Report On Short Term Mission to the Czech Republic

I interviewed Tom Hinders about his recent mission trip to the Czech Republic. The audio is a little over 10 minutes long. You can listen by clicking here.



Tom is from my home church. I'm very proud of Tom for going on the mission and pray the Lord leads him into fruitful fields as he continues his theological education.

The Great Trinity Debate: Bowman & Burke

Evangelical Rob Bowman and Christadelphian Dave Burke have completed their debate of the nature of God on the Parchment and Pen blog. Below are their posts collected in summary form to help you follow the discussion from beginning to end.

Preliminaries

• Resource List: Bowman & Burke
• Introduction: Bowman

Part 1 - On God and Scripture

• Bowman
• Burke

Part 2 - On Jesus Christ

• Bowman
• Burke

Part 3 - On Jesus Christ, continued

• Bowman
• Burke

Part 4 - On The Holy Spirit

• Bowman
• Burke

Part 5 - On The Trinity

• Bowman
• Burke
  
  
  
  

Part 6 - Closing Statements

• Bowman
• Burke

Many Convincing Proofs or How Jesus Patiently Loves

I had the blessed opportunity to preach at my home church today. The message was on Jesus' numerous resurrection appearances and how he repeatedly showed himself to his disciples to destroy their unbelief. The sermon is a little longer than 30 minutes. You can listen to it by clicking here.

"God is still God. God is still good." - Zac Smith

Brothers and Sisters,
Is Jesus good enough to carry us through trouble? Is he truly good?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

HT:JT

Words of Wisdom

"Fear not! The reward is glorious; the honor is beyond all earthly honors. The contempt and enmity are but for a day; the dignity and the blessedness are forever and ever."

--Horatius Bonar

Pierced for Our Transgressions

I finally finished my first reading of Pierced for Our Transgressions by Jeffery, Ovey, and Sach. It is an excellent work and well worth the time. I hope to post a full review in a few days. The authors take the time to deal with many current objections to penal substitutionary atonement, explaining and exploring models of justice displayed in various positions, identifying and critiquing underlying presuppositions, and offering helpful advice on less-than-helpful illustrations which enjoy broad use within evangelical preaching.

This was a great volume to follow Morris' The Cross in the New Testament. Morris explored the rich pallete of the atonement and responded more than adequately to positions which still hold sway in several branches of the church. Jeffery, Ovey, and Sach continue his analysis into current trends and echo the faithful work of Morris to our current generation of evangelical theologians.

The Passion & The Empty Tomb

John Ankerberg is offering a free pdf of the book he co-authored with John Weldon, The Passion and the Empty Tomb.

Warnock interviews Grudem

Here is an interesting video, where Adrian Warnock interviews Wayne Grudem. While it is relatively brief and they do not explore any single question in depth, there is a lesson to be had. We are able here to peek through a small window into a mature theological world-view. Grudem does not display foolish middle-of-the-road muddle-ism as he considers and answers Adrian's questions. Instead, he externalizes his internal dialog so we might see the path he walks from the question to living out the answer.

Young brothers and sisters, take note. Life is richly textured. Your walk in this life need not be reduced to a pallete of black and white. There is room for nuance and vibrance in your daily walk.

Words of Wisdom

They think they make a very wise bargain when they sell their conscience, God, and heaven for a little of that which some call riches.

-- James Janeway

The One True God by Paul Washer

You can download a pdf edition of The One True God by Paul Washer. It is structured very differently than most other theological books. It is more like a workbook for a Bible study than an academic textbook. The author intends to get you into the biblical text and to utilize your mind and your heart in the pursuit of God through the Bible. Paul has served as a missionary and is the director of the HeartCry Missionary Society, which he founded during the time of his mission in Peru.

Read Tim Challies' review here.

How God Tests His People

"God tests his people by actual experience. He did not test Abraham by words only; he did not say to him, "Will you do this? Are you willing to do that?" It is always easy to say that we will do a thing if we do not expect to be compelled to do it. We can make large promises when we think we shall never be called upon to fulfill them; we can even think large things today about what we intend to do tomorrow. It is always easy to rise up early overnight. But God does not prove his people in word only, but in deed and in truth."

--Spurgeon, excerpted from Abraham's Trial: A Lesson For Believers