Sanctification by time travel

David Murray:

…spiritual time travel is not an optional extra, something for high-flying Christians, but this is something for every Christian to try. In fact, you will never make much lasting progress in holiness if you do not travel back in time to Calvary’s cross and the empty tomb.

Let me put this as bluntly and as starkly as possible: The Christian’s holiness depends primarily on his/her ability to time travel by faith.

John Piper Is Not Anti-Seashell

Trevin Wax:

Piper’s sermon on a wasted life is powerful because it exposes the tragedy of living only for this world. But countless other sermons from Piper are powerful because they show the joy and wonder of living in this world and the importance of looking beyond the gift to the Maker of all good things – the Artist who splashes his brilliant colors on the canvas of creation.

Just Do Something: the study guide

Moody’s just released a free study guide to Kevin DeYoung’s excellent little book, Just Do Something. Download it here.

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Two of my friend Stephen Altrogge’s fiction books are free this week (and if they’re not already showing up free, they will be soon): The Chip and The Last Superhero. Both are really fun reads and well worth getting.

Also, on sale are Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name by Bryan Chappell ($1.94) and On the Grace of God by Justin Holcomb ($1.99). And in case you missed them over the weekend, here are a few other books still on sale:

• Which Bible Translation Should I Use? by Andreas Köstenberger—$4.99
• How We Got the Bible—$4.06
• The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke – Acts—$7.59
• Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: John – Acts—$7.59 (USD, price varies in Canada)
• The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon—$4.99
• Taking God Seriously by J.I. Packer—$5.99
• A Passion for Faithfulness by J.I. Packer—$4.99
• Growing in Christ by J.I. Packer—$3.99
• Affirming the Apostle’s Creed by J.I. Packer—$2.99
• James: a 12-Week Study by Greg Gilbert—$2.99
• Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministryby John Piper—$4.99
• Where to Find It in the Bible by Ken Anderson—$4.49
• Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger—$3.99
• Peace Child by Don Richardson—$3.99
• The White Umbrella by Mary Frances Bowley—$2.99
• Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith by Alistair McGrath–$4.94

A Biblical and Scientific Adam

Vern Polythress:

Did Adam and Eve exist? Does science say otherwise? The human genome project has produced voluminous data about the information contained in human DNA. Various news media and scientists tell us that this information demonstrates our ape ancestry. How do we evaluate these claims?

The Unspoken Tension Between (Some) Pastors and (Some) Laity

Thom Rainer:

There is a growing tension between some pastors and some laity in churches across America. It is not pervasive, but it’s growing. Frankly, I don’t even like the seemingly opposing labels of pastors and laity. I just don’t know how to describe the groups otherwise.

This tension is like the family secret that no one mentions explicitly, but many speak around it and near it. And this tension is growing.

Preparing for the Future in the Age of Facebook

Alex Chediak:

Youth is a particularly strategic time to develop healthy study habits. The early years are a season of developing our God-given talents into competencies by which we can meaningfully serve others and live with impact in a broken world. This requires learning to receive, understand, and evaluate arguments conveyed via words, equations, or other means. It requires attentive reading, alert listening, and active engagement.

But an endless assortment of instantly-available media and non-stop social interactions are making uninterrupted study less common for young adults in our day (and for all of us).

Just My Imagination

R.C. Sproul Jr:

It’s the fuzzy stuff around the edges that gets us. When we are aware we are facing a text from God’s Word, we tend to tread carefully. We move slowly, break out our exegetical tools, and get to work. The trouble comes when we’re dealing in broad generalities. We take a vague notion grounded in our private wishes, and turn these into convictions. I had a friend in college who was signed up for the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. Two years into the program he wanted out, having adopted a pacifist perspective. I asked him how he came to this conclusion- “I just can’t see Jesus blowing some guy away” was his answer. Now there are some thoughtful, nuanced arguments out there in favor of pacifism. I don’t believe them, but I can respect them. This, however, is some microscopically thin ice.

Why Going to Church on Sunday is An Act of War

Dan Darling:

…the simple act of going to church–I’m assuming here a church who preaches the gospel and declares that Jesus Christ is King–is in and of itself a declaration of war. When your weary legs rise for another verse of the chorus and you offer praise to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, you are saying, in effect, that the reigning prince of the power of the air, Satan (Ephesians 2:2) is really not the King He thinks he is. There is another King, another Kingdom and it’s coming one day in it’s fullness and power. When you gather with your fellow believers and worship Christ, you are saying to the rest of the world that man is not ultimate. You are saying that the great movements of this world may have some power, but ultimately they are part of God’s gathering of history to Himself and for His kingdom. When you worship the risen Christ every Sunday at your church, you are telling the world that in your life, for this moment, Christ is ultimate. He is to be worshipped above all else. You’re making a statement that there is Someone deserving of more adulation and worship than the lesser things to which we pledge allegiance. You’re inviting them to ask you, “Why do you think the Kingdom of God is better than the Kingdom of man? What is it about Christ that gets you to roll out of bed, get dressed, get your family dressed, hop in the car, and go to church every single Sunday? 

The Imperfect and Aktionsart

William Mounce:

Meaning is communicated in more ways than time and aspect, and when we see a verb in a certain tense with a certain aspect, there are other factors that determine its meaning. This is Aktionsart.

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Here are a number of (hopefully!) still active deals for the Kindle:

• Which Bible Translation Should I Use? by Andreas Köstenberger—$4.74
• How We Got the Bible—$3.47
• The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke – Acts—$7.59
• Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: John – Acts—$7.59 (USD, price varies in Canada)
• The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon—$4.99
• The Holman Bible Atlas—$4.99
• The Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical History—$4.99
• Taking God Seriously by J.I. Packer—$5.99
• A Passion for Faithfulness by J.I. Packer—$4.99
• Growing in Christ by J.I. Packer—$3.99
• Affirming the Apostle’s Creed by J.I. Packer—$2.99
• James: a 12-Week Study by Greg Gilbert—$2.99
• Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer—$2.99
• The MacArthur Bible Commentary—$5.99
• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley—$4.99
• Journey to Joy by Josh Moody—$1.00
• Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministryby John Piper—$4.99
• Where to Find It in the Bible by Ken Anderson—$4.49
• Redemption by Mike Wilkerson—$2.99
• Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger—$3.99
• One Perfect Life by John MacArthur—$3.99
• Peace Child by Don Richardson—$3.99
• The White Umbrella by Mary Frances Bowley—$2.99
• Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith by Alistair McGrath–$4.94

On Why We should Love and Hate the Suburbs

Matthew Lee Anderson:

Like most kerfuffles, the recent dispute over Christianity and the suburbs has teetered on engendering far more heat than there has been light.

Some of that was due to our own Keith Miller’s post, which self-consciously provoked and explored questions rather than laid out definitive hypotheses.  (Mission accomplished.  The comments have been wonderful.)  But one gets the sense that the discussion has been fueled by vagueness, that it’s full of heuristic caricatures set up to illuminate more fundamental points.  And heuristic caricatures often breed defensive responses, and around the internet wheel-go-round we spin.  That’s my observation, anyway, which I am happy to be wrong about.

Kingdom Come—50% off at Westminster Books

Sam Storm’s new book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative, is on sale at Westminster Books for $15 (a 50 per cent savings). You can read a sample which includes the introduction and first chapter here.

Radical Christianity: A Call to Legalism or a Cause to Live?

Ed Stetzer:

I think we need more missional and more radical role models and resources for the church. I think we need it because the bigger problem is complacency, not an overemphasis on radical missional living. At this time and in most Western cultural contexts, a consumer church is a greater danger than a radical Christianity.

However, that does not mean that all of us need to be David Platt.

Idle of the Heart

Joe Thorn:

I continually run into young men who are frustrated at their stage in life in part because of a lack of clarity about their calling, or a lack of opportunity to do what they really want to do.  This frustration leads many to become idle. Inactive if not aimless.

Gospel Self-Esteem: Imago Dei

Matthew Sims:

He was on his kick. They all had one. Something they had studied and come to the definitive answer on, usually it was related to a cultural issue or the rapture.

This particular evangelist had studied Scripture and found out that it never said anything about self-esteem. Loving yourself was bad. We don’t need more value. We’re disgusting sinners. We just need Jesus.

Get Blood Work for $5 at Ligonier.org

The ePub edition of Blood Work by Anthony Bradley is on sale in today’s $5 Friday sale at Ligonier.org. Also on sale:

• The Consequences of Ideas teaching series by R.C. Sproul (audio and video download)
• Abortion by R.C. Sproul (hardcover)
• Handout Apologetics teaching series by John Gerstner (audio and video download)

$5 Friday ends tonight at 11:59:59 Eastern.

The Litmus Test of Genuine Christianity

Cap Stewart:

In our pluralistic culture, churches have become so varied that they spread confusion about what it really means to be a follower of Christ. When it comes to hot-button issues like gun rights, abortion, and homosexuality, professing Christians line up on opposite ends. Can Christianity legitimately be so divided? Or, to put it another way, can anyone discern the “real deal”? Is it possible to know what functional, practical Christianity truly looks like?

Gosnell is not the only one

Owen Strachan introduces us to an equally dark challenge to the “compassionate choice” rhetoric of pro-choice advocates: Douglas Karpen:

But some clinics–like that of the now-convicted Kermit Gosnell–let us see the true horror of abortion. Another clinic has been exposed by former workers as, apparently, a site of truly mind-bending evil. It is a Houston clinic run by a man named Dr. Douglas Karpen. Karpen has seemingly been slaughtering babies for decades, including many babies that doctors consider “viable,” as they were born alive. The video above discusses Karpen’s practice in great detail.

The Difference Between Original Autographs and Original Texts

Michael Kruger:

In recent years, however, a more foundational challenge has arisen. All of the above critiques are essentially the same; they all argue the words of the Bible are not true. But this newer and more foundational challenge is not about whether the words of the Bible are true, but whether we have the words of the Bible at all.

At the core of this challenge is the fact that we only have handwritten copies of these books we treasure. And, in reality, we only have copies of copies of copies. And given that scribes made mistakes, and that the transmission process was imperfect, how can we be sure that these texts have been preserved? How can we be sure we actually have the words of Scripture?

Reactionary Christianity: Step Off the Pendulum

Logan Gentry:

We are in a reactionary culture and unfortunately Christianity has followed its ways, but God’s call to love Him most and lovingly challenge our societal norms with His ancient truth has not evolved or changed. Modern culture will be different in a decade, but the truth of the gospel will not be. The Scriptures lay out a clear and simple direction for church that will not be different either.

5 apps to help you share the gospel

Steven Kryger shares five smartphone apps to help you with sharing the gospel. There’s some neat stuff!

Writers Don’t Let Go

Barnabas Piper:

One of the characteristics of a good writer is the inability to let go. To let go of something is to give up an opportunity, and idea, or an inspiration. Let go of what, you ask? Nearly anything.

John Piper and Mark Driscoll Talked Me Off the Bridge

Jared Wilson:

I have met John Piper just once, a couple of years ago, when I was in Minneapolis to record some material with Desiring God Ministries in promotion of my book Gospel Wakefulness. On the way to what would be a brief visit to his home, I clutched in my hand a copy of my book to give him. I was told I ought to sign it, because he’d like that. I don’t remember what exactly I wrote inside that front cover but I know it included this line: “God used you to save my life.”

That is not an exaggeration.

Space Oddity—in space!

Chris Hadfield, who has just recently returned to earth after a mission on the international space station, capped off his time onboard by making a music video:

Kermit Gosnell’s America — What His Trial Really Reveals

Albert Mohler:

The doctor is a murderer. The trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell ended yesterday, with the infamous abortion doctor convicted of three counts of first degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. The doctor’s abortion clinic, described by a Philadelphia prosecutor as a “house of horrors,” is no more, but the truth revealed in his trial remains. He is not the only one with blood on his hands.

Dear Seminarian

RJ Voorhees:

What do I wish someone had told me before seminary? First, I wish someone had explained that my time would be a season of preparation in the fullest sense. To grasp this concept has taken me a few years. I had little experience with graduate level study, even less experience with writing, but most significantly I was unprepared for the kind of commitment I was making. In an ethereal, almost metaphysical sense, I had a notion that I was entering a season of necessary discipline and diligence. But I failed to grasp what that meant in the everyday grind of theological training.

Tragic Worship

Carl Trueman:

The problem with much Christian worship in the contemporary world, Catholic and Protestant alike, is not that it is too entertaining but that it is not entertaining enough.

To attend or not to attend?

Peter Jones:

Someone wrote to me to ask if his daughter should attend the “gay marriage of a homosexual friend. With such an invitation, this is where the rubber meets the road, at the practical level of friends. What principles should inform such a decision?

Kindle Deals for the Christian reader

• The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volumes 1-35: Genesis – Revelation—$7.99 $49.49 (this would normally cost $96 by the way)
• The MacArthur Bible Commentary—$5.99
• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley—$4.99
• Journey to Joy by Josh Moody—$1.00
• Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry by John Piper—$4.99
• Where to Find It in the Bible by Ken Anderson—$1.99
• Redemption by Mike Wilkerson—$2.99
• What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert—$2.99
• Creature of the Word: The Jesus-Centered Church by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger—$3.99
• One Perfect Life by John MacArthur—$3.99
• The Kingdom of the Occult by Walter Martin—$3.99
• Peace Child by Don Richardson—$3.99
• The White Umbrella by Mary Frances Bowley—$2.99

God’s Goodness in the Deepest Pain

Blessed Are Those Who Realize Their Desperate Need

Mark Altrogge:

The rule of Jesus brings incredible blessings – infinitely greater than this world’s blessings. The kingdom of God brings forgiveness of sins, friendship and fellowship with God, freedom from the power and guilt of sin, and the power of the Holy Spirit to please and enjoy God. The kingdom of God brings access to the throne of grace, God’s protection and provision and the wonderful promise that someday we’ll see Jesus’ face.

But everyone doesn’t automatically receive all this. We must be poor in spirit.  So what does that mean?

What do you do when the Word leaves you cold?

David Murray:

Many of us can identify with the question as we’ve been there ourselves. We remember the impact sermons made on us in the past – deep impressions, piercing convictions, powerful drawings – but now we feel like cold lifeless statues as we listen to the same preachers preaching similar sermons. What’s gone wrong? This will vary for different people, but let me suggest a few possibilities.

FactChecker: Does Abba Mean ‘Daddy’?

Glenn T. Stanton:

When listening to a sermon on the Fatherhood of God, we’ve heard it more times than we can probably count: the illustration that when Jesus refers to his Father as abba, it is a very comfortable, deeply intimate child-like term, interpreted as either papa or daddy. Jesus uses the term once in Mark’s gospel and Paul uses it two times in Romans and Galatians.

The Heresy of Perfectionism

R.C. Sproul:

An ancient heresy of the distinction between two types of Christians, carnal and Spirit-filled, is the heresy of perfectionism. Perfectionism teaches that there is a class of Christians who achieve moral perfection in this life. To be sure, credit is given to the Holy Spirit as the agent who brings total victory over sin to the Christian. But there is a kind of elitism in perfectionism, a feeling that those who have achieved perfection are somehow greater than other Christians. The “perfect” ones do not officially—take credit for their state, but smugness and pride have a way of creeping in.

Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson Discuss Homosexuality

Trevin shares some insights on Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson’s discussion of homosexuality (and Bell’s unsurprising support of same sex marriage). Here’s the video for context:

What is puzzling to me is why Rob takes such a strong stance on fidelity and monogamy when so many in our culture celebrate sex before marriage, adultery, and all sorts of non-monogamous relationships. If the job of the church is to affirm the world as it is,then wouldn’t we have to affirm promiscuity too? It’s not a big jump from Rob’s comments on accepting homosexuality to accepting promiscuity.

Should we interpret a Bible verse figuratively or literally?

David Roach:

It depends on context. A person’s soul is in peril if he thinks Jesus was using poetic exaggeration when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). On the other hand, a Bible reader might maim himself unnecessarily if he fails to recognize the hyperbole in Jesus’ statement that we should cut off our hands and gouge out our eyes to avoid sin (Matthew 5:29-30). Like all people who have ever spoken or written, biblical authors use different styles of communication at different times.

God is Creatively Creative

Derek Rishmawy:

Most believers in God, if they’ve given our world more than a cursory glance, must come to the conclusion that we serve a creative God. The Maker of heaven and earth filled it with everything from aphids to the Aurora Borealis. Canvas after canvas is filled with the glory of our God’s infinitely fecund imagination. What we don’t often give thought to is the creative way in which God is creative. Let me rephrase that: God is not simply creative as to his works, but also in the way that he works.

New blogger interview series

Joey Cochran is doing a new interview series talking to bloggers about why they do what they do, and he kicked it off by talking to me.

Sit like a normal person, Will Riker!

Warning, this may ruin Star Trek: The Next Generation for you. Once you’ve seen this, you can never un-see it:

That man is a confident sitter.

Get Mark for $5 at Ligonier.org

The ePub edition of Mark, from R.C. Sproul’s St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary series, is on sale in today’s $5 Friday sale at Ligonier.org. Also on sale:

• What’s so Great About the Doctrines of Grace? by Richard Phillips (ePub)
• a gift certificate for the Ligonier store
• The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven Lawson (hardcover)

$5 Friday ends tonight at 11:59:59 Eastern.

Sneering at Parents, Hiding Behind “Science” — The Emergency Contraception Controversy

Albert Mohler:

Looking for evidence that our society is losing its mind? Just look at the controversy over so-called “emergency contraceptives” and a federal judge’s effort to make these drugs available, over the counter, to girls of any age.

Words from a Gay Student to his Classmates at Moody Bible Institute

Barnabas Piper:

Kendell Tanner is a Senior at Moody Bible Institute. I met him earlier this year at an event I spoke at, and he reached out to me a few days later asking if we could grab coffee. In the months since then we’ve gotten a chance to connect and get to know each other. He has opened up to me about some hard things in his life. One of those is that Kendell is a gay man seeking to honor God with his life. Walking this road is a challenge, and doing so at Moody is unique and presents challenges of its own. Kendell recently wrote the following article for the MBI student newspaper, The Standard to share some his experience with the student body. It was a courageous and significant thing for him to do. I am honored to be Kendell’s friend and hope these words will be an encouragement and challenge.

The Top Mistakes I Make in Preaching

Julian Freeman:

Maybe it’s because I’m naturally a pessimist, but the most natural way for me to figure out how I can grow as a preacher is to identify what mistakes I most commonly make and try to work on improving those, by God’s grace. For the purpose of self-evaluation and ‘fanning into flame’ the preaching gift that I have, I decided to list out the mistakes I most often make in sermon preparation and delivery.

I imagine that I’m probably not the only preacher who makes some of these mistakes with regularity, so I thought I’d share them here in case my list ends up helping any of you brothers who are working on preaching evaluation / improvement as well.

What Rabbit Are You Chasing?

Mark Altrogge:

What are you pursuing in life? At the end of your life when you’ve achieved everything you set out to achieve, what will you have? What are you giving your life to?

I recently came across this illustration that challenged me to think about what I’m pursuing.

Ian and Larissa: One Year Later

Tony Reinke:

It’s been one year since we released this video, very simply titled: “The Story of Ian and Larissa.” The response was (and continues to be) stunning — over 1.5 million plays online from viewers around the world. But such impressive numbers only faintly echo the measure of grace in the lives of Ian and Larissa Murphy. And to mark the one-year anniversary of the video release, we wanted to reconnect with them for a quick update through this written interview.

9 Things You Should Know About Pornography and the Brain

Joe Carter:

“Because the human brain is the biological anchor of our psychological experience, it is helpful to understand how it operates.” says William M. Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College. “Knowing how it is wired together and where it is sensitive can help us understand why pornography affects people the way it does.” Here are 9 things you should know about pornography affects the brain.

Great savings at Westminster Bookstore

Westminster Books has a couple of terrific sales going on right now:

One of my favorite little books by Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something, is on sale for $6.50 or $5.50 each when you buy five or more. Jon Nielson’s newly released Bible Study: A Student’s Guide is also on sale for $6.00 or $5 each when you buy five or more.

An Urgent Message from Crossway’s President

Lane Dennis:

As you may have heard, a flood recently swept through Crossway’s headquarters. About two feet of water poured into our 32 first-floor offices due to unrelenting rains. The damage was extensive and repairs and rebuilding will take five or six months. You can see the damage here in this video.

More important, however, is the impact this could have on major ministry projects that we have planned.

As a not-for-profit ministry, Crossway is not only committed to publishing the ESV Bible and gospel-centered content, but also to providing God’s Word to hundreds of thousands of people overseas, either free or at a substantially reduced cost. Because of the recent flood, however, some of these international ministry efforts are now at risk.

eBook deals for Mother’s Day

Crossway’s put a number of books of their books on sale for Mother’s Day:

• Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson—$5.99 (US only)
• Comforts from Romans: Celebrating the Gospel One Day at a Time by Elyse Fitzpatrick—$3.99 (US only)
• Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Caroline Mahaney—$3.99 (US only)
• Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes—$4.99 (US only)
• Through His Eyes: God’s Perspective on Women in the Bible by Jerram Barrs—$5.99 (US only)

These discounts end May 13, so act quickly.