What You Must Believe If You Are a Premillennialist
“If you watched or listened to the eschatology roundtable discussion at Desiring God, you heard Sam Storms make the case that when Christ returns, the NT is clear that a number of things will end at that time (sin, corruption, death) and a number of things will begin at that time (our physical resurrection, final judgment, new heavens and new earth). In other words, when Christ returns, it’s “curtains” on sin and death. But in Premillennialism, there are still a thousand years of sin and death and corruption.” What You Must Believe If You Are a Premillennialist and “Thrones” in Revelation by Sam Storms
How to Attract the Next Generation
(GG: Everything said here about how to reach youth could also apply to how to reach postmoderns. Forget the philosophizing. Simply amaze them with God!)
“You just have to be like Jesus. That’s it. So the easy part is you don’t have to be with it. The hard part is you have to be with Him. If you walk with God and walk with people, you’ll reach the next generation. Let me unpack that a bit. After thinking through the question for over a year, I’ve come up five suggestions for pastors, youth workers, campus staff, and for anyone else who wants to pass the faith on to the next generation: Grab them with passion. Win them with love. Hold them with holiness. Challenge them with truth. Amaze them with God.” Grab Them With Passion by Kevin DeYoung
“Jesus said it best: ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’…Jesus did not say ‘They will know you are my disciples by how attune you are to new trends in youth culture.’ Or ‘They will know you are my disciples by the hip atmosphere you create.’ Give up on relevance, and try love. If they see love in you, love for each other, love for the world, and love for them, they will listen. No matter who the ‘they’ are.” Win Them With Love by K.D.
“What I’m saying is that being experts in the culture matters nothing, and worse than nothing, if we are not first of all experts in love, truth, and holiness. Look at what God says in 2 Peter 1:5-8…For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you pick up on the promise in the last verse? If we are growing in faith, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, we will not be ineffective ministers for Christ. If ever there was a secret to effective ministry, these verses give it to us. Grow in God and you’ll make a difference in people’s lives.” Hold Them With Holiness by K.D.
“Doctrine and preaching—88% said the doctrine led them to their church and 90% said the preaching led them there, in particular, pastor who preached with certitude and conviction.” Challenge Them With Truth by K.D.
“If only I would trust God that God is enough to win the hearts and minds of the next generation. It’s his work much more than it is mine or yours. So make him front and center. Don’t preach your doubts as mystery. And don’t reduce God to your own level. If ever people were starving for a God the size of God, surely it is now.” Amaze Them With God by K.D.
Purity, Sex, and Marriage Books
See this helpful annotated bibliography. Sexual Detox: Recommended Resources by Tim Challies
Tom Schreiner’s Theology Articles
Learn from Schreiner’s journal articles on topics including God’s law, book reviews, and more. Thomas R. Schreiner by Thomas Schreiner
Propitiation as the Ground of Christus Victor
“So it’s not Christus Victor (Christ defeating his enemies) instead of propitiation (Christ bearing God’s wrath)–rather, it’s Christus Victor because of propitiation. Both are gloriously important, but only in that order.” Propitiation as the Ground of Christus Victor by Justin Taylor
Critiques of the Missional Church
“I have no idea when exactly conservative evangelicals co-opted the term “missional.” [9] My guess is that conservative writers and pastors in the emerging church movement like Mark Driscoll, after tromping through some of the same fields as their liberal counterparts, reached down, pulled up the missional plant by the roots, and then transplanted it into conservative soil.” What in the World is a Missional Church by Jonathan Leeman
“1. What are the Strengths of Missional Churches?
A. Missional Churches Have a Commendable Passion for Evangelism.
B. Missional Churches Have a Laudable Commitment to Engaging Culture.
C. Missional Churches Have a Profitable Impulse for Reexamining Church Tradition.
D. They Also Possess an Admirable Devotion to Social Impact.
2. What are the Weaknesses of Missional Churches?
A. Missional Churches Tend to Be Mission-Centered Rather Than Gospel-Centered.
B. Missional Churches Tend to Have a Reductionistic Ecclesiology.
C. Missional Churches Tend to Confuse Culture Engagement with Cultural Immersion.
D. Missional Churches Tend to Downplay the Institutional and Organizational Nature of the Church.
E. Missional Churches Tend to Have an Insufficient Understanding of Apostolic Ministry.” Critiquing the Missional Movement by Tony Reinke
Seminary Training On Campus, Online, or Where?
(GG: The advantages and disadvantages of seminary training on campus, extension centers, Internet classes, J-Terms, and independent study.) “There is no ‘best’ option for taking seminary courses. Each of the options has been helpful to me, depending upon my stage in life and ministry. The best thing a prospective student can do is consider the positives and negatives and figure out which option best suits the current need.” Seminary Online, by Extension or On-Campus? by Trevin Wax
Muslim Population Growing to 1 in 4 People Worldwide
“Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim — and they are not necessarily where you might think, according to an extensive new study that aims to map the global Muslim population…There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report, ‘Mapping the Global Muslim Population,’ by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That represents about 23 percent of the total global population of 6.8 billion.” Nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide is Muslim, report says by CNN
Evolution’s Missing Link Disappears
“Remember Ida, the fossil discovery announced last May with its own book and TV documentary? A publicity blitz called it “the link” that would reveal the earliest evolutionary roots of monkeys, apes and humans…The new analysis says Darwinius does not belong in the same primate category as monkeys, apes and humans. Instead, the analysis concluded, it falls into the other major grouping, which includes lemurs.” ‘Missing link’ primate isn’t a link after all by MSNBC
Tags: christus victor, missional church, Premillennialism, propitiation, seminary training
