Where is the Light - Trailer.
A Triathlon To See.
Erik from Irish Calvinist put up this post this week he writes:
I received a link to this video the other day and was pretty moved. I guess it happened a year or so ago. The Hoyts compete in triathlons together. Let me remind you that this is 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
I am not sure of their spiritual background or why this song is playing on the video, but nevertheless the video makes me think of this love that Mr Hoyt has for his son and the coming redemption of our sinfully plagued flesh. In short, this video reminded me to ‘groan’ in the Romans 8 sense.
Non-Smoke - Smoking…?
Yesterday I was sitting at home with Matthew watching Dancing With the Stars, don’t ask why, when a commercial came up that depicted a baby crying in the back seat of a car. With emotional music playing and an agonizing look on the babie’s face I was captured. The camera starts to pan out and you see that a mom is smoking in the car. This absolutely broke my heart because all I could imagine was smoke filling that babie’s lungs, then I thought “man am I glad that is not my kid.” The pinnacle moment of the commercial was when it stated “smoking doesn’t just hurt you… ” So, when I came across this new gadget today I couldn’t help but share. Now please note that I am not an advocate for smoking or nicotine, I just thought this might prove to be a promising invention for our environment and human life at large.
Check out the site HERE.
Amillennialism 101 - Resources
Dr. Riddlebarger of Westminster Cal puts up some great resources on Amillennialism that are worth looking at… Check them out!
Select Bibliography for the Book of Revelation
Introductory Guides to the Book of Revelation
Vern S. Poythress, The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation (P & R) — Highly recommended basic guide. Good background material, theological content. Best place to start.
Michael Wilcock. The Message of Revelation, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP) — Part of the IVP “Bible Speaks” series. Good for personal study. Includes study/discussion questions.
Commentaries on Revelation
Simon J. Kistemaker, Revelation (Baker) — Solid Reformed amillennial approach to the text, part of the series of commentaries begun by William Hendricksen.
G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Eerdmans) — The best academic commentary on Revelation in print, period! But it is for advanced readers and quite expensive.
William Hendricksen, More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (Baker) — For many years the Reformed standard, now outdated.
Dennis E. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation (P & R) — The best all-around commentary on Revelation. If you plan to buy only one book on Revelation, this should be it.
Specialized Studies
Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge) – Very good topical treatment of the major themes running throughout Revelation.
Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy (T & T Clark) — For advanced students, very insightful look at some of the structural and theological issues facing the interpreter of Revelation.
Colin Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia: In Their Local Settings (Eerdmans) — Background information on the seven churches. Updates and replaces Ramsey
Mark Wilson, Charts on the Book of Revelation: Literary, Historical, and Theological Perspectives (Kregel) — Very helpful material, indeed invaluable.
(HT: Riddleblog)
Al Mohler on Atheism.
Said at Southern Seminary points out four great lectures given by Dr. Mohler at DTS. They are well worth your time.
Here are four lectures from Dallas Theological Seminary given this Spring by Dr. Mohler. They are available in Mp3 and Video. Here are the titles and descriptions. Watch or listen to these lectures on the DTS website.
- The New Atheism And The Endgame Of Secularism: Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, gives a review of the crisis of faith from the Enlightenment to the present, with a particular focus on the Victorian loss of faith, the secularism of hypermodernity, and the failure of the secularization thesis.
- The New Atheism And The Assault On Theism: Dr. Albert Mohler continues the W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship by tracing the particular arguments of the New Atheists, especially Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, Debray, etc.
- The New Atheism And The Future Of Christianity: Dr. Albert Mohler concludes the W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship by proposing that the only means of preserving Christian theism is to return to a theism that is revelation-based, Trinitarian, and fully biblical in defending a God “infinite in His perfections” over against revisionist models of theism popular among some (open theism, etc.).
- The New Atheism And The Future Of Christianity: Dr. Albert Mohler concludes the W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship by proposing that the only means of preserving Christian theism is to return to a theism that is revelation-based, Trinitarian, and fully biblical in defending a God “infinite in His perfections” over against revisionist models of theism popular among some (open theism, etc.)
(HT: Tony Kummer)
Canned Air!
This is God’s gift to all mankind who works in the office environment, and it’s fun to play with.
Games?
Ok, I don’t understand Baby Shower games. This could be largely because I have only attended two in my 25 years of life. But honestly who thought it would be a great idea to put candy in diapers then make you guess what was inside?
But I did go the extra mile and I won! I don’t know if it’s because I eat too much junk food or if it’s because I have an my sense of smelling is rather acute.
A Great Post on Luther.
Often times when you hear a lesson at Paradox you will hear us quoting this guy named Luther. For those who don’t have not much historical theology Inhabitatio Dei puts ups a great post on Luther. Read the entire post HERE.
It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that throughout the ages since the Reformation Luther has tended to be viewed primarily as the harbinger of an entirely new form of Christianity, standing in radical discontinuity with all preceding Christian tradition. On the standard reading, Luther “was haunted by a question for which traditional catholic Christianity could provide no answers.” This standard narrative posits that Luther’s primary problem – for which the church dividing Reformation was the inevitable answer – “was a deep sense of the inauthenticity of our works before God; thus Luther could find no lasting peace in the edifice of catholic faith and practice, organized as it was around sacramental practice, dogmatic faith, and mystical aspiration”. Thus, on the standard reading, what precipitated the Reformation for Luther was a virtually complete revolution in the very concept of Christianity itself. It is purported that in Luther we find instantiated a new form of Christianity that came to characterize protestant modernity. Friedrich Schleiermacher, the great saint of liberal Protestantism described the matter thusly,
In so far as the Reformation was not simply a purification and reaction from abuses which had crept in, but was the origination of a distinctive form of Christian communion, the antithesis between Protestantism and Catholicism may be provisionally conceived thus: the former makes the individual’s relation to the Church dependent on his relationship to Christ, while the latter makes the individual’s relation to Christ depended on his relation to the Church.
The Problem With Youth.
22 Words puts a great quote issues related to morality and youth.
Understanding teenage rebellion only as sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll implies that the goal is celibacy, sobriety, and employment. It’s not.
It’s Jesus.
From 70K to Food Bank.
In these days of financial anguish, it’s amazing to see the hope that continues to shine through debt, worry and tears. Families across the nation have been hit hard these last few months. Women and children continue to be the fastest growing section of homeless individuals.
It’s the little things that count. Take a look at this recent CNN article about a family that went from living on $70,000 a year to needing to utilize their local food bank. It can be life-altering for someone to come to the point of needing help, but what a beautiful reflection of God’s grace - when people step up and give of themselves to bless others in need. Whether it means volunteering at a food bank, offering to pay for somebody’s utility bill that month or just spending time with someone who is lonely. There are countless ways for you to reach out.
How will you be Jesus’ hands and feet today?
