Quote of the Day

"Sin tastes sweet but turns bitter in our stomachs. Holiness often tastes bitter but turns sweet in our stomachs" (Gary Thomas).

HT: Challies

Quote of the Day

"It is truth alone that capacitates any soul to glorify God." -- John Owen

HT: Ian Clary

Top Five Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible

Keith Mathison of Ligonier Ministries has complied one of the best lists I have come across. This will be very helpful for anyone who teaches the Bible on a regular basis. Enjoy!

HT: Challies

Ajith Fernando Audio and Video

I had the privilege of hearing and meeting Ajith Fernando today at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. There was much Scriptural wisdom as he talked about witnessing to people of various religions in a post-Christian cultural context. Because I enjoyed him so much, I thought that I would post some of his previous talks here for your edification.

How Must a Pastor Die, Part 1

2006 Desiring God Conference for Pastors

January 30, 2006

Ajith Fernando

Listen |

How Must a Pastor Die, Part 2

2006 Desiring God Conference for Pastors

January 31, 2006

Ajith Fernando

Listen |

Download: Audio

How Must a Pastor Die, Part 3

2006 Desiring God Conference for Pastors

January 31, 2006

Ajith Fernando

Listen |

Gospel-Faithful Mission in the New Christendom
Ajith Fernando Apr 22 2009
Category: Conference Message
Series: 2009 Gospel Coalition National Conference Audio Video

Toil in Disciple-Making Ajith Fernando (1-31-2007), Dallas Seminary Chapel

watch audio only audio/video

If you have any more links, please let me know.

Reading for Fathers

• Free online book by Mark Driscoll called Pastor Dad: Scriptural Insights on Fatherhood; you can read it online, print it, or buy a printed copy
  
• Fatherhood: What it Is and What It's For by Tony Payne; preview it here; if in US or Canada, buy it here.

Happy reading!

HT: JT

A Biblical Strategy to Fighting Lust

Here is good message from Rick Holland on fighting sexual lust.

Using Proverbs 5, he identifies six biblical strategies that will ensure sexual purity:

1. Undertake the pursuit of biblical instruction (Prov. 5:1-2).
2. Undress the deception of sexual sin (Prov. 5:3-6).
3. Understand the value of safe distance (Prov. 5:7-8).
4. Unmask the regret of sin’s aftermath (Prov. 5:9-14).
5. Unlock the satisfaction of marital fidelity or intimacy (Prov. 5:15-19).
6. Unleash the power of God’s omniscience (Prov. 5:20-23).

HT: Justin Taylor

Solo Sex: What's So Bad About Masturbation & Sexual Fantasy

A description: "Masturbation, pornography, sexual fantasies...what's so bad about these? No one gets hurt, right? Aren't they better than indulging in actual sexual indecencies with other people? CCEF faculty member Winston Smith addresses the issue of what's sinful (if anything) about these supposedly "victimless" indulgences." Check it out here.

HT: Challies

Prayers We Need to Pray Again in Church

"ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen."

"ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, judge of all men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" (Both prayers from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer by Thomas Cranmer).

See Gordon Cheng's post on why we need to pray again like this here.

The Gospel and the Poor

I read this piece by Tim Keller a while back and it really impacted me. This should be required reading for everyone involved in ministry to the poor. It is also required reading for every Christian because we are all called to care for the poor. Elders at churches would profit greatly from it. Executive Directors of ministries should require their people to read this so that they have a sound biblical theology of the relationship between the gospel and the poor to undergird their practical day to day ministries.

Ajith Fernando Speaking in Toronto

One of my favourite Bible teachers in the world and author of such books as Jesus Driven Ministry and The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry is speaking in my home city.

Lecture: Authentic Christian Witness in Multi-Religious Settings

Thursday June 25; 12 noon to 1:30pm

"Today's missional leaders in North America and around the globe must be equipped to communicate the Good News of God's reign in contexts that are religiously pluralistic. In this lecture Dr. Ajith Fernando will discuss how to be an authentic Christian witness in a multi-religious setting. The lecture will take place at Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto, in Room 1008. To register, please contact Cathy Nguyen at cnguyen@tyndale.ca or 416-226-6620 ext. 2109."

Saturday, June 13, 6:45 PM at Thistletown Baptist Church
Free admission - all are welcome!

Enter a place of dreams - dreams of a young woman named Keisha. You will be transported to a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind, a dimension where people act the way they're dressed and the students sing. You will move into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas, where nobody gives bizarre behaviour a second thought. You will cross over into a Community College Musical. Keisha will learn the important lesson Jesus taught His disciples at the last supper: "Apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Keisha's Community College Musical is indeed a dream world, where truth is learned in strange ways.

Join Jehovah Shalom Youth Choir and Band for this special night of song and drama - and invite a friend. Light refreshments will be served.

• Community College Musical poster (pdf)
• Community College Musical image for email and web (jpg)
• Community College Musical black and white bulletin insert (pdf)

If Homosexuality is Simply Another Sin, Why is it Treated Differently in Churches?

David Short responds below:



If viewing this by email, you will have to go to the website to view the video.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die? What Actually Takes Place on the Cross?

David Short responds below:



If viewing by email, you will have to go to the website to see the video.

How Do you Respond When People Say that Science has Buried God?

Check out David Short's response below:



If viewing by email go to the website.

You will be Amazed!

Watch the whole thing, it is definitely worth it:



If viewing by email go to my website.

Missional Living 101

Some practical tips on how to build relationships with non-Christians and how to flee the Christian sub-culture.

HT: JT

The Gospel Coalition Workshops

The workshops are now online.

Two of the workshops are available in video (as well as audio):

• C. J. Mahaney, "The Pastor’s Charge"
• Joshua Harris, "Ministering in a Church-Hopping Society"

The rest of the sessions are available in audio only:

• Thabiti Anyabwile, "The Decline of African-American Theology"
• Buster Brown, "Preaching in a Christianized Culture"
• Steven Chin, "Working Faithfully Under a Senior Pastor"
• Graham Cole, "Homosexuality and the Bible: Texts, Hermeneutics, and Pastoral Wisdom"
• K. Edward Copeland and Charlie Dates, "Mentoring Younger Pastors"
• Andy Davis, "The Gospel and Social Action"
• Joshua Harris, "Ministering in a Church-Hopping Society"
• David Helm, "Biblical Reflections on Building a Staff"
• Bill Kynes, "Complementarianism: Definition and Priorities"
• Crawford Loritts, "Staying Faithful, Staying Relevant: The Use and Abuse of Polemical Preaching"
• Tom Nelson and Matt Perman, "The Gospel and Money"
• Colin Smith, "Transformational Expository Preaching"
• Stephen Um, "On Ministry and Revolving Doors: Practical Challenges and Ideas for Ministry in a Mobile Society"
• Sandy Willson, "Gospel Mission to the World: Arrogance or Love?"

Three of the sessions had corrupt audio, and the files are being worked on. It may be some time, however, before they become available:

• Michael Bullmore, "The Functional Centrality of the Gospel"
• Tim Savage, "Power in Weakness: The Heart of Gospel Ministry"
• Scotty Smith, "A Biblical Theology of Worship: On Preference and Other Matters"

HT: Justin Taylor

The Gospel Coalition Audio and Video

The audio and video from The Gospel Coalition conference are now available online for free. Most of them are expositions of 2 Timothy:

• Tim Keller, "The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry" (Acts 19:21-41)
• John Piper, "Feed the Flame of God’s Gift: Unashamed Courage in the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:1-12)
• Phil Ryken, "The Pattern of Sound Words" (2 Timothy 1:13-2:13)
• Mark Driscoll, "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth" (2 Timothy 2:14-26)
• K. Edward Copeland, "Shadowlands: Pitfalls and Parodies of Gospel-Centered Ministry" (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
• Bryan Chapell, "Preach the Word!" (2 Timothy 3:10-4:5)
• Ajith Fernando, "Gospel-Faithful Mission in the New Christendom"
• Panel Discussion: Tim Keller, John Piper, Ligon Duncan and Crawford Loritts (chair: Stephen Um)
• Ligon Duncan, "Finishing Well" (2 Timothy 4:6-22)
• Don Carson, "That By All Means I Might Win Some': Faithfulness and Flexibility in Gospel Proclamation" (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

HT: Justin Taylor

Youth Ministry Rock Stars!

This video speaks for itself:


Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

HT: Kerux

On the City

Get this for your church community. You won't regret it.



For those on email, you will have to go to my blog.

The Office Musical



HT: Cawley

Witness to the Power of the Gospel

Kathy Ireland shares her story here.

HT: Ray Ortlund

Move In Conference

Porn Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography and Masturbation

This book by Mark Driscoll I have found to be very helpful. It is the best modern book on this subject that I know of. It is a courageous book that speaks very powerfully to issues of lust, masturbation, and pornography. I think that this is the major issue that is keeping men from being the spiritual leaders that God would have them be. If you are a male I highly recommend you read it and give it to others that you know. It is available for free to read online, or to print out or email as a PDF. There is also an option of buying copies at a cheap price. I have bought some and given them out to friends and have received very positive feedback.

Update: Mark Driscoll's scriptural support in this book for oral sex from the Song of Songs is weak. See John MacArthur's four part series called:

• The Rape of Solomon's Song
• The Rape of Solomon's Song (Part 2)
• The Rape of Solomon's Song (Part 3)
• The Rape of Solomon's Song (Part 4--conclusion)
  

Calvin on Pride

"And let it be understood that, by his being made of earth and clay, a restraint was laid upon pride; since nothing is more absurd than for creatures to glory in their excellence who not only inhabit a cottage of clay but who are themselves composed partly of dust and ashes"

John Calvin, On the Christian Faith (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), 37.

Schreiner, Seifrid, and Vickers Assess Piper-Wright Debate

Yesterday, Tom Schreiner, Mark Seifrid, Brian Vickers, and Denny Burk had a conversation with the students of Boyce College about Paul’s doctrine of justification. In particular, they discussed Tom Wright’s new book Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision, which is largely a response to John Piper’s 2007 book The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. For more info and to listen to the audio, go here.

HT: JT

Easter Videos

One video discusses what Easter Is and one discusses the historical reliability of Jesus' resurrection.


THAT'S EASTER Life to Death from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.


THAT'S EASTER Death to Life from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.