Borrowed Light

Hump Day Humor 2/22/12

2012-02-22T12:38:00.000-05:00

Though I wouldn't recommend this practice for believers--no matter how bad the service, I did find this rather clever and funny.

(HT: 22 Words)

This is also clever:

(HT: Trevin Wax)

You gotta’ love some fishing bloopers:

(HT: Kevin DeYoung)

This was totally me---it may still be…

If you fear the CIA here is why you need to get out of Facebook:

(HT: Z)

Kitty Fail!

(HT: 22 Words)

People You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of But Should: Alexander Whyte

2012-02-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

Alexander Whyte was born in January of 1836 in a small town in Scotland. He was raised by his mother—as his father abandoned he and his mother when he was still a baby. Growing up to a single mother Whyte did not have the finances to afford an education. This did not stop him as he taught himself to read.

Fortunately for Alexander his abilities were discovered and a kind minister taught him Latin and Greek so he could attend university. He eventually was educated at Aberdeen University and the Free Church College in Edinburgh, but not before having to seek out his biological father. Young Alexander had to ask his father—now a wealthy businessman—for the resources to attend university.

Alexander Whyte died quietly in his sleep at the age of 85.

Why You Should Know Him:

Though Whyte looks like he played a scary butler from a 1960’s Hitchcock film his value to the church is far greater than a supporting role in a horror flick. Within his eighty-five years Whyte pastored the largest church in Scotland and was also a college president. He was known as a tremendous orator with vivid illustrations that were saturated with gospel truths. Whyte was also responsible for introducing D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey to the people of Scotland. Whyte also wrote many books and biographies.

What originally drew me to Andrew Whyte were quotes from his preaching and sections from his biographies. He proved to be a faithful biographer of many God-besotted men. He was also a tremendous preacher himself.

Samples:

Whyte was very passionate about the importance of wrestling with God in prayer. Consider this quote:

Take good care that you are not spiritual overmuch in the matter of prayer. Take good care lest you take your salvation far too softly, and far too cheaply. If you find your life of prayer to be always so short, and so easy, and so spiritual, as to be without cost and strain and sweat to you, you may depend upon it, you are not yet begun to pray. As sure as you sit there, and I stand here, it is just in this matter of time in prayer that so many of us are making shipwreck of our own souls, and of the souls of others.

I also found this quite helpful from Barbour’s Life of Alexander Whyte:

As he had his own heart warmed by Christ, so he singed others. He learned about human character from delving deep into the recesses of his own "desperately wicked" heart. Strict self-examination and self-knowledge were a major part of his own life and teaching. What he himself had experienced was a basis for what he then taught others. He related to his people the terrors and the glories at which his own heart had trembled or rejoiced. Nobody ever heard from his lips any cold truth. He was not detached from the truth he preached. His fiercest accusations were always against himself. When he was speaking in a slum where its inhabitants were known for their drinking he astonished his hearers by informing them that he had found out the name of the wickedest man in Edinburgh, and he had come to tell them; and bending forward he whispered: "His name is Alexander Whyte."

Further Study:

Barbour’s Life of Alexander Whyte is very interesting and about the only at length biography of Whyte that I know of. Buy it here.

Dr. Michael Haykin has put together a nice collection of snippets from the works of Whyte. A Consuming Fire: The Piety of Alexander Whyte.

You can access one of his books, “Lord Teach Us to Pray” for free at CCEL.

If you do a search on Google Books for Alexander Whyte you will find several free offerings.

Earth and Heaven by Isaac Watts

2012-02-21T16:09:00.001-05:00

Hast thou not seen, impatient boy!
Hast thou not read the solemn truth,
That gray experience writes for giddy youth
On every mortal joy?

Pleasure must be dash’d with pain:
And yet with heedless haste,
The thirsty boy repeats the taste,
Nor hearkens to despair, but tries the bowl again.

The rills of pleasure never run sincere,
(Earth has no unpolluted spring)
From the curs’d soil some dangerous taint they bear;
So roses grow on thorns, and honey wears a sting

In vain we seek a Heaven below the sky;
The world has false, but flattering, charms;
Its distant joys show big in our esteem,
But lessen still as they draw near the eye;
    In our embrace the visions die,
    And when we grasp the airy forms
         We lose the pleasing dream.

Earth with her scenes of gay delight,
Is but a landscape rudely drawn,
With glaring colors, and false light;
Distance commends it to the sight,
For fools gaze upon;
But bring the nauseous daubing night
Course and confus’d the hideous figures lie,
Dissolve the pleasure, and offend the eye.

Look up, my soul, pant toward th’ eternal hills;
    Those Heavens are fairer than they seem;
There pleasures all sincere glide on in crystal rills,
    There not a dreg of guilt defiles,
         Nor grief disturbs the stream.
     That Cannan knows no noxious thing,
     No cursed soil, no tainted spring,
Nor roses grow on throns, nor honey wears a sting.
(Isaac Watts, Earth and Heaven)

From the Pen of Newton: The Painter Knows Better Than Myself

2012-02-21T14:34:00.001-05:00

This from a letter to Daniel West shows John Newton’s creativity as well as his firm confidence in Christ:

Did you ever see my picture? I have it drawn by a masterly hand. And though another person, and one whom I am far from resembling, sat for it, it is as like me as one new guinea is like another. The original was drawn at Corinth, and sent to some persons of distinction in Rome. Many copies have been taken, and though perhaps it is not to be seen in any of the London print-shops, it has a place in most public and private libraries, and I would hope in most families. I had seen it a great many times before I could discover one of my own features in it; but then my eyes were very bad.

What is remarkable, it was drawn long before I was born, but having been favored with some excellent eye-salve, I quickly knew it to be my own. I am drawn in an attitude which would be strange and singular, if it were not so common with me, looking two different and opposite ways at once, so that you would be puzzled to tell whether my eyes are fixed upon heaven or upon earth: I am aiming at things inconsistent with each other at the same instant, so that I can accomplish neither. According to the different light in which you view the picture, I appear to rejoice and mourn, to choose and refuse, to be a conqueror or a captive.

In a word, I am a double person; a riddle. It is no wonder if you know not what to make of me, for I cannot tell what to make of myself. I would and I would not; I do and do not; I can and I cannot. I find the hardest things easy, and the easiest things impossible: but while I am in this perplexity, you will observe in the same piece, a hand stretched forth for my relief, and may see a label proceeding out of my mouth with these words,—“I thank God, through Jesus Christ my Lord.” The more I study this picture, the more I discover some new and striking resemblance, which convinces me that the painter knew me better than I knew myself…” (Letters of John Newton, 136-137)

Monday Ministry Musing: Aching Worship

2012-02-20T13:22:00.001-05:00

Sometimes worship is in the ache…

3 Quick Reviews: Sexual Brokenness, Begin, If Walls Could Talk

2012-02-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

Here are a few books that I have recently read and want to quickly review.

Surviving Sexual Brokenness: What Grace Can Do by Thom Hunter

Thom is a fellow contributor to SBC Voices. Awhile back Thom gave me his book in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, it was one of the 8-10 books that sat in a pile for a lengthy time during a busy seminary semester. I did not get a chance to pick the book back up until a few weeks ago.

As self-described on the back of the book, Thom is a “Christian married father of five who fought, fell and rose again to fight against unwanted same-sex attraction”. This book, then, comes from one that is not distanced from the battle—Thom is in the middle of it. This book is filled with 33 short chapters that feel like blog entries. They are helpful not only for those that would describe themselves as sexually broken but for any of us that are sinners living on this side of full redemption. For this Thom’s book is immensely helpful.

If I had one critique it would be that the book felt a little scattered. It may have been more helpful given the content for Thom to have told his story chronologically and used these blog entries as a supplement to the thread of his own life story. But that really is not a critique that would cause me to not recommend this book. I think it is very helpful for any struggler.

You can buy the book for $11.86 at Amazon. You would also benefit from reading Thom’s contributions to SBC Voices.

Begin (Compiled and Edited by Ken Ham & Bodie Hodge)

Begin is “a journey through the Scriptures for seekers and new believers”. Within it’s pages is the complete ESV text of Genesis 1-11, the Gospel of John, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and Revelation 21-22. Smattered throughout the contents are little comments and cross-references to help the seeker/new-believer understand Scripture better. Also helpful are the lines to the side of the book for brief note-taking or further questions. At the end of the book the reader will find a short article that seeks to answer “What Does it Mean to Be Saved” as well as a 10 point list and explanation of the “10 Basics to Boldly Proclaim a Biblical Worldview”.

For full disclosure I must say that I am a young-earth creationist with sympathies for those believers that believe in an old-earth. I do not think you have necessarily sold out the Christian faith just because you think the world may be older than 6,000 years. In fact I could probably be convinced of that position somewhat easily. Having said that I found it rather unhelpful that this book seems to major on young-earth creationism.

Consider the 10 things for a biblical worldview; number 10 is the gospel and number 2 is radiometric dating. Even if this list is not in order of importance I find it rather silly that radiometric dating would be in the top 10 basics for a biblical worldview. Yes, I understand that the biblical view of creation is under attack. But is it really necessary to believe in a young-earth to be a believer? Is that really and integral part of the gospel once and for all delivered to the saints? Yet, many of the comments seem bent on proving this particular position. For this reason I find it very unhelpful for new believers or seekers.

I appreciate that in many places they encourage the reader to seek out a local church. That is wonderful. Their explanation of the gospel is also pretty solid. But it seems to be so infused with this young-earth agenda that is muddies the Scriptures and makes the point of the Bible something other than what it is. “Christians who stand confidently on the Bible’s historical record have the answer to life’s troubles” is not the gospel and it is not what the point of the Bible is about. The Bible isn’t to prove that God is the creator of a young-earth. I agree that the “ultimate goal of ministry is not simply winning debates but proclaiming the gospel”. I further agree that the scientific data etc. are “secondary in importance to the proclamation of the gospel” but what you have in this book appears to be a blurring of those lines.

If Walls Could Talk by Lisa Worsley

As it says in the press release, “Lucy Worsley is, by day, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that looks after The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace State Apartments, the Banqueting House in Whitehall, and Kew Palace in Kew Gardens.” As such this makes Worsley someone “in the know” when it comes to the history of these homes. That is why this particular work is so interesting. You will not find footnotes but just secondary sources, making this a unique look into the history within the walls of England’s royal palaces.

I read this book as one that is very interested in the history of England. I intend to write a book on John Newton and any bits of historical information I can find help me to get a feel for what it would have been like to live in Newton’s day. This book delivered what I was looking for. It is written in a fun and engaging way.

One note of caution, though, for the Christian audience is that this book deals rather vividly with some private topics that are perhaps unbecoming. There is an entire chapter dedicated to “masturbation”. Many of my Christian readers would be turned off by some of the contents of the book. I was able to read through that and found some very helpful and entertaining material within. It’s not particularly crass in it’s dealing with sensitive topics just rather matter of fact.

A Perpetual Warning to Truth Majors

2012-02-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

I find this song by Shawn McDonald frequently convicting. Of course the words are grounded by 1 Corinthians 13. Without love we are nothing. It’s a good word for those of us that are “truth majors” and who write and respond in the midst of various controversies. Without love we are nothing. Don’t forget that.

So hard to fathom the pain in Your eyes
As You`re watching Your children, doing what You despise
In pursuit of our own
We just go round and round
Another nail to our cause
We continue to pound

What are you, man, if you do not learn love
What are you, man, if you do not learn love

So hard to fathom, oh, the feelings inside
As You`re watching Your people choosing to die
You called out a warning
To all that would hear
Saying come to Me, come to Me
And I will draw near

What are you man, if you do not learn love?
What are you man, if you do not learn love?

Learn love
I must
Learn love
Learn love
Learn love
Learn love
Learn love

What are you man, if you do not learn love?
What are you man, if you do not learn love?

From the Pen of Newton: Not Being Content With a Little

2012-02-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

…He has given us exceeding great and precious promises; has bid us open our mouths wide, and has said that He will fill them. He would have us ask great things, and when we have enlarged our desires to the utmost, He is able to do exceeding more than we can ask or think. May we be as wise in our generation as the children of this world. They are not content with a little, or, even with much, so long as there is any probability of getting more. As to myself, I am but a poor man in the trade of grace; I live from hand to mouth, and procure just enough, (as we say,) to keep the wolf from the door. (John Newton to D. West from Letters of Newton, 130)

I think so long as I have an empty pack of jelly-beans, marshmallows, or any other sweets my children are not content until the bag is empty. The same goes with other teeth-rotting products like soda. Newton is saying that we should be like that. We should never content ourselves with the level of promises that we have received but should be constantly pressing the Lord for more. This is not selfish, stupid, or sinful this is holy, right, and good.

May we be more like Jacob who wrestled with God until he received His blessing and less like Esau who flitted away the promise on a bowl of soup.

---

Lest, I or Newton be misunderstood this is not fodder for your health and wealth TV preachers. Jacob’s asking God to bless him had far more to do with covenant than it did with product. This isn’t a call to “not let God go until he gives me my Mercedes”. This is a call not be content until God destroys those feeble but boisterous desires for idols and replaces them with God-sized desires.

Take More Than a Glance at Herbert’s The Glance

2012-02-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I gave a few reasons why you should get to know George Herbert. I gave you a couple of sample poems but this one I neglected to put in an already lengthy post. For your benefit I have modernized the English but have not changed the words (i.e. “Vouchsaf’d” has become “vouchsafed”

     When first thy sweet and gracious eye
Vouchsafed even in the midst of youth and night
To look upon me, who before did lie
                         Weltering in sin;
       I felt a sugared strange delight,
Passing all cordials made by any art,
Bedew, embalm, and overrun my heart,
                         And take it in.
       Since that time many a bitter storm
My soul hath felt, even able to destroy,
Had the malicious and ill-meaning harm
                         His swing and sway :
       But still thy sweet original joy
Sprung from thine eye, did work within my soul,
And surging griefs, when they grew bold, control,
       And got the day.
       If thy first glance so powerful be,
A mirth but opened and sealed up again ;
What wonders shall we feel, when we shall see
                         Thy full-eyed love!
       When thou shalt look us out of pain,
And one aspect of thine spend in delight
More then a thousand suns disburse in light,
       In heaven above
(The Glance, From the Works of George Herbert)

I urge you to read through this slowly and think through what Herbert is saying—it is beautiful. If “original joy” is enough to sustain us through many trials and temptations what “wonders shall we feel” when we are the objects of his “full-eyed love”.

People You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of But Should: George Herbert

2012-02-15T13:26:00.001-05:00

George Herbert was born in April of 1593 to a wealthy and artistic family in Montgomery, Wales. Herbert attended Trinity College in Cambridge where he excelled in languages and music. His intentions were to become an Anglican priest but his aims were thwarted when King James called him into parliament. However, later in life (in his thirties) Herbert did take holy orders in the Church of England and became a rector of a little parish near Salisbury. For the rest of his days Herbert faithfully served as the rector of Fugglestone St. Peter. He died a month before his fortieth birthday of tuberculosis.

Why You Should Know Him:

What sets Herbert apart from others is not only his stately nose undergirded by a faithful mustache, but also his beautiful poetry. Herbert’s collection of poems entitled The Temple were given to Nicholas Ferrar instructing him to either use them for the “advantage of any dejected poor soul” or to burn them. Thankfully Ferrar chose the former.

Herbert also had a book of pithy sayings published after his death. One of these sayings is probably familiar to you: “His bark is worse than his bite”. But more than anything Herbert’s poems are what set him apart from others. Particularly cool are his “pattern poems” which take the shape of an object that the poem is about. Regardless of the style, though, Herbert’s poems were always gospel-centered and aimed at promoting the beauty and majesty of Christ.

Samples:

MY words and thoughts do both express this notion,
That LIFE hath with the sun a double motion.
The first IS straight, and our diurnal friend :
The other HID, and doth obliquely bend.
One life is wrapt IN flesh, and tends to earth ;
The other winds t'wards HIM whose happy birth
Taught me to live here so THAT still one eye
Should aim and shoot at that which IS on high—
Quitting with daily labour all MY pleasure,
To gain at harvest an eternal TREASURE.
(Colossians 3:3)

LORD, who createdst man in wealth and store,
    Though foolishly he lost the same,
        Decaying more and more,
            Till he became
                Most poor :
                With thee
            O let me rise
        As larks, harmoniously,
    And sing this day thy victories :
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did beginne :
    And still with sicknesses and shame
        Thou didst so punish sinne,
            That I became
                Most thinne.
                With thee
            Let me combine,
        And feel this day thy victorie,
    For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
(Easter Wings)

Further Study:

There are many more poems from Herbert that will nourish your soul. They are not only poetically brilliant but they also point to the fountain of life. We live in a world of blogs and “quick reading” I invite you to look through some of Herbert’s poems and just sit awhile. Read them a few times, they are profound and you will not catch everything on just a first glance.

You can read the works of Herbert for free here: The Works of George Herbert

Quick Review of A Quest for Comfort by William Boekestein

2012-02-15T12:44:00.001-05:00

Baptist do not tend to do catechisms. I don’t know why. We should. One particular catechism that is well written and quite helpful (though perhaps with a few baptistic tweaks) is the Heidelberg Catechism. I knew very little about the catechism until I read The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. Reading through this made me consider going through such a catechism. As of now we are using Children’s Desiring God material for weekly Bible studies. But that catechism remains in the back of my mind.

The Heidelberg Catechism and it’s benefits were brought to forefront of my mind again when I received a copy of William Boekestein’s latest children’s book The Quest for Comfort. This children’s book chronicles the lives of the three men instrumental in writing the Heidelberg Catechism: Caspar Olevianus, Zacharias Ursinus, and Frederick III.

You may be wondering who in their right mind would write a children’s book about three guys hardly nobody has heard of that wrote a little book that few people use anymore. Boekestein offers a defense on the final page of the book saying, “this is no ordinary document, and the record of its birth is anything but boring”. Boekestein then goes on to defend the importance of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Previously I had reviewed Boekestein’s earlier children’s book; Faithfulness Under Fire. In that review I noted that some of the material and some of the pictures might be a little too much for some children. In this particular book there is very little that might fall into that category. There is a picture of teenagers “drowning” but there isn’t much else that would provide such a caution.

This book aims at teaching “us that deeply held beliefs and profound theological truths are worthy of the difficulties often faced defending them”. Our children need to know that. They need to be brought up knowing that there are some truths that are so precious they are worth fighting and even dying for. This book helps children to discover that our “quest for comfort” often follows a road filled with suffering, but God is faithful and His gospel is worth it.

Should You Buy It?

I may encourage a few families in our church (myself included) to begin going through the Heidelberg Catechism with their children. If I do this I will certainly suggest that they read this children’s book with their kids first. I know that my son would enjoy the book and would like to know the people behind the catechism that we are studying.

You can buy it for only $7.50 and it is a great book to add to your family library.

You may also want to read my review of Faithfulness Under Fire and also an interview that William kindly agreed to do with me.

Monday’s Ministry Musing: Do We Have a Place for Lament?

2012-02-13T10:57:00.001-05:00

…the language of lamented is seriously neglected in the church. Many Christians seem to feel that somehow it can’t be right to complain to God in the context of corporate worship when we should all feel happy. There is an implicit pressure to stifle our real feelings because we are urged, by pious merchants of emotional denial, that we ought to have “faith” (as if the moaning psalmists didn’t). So we end up giving external voice to pretended emotions we do not really feel, while hiding the real emotions we are struggling with deep inside. Going to worship can become an exercise in pretence and concealment, neither of which can possibly be conducive for a real encounter with God. So, in reaction to some appalling disaster or tragedy, rather than cry out our true feelings to God, we prefer other ways of responding to it. --(Christopher J.H. Wright, The God I Don’t Understand, 52)

When you consider that almost half of the Psalms are songs of lament, I think Wright may be on to something. Is there a place for lament, complaining, questions, longing, etc. in our churches? Or are these to be stuffed down and dropped off at the door so we can engage in" “worship”?

Is it possible that the Lord does not want us to leave our baggage at the door but instead to bring it into the sanctuary and offer it up—jaded questions, hopeful discontent, broken longing, indeed every range of emotion—in lament to the Lord of glory?

Of course this doesn’t mean that we always come with lament. Sometimes we come with thanksgiving. Sometimes we come with exuberant joy. Often we come with a mixture of all of these. But does your church have a place for nearly half of the Psalms? Or do we only corporately engage in the “happy” ones?

Review of Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches by James M. Hamilton Jr.

2012-02-10T15:23:00.001-05:00

As a preaching pastor (for students on Wednesday evenings, Sunday morning Sunday school, and adults on Sunday evenings) about 6-8 times per year I come to that most difficult time when a series is almost completed and I have to decide on what book of Scripture or topic we will cover for the next few weeks/months.

Most of the time I welcome input as I am trying to discover what to teach on next. I usually eliminate the pleas for “let’s go through Revelations”. First of all I eliminate it because Revelations is not a book in the Bible. The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John is a book of the Bible but not Revelations. I jokingly say that but underneath that joking statement is the reason why I usually avoid going through Revelation. Most people view it as a manual for the end times. I take a different approach to Revelation. So out of fear of sorely disappointing people—or perhaps because I am afraid I do not quite have enough rapport to dismiss the Left Behind series—I tend to avoid going through Revelation.

That may change.

Book Summary:

Jim Hamilton has written a tremendous “commentary” on Revelation. It is part of the Preaching the Word series edited by R. Kent Hughes. Hamilton shows how one can hold a historic-premillenial view (as I do—though I want to be amillenial) and preach through Revelation without every week just being “I’m not sure what this means but I do know that Jesus wins”.

This book is marketed as a commentary. While it could serve as a commentary and do a very good job it is actually a collection of sermons that Hamilton preached at his church. These manuscripts are tweaked to fit a commentary type of mold. For those familiar with Martin Lloyd-Jones’ “commentary” series on Romans this is almost what you are getting in this offering from Hamilton.

There are 37 chapters with each having a catchy introduction followed by a brief placing of the text and a stating of the main point. Hamilton then engages in practical exposition of the text at hand and then wraps it up with a helpful conclusion. Revelation 1-22 is covered in this commentary, and the first sermon serves as an overview of the entire message of Revelation.

One could theoretically read through the book from front cover to back cover and benefit greatly. But those that will perhaps benefit most from this work are pastors looking for a supplement to their own study and preaching through Revelation. A large part of sermon preparation is trying to really come to grips with what the text says. Hamilton’s commentary will be somewhat useful for that task. But it will be most useful for the more difficult task of the preachers task; namely, trying to figure out how to say what the Scriptures say in a compelling way. I could see myself consulting Hamilton’s work asking the question to myself, “how could I best explain this truth”.

Is It Helpful?

As I worked through this book I asked two questions of it:

Is the book solid theologically and still fair to other positions? This first question is important because I have read a decent amount of commentaries or books on Revelation that are either not sound theologically or largely dismissive of other positions. Eschatology has proven to be a hot-bed for theological controversy. So obviously the book that is often seen as an end times manual is usual fodder for end-times controversy. So how does Hamilton handle these passages? Consider is explanation of Revelation 3:10—an often used verse for those of a pre-tribulation mindset. Does Hamilton just dismiss them as nutjobs or does he engage their views with grace?

Whether you think 3:10 means that the church will be raptured before the tribulation happens, or whether you think the verse means that the church will be preserved through the tribulation, we can all agree that Jesus says he will keep his people from the tribulation ‘because you have kept my word about patient endurance’…It seems to me that this text refers to the church’s being preserved through the tribulation rather than the church being raptured before the tribulation…But again the important thing for us to see and on which we can agree is the clear commendation of the way the church has kept Jesus’ word. (Hamilton, 117)

I love it. He is never shy in explaining his position and why he holds it, but at the same time he is not dismissive of other views, nor does he castigate them and cast them off as “not believing what the Bible clearly teaches”. Because of his gracious tone I believe that any reader, regardless of eschatalogical persuasion, could benefit from reading this work.

Would I use this book in my sermon preparation?

I have to be honest and say that though I love D. Martin Lloyd-Jones reading his sermons on Romans is about as laboring as typing out his entire name. They are lengthy and often you would have to read 40 pages just to discover his commentary on a few verses that you might be preaching. Because of my experience with Lloyd-Jones I was skeptical that Hamilton’s work could be beneficial as a commentary.

However, I was wrong. The sermons are broken up in such a way that it would be helpful for the busy pastor if he only wants to read Hamilton on a couple of verses. It is not necessary to read through an entire sermon to catch a comment on a particular text.

Furthermore, each sermon is usually only around 10 pages and they are easy and engaging reads. I could see myself preaching through Revelation and after laboring over a passage coming to the sermon construction step of sermon preparation and turning to Hamilton to see how he dealt with a particular passage. The wise pastor may even consider using (while citing of course) some of Hamilton’s introductions or conclusions—they are very beneficial.

Should You Buy It?

If you are a pastor, yes. If you are a pastor preaching through Revelation, then you would probably be a goon not to buy it or at least try to find it in a library. If you are are not a pastor I would still say that you would benefit from this book. I would encourage any member of our congregation to purchase this book and read through the chapters slowly and devotionally. If it benefited God’s people being preached on a Sunday morning I’m pretty sure it would benefit them reading it on the toilet on Monday….Or maybe I should have said bathtub, bedroom, or breakfast table.

For a commentary its very inexpensive at only a little over 20 bucks.
As a devotional book its a little expensive at just over 20 bucks.

Either way you can buy it here.

Five +One Friday 2/10/12

2012-02-10T12:13:00.001-05:00

Timmy Brister considers Structuring the Church for Maximum Edification. Really good thoughts here and an article that I’m going to read and think through a little more today.

Another article to mull over is this one by Bobby Jamieson: Pastors, Don’t Let Your People Resign into Thin Air

The Journal of Biblical Counseling is Returning. Woot, Woot! I’m excited about this. Watch the video below:

The return of The Journal of Biblical Counseling from CCEF on Vimeo.

Chuck Colson is calling Christians to civil disobedience in regards to President Obama’s recent HHS decision. This could get rather interesting. Personally, I don’t think we are quite at a spot yet where people will get thrown in prison. But I’ve been wrong before.

Ed Stetzer exposes The Baptist Bogeyman. Interesting piece with much to commend it.

One reason I’m excited about baseball in 2012 and beyond: The ROYALS have a stacked youth movement. Sometime I’m going to have to make a trip back to Missouri, pick up my buddy Brian and head to KC to catch a game.

A Lion For Our Defense, A Lamb For Our Distress

2012-02-08T16:20:00.000-05:00

If you are a poor distressed sinner, whose heart is ready to sink for fear that God never will have mercy on you, you need not be afraid to go to Christ, for fear that he is either unable or unwilling to help you: here is a strong foundation, and an inexhaustible treasure, to answer the necessities of your poor soul; and here is infinite grace and gentleness to invite and embolden a poor unworthy fearful soul to come to it. If Christ accepts you, you need not fear but that you will be safe; for he is a strong lion for your defense; and if you come, you need not fear but that you shall be accepted; for he is like a lamb to all that come to him, and receives them with infinite grace and tenderness. -Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ”

A lion for our defense. A lamb for our distress.

Hump Day Humor 2/8/12

2012-02-08T14:59:00.001-05:00

I really like this:

(HT: 22 Words)

I really would like to work with Improv Everywhere:

I’m not sure this is meant to be funny, but I found it hilarious anyway:

Very helpful mushroom advice from 1916:

Quick Review of Justification: Five Views (Spectrum Series)

2012-02-07T15:30:00.001-05:00

Justification: Five Views is edited by James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy. The five different views are as follows:

Traditional Reformed View: Michael S. Horton
Progressive Reformed View: Michael F. Bird
New Perspective View: James D.G. Dunn
Deification View: Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Roman Catholic View: Gerald O'Collins and Oliver P. Rafferty

Each contributor explains his view of justification for about 30 pages and then the other contributors offer responses. The conversation is cordial but it often felt like one of these would have been handy:

I agree with Tom Schreiner’s assessment:

It is both enriching and frustrating to have both biblical scholars and systematicians dialogue in the same book. On the one hand, it is enriching to have scholars from different disciplines interact with one another. Too often biblical studies scholars work in one corner and systematics professors in another and never does the twain meet! It is helpful, therefore, to see them interact with one another. On the other hand, since they are in different disciplines, it occasionally feels as if they are talking past one another.

I do not pretend to be anywhere near as advanced in my understanding of justification as men like Tom Schreiner or the contributors in this book. But I did notice that a few times it seemed as if everybody was talking about something different but using much the same words.

I am not saying that at the end of the day every contributor basically agrees. They have huge differences in their understanding. But what leaves the reader frustrated is that it seems that the contributors are talking about many different facets of justification and never even using the same tools to discuss them.

Perhaps the scope of the book is a bit too broad and the five views are too varied for this to really have a fruitful discussion. It may also be my own density in regards to the discussion. For me I felt that the essays were a bit too disjointed. It may have been better to have had a separate book (or perhaps separate and smaller chapters) on each facet of justification that was being discussed; i.e. a chapter on the meaning of pistis, a chapter on the Paul’s attitude toward Judaism, etc,. But as it stands I never felt as if the individual contributors really explained how their position is different from the others or why the differences matter.

Should You Buy It?

If you are new to discussions on justification in contemporary theology then I would not make this your first book into the discussion. Except for the first two chapters written by the editors. I felt that they did a tremendous job of framing the discussion and setting the discussion within its historical perspective.

However, if you are at least somewhat versed in the present discussions you will be helped by interacting (though not as much as one would like) with these varying viewpoints. The contributors are very cordial and fair with one another. And any reader will benefit from the first two chapters.

I’m not going to say rush out to your local bookstore to buy this book—but I do think that 15 bucks is a pretty reasonable price and for theology nerds like myself its a fun read and provides some helpful perspective.

You can buy it here.

From the Pen of Newton: How to Be Neither Useful Nor Respected

2012-02-07T12:01:00.001-05:00

A young convert that has taken up preaching—the Rev. Thomas Bowman—was quite timid in the pulpit. Part of it was his disposition, some of it may have been an unhealthy fear of man. To this young man Newton writes:

There is certainly such a thing as Christian prudence, and a remarkable deficiency of it is highly inconvenient. But caution too often degenerates into cowardice; and if the fear of man, under the name of prudence, gets within our guard, like a chilling frost, it nips every thing in the bud. Those who trust the Lord, and act openly with an honest freedom and consistency, I observe He generally bears them out, smoothes their way, and makes their enemies their friends, or at least restrains their rage; while such as halve things, temporize, and aim to please God and man together, meet with double disappointment, and are neither useful nor respected. If we trust him, He will stand by us; if we regard men, He will leave us to make the best we can of them… (From Letters of Newton, 123, emphasis mine)

“Temporize” is not a word that we use much anymore. In case you are not familiar with the word it means: to temporarily adopt a particular course in order to conform to the circumstances. By “halving things” Newton is speaking of taking the sting out of truth. He is referring to making things palatable at the expense of truth.

Those then who attempt to please both God and men end up disappointing both ends. They will not be useful to God and they will not be respected by men. Nobody respects a “yes, man” or a coward that refuses to speak truth as it is. So Newton (surprisingly to some) encourages this young man to fear the Lord, trust Him, and speak the truth with “honest freedom” and let God smooth out his rough edges.

I read this as a reminder to always check my conscience to determine if my “prudence” in a matter is really just cowardice. It is a running joke in our family that my answer to whether we can do something is usually “let’s wait” or “let’s let the dust settle”. Sometimes it's prudence. Many times its cowardice. I want to have a heart and mind that is singularly focused on pleasing the Lord and as a result I want to live in humble boldness; because passive cowards are neither useful nor respected.

Monday’s Ministry Musing: Criticism

2012-02-06T12:19:00.001-05:00

Death. Taxes. A Cleveland Browns losing season. Criticism. Four things that are pretty much inevitable. For those that engage in ministry criticism—whether unfounded or legit is inevitable. It really is true that you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

Consider the apostle Paul. Within the his recorded writings we can discern that Paul was taking criticism from many different opponents. There were those of the legal variety who believed Paul was being loose on the law and too free in his grace. But then he often ticked off the other side too—those shouting race, unity, and love—believing the Paul was too light on grace and too strong on the law.

Those who were more legal in their understanding of the Scriptures would have loved the Paul of 1 Corinthians. They would have been the loudest members of the “Amen” choir as Paul exhorted the Corinthians to “purge the evil person from among you”. But as soon as Paul would say things like, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,” the amen’s would cease and the accusatory questions would begin. “So why don’t we just keep on sinning Paul? Your view of the gospel is directly opposed to the law. It has no regard for God’s holiness. If we follow your gospel then people will be all kinds of immoral”.

Of course at the same time that Team Legal is accusing Paul of subverting the law then Team Grace is clapping and registering for their seat in the “Amen” choir. They love hearing that grace covers over sin and that for those that are in Christ you cannot out sin his grace. But as soon as Paul would say things like “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body” then Team Grace would turn on him and accuse him of subverting the gospel.

You and I

If you are faithful in preaching the gospel you are going to upset those that are more legal in their understanding of the Scriptures AND you are going to upset those that herald a cheap grace that is marked by shallow unity and weak love. Both sides may argue with one another about the Scriptures but they will be united in their belief that you aren’t being faithful to the Scriptures.

The answer then is to keep preaching the gospel faithfully and ignore your critics.

Or is it…?

While it may be true that you are just faithfully preaching the gospel and those gospel haters are unfairly criticizing you, it may be just as true that you are wrong and only think you are faithfully preaching the gospel. You and I are just as prone to legalism and antinomianism in our lives and in our preaching as those that criticize us.

There are two chief dangers when it comes to criticism. First, is listening too much. Secondly, is not listening at all.

If you listen too much then you are going to ineffectively attempt to please everyone and as a result you will prove unfaithful in your sacred task of proclaiming the whole counsel of God. You need to faithfully proclaim the gospel and offend the antinomians as well as the legalists.

But not listening at all is just as deadly. There is a danger when getting leveled with criticism to assume that you are Paul and your detractors are one of the gospel-haters. But keep in mind that the antinomians and the legalists were pretty confident that Paul was the gospel-hater.

So what do you do with criticism? Three steps:

1. Humbly check your conscience. In Acts 23:1 among other places Paul references his “good conscience”. It seems that Paul was consistently listening to his conscience. If he had a nagging sense of guilt he dealt with it by the same gospel that he proclaimed. If you receive criticism get alone and get honest with yourself. Is their charge really baseless? Is it possible that you might have had a misstep? If so, clear your conscience by grace through faith and repentance.

2. Rest in grace. If this charge is baseless your conscience will remind you that there are a hundred other charges that are not baseless. You are held by grace whether this criticism is true or false. As Abraham Booth has said, “the Christian in such a predicament may just say, ‘Though I am free from the charge alleged, it is not owing to the superior holiness of my heart, but must be ascribed to divine, preserving care”. You do not need to needlessly defend yourself or your cause. Yes, humbly defend where it has a bearing on the gospel—but at the end of the day sleep well because grace reigns.

3. Live out the gospel you proclaim. The gospel reminds you that you do not have to be a perfect shepherd because Christ is. Our identity is wrapped up in the identity of the Good Shepherd who cares for us. Your fundamental identity before the Savior is not “pastor extraordinaire”; but it is child, bride, adopted, forgiven, servant, etc,. So by His grace and for His glory we must strive to grow and reflect Him. We do not strive to be accepted in his Kingdom as a pastor. We pastor because we are accepted in His kingdom.

I think following these steps is what Abraham Booth means by this:

“For even malevolent attacks and unfounded charges upon a Christian’s character, if his own temper is under proper government, may prove an occasion for promoting his best interests” (Booth, The Christian Pastors Manual, 97)

Converting the Gospel

2012-02-03T11:26:00.001-05:00

…it is your indispensable duty to preaching Christ and not yourself, that is, with sincerity and ardor to aim at displaying the glories of His person and the riches of His grace, the spirituality of His kingdom and the excellence of His government—not your own ingenuity or eloquence, your parts or learning.

Guard then, my brothers, against the most pernicious evil; guard, as for your very life, against converting the gospel ministry into a vehicle to exhibit your own excellence, against prostituting the doctrine of Christ crucified to the gratification of your pride or that it may be a pander to your praise. -Abraham Booth

As Jesus Said About Gay People…

2012-01-27T15:26:00.001-05:00

This picture is making its rounds and I am compelled to offer a little commentary. There is a pamphlet making its rounds too—both implying that Jesus said nothing gay people.

To this I respond…

Sure he did. He said all kinds of things about gay people, and straight people, and bisexual people, and even people who prefer animals. Jesus says to all people—whether gay, straight, or whatever—that they need to repent or perish. He lets all people know that their self-righteousness is nothing in the kingdom of God but the work of God is to believe upon Jesus Christ. He lets all people know that their fundamental identity is not leveled to a sexual choice/orientation/or whatever you want to call it. People’s fundamental identity is as creature in relation to Creator. He calls the shots—not you or I. And He considers us rebels that need to repent.

If you are not trusting in Christ for salvation I’m not really concerned at this point with arguing about whether homosexuality is right or wrong. Because I could convince you that it is wrong—or you could convince me that it is okay—and either way if you are not trusting in Christ you either go to hell for homosexuality and a host of other sins (if I’m right) or you go to hell innocent of the charge of homosexuality but guilty of other offenses. It really doesn’t matter.

I do know that you and I share common ground in that we are both prideful and given to self-righteousness, defensiveness, and deceptive hearts that worry more about justifying self than trusting in Christ. I also know that we both were created by God in His image. And I also know that the only way for us to not engage in God-belittling and joy-robbing rebellion and idolatry is for God to work in our hearts in such a way that we see Christ as more precious and beautiful than fleeting pleasures that may be tasteful morsels for a season but wind up empty in the end.

I urge you to trust in Christ and his own righteousness and not your own. The chief reason that you are walking around holding signs and telling people that being homosexual is not wrong is because you are wanting to be found innocent. The issue isn’t whether homosexuality is right or it is wrong. The key issue for you is to know that the only way that you will be declared innocent is through the finished work of Jesus Christ. That’s why he says repent or perish to gay, straight, bi-sexual, and everywhere in-between or left to right of that.

They Never Told Me That…

2012-01-27T14:23:00.001-05:00

A desperate Charles Spurgeon went hoping from church to church to come to understand how he must be saved. But instead as he tells it:

One man preached Divine sovereignty, but what was that sublime truth to a poor sinner who wished to know what he must do to be saved. There was another admirable man who always preached about the law, but what was the use of plowing up ground that needed to be sown. Another was a practical preacher…but it was very much like a commanding officer teaching the maneuvers to a set of men without feet…what I wanted to know was, ‘How can I get my sins forgiven?’ and they never told me that. (Charles Spurgeon, quoted by Arnold Dallimore in Spurgeon: A New Biography, 18)

Finally our glorious Lord led Spurgeon to a small Primitive Methodist chapel to hear the preaching of what he called a man that was “really stupid”. He was not trained in preaching—in fact he was not even the pastor. The pastor was “snowed up”. But this man stuck to the text and said over and over again—“Look unto Jesus”. You can read the full story in Spurgeon’s words here. God used this simple sermon to convert Spurgeon.

Now there are a two errors that we could make in considering Spurgeon’s story. The first error is to dismiss what Spurgeon is saying and continue with myopic preaching (or even day to day speech). Every preacher, Sunday school teacher, friend, counselor, spouse, co-worker, can be guilty of proclaiming truths that are around the cross but never actually proclaiming the gospel itself.

Every preacher should heed what Spurgeon lamented in his searching for an answer to the fundamental question, ‘how can I get my sins forgiven?’. Of course there is more to the gospel and more to the Christian life. But having a right relationship with God is fundamental to everything else. So we must be very careful that in all of our preaching and proclaiming we don’t talk about the gospel but actually explain the gospel. (I know I’ve been guilty of this far too many times).

The second error is to overemphasize Spurgeon’s experience to the neglect of preaching the whole counsel of God. I’ve heard some preachers say things like, “I just preach the gospel”. And what that means is that week in and week out the entirety of the sermon is about answering the question—“How do I get saved”. Meanwhile, you have hundreds of sheep that are starving to death, unequipped for their own gospel proclamation, and not hearing how the gospel and its implications impacts every sphere of life.

Oddly enough—or perhaps not oddly at all—we find the balance in the preaching of Spurgeon. He taught on divine sovereignty, he taught on the law, he taught on Christian living, he motivated people for missions, he preached the whole counsel of God. But he also rightly believed that every sermon and every facet of the Christian life is fundamentally about Christ and His gospel. So I think Spurgeon would say “preach divine sovereignty but do so as a means to shine a spotlight on the beauty of Christ, preach the law but only as a means of leading people to the fountain of grace, preach the Christian life but only as a result of the Lord changing a life, etc. etc.”

Simply put…when I stand before the Lord I’d be okay with somebody under my charge having their mind blown about the beautiful reality of the expansiveness of divine sovereignty and then hearing them say, “Pastor Mike never really taught us this”. But what I wouldn’t be okay with are people under my charge standing before the Lord with really sweet doctrine, a list of missions activities, and AWANA pins being shocked when the Lord of glory says, “I never knew you”. I don’t want them to go to hell being able to say, “Pastor Mike never told us how to have forgiveness of sins”.

You Know What Happens When You Assume…

2012-01-25T17:08:00.001-05:00

“Dear, can you find my face-wash? It’s in a small bottle with a fuchsia colored lid on the dresser,” my wife lovingly requests.

I hurriedly look through a conglomeration of numerous bottles that I am totally unfamiliar with. I am only vaguely familiar with fuchsia. I know it isn’t blue, so I quickly eliminate everything in the blue family. Same goes with white, black, and maybe green and yellow. I think it’s in the purple or red family. So now I’m looking for something in a small bottle---quickly giving up hope.

“I don’t see it in here,” I shout back at her—not a mad shout, mind you, but a you’re-in-the-other-room-so-probably-can’t-hear-me shout. Perhaps this will cause her to give up hope or give me a much easier bottle to locate.

“No, I know it’s in there. It’s in that wire basket”. She thinks that narrowing my locations will somehow cause me to have girl eyes and understand what fuchsia is and what her face-wash looks like.

I quickly peruse through the previously described basket. Eliminating several options I’m soon coming to the conclusion that our daughter must have stuck this face-wash in the toilet, or perhaps a stray goat wandered into our bedroom and had lunch, or maybe my wife is just insane and this object simply does not exist. “It’s really not in here”, I lovingly inform her—and with a voice that lets her know that I’ve looked absolutely everywhere.

I mean I really know this wire basket. I’ve searched everywhere up and down, left and right. It’s really not in here. I’m going with the goat theory, because it absolutely is NOT in this wire basket.

My wife gives up hope. “That’s okay.” A few minutes later my wife walks into the bedroom, looks into the wire basket, and pulls out her fuchsia lidded face-wash that must have the ability to disappear when gazed upon by desperate men. (Which by the way is a superpower that I hope my daughter learns).

“Ohhhhhhhh, that bottle. Ohhhhhhh that’s what color fuchsia is”.

That bottle was there the whole time. I thought I knew the wire basket but I didn’t. I forgot in my maleness to actually look under other objects. I was convinced that I had exhausted my search for this fuchsia colored bandit but was quickly exposed by a wife that knew the basket and her face-wash far better than I did.

The Danger of Assuming

I share this story because there is an ever present danger in assuming the gospel in the same way that I assumed that I had searched everywhere for my wife’s face-wash. In Hebrews 2:1-3 we read a very sobering warning:

“Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it”. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

The “therefore” is there because the author of Hebrews has spent the entire first chapter showing that Christ is far superior to angels. And as verse 2 says if the message delivered by angels (the law) was reliable and if transgressing it was enough to cause legal action against you then how much worse if we neglect the gospel.

This warning is the first of five warnings (3:1-4:13, 5:11-6:12, 10:19-39, 12:12-29) that each ascends in strength and urgency. I believe it is intentional that the author of Hebrews begins his warnings with the subtle-yet-deadly drift of assuming the gospel.

I take the author of Hebrews admonition to be something similar to this: “Don’t just assume you know that wire basket, that you’ve searched everywhere, that you understand the color fuchsia, or that you even know what girly face-wash looks like. Dig Man, Dig! Turn over stuff. It’s there—right where it was said to be—if you can’t find it there the problem is that you’re dense not that the gospel is bland, unhelpful, or exhausted.”

Infidelity always starts with the wrong-headed assumption that you’ve exhausted the gospel. And to this foolishness the author of Hebrews calls us to “pay much closer attention” to the gospel.

Dig man, dig! The Spirit within you is eager to spotlight the gospel and leap for joy at the sight of Jesus. Just keep turning stuff over until the gospel is exposed.

Review of Secure Daughters, Confident Sons by Glenn T. Stanton

2012-01-25T15:16:00.001-05:00

Men and women are different.

You know that already. Some believe men and women are different because of social constructs that are left over residue from mindless and primitive culture. Others, like Glenn T. Stanton, believe that these differences are genetic. As such, a proper understanding of manhood and womanhood is essential to raising children. It is with this belief that Secure Daughters and Confident Sons was written. As Stanton says our goal in parenting is to, “raise daughters secure in their femininity and sons confident in their masculinity”.

Throughout the book Stanton considers the differences between men and women (both mom and dad and boy and girl). The first part of the book Stanton seeks to give a clear vision of biblical manhood and womanhood. In the second half he practically explores the implications of these gender differences on various aspects of parenting and life, including discipline, sex, empathy, and play.

Each chapter ends with a few questions and answers. And the book also has a helpful appendix consulting the sciences on differences between men and women. Stanton, taking over for James Dobson, is ever bit the social psychologist that Dobson was. He grounds much of his points in social research while reflecting on Scripture.

The Intention

In a moment I will share a few things that I believe are missing that could have made this book far more beneficial. In doing that, though, I want to be fair and thus carefully read and review the book on its own terms. I must consider Stanton’s claims for the books. What did he hope to accomplish? It appears to me that his chief aim in this book is to defend the reality of gender differences, show how they actually benefit, as well as show how it takes manhood and womanhood to raise secure daughters and confident sons. He wants to defend his major thesis that “raising secure daughters and confident sons is, by definition, gender-distinct work.

What I Appreciate

There is much that I appreciate about this book. First, one cannot read this book without coming away with the idea that both mom and dad are vital to parenting a child. Of course this may be discouraging for single parent families. But it may also dispel the silly myth that women need men like a fish needs a bicycle (or vice versa).

Secondly, I learned a good deal. I think a good amount that can be learned and gleaned from the social sciences that Stanton uses can be very beneficial in parenting. It is really wonderful to hear stories of other parents and children and be able to say, “ohhhhh, that’s why he’s/she’s doing that”. It can also be beneficial to know that part of spousal differences in parenting really goes back to gender differences.

Lastly, I am thankful for Stanton’s work and his courage in standing against a growing cultural tide against what Scripture teaches about men and women. I am thankful that Stanton is standing against the tide and saying—“hey men and women are different, they are different for a reason, and that is a good thing. Men and Women are both necessary in raising a child”. I echo the sentiment of Dr. Mohler who says, “I am thankful for his conviction and his courage”.

The Missing

In the first two chapters Stanton lists various masculine traits and feminine traits. Those these qualities will manifest themselves in different ways and though they may be stronger in some than in others, yet they still help us to distinctly understand what it means to be male/female.

In my mind this begs a question: are these “masculine” or “feminine” traits part of the Created order or from the Fall?

I think it can be faithfully argued from Scripture that God did indeed make male and female different. Anatomy teaches us this much. But are all (or any) of these characteristics part of the Created order or is it possible that they are from the Fall? I believe that Stanton is rightly observing men and women as they are. But because he is not able to (or at least doesn’t) ground these characteristics in creation we are not certain that this is the way that men/women should be. Just because this is how a vast majority of men and women are it does not mean this is how they ought to be.

And this is where I feel books such as this are fundamentally lacking. The heart is very deceitful and if moms and dads are not gospel-informed they can easily mask sin behind claims of “this is who I am”. We can also easily miss opportunities leading our children to the gospel because we wrongly assume that little Billy’s aggression is more a result of his maleness rather than his fallenness. While it is a worthwhile and noble goal to raise secure daughters and confident sons—at the end of the day we want our daughters to be secure in Christ and our sons to be confident in the Lord.

I do not think that Stanton would disagree with the above sentiment. I believe that Stanton loves the Lord and wants to see the gospel promoted. Certainly biblical manhood and womanhood is key in reflecting the glory of a Triune God. God made male and female different for a reason. Part of living out the gospel is reflecting the unity in Christ through our diversity of gender. I believe Stanton would agree with this and would say that his book helps in this regard. Yet, at the end of the day in reading through Secure Daughters and Confident Sons I do not see the gospel proclamation and pointing to Christ that could have buttressed what is –or could be--a very helpful book.

Conclusion

I am at a loss as it concerns recommending this book. Part of me wants to give a stamp of approval. The other part of me wants to tell you to spend your money elsewhere. There is a good amount in this book that can assist a mom or dad in seeing how differences in gender impact their children as well as their parenting. There are also many helpful tips that will potentially create more unity between moms and dads. As I stated earlier I also want to recommend the book because I agree with its fundamental thesis and its emphasis on the necessity of both mom and dad. If this book inspired more intentional parenting between men and women then I am all for it. However, I also think that the gospel may be merely or assumed in this book—or worse yet is eclipsed by a misdirected focus.

At the end of the day I am left with saying if you are looking for a book that will give you eyes to see how things are then this book will be helpful. But if you are looking for a book inspiring you, motivating you, and assisting you in living out the gospel and how things should be then I think there may be other parenting books that help a little more.

I got this book free from Multnomah in exchange for a review. You can buy the book for around 10 bucks.

Hump Day Humor 1/25/12

2012-01-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

This looks like homework I would have turned in high school:

This looks about as good as most real television shows:

(HT: 22 Words)

This one has made its rounds at several places:

What happens when the defrost goes out in your van in an ice storm and you cannot really pull over to the side of the road but have to drive another twenty miles to get to the marriage conference you are co-teaching? Your good friend Jason gets the idea to put a sock on the windshield wiper…that’s what happens:

This one raises so many questions…

From (QAA)