Weekly Puritan Prayers – Spiritus Sanctus.
January 29, 2009 at 7:05 am | Posted in Prayer, Puritan Prayers | Leave a Comment
Spiritus Sanctus
O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water, Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and the redemption wrought by Jesus except thou work within,
regenerating by thy power, giving my eyes to see Jesus, showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me thyself without measure, as an unimpaired fountain, as inexhaustible riches. I bewail my coldness,
poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, languid service, prayerless prayers, praiseless praises. Suffer me not
to grieve or resist thee.
Come as power, to expel every rebel lust, to reignsupreme and keep me thine;
Come as teacher, leading me into ALL truth, filling mewith ALL understanding;
Come as love, that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy, to dwell in me, move in me, animate me:
Come as light, illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws:
Come as sanctifier, body, soul and spirit wholly thine;
Come as helper, with strength to bless and keep, directing my EVERY step;
Come as beautifier, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me thy glory by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of thy fragrance.
-Valley of Vision pp. 28
Melanchthon, Loci Communes and Predestination.
January 28, 2009 at 4:55 am | Posted in Doctrines of Grace, Philipp Melanchthon | Leave a CommentTags: Doctrines of Grace, Election, predestination
Why should we consider predestination? The teaching of Philip Melanchthon answers this very devoutly and faithfully: it is solely in order that you may be more certain of your salvation and may cleave more firmly to the promises of God. The first demand God makes of us is to believe that he is God, that is, the Saviour, so that when we hear him summoning to himself all who are afflicted and distressed we hasten eagerly to him.
HT: C&C
George Whitefield’s Selected Sermons Free!
January 28, 2009 at 4:16 am | Posted in Freebies, George Whitefield, Sermons | Leave a Comment
Enjoy Selected Sermons of George Whitefield for FREE compliments of Desiring God Ministries and Logos!
Shane and Shane – New Site, New Blog.
January 28, 2009 at 4:06 am | Posted in Music, New Blogs, Worship, Worship Leading | Leave a Comment
If you don’t know who these guys are you are missing out on the extremly high vocal delight. Anyways, they have a new site which includes a twitter (which I am still not caving in to), a new wordpress BLOG, and nifty online store. Check it out and send these guys some love.
Do We Cease to Expect? – Lloyd-Jones
January 26, 2009 at 1:17 pm | Posted in Martin Lloyd-Jones, Quotes | Leave a CommentThanks to Peter for posting this great quote from the Doc:
Possibly one of the most devastating things that can happen to us as Christians is that we cease to expect anything to happen. I am not sure but that this is not one of our greatest troubles today. We come to our services and they are orderly, they are nice ‒ we come, we go ‒ and sometimes they are timed almost to the minute, and there it is. But that is not Christianity, my friend. Where is the Lord of glory? Where is the one sitting by the well? Are we expecting him? Do we anticipate this? Are we open to it? Are we aware that we are ever facing this glorious possibility of having the greatest surprise of our life?
Or let me put it like this. You may feel and say ‒ as many do ‒ ‘I was converted and became a Christian. I’ve grown ‒ yes, I’ve grown in knowledge, I’ve been reading books, I’ve been listening to sermons, but I’ve arrived now at a sort of peak and all I do is maintain that. For the rest of my life I will just go on like this.’
Now, my friend, you must get rid of that attitude; you must get rid of it once and for ever. That is ‘religion’, it is not Christianity. This is Christianity: the Lord appears! Suddenly, in the midst of the drudgery and the routine and the sameness and the dullness and the drabness, unexpectedly, surprisingly, he meets with you and he says something to you that changes the whole of your life and your outlook and lifts you to a level that you had never conceived could be possible for you. Oh, if we get nothing else from this story, I hope we will get this. Do not let the devil persuade you that you have got all you are going to get, still less that you received all you were ever going to receive when you were converted. That has been a popular teaching, even among evangelicals. You get everything at your conversion, it is said, including baptism with the Spirit, and nothing further, ever. Oh, do not believe it; it is not true. It is not true to the teaching of the Scriptures, it is not true in the experience of the saints running down the centuries. There is always this glorious possibility of meeting with him in a new and a dynamic way.
Weekly Puritan Prayers.
January 21, 2009 at 6:47 am | Posted in Puritan Prayers | Leave a CommentTags: Puritan Prayers, Valley of Vision
There are three primary books(Pray With Your Eyes Open, Pratt Jr, E.M. Bounds on Prayer, and The Valley of Vision)that have changed the way I pray and listen to prayers, but none has affected me more than “The Valley of Vision.” Valley of Vision is a collection of classic puritian prayers that demonstrate a deep knowledge and reverance for the character of God and the finite nature of man. From now until 2010 I will do a weekly posting of some of these classics that I find to be dear to my heart.
The Deeps
Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will, no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest, no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest. I am nothing but that Thou makest me. I have nothing but that I receive from Thee. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water.
- photo credits: memo
Calvin’s Legacy Audio Files Available!
January 20, 2009 at 6:15 am | Posted in John Calvin, Lectures | Leave a Comment
At just 2 bucks per lecture this is well worth your money, especially Godfrey’s talk. You can purchase them HERE.
Does This Make Me A Hyper-Calvinist?
January 19, 2009 at 6:23 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 20 CommentsIt did… sugar does that to me…
So, it was my birthday this last Friday, and my wife surprised me with the most amazing cake I have ever seen. I thought this cake was timely considering we are celebrating Calvin’s 500th birthday this year (and it was in Latin, even better).
Douglas Kelly’s Systematic Theology Vol. 1.
January 15, 2009 at 5:32 am | Posted in Systematic Theology | Leave a Comment
Dr. Kelly of RTS NC published his first Volume of Systematic Theology November of this last year. It is now available. He is a brilliant and practical systematician, and if you don’t want to spend the money purchasing his book (shame on you 
) you can listen to his lectures on iTunes for free by clicking HERE.
Some Reflections on Hebrews
January 15, 2009 at 5:12 am | Posted in Desert Springs Church, Practical Theology | Leave a CommentTags: Hebrews
Dr. Giese, one of the elders at my church, shares some thoughts on the book of Hebrews and its implications for the church.
I’ve been in the book of Hebrews lately working through what people call the “warning passages.” Commentators vary a little on how many there are, but the main ones are: 2:1-4; 3:6, 14; 6:4-6; 10:26-27; and 12:8.
A large part of Hebrews is about warning believers (that is, us!). Not warning them about the evils of the world. Rather, warning them to take Christ seriously, His work seriously, and to “preach” the gospel to ourselves and “examine” ourselves (parts of verses elsewhere in the New Testament but the idea is very much here in Hebrews).
If I had to do a two-word caption for the book I think I’d pick: Solus Christus (Latin for “only Christ”). If you gave me a couple more words I’d go for: “The Supremacy of Christ.” A little longer: “The Supremacy of Christ over the Old Covenant.” And about the longest I’d want to go: “The Supremacy of Christ over the Old Covenant for Those Undergoing Persecution.”
There are two books in the New Testament that, in a significant way, address persecuted Christians: the book of Revelation and the book of Hebrews. Revelation is written more for the church as she undergoes persecution, and Hebrews is more for a mix of both the corporate church and individual believers. Here in the States we don’t really face persecution, at least anything like what they did in the first century. However, although the audience of the book of Hebrews faced temptations to return to Judaism that we don’t face, we face equally powerful temptations that seem to transcend time and geography. Temptations like materialism, self-love (narcissism), love of pleasure (hedonism), or love of religion (true good can come out of the deepest parts of us, from us just by ourselves, and this good should be recognized by others and God).
A Galore of Carson Audio
January 15, 2009 at 5:08 am | Posted in Lectures, Sermons, Theology | Leave a CommentTags: D.A. Carson, Don Carson
This is a great resource for all. JT writes:
Andy Naselli, Ben Peays, and Ryan James have performed a tremendous service to the church: they have uploaded to The Gospel Coalition website 443 MP3s of D. A. Carson’s teaching. Many of these were previously available only for a price; others have never been available online. Some are even in French! They are all tagged for easy searching and organization: by title, Scripture text, series, topic, date.
I couldn’t agree more with what Andy writes:
I’d highly recommend that you redeem the time and systematically and thoughtfully listen to these MP3s. I have profited immensely from them. Carson’s manner of speaking is just as articulate, thoughtful, and engaging as his publications. He exalts Christ by exegeting his words, tracing themes through the Bible’s salvation-historical storyline, addressing hot topics with clarity and nuance, and engaging and confronting bad theology as well as the culture.You can access them at Carson’s TGC webpage. You can also browse most of them at his sermons page.
Four Views on Age Segregation and Youth Ministry.
January 13, 2009 at 5:06 am | Posted in Youth Ministry | Leave a CommentAnyone who reads this blog knows that we take a hollistic approach to Youth Ministry at the church that I work at, but many don’t know why. Well, obviously we do so because we find it to be biblical, but it is good to step back and take a look at the different approaches to youth ministry and why churches do things the way they do. iMonk posts four brief overviews to methodology in youth ministry, you can check them out HERE.
*Note I obviously don’t agree with all of these men, but I do think it is important to look at all the arguments.
The Nature of True Piety.
January 13, 2009 at 5:01 am | Posted in Calvin's Institutes, John Calvin | 1 CommentTags: Calvin's Institutes
Danny has some great thoughs on Calvin’s Institutes (I.ii.2):
This [pious] mind restrains itself from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but, because it loves and reveres God as Father, it worships and adores him as Lord. Even if there were no hell, it would still shudder at offending him alone (Institutes I.ii.2)
I am reading through Calvin’s Institutes in 2009, and I was struck by this passage this morning. In this section, Calvin has been talking about the nature of true piety: the marriage of reverence and love for God.
So often sin is talked about within the context of punishment and what we deserve. But in so doing, we forget whence that punishment comes and against whom we have sinned. This quote provides great opportunities for meditation and self-reflection:
- What restrains me from sinning? The consequences or my love and reverence for God?
- How does my love and adoration for the Lord affect my desire to sin? As a pastor once said, we need a greater “lust” (love for God) to crowd out all the other lusts of this world.
I was also reminded of these passages from Scripture:
2 Cor. 7:10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.Psalm 51:4
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Top 100 Theology Blogs.
January 13, 2009 at 4:58 am | Posted in New Blogs | Leave a CommentChristianColleges.com provides a list of blogs dealing with stuff related to theology, religion, ancient texts, etc.
(JT)
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