30 Days of Prayer
This year’s 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World prayer guide is now available from their website.
A very practical and heart-felt way to show love for Muslim people with a focus during Ramadan, June 28 – July 27.
NEXUS registration closes tomorrow
Thinking of going to the NEXUS Conference on Monday May 26th?
If so, bear in mind that registration closes on Wednesday May 21st.
‘How Jesus Became God’: A Review
“Ehrman’s core argument is that Jesus was a mere man who gradually, over time, came to be regarded as more and more divine, until he was ultimately (in the fourth century) regarded as the God of the universe.”
– At Reformation21, Mike Kruger (pictured) reviews Bart Ehrman’s latest book, “How Jesus Became God”.
Why so many churches hear so little of the Bible
“It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out.” That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity: an impatience with the Word of God.
The sentence above comes from Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today in an essay entitled, “Yawning at the Word.” In just a few hundred words, he captures the tragedy of a church increasingly impatient with and resistant to the reading and preaching of the Bible. We may wince when we read him relate his recent experiences, but we also recognize the ring of truth. …
– Albert Mohler writes on the famine of hearing the Word of God.
Investigating Paul’s backstory
“Paul Barnett, a leading historian of early Christianity, investigates the period sometimes labelled the ‘unknown years’ of Paul’s ministry (i.e. the 14 years between his Damascus Road experience and first missionary journey), in order to provide a foundation for interpreting Galatians. He convincingly accounts for Paul’s activities during that span, and offers a compelling interpretation of sections of Galatians based on his reconstruction…”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Moore College’s Philip Kern reviews Paul Barnett’s new book, Paul in Syria: The Background to Galatians. (Published by Paternoster in the UK, the book does not seem to be widely available just yet, but will be worth getting when it is. The ISBN is 9781842278536.)
Formulary Friday: Taking to heart
“We can tend to have a low view of memorisation – perhaps it conjures up those dreary school lessons spent reciting the kings and queens of England, or, still worse, we associate it with a dead spirituality, all outward forms and vain repetition. But, just as we might want to commit particular Scriptural verses or passages to memory, I’d like to suggest that we might find it helpful to do the same for parts of the liturgy – that liturgical familiarity is more often a friend than it is a foe.”
– Mark Smith at Church Society reckons it’s a good idea to open that Prayer Book. See why here.
The Church Singing — latest 9Marks Journal
Check out the latest 9Marks Journal –
“In this edition of the 9Marks Journal, we start with singing and the song. Why do congregations sing, what should they sing about, and how can they sing better?
We then think more carefully about the music itself, particularly with two different perspectives on whether or not some musical forms are better than others. Finally we think about what is involved in leading music.”
Free eBook on Isaac Watts
“In an age of simplistic and repetitive choruses, many churches are rediscovering the blessing of theologically rich and biblically informed songs. In the latest addition to our A Long Line of Godly Men Profile series, Douglas Bond introduces us to Isaac Watts, ‘the father of English hymnody.’…”
– free eBook from Ligonier Ministries during May 2014.
David Cook on Gospel Preaching
David Cook has been preaching evangelistically for St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London.
While there, he was interviewed about Gospel Preaching for the Preaching Matters series. Most encouraging.
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God – one of J I Packer’s most important books – is this month’s free Audiobook download from Christian Audio. It’s read by American Grover Gardner.
The Legacy I want to Leave — Piper
“When I think of the coming generations, I am not content to only leave them a deposit of books and sermons that celebrate the glories of God and the wonders of Christian Hedonism. A great teacher once told me to ignore the conclusions of commentaries, and only look for their arguments. I have tried to give good arguments.
But underneath all the arguments is the Book. The Bible. If future generations only learn what we saw, and not how to see it for themselves, they will be second-handers. And second-handers cannot last. …”
– John Piper introduces “Look at the Book”.
Tim Challies on Brian McLaren
“Along the way we have visited such figures as Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Ellen G. White (Adventism), Norman Vincent Peale (Positive Thinking) and Benny Hinn (Faith Healing). Today we turn to a man who helped lead the Emerging Church and who was once named by TIME as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.”
– In his series on ‘The False Teachers’, Tim Challies (who will be in Oz later this month) turns to Brian McLaren.
(Brian McLaren was one of the speakers at the 2008 Lambeth Conference.)
Saints
“ I turned up for my early morning coffee today and, helping my newsagent friend, Charlie, dropped off today’s edition of La Fiama, the Italian newspaper, to my barista, Dom. I asked him, as usual, to translate the headline – ‘Pope declares two Popes saints’.
How does a person become a saint in the Roman Catholic church?…”
– David Cook on who the real saints are. (published 29 April 2014.)
A Conversation with Tyndale House’s Peter Williams
Dr. Peter Williams, Warden at Tyndale House in Cambridge, was interviewed recently in Arizona. He was asked about the future of the church, and what challenges and encouragements there are.
15 minutes, worth watching. (h/t Justin Taylor.)
‘Women, Sermons and the Bible’ coming in May
Tony Payne at Matthias Media writes:
“…I’m pleased to be able to announce that on Monday 5th May, Matthias Media will release Women, Sermons and the Bible: Essays Interacting with John Dickson’s Hearing Her Voice (edited by Peter Bolt and Tony Payne).
The collection not only responds to the main arguments of Hearing Her Voice (regarding whether women should give sermons in the regular Sunday gathering), but also bounces off this specific question to consider some larger issues…”
– See the table of contents at the Matthias Media website.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…