This book is short and small in stature, yet it is a treasure trove of bite-sized meditations on the cross and resurrection of Christ which makes a big impact. It’s a step ladder allowing you to stand on the shoulders of Christian giants from across the centuries and to see the events of the first Easter as the most central, God-glorifying, mankind humbling, faith building events in human history.
Continue readingThis morning, the Easter series at church continued, this time with the theme “imagine a world where death wins”. In some ways we all live in a world where death at least appears to win the mortal battle. As they say, the only certain things in life are death and taxes! Though, for those of us who believe we know that death has not won the war and we delight in the fact that it has lost its sting and will therefore not have a lasting impact on us for eternity. The reason it has lost its power is because of the glorious resurrection of Jesus, who nailed our sin to the cross, fulfilled the death penalty on our behalf and then conquered death itself by rising again. In the words that follow I hope to unpack just a few thoughts about the significance of Resurrection Sunday.
About a year ago I was asked to speak at an inter-church worship team training/day seminar as one of the guest speakers. The event was organised around a key note session and then breakout groups for each instrument. I had been asked to speak to the bass players breakout group about what worship is and how those who serve the church as part of a worship team can do so effectively. I was then to offer some more specific tips to bass players about their particular role in the overall team (which I may include in a later post). While I was honoured to be asked, I unfortunately was unable to make it to the event, however I had already penned some thoughts which until now have remained unused. I thought I’d post them here and I pray they are helpful to someone.
Over the last few years perhaps no other preacher, teacher or theologian has taught me as much as John Piper. For this reason I feel somewhat strange when I say it has taken me until now to fully read through his magnum opus ‘Desiring God’. I’m sure, however, that others will attest to the fact that this book is not one to rip through in an afternoon. The depth of theology and the paradigm shifting presentation of the Christian’s pursuit of joy in God as foundational to a Biblical understanding of the gospel requires much thought, contemplation and reflection.
Over the Christmas holidays (summer time in Australia) I got stuck into a book called The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung which I’d been wanting to read for a while. I basically bought it without knowing anything about it, other than the fact that I’d read another book by DeYoung (called Just Do Something) and really liked his down to earth approach backed by solid biblical teaching. I also knew basically nothing about catechisms, so I was intrigued by the subtitle “rediscovering the gospel in a 16th Century Catechism”. Continue reading
Reformed Bapticostal 