What is Prophecy and Has it Ceased?

A while back, Jim Hamilton shows exegetically why the position advocated by Wayne Grudem and others looks wanting.

So, Aren't We All Cessationists (at least on this point)

A while back, Jim Hamilton, a professor of Biblical Theology at SBTS argues this exegetically (which many think is impossible). He is very convincing.

Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of this Year

Don Whitney states the following:

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

HT: JT

Do You Love Jesus Christ?

John Piper explores this topic in his new Taste and See article here.

Reading Through the Bible in a Year: Some Different Plans

Justin Taylor reviews a number of different Bible reading plans here in this very helpful post.

How John Stott Prepares a Sermon

Check here for good practical help on the preparation of Biblical messages that will feed your own soul and will feed the souls the people you serve.

Update: I fixed the link.

Biblical Humility

Timothy Keller has a helpful article on this in Christianity Today.

HT: JT

Need Encouragement to Study Biblical Greek?

Maybe this video will provide some much needed inspiration.



HT: Jim Hamilton

Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism

My friend John Meinen recommended this article this past summer. It is a very helpful analysis of Facebook and other such things. I enjoyed reading it then and I highly recommend it to you to evaluate the impact of this type of technology on your life.

On a related note, Justin Buzzard has some helpful thoughts on thinking biblically about Facebook here.

Mark Driscoll interviews D.A. Carson

Below is a very interesting, personal, and insightful interview. I especially enjoyed D.A. Carson's discussion of the life of his father and what true success in ministry looks like.



HT: Darryl Dash

True Evangelism Advice from an Atheist

Penn of Penn and Teller is an atheist. His response to being evangelized after a show may surprise you.

"I don't respect people who don't proselytize. If you believe that there's a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, and you think, 'Well, it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward'...How much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that."

HT: Darryl Dash

Mark Dever on Evangelism

Desiring God did some YouTube interviews with Mark Dever:

• On the Gospel
  
• On the Motive for Doing Evangelism
  
• On the Gift of Evangelism
  
• On the Difficulty of Doing Evangelism as a Pastor
  
• On What It Means to Fail at Evangelism
  
• On Creating a Culture of Evangelism in Your Church

HT: JT

Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson

On October 30th, there was a debate between atheist Christopher Hitchens (author of God is not Great) and Christian Douglas Wilson (author of Letter from a Christian Citizen) on the existence of God.

You can watch the lively debate here.

You can also read Dr. Oliphant’s thoughts on the debate here.

HT: Tullian

Pragmatic Christianity

Are you a pragmatic Christian? If you are a leader in the Church, are you unknowingly helping or encouraging Christians to embrace the philosophy of pragmatism? Check out this interesting post by Phil Steiger here.

True Repentance: A Message by Paul Washer

This is Abortion

Check out this powerful video specifically addressed to Canadians. What are you doing?

Happy Reformation Day!

Without the faithfulness of this one man, I might never have heard the pure biblical gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, through Christ alone we are saved to live for the glory of God alone. Good news indeed! For more on Reformation day check out this site.

Quote of the Day: Francis Schaeffer

“Tell me what the world is saying today and I’ll tell you what the church will be saying in seven years.”

-Francis Schaeffer

In trying to become relevant, we become irrelevant. Truth is always relevant. Because God exists, God reigns, Jesus died and rose again and will come again to judge the living and the dead, expositing the Bible in the power of the Spirit is the most relevant thing we can do on earth.

Princeton Professor's Analysis of Obama's Abortion Extremism

Check out this well written, logically argued, eye opening article written by Robert P. George (Harvard Law School (JD), Harvard Divinity School (MTS), and New College, Oxford (DPhil), McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, here.

HT: JT

Abortion: The Hidden Holocaust

Check out this powerful video below. What are we Canadians doing to stop this violence against our most vulnerable and defenseless children?



HT: JT