John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1.11.8): …man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.…Man’s mind, full as it is of pride and boldness, dares to imagine a god according to its own capacity; as it sluggishly plods, indeed is overwhelmed with the crassest ignorance, it conceives an unreality and an […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Idolatry (Calvin)Back when I started this blog, a friend asked if it would be possible to receive it by email. At the time I knew of no automated means to do that, and sending emails manually for each entry seemed too cumbersome to me, so there we were…. Today, as I was searching for an answer […]
Read More Subscribe to this blog by emailGood stuff I’ve seen while meandering around the internet this week: Justin Taylor offers an overview of a number of recent articles in World on abortion The lead article on abortion in World by Marvin Olasky. CCEF (Christian Counseling & Education Foundation) has a new website, with additional resources, including articles, a blog, and audio […]
Read More Grab BagRichard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed: When we find our souls at all declining, it is best to raise them up presently by some awakening meditations, such as the presence of God, of the strict reckoning we are to make,of the infinite love of God in Christ and the fruits of it, of the excellency of […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Restoration (Sibbes)Every pastor is asked on a somewhat regular basis, “how can I pray for you?” Keith and I are no exception. Recently, pastor Ligon Duncan put together a list of seventeen things to pray for your pastor(s). Pray — That [your pastor] would know and love the living God, would have a saving interest in […]
Read More Praying for your pastorsSteve Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards: [Jonathan] Edwards possessed a rare combination of Reformed theology, extraordinary giftedness, and fervent piety. However, it was this latter virtue — his true spirituality, marked by a fixed resolve — that positioned him to be used so mightily by God. Few have equaled his relentless pursuit of […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Spirituality (Lawson)Thursday through Saturday serve as “days of reflection” on our church Bible reading plan. These may be days to catch up on missed readings; or, they may be an opportunity to think more deeply and broadly about some of the Scripture you have read in the past month. To help stimulate you in the process […]
Read More Questions for Bible reflectionOn February 1, Grace Community Church will celebrate the 40th anniversary of John MacArthur’s pastorate there. In what he called a “pre-emptive strike,” he offered three sermons that provided the reasons for the success of this church: “Foundations of Grace, Part 1: The Glory of God” “Foundations of Grace, Part 2: The Lordship of Christ” […]
Read More Reasons for John MacArthur’s enduring ministryHerman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God: …the names which we use in mentioning and addressing God are not arbitrary: they are not the mere inventions of our mind. Rather, it is God himself who in nature and in grace reveals himself consciously and freely, who gives us the right to name him on the ground […]
Read More Today’s Quote – God’s Names (Bavinck)Title: This Momentary Marriage Author: John Piper Publisher: Crossway Books, 2009; 180 pp. Recommendation (4-star scale): I suppose I own dozens of books on marriage, parenting, Biblical manhood, and the like. Not counting my counseling books, this topic accounts for something like 20 board feet of shelving in my library. I have preached lots of […]
Read More Book Review: This Momentary MarriageThirty-six years ago this month, the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision, legalizing abortion in our country. Since then, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 million babies have been aborted. What most Americans fail to realize, however, is that nearly that many are aborted every year worldwide. As great a problem as […]
Read More Sanctity of human lifeThabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member?: …[in] the preaching of God’s Word and in Bible study, Christians should remain lowly and gentle before the Scripture, acknowleding it as the source of salvation and are to do so as people knowing our sinful nature, our spiritual poverty before God, and our need for the […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Teachability (Anyabwile)John Stott, Authentic Christianity: We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgment instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Conviction (Stott)One of the values of Scripture is that it teaches us — for we do not know and understand. Given that we are taught by Scripture a fair question to ask, then, is “what kind of learner are you?’ It is possible to be a Bible learner that learns without a Biblical purpose. We might […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (1/25/09)R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe: Irreverence toward God is only a symptom of an idolatrous image of God that is man-made. Dry ritualism indicates that our God is far away and dead. Joyless performance reveals an arid Deity. But on the other hand, reverence for God indicates our belief that he is […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Worship (Hughes)
