Over on First Presbyterian Jackson’s blog is a great quote from Spurgeon that supports what we have been saying about the vital place of emotion in the Christian life. Joy should flow out of true salvation (although, of course, there will be times in every Christian’s life when this joy feels more distant than others). Spurgeon was preaching on Acts 8:8 and, incidentally, at the beginning seems to be moving in one of his moments of what a modern charismatic... Read more
Over the last month or so I have been publishing collections of proverbs. Today, I would like to share with you a collection of proverbs which speak of the fool. I encourage you to read these slowly and ask yourself the following questions: In what ways am I like the fool? How can I learn not to be a fool but instead to be wise? THE FOOL IN PROVERBS Prov 1:7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;... Read more
Today, over on TeamPyro, Dan Phillips has written an interesting post entitled, “Worship Feelings and What If?” For me the whole post brought to my mind an illustration. Imagine that two teams are climbing a mountain on opposite sides. If they are near the bottom, they could be miles apart. They will have a very clear view of the side of the mountain they are on, but no clue whatsoever what the team on the other side is facing. As... Read more
Today I begin a series of book and other resource reviews for those who want to study further following our recent charismatic debate. I begin with this well-known, easy-read paperback. I first read this a number of years ago, and still recommend it today as a good introduction – especially for those coming from a cessationist background. It is important to point out that due to the wide spectrum of different opinions and interpretations — especially on some of the... Read more
We now come to the third and last verse that cessationists use to deny that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience separate from conversion, and the verse to which Lloyd-Jones was most anxious to reply.“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink with one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)This verse, says the Doctor, “is the familiar... Read more
THEOLOGY FOR ALL — ANNUAL DAY CONFERENCE(Formerly Tyndale Fellowship Associates)Saturday 30th September 200610.00 a.m. — 4.00 p.m.Speaker: Professor Carl Trueman I have just been made aware of this conference in London, and some spaces are still available for next Saturday. If I wasn’t already busy, I would be tempted to go! Carl Trueman is currently Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He previously served on the Faculties of the University of Nottingham and... Read more
STOP THE PRESSES! Commentators on a recent Pyromaniacs post have succeeded where I have failed. Cessationist Dan Phillips has been forced into a corner and now admits that – at least after a fashion – God CAN speak to us today. Does Dan realize what a slippery slope he has started on? The following comment followed a storm created by his previous post which claimed prayer was a one-sided conversation with a God who never picks up the phone. Trust... Read more
Today’s Piper Friday comes from a sermon The Lips of Knowledge Are a Precious Jewel: “First of all, “the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel” to me when I find them in another person, and so I seek to listen as much as I can. C.S. Lewis had the “lips of knowledge” and still speaks through his books. I have read almost all of his theological and fiction works, I think. And if you offered me ten million dollars... Read more
Last Sunday, I preached on controlling the tongue. At the time I shared a number of proverbs with the congregation. I thought that today I would share the entire collection of proverbs on the subject that I worked through as I prepared the sermon. This list was easy to produce — I just thought of a few key words and put them into my Logos Bible Software and let it go searching for me! Once again it would be good... Read more
SUMMARY A friendly debate continues in this post with me first explaining why I hope I’m not your typical charismatic. I then explain why I believe Ephesians 4 demonstrates that these kinds of conversations are vitally important before engaging with a meandering list of issues. You can blame me for the disorganisation in this post since, although I am following Dan, he was following a staccato post I rattled off quickly one evening! The whole series demonstrates it really is... Read more
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