Little Kids in the Adult Service

Sloth

I’m preaching about laziness on Sunday. Actually the sermon is entitled Valuing Your Work, but the unspoken subtitle is:“Quit being a lazy bum, sitting on your butt, eating Cheetos and playing video games while living in your Mom's basement." I’m in a series call Got Wisdom? It’s from the book of Proverbs -- perhaps is the greatest "how-to" book ever written. God’s Word has much to say about the rewards of work and diligence; as well as the consequences of sloth and laziness. No wonder the ancients listed it as one of the seven deadly sins.

T4G Wrap-Up

One of my friends asked me how I enjoyed T4G. I told him (half-jokingly) that it was great, except for the Calvinism. Obviously, I didn't agree with everything I heard, but the sessions encouraged my soul. I especially appreciated the last sermon by C.J. Mahaney -- it was a call to preach the Word -- certainly something I have heard before, but it's good to be reminded from time to time.

Another thing that sets this conference apart is the number of books that are given away. At each main session we found four new books on our chairs. I volunteered a couple of times to help with the distribution (two or three hundred volunteers fanning out to place chairs on 7000 seats is a sight to behold -- and it was fun!).

Here is the list of books given to us:

•R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
•Michael Reeves, The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation
•Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement
•Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything
•The ESV Study Bible
•Thabiti Anyabwile, The Gospel for Muslims: An Encouragement to Share Christ with Confidence
•Greg Gilbert, What Is the Gospel?
•John MacArthur, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ
•Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters
•John Piper, Finally Alive
•Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney, Jonathan Edwards on Beauty
•Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Plight of Man and the Power of God
•Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney, The Essential Jonathan Edwards Collection
•Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching
•Albert Mohler, He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World
•Ligon Duncan, Fear Not! Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective
•T4G, Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology
•D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus
•J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
•Jonathan Leeman, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline
•J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel

Together for the Gospel

I am attending the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville this week. Day One was great. Mark Dever had an outstanding message. And they are giving away books galore. At the beginning of each new main session there are four new books on the seats. The worship is wonderful. 7000 men singing In Christ Alone -- wow! But the highlight of Day One was was meeting my old friend Derek Penwell for supper. Derek and I have known each other since elementary school days (we attended church camp together). We reconnected in college (playing on the baseball team and rooming next door to each other). He was one of the groomsmen in my wedding. We haven't seen each other in over 20 years. It was great to catch up.

I'm looking forward to Day Two with heavy hitters John MacArthur and John Piper.

Ouch!

via Mark Driscoll

Opening Day -- Go Cubs Go!

Were You There?

John Piper Rethinks Long-Standing Belief

After announcing his upcoming 8-month leave-of-absence, Calvinist John Piper also released the following statement concerning his position on the atonement:

"After much study of God's Word, I have come to the conclusion that the Calvinist position concerning the doctrine of the atonement is outside the teachings of Scripture. For many years I have taught that the Calvinist position on the atonement was absolutely correct. I taught that the atonement was the elect. Jesus died to save the elect to the glory of God. I taught that God the Father sent the Son to glorify His name by dying in place of the elect and through His Spirit He now draws them unto Himself. I was incorrect.

I now teach that the atonement was for all and this truly brings glory to God. For many years I have sought to exalt God through faithful teaching of His Word. I have tried to emphasize that the Westminster Confession of Faith is correct when it say that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is accomplished best through the unlimited atonement of Jesus Christ. God is glorified and His honor is proclaimed when we declare that Jesus died for all men and that all men can be saved through His atonement. What a wondrous work is Jesus' death and resurrection! How mighty is our God!"

I must say that I was shocked to read such a statement. You can more about the Piper statement here.