Student Reading for the Summer
“I am still convinced that one of the major weaknesses in modern preaching is our failure to have a theology of preaching. That is why so many sermons can end up as either lectures or conversations or stand-up routines.”
– In mentioning books he recommends for students, Carl Trueman gives a plug for Speaking God’s Words by Peter Adam.
Choosing a Minister
Phillip Jensen and Kel Richards speak about Choosing a Minister – in ‘The Chat Room’. Plenty of good advice.
St. Helen’s training videos: Mark Tookit parts 3 and 4
In the two latest St. Helen’s Training videos, Andrew Sach is in the kitchen to cook up a clearer understanding of the structure of Mark’s Gospel.
A terrific resource.
The power of stories
Mark Gilbert explains his new book, Stepping out in Faith, to Sam Freeney:
“For me it was hard to imagine that I and my bunch of evangelical friends could be right and the massively impressive Catholic church could be wrong. No-one in my life experience had ever done what I was thinking about doing — a book like this would have been very helpful for me.”
Read Mark’s interview about this very helpful book – at The Briefing.
New Life newspaper — 15 June 2013
The latest issue of New Life newspaper is out. Published for many years in Melbourne as a print newspaper, it’s now available in PDF format only. This issue covers expansion plans for Moore College, and the farewell service for Archbishop Jensen.
Latest issue here (PDF).
The Gospel Coalition National Conference 2013
Audio and video files from this year’s Gospel Coalition Conference are now available. The main talks –
Jesus the Son of God, the Son of Mary (Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-21) – John Piper
Jesus Despised (Luke 4:14-30) – Colin Smith
Jesus’ Transforming Power on Behalf of the Afflicted (Luke 8:26-56) – Crawford Loritts
Jesus’ Resolve to Head Toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:18-62) – Don Carson
Jesus and the Lost (Luke 15:1-32) – Kevin DeYoung
Jesus and Money (Luke 16:1-31) – Stephen Um
Panel Discussion: Did Jesus Preach the Gospel? – Don Carson, Kevin DeYoung, Tim Keller, John Piper
Jesus Betrayed and Crucified (Luke 22:39-23:43) – Gary Millar
Jesus Vindicated (Luke 24:1-53) – Tim Keller
And many more talks and workshops here.
The Heart of Marriage — Loving your spouse with a Christian mind
“There is no other book on marriage like this one. It is threaded with scholarship: we see moments where the arcane world of biblical scholarship is put to very good use. It gives a basic primer in biblical anthropology—that is, in the Bible’s unexpected way of describing what it is to be human.
It uses biblical theology: rather than plucking out isolated texts and pressing them into service, Hill works with the whole counsel of God, the entire story arc of the Bible. It exhibits philosophical nuance, as he makes distinctions that helpfully change our thinking.
But all of those big-sounding things are very readable. He visits them with a light touch, using crisp sentences. And it’s woven with stories and examples. It’s a book that is good for anyone who can read at a senior-high level.”
– Andrew Cameron at Moore College reviews Dr Michael Hill’s latest book, The Heart of Marriage.
It’s available from Christian Education Publications in Sydney, Pilgrim Books in Orange and other bookshops, and can be pre-ordered in the UK from IVP.
The Gentle Temeraire
“The book is a devotional gem.
It is also a reminder that perhaps the most important voices in the church are not those of the young and the beautiful, of the middle aged who cannot accept that their teenage years are behind them, least of all of the Twittocrats who can reduce any profound and subtly beautiful truth to 140 banal and clichéd characters; instead, they are the voices of the old and the weak who know whereof they speak when it comes to the cross and suffering and weakness.”
– Read all of Carl Trueman’s commendation of J I Packer’s Weakness is the Way.
Christian Freedom
In a 9Marks Leadership Interview, Mark Dever speaks with Carl Trueman, Mike McKinley, and Andy Johnson on Christian Freedom.
The Explicit Gospel — free audiobook
This month’s free audiobook from Christian Audio is Matt Chandler’s The Explicit Gospel, published by Crossway. (The audio version is read by David Cochran Heath.)
The download is about 200MB. (There’s also an interview by Mark Dever with Matt, recorded in Sydney in 2009 on the link page.)
Free eBook: Berkhof’s Systematic Theology
Louis Berkhof’s classic theology text is now freely, and legally, available in electronic format.
Justin Taylor has the details.
Going Beyond the Cliches: Christian Reflections on Suffering and Evil
Dr Don Carson spoke last month at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston.
“If we live long enough, we will suffer. Christians will therefore be wise if they prepare in advance for the suffering and evil they will face. This lecture does not so much attempt to ‘answer’ the problem of suffering and evil, as establish biblically faithful perspectives that enable us to think about such matters in a godly fashion, thereby forging frames of reference that strengthen us before evil days descend.”
St. Helen’s — Mark’s Gospel Tool Kit
“Andrew Sach introduces tools to help understand Mark’s Gospel in this month’s St Helen’s Training.”
– See this month’s two videos from Andrew Sach, as well as earlier overviews of Mark’s Gospel by Charlie Skrine, at the St. Helen’s website.
The (UK) same-sex couples bill – Anglican Mainstream statement
“The basic issue in the same-sex couples bill is “What is marriage?” The bill renders marriage a genderless institution since any combination of two adults will do. When a child is born there is always mother around. The question is, where is the father? The bill sends out the message that fathers are dispensable for children. It completely decouples marriage from procreation, consummation and adultery.
Once marriage is redefined and reduced to only an intimate relationship, on what logical basis could the law turn away three people who say they want to get married?”
– read the full statement from Anglican Mainstream.
Themelios Volume 38, Issue 1
The latest issue of the theological journal Themelios (Volume 38, Issue 1) was released at the end of April. A 2.4MB download – from The Gospel Coalition.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…