Leadership in the Home
“This is a series about leadership in the home. It is geared specifically to men and I hope it will be of some use to guys of any age though perhaps it will be most at home in the hands of young men—those who are newly married or those who are to be married in the near future. I hope it is also the kind of series that a wife can pass to her husband and say, ‘Honey! Read this and tell me what you think of it…’”
– Tim Challies has begun a series on ‘Leadership in the home’. Part 1. Part 2. Plenty of food for thought, with more to come at Challies.com.
In such a tongue as the people understandeth
“One of the great principles of Reformation was the use of vernacular languages. Though faith, as the Reformers described it, was not merely giving assent to propositions, but trust, it was trust in the Word of God. And for that the Word of God was something that needed to be heard and understood by the people.
It is no surprise that so much energy was given to Bible translation – the great William Tyndale’s vision was that the ploughboy could read it and understand it for himself. This was a cause for which he was to give his life. …”
– Michael Jensen has continued his series on The Thirty Nine Articles at Thirty Nine – and is now up to Article XXIV: “Of speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth”.
Christ the centre
Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, and host of The White Horse Inn broadcast was interviewed by Christianity Today on the temptation to have something other than Christ as the centre of Christianity.
“There is nothing wrong with law, but law isn’t gospel. The gospel isn’t ‘Follow Jesus’ example’ or ‘Transform your life’ or ‘How to raise good children.’ The gospel is: Jesus Christ came to save sinners—even bad parents, even lousy followers of Jesus, which we all are on our best days. All of the emphasis falls on ‘What would Jesus do?’ rather than ‘What has Jesus done?’
(h/t Between Two Worlds.)
Who Made God?
Tim Challies has conducted an interesting interview with Edgar Andrews, author of the new book “Who Made God?” – at Challies.com.
He reviews the book here. (The book doesn’t appear to be available in Australia just yet.)
The Articles once more
“The Thirty-nine Articles provide the only secure anchor for an authentic Anglican identity. This is after all the foundational doctrinal statement of the reformed church of England, drafted by the reforming bishops, endorsed by the lay members of the church in parliament, and situated as the touchstone of Anglican theology and practice ever since. Whatever other categories, principles or documents may be presented as integral to the heart of Anglicanism, the simple fact is that the Articles tell Anglicans who they are.”
– Read all of ACL President Mark Thompson’s post at Theological Theology.
G K Chesterton on Daring Orthodoxy
“People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy…”
— Mark Thompson has a terrific quote from G K Chesterton — read it all here.
Gerald Bray on interpreting Scripture
“The first question we must ask of every biblical text is simply this — what does it tell us about God? What does it say about who he is and about what he does?
The second question is: what does this text say about us human beings? What are we meant to be and what has gone wrong?
The third and final question is: what has God done about this and what does he expect of us in the light of what he has done?…”
– Read the rest of the short interview at Between Two Worlds.
Rising from the dust
“When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such is not the way to rise from the dust, but to continue in it. As well chain the eagle’s wing to make it mount, as doubt in order to increase our grace.
It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards. Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus’ bosom.”
– Charles Spurgeon — with thanks to Of First importance.
November 2009 issue of Themelios
The Gospel Coalition has released the latest issue of Themelios. It is available as a PDF document or in HTML format.
It includes a word of exhortation from Carl Trueman intended especially for theological students (but also applicable to other ‘professional’ Christians).
“The temptation for a theological student at this point, of course, is to make the obvious answer to this: well, I study the things of God all day long; I am hardly likely to forget about God, who he is and what he has done, am I? Well, there is forgetting and there is forgetting. Remembering that there is a train that leaves the local station every evening at five o’clock is one thing; remembering that I need to be on it to return home to be there for my wife’s surprise birthday party is quite another. It is all too easy for the theological student to end up remembering God as an object of knowledge; it is quite another thing to remember him as the all-surpassing subject of existence.”
(h/t Between Two Worlds.)
Judged by truth
Last week Hugh Palmer at All Souls Langham Place preached on the message of Romans 1:18 – 3:20 in 18 minutes. He speaks about the last great taboo.
It’s available as an mp3 file here.
Sermon Preparation by Bishop Paul Barnett
“At our recent Tasmanian Clergy Conference (4 – 6 November 2009), our guest speaker Bishop Paul Barnett presented excellent “Studies in First Peter” and also his notes on Sermon Preparation. I have his permission to share them with you…”
– John Harrower, Bishop of Tasmania, writes at his blog.
Geneva Push website launched
The Geneva Push church planting network has launched their new website. (h/t Craig Schwarze.)
The existence of God, the reality of Evil, and the terror of Hell
Three brief video clips by Don Carson answering three common questions —
* How do I know God exists?
* How can God allow suffering and evil in the world?
* How can God be loving and yet send people to Hell?
See them via Between Two Worlds.
Challies and Challies on ‘Sexual Detox’
Over the last two weeks, Tim Challies has been blogging on the theme of ‘Sexual Detox’ – and has now made his posts available as two free e-books – Sexual Detox: A Guide for the Single Guy (PDF) and Sexual Detox: A Guide for the Married Guy (PDF). In addition Tim’s wife, Aileen, is guest blogging some articles especially directed at women (False Messages I: What he really wants).
Worth reading in conjunction with the discussion going on at SydneyAnglicans.net (Pornography’s “silenced sufferers”).
Help and encouragement in sharing the gospel
“Paul E. Little’s book How to Give Away Your Faith was first published in 1966, a few years before the popular evangelist was killed in a tragic car accident. Since his untimely death, his wife Marie has overseen two revisions of Little’s book (1988, 2008). It is sometimes described as ‘the classic guide to evangelism,’ perhaps because of the way in which the book addresses practical issues surrounding personal evangelism.”
– Trevin Wax offers some good reasons to dust off your old copy – or perhaps to get a revised edition. At The Discerning Reader.
Of course, Chappo’s Know and Tell the Gospel, written for Australian conditions, is essential reading! (Photo of Paul Little: Ake Lundberg.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…