Smart Christian is questioning those who want to hone the gospel down to its mere essentials and argues there is a danger in preaching a “reduced gospel”. I am with him on this. I understand why some would want to say that the gospel is only about personal salvation, it seems much easier when we are talking to fellow believers. We can all be happy and say “Well that person says he trusts in Jesus so I can welcome him... Read more
John Piper: To begin with, the older I get, the less impressed I am with flashy successes and enthusiasms that are not truth-based. Everybody knows that with the right personality, the right music, the right location, and the right schedule you can grow a church without anybody really knowing what doctrinal commitments sustain it, if any. Church-planting specialists generally downplay biblical doctrine in the core values of what makes a church successful. The long-term effect of this ethos is a... Read more
Something else to add to my list of books to read online for nought…..(HT David Wayne) The Bruderhof Foundation – A Third Testament – Malcolm Muggeridge: “A Modern Pilgrim Explores the Spiritual Wanderings of Augustine, Blake, Pascal, Tolstoy, Bonhoeffer, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky Based on an acclaimed TV series, this illuminating collection of portraits brings to life seven men in search of God–seven maverick thinkers whose spiritual wanderings make for unforgettable reading. Saint Augustine, a headstrong young hedonist and speechwriter who... Read more
Mediasoul has launched her new business today- connecting the media with bloggers who will review their stuff. I wonder how media will take bloggers honesty- what if I am given a book to review on emerging church and totally diss it? Will I get another one? Will they realise that dissing something gives other bloggers a chance to leap to its defence and actually amplifies the level of attention, or will they move onto someone more amenable? Read more
Spurgeon lists the reasons that hinder our efforts in preaching the gospel to win souls Indifference “I would far rather have a man an earnest, intense opposer of the gospel than have him careless and indifferent. ” Unbelief “These people are very hard to influence; but I would warn you not to fight them with their own weapons. I do not believe that infidels ever are won by argument; or, if so, it very seldom happens. The argument that convinces... Read more
Parableman points us to some newly available articles. These should do nicely to address certain neo-liberal issues- I hope I get a chance to read them at some point! This is what Jeremy had to say- “As I was looking through the lists of articles and book reviews, two pieces stood out as worth highlighting for those interested in the issues they raise. One is D.A. Carson’s 1997 paper ‘Reflections on salvation and justification in the New Testament’, which analyzes... Read more
Patriot Paradox is at it again! This new venture of his is well worth a look Read more
John Pipers book Counted Righteous receives some rave reviews at the beginning of the freely available PDF. I am glad to see that I am not the only one agitated about the attacks on the biblical doctrine of imputation of Christs righteousness (and by the converse the imputation to Christ of our sin) AS John Stott puts it, surely 2 Cor 5:21 should be enough to settle this argument once and for all and send the detractors scurrying back to... Read more
Spurgeon lists characteristics of sermons that are likely to be associated with salvation: sermons which are distinctly aimed at the conversion of the hearers. sermons that interest the hearers “The people will not be converted while they are asleep; and if they go to sleep, they had better have been at home in bed, where they would sleep much more comfortably.” sermons that are instructive. sermons that cause an impression “Preach, for instance, as you would plead if you were... Read more
Mark Roberts is addressing the thorny issue of the TNIV in one of his excelent protracted series. Not sure what blogging software he is using but it allows him to have a page for a series that updates itself as he posts more. So far he has explained some interesting points about translations and that he doesnt have a single favorite using a multitude of different ones. I wonder if this is because he hasnt come accross the ESV yet-... Read more
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