Pity the fool who pities himself

Self-pity is, for me, like a low-level virus, a background throb, a sapping sickness.  It heavies my bones and fizzies my blood. But the other day I gained instant relief.  I was reading Psalm 103 in the King James version.  Verse 13 says: Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them [...]

Read Full Post »

The meaning of Eid al-Adha

from The Big Picture (see also many other fascinating photos) Yesterday marked the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son.  Muslims believe it was Ishmael who was nearly sacrificed.  But Genesis 22 is clear that Isaac, the child of promise, was the one to be sacrificed.   And [...]

Read Full Post »

Happy Friday

from Doug Wilson from Dan Hames

Read Full Post »

The New Atheism and the Trinity

Here’s Mike Reeves speaking at a student evangelistic event this week.  Sound quality is not great but it is well worth listening to! It’s called “How Atheists Are Right.”  Mike’s arguing that the new atheism rightly rejects the solitary dictator in the sky.   Christopher Hitchens regularly complains that theism is totalitarianism.  The theist God is [...]

Read Full Post »

Paul Blackham vs Radiohead

I love this sermon.  And I love Radiohead. The full 30 minute sermon is here.  It’s in my all-time top 3. Don’t forget other classic Blackham sermons here. .  

Read Full Post »

Some evangelistic resources

Here’s a selection of talks I’ve given in evangelistic settings Jesus: Commander, Host, Doctor: Luke 5 Comedy and Christianity – can they mix? How not to lead a trivial life (a talk at a pub quiz): Colossians 3:4 You must be born again: John 3 Thirsty for more?: John 4 What is faith?: John 4:43-54 [...]

Read Full Post »

Church as ‘Date-night’

Worship is all of life right?  Romans 12:1 right? Well ok.  But try telling your spouse, “We don’t need to set aside special time for each other, marriage is all of life.’ No, no, no.  Church is date-night.  (My Sunday night sermon). .  

Read Full Post »

Some Christianity Explored Talks

I spoke every other week on Christianity Explored (an evangelistic course based in Mark’s Gospel). Here are the odd weeks then.  The text is slightly different and I’d say better than the audio.  I often departed from my script to save time. CE 1 – Introduction – Christianity is Christ. (Text)  (Audio) CE 3 – [...]

Read Full Post »

Recipe for a 20 minute ‘Quiet Time’

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself kneeling at the side of Christ’s throne, head on His chest, His arm around your shoulder. Christ is speaking.  He’s addressing His Father. And this is what He’s saying: Psalm 119. Listen in. This really is the one thing you must do.  Listen. Add your Amens and your Thankyous as [...]

Read Full Post »

Happy Friday

I’ve been remiss in my Happy Friday offerings of late.  So here – have two. . Brant Hansen draws our attention to the latest development in Wii-ship.  (Codepoke will be thrilled I’m sure). . . And Ben Myers toys with an e-mail scammer.  Very funny. .

Read Full Post »

Why I am a Trinitarian Hedonist

You might think I have it in for John Piper.  You’d be wrong. I once spotted the great man at the back of All Souls (he’d come to hear John Stott preach).  I came bounding up to him after the service intending to tell him that I’d quoted him in my sermon that morning.  But [...]

Read Full Post »

Beginning with the Creator?

Here’s the John Piper quote I’ve been discussing: And so the biblical mindset starts with the assumption that God is the center of reality. All thinking starts with the assumption that God has basic rights as the Creator of all things. He has goals that fit with his nature and perfect character. Then the biblical [...]

Read Full Post »

Self-giving is absolute reality

[I]n self-giving, if anywhere, we touch a rhythm of all creation and of all being. For the Eternal Word gives Himself in mortal sacrifice; and that not only on Calvary. For when He was crucified on Calvary He did that in the wild weather of His outlying provinces what He had done at home in [...]

Read Full Post »

Great links

I know I still have a couple of posts on the Piper quote to write.  I’ll get to that… Have you noticed the recent addition to my sidebar?  You can read some recommended posts I’ve found helpful or at least provocative. They all seem to be by Peter Leithart.  How did that happen?  Simple.  He [...]

Read Full Post »

Jesus is God-sized – God is Jesus-shaped

Preached on John 1:1-2 this morning (audio here). My last two points were this: Jesus is God-sized and God is Jesus-shaped   I wonder whether much of our evangelism is aimed at persuading people of point number one.  And I wonder whether that emphasis, if divorced from the second point, is quite dangerous. Here’s what [...]

Read Full Post »

Are we afraid of preaching news that’s too good?

I dunno, this isn’t based on anything but a vague gut feeling (yeah, yeah, as opposed to my usually well-researched and even-handed analysis!)  but… Are we afraid of preaching news that’s too good? I just wonder whether that ‘honey mouthed’ Puritan preacher, the ‘sweet-dropper’, Richard Sibbes was surrounded by a more bitter fraternity of preachers.  [...]

Read Full Post »

I am 2. Who are you?

I began blogging two years ago today. Thanks to Bobby who suggested it (please pray for him and the family at the moment as they wait on troubling medical tests). To mark this momentous occasion, I am blogging this entry from my mobile phone. Get me. Surfing the cutting edge of the information super-highway and [...]

Read Full Post »

Avoiding a fourth [Thawed out Thursday]

No (good) trinitarian theologian wants to have a fourth thing – a divine substance considered apart from the Three Persons.  But it’s important to be aware that this error (effectively having a quaternity) has two versions.  There is a vulgar quaternity and a more insidious one. The vulgar one looks like this: Here is the [...]

Read Full Post »