Today’s Quote – Hardening (Piper)

John Piper, Contending for Our All: One great hindrance to holiness of the Word is that we are prone to preach and write without pressing into the things we say and making them real to our own souls. Over the years words begin to come easy, and we find we can speak mysteries without standing […]

Book Review: Why We’re Not Emergent

Title: Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) Authors: Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck Publisher: Moody Publishers, 2008; 256 pp. $14.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Just when I thought, “do we really need another book on the emergent church?” I visited another church recently. It’s not an emergent church. But it’s also not […]

Book Review: Splitting Heirs

Title: Splitting Heirs: Giving Your Money and Things to Your Children Without Ruining Their Lives Author: Ron Blue Publisher: Northfield Publishing, 2008; 224 pp. $14.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): You may have more money to leave to your heirs than you think. And leaving them less than they may think is equitable is probably better for […]

Sunday Leftovers (6/28/09)

It is human nature to break promises. Governments make and break promises. Advertisers and politicians make and break promises. Employers and employees, preachers and church members, parents and children, husbands and wives, and friends and relatives all make promises to each other which often are broken. Some are made with the best of intentions, and […]

Today’s Quote – Suffering (Mahaney)

C. J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness: Those who know true joy in the midst of suffering are those who recognize that, in this life, our suffering is never as great or as serious as our sins. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, “How far less [are] the greatest afflictions that we meet with in this world…than we […]

Today’s Quote – Graduation (Hendricks)

Howard Hendricks (answering the question, “Do you have any words of wisdom for our graduates?”): Don’t believe your press reports. It bothers me that many students go out and are successful, which is the beginning of their failure. They believe that it’s them, when it’s not. This is why I would say to someone, ‘Use […]

Making short-term missions more effective

In a recent series of articles on Desiring God, the question of how to make short-term mission trips valuable and effective for both church and missionary was addressed. In one article, John Piper affirmed his church’s commitment to short-term trips: I said in a previous question that everybody should want to do short-term missions. One […]

Today’s Quote – Heaven (Baxter)

Richard Baxter, The Saints Everlasting Rest: He that makes not God his chief good and ultimate end, is in heart a pagan and a vile idolater. Let me ask, then, dost thou truly account it thy chief happiness to enjoy the Lord in glory, or dost thou not? Canst thou say, “The Lord is my […]

Sunday Leftovers (6/7/09)

After a sweet morning of worship in the renovated sanctuary, two ideas continue to roll around in my mind — the cruciality of entrusting the gospel to others (discipleship) and the means of suffering to accomplish discipleship. As was said Sunday, too often we tend to think of discipleship as the responsibility of someone else, […]

Today’s Quote – Christ (Bunyan)

John Bunyan, All Loves Excelling: He that would know the love of Christ in several degrees of it, must begin at his person, for in him dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Nay, more; in him ‘are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Col. 2:3). In him, that is, in his […]

Today’s Quote – Christ’s Authority (Elliott)

Elizabeth Elliott: Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, His lordship.

Sunday Leftovers (5/31/09)

The mystery revealed by God is the gospel and its effects. The mystery that was not known in the Old Testament and has now been revealed by the Holy Spirit through the apostles and the prophets. Specifically, this mystery is the working of the gospel to include the Gentiles into the plan of salvation, according […]

Today’s Quote – Forgiveness of Self (Challies)

Tim Challies, The Spiritual Discipline of Discernment: It must be noted that while Scripture does not explicitly forbid self-forgiveness, it also does not require or endorse it. It seems, then, that we do not need to forgive ourselves, nor should we make this our practice. If we struggle with guilt or shame, forgiving ourselves may […]

Today’s Quote – Forgiveness (Piper)

John Piper, Battling Unbelief: …one powerful way of overcoming bitterness and revenge is to have faith in the promise that God will settle accounts with our offenders so that we don’t have to.

Today’s Quote – Theology (Challies)

Tim Challies, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment: Richard Phillips writes, “Theology bores today’s Christians, which is another way of saying we are bored with God himself.