JesusSaidFollowMe Blog

By Greg Gibson

God’s Presence From Eden, to the Temple, to the New Earth
Understand God’s redemptive-historical plan to expand His glorious presence from the Garden, to the Temple, to the New Earth. Much of this material is taken from the book “The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God by G.K. Beale. Two sermons: “Why Is the New Heaven and the New Earth Equated with the Temple?” Highest recommendation. Part 1 and Part 2 by G.K. Beale

12 Reasons Why Adam Was a Real, Historical Person
“But the twelve observations above indicate that the historicity of Adam is a thread woven all the way through the Bible’s history, theology, and ethics. Pull out that thread and sooner or later the whole garment will unravel.” Was Adam a Real Historical Individual? by James Anderson

Biblical Counseling Training
Where can you find training in Biblical counseling (as opposed to psychological counseling)? Top Choices for Counselor Training by Rick Thomas, and Biblical Counseling Training by 9 Marks

New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ by Schreiner
“Christ the Center was pleased to welcome Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner to discuss New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. Dr. Schreiner’s book has been warmly welcomed by many respected scholars in the reformed community and listeners will understand why when they hear Dr. Schreiner detail his project.” New Testament Theology by Thomas Schreiner

Evangelizing Headhunters and Cannibals
“’There are lots of unreached tribes in Papua New Guinea. Some of them are cannibalistic and hostile headhunting tribes; they are completely unreached by the gospel. Come with me brother – Let’s go get some of them for Jesus.’…There’s an important difference between unevangelized and unreached peoples. Unevangelized people are unconverted individuals in places where there are established churches. Unreached peoples are those that live in regions where there are no churches and no access to the evangelical gospel in their culture. And to answer your question about the present trend; 96% of the missionary work force is still laboring in unevangelized, but not truly unreached regions. Here it is again – 9 out of 10 Christian missionaries that go cross-cultural are still going to reached places! Here’s still another way to say it – Something like 90% of all “ministers” worldwide are concentrating on only 2% of the world’s population! We are massively overly evangelizing places where the gospel is already well planted! I believe that we need a substantial strategic redeployment of the missionary workforce to the areas where there is still no access to the evangelical gospel.” Interview With David Sitton

“Stop Dating Churches, and Marry One”
Why join a church?
“1. Make visible your commitment to Christ and his people…
2. Makes a powerful statement in a low-commitment culture…
3. We can be overly independent…
4. Keeps us accountable…
5. Help your pastor and elders be more faithful shepherds…
6. Gives you an opportunity to make promises.”
Why Membership Matters by Kevin DeYoung

Diversity in Musical Style, Unity in Christ-Centered Lyrics
“I believe it very good for our churches to sing songs from different eras, traditions, and styles…Songs with 101-level truths should not be the staple of our musical diet, but they should be on our plate…Imagine if the church stopped singing new songs after the Reformation just because the songs were new. No “And Can it Be,” no “Amazing Grace,” no “Holy, Holy, Holy.”…Christ–sung in our songs, called up in our prayers, and heralded in the preaching–will be the glue that holds us together, and not music. That’s the kind of unity in diversity worth celebrating.” In Defense of Musical Diversity by Kevin DeYoung

History of “Grace to You” With John MacArthur
“This year marks the ministry’s 40th anniversary…And within 5 years the ministry was distributing a million tapes a year. (We get that many downloads in a typical month today.)…How many employees does GTY have? Around 50 full time plus 175 volunteers who donate time and energy every week…Our annual budget today is about $17.9 million.” Meet the Ministries: Grace to You by Tim Challies

A Self-Worshiper vs. a God-Worshiper
“There was a stark difference between the two acceptance speeches. As I listened to the two speeches, all I could think of was the old commercial catchphrase, “Like Mike… If I could be like Mike.” Unfortunately, in this instance, Mike was the last person anyone should aspire to be like. This was definitely not a Michael Jordan highlight. Jordan’s Speech was self-centered, indulgent, arrogant, and at times embarrassing. In contrast, David Robinson rose to the occasion and made a brief, inspiring, encouraging speech (see his speech here) that made his family, his team, and his friends proud.
David Elevated Others…Mike Elevated Mike
David Honored His Family…Mike Honored Himself
David Was Brief…Mike Was Indulgent
David Honored God…Mike Honored Basketball
David sees His Legacy in His Family…Mike sees His…in His Highlights”
Be Like David… Not Like Mike by Voddie Baucham

By Greg Gibson

6 Evangelism Courses Reviewed
Six popular evangelism courses compared and contrasted: Alpha, Christianity Explained, Christianity Explored, Coming Alive, Discovering Christianity, and Simply Christianity. And, the winner is…Evangelism Courses Comparison Chart and Evangelism Courses Comparison Guide by Greg Gilbert at 9Marks.

Without the Gospel…
“Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are…” Calvin on the Gospel by John Calvin.

Recession Inspires Doubts of Prosperity Gospel
“In times of record-high foreclosures and Treasury Department scrambling to shore up loan-refinancing initiatives, the Prosperity Gospel can sound as if it comes from preachers who live under rocks, not in mansions: ‘God wants to give you your own house,’ big-cheese pitchman Joel Osteen announced in 2007’s Your Best Life Now…Yet he artfully disappears for housing-crisis questions like ‘Why, if God wants to reward the faithful with material possessions, are so many believers in foreclosure?’ These high rates in particular have made some Doubting Thomases of Prosperity’s controversial centerpiece: the belief in ‘positive confession,’ or the idea that the faithful can ‘name it and claim it…’ God and the Recession by Slate Magazine.

Pope Seeks Global Government, Economy, and Religion
“Pope Benedict XVI today called for reforming the United Nations and establishing a ‘true world political authority’ with ‘real teeth’ to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics…the pope says such an authority is urgently needed to end the current worldwide financial crisis. It should ‘revive’ damaged economies, reach toward ‘disarmament, food security and peace,’ protect the environment and ‘regulate migration’…The encyclical also echoes Benedict’s many speeches, saying that to reach sound a global economy every responsibility and commitment must be rooted in the values of Christian truth.” (GG: Didn’t we try a Roman Catholic theocracy once before? Do you remember the result? Persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom to dissenters like Anabaptists and Reformers. Two of the threats that Rome fears most are freedom of worship and speech. Oh, how soon we forget history! P.S. Does the title remind you of Rev. 13 and 17?) Pope Calls for God-Centered Global Economy by USA Today.

By Greg Gibson

If You Commit Adultery…26 Consequences
“So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. (Proverbs 6:25-29)…If we would rehearse in advance the ugly and overwhelming consequences of immorality, we would be far more prone to avoid it.” Counting the Cost of Sexual Immorality by Randy Alcorn

Piper vs. Wright: The Justification Debate Abridged
If you don’t have time to read their books, here’s a concise summary of their differences. The Justification Debate: A Primer” by Trevin Wax

MacArthur: Seeker-Sensitive Movement Is the New Liberalism
“I can listen to a guy preach—put anybody in front of me—and I’ll tell you what his view of Scripture is by what he says. If he doesn’t preach out of the Bible, I know what his view of Scripture is, I don’t care what he says. I don’t care if he wants to die telling me he’s a believer in inerrancy, if he gets up and does not preach the Word of God, that’s his view of Scripture leaking all over the place. Look, every preacher preaches for impact, for effect, for result. You’re up there saying what you think is going to get you the best result….I mean, it’s that simple! It comes down to this loss of preaching.” (GG: Notice the historical development from Norman Vincent Peale (self-confessed Freemason) to Robert Shuller (heretical false-teacher) to Bill Hybels to Rick Warren.) Seeker-Friendly - New Liberalism by John MacArthur

Why Your “Secular” Job Is Really Spiritual: Christ’s Incarnation
“As a student of the Reformation, I have been convinced for decades that the sacred-secular tension that my wife feels and that many who have grown up in the evangelical community feel, arises from a misreading of Scripture, and a misunderstanding of the nature of God and his relationship to creation. Beginning in the ancient church there was a wedge driven between the material and the spiritual with a corresponding wedge drawn between the secular and the sacred…Certainly the fact that the Incarnate God worked at a secular and ordinary (GG: carpenter) job, gives the lie to the idea that it is only “the spiritual” that matters. The eternal Son of God, by, through and for whom the entire universe was created, out of love and compassion for His creation, united himself eternally to humanity in its ordinariness and its physicality.” God and the Ordinary by M. James Sawyer

5 Distortions of the Gospel
1) The Cake Mix Gospel
2) The Cultural Gospel
3) The Cool Gospel
4) The Carnal Gospel
5) The Careful Gospel
5 Distortions of the Gospel in Our Day by James MacDonald

The Gospel Is for Unbelievers and Believers
“In counseling, I often come across two kinds of people: Some people think they are true Christians, but are probably not. They need a dose of gospel confrontation. Other people doubt they are true Christians, but probably are. They need a dose of gospel comfort.” Gospel Confrontation and Gospel Comfort by Trevin Wax

By Greg Gibson

Why Many Young Christians Are Becoming Calvinists
“Here are the two most important things you need to know about the rise of the New Calvinism: it’s not new and it’s not about Calvin…’Please God, don’t let the young, restless, and reformed movement be another historically ignorant, self-absorbed, cooler-than-thou fad.’…I’m praying: ‘Please God, don’t let the New Calvinism ever, ever be about the New Calvinism.’…But if the New Calvinism is to continue as a work of God, which I think it has been, it must continue to be about God. Young Christians have been drawn to Calvinism not because they were looking for Calvin or an ‘ism,’ but because they were drawn to a vision of a massive, glorious, fall-down-before-Him-as-though-dead kind of God who loves us because He wants to. The influence of Calvinism is growing because its God is transcendent and its theology is true. In a day when ‘be better’ moralism passes for preaching, self-help banality passes for counseling, and ‘Jesus is my boyfriend’ music passes for worship in some churches, more and more people are finding comfort in a God who is anything but comfortable. The paradox of Calvinism is that we feel better by feeling worse about ourselves, we do more for God by seeing how He’s done everything for us, and we give love away more freely when we discover that we have been saved by free grace…What draws people to Reformed theology is the belief that God is the center of the universe and we are not, that we are worse sinners than we imagine and God is a greater Savior than we ever thought possible, that the Lord is our righteousness and the Lord alone is our boast. The attraction of the New Calvinism is not Calvin, but the God Calvin saw.” Why I Am a Calvinist by Kevin DeYoung

The Virgin Lips Movement
“…a sizable number of younger evangelical couples are saving their first kiss for their wedding ceremony. In a culture where casual sex is the norm, some Tennesseans have taken the purity pledge to a whole new level, through a practice that some teens refer to as the ‘Virgin Lips Movement.’” True Lips Wait by Al Mohler

China House Church Preacher Training
“Each student, by the end of the year, has to be ready to preach (without notes) a one-hour sermon on each of the 66 books of the Bible. This sermon is to include an outline of the content of the book, and contemporary application to the individual, the church and the nation of China.” Preaching Curriculum by Peter Mead

The Postmodern Preaching Fad: Contextualization or Proclamation?
“Expository preaching…doesn’t fluctuate with culture…First of all, you have to understand that when you talk about a postmodern culture, that’s an academic assessment of the culture. The average Joe doesn’t have any idea what that means. All he knows is he’s pretty much free to think and do whatever he wants. That’s how postmodernism filters down to the guy in the pew. It’s not a philosophy—it’s a lifestyle…But all this goes completely against the grain of his conscience and his reason, and ultimately what he knows to be true. The unbeliever’s conscience is a reality, and even reason tells him that there have to be some absolutes. The bottom line is that expository preaching confronts the amorality of postmodernism with an authoritative message of absolute truth. It’s not a question of debating. It’s not a question of trying to find some way to sneak that in. It’s an issue of confronting this kind of thinking with the absolute authority of Scripture and then letting the Spirit of God make the application to the heart…In my own preaching, my objective is not to court the postmodern mind. My objective is to confront it—to hit it stone cold in the face with truth…I didn’t need to give an intricate philosophical defense, because this is exactly what Scripture says, and there is no need to defend it. You just proclaim it. See these guys were struck by the fact that what they heard was an absolute authoritative statement of a worldview that takes on postmodernism, without having to fuddle around and make all kinds of philosophical and rational arguments, and without having to answer every objection that arises…Paul says, if I speak to Jews I speak a certain way, and if I speak to Gentiles I speak a certain way. But that’s only at the point of entry. That has nothing to say about the style. In other words, people today are used to watching sitcoms on TV, but that doesn’t demand that you preach in a narrative style…Rather than trying to take the Bible and bring it into the modern day, I try to take the modern day and bring it back to the Bible…This stuff about culture shaping preaching is taking the Bible and redefining it in modern terms. My goal is to take modern culture and the people of that culture and redefine them in biblical terms so that they are living back in the Scriptures.” (Greg: If postmodernism is the current philosophy, what were the previous philosophies? Did preachers have to adjust their preaching for those philosophies? Is postmodernism the first and only philosophy for which evangelicals must adjust their preaching? Will preachers have to adjust their preaching for the next fad philosophy? What’s wrong with this picture? Faithful preaching adjusts the hearers, not the preacher.) Expository Preaching in a Postmodern Culture by John MacArthur

Legalism, Guilt, and Gospel Grace
“Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they have earned God’s blessing through their behavior. Guilt-laden believers are quite sure they have forfeited God’s blessing through their lack of discipline or their disobedience. Both have forgotten the meaning of grace because they have moved away from the gospel and have slipped into a performance relationship with God.” All of Grace by Jerry Bridges

How John Stott Prepares a Sermon
“IV. Arrange your material to serve the dominant thought. A. Chisel and shape your material. Ruthlessly discard all material which is irrelevant to the dominant thought. Subordinate the remaining material to the dominant thought by using that material to illuminate and reinforce the dominant thought.” (Greg: Many preachers struggle to identify the major theme of the passage. Those who preach from short passages often over-emphasize a passing thought, like a theological doctrine, by making it the main theme. The cure for this is “Big Picture Preaching” from long passages, instead of short passages.) How Stott Prepares a Sermon by Colin Adams

S. Lewis Johnson Sermons Free Online
“Through the years, I have listened to the preaching of S. Lewis Johnson more than any other preacher” (Dr. John MacArthur). “Dr. S. Lewis Johnson was the greatest expository preacher of the 2nd half of the 20th century” (Dr. Bruce Waltke). Read and hear Dr. Johnson’s sermons here: The SLJ Institute by S. Lewis Johnson

10 People a Pastor Should Fear
“7. The guy on the theological hobbyhorse. His spiritual energy revolves around the rapture, paedocommunion, Calvinism or Arminianism, evolution, what-have-you and he thinks yours should too. These are distractions especially tempting for nerd pastors like me.” 10 People a Pastor Should Fear by Jared Wilson

How to Be a Friend of Sinners
8 practical ideas to befriend sinners to help them out of sin. Simplified Missional Living by Jonathan Dodson

The Top 5 Mistakes When Evangelizing Children
“1. Oversimplifying the Gospel of Christ
2. Coercing a Profession of Faith
3. Assuming the Reality of Regeneration
4. Assuring the Child of Salvation
5. Rushing the Ordinance of Baptism”
Evangelizing Children Part 1 and Part II by Grace Community Church

9 Reasons Why Christ Ascended
“…I began to realize how little Christians think about or emphasize the ascension today…Ask for contribution from the congregation to answer the question: “What are the most significant events of Jesus’ life or aspects of His work for us?” Answers will do doubt include such things as His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, crucifixion, and resurrection. Sadly, I have yet to hear anyone mention the ascension…” The Importance of the Ascension of Christ by Keith Throop

Discontent Charismatics and Christ’s Sufficiency
“…during my time as a Charismatic, it seems that this higher level of expectation always resulted in a quest for more. We needed a greater happenings, more miraculous signs (not that anything I witnessed ever really qualified as such), more healing, more deliverance, more prophecies, generally a greater move of God. Whatever was existent never seemed to be enough. Since I served on the worship team for four years (keyboards/vocals), the expectation was that we would serve as the catalyst to make this happen, to “usher in the presence of God”, as was stated so many Sundays…Yes we really did need more of God in our lives and looked for it in external manifestations in order to affect an internal change. It seems to me there remained a continual state of dissatisfaction that only more could fill…and all instruction is for the purpose of completing every person in complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28). We who claim Christ as Savior have been made complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). That means He is all sufficient. What further are we looking for?…So we have sufficiency of the Spirit, sufficiency of Christ, sufficiency of the Word. What’s Missing? I contend that the insufficiency resides with us. We are what is missing. It seems to me that if we have the everything we need sufficient for life and godliness, as 2 Peter 1:3 tells us, that the more we are seeking may not be found in greater external manifestations but a greater capacity for divine connectedness. So maybe that means more surrender, more worship, more learning, more kneeling, more prayer, more giving, and more service. We can’t get anymore of something we already have but I am assured each day that the Spirit can always have more of us…” A Theology of More by Lisa Robinson

Who Is Better Qualified to Counsel: Psychologists or Christians?
“The most experienced psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus.” Bonhoeffer on the Difference Between the Counsel of Psychology and Christianity by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Should You Confess All Your Sins Publicly?
“Students were lined up at microphones to ‘confess’ before whole auditoriums of people a lot of things that were very lurid and not in keeping with the cautions of Ephesians 5.3,4. What is there about the confession of sin that requires private shameful acts to be confessed before audiences of both genders, not bound by close relationship to the one confessing? That smacks of the courtroom, not Christian fellowship. Or to think of another scenario: many of us have heard of congregations which try to take church discipline seriously by requiring not-yet-married couples,discovered to be promiscuous, to make open confession before the whole congregation with which they have been associated…I would add that the old practice of private confession to a priest–now making something of a comeback among Catholics–was so beset with priestly indiscretions that it became one of the best arguments for clerical marriage. Another Perspective on Confessing Sins Publicly by Ken Stewart

How NOT to Evangelize
“The controlled conversation technique is something new in evangelism and represents a real break-through in soul-winning…He gives not only the words, but the actions and gestures that need to go along with them.” (Greg: Where did Christ and the apostles ever evangelize like that? Guaranteed to fill the church with unregenerate hypocrites who will soon apostatize. Christ is glorified in disciples, not decisions.) Soul Winning Made Easy by Tim Challies

By Greg Gibson

Time Magazine’s 10 Ideas Changing the World: The New Calvinism
“Neo-Calvinist ministers and authors don’t operate quite on a Rick Warren scale. But, notes Ted Olsen, a managing editor at Christianity Today, “Everyone knows where the energy and the passion are in the Evangelical world” — with the pioneering new-Calvinist John Piper of Minneapolis, Seattle’s pugnacious Mark Driscoll, and Albert Mohler, head of the Southern Seminary of the huge Southern Baptist Convention. The Calvinist-flavored ESV Study Bible sold out its first printing, and Reformed blogs like Between Two Worlds are among cyber-Christendom’s hottest links.” The New Calvinism by Time Magazine

What Issues a Pastor Can and Can’t Live With
“…what things can I and can’t I live with as a pastor? Let me throw out a bunch of different examples that are relevant to my particular situation: organs, female elders, universalism, altar calls, humor, multi-site campuses, drums, the KJV, stained glass, racism, infant baptism, no formal membership, sermons limited to 10 minutes, large and high pulpits, TV studio-like acoustics. My goal in what follows is not to give you a sacrosanct playbook, but to illustrate how I go about thinking through practical matters. Let’s take each one in order.” What I Can and Cannot Live With as a Pastor by Mark Dever

Don’t Waste Your Suffering
When God enrolls you in His School of Suffering, listen well, learn the lessons, and pass the course, lest He make you repeat it. How to Pray for Joni Eareckson Tada

Six Personalities Deaf to God’s Word
The #1 reason that we don’t hear God’s Word is unrepentant sin. Sometimes that sin manifests itself in different personalities. Six Personalities That Deflect God’s Word by James Adams

How to Evangelize Your Children
I heard part of this series on the radio, and it was excellent:

“1. Genuine Salvation: More Than a Prayer
2. How Children Come to Faith in Christ
3. Taking Our Children to Church: Is That Enough?
4. How to Deal With Doubt
5. Observing Salvation in Your Child: What Does It Look Like?
6. The Family: No Better Place to Come to Know Christ!”

“I cannot recommend these talks enough to any parent wanting to be thoughtful, careful, and prayerful in the salvation of their children.” Audio and transcripts: How Children Come to Faith in Christ by Jim Eliff

Did the Holy Spirit Replace the Law?
This is a previous article that I edited and expanded. No, the Spirit (alone) didn’t replace the law. But, Jesus Christ’s Person, works (including His Spirit), and words fulfill the Law. Did the Holy Spirit Replace the Law? by Greg Gibson

Jesus Is Better Than Whatever You Were Saved From
“Jesus is better than whatever you were saved from. Don’t go back.” Jesus is Better: Hebrews for Modern-day Christians by Dave Marriott

The Gospel Is the Cure
“Two Americans. One is a practicing homosexual and proud of it. The other is a practicing Baptist and proud of it. One trusts his feelings, the other trusts his actions. Both are in desperate need of Jesus for pretty much the same reason. This is how wonderful the gospel of Jesus is. It’s the skeleton key for all of humanity…We all exhibit a multitude of symptoms for our conditions, running the gamut from self-indulgent immorality to self-satisfying morality. Opposite ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between. Whatever your symptoms, the gospel is the answer.” The Gospel Is the Antidote for Everything by Jared Wilson

God’s Attributes Revealed in the Gospel
Want to know what God is like? Understand the gospel. The Attributes of God and the Glory of the Gospel by J. I. Packer

The Neo-Reformed Controversy
Scot McKnight charges some Calvinists with being “Neo-Reformed.” Trevin Wax gave the most balanced response. Thoughts on the Neo-Reformed by Trevin Wax

Is Your Church an Institution?
The difference between institutions vs. institutionalism. “Your church is an institution. Don’t be embarrassed by that. But guard and improve your institution, so that its gospel purpose — that people would meet with Christ, go deep, and never stop growing in him — so that that larger purpose is served.” Is Your Church an Institution by Ray Ortlund

Roman Catholic Indulgences Resurrected
Roman Catholic churches have resurrected the practice of indulgences. (At least they’re no longer selling them.) “At the core of indulgences is sin, which can either lead to eternal punishment — i.e., hell — or time spent in purgatory, a place of suffering where imperfections are scrubbed away in preparation for entering heaven. Confession erases eternal punishment, but temporal punishment remains. Plenary, or full, indulgences are the equivalent of a get-out-of-purgatory-free card. Partial indulgences simply shorten your stay…The essence of plenary indulgences is tricky to nail down. They’re granted if you meet specific criteria: go to confession, receive communion, pray for the Pope, visit a particular shrine.” Praise God, Jesus is enough! Why Catholic Indulgences Are Making a Comeback by Time Magazine

The Top 10 Religious States in the U.S.
See the top 10 and bottom 10 most religious states. (Hint: The Bible belt wins, and the Northeast loses.) State of the States: Importance of Religion by the Gallup Poll

The Top 10 Countries for Christian Persecution
1. North Korea, 2. Saudi Arabia, 3… WWL: Focus on the Top Ten by Open Doors

Pray for Our Persecuted Brothers
Receive prayer requests for persecuted Christians by subscribing at the bottom of the page Barnabus Fund

30 Christian Marriage Books Reviewed
“Which book do you use for pre-marital counseling? Which for married couples with problems? What’s the best all around book on marriage? Questions like these prompted us to devise the Marriage Book Comparison Chart, which includes both a rating comparison chart and a brief review for thirty books on marriage.” Marriage Book Reviews Marriage Books Comparison Chart by 9Marks Ministries.

8 Children’s Bibles Reviewed
“Let me remind you of the four criteria I judged the Bibles on: 1) faithfulness to the biblical text; 2) applicability to toddlers; 3) illustrations; 4) ability to convey redemptive history.” Toddler Bibles Reviewed Part I and Part II by John Beeson at the Council on Christian Manhood and Womanhood.

Understand the Bible’s Story: Read the OT Books in the Jews’ Order
“…does the reorganization of the books of the OT make it harder for people to understand the over-arching message of the OT?…The order we use today seems to have arisen with the printing press. There is no ancient precedent for the order of the Old Testament books we find in our English translations…To summarize: We should accept the tripartite division of the OT into Law, Prophets, and Writings, and we should order English translations of the books of the OT accordingly because (1) the order in use by English translations now does not match the orders of the books in lists drawn up by early church fathers; (2) Protestants have agreed with Hebrew tradition rather than Septuagint tradition on which books should be included between the covers of the Bible, so Protestants should also agree with Hebrew tradition on how those books should be arranged; and (3) this is the order that Jesus endorsed and that Matthew and Luke apparently expected their audiences to recognize…everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. This statement indicates that when Jesus thought of the Old Testament, he thought of three sections. Those three sections broadly match the order of the Old Testament books in Hebrew Bibles today” How Should the Books of the OT Be Ordered? by Jim Hamilton

Perhaps you’ll understand the Bible’s message more clearly if you try reading it in the order that the Jews arranged it here.

Does Denying the Covenant of Works Undermine Justification by Faith?
“…the early covenant theologians did not construe this Adamic administration as a covenant, far less as a covenant of works. Reformed creeds of the 16th century such as the French Confession (1559), the Scottish Confession (1560), the Belgic Confession (1561), the Thirty-Nine Articles (1562), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Second Helvetic (1566) do not exhibit any such construction of the Edenic institution…The most famous example of a Reformed theologian denying the covenant of works is that of John Murray…Neither Luther nor his followers ever connected the doctrine of justification by faith with the notion of a Covenant of Works.” The Covenant of Works: A Litmus Test for Reformed Theology? by Ralph Allan Smith

What % of Your Charitable Donation Really Goes to Ministry?
Ever wonder how much of your donations really reach the needy, instead of CEO’s and support staff? Would you like to know the salary of your favorite charity’s CEO? Find it here…
Charity Navigator
Economic Research Institute
Guidestar
Ministry Watch

Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral Cracking?
A family disagreement and the economy threaten to collapse Robert Schuller’s empire. Family Spat Divides Televangelism Empire

Top 10 Theology Stories of 2008
Study Bibles, the Shack, Anglicanism, and more: Theology News by Collin Hansen

The Emerging Church’s False Dichotomies and False Synonyms
Is the gospel about a person only, but not a message? If you’ve wondered what all the controversy is about the Emerging Church, here’s a brief explanation: The Emerging Church by Timothy Stoner

Baptistic, Calvinistic, and Non-Confessional
“Therefore, let’s rejoice that Christ is being preached and souls are being drawn to a Big God. Instead of a stooge-like ‘Bah humbug,’ let’s offer up a ‘Hip, hip, hurrah’ that John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon are becoming the ‘homeboys’ of a younger generation.” Young, Restless, and Reformed by Bob Gonzales

John MacArthur’s Bible Study Guides
Read the written transcripts from John MacArthur’s sermons: Bible Studies by John MacArthur

Bible Commentary Ratings
Before you buy Bible commentaries, find out which ones reviewers rate highest. The top commentaries are ranked with reviews by Don Carson, Tremper Longman, John Glynn, John Piper, Denver Seminary, and readers like you. BestCommentaries.com

Free, Online Encylopedia of Christianity and Theology
Find answers to theology questions from 1615+ articles. Theopedia.com

Free, Online Bible Atlas
Select a Bible book and chapter (like Eph. 1), then see the location on Google map or satellite. BibleMap.org

“Predestined to What?” by Russell Moore
“Why do so many people who say they believe in the doctrine of election spend their lives with such anxiety?..If you are not more evangelistic now than you were when you came to understand the doctrine of election, you never understood the doctrine of election.” An edifying, big picture view of election in the context of God’s eternal plan. Predestined to What? (Rom. 8:26-9:6) by Russell Moore

“Power in Preaching” by Ray Ortlund, Jr.
Learn how to preach. Power in Preaching: Desire (1 Thes. 1:2-5).
“Our greatest breakthrough to spiritual power will come through the worst experience of our lives…when Paul broke through to new power in his ministry. That happened, the real breakthrough when God took him to another level, that happened in the worst experience of his life, getting that thorn in the flesh, and then learning to live with it.” Power in Preaching: Delight (2 Cor. 12:1-10).
“A crucified Savior can be preached in Divine power only by crucified preachers…Have you decided yet to be uncool?…Have you decided who all this about? Have you decided who all this is for?” Power in Preaching: Decide (1 Cor. 2:1-5).

John MacArthur’s Sermons, Free
Bold, faithful preaching. Just the Word, nothing fancy. John MacArthur sermons

John Stott’s Sermons, Free
Very edifying preaching, clear and easy to understand. John Stott sermons

God’s Law Defined and Defended in Redemptive History
“Thesis: The purpose of this paper is to determine the present relevance of the law of God. In brief, it is designed to show that the law of God is presently (and in every age) binding upon the believer and that while this law formed the basis of the Mosaic legislation, the two are not to be confused. Moreover, in the outworking of His plan God may choose to give His law under various codifications, but God’s law reflects eternal principles of righteousness which always constitute a rule of life…It would seem evident that the only laws relevant to the believer’s standard of conduct today are those of the New Testament. If the Old Covenant is abolished it would be wrong to impose it as the rule for life today. If today’s believer is now under the terms of the New Covenant, he must look to see what the terms of this New Covenant are; indeed, it would be illegitimate to look elsewhere. The Continuing Relevance of Divine Law by Fred Zaspel

One-Page Overview of the Bible
God’s People, God’s Place, and God’s Rule by Chad Knudson

Why Some Reformed Preachers YELL!
“If I am preaching to New Covenant converted believers as though they were Old Covenant unconverted Jews, then I am not being faithful.” Perhaps this problem grows out of Covenant Theology’s one Covenant of Grace doctrine, where the New Covenant is merely a newer administration of the Old Covenant. Old Testament Prophets in New Covenant Pulpits by James Sevastio

Seeker Sensitive Pastor Repents
A seeker-sensitive church member complained to his pastor, “I’m not being fed.” And, instead of shifting the blame to the member, this pastor repented. Confessions of a “Not Being Fed” Pastor

An Example of a Godly Wife
Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth by Ray Ortlund

What’s Your Excuse for Not Serving the Lord More?
“Spurgeon, so it happens, was a lot sicker than me for most of his life. He was seriously and often crippingly and painfully ill, both mentally (with depression) and physically, from his mid-30s until his death from illnesses at age 57…Most weeks, and as just a sample of some of his regular duties, Spurgeon wrote, delivered and published a weekly sermon; looked after an orphanage, a pastor’s college and an almshouse; read and responded personally to 500 letters; and preached up to 10 times in churches that he had started.” And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. See his additional work for the Lord here: Spurgeon for the Sick and Afflicted

Tour the Land of Israel From Your Computer
“BiblePlaces.com features photographs and descriptions of sites in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Greece with an emphasis on biblical archaeology, geography and history.” See BiblePlaces.com, and especially this Slide Show.

Here’s a digest of some favorite resources I’ve discovered recently around the Web…

Does Your Calvinism Build Relationships With Arminians?
“…Theologically, I am Reformed. Sociologically, I am simply a Christian…when our theological distinctives make us aloof from other Christians…Even if a biblical argument can be made for a certain position…the proof of what’s really happening is not in the theological argumentation but in the sociological integration…(Paul) was a free man setting others free…What unifies the church is the gospel…My reformed friend, can you move among other Christian groups and really enjoy them?…Relationships reveal what we really believe, as opposed to what we think we believe.” Truly Reformed by Ray Ortlund at Christ Is Deeper Still

Several, Helpful Articles on God’s Law
God’s Law by Doug Moo

Starved for Mature Meat
“A prominent radio preacher frequently makes the statement that 85% of the people never darken a church door. Just could be that they’ve been starved out.

Tell me now, how long is it since you preached a sermon on the Sovereignty of God, the Majesty of God, the Holiness of God, the Justice of God, the Immutability of God, and the eternal, electing Love of God? Most of the preaching of our day in evangelical, as well as in liberal churches, is man-centered, not God-centered. Christian people have been entertained and whipped and broken and crucified and psychoanalyzed and sensitivity-trainingized, etc., etc., until they hardly know who God is or who they are…” Hey Preacher by G.E. MacLean at Banner of Truth

Joel Osteen’s Negative Message
“…The ‘positive’ message he proclaims is this: Do better. Try harder. Believe you can succeed. In other words, you can change! Just do it! God will help you, of course, but you have to make it happen.

Though Osteen claims he has positive sermons, I believe he is proclaiming the most negative, unmerciful message possible! Like telling a clinically depressed person to “just snap out of it!,” Osteen is giving people burdened by sin, guilt and despair more reason to despair.

Do we really think that more willpower will solve our problems? What is this message but the Law on steroids? There is no gospel in Osteen’s message, regardless of his rare references to Jesus Christ. Osteen’s idea of “good news” is telling self-centered people to look for salvation in more narcissism!…” Joel Osteen’s Negative Message by Trevin Wax at Kingdom People

Follow Me
“…Yet, Jesus didn’t say, “Follow them”; he said quite clearly, “Follow me.” The true disciple puts his loyalty, not with a group or another human or a new idea, however good those things may be, but only with his master who has called him by name…” Following Christ by Trevin Wax at Kingdom People

Inventing Mental Illness
Interviews with several psychiatrists where they concede too much. Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM): Inventing Mental Illness by the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights (A Scientology group, beware!)

One Man Committed to Christ
“…(William) Borden’s small morning prayer group gave birth to a movement that spread across the campus. By the end of his first year, 150 freshman were meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale’s 1,300 students were meeting in such groups. Borden made it his habit to seek out the most “incorrigible” students and try to bring them to salvation…” No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets by Brian Hedges at Light and Heat

8 Dangers of Exclusive, Redemptive-Historical Preaching
I lo-o-ove redemptive-historical preaching. But, like all styles of preaching, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Ethics, Preaching, and Biblical Theology by John Frame

Minimizing the Bible?
Have seeker-sensitive preachers and over-contextualizing missionaries lost faith in the power of God’s Word to change people? Preach the whole counsel of God!

“…It seems to me that a growing number of pastors and missionaries have lost confidence in this truth. They have concluded that the gap between the glory of Christ and the felt needs of their neighbors, or between the glory of Christ and the religion of the nationals, is simply too great for the fullness of God’s word to overcome. The upshot seems to be the minimization of the Word of God in its robust and glorious fullness.

This is on my front burner just now because in recent weeks I have received a steady stream of testimonies from aching saints who say in so many words, “Our pastor doesn’t proclaim to us what the Bible says and means. The messages are not revelations of the glory of Christ. They are advice-talks with a religious twist…” Minimizing the Bible by John Piper

The Guilt of Giving Part of God’s Counsel
Preach the whole Bible, nothing less! The Guilt of Giving Part of God’s Counsel by John Piper

Seminary Training vs. Church Training?
Who can better train future church pastors than current church pastors? Where better to learn to pastor a church than in a church? Long before pastors’ training became academicized and institutionalized, local churches trained pastors. Proposal for a New Seminary by John Frame