persecution rage on around the world. Through most of the Middle East, and in large parts of Africa and Asia, our brothers and sisters continue to suffer discrimination, ill-treatment and violence because of their love for Christ. Research has estimated that around 200 million Christians – about 10% of the total number – are disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their faith…”