3
Dec
2013
Student Global Impact National Conference
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I want to both inform you and ask you to spread the word about the 2014 Student Global Impact Missions Conference taking place in about one month on January 2-3, 2014 at Inter-City Baptist Church. We pack several inspiring and informative workshops and sessions on missions into these two days, for the purpose of encouraging students to... Read More
30
Nov
2013
Priorities During the Holiday Season
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For some reason it seems to have started earlier than usual this year. Naïvely perhaps, I’ve always thought “Black Friday” referred to the day after Thanksgiving (i.e., Friday). The reality is that we’ve all been receiving emails and seeing print ads about Black Friday and pre-Black Friday sales for a couple of weeks now. It... Read More
28
Nov
2013
Thanksgiving for Faithful, Small-Church Pastors
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This being Thanksgiving, I wanted to express my thanks to all of the faithful pastors that are opening their hearts to people—upholding them in their hearts through prayer, pouring out their hearts in preaching, and exposing their hearts in counseling. It is a great privilege to serve as a shepherd and it is also a grave responsibility, but... Read More
26
Nov
2013
Some Random Thoughts About ETS
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Last week I made my annual pilgrimage to the meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, this year in Baltimore, MD. The ETS is a professional society made up of several thousand professors, students, academically-minded pastors, and other thrill seekers who submit to the meager but important doctrinal standards of (1) Trinitarianism and (2) biblical inerrancy.... Read More
23
Nov
2013
Dr. Rod Decker
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One of our seminary graduates, Dr. Rod Decker, is suffering from stage 4 incurable cancer. Rod is Professor of Greek and New Testament at Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, PA. Recently, Rod and a colleague spoke about their health situations in chapel at the seminary. Rod’s presentation is titled “I’m Not Afraid to Die.”... Read More
20
Nov
2013
What’s Wrong with Justification by Works? 2 Notes on Galatians 3:10–4:7
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In Gal 3:10–4:7 Paul gives two reasons why works will not justify. One the one hand, he says that justification by works would change the terms of God’s covenant with Abraham. And, Paul adds, one simply isn’t allowed to do that sort of thing with an established covenant (see Gal 3:15–18). On the other hand,... Read More
18
Nov
2013
A New Book That Is Definitely Worth Checking Out
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This past week the good folks at Crossway sent me a copy of a new book that will likely stir the theological waters a bit. I’m referring to From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, edited by David Gibson and Jonathan Gibson. This hefty volume includes... Read More
15
Nov
2013
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?
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Billy Graham just preached his final sermon (well, sort of—it was more a few sentences inside of a state-of-the-art video presentation). We’ve not seen a lot from him lately, so we instinctively tuned in to hear America’s pastor one last time. Everybody liked it. It had the Gospel woven through a pair of compelling narratives—who... Read More
13
Nov
2013
Becoming What You Are Against
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Most likely you’re familiar with the idea of cults, but you may be less familiar with the anti-cult movement. Though you may not realize it, your understanding of cults is likely influenced by the anti-cult movement. For as long as “cults” have existed, others have adopted the mission of discrediting and destroying cults, publishing exposés... Read More
11
Nov
2013
Strange Fire
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If you have been around the internet the past couple weeks, you have undoubtedly become aware of the controversy over the Strange Fire Conference sponsored by John MacArthur and Grace to You. MacArthur’s book by the same name (Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship) goes on sale tomorrow. Most of... Read More