Quick Hits (7/16/08)

There is more pleasure in God than sin.
This first link is just fantastic. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time. I’ve wanted to read Charnock’s Existence and Attributes of God for some time; in the past I’ve merely referenced it when studying a particular topic. Beyond that, I’m very aware that my reading [...]

Mahaney on Christ’s Forsakenness

I’ve mentioned before that I’m working through CJ Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life with a couple men from our church. This morning we worked through chapters 7-8, the latter of which is entitled “The Scream of the Damned” and focuses on Christ’s forsakenness. What an amazing thought—that Jesus, who ever pleased the Father, was [...]

Spurgeon on the Christian Soldier’s Great Love

Please plan a time over the next few days to read Spurgeon’s sermon on 2 Timothy 2:3, “A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ.” Outside of the Scriptures themselves, I doubt that you’ll read much that will be so profitable for your soul and Christ’s kingdom. I read a fair amount of Spurgeon, and I don’t [...]

“The Place of Women in the Church”

I occasionally get a useful insight regarding a text’s meaning or application from The Interpreter’s Bible commentary set which was printed in the 1950’s by the United Methodists. I know that it has liberal tendencies, but I’ve sometimes found some helpful meat amidst the bones—even if it’s just a clever turn of phrase. Today was [...]

Things I Wish I’d Said, 2

Here are some insightful statements I’ve come across in recent weeks. Many are from T4G, which I enjoyed very much. (Links to all the T4G “talks” are available at Andy Naselli’s place.)
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This statement from Mark Dever’s T4G message is on-target:
“Pragmatism is more of a danger to evangelical Christians than Open Theism will ever be.”
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This is [...]

Things I Wish I’d Said, 1

There’s nothing like reading your own thoughts expressed more articulately by someone else. Every reader knows the “eureka!” moment when you say to yourself “That’s what I’ve been thinking, but I haven’t been able to say it so clearly. Yes!” Well, when I have those moments now, I’ll collect the statements here. When I’ve gathered [...]

Good Stuff from John Piper and Phil Johnson

Good Stuff from John Piper
I’ve always appreciated Piper’s biographical lectures, but I thought his discussion of John Newton was particularly good. I appreciate God’s working in Newton’s life more, but I also appreciated other ministerial lessons—not the least of which is a comical discussion on the perils of speaking in principles rather than drawing vivid [...]

Doran (and Spurgeon) on Hymns and Hymnwriters

Three Qualities of God-Honoring Worship Songs by Dave Doran is a must-hear message. It is the “church” version of a lecture he delivered at the most recent Mid-America Conference on Preaching and is therefore free. (A$ oppo$ed to the me$$age I ordered from MA¢P for $5. Ni¢e.) In it, Doran urges church leaders to exercise [...]

Normal Christianity: Blurring the Lines and Raising the Bar

A young man in our ministry has been a particular delight to my soul during the last decade. Dave came to know Christ during the first few years of Tri-County Bible Church’s existence, when he was a senior in high school. He immediately began to grow like a weed (or, as Joe Tyrpak insists, “like [...]

What I’m Reading: The Wages of Spin, with Thoughts on Carl Trueman

I was introduced to Carl Trueman “The Teacher” by my online friend Andy Naselli. Andy linked to a series of Trueman’s articles on John Owen last spring, and I listened to them while I ran or mowed my lawn. After enjoying a couple of the lectures, I emailed Andy and casually asked “Who is Carl [...]