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- March 20, 2012

1993 reprint of Chafer's Systematic Theology (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The current issue of Preaching magazine has Albert Mohler’s annual list of recommended books for pastors. There is a good mix of books here, though I suspect most pastors would take just about the whole year to get through the entire list!

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle
Christian Apologetics: Past and Present, Vol. 2 by William Edgar & K. Scott Oliphant
The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way by Michael Horton
Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Gregg R. Allison
Lost in Translation: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood by Christian Smith, Kari Christofferson, Hilary Davidson, Patricia Snell Herzog
A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G.K. Beale
The Next Decade: Empire and Republic in a Changing World by George Friedman
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs
Reading Scripture with the Reformers by Timothy George
The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion by Rodney Stark

Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

- October 08, 2015

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it? How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. This new church

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

- November 26, 2017

2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness."

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

- June 04, 2014

Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5). By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age. Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith. Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, but to make it p

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Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

- October 08, 2015

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it? How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. This new church

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

- November 26, 2017

2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness."

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

- June 04, 2014

Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5). By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age. Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith. Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, but to make it p

What does the bible word eschew mean?

- September 10, 2012

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil , and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it." ( 1 Peter 3:10-11 ) The venerable English word "eschew" is not used much these days, perhaps because there is not much evil that people eschew any more. Nevertheless, a wonderful formula is couched in this terminology in our text. If anyone desires to "see good days," then he should "eschew evil," even in his speech and instead "do good." The Greek word translated "eschew" here is ekklineo, meaning "incline away from." That is, instead of having an attitude that "inclines toward" evil, as the world does, the Christian 's inclination must be its polar opposite. The word is used only two other times in the New Testament . "Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye ha

How does God judge the unrepentant dead?

- January 29, 2015

Jesus’ death on the cross constitutes God ’s judgment on the sin of the world. This judgment is effective for sinners who repent and believe in Jesus as Israel ’s Messiah and Savior of the world . The day of judgment on which God will judge all human beings will take place at Jesus’ second coming. Jesus, Paul, and John agree on this “date” of the day of judgment. John’s description is complex. While he leaves no doubt that Jesus’ coming as Judge brings God’s judgment on the unrepentant, he refers to the judgment of the righteous only in connection with Jesus’ return and the one-thousand-year period in which the resurrected saints reign with Jesus Christ . John describes two judgment scenes, which are best interpreted as two different judgments: the judgment of the unrepentant on the day of judgment at Jesus’ second coming (Rev. 19:11–21) and the judgment of the dead before God’s great white throne at the end of the millennium (20:11–15). The unrepentant dead are judged again beca

Australia Day: Great Southland of the Holy Spirit?

- January 22, 2014

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many will be familiar with references to the ‘ Great South Land of the Holy Spirit .’ We talk about it, we sing about it, but what’s it really all about? Can we really claim that this is God’s own country? Is there something spiritually significant about this nation of ours beyond the fact that all the earth belongs to God? The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit reference stems from a proclamation by Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros , a Portugese seaman and explorer. In March 1603 Queirós was finally authorized to return to Peru to establish another expedition, with the intention of finding Terra Australis, the mythical “great south land,” and claiming it for Spain and the Church. Queirós’s party of 160 men on three ships, San Pedro y San Pablo (150 tons), San Pedro (120 tons) and the tender (or launch) Los Tres Reyes left Callao on 21 December 1605. In May 1606 the expedition reached the islands later call

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved

- January 10, 2016

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the Proverbs tell us, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of the end of all other fears. For us as sons of God, to fear God means to humbly trust Him and helplessly tremble before Him with reverence and awe, love and gratitude (Ps. 147:11; 2 Cor. 7:15; Heb. 12:28). Although most fear is deadly, the fear of the Lord is life. The fears we experience in this life are countless and complex. And while we have chosen to address seven deadly fears, there are innumerably more that each of us experience every day of our lives. For it’s not only that we experience fears from things outside of us, but that we experience fears from things within us, as Martin Luther admitted: “I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.” Fear often takes the form of anxiety when we worry about things that might happen to us, but it also takes the form of anxiety when we worry about things that have already happened to us. We fear not onl

30 Questions & Answers on Homosexuality and the Bible

- September 06, 2017

Question 1: Aren't Christians being selective with Old Testament law when they appeal to it with respect to homosexuality, while ignoring Old Testament commands about clothing, food, etc.? In some sense, yes, because we are singling out the moral law, which is exactly what the New Testament trains us to do. The book of Acts distinctly separates the ceremonial and liturgical laws from the moral law. The Lord told Peter not to distinguish between clean and unclean animals any longer (Acts 10:9-16). At the same time, the Jerusalem Council clearly confirmed the continuation of the moral law (Acts 15). Paul tells us the gospel is for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, which obliterates that distinction in the holiness code. Nevertheless, Paul regularly returns to the moral law of the Old Testament to show and defend the character of righteous living in general and the commandments against same-sex acts in particular. If we still depended on the Levitical code for

Why is Jephtah listed as a hero of the faith in Hebrews 11:23?

- March 08, 2016

Jephthah was a judge in Israel who made a problematic vow that may have led him to offer his only daughter as a human sacrifice ( Judges 11). An examination of how the grace of God abounded to him in spite of the consequences of his vow provides us with some valuable lessons. Jephthah as a Spiritually Minded Judge in Israel During a dark period in Israel’s history, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor” ( Judges 11:1 ). Because he was the son of a harlot, his brethren prevented him from inheriting a share of his father’s estate ( Judges 11:1-2 ). Fleeing from them, Jephthah lived in the land of Tob and became the leader over a band of “vain men” who joined up with him ( Judges 11:3 ). When the Ammonites warred against Israel, the elders of Gilead sought him out to lead Israel in fighting against them ( Judges 11:4-10 ). In spite of his being the son of a harlot and drawing to himself a group of worthless men, Jephthah manifested at this time both to the Isra

What is the middle verse of the Old Testament?

- May 10, 2010

Do you know what the middle verse of the Old Testament is? It's 2 Chronicles 20:17: "You will not have to fight in this battle." This is a significant verse—and not just because it's the midpoint of the Old Testament. It's significant because of what it says to all of us who are fighting battles. Who's God talking to in this passage? He's talking to King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites. They're about to be attacked by three enemies: the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites. I don't know about you, but I'm not fond of three-against-one fights! Jehoshaphat had to be worried about how they'd be able to defend themselves in such a battle, but God knew what Jehoshaphat was thinking. He said, "You will not have to fight in this battle." Now, that's the kind of battle I like! If you don't fight, you can't get hurt. Let God Be God What God tells Jehoshaphat in this passage, and what he would remind us today, is this: "

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