To Whom Shall We Go?

There are lots of fans of John Frame out there. I know some who've had the privilege to study with him, and they speak very highly of his life and doctrine. He and NT scholar Vern Poythress (that's a fun name to say out loud; go ahead and try it!) have a joint website with tons of their articles on all kinds of topics. I aspire to read Frame's book on Christian ethics in the near future, but life is a bit busy at the moment. We'll see...I read his The Doctrine of God for a class, and it is simply outstanding. Like amazingly outstanding.

In a sermon on James 5:1-11 recently, Tom Schreiner gave this helpful word about running the race of faith, commenting on verse 7: Don't confuse perfection with perseverance In other words, running the race of the Christian life requires us to persevere in the faith, and not grow weary. But it is not a race of perfection. So when we see ourselves fail in the race, we do not grow weary, rather we entrust ourselves to the Father's care. He will ultimately carry us through to the end.

Bob Kauflin has an interesting post about worship leaders needing to open their eyes more when they're leading. His thoughts are interesting and worth reading. But they're not just for leaders. He ends up offering some helpful reminders for what's going on when we're in a corporate worship setting. To whet your appetite, here are some of the possible (bad) reasons for leaders closing their eyes: * we want to look spiritual * we think the Holy Spirit likes closed eyes more than opened eyes * we don’t want to look at the faces of people who seem apathetic, concerned, confused, or angry about what we’re doing * we’re battling fear of man and the easiest thing to do is just pretend that no one else is around * we don’t want to see who walks out of the room * we’re discouraged by the dwindling number of people showing up on Sundays * we’re imagining that this is our own personal encounter with God * we don’t remember the words to the next ...

then don't read the biography of Adoniram Judson called To the Golden Shore . If, however, you do want to grow as a Christian, then do not waste another minute. First, buy or borrow this book. Second, read it: for 10 minutes during your quiet time, for 30 minutes instead of Jeopardy , or for the last few minutes of the day as you lay in bed (although this will prove difficult as you get wrapped up into this amazing story of God's faithfulness in sending his gospel from shore to shore!). John Piper also has a short biography of Judson alongside that of William Tyndale and John Paton. Why are you still reading my blog? Go! Buy it!

There are tons of these kinds of resources out there. Many of them are on the web. Here is a quick group of good resources. Respond in the comment section if you're interested in more: Desiring God Blog Recommended Bible Reading Plans ESV Study Bible Online Pastor Andy Davis' Memorization Plan (long sections of Scripture!) Dr Donald Whitney's Website (tons of great resources) Good Sermons from Capitol Hill Baptist Church CJ Mahaney's sermons (particularly helpful for application

I couldn't resist the opportunity for a cheeky title... Piper has an excellent post on a very specific, and perplexing, question about parenting. I have wondered about it many times. The question he sets out to answer is "Why should parents require submissive behaviors of children when they may be unregenerate rebels at heart?". Here are his three main points: 1) For children, external, unspiritual conformity to God’s commanded patterns of behavior is better than external, unspiritual non-conformity to those patterns of behavior. 2) Requiring obedience from children in conformity with God’s will confronts them with the meaning of sin in relation to God, the nature of their own depravity, and their need for inner transformation by the power of grace through the gospel of Christ. 3) The marks of devotion, civility, and manners (“please,” “thank you,” and good eye contact) are habits that, God willing, are filled later with grace and become more helpful ways of blessing o...

I had the privilege of taking a course this Fall on Old Testament II (Job through Malachi) with Dr. Jim Hamilton . My love for God’s Word has grown as a result, and I am deeply grateful for Dr. Hamilton’s erudition and passion for the truth. One particularly helpful lecture he gave was on the book of Proverbs. I could point to many helpful things he discussed including the structure of chapters 1-9 or the proverbs about parenting. But one compelling idea I want to point out comes from his discussion of Prov 7. In that chapter Solomon observes the foolish young man who is enticed by the seductive adulteress (note: this should be seen as paradigmatic; young women are certainly open to seduction). Solomon looks out his window and sees the young man “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness” (7:8-9). The young man has set himself up for sin, and, indeed, sin is what follows. Jim Hamilton e...