More ideas for connecting
Steve McCoy in the US writes, “I’ve noticed in my life and in the life of my family that 5 tools have stood out this summer as helpful for connecting with our neighbours. Here they are for you. …”
– Not everything translates exactly, but there are some good, simple ideas here.
Themelios — July 2009 edition online
The latest edition of Themelios, published by The Gospel Coalition, is available on their website.
It’s a free download in a choice of formats (e.g. a 1.2MB PDF file).
Trueman on John Owen
Carl Trueman gives a video introduction to Puritan theologian John Owen. It’s from Westminster Seminary on YouTube and runs for 10 minutes 20 seconds. (h/t Justin Taylor.)
Carson on sermon preparation
Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman points us to an excellent talk given by Don Carson at the Katoomba Centenary Preaching Conference at SMBC in 2003.
Colin has also provided an outline with time markers to the 65MB mp3 file of the talk.
Ministry Today — New Opportunities
William Taylor, Mark Dever and Phillip Jensen are speaking on ‘Ministry Today – New Opportunities’ at the Ministry Intensive planned for August 17 and 18 in Sydney.
Bus stop gospelling
“How many people are willing to talk? Well, I have not recorded the stats, but based on a rough estimate from my limited memory, I would say at least a third of the people who I approach are willing to talk …”
– Paul McDonald in Toronto shares an idea worth considering. (h/t Tim Challies.)
More on Calvin
Derek Thomas, Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, has posted three brief interviews from Geneva on the significance of John Calvin – on the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson website. (h/t/ Reformation 21.)
Happy birthday to John Calvin
Today is the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin.
In the UK, The Theologian has released a ‘birthday edition’ with 6 articles and talks examining different aspects of his ministry and theology – including ‘Calvin and the Gospel’ from Martin Foord and ‘Calvin and Preaching’ from Peter Adam.
Mobilising the hidden army
We’re glad to share this news from MTS Training Director Col Marshall –
“On Sunday do you look out over the pews and see an audience or an army? The answer to that question will determine your priorities, your effectiveness, even your health. An audience needs constant performance and is full of individuals making demands of you. Read more
9Marks eJournal on missions
The latest 9Marks eJournal has been released – the theme for this issue is Missions.
Grab your PDF copy (direct link) from 9Marks.
100 Recommended Reads
Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman has listed 100 books he recommends to his congregation in Northern Ireland –
“It does reflect the fact that I am Reformed, Baptist, cessationist and complementarian! – but hopefully it will still be helpful to an even wider audience.”
– See it here.
Saving the Church
Read about the upcoming conference ‘Confess or Die’ – in Sydney, 7 & 8 August 2009.
“The contemporary church seems to have amnesia about what it really believes. This two day conference is here to jolt the church’s memory, and give it new life for mission. …”
Speakers include Carl Trueman, John McClean and Mark Thompson.
See all the details at confessordie.com – and then book in!
Piper on Parker on Calvin
To mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, Desiring God have reprinted T.H.L. Parker’s classic 1954 biography.
Not only is it available to be purchased, but a free PDF download is also available – both via this link.
You can see John Piper speak about why they did it at Desiring God.
T.H.L. Parker –
“When I was asked to write a life of Calvin for the S.C.M. Religious Book Club, there were reasons why I was happy to agree. For one thing, it offered a pleasant relief from the arduous task of translating Karl Barth’s Kirkliche Dogmatik into English, which had taken up much of 1950 and 1951. More importantly, there had been no biography of Calvin for many years. Moreover, I saw this as an opportunity to correct some of the commonly held misunderstandings and prejudices clustered around his name. …
Now, what do I at the age of ninety-two make of this book that I wrote in 1952 and 1953 in my mid-thirties?”
– read it and come to your own conclusion.
Christ’s atoning death
“Christ’s atoning death ratified the inauguration of the new covenant, in which access to God under all circumstances is guaranteed by Christ’s one sacrifice that covers all transgressions (Matt. 26:27-28; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 9:15; 10:12-18). Those who through faith in Christ have ‘received reconciliation’ (Rom. 5:11) ‘in him . . . become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21). In other words, they are justified and receive the status of adopted children in God’s family (Gal 4:5). Thereafter they live under the motivating constraint and control of the love of Christ for them as made known and measured by the cross (2 Cor. 5:14).”
– J. I. Packer, “Sacrifice: Jesus Christ Made Atonement for Sin” (with thanks to Of First Importance.)
Building Healthy Churches
The audio files from the just-concluded Toronto Pastors Fellowship conference are now available. The theme?’Building Healthy Churches’.
Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker were the main speakers. (h/t Tim Challies.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…