Chandler on Knowing and Preaching the Authoritative Text

Mahaney Starts Blogging

C.J. Mahaney and Tony Reinke have started a blog. Peep it.

Good Lookin' Out: The Works of Frame

Systematic Theology is a daunting enterprise. One must master theology, exegesis, history, and philosophy. There are only a handful of serious-minded systematic theologians writing today, and John Frame is one of them. He teaches theology, apologetics, and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando. His "Theology of Lordship" series is essential for every pastor's library. P & R Publishing is now publishing "The Collected Works of John Frame, Vol. 1: Theology." It is a CD-Rom (that will turn me and others off) that contains: The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, The Doctrine of God, No Other God, The Amsterdam Philosophy, Perspectives on the Word of God, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, and lots of shorter writings, and about 70 hours of audio resources. If you can read off of a computer, this is a great resource for pastors and theologians. Also see his website for many resources.

How to Stay Out of Debt

Blogging

My friend Owen has written a very helpful post about blogging that glorifies God. It could just as easily apply to Facebook, Myspace, or any other social network. Read it here. Here are his five points:

1. Be careful about narcissism. (I have written similar concerns here)
2. Make your blog about ideas.
3. Watch out that you're not contributing to a culture of amateurs.
4. Remember that blogs aren't really that significant.
5. Seek accountability in your blogging, like anything else.

"Ordinary people can also find a taste of fame on the Internet. Anyone can put up a Web page, start a LiveJournal (LJ) [or facebook or blogger], or post to message boards. Blogs are built around the idea that everyone wants to hear your thoughts [narcissism]. Had a bad day? Tell the world about it on LJ. Proud of your athletic ability, your family, your hobbies, your witty writing? Create your own Web page."

(Dr. Jean Twenge in "Generation Me" p. 89)

What Can Miserable Christians Sing?

Here is a link to a great piece by Carl Trueman. The article is about the triumphalist environments that so often plague our churches, and specifically our worship. We are indeed conquerors in Christ, but the kingdom has not been consummated yet so the Christian life is not all smiles all the time. Our worship should reflect this already/not yet tension. Here are some excerpts:

A diet of unremittingly jolly choruses and hymns inevitably I creates an unrealistic horizon of expectation which sees the normative Christian life as one long triumphalist street party — a theologically incorrect and a pastorally disastrous scenario in a world of broken individuals. Has an unconscious belief that Christianity is — or at least should be — all about health, wealth, and happiness silently corrupted the content of our worship? Few Christians in areas where the church has been strongest over recent decades — China, Africa, Eastern Europe - would regard uninterrupted emotional highs as normal Christian experience.

By excluding the cries of loneliness, dispossession, and desolation from its worship, the church has effectively silenced and excluded the voices of those who are themselves lonely, dispossessed, and desolate, both inside and outside the church. By so doing, it has implicitly endorsed the banal aspirations of consumerism, generated an insipid, trivial and unrealistically triumphalist Christianity, and confirmed its impeccable credentials as a club for the complacent.

'2008 Resolutions'

I am not a big 'New Years Resolutions' guy, but it is a good time to do some personal and familial evaluation. I thought I'd share some ways I am seeking conformity to Christ:

--Wake up each morning and preach the Gospel to your self. Start the day with a Gospel perspective, acknowledging your dependence on God.

--Be observant and identify evidences of grace in others. Encourage them and so ‘give grace to those who hear.’ (Eph 4.29)

--Realize that you are always doing much better than you deserve.

--Make the best use of time, as it is fleeting (Eph 5.16). Number your days (Ps 90.12) because life is a vapor (James 4.14).

--I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? (Job 31.1)

--Do not let the sun go down on your anger (Eph 4.26)

--Love your wife as Christ loves the church (Eph 5.22-31), and do not be harsh with her lest your prayers be hindered (Col 3.19, 1 Pet 3.7).

--Bridle your tongue, or your religion is worthless (James 1.26).

--Think weekly about where you’ve sinned and been negligent.

--Pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5.17). Prayerlessness is pride, and makes the statement that you are self-sufficient.

--Consider/weigh/pray about your reaction to criticism. Be thankful for criticism and agree with it. You are much worse than your critic even knows. You have been judged and justified in Christ and are now in Him, with whom God is well pleased. Criticism is a gift to you from God.

--Respond to life’s mishaps as a true Calvinist. God is meticulously sovereign, so act accordingly when life happens.