John Newton was a slave-trader turned hymn-writer, a man who underwent a miraculous transformation that saw him leave behind a life of immorality and depravity to pursue the calling of a minister of the gospel. The amazing grace that had unexpectedly but permanently “saved a wretch like me” was his joy and meditation for the…
Yesterday I flew out to Prince Edward Island for the Gospel Coalition Atlantic Canada conference, which begins a bit later today. Our gate was moved three times and the flight ended up being well over an hour late, so we didn’t arrive until around 3 AM. Therefore, this is a slightly abbreviated A La Carte!…
In his much-praised book Killing Calvinism, Greg Dutcher writes about the tendency many Calvinists may have to be more enamored by their theology than by God himself. I suppose this may be a temptation for those who adhere to any faith or any system of theology, but it does seem particularly prevalent among Calvinists. At…
Problems with Unconditional Forgiveness – “While automatic forgiveness sounds like an antidote to bitterness, this is not the case. Those who try and simply dismiss grave offenses, apart from resting in the justice of God, often encounter emotional and theological problems. Here is an incomplete list of problems that sometimes arise from unconditional forgiveness.” Nourish…
In wisdom and love God does not leave his people to live this life alone, but rather calls us into community. One of the sad inevitabilities of living in community is that we will sin against one another. The invitation to Christian community is an invitation to be tested by other people’s sin and weakness.…
Hannah is in college when she receives the shocking news her parents hadn’t ever shared with her—she is adopted. Not only is she adopted, but she is the survivor of a failed abortion. Angry, confused and upset, she turns to her oldest friend Jason to help her through this difficult time. Along with his friends…
I am better at sinning than asking forgiveness. This morning, as if to prove this, I found myself thinking about a situation that came up a couple of years ago. For weeks I had been trying to figure out something with a nearby bank—something that should have been simple. It had been a comedy of…
I’ve been at this blogging thing for quite a long time now—a bit over 9 years. I’ve been at the daily blogging thing for almost as long. This means that I’ve got an extensive backlist of articles from years gone by. I thought it might be fun to pull out some of the articles I…
Forgiveness – Russell Moore writes about what forgiveness is and isn’t. “The most difficult math problem in the universe, it turns out, is 70 x 7. Perhaps the hardest thing to do in the Christian life is to forgive someone who has hurt you, often badly. But Jesus says the alternative to forgiving one’s enemies…
A few months ago I bought Pieces of a Real Heart the most recent album from the band Sanctus Real. I have listened to Sanctus Real since their debut album, but felt like there was a whole new depth of honesty and depth of theology in this new record. There were songs about failing as…
Back in January when Steve Jobs took the wraps off the iPad, I declared it The Greatest Disappointment in Human History. Obviously I did so tongue-in-cheek but really I wanted to make a point–that the device was clearly not what it could have been and clearly not what it will be in a generation or…
On Our WatchRay Ortlund has six valuable suggestions on how to combat the shocking biblical illiteracy that exists in the church today. God’s ProblemThis is a thoroughly enjoyable review of Bart Ehrman’s book God’s Problem written by William Willimon. Updates @ DRYesterday we added quite a few new reviews to Discerning Reader (as we do…
I was in a bad mood yesterday. For weeks now I’ve been trying to figure out something simple with a nearby bank—or something that should be simple. It has been a comedy of errors, really. Every time I try to do something (anything!), it seems that their incompetence or ignorance is working against me. I’ll…
Some time ago I promised an article on the subject of conditional versus unconditional forgiveness. I’ve had many false starts and have been largely unsatisfied with anything I’ve written on the subject. So I decided to simplify and to provide only an outline of my thoughts on the subject. I am, perhaps, a little less…
We are nearing the end of our project to read through John Owen’s classic book Overcoming Sin and Temptation. After this morning we will have just one chapter remaining. If you’d like to know more about this reading project, you can read about it right here: Reading Classics Together. If you are interested in participating…
This is your weekly notification of the reviews I’ve added to Discerning Reader. This week I’ve written four reviews and Scott Lamb has contributed one as well. The reviews are as follows: From Alister McGrath comes The Dawkins Delusion?, a rather brilliant response to Richard Dawkins’s bestselling The God Delusion which I reviewed last week.…
This afternoon Carl Robbins invited different pastors, church planters and heads of ministries to provide brief updates on what has happened in their ministries over the past year. This was really an amazing time as we were able to see the diversity of Reformed ministries. We heard from missionaries raising support to head to other…
Friday November 3, 2006 Conference: Information for the 2007 Children Desiring God conference has been released. Speakers include Piper, Grudem and Mahaney. (HT: JT). Liveblogging: There will be liveblogging at this weekend’s Alpha & Omega National Conference which will include a debate between James White and John Shelby Spong. You can keep up with the…
Thursday November 2, 2006 Children: Amy points out a phenomenon my wife and I also noticed: “Whoever invented Daylight Saving Time did not have a baby in the house.” Health: Jollyblogger points to a strange and interesting story about “Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert – how he lost his voice and got it back.” Audio:…
At some point in my youth I got it into my head that conferences are a colossal waste of time. I somehow came to believe that they are not a good use of a Christian’s time. I have since had to rethink this position. Having now attended many wonderful conferences, I’ve come to see that,…