The greatest need in the church today is the gospel. The gospel is not only news for a perishing world, it is the message that forms, sustains, and animates the church. Apart from the gospel, the church has nothing to say–that is, nothing to say that cannot be said by some other human agency. The gospel distinguishes the church from the world, defines her message and mission in the world, and steels her people against the fiery darts of the evil one and the false allurements of sin. The gospel is absolutely vital to a vibrant, joyous, persevering, hopeful, and healthy Christian and Christian church. So essential is the gospel to the Christian life that we need to be saturated in it in order to be healthy church members.
What is a Healthy Church Member (page 39)
by Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile
First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman
Question: Do you hear the gospel preached from the pulpit of your church on a regular basis? If not, why not? If someone ask you to explain the gospel to them, could you? If not, why not?
Technorati Tags: Gospel, Thabiti Anyabwile, Christian, Church
The apostle Paul has a vision for our minds: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).
May the Lord of all beauty purify your minds so that these are our greatest delights. In the end, the sum of all beauty is Christ, and the sin of all worldliness is to diminish our capacity to see him and be satisfied in him and show him compellingly to a perishing world.
John Piper
Pastor for Preaching and Vision,
Bethlehem Baptist Church
Minneapolis, Minnesota
from the forward to Worldliness — Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, C. J. Mahaney, Editor
Technorati Tags: john piper, worldliness, Christ, C J Mahaney
I’m not a preacher, just a lay person. It was not long ago, however, that I completed a basic lay speaking course and shortly after that had the honor and privilege to deliver God’s word to God’s people at two small churches. While I believe I did a credible job of delivering God’s word, if I should have that kind of opportunity again, I fully intend to remember what Pastor John Piper had to say about preaching.
In deciding what to preach make these two judgments: Is it true and is it precious? Preach what is both. If it is true, preach it with authority. If it is precious, preach it with passion.
One great reason why some preaching leaves people unmoved is that preachers seem unmoved. Is this precious or isn’t it? That is the question in the hearts of the people. If it is, why don’t you sound like it?
The great battle of preaching is to see what’s true and to savor what’s precious. Weak seeing and weak savoring are a curse to God’s people.
by John Piper
Read the full article here: Preach What’s True and Precious
Technorati Tags: preaching, john piper, Gospel
Tags: preaching
What’s the Gospel?
What’s the gospel? I’ll put it in a sentence.
The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.
That’s the gospel.
You Can’t Outgrow the Gospel
You never, never, never outgrow your need for it. Don’t ever think of the gospel as, “That’s the way you get saved, and then you get strong by leaving it and doing something else.”
No! We are strengthened by God through the gospel every day, till the day we drop.
You never outgrow the need to preach to yourself the gospel.
by John Piper
Read the entire article here: The Gospel in 6 Minutes (video)
Technorati Tags: John Piper, Gospel, desiringGod
Tags: Gospel
The company that owns WordPress, AutoMattic, just acquired PollDaddy (www.polldaddy.com) so I thought I’d try it out. If everything works, this post should have a poll in it. If you host your own WordPress blog, get the plugin here: PollDaddy.
If the poll does display, please take a moment and participate.
Edit: I see that it works. Cool beans!
Technorati Tags: polldaddy, automattic, polls
Today is the day that Crossway releases the ESV Study Bible. Everything that I’ve read about this new English Standard Version Study Bible has been every positive. I have my order in with amazon.com already.
The goal and vision of the ESV Study Bible is, first and foremost, to honor the Lord—in terms of the excellence, beauty, and accuracy of its content and design; and in terms of helping people come to a deeper understanding of the Bible, of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Crossway is a not-for-profit publishing ministry and all receipts from the ESV Study Bible go directly toward the support of this ministry goal around the world.
A review by Tim Challies: The ESV Study Bible – A Review
Technorati Tags: ESV Study Bible, Crossway, ESV, English Standard Version
I recently came across this term, humble orthodoxy, on the New Attitude website. The following description from that website resonates with me. What do you think?
What is humble orthodoxy?Humble orthodoxy is a commitment to believe, live, and represent biblical truth with humility.
Believe
We believe that God has revealed Himself in Scripture and that His revelation reaches its culmination in the Person and work of Christ on the cross. God’s truth in Scripture should not be redefined or reinvented. Our role is not to redefine truth but to receive God’s truth.Live
We believe that the truth of the gospel transforms not only what we believe but how we live. Biblical truth doesn’t merely inform us, it introduces us to a person who changes us.Represent
We believe that the gospel demands humility from those who represent it. We want to represent the truth not merely as those who are right, but as those who have been rescued.Forget reinvention. Embrace a humble orthodoxy.
Technorati Tags: humble orthodoxy, new attitude, christian
This is the new home for my blog that I published for three years at stoutmemorial.org/voices. That blog will remain up for a while but no new content will be added [content was removed on 5/12/09]. I will continue to write about Christian topics of interest to me, and hopefully my readers, and from time to time I will also write about other topics of interest. I enjoy digital photography, new technology, reading, web development and visiting scenic sites. All of these things are potential topics for this blog.