Friday Round Up

(1) If you think John 3:16 describes God’s love for the world, you are absolutely right. But if you think the verse intends to communicate how much God loves the world, “For God so loved the world,” the intended meaning of John 3:16 in the original Greek really focuses on HOW God loves the world rather than how much.

God has a love for the world; consequently, He has a vast, multi-ethnic plan of redemption. All those who believe in Christ, no matter what their ethnicity, will be saved.

“God’s love for the world is seen in this way: in the giving of His One and Only Son – for this purpose – that all those who believe in Him will not in any way perish but instead have eternal life for certain.”

(2) Keller and the Exclusivity of Christ: I agree with Tim Challies when he writes, “I believe the guys at Cripplegate are right to respectfully question Tim Keller on his recent interview with Martin Bashir. “My goal is twofold: (1) I want to respectfully—and hopefully, humbly—voice some serious concerns with how Keller handled this question; and (2) I want to demonstrate the unhelpfulness of how some of his defenders are responding.””

(3) “I pray that, through the intercession of Mary Immaculate whom he so greatly venerated, the Lord may welcome this faithful pastor of the Gospel and the Church into His Kingdom of eternal joy and peace”, the Pope concludes. (Vatican Information Service, 5 September 2011)

Turretinfan: “Notice that here the Pope is explicitly requesting Marian intercession for a dead Cardinal (Cardinal Deskur). This falls into the category of prayers “through” Mary (as opposed to prayers simply to Mary) and of prayers “for” the dead.

I know that some of Rome’s advocates are fond of saying that one is “just asking Mary to pray” in one’s prayers to Mary. Actually, though, the goal here is for the prayed-for person to be accepted on the basis of Mary, that is to say, on the basis of her person and merits. While this is not completely explicit, notice that she’s described as “immaculate.” This is the wrong way to pray.

Our prayers are to be God through the intercession of Jesus Christ, our one mediator. Only Christ’s merits form a sufficient basis for the intercession we need. Christ is not simply the best mediator, he is the only mediator.

It is also foolish to pray for the dead. They have already either entered into Heaven or Hell. There is no third place from which they need to be freed in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The pope’s teaching here is consistent with his own church’s dogmas, but not with the Scriptures.

It seems doubly foolish for the pope to pray for the dead in this way. Does he not supposedly possess the ability to release souls from Purgatory by means of indulgence? Why not simply declare the Cardinal free himself rather than hoping that Mary will intercede for him? This aspect of the pope’s messages seems out of line with the traditional view of Purgatory – or at least rather odd, considering that the pope evidently feels kindly toward the deceased Cardinal.

To put it in another way, isn’t this rather like telling a naked and hungry man, “be warmed and fed,” but not actually giving him food and clothing? Perhaps there is more to the story, but it certainly seems inconsistent for the pope not to exercise his own papal prerogatives, if he really wants the Cardinal to get out of Purgatory…”

(4) Once again, Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale. Especially recommended is Dr. Sproul’s book “The Truth of the Cross.” It’s a great one to give as a gift or to save and give away around Easter. The online sale starts at 8 a.m. EST and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out.

Check out the $5 sale items here.

(5) Wish List: Regular readers of this blog will no doubt confirm that I have talked very little about King’s Church in Phoenix, where I serve as pastor. Its currently a very small start up/pioneer Church where we are looking to the Lord to expand as we reach out around us with the gospel of God’s grace.

A couple of folk suggested I write out a wish list of items we are needing/praying for. I responded that on a blog, people do not wish to be told about needs. By its very nature, the blog is a ministry that is always to be given free of charge.

They said, “That’s very true, but there are some people who have been very blessed by your blog and would wish to know about current needs to see if they can help in any way. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

Perhaps they have a point. I am not going to make a habit of mentioning this, but for those interested, here’s a short list of ministry items we are hoping to acquire:

Full Sound System (speakers, microphones, mic stands, cables, etc.)
Church Chairs
Pulpit
Video Camera upgrade for making youtube videos
Outreach Tracts

Because the folks here have their own ideas and preferences as to what exactly to purchase, please contact us first before buying anything. However, IF you are interested in helping in any way, please know that even small financial gifts towards some of these expensive purchases would be of enormous help.

(6) India Outreach:

You may remember we provided 10,000 copies of the Gospel tract I wrote “The Thief on the Cross” in the Malayalam language which were handed out to people in the state of Kerala at Easter time. The response and feedback to this very clear gospel presentation has been so encouraging that we made a tentative inquiry to find out how much it would cost for 100,000 tracts to be printed.

Whereas the cost for 10,000 tracts was approximately $400 USA Dollars, the cost for 100,000 tracts will be $2,600.00. This is the full cost, which includes paper, printing, shipping and distribution handling costs. As you can see, there is a substantial savings (per tract) when there is a larger quantity being printed.

Perhaps this Gospel outreach is something you or your church might like to get behind and support. If so, just write to me and I will give you further details.

Goal: $2,600.00

Amount received (as of 9/9/11): $330.00

(7) “There is probably only one thing that all scientists agree on—that the name of the game in all operational science and technology is verification. The Boeing Company has built a number of its new 787’s, the “Dreamliner.” All of these planes are involved in a two-year testing program. No paying passenger will ever fly on a 787 until that testing program is completed. The FDA will not allow drugs on the market until they have undergone extensive tests. Automobile companies have recalled thousands of cars because of problems that were not suspected in the original design. We demand this type of testing and proving of products to insure our physical safety.

It is nothing short of amazing that we do not demand this type of verification for our spiritual safety. God seems to be more concerned about our spiritual safety than we are. God verifies! The miracles performed by Jesus and his resurrections of people from the dead were witnessed by thousands of people. In fact, God does extreme verification! He reveals the one area that human will never be able to know: the future. There are hundreds of prophesies in the Bible that have come true—with great specificity and detail. God, Himself, states that this is how we can know that He is the One and True God (Deuteronomy 18: 21-22). God has done everything possible to verify Himself, His Word, and His work.

In stark contrast to God’s verification of Himself and His Word, the concept of evolution has not ever been verified and cannot be verified. No one has witnessed the evolution of life from non-life. Nor have they witnessed the evolution of multi-cell life from single-cell life, or the evolution of fishes from invertebrates, or the evolution of amphibians from fishes, or the evolution of reptiles from amphibians, or the evolution of mammals from reptiles, or the evolution of primates from mammals, or the evolution of humans from primates. Nor has anyone witnessed even one of the millions of steps necessary between these major categories.

A case in point…” more here:

Friday Round Up

(1) Ever wondered where the doctrines of grace English acrostic T.U.L.I.P. originated?

Would it surprise you to find out that it is only just over 100 years old? There’s a very interesting discussion and insightful comments found at Justin Taylor’s blog from a couple of years ago, Ligonier has some SUPER deals today on some excellent material in this week’s $5 Friday sale including two GREAT BOOKS. The online sale starts at 8 a.m. eastern time and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out. Check it out here.

(3) Wish List: Regular readers of this blog will no doubt confirm that I have talked very little about King’s Church in Phoenix, where I serve as pastor. Its currently a very small start up/pioneer Church where we are looking to the Lord to expand as we reach out around us with the gospel of God’s grace.

A couple of folk suggested I write out a wish list of items we are needing/praying for. I responded that on a blog, people do not wish to be told about needs. By its very nature, the blog is a ministry that is always to be given free of charge.

They said, “That’s very true, but there are some people who have been very blessed by your blog and would wish to know about current needs to see if they can help in any way. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

Perhaps they have a point. I am not going to make a habit of mentioning this, but for those interested, here’s a short list of ministry items we are hoping to acquire:

Full Sound System (speakers, microphones, mic stands, cables, etc.)
Church Chairs
Pulpit
Video Camera upgrade for making youtube videos
Outreach Tracts

Because the folks here have their own ideas and preferences as to what exactly to purchase, please contact us first before buying anything. However, IF you are interested in helping in any way, please know that even small financial gifts towards some of these expensive purchases would be of enormous help.

(4) Most Americans believe that their major problem is something that has happened to them, and that their solution is to be found within. In other words, they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution. What they gospel says, however, is that we have an inner problem that demands an alien solution—a righteousness that is not our own. – Al Mohler, ‘Preaching with the Culture in View,’ in Preaching the Cross (Crossway 2007), p. 81

That’s very clarifying.

The world says: the problem is outside you, the solution inside you.
The gospel says: the problem is inside you, the solution outside you.

(5) The last page of The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis–

‘You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be,’ said Aslan.

Lucy said, ‘We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.’

‘No fear of that,’ said Aslan. ‘Have you not guessed?’

Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.

‘There was a real railway accident,’ said Aslan softly. ‘Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.’

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

God bless – John.

Friday Round Up

(1) If you did not read the post this week about Pastor PJ Smyth’s long battle with cancer and the lessons he has learned, the furnace doesn’t consume it refines. The furnace of suffering doesn’t shout out “forsaken by God,” it shouts out “loved by God!””

You will find the article here.

(2) Inward impressions are subjective and are not a sure or even a safe guide. C. H. Spurgeon stated, “I have been the subject of such impressions, myself, and have seen very singular results. But to live by impressions is oftentimes to live the life of a fool and even to fall into downright rebellion against the revealed Word of God. Not your impressions, but that which is in this Bible must always guide you.”

He acknowledged having experienced impressions, yet affirms we should never consider them to be setting for us any kind of foundation, precedent, principle, or pattern upon which to build. That role belongs to the Word alone. I agree completely. I believe the biblical canon is closed. God is not giving inspired revelation in our day. I also believe that God does indeed lead and guide His people, sometimes even in unusual and very supernatural ways, but always, always, always in accordance with the word of God. It is the objective standard of the word of God by which we are to test every apparent and subjective leading of the Lord.

1 Thess 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

(3) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today on some excellent material in this week’s $5 Friday sale. Especially recommended is the 2003 National Conference series on CD, normally $65, but for today only is $5. I have heard this series and it is terrific. This is an amazing deal. Maybe worth getting a few of these CD sets as gifts for others – just a thought. Check it out here.

(4) “The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a sinful prayer, and only moves that arm because the Sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication.” – C. H. Spurgeon

A Challenging Suggestion

Back in 2009 Ligonier Ministries hosted a Conference for Pastors and Leaders called “Pillars of the Christian Faith.” It was described in the following way:

“While always initiated and empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit, history tells us that the most powerful periods of church renewal and reformation follow the efforts of Christian leaders to teach the Word of God accurately. These gifted teachers held in common a solid grounding in the essential truths of the prophetic and apostolic writings, the foundation upon which Christ builds His church. Christian leaders today must likewise be established in these biblical truths if the church would enjoy a new reformation.

In Ligonier Ministries’ 2009 Ministry Leadership Conference, “Pillars of the Christian Faith,” Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, and R.C. Sproul seek to equip you for effective, biblical leadership based upon the essential truths of the Christian faith.”

The sessions were as follows:

1. Creation and Providence (Sproul)
2. Our Sovereign God (Lawson)
3. Thy Word is Truth (Ferguson)
4. Questions and Answers
5. The Word became Flesh (Duncan)
6. The Holy Spirit (Ferguson)
7. Created in God’s Image (Duncan)
8. Cosmic Treason (Sproul)
9. Saved by Grace (Lawson)
10. Vespers Service – The Gospel of Reconciliation (Ferguson)
11. The Church and Sacraments (Duncan)
12. The Last Things (Ferguson)

You can now watch the entire conference for free. What a gift this is!

Over the next couple of weeks, (as difficult as it may be amidst your busy schedule) may I make a suggestion that you carve out an hour to sit with your Bible, notebook and pen and watch one of these sessions each day?

I would also encourage you to allow for time to reflect on the truth you hear and to pray that it may effect both change, new focus and refreshing of vision in your heart, life, and ministry to others. I suggest this because I believe your soul will be greatly enriched by this process, just as mine has been.

If you willing (and able) to take on this challenge here’s the link.

May God richly bless you and empower you for all He has called you to do. – John

Friday Round Up

Seven things in no particular order:

(1) Last night I thoroughly enjoyed listening to an mp3 of Maurice Roberts describing “The Theology of Francis Turretin.” Its a terrific overview of one of the (mainly) forgotten but HUGELY influential men of the Reformation found if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products as a reader of this blog by using the coupon code: EGRACE10

Talking of Ligonier, some time back I wrote a recommendation about one of their products “What is Reformed Theology?”:

“This series is an outstanding overview of the shape and contours of Reformed Theology. Dr. Sproul provides much clarity and insight as he shows how Reformed doctrine embraces all the major components of orthodox Christian teaching throughout Church history, while revealing the biblical distinctives. As a pastor, when people ask me what reformed theology is, its this series I point people to as a very helpful starting point.”

For the next two weeks or so, this CD series is available for any size gift here. I highly recommend it. If you already have the series – great. If so, perhaps it is something you might like to get as a gift for someone else.

(3) Galatians 1: 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

“Justice is getting what you deserve, mercy is not getting what you deserve, and grace is getting what you don’t deserve.” The good news of the gospel concerns the grace of Christ. We should never assume people know this, and never get tired of proclaiming it. I recommend Justin Edwards’ article “Justice, Mercy and Grace” found here.

(4) David Powlison on the subject of repentance:

Dr. David Powlison – On Martin Luther’s first of the 95 Theses. from CCEF on Vimeo.

(5) From the Apologetics group – “Why I don’t go to Church”

(6) India Outreach:

You may remember we provided 10,000 copies of the Gospel tract I wrote “The Thief on the Cross” in the Malayalam language which were handed out to people in the state of Kerala at Easter time. The response and feedback to this very clear gospel presentation has been so encouraging that we made a tentative inquiry to find out how much it would cost for 100,000 tracts to be printed.

Whereas the cost for 10,000 tracts was approximately $400 USA Dollars, the cost for 100,000 tracts will be $2,600.00. This is the full cost, which includes paper, printing, shipping and distribution handling costs. As you can see, there is a substantial savings (per tract) when there is a larger quantity being printed.

Perhaps this Gospel outreach is something you or your church might like to get behind and support. If so, just write to me and I will give you further details.

Goal: $2,600.00

Amount received (as of 8/19/11): $330.00

(7) Cannibal jokes: * Did you hear the one about the two cannibals eating a clown? One said to the other… “Does this taste funny?”

* Two cannibals were sitting by a fire. The first says, “Gee, I hate my mother-in-law.”
The 2nd replies, “So, try the potatoes.”

* Two missionaries in Africa were apprehended by a tribe of very hostile cannibals who put them in a large pot of water, built a huge fire under it, and left them there. A few minutes later, one of the missionaries started to laugh uncontrollably.

The other missionary was incredulous, and said, “What’s wrong with you? We’re being boiled alive! They’re going to eat us! What could possibly be funny at a time like this?”

The laughing missionary said, “I just peed in their soup!”

Friday Round Up

(1) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today on some excellent material in this week’s $5 Friday sale starting at 8 am EST. Check it out here.

Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products as a reader of this blog by using the coupon code: EGRACE10

(2) I love this quote: “In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn cup; long ere the echoes awoke the solitudes; before the mountains were brought forth; and long ere the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created being—when the ether was not fanned by an angel’s wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God alone—even then, in that loneliness of Deity, and in that deep quiet and profundity, His bowels moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart, and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the world—even from eternity! and when He called me by His grace, He said to me, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

Then, in the fulness of time, He purchased me with His blood; He let His heart run out in one deep gaping wound for me long ere I loved Him. Yea, when He first came to me, did I not spurn Him? When He knocked at the door, and asked for entrance, did I not drive Him away, and do despite to His grace? Ah, I can remember that I full often did so until, at last, by the power of His effectual grace, He said, “I must, I will come in;” and then He turned my heart, and made me love Him. But even till now I should have resisted Him, had it not been for His grace. Well, then since He purchased me when I was dead in sins, does it not follow, as a consequence necessary and logical, that He must have loved me first? Did my Saviour die for me because I believed on Him? No; I was not then in existence; I had then no being. Could the Saviour, therefore, have died because I had faith, when I myself was not yet born? Could that have been possible? Could that have been the origin of the Saviour’s love towards me? Oh! no; my Saviour died for me long before I believed. “But,” says someone, “He foresaw that you would have faith; and, therefore, He loved you.” What did He foresee about my faith? Did He foresee that I should get that faith myself, and that I should believe on Him of myself? No; Christ could not foresee that, because no Christian man will ever say that faith came of itself without the gift and without the working of the Holy Spirit. I have met with a great many believers, and talked with them about this matter; but I never knew one who could put his hand on his heart, and say, “I believed in Jesus without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.”” – C. H. Spurgeon (Sermon – A Defense of Calvinism)

(3) India Outreach:

You may remember we provided 10,000 copies of the Gospel tract I wrote “The Thief on the Cross” in the Malayalam language which were handed out to people in the state of Kerala at Easter time. The response and feedback to this very clear gospel presentation has been so encouraging that we made a tentative inquiry to find out how much it would cost for 100,000 tracts to be printed.

Whereas the cost for 10,000 tracts was approximately $400 USA Dollars, the cost for 100,000 tracts will be $2,600.00. This is the full cost, which includes paper, printing, shipping and distribution handling costs. As you can see, there is a substantial savings (per tract) when there is a larger quantity being printed.

Perhaps this Gospel outreach is something you or your church might like to get behind and support. If so, just write to me and I will give you further details.

Goal: $2,600.00

Amount received (as of 8/5/11): $330.00

(4) From the archives here: This is what happens when a gentleman with a sincere question about election approaches Paul Washer (unannounced) and someone else has a video camera standing by ready to record. In spite of the sound quality issues (thankfully the entire conversation is readable in subtitles on the screen), I am sure the explanation given here can be helpful for many people:

(5) Ever Notice How God Always Fails In “Free-Will” Theology? by AllforHisgloryalone

#1 He desires all men (their meaning = every individual) to be saved, but does not accomplish this. Fail.

#2 If He is lifted up, He will draw all men (their meaning = every individual) , but yet all men do not come, another fail.

#3 He paid in full all the sins of all men and died to save them, (their meaning = every individual) yet some go to hell and still have to pay, another fail.

#4 John 6:39-40 John 10 27-29 God fails again, because their theology says true believers can become lost.

#5 Sovereign Lord and King of kings, another fail, for He must submit to and cannot violate or impose upon their free will.

I could go on, but no.

The God of the Bible does not fail, Ever! (Isaiah 46:8-11). He is mighty to save, sanctify, to keep, to persevere, & to glorify.

If He died for you, you will be saved.
If He gives you eternal life, its eternal.
If He draws you, you will come.
If He changes you, you are truly changed
If you are His and go astray, He will come get you and restore you.
If He is Sovereign King of kings, He will not bow the knee to man’s will.

(6) This is very funny and there are so many applications for this:

Intro to Reformed Theology: A Calvinist Survival Guide (eBook)

If you enjoy in depth Bible study and the eBook experience, Historical, and Christ-Centered by Nathan Pitchford
The Reformed Faith by Loraine Boettner
God Glorified in Man’s Dependence by Jonathan Edwards
The Plan of Salvation by B. B. Warfield

Part II: Calvinism in General

A Defence of Calvinism by C. H. Spurgeon
The Five Points of Calvinism by R. L. Dabney
Calvinism Today by B. B. Warfield
More Than a Calvinist by John Newton

Part III: The Sovereignty of God

God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men by Jonathan Edwards
The Sole Consideration, that God Is God by Jonathan Edwards
The Sovereignty of God by John Murray
The Doctrine of the Sovereignty of God John Macleod
God’s Sovereignty Defined and Objections Answered by A. W. Pink
A Testimony to God’s Free and Sovereign Grace by C. H. Spurgeon
Continue reading

Christmas in July!

Proverbs 23:23 “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.”

As the saying goes, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance!”

Ligonier Ministries is offering a very limited time offer this weekend (July 9th and 10th) of 30% off all material sitewide!

Start date: July 9, 2011

End date: July 10, 2011

With over 5,000 resources to guide the growing Christian, including the Reformation Study Bible, books, CD’s, DVD’s, mp3’s – help spread the word.

Just click on the green Ligonier Ministries icon on this page (top right) which will take you directly to the Ligonier store, and when you come to order products, use the Promo code: SAVE30

Friday Round Up and a Recommendation for Pastors

(1) Please keep our evangelistic outreach to Kerala, India in your prayers. Update here.

(2) Its been well said, “If your pastor is struggling, and you are not praying for him, the failure is yours too. If your pastor is succeeding, and you are praying for him, the victory is yours together.” I want to remind you to pray for your Pastor and elders. They are God’s gift to you for the welfare of your soul.

Pastor Alistair Begg writes, “Brothers, our work is solemnly momentous, involving good or ill to thousands; we deal with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the special target of the hostility of men and devils; they watch for our faltering and work to trip us at the heels.

Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt; above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many difficult cases, and our wits are at a quandary; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to encourage you by our preaching; we desire to be a blessing to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners.

Therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. We are miserable men if we miss the help of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the Gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you: “Brothers, pray for us.” (1 Thess 5:25)”

Here is a outline for prayer as the weekend approaches. Many have shared with me that it has been a very useful and practical guide.

(3) Earlier this week I wrote two posts called “Letter to a Charismatic” (1) and (2). In it I refered to the Church in Redding, California led by Bill Johnson. I am even further troubled after reading this review of Bill Johnson’s book “When Heaven Invades Earth.”

(4) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale here. I would particularly recommend getting the book “Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow.”

“People need to maintain a diet of nutritious foods if their bodies are to grow and thrive. But what do the people of God need in order to grow and thrive in the Christian faith? In this book, noted theologian and pastor R.C. Sproul identifies five of the crucial “nutrients” that promote spiritual growth: Bible study, prayer, worship, service, and stewardship. With biblical insight and practical wisdom, Dr. Sproul teaches Christians how to maintain a balanced “diet” that will lead to growth and mature Christian living. This book is an important resource for new believers to learn these spiritual disciplines and become grounded in the Christian faith in a way that anyone can understand.”

Pastors – perhaps consider making this book a gift for each family in the church. Normally it is $12 per book so the $5 price today is certainly worth considering. Sale starts Friday at 8 a.m. EST and ends Saturday at 8 a.m. EST here. Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products (as a reader of this blog) by using the coupon code EGRACE10.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Friday Round Up

FIVE ITEMS:

(1) Please keep our evangelistic outreach to Kerala, India in your prayers. Update make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God’s people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven’t found God’s perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting…waiting…waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn’t need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He’s already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like. No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something. Paperback; 128 pages.”

For the month of July, Alistair Begg is making this book available for any size gift into his “Truth for Life” ministry. Its full title is “JUST DO SOMETHING – A LIBERATING APPROACH TO FINDING GOD’S WILL or how to make decisions without dreams, vision, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.” Available here.

(3) If you are interested in learning something about the field of textual criticism but don’t know where to start, this will be right up your street. The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) is committed to helping others understand the reliability of our New Testaments, the history of translations, the study of the text, and significant figures who have made this possible. Beginning today, CSNTM is making a series of videos concerning New Testament manuscripts, textual criticism, history of the New Testament, and expert commentary on key verses available as a free download on iTunes U. Featured in the videos are interviews and footage shot around the world of important people involved in the work of the Center. Noted scholar, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace explains important aspects in the study of the text of the New Testament – found here.

Note: these short clip videos are free but only available through iTunes, yet I felt that the material is too good not to mention.

(4) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale here. Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products (as a reader of this blog) by using the coupon code EGRACE10.

(5) Last, but by no means least, please keep my dear friend Jim in your prayers (I mentioned his situation a few days ago on the blog here). The amazing news is that he has been removed from ICU and doctors are trying to ascertain whether or not his body might stand up to a heart transplant (if he qualifies for one). The journey has been amazing though – with his heart stopped for 15 minutes, there was a real fear he would simply be a vegetable mentally (that fear is well and truly dismissed as he is talking now). Just three days ago, his liver readings were so poor that the medical opinion was that he needed a very urgent liver transplant – but the readings are now so close to normal that doctors are not even worried about his liver anymore. We give great thanks to God as this is nothing short of miraculous, but lets keep praying. He is not completely out of the woods yet.