Book Review: The Suffering Letters of C. H. Spurgeon

Title: The Suffering Letters of C. H. Spurgeon Author: Charles Spurgeon Publisher: Wakeman Trust, 2007; 155 pp. $13.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): I first came across this title a few years when Phil Johnson wrote a post about it: “Broken in Two by the Hammer of Pain.” I was unable to find a copy somewhat locally, […]

The Bible – in one sentence

I came across this blog post and question last week: “What’s the message of the Bible in one sentence?” And it got me to wondering: how would I articulate the theme of the Bible so briefly? I came up with two answers, kind of like the Westminster Confession — one shorter and one longer. Here […]

Real Shame

If you weary of reality shows and wonder how you should think of them, Carl Trueman has given some careful thinking to understanding confession, restoration, and its relationship to public life. A man who betrays his wife can be forgiven; but I am not sure he can be forgiven for making it an opportunity to […]

Submission defined

I have found John Piper’s statements on what submission is and is not to be very helpful in understanding what Paul means in Eph. 5:22-24. What is submission? What then is submission? It is the disposition to follow a husband’s authority and an inclination to yield to his leadership. It is an attitude that says, […]

Sunday Leftovers (1/16/11)

In exhorting wives to submit to the leadership of their husbands (Eph. 5:22-24), Paul reminds readers that submission is not just to her husband, but to the Lord (vv. 21, 22, 24). And he also reminds wives that there is a relationship between their submission and the way the church submits to Christ. In other […]

Friesen on the will of God

I have appreciated Garry Friesen’s book, Decision Making and the Will of God for a long time (the first edition is better than the updated second edition). I recently came across his website where he has much content from his book and many reviews of books that coincide with his position and contradict his position. […]

Grab bag

A few things spotted recently around the web: John Piper’s 8-month leave of absence ended at the end of December. Last Sunday he resumed preaching with the sermon, “Our Deepest Prayer: Hallowed Be Your Name.” He also wrote an article entitled, “Why I Am Full of Hope About Bethlehem’s Future,” and while it is written […]

Good without God? We can be better?

A few weeks ago, the city of Fort Worth created quite a stir when four city buses began carrying an advertisement from the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason stating, “Millions of Americans are Good Without God.” [Fort Worth Star-Telegram.] Negative response to the advertising campaign led to the city quickly deciding that no buses would […]

Jacob, deceit, and grace

This morning I read again the story of Jacob (meaning, “supplanter,” Gen. 27:36). He came out of the womb grasping his brother’s heel, and he spent his life grasping for things that were not his or manipulating circumstances so that they would be to his favor and liking. If you want your brother’s birthright, it […]

CBMW » Current Issue

The Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is no longer a printed journal. That’s the sad news. The glad news is that it is an e-zine that is free! The latest copy is now posted at CBMW. While I have not yet read this issue (I just discovered it this afternoon), it always contains a […]

Comforts when suffering

The path it takes is various, but one day soon, suffering will bypass a courteous request for entry and will intrude on your home and life. Perhaps it will take the commonly used roadway called personal sin. Through the impact of your own sinful choices and desires, you will suffer. Or perhaps it will take […]

Sunday Leftovers (1/9/11)

The story is told about a visit that the 18th century king of Prussia, Frederick II of Prussia made to a prison in Berlin. Expectantly, the inmates all vainly attempted to prove to him their innocence and the injustice of their incarceration. Everyone, that is, with one exception. Seeing that one lone, quiet prisoner, the […]

Discipleship and grace

Here are two statements worth contemplating that hit my inbox this week. The first addresses the cost of nondiscipleship. We rightly talk about counting the cost of following Christ, and that is obviously wise and biblical to do. But we also are wise to count the cost of not following Christ: This is the picture […]

Parenting Seminar with Jim Newheiser

On the weekend of February 4-5, Grace Bible Church in Granbury (TX) will be hosting a parenting seminar with Jim Newheiser, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Escondido, CA and director of the The Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship. He has also recently co-authored the book You Never Stop Being a Parent with Elyse […]

Resolved, like Jonathan Edwards

In this season of resolutions — before all our promises are undone by the realities of weak commitments — we do well to hear the words of Jonathan Edwards about resolutions and the need for them to arise from a quest for God’s mercy and grace, as well as our own heart desire for transformation: […]