Oct 3, 2009

Church History in Four Minutes


Creative and humerous presentation but not sure how helpful this is.




HT: Joel Watts, Stephen Smuts

Oct 2, 2009

Top 15 Apologetic Books


Michael Patton lists the following fifteen books as must haves for apologetics.


15. Pensees, Blaise Pascal (can be read through Peter Kreeft, Christianity of Modern Pagans)

14. Letters from a Skeptic, Gregory Boyd

13. How Do You Know Your Not Wrong, Paul Copan

12. Reasonable Faith, William Craig

11. Scaling the Secular City, J. P. Moreland

10. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Norman Geisler

9. Case for Christ, Lee Strobel

8. Reason for God, Tim Keller

7. Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell

6. The Analytic Theist, Alvin Plantinga

5. The God Who is There, Francis Schaeffer

4. Faith Has its Reasons, Rob Bowman and Kenneth Boa

3. The Resurrection of the Son of God, N. T. Wright

2. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Habermas and Licona

1. Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis


Read the entire post here.


Sep 30, 2009

The Story of Acts


“The story in Acts is the story of the ongoing activity of God that human beings can oppose and attempt to thwart but will nevertheless proceed as God purposes.”


I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004), 162.

Sep 29, 2009

Expository Preaching Conference


Criswell College is hosting an expository preaching conference on October 5 & 6, 2009, The theme is “Prophetic Preaching in a Decaying Society.” Speakers include David Allen, Mac Brunson, John Mark Caton, W. A. Criswell (by video), O. S. Hawkins, Greg Heisler, and Alan Streett. The registration fee is $40 or $25 for students. The registration includes a DVD set of sermons by W. A. Criswell, a DVD of his sermon preparation methods, two free books, and a dinner and lunch. To register call 214-818-1316.

Grace Notes


Philip Yancey, Grace Notes: Daily Readings with a Fellow Pilgrim (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009).


Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy.


Those who are already fans of Philip Yancey will be excited to learn that material from his prolific writing career (and some unpublished works) have been turned into 366 (Feb. 29 is included) daily readings. Those who are unfamiliar with Yancey now have a great opportunity to be introduced to his work in bite-sized morsels.


These “morsels” are thoughtfully and thematically placed for each day of the year. A helpful explanation of the challenges and rationale behind the placement is included (p. 17). Those who are less familiar with Yancey’s books will also find the descriptive bibliography to be a helpful introduction to Yancey’s books (pp. 419-22).


Grace Notes provides a welcome option for someone who is looking for something slightly different for their daily devotions. Whether you agree or disagree with him, you will likely be moved and challenged.


Sep 28, 2009

Expository Preaching with David Allen


Dr.
David Allen was recently interviewed by Barry Creamer on the topic of expository preaching on Live from Criswell radio program. Also on the program is Andrew Hebert. You can access the audio here.

Sep 27, 2009

The Doctrine of Grace


In his discussion on 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, Craig Blomberg writes:


"The doctrine of grace is arguably the watershed that separates Christianity from all other world religions. It should cause no surprise, then that the church has a difficult time warding off the persistent intrusion of works-righteousness. It is central to fallen, human nature to say that grace is unfair and we should get what we deserve. But no one honest about his or her own sinfulness could ever really want that. What makes God’s grace filled gospel ‘good news’ is that we don’t have to get what we deserve. Verses 12-15 remind a society preoccupied with statistics that God desires quality as well as quantity as his church grows. But true progress occurs when believers obey him in joyful response to the salvation Christ has already provided, rather than in the hopes gaining greater reward (cf. Luke 14:12, 17:7-10)."

Craig Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 86.