We spent our new year’s eve on the road. We got up at three o’clock this morning and scraped the frost off the windshield (frost in Chattanooga?) before hitting the road very shortly after four. Nobody should ever be awake at that hour. It’s just a bad idea. The children were simply hauled out of…
This morning the Reality Check conference wrapped up with the final of Paul Washer’s four sermons on the beatitudes. After reading the text he began with this statement: “If you have been truly born again, the beatitudes must be, at least to some extent, a description of your life.” Though the series was intended to…
I’ve been sick before and after conferences, but never during one. Until today, that is. In this morning’s session I started to feel a little bit under the weather, but thought it may have just been the heat (the conference room is pretty warm). I thought I’d head outdoors to see if I felt better…
The day’s second teaching session was taken by Jeff Noblit who preached a message about the duties of church membership. He said “If you do not get this, you do not get anything. And if you get this, you have about everything.” He spoke of our duty to the bride of Christ. We live at…
One of the distinctives of a conference geared at youth is that the people in attendance tend to have a kind of youthful enthusiasm. You know what I’m referring to, I’m sure. They are excited to be at a conference, are exciting to be with their friends, and are excited to be learning from good…
Before we get to the second sermon, I’ve got a public service announcement for Amy. Amy, Russ and Reagan say “Hi!” They’re sitting right behind me and are trying, with some success, not to heckle me too much. This evening we are going to have Paul Washer preach to us. Now, I need to confess…
Matt Fowler preached the conference’s first sermon and did so from John 6:22-27. These well-known verses fall shortly after the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water—two of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. This crowd had been privileged to see both of these miracles. People reacted to the feeding of the 5000 by attempting…
So I am here in Chattanooga (the official city motto seems to be “We close at 5”), spending the weekend at a conference room at the Chattanooga Choo Choo (which is a local hotel/attraction/Holiday Inn). Somewhere around 1000 people are gathered for the Reality Check conference which will feature teaching by Matt Fowler, Paul Washer,…
I’ve got two quick book updates for you. And then I’m going to relax for the rest of the morning before heading into Chattanooga for the Reality Check Conference which begins later this evening. I’ll be bringing live updates from that event from this evening until Sunday morning. First off, my book is now in…
It doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to do my weekly John Owen “Reading the Classics Together” post today. And for that I apologize. Being away from home has completely disrupted my ability to keep this site operating as it usually does. I’m a routine-based person, it seems, and being away from my…
Thursday December 27, 2007 Joel Stein, Starbucks and HeavenRandy Alcorn has an interesting article about columnist Joel Stein and his interest (or lack thereof) in heaven. Internet in the AirThis article outlines some of the trials sure to arise when airlines provide internet in the air. On Discussing Doctrine in PublicDr. Mohler tries to bring…
Jerry Bridges’ The Discipline of Grace is one of those books that is worth reading slowly and meditatively, pausing often to reflect and, in my case, to write. I rarely dwell too long on a single book, but because of the sheer quantity and quality of Bible-based teaching within this book, I felt compelled to…
It has been a long but good day here in Woodstock, GA. We got up early and had the kids dig into their stockings. Then, once family had arrived from far and wide, we got busy opening what looked like just an obscene amount of gifts (there are, after all, eighteen people involved). After a…
I’ve seen a few blogs where the authors are outlining their Christmas traditions. I’ve also been asked by some readers what my Christmas includes. So I thought I’d let you in on the Challies family Christmas. The way Aileen and I celebrate Christmas is a bit of a blend of two family traditions. As I’ve…
A couple of days ago, a skid’s worth of books showed up at my sister’s place. Two days later I showed up and finally got to meet my book. After almost two years from the time I first to pen to paper, I finally saw the results. It wasn’t nearly the moment I thought it…
I have a particular interest in books that seek to give us categories through which we can understand this strange new world that is being built around us through the internet. The sheer pervasiveness of the internet has allowed it to impact our lives so deeply and so profoundly and I’m not sure that many…
Yesterday morning (shortly after posting my John Owen post, as it happens) we bundled the family into the car and began to drive south. Far south. We are on our way to Atlanta to spend some time with my family. Yesterday we made it from Toronto all the way to almost the border between Kentucky…
Thursday December 20, 2007 An Interview with John MacArthurThis personal interview from Pulpit Magazine is a good opportunity to get to know John MacArthur just a bit better. Straight Answers about MormonismAfter FoxNews posted answers to 21 questions about Mormonism, Rob Bowman critiqued those often less-than-lucid answers. Abortions and Birth WeightSuzanne Hadley comments on an…
Today we continue reading the classics together by turning to the sixth chapter of John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation. If you’d like to know more about this project, you can read about it right here: Reading Classics Together. We are now in the book’s second section—a section that turns the focus from introductory materials…
Rebel soldiers were starting at one end of a large room, taking women away one by one and bringing them back after they were finished with them. Helen’s first impulse was to hide and not have to bear this humiliation again. Then she thought of Jesus. He put himself forward as a substitute for us.…