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Around the Interweb

Aaron Armstrong —  April 3, 2011 — Leave a comment

CrossReference

Dr. David Murray is releasing a new DVD teaching series looking at Christ in the Old Testament, not only the predictions and typologies, but also His appearances as the Angel of the Lord. Dr. Murray explains in this trailer for the series:

HT: Challies

The Winners of the Counterfeit Gospels Giveaway

Over 80 people entered to win a copy of Trevin Wax’s new book, Counterfeit Gospels—and the following three people will be receiving a copy courtesy of Moody Publishers:

  1. Liam Moran
  2. Anthony Forrest
  3. James Chandler

Thanks to all who entered. I wish I had had more copies to give away, but I’d highly encourage you all to order a copy today.

Also Worth Reading

Prayer Request from Tullian: Pastor Tullian Tchividjian is almost finished his next book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything (Crossway 2011) and he could use your prayers.

Free Audio: This month’s free download at ChristianAudio.com is The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Bible: “If . . Then” in 1 John

Conference Messages: The 2011 Ligonier National Conference messages are now online.

The Elephant Room: Chris Vacher live blogged this past Thursday’s big event featuring Pastors Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Perry Noble, James MacDonald, David Platt and Steven Furtick. James MacDonald also posted a number of his own reflections. Video from the event will be released over the next few weeks.

In Case You Missed It:

A review of Counterfeit Gospels and an interview with its author, Trevin Wax.

The Call Is Not To Be Taken Lightly

My Memory Moleskine: Think On These Things

A Legion of Andrews

Speaking Mysteriously of Mysteries

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Countering the Counterfeits: Trevin Wax on Counterfeit Gospels

Aaron Armstrong —  March 30, 2011 — 52 Comments

Trevin Wax is a pastor, editor at Lifeway, blogger at Kingdom People, and the author of Holy Subversion (Crossway, 2010) and the soon to be released, Counterfeit Gospels (Moody, 2011). Yesterday, I posted my review of the book, and today, Trevin has kindly agreed to answer a few questions related to it and what he hopes readers will learn from it.

What made you decide to write Counterfeit Gospels?

About a year after I wrote Holy Subversion, I began work on a second book proposal that highlights the fact that truth is beautiful precisely because it’s true. The editors at Moody were intrigued by the “beautiful truth” proposal, but they encouraged me to apply that idea to the gospel specifically rather than just the beauty of Christian teaching in general.

As I got to work on Counterfeit Gospels, I had two goals in mind:

  1. I wanted this book to present a compelling view of the biblical gospel so that common counterfeits would be less attractive.
  2. I wanted to deal with common counterfeits that are attractive to me and the people in my local church. I wanted to look deeply into our hearts and root out those counterfeits that tug at us in some way. In other words, I didn’t want this book to be: “What’s wrong with everyone out there?” but “What counterfeits are affecting me in here, in my own heart and life?” What are the counterfeits that we encounter on television, in bookstores, in conversation, in church? In short, I wanted the book to be pastoral in tone and intent.

How do these counterfeits get started?

It depends on the counterfeit.

Some counterfeits get started because we are uneasy with the idea of not fitting in culturally. So downplaying the notion of judgment (“the judgmentless gospel”) or uniting around social causes (“the activist gospel”) enable us to maintain bits and pieces of Christian ethics while drifting from the offense of a bloody cross at the heart of our faith. Continue Reading…

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5 Questions (Plus One) with Dan Darling

Aaron Armstrong —  February 17, 2011 — 9 Comments

Daniel Darling is the Senior Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and is the author of Teen People of the Bible, Crash Course, and iFaith (reviewed here on Tuesday). His work has been featured in evangelical publications such as Focus on the Family, Marriage Partnership, Pray!, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. His op-eds have appeared in Newsweek/Washington Posts’ On Faith section and other newspapers and opinion sites. He’s also been profiled by The Chicago Tribune, and appeared on TV and radio outlets across America including Steve Brown, etc, Moody Broadcasting Network, Harvest Television, The Sandy Rios Show, American Family Radio, and many others.

Today, Dan’s been kind enough to answer a few questions about his new book—and he’s also offered two signed copies to give away today. Read on to learn how you can win a copy.

And now, here’s Dan:

1. What made you decide to write iFaith? Was there one specific event or was it a series of small things that led to the decision?

It was born out of several years of reflection on the impact of technology on my own personal walk with God. Initially I had this idea for a devotional, “Emails to God,” – like what would we say if we could send God an email. Then it started me on a journey of thinking how we moderns contemplate our relationship with God—positively and negatively. Then the chapters and ideas began to just really flow.

2. As you were writing, how was God working on you in these areas?

Oh, He was working on me in incredible ways. My wife often jokes that whenever I embark on a book, we go through some degree of suffering. It’s almost like God has to wring me through the lesson before I can put it on paper. The first chapter on the subject of waiting was something I really saw worked out in my own life and in my theology. During the writing of that chapter, Angela and I were waiting on several things. I realized how integral waiting is to God’s development of our faith.

I enjoy writing because it forces me into the Word to discover the truth about myself and about who God is.

3. You write that a common belief plaguing believers is the superhero mentality; that is, “the mistaken idea that activity for God is a worthy substitute for intimacy with God.” (p. 81) If this is something that’s come up in your own life & ministry, can you share how you were able to get beyond it?

I’m not sure we ever get beyond this. It’s the holy tension between work and dependency on God. On one level, working hard for God is a biblical, New Testament ethic. And besides the holy calling of building up the body of Christ, work itself is an end, it’s a form of worship. But on the other hand, Christians easily fall into that superhero mentality of Elijah, where we feel like the entire plan of God rests upon our feeble shoulders. We adopt a martyr mentality. And this is really prideful. It is essentially stripping God of HIs sovereignty. Continue Reading…

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When Christ Calls a Man, He Bids Him Come and Die

Aaron Armstrong —  December 8, 2010 — 24 Comments

…It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man and his call. Jesus’ summons to the rich young man was calling him to die, because only the man who is dead to his won will can follow Christ. In fact every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and his call are necessarily our death as well as our life. The call to discipleship, the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ means both death and life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 44

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most intriguing figures of the 20th century. This Lutheran minister turned conspirator in the plot to assassinate Hitler is fascinating. His vision of discipleship is captivating, and while I wouldn’t necessarily agree with all of his views theologically, there’s much that can be learned from him and his call to “costly discipleship.”

“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die,” wrote Bonhoeffer. In these 11 words, he manages to encapsulate the New Testament’s teaching on what it means to follow Christ.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” said Jesus in Luke 9:23. It’s a call to the death of self, to the putting aside of our own desires and plans in order to follow Him.

I read Eric Metaxas’ book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy several months ago, and Metaxas’ portrait of Bonhoeffer is one I’m still chewing on. It’s one I want you to enjoy as well—by giving one of you a free copy. Details after the book trailer:

Here’s how you can enter using one of or more of the following options:

  1. Leave a comment and tell me why you want a copy of the book
  2. Follow via Twitter or join the Facebook page
  3. Subscribe via email or RSS

This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who participated!

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Around the Interweb (12/05)

Aaron Armstrong —  December 5, 2010 — 2 Comments

Why is X Used When it Replaces Christ in Christmas?

Christmas brings with it many things—time with family, shopping, entertainment… and, the occasional fuss over “Merry Xmas.” Here’s a reason why we maybe don’t need to get quite so irked about it:

People seem to express chagrin about seeing Christ’s name dropped and replaced by this symbol for an unknown quantity X. Every year you see the signs and the bumper stickers saying, “Put Christ back into Christmas” as a response to this substitution of the letter X for the name of Christ.

First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ…

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.

HT: Ligonier

Announcements

Last week, I kicked off the relaunch of Blogging Theologically with a pretty incredible giveaway sponsored by Crossway. I was completely blown away by the response! Out of more than 125 entrants, the winner is… Shannon Craig! Congratulations and Merry (early) Christmas!

There’s still time to win $50 worth of merchandise (of your choice), courtesy of the Ligonier Affiliates program—enter before 5 PM EST Today! And be on the lookout for another great giveaway this month!

In Other News

Decor: Just in time for Christmas, Mark Altrogge wants to help you spruce up your decorating with the Christian Leaders Inflatable Lawn Ornament collection.

Free Stuff: This month’s free audiobook at ChristanAudio.com is Handel’s Messiah by Calvin R. Stapert

Ethics: Jared Wilson (citing Randy Alcorn) on the ethics of ghostwriting

Networking: This week, Erik Kowalker, Matthew Blair and Nick Uva launched the Reformed Quotes Fellowship, “a gathering of such like minded people who wish to see the fame of Christ spread throughout the internet by the use of God glorifying, cross centered, gospel rich, and unashamedly reformed quotes from saints of the past and present.” There are some fantastic sites among the membership, like J.C. Ryle Quotes and The Daily Spurgeon among others. Go check them out.

In Case You Missed It

With Christmas fast approaching, it was a children’s book oriented week with reviews of:

Halfway Herbert by Francis Chan

The Church History ABCs by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard

The Mighty Acts of God Bible Storybook by Starr Meade and Tim O’Connor

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Giving and Receiving

Aaron Armstrong —  December 3, 2010 — 28 Comments

Courtesy of the Ligonier Affiliates program, I’m giving one of you $50 worth of merchandise from Ligonier Ministries. Details inside…

Continue Reading...
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It’s Time to Say Goodbye…

Aaron Armstrong —  November 29, 2010

Welcome to the new www.BloggingTheologically.com! To celebrate, I’m giving away a ton of great books from Crossway—including an ESV Study Bible!

Continue Reading...
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Take Some of My Books!

Aaron Armstrong —  September 23, 2010 — 7 Comments

Wednesday night, I started packing up my books (long story). While packing up, I found a whack of books that need to not be in my house anymore.

There are a few that just need to not be read by anyone ever again (they’re not as bad as, say, The Power or The Shack, but they’re pretty high up there on the “killing your brain cells” chart)… but there are a few others that I’m either not going to be reading again or have extra copies of.

Rather than go to the local second-hand bookstore, I wanted to offer you, dear readers, the opportunity to take some of my books!

Here are the ones I’m giving away:

Seeds of Turmoil by Bryant Wright (read the review)

Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada (read the review)

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner (read the review)

Free Book by Brian Tome (read the review)

Plan B by Pete Wilson (read the review)

Too Small To Ignore by Wess Stafford

As you can see, it’s a pretty diverse bunch of books.

So here’ the deal: Tell me which ones you want and they’re yours. That’s pretty much it.

Are there any restrictions? Only that I’m going to give preferential treatment to anyone who lives nearby so I can save on postage :)

Start calling dibs in the comments and let me know before the end of the week, otherwise they might end up on some unsuspecting person’s doorstep!

UPDATE: All the books have been claimed. Thanks for taking some of my books!

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