Gospel Living

This list might be a bit late, but here are a few books I enjoyed last year and recommend. Bible Why Four Gospels? by David Alan Black My Review Biographies Men of Science Men of God by Henry M. Morris My Review The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield My Review Christian Living Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology by Andrew David Naselli My Review Charismatic The Fallible Prophets of New Calvinism by Michael John Beasley My Review End-Times Dispensationalism: Essential Beliefs and Common Myths by Michael J. Vlach My Review Premillennialism: Why There Musts Be a Future Earthly Kingdom of Jesus by Michael Vlach My Review Family The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions by Terry L. Johnson My Review The Holy Spirit God's Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments ...

We don't just experience God's presence individually, but also in corporate worship. This is why being in fellowship with other believers on Sundays is vital to the health of the Christian life.  That life is then lived individually, but always in the presence of God. Consider this from "God's Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments (New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology)" by James M. Jr. Hamilton, E. Ray Clendenen --- "In the old covenant God faithfully remained with His people, accompanying them in a pillar of fire and cloud, then dwelling among them in the tabernacle and the temple. Under the new covenant, the only temple is the believing community itself, and God dwells not only among the community corporately (Matt 18:20; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16), but also in each member individually (John 14:17; Rom 8:9–11; 1 Cor 6:19)." Start reading this book for free: http://amzn.to/2h9Icjm

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” 2 Timothy 4:13 A famous C. H. Spurgeon quote dovetails from this verse: Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. You need to read. … We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure time, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, “Bring the books” — join in the cry. This list represents books that I’ve read and recommend for the Body of Christ on a variety of subjects.  Many of them were required reading in college and seminary, so some are header than others (see “ Ten[ish] Books Every Christian Should Read ” for an introductory list)....

Preaching requires work, and a good pastor will put in the hours.  Here's what I'm using for preaching through 1 Peter, in case you're interested. Arichea, Daniel C. and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the First Letter from Peter , UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980). Abernathy, David. An Exegetical Summary of 1 Peter , 2nd ed. (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2008). Alford, Henry.  Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary , Vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Guardian Press, 1976). Black, Allen and Mark C. Black, 1 & 2 Peter , The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 1998). Calvin, John and John Owen, Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010). Case, David A. and David W. Holdren, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2006). Clowney, Edmund.  The Message of 1 Peter . The Bible Speaks Tod...

Someone asked me a few weeks ago for a recommended reading list for the new year.  So, here is a top ten (ish) as of now.  There are readers out there who put me to shame, so feel free to let me know what you might add! The first item on the list shouldn’t be on the list, because it should go without saying— a Bible .  Not just any Bible, though, but a good, text-only translation of the Bible.  Every Christian should become conversant in the book God gave us, and a faithful translation is essential.  Moreover, Christians need a Bible that won’t distract them with commentary and notes from others, which is where the text-only version comes into play (getting an MSB below is great, but you need to read a Bible in which you are free to observe on your own first).  Good translations include the English Standard Version (what I preach from) or the New American Standard Version.  The King James Version would also fall into this category, though its languag...

Pray then like this ...   forgive us our debts (Mt 6:9, 12) We are all born the enemies of God (Rom 5:10).  Consider: God is holy , and we are not.  We chaff at the separation from sin we so love that He calls us to. God is omniscient , and knows every sin we do in secret.  Cf. Ps 139:7–8, Mt 12:36.  We chaff that we can’t have a moment to enjoy sin without His eye catching it. God is omnipotent , and can bring us low at any moment.  We chaff because He can destroy our bodies and cast us into Hell for sinning, and there’s nothing we can do about it. God is immutable , and we want Him to move.  We chaff because we have no hope that He will change His mind on sin, or that He will forget what we have done, or that His power would falter.  We can only have two responses to God.  We can continue to shake our fists at Him, or we can humble ourselves, asking Him to forgive our debts against Him. Romans 5:10 says, “For if while we ...

From the 2013  GCC  Men's Conference: Download MP3 Download Notes Purchase the Book (Amazon)

From the 2013  GCC  Men's Conference: Download MP3 Download Notes Purchase the Book (Amazon)

From the 2013  GCC  Men's Conference: Download MP3 Download Notes Purchase the Book (Amazon)

From the 2013 GCC Men's Conference: Download MP3 Download Notes Purchase the Book (Amazon)

Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible by Peter Krol My rating: 4 of 5 stars Peter Krol wraps a powerful Bible study tool in a small package, paring acres of difficult hermeneutical texts down into this accessible 100+ page resource. With enough lessons to keep a small group or Sunday School class active for a few weeks, his book leaves lay people with confidence that they can understand Scripture through the tested O-I-A method. You should not only OBSERVE my review and INTERPRET it to mean that you should get his book, but that you also APPLY it by purchasing it for yourself or your church's library today. View all my reviews

A key element of biblical teaching that's absent from our churches today is expositional teaching on the Law, the Torah . Possibly one of the causes of this want of the “whole council of God” is that of the false dichotomy—shall we preach Christ and His New Covenant, or shall we commit our preaching to that which has passed away? In other words, the either-or proposition erroneously leads our churches to decide between preaching Law or Gospel.  This dichotomy is false in that it ignores the Law’s inspired profit to us even today (2 Tim 3:16–17) and that it fails to divine part of God’s intent in the Law—to lead His people to the glories of the Gospel. Without the Law, the good news has no meaning.  Consider this from Bridges: [The Law’s] cognizance of every thought, imagination, desire, word, and work, and its uncompromising demand of absolute and uninterrupted obedience, upon pain of its everlasting penalty—convince the heart of its guilt, defilement, and wretchedn...

Pastors (and dads): do you pray for your flock? It is of little use to be devoted to labour for our people, if we are not equally devoted to prayer on their behalf. God make us Ministers of much prayer! For without this devotional spirit, we possess only that negative existence, which will eventually cut us off from the Church, as an useless 'incumbrance, instead of an instrument of good. A Ministry of power must be a Ministry of prayer. Thus Moses, Aaron, and Samuel,  stood in the gap. Jeremiah's intercession seemed as if it could restrain the execution of the Divine purposes. This was the Apostle's chief mode of expressing his " longing after'' his people, " in the bowels of Jesus Christ." He seems as if he never bowed his knee before his God without expressing his interest on their behalf. Could such a spirit fail of " having power with God, and prevailing? " Without this prevalency with God, we can never hope to prevail with men. ...

If you've read The Peacemaker and The Peacemaking Pastor , or are familiar with Peacemaker Ministries , you know the treasures Ken Sande give to the Christian world.  This month, Christian Audio is providing another one of his books for free download: Resolving Everyday Conflict . This free download is available in MP3, M4B, and One-Click Zip formats . Here is the description from their emailer: Everyone desires peace and harmony in their relationships. Yet, whether it is with a co-worker, family member, friend, or even a complete stranger, everyone encounters conflict some of the time. Resolving Everyday Conflict , our free audiobook for May is a practical, biblical, and concise guide to peacemaking in everyday life that can turn your troubled relationships into peaceful ones.   The warm and engaging narration of this audiobook by Maurice England earned this title a finalist nod in the Inspirational Non-Fiction category of the 2012 Audies, and it has received numerou...

Amazon is showing some crazy love with these free offers for their Kindle users.  (HT: Slimjim )  If you don't have a Kindle, not only are they cheaper than ever , the apps for PC, etc., are free . Free books, free reader.  Nice?  Nice. Enjoy these as you worship this weekend: This offer good from 12:01 AM, April 6th until 11:59 PM, April 7th 2012, Pacific Time. 1.) Crazy Love Click  HERE. 2.) Forgot Click  HERE . 3.) Erasing Hell Click  HERE.

There are a lot of great Bible reading and prayer programs to get you started in the New Year, but there is one vital question everyone should answer to examine their underlying motivations for such resolutions: do I know God? No, I don't just mean "know" in the salvific sense (though, if He has not saved your soul yet, remember that  the Christmas season was the celebration of His offer of salvation ).  I mean that there are often barriers in relationships which we must identify. J.I. Packer has done a wonderful job of helping us with just that, and this month the audio version of his book is free .  Here is the description from the site: A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirec...

Andy Nasselli posted a free PDF of the following article with the publisher’s permission: William D. Barrick . “ Noah’s Flood and Its Geological Implications .” Pages 251–81 in Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth . Edited by Terry Mortenson and Thane H. Ury. Green Forest, AR: Master, 2008. Outline of Dr. Barrick’s article: The A Priori Status of the Biblical Record of the Flood The Biblical Chronology of the Flood Narrative [Literary Issues] Translation with Chronological Notations Introduction to the Flood Narrative Proper (7:6–10) I. First Section of the Flood Narrative (7:11-18) II. Second Section of the Flood Narrative (7:19–8:4) III. Third Section of the Flood Narrative (8:5–12) Conclusion to the Flood Narrative Proper (8:13–14) Two-Fold Purpose of the Flood Prevailing Phase Subsiding Phase: A Key Interpretative Issue Involving Mechanism [three observations] Summary of Chronology Geological Inferences [Global Tectonics] Co...

From Preaching with Passion : The mistake made by many young preachers is that they attempt to mimic the style of great, older preachers, but they fail to mimic their lives as well. The latter gives the former its power. First we sanctify the man, who in turn sanctifies the style. If we would make it our ambition to know Christ more intimately, we would preach Christ more powerfully. Authority comes when the glory of Christ surrounds our lives, even as in the case of Moses on his decent from Mount Sinai (cf. Exod. 34:28–35). Paul’s advice to young Timothy was to strive to be what he preached, knowing that the more of the Word the man has in his life, the more life there will be in his spoken word (81).

In 1997, the Harry Potter  series (HP) landed and sparked the hopes of wary educators that a generation of kids might start reading.  It also ignited a firestorm of Christian commentary on the perceived evils of a book dealing with things the Bible forbids, namely witchcraft. This ChristianAnswers.net article gives a good summary of why believers should  not let kids read the books (or, by extension, watch the movies).  I've got to admit it: it summed up my beliefs about HP (here we go) until recently. I agree with that article to the overarching question: HP is not "safe," but I disagree as to the meaning of that word and to some of the article's individual points.   HP is not safe in that nothing is safe without Christian, parental guidance (including your view as to what an appropriate level of violence might be); it will not unsafe, however, in that it is a beacon that will lead my kids into Satan worship.  I've read ...

This passage is for any preacher who looses his compassion: There have been times in my ministry when an icy chill has come over my heart, when my soul no longer weeps, when my sermons no longer connect, and when the act of preaching becomes a drudgery. I know that I have then lost compassion for people. That is when I retreat to a small taco stand in the barrio of East Los Angeles, to a place where real people live. I order a cup of coffee and sit with my back against the wall. Then I watch, I observe, I read, and I listen intently for the heart cry.  A group of gang-bangers come in for a snack—one in four will die before the age of eighteen; two of the others will end up in prison. All are doomed to a hard life. A young mother comes in with her brood of youngsters. It is obvious that they are poor. They share drinks. They live in poverty; some will never see a forest or snow. An old drunk staggers in, begging for a meal. He is quickly thrown out. That was somebody’s ...