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From Kevin Vanhoozer’s stimulating book, The Drama of Doctrine (2005), page 39:

“The Gospel is ‘the greatest drama ever staged … a terrifying drama of which God is the victim and the hero’ [Dorothy Sayers]. Drama is a composite of word and deed: at times the language of action drowns out the words, at other times the words carry the action along. Yet what God was doing in Jesus Christ ultimately makes sense only according to the biblical script that places the person and work of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament context of creation and covenant. There is a cosmic stage and a covenantal plot; there is conflict; there is a climax; there is resolution. Evangelical theology deals not with disparate bits of ideas and information but with divine doings—with all-embracing cosmic drama that displays the entrances and exoduses of God.”

Today on his blog, Justin Taylor posted two videos of Vanhoozer lecturing at SEBTS. These videos comprise a nice abbreviated summary of The Drama of Doctrine.

Gospel Theater: Staging, Scripting, Directing (50 min)

Gospel Theater: Rehearsing, Improvising, Performing (53 min)

Yesterday I received an email from a reader of this site and today I'd like to answer it (with the permission of the person who sent it). Here is what he wrote:

Thank you so much for your booklet, "Sexual Detox." I have read it over and over, and am still very much challenged by it. I was recently married and was under the illusion that marriage would solve all of my lust problems... Even though I had been told numerous times that it would not. Now I feel that everything has come to head, I know what I must do, and I want so very badly to do it, but I feel that the devil knows this is THE deciding point in my life on this issue, and he is working hard against me. I feel more captivated and strangled by my sin than ever before, and I need you to pray for me. If you have any advice or encouragement to offer, please tell me.

Thanks for sending this note. It sounds to me like you are absolutely right when say that this is a deciding point in your life on the issue of lust and the acting out of that lust. Satan will be working hard against you and, in many ways, you will be working hard against yourself. You gave yourself over to your sin and no doubt you've become captivated by it. As sin always seeks to do, it has ensnared you. But take heart. There is hope.

To reiterate what I wrote in Sexual Detox, the fact that you feel sexual desire is a good and noble thing. God has given you that desire so you will pursue your bride. But, like all good gifts, the gift of sex is one that we are prone to pervert, turning it into a means of selfish self-fulfillment. God wants you to pursue your wife, to win her heart not just once but day-by-day; and he wants you to enjoy sex with her. But, of course, you have grown used to indulging the flesh, to giving it its desires, those desires that are perversions of the true gift. And sin rarely just goes away; it is usually a long and difficult process to put it to death.

A few days ago someone asked me, "What difference does it make that Christ is on his throne?" I had to think about that one, but when I did, the answer became clear. It makes all the difference in the world. Just this morning I read from Hebrews 1 where the author says, "After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." There is such glorious truth there.

Purification

First, Christ made purification for sins. This is the very heart of the Christian faith. Finally, after those long millenia of human history, the thousands of Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. The seed promised all the way back in Genesis 3 had come and had crushed the head of the serpent. What this means is that if you have trusted in Christ, if you have put your faith in him, you have been purified from your sin. God no longer regards you as defiled by sin, but looks at you and sees the sinless perfection of Christ. Your sin has been given to him, his righteousness has been transferred to you.

Purification is an especially important word when we discuss sexual sin, for no sin makes us feel as dirty, as defiled, as impure as sexual sin. Because sex is so deep, so intimate, it touches the body, the soul, the emotions. And so, when we sin sexually, we tend to feel a deep sense of defilement, and particularly so when we sin in spite of a convicted conscience.

And yet Christ died to purify you from even this sin. You have sinned against God and need to seek his forgiveness. I am sure you've already done this, but do go to God, even now, and confess your sin. Be reconciled to God and receive his forgiveness, his purification from sin. Christ is far more willing to forgive you than you are even to pursue your sin.

The Majesty on High

That Christ has made purification for sin is an amazing truth. But it is only half the truth of this verse. Christ has not just died, but he is risen and now reigns at the right hand of the Father. And what does it mean that Christ is on his throne? It means that Christ is ruling and reigning. It means that Christ is sovereign, that he is King, that he has power. He gives power to his people through the Spirit, his Spirit, that he has sent to be our helper. Christ has given you the power to overcome sin. What a glorious truth this is! He has given you all you need, absolutely everything you need, to overcome sin. The Spirit works with us, in us, through us, to destroy indwelling sin and to make us in practice what we are in position--pure and holy.

So there is no excuse. Christ is reigning over the entire universe; he is reigning over sin. If you are to overcome the sin of lust, if you are to turn from your lust and find sexual desire and fulfillment only in your wife, you will need to fight with his power.

Hold tightly to these two truths and never separate them. Christ has died to destroy sin; Christ has risen to reign.

What To Do

I have already encouraged you to confess your sin to God and to ask his forgiveness. And as you do that, confess your own inability to overcome this sin and ask God for his strength, his power. Be utterly dependent upon him.

Be a godly man. Immerse yourself in the Word; be faithful in prayer; be committed to your church. Live a life of godliness. Do not approach the sin of lust as an isolated sin, but approach it as one more sin that needs to be overcome as you seek to be conformed to the image of the Savior.

In committing sexual sin, you have sinned against your wife. You need to confess this sin to her, painful thought it may be, and seek her forgiveness. You will also need to seek reconciliation with her. You are much more likely to overcome this sin with her help than without it. Be very careful not to blame her in any way for your sin; do not implicate her in any way. Confess your sin and ask her to fight with you in putting it to death. As a husband you need to lead your wife. And, as you've been sinning against her, you've been leading her poorly. Part of shepherding your wife, and often the most difficult part of all, is leading in the sexual relationship. This is especially difficult when you have committed sexual sin. But lead her nonetheless, gently and kindly. And lead her by being above reproach in every way.

Understand the triggers and the warning signs that tell you that you are particularly prone to sin. And react by fleeing from those rather than waiting for the lustful act itself. Speaking personally, I look for tiny things that may be entirely amoral and seemingly insignificant, but I know that they point to a general relaxing of standards and discipline. When I eat too much junk food or drink too much Coke, I know that I'm relaxing my personal discipline and that I'm only a few steps away from committing a sin I'll regret. So I look for these innocuous things and fight against them. It sounds silly, I know, but I've studied my propensity to sin enough to know where it begins. So find those triggers in your own life, even those amoral things, and react against them. Look for situations that lead you to sin, whether that involves browsing certain web sites or being in certain places or staying up past certain hours.

And finally, seek out an older man who can mentor you. Find a man in your church whom you respect and ask if he will help you fight lust and become a better husband to your wife. Ask him to be not an accountability partner, but a mentor.

Take Heart

And take heart. Many men can testify to God's grace in overcoming sin. Scripture itself testifies that God is eager and willing to put your sin to death. Christ has died to forgive your sin and he has risen and sent his Spirit to give you mastery over it. He reigns and he is on your side. What greater hope could there be?

by Dan Phillips

I have this nightmare that when my first book is about to go to press, and is out of my hands, uneditable, final version, goodbye, about to be seen by however-many friends and foes...

...and suddenly I realize some massive gaffe! Either a reference I meant to double-check, or a statement I meant to clarify or qualify ("Idiot! It was Van Leeuwen! Not vanGemeren!"), or what have you. But — and here we have the saddest two words in the English language — TOOOOOO LAAAAAAAATE.

Well, thank God it's not that way with blogging. And so, HSAT, I have one more late-inclusion I should have listed in the false teacher's teaching. This, however, is not so much a specific teaching as it is the upshot, the cumulative effect, of his teaching.

That effect: exclusivism.

This would have shown itself as an “us-them” mentality vis-a-vis other Christians. For instance, recall the issue of being judged and ruled out in chapter 2:16, 18 —

Therefore, stop letting someone judge you in eating and in drinking, and in respect to a festival or new moon or sabbath day.... Stop letting anyone rule you out, delighting in humiliation and worship of the angels, going into detail about things he has experienced, being inflated without cause by the mind of his flesh....

You see, this false doctrine created a sub-class (or perhaps I should say "hyper-class") of Christians. With that teaching, you have (A) the plain old, garden-variety, just-saved Christians, who just have Jesus and the Gospel and the word of Christ through His apostles; and then, above them, you have (B) this elite group of The Arrived. They have special knowledge, and live by special rules. They have access to special information granted through the special experiences that their leader had brought them exclusively, hot-off-the-presses from Heaven.


With that in mind, look afresh at 1:5-6 —

...of which you heard before in the word of the truth, the good news, which has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit of itself and growing just as also among you, from the day in which you heard it and came to know fully the grace of God in truth.

Do the truths Paul subtly yet insistently emphasizes stand out now? Paul asserted boldly that the Colossians had already heard and believed the one and only saving Gospel. This was the same Gospel that had gone unaltered throughout the civilized world with equal saving and lifegiving effect. They had real, accurate knowledge of God's grace in that Gospel. There was neither place nor need for an update or improvement.

Another way Paul responded to this exclusivism was in his repeated use of the word translated "all" and "every":

• 1:4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which you have for all the holy ones,
• 1:28 whom we are proclaiming by confronting every man, and by teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we might present every man mature in Christ;
• 2:9-10  because in Him is permanently dwelling all the fullness of Deity bodily, and you stand filled full in Him, who is the Head over all rule and authority,
• 2:19 and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body being supported and knit together through the joints and ligaments is growing with the growth given by God.

Paul's stress is on what all Christians have in common. God has poured out all His riches for all His people in Christ. He told all the truth to every person with the goal of presenting every Christian mature in Christ. Any teaching that then comes and makes essential divisions among them violates that rich truth.
Now, note: I say essential. By that I refer to basic vital equipment as Christians, not differing roles or ministries, such as distinguish man from woman, husband from wife, child from parent and so on. Nor do I have in mind varying stages of maturity or knowledge. To be as plain as I can, I am talking about teaching that creates "haves" and "have-nots" among people who are saved in Christ. Paul has no such vision. In common with all the apostles, all Christians without exception are the "haves," and all unbelievers are the "have-nots" (cf. John 3:36; 1 John 5:12).

Another way Paul combats this is by stressing the unity of the body in Christ, a unity vitiated by the exclusivism of the false teacher.

And on top of all these things put on love, which is the unifying bond that leads to maturity. And let the peace of Christ keep ruling in your hearts, unto which also you were called in one body; and become thankful people (Colossians 3:14-15)

The tendency of the Gospel is centripetal, that of this false teaching is centrifugal. Actually, though, it also would be centripetal... except that the center would be the false teacher, not Christ. After all, it was his thoughts, his revelations, his experiences, his rules, his special knowledge that they were being made to depend on.

Sound familiar?

Three Great Reads for Easter - Earlier this week I suggested a few books that are suitable for Good Friday reading. Here's the natural follow-up: three books to read before Easter. One, two and three.

Son of Hamas - GQ (of all publications) has an interview with Mosab Yousef, the Christian author of Son of Hamas.

Heavenward - Scotty Smith has moved his blog, which is almost entirely prayers, to Gospel Coalition.

Kindle for Mac - At long last, Amazon has released their Kindle for Mac software. Unfortunately it's like the PC version in that you can view notes you've made using your other devices, but you can't actually take notes or highlight using the software.

ESV App - You'll want to check out the new (and free) ESV app for iPhone.

Top 100 Church Blogs - Church Relevance offers the updated list of the top 100 Church Blogs. (I almost didn't link to this because it seemed somehow arrogant, but I do respect the amount of work CR has put into the list and thought it would be good to acknowledge it)

We've hand-picked 64 titles to compete in the 2010 Logos March Madness tournament and it is up to you to decide which one we should sell at 75% off!

The premise is simple—at www.logosmarchmadness.com we’ve taken 64 titles available in Logos Bible Software and split them into four divisions. You vote for your favorite titles in each division and the ones with the most votes at the end of each of the six rounds advance. Titles that don’t advance are then offered at a discounted rate between 25% and 50% off the retail price. The title that gets crowned the champion will be discounted at 75% off!

Voting is now open for the first round, and will remain open thru March 20th. The complete schedule is as follows:

Round 1: March 18-20
Round 2: March 21-23
Sweet 16: March 24-26
Elite 8: March 27-29
Final 4: March 30 – April 1
Championship: April 2-5
See the full brackets

As I said, the titles that don't get enough votes to advance out of a round will be offered at a discount. Here is how the discounts will break down:

Titles not advancing out of round 1 will be 25% off.
Titles not advancing out of round 2 will be 30% off.
Titles not advancing out of the sweet sixteen will be 35% off.
Titles not advancing out of the elite eight will be 40% off.
Titles not advancing out of the final four will be 45% off.
The second place book in the tournament will be 50% off.
The tournament champion will be 75% off.

So, go check out the full list of titles being offered and vote for your favorites. Of course, if you really want a title to win (so you can get it for 75% off) be sure to spread the word to all your friends and family and tell them to go to www.logosmarchmadness.com and vote for your favorites!

So, what are you waiting for?

I can’t decide whether to file this one under “It was just a matter of time” or “people who take themselves far too seriously.” Self-proclaimed psychic and spiritual teacher Sean David Morton, who claimed publicly (and to lots of subscribers) that he could predict stock market activity, is being sued by the SEC. Finally, some good news out of Washington.

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The Apostle Paul hardly needs introduction as one of the most influential and faithful believers of all history. An educated and religious Pharisee, he persecuted Christians until converted on the road to Damascus. He spent the rest of his life preaching, teaching, traveling, and writing letters to churches, which became most of the New Testament. Paul was persecut...

I am often asked for pointers on writing book reviews and recently realized that, to my recollection, I've never written on the topic. That may be because I consider myself quite a poor book reviewer. I got into writing reviews (over 500 book reviews ago now) by circumstance more than skill; I had a blog, I read a lot, and book reviews just started to happen. Yet I am aware that I am not a great reviewer. Read the Times or a theological journal and you will encounter a completely different skill level in reviewers.

Having said that, I think I am able to write reviews that appeal to a particular audience. And in that way at least, I've been successful. So today let me share just a few pointers for those who are considering writing reviews for a medium similar to this one.

Know Your Audience

As I said a moment ago, any success I've had owes more to writing for a defined audience than in great skill. I know who reads this site and I try to write about books that will be of interest to that kind of reader. If my IQ was about 100 points higher and if I wrote for Themelios I might read and review Revitalizing Theological Epistemology: Holistic Evangelical Approaches to the Knowledge of God. As it is, though, I know who I am and I know who reads this web site and I try to review books accordingly. Almost by definition, the people who read this site share at least some of my interests and so what is of interest to me is of interest to them. That's part of the beauty of a blog.

So know your audience. Know the kind of book they will want to read and then anticipate the kind of questions they will want answered before they consider reading that book. Here are the types of questions I tend to answer:

What's the Point?

An author will typically not wait very long before offering a defense of his book's existence. He will most often say "This is why I have written this book." I seek to communicate that information within my review. So, for example, in my recent review of The Masculine Mandate I quoted the author as he said, "My aim in writing this book is to help men to know and fulfill the Lord's calling as it is presented so clearly to us in God's Word." It's usually just that simple. But that little bit of information is very helpful to the reader. And you'd be surprised how often reviewers neglect to include it.

Who Is It For?

As an author defines the purpose for his book, he also tends to define his audience. This is not always the case as some books are written for just about anyone (think, for example, of Malcolm Gladwell's books); but most books do have a defined audience. Again, from my review of The Masculine Mandate: "Richard Phillips writes that his new book The Masculine Mandate 'is written for Christian men who not only don't want to lose that precious biblical understanding, but who want to live out the calling to true manliness God has given us.'"

What Does He Say?

Once I've covered the purpose of the book and its intended audience, I tend to offer a summary of what the author communicates. To do this I sometimes pick out just a few of his more substantial points or I may trace his outline, moving chapter by chapter or part by part. In just a few paragraphs I want to offer a summary of the complete book, giving enough to be interesting but not so much that it becomes burdensome. Two or three paragraphs is often sufficient here.

Why Does It Matter?

Before I wrap up the review, I want to help people understand what sets this book apart and what makes it unique. This is often the most important part of the review. In almost every case the book will have some close competition, so it is important to offer evidence of what makes it different from the others. This is a good time to discuss a few of the author's very good or very bad points, to agree with him, to quibble with him or to offer up a wholly different perspective. If he says anything outrageously good or outrageously bad, here is the place to bring that out.

What Do You Think?

Reviews are, by their very nature, subjective. An author of a review cannot entirely remove himself from it. Ultimately, many readers are looking less for a summation of the book's content than they are looking for the opinion of the reviewer. They simply want to know, "Should I read it or not?" Many readers will do little more than skip to the bottom of the review to find that information (which is one of the reasons I avoid star ratings or other easy tip-offs that would allow people to not bother reading the review). So I generally try to offer my own opinion, saying who should read this book and why (or who should not read it and why). At 10MillionWords I've gotten into the habit of closing each review with "Verdict: Read it if..."

Mix It Up

Having said all of this, I find it best not to follow any single structure too rigidly. There are some review styles that call for a kind of stylized rigidity (see PluggedIn's movie reviews as an example) and that is well and good. But unless you have to write within a certain structure, it is probably best to vary things at least occasionally.

There is also value in offering reviews of a variety of kinds of books, a variety of genres. Again, this will depend on the context for those reviews; a theological journal will likely only print reviews of theological books. But often at a blog or in a magazine you will have freedom to try something very different. Know your audience and feel free to tell them about books that are, for some reason, particularly interesting to you, even if they are somewhat unusual.

Logistics

Finally, just a few words about logistics. In terms of length, go with "just long enough." Communicate what you need to communicate but be wary of going too long. This is particularly true when writing for an online publication where people are accustomed to skimming more than reading. A little too short is probably better than a little too long. Also, it's often a good idea to add a "buy it" link at the end of the review, pointing to Amazon or another relevant bookstore. If you are recommending a book and people are going to buy it anyway, you may as well pocket a few cents for referring them.

by Frank Turk



Phil's post this week has apparently hit a nerve with a couple of atheist internet apologists, and I wanted to pull one of the branches of the thread on God's justice up front here for the sake of filling my quota at TeamPyro this week.

Dr. Ken Pulliam has made an appearance in the comments to give us his "agnostic" view of the problem that God can order things which, if a man ordered them, he might rightly be called a genocidal maniac. However, someone called Dr. Pulliam an "atheist" in the thread, and he wanted to make sure we all knew he was actually an "agnostic".

His last comment to me in that thread was this:

I don't claim to be agnostic about every proposition only those that involve ultimate realities. I mentioned the three ways of verifying the truth of various propositions.

For example, if my wife says: "It is raining outside." How do I verify it? I step outside and see. If what I see and feel corresponds (the correspondence theory) to the accepted definitions of what constitutes rain, then I accept her proposition as true. If she says: "The lawnmower needs to be brought inside or it will rust in the rain." How do I know if her proposition is true? I know from past knowledge that if metal gets wet it will rust. Her statement coheres (the coherence theory) with other accepted and verified beliefs. If she says: "If you put a tarp over the lawnmower, it won't get wet." How do I know if that is a true proposition? I put a tarp over the lawnmower and wait till it stops raining and then see if the lawnmower is wet. If putting the tarp over the mower works (the pragmatic theory), then I know that her proposition was true.

However, if she says: "God is sending the rain." How can I verify it? I can't. Thus, I am agnostic about that proposition.

Now, do I need to believe in a deity in order to verify any of the four propositions above? Yes, the 4th one but not the first three.

Let me put it to you (Dr. Pulliam in particular, but "you-all" readers of this here bit of bloggin') this way: "agnosticism" in any form is a statement about the epistemic value of truth claims. As late as Hume the agnostic claim really placed all statements which are definitive -- statements which make a pan-physical judgments about reality; statements which are correlative of common value or nature -- in a category which requires us to have some doubt about their validity. The basis for Hume saying this was the limits of human perception and reason.

Which, let me say, is a fine bit of humility on the part of Hume, given his disdain for the idea of divine revelation. But Hume's agnosticism was an honest one which didn't limit itself to just religious claims.

This appeal to some kind of "honest" epistemological stoicism in Dr. Pulliam's examples of whether (or how) he believes his wife or not is interesting -- but really, is that how he lives? He tests the quality of the gas at the pump before he puts it in his car to make sure it is of the proper octane and isn't full of water or grit? He validates the Health Department certification of every restaurant before sitting down? You personally audit your bank to make sure they aren't doing stupid things with your money? You stop even at Green Lights because you never know who’s coming the other way?

I think he can define agnosticism, and he can parrot the theories for agnostic epistemology, but he has never spent a day in his life living that way.

When an atheist finds a Christian who lives his life like this, the word "hypocrite" comes out as if it solves the problem or wins the argument. (in fact, Dr. Pulliam has said as much in another comment in that thread -- Christians don't live the way they say they ought) I think it only identifies the problem – which is either one of dishonesty or one of immaturity. In the former case, the hypocrisy is there because it benefits the hypocrite – somehow, he is gaining something he can’t get by honest means; in the latter case, it’s a matter of discipleship – the hypocrite doesn’t mean to live against his beliefs, but he’s not really trained up rightly so he doesn’t really understand the implications of his catechism.

It’s unkind to assume the former – because I suspect that you have never made a penny from your “agnosticism”. But to assume the latter means that someday you will, in fact, act as if you really are “agnostic about every proposition that involves ultimate realities” (like whether it’s raining outside or not, or whether the lawnmower can be protected from the rain by a tarp, [as in your examples] or for that matter whether you have actually put the right octane gas in your car [which is my example using the same definition of “ultimate”]). But he will never live that way – it’s grossly impractical at best.

But here’s what gets me: it seems to me that these “ultimate” realities (things which he says he knows via correspondence or practical/utilitarian means, but for which he doesn't actually do the due diligence) are far more critical to making sure his life is impacted for his personal benefit than this debate about whether or not Jesus Christ was promised to Israel, born to a virgin, and died and resurrected to prove He was who he said he was.

So what gives? Why duck behind the "agnostic" label for "ultimate reality" when really, one is just doubtful about the claims of people with religious beliefs only?

This should be interesting ...

The Forsaken Children - I don't know much about this ministry, but I was moved to read a two part story of returning a kidnapped child to his family: Zor-zor and Zor-zor Part 2.

There Is No Overpopulation Problem - Here is an interesting perspective on the supposed overpopulation problem. "Focus on the population 'problem' is essentially a matter of the rich 'downplay[ing] the importance of our own environmental footprint because future generations of poor people might one day have the temerity to get as rich and destructive as us.'"

Jonathan Edwards Center - Jonathan Edwards fanboys will want to take a look at the Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Death and Social Media - Ever wondered what would happen to your Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or GMail if you were to die? This article explains.

That Superbowl Commercial - Boundless has an update on that infamous Superbowl commercial."It's been over a month since Focus on the Family's ad appeared in the Super Bowl. From time to time I hear comments that maybe Focus shouldn't have placed the ad, or should have placed a more hard-hitting ad. 'What good has it done?' I hear some ask."

R.C. Sproul on Roman Catholicism - For the past week, Dr. Sproul has been going through the series Roman Catholicism on his radio program, Renewing Your Mind, and will conclude the series on March 19. In this series, R.C. Sproul carefully and respectfully looks at the doctrines that are at the heart of the Catholic-Protestant divide.

It is quite surprising when we hear of people who have never heard of things we have been doing for a while. One of those things is our Refer-A-Friend program.

In just a few easy steps, we can send your pastor, friends, co-workers, ministry leaders, and/or family members a coupon code to receive 15% off a Logos 4 base package. And to make it worth a few moments of your time, if your recommendation turn into a sale, we give you a $25 gift certificate good toward a web purchase on Logos.com.

To get started, make sure you Sign In to your Logos.com account, and then head on over to www.logos.com/referafriend.

The first step asks you to enter a person's email address and their name. We will use it to send your friend two emails which you will be able to view and customize. And the email will not be added to any lists, so we won't make you look bad.

Next, you see a preview of a plain text email we will send on your behalf. You can easily edit the email to include a personal message if you want, or you can click Next to proceed.

The final step is to select one of seven base packages we include in the program. The default recommendation is set for Scholar's Library as this is our best selling collection, but you have the option to recommend up to Scholar's Library: Platinum.

At this point, you may click Send!, or you can see a preview of the fancy html message we'll send featuring your recommended product.

Chances are, your small group leader would benefit greatly using Leader's Library, and suggesting Scholar's Library or above to your relative heading to seminary would make his or her studies and term papers a whole lot easier. Since the Refer-A-Friend program works for the majority of our collections, you can suggest the collection you think would be most valuable to your friend. And don't worry if you are not sure which collection would be best. If you suggest Scholar's Library and they end up purchasing Scholar's Library: Gold, you'll still get a $25 gift certificate—as long as it is included in the program and they use the coupon code you send them!

You can suggest one of the following collections:

• Scholar's Library: Platinum
• Scholar's Library: Gold
• Scholar's Library: Silver
• Scholar's Library
• Original Languages Library
• Leader's Library
• Bible Study Library

With this ability to offer your friends a discount on a product that hopefully has transformed your devotional times, your sermon or Bible study preparation, or has helped you through seminary, why would you not take a few minutes to run down your list of contacts and send them a quick, pre-formatted email? Not only will you be helping transform their Bible study, you could also "pocket" a cool $25 credit for each person who acts on your recommendation.

So what are you waiting for? Refer-A-Friend Now!

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Studies on 1 & 2 Kings Collection shows the relation between, the advantages of and the different methodologies used for understanding the text. Also discussed is the position of scribes and the role that the social location in the ancient Near East had in relation to the royal establishment of the day. A look at the narrative, rhetorical, ideological and sociological methods covered in 2 Kings 11–12 and how they are related is provide...

Letter dated Oct 20, 1955: “The enclosed should help you. I don’t want it back. I am the one on the left; the one on the right is the Muse. This is a copy of a self-portrait I painted three years ago. Nobody admires my painting much but me. Of course this is not exactly the way I look but it’s the way I feel. It’s better looked at from a distance.”

Letter dated Oct 30, 1955: “I first sent Harper’s Bazaar my self portrait and can you imagine, they said: this is not exactly what we want, a little stiff, couldn’t you send us a snapshot? I also sent it to Harpercourt Brace to use on the jacket of my book. They said: this is a little odd, we don’t think it would increase the sale of the stories.”

Letter dated June 19, 1963: “In the self portrait that is not a peacock. That’s a pheasant cock. I used to raise pheasants but they got too much for me as they require attention and have to be caged. The peacocks take care of themselves. But I like very much the look of the pheasant cock. He has horns and a face like the devil. The self-portrait was made ten years ago, after a very acute siege of lupus. I was taking cortisone which gives you what they call a moon-face and my hair had fallen out to a large extent from the high fever, so I looked pretty much like the portrait. When I painted it I didn’t look either at myself in the mirror or at the bird. I knew what we both looked like.”

From his earliest days, Mosab Hasson Yousef had a view of the inner workings of Hamas. The son of one its founders, from childhood he was immersed in the shadowy world of Middle Eastern terror and politics. Arrested time and again by the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal intelligence service, he eventually made the decision to become a double agent, working for Israel instead of against her. For ten years, from 1997 to 2007, he lived like this, deeply embedded within Hamas, suspected by no one, yet passing vast amounts of information to Israel. In this way he prevented assassinations, stopped suicide attacks and provided information leading to the arrests or killings of many terrorists. He was Shin Bet's most valuable source of information about Hamas.

In 1999 he had a chance encounter with a British visitor who invited Yousef to learn about the Christian faith. Curious and intelligent, Yousef took this opportunity and was immediately struck by the difference between Jesus Christ and Mohammed, between the Christian faith and the Islam he had inherited from his fathers. In the months that followed he made a slow conversion to Christianity and was quietly baptized.

Eventually Yousef grew tired of his double life and convinced the Israelis to release him from his position with them. With some reluctence they agreed and allowed him to move to the United States where he continues to live today. Son of Hamas is the story of his life, "A gripping account of terror, betrayal, political intrigue, and unthinkable choices," according to the rather verbose subtitle.

And it's a good story that is told well. Yousef offers a uniquely interesting perspective on Hamas and on the political background and context in that area of the world. His story involves just enough action and intrigue to keep it interesting. At times it is almost (but not quite) unbelievable.

One thing I found interesting is that Youself reveals the Israelis not as the good guys but as the less-bad guys. He develops some level of respect for them when he sees that they are fighting for their lives against a host of nations bent on their destruction. But still he shows how they are every bit as willing as the surrounding nations to torture and kill to further their own ends. Their respect for life is not much greater than that of their enemies. So the Israelis really are not the good guys in this story.

And of course I enjoyed reading not just of Yousef's conversion to Christianity but also the long process and the inner turmoil that got him there. It was only through much soul-searching that he was able to see Jesus Christ not just as a prophet but as the Son of God who died for the sin of the world. So often I read books like this and am disappointed to see that the author finds joy in everything but Christ. But here Yousef finds rest and joy and peace only when he submits his life to Christ.

Yousef does not want to be a hero to Christians. At the end of the book he admits his own unsuitability for that task. He is a new Christian and one who is unskilled--still a novice. And yet he is one who has now written a book about his conversion that has landed on the New York Times list of bestsellers. His testimony is powerful and I both hope and expect that God will use it to show others the light that can be theirs if they turn to Christ.

This one is well worth reading. Buy a copy and marvel at God's grace. Marvel at how God will go to great lengths to draw his people to himself.

Martin Luther remains one of the most prominent Christian thinkers and theologians of all time. His influence changed the course of Christendom and Western history in the sixteenth century, being the founder of the Protestant Reformation. In addition, Luther was a translator, a professor, a monk, a priest, and a husband and father. This collection from Fortress Pr...

by Dan Phillips

Thus far, we have seen that the church in Colosse was a relatively young little church situated in a culture with diverse populace and influences. An associate of Paul's named Epaphras had founded the church by the pure preaching of the person and gospel of Jesus Christ. The church had gotten a good start, and was showing genuine life and vitality, as the gospel bore fruit in their lives.

However, an individual had come bearing a false teaching. This teaching had elements of paganism and mutated Judaism, and involved at least some degree of attempted syncretism with the edges of Christian faith. He and his teaching had apparently not yet begun to make serious inroads into the church, but Epaphras was concerned. He appealed to his mentor, the apostle Paul, for a word — and what a word he got!

Paul responded by affirming Epaphras and his message, as we saw last time.

More potently, Paul responded by preaching Christ in all His fullness. How do we see that, specifically, in Colossians? A study I did found that, out of the 95 verses in Colossians, Christ is mentioned in 53 of those verses. In fact, some verses mention Him two and three times.

To break it down a bit, this means that some 56% of the verses mention Christ at least once.

Or, put another way, every other thing Paul says is something about Jesus.

Why?  I hope to open this up more fully as we proceed, but very briefly:

First, in Christ God has come and solved our most fundamental problem (1:19-22)

...because in Him the Father was pleased for all the Fullness  to dwell permanently,  and through Him to reconcile all things back unto Himself, by making peace through the blood shed on  His cross, through Him — whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens.  And you, though being formerly abidingly alienated, and enemies in mental disposition, as shown by your wicked works, yet now He reconciled you back in the body of His flesh through His  death, to present you holy and unblemished and inculpable in His very presence,…

As has been often and well-said, we did not primarily need a teacher nor a philosopher; we had had both in Moses and Solomon, and they served to show the distance between us and God's holiness and wisdom. We did not primarily need an example. We had such a pattern in the Law, and it damned us, as does the "example" of Christ if we attempt to earn salvation by emulation.

Nor did we even solely need God to call us to come to Himself, to bid us and welcome us and throw His arms open to us. Why not? It would be a loving and lovely offer, but....  Try filling a baseball team in a graveyard. Try populating a party with ravenous wolves. We both could not have come, and would not have come, had the invitation been only external.

Nor did we need a Salvation-cosigner, merely achieving salvation, making salvation available, as if one were to lay down a goblet brimming with the elixir of life in a morgue, bidding "whosoever will" to come and drink, then standing back to watch.

No, we needed a Savior, one who came into the world not merely to teach, nor merely to guide, nor merely to offer salvation; but one who came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

We needed God Himself to deal once and for all with our sin-issue, root and branches. So He did in Christ (Romans 8:3). All the fullness of Deity dwelt bodily in Christ.

• It was that body that made possible the shedding of His blood, without which there could be no atonement nor forgiveness (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). 
• It was that Deity that imparted infinite value to the shed blood (Acts 20:28).

So He does not merely open the door for us, but He opens it, clothes us, and carries us through that door into the presence of God.
Second, in Christ we are filled full (2:9-10)

...because in Him is permanently dwelling all the fullness of Deity bodily, and you stand filled full in Him,  who is the Head over all rule and authority

He who is filled with God fills us with life and blessing. His filling is natural and native; ours is a covenantal boon. His is eternal; ours has a beginning. His is infinite; ours is finite — but sufficient.

This last point is worth further unpacking. I plan to take a half-step back next time, and revisit this fullness which all Christians know in Christ.

The Elisha Foundation - The Elisha Foundation is a great ministry that works with the families of disabled children (mental or physical disabilities). Their annual retreat is coming up and is a time when parents are given a brief respite from the work of caring for their children. Check out the web site for details.

Three Great Reads for Good Friday - Here are three good books you may want to read before Good Friday: one, two and for advanced studies, three.

The End of Publishing - This is an interesting little video that makes some good points and some not-so-good. An explanation of both would take longer than I'd want to give it in A La Carte.

Where Did John 5:4 Go? - Mounce looks at what happened to John 5:4. "This is a pretty big issue, and a simple blog can’t do it justice. It can also degenerate into a pretty ugly discussion; many of the people involved in the discussion don’t know much Greek (if any), and in the worst case scenarios the discussion is reduced to a matter of salvation. “If you don’t believe what I believe about the text of the Bible, you aren’t a Christian.” Let’s see if we can steer clear of this type of ungodliness."

Spring Swag - My friend Becky is offering some great giveaways over at her blog. My guess is that women will find it significantly more interesting than men.

Deal of the Day: Pastor's Package - RHB is offering to pastors a package containing some great resources.

Creationists and Holocaust Deniers - Richard Dawkins explains why Creationists are like Holcaust deniers.

The Fortress Press Hebrew Bible Collection (11 Vols.) is a compilation of 11 works which contain information for anyone wanting to learn more about the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible includes a first-hand recollection of how ancient Israel came was impacted though a profound and uncontrollable reality.

Yes, the wait is finally over. Yesterday's announcement of Logos Bible Software 4.0b mentioned what many have been waiting for: Support for importing LDLS3 user-created content.

Specifically, Logos 4.0b now supports importing notes, highlighting, favorites, and prayer lists. Along with this release, regardless if you are importing from LDLS3 or not, Notes now allow for user-editable titles, as well as creating Notes for a reference range, not just a single verse.

So without further ado, let's get your notes from Logos 3 to Logos 4.

Since resources have changed over the years because we’ve corrected typos, added new hyperlinks, and made other edits, in certain cases, these changes can prevent Logos 4 from importing notes from Libronix DLS 3 correctly. In order to minimize the likelihood of notes not being transferred, we highly recommend you download the Custom Toolbar for LDLS3 that prepares your notes for importing into Logos 4.

Getting the toolbar:

• Download the Custom Toolbar from http://downloads.logos.com/LBS4/LDLS3Import/UpdateNotes.lbxctb and save it to your [MyDocuments]\Libronix DLS\CustomToolbars folder. (See the Special Folder Locations article for OS-specific locations.)
  
  (UPDATE: Please make sure the CustomToolbars folder does not have a space it the title. Use CustomToolbars not Custom Toolbars.)

• Run LDLS3, and click the newly added Update Notes Now button.
• When Update Notes Now finishes, return to Logos 4.

Now are you ready for this? In Logos 4 type Import All into the Command bar, hit enter, and sit back. You'll then see the “Importing…” status message in the upper-right corner of the main window. That's it.

Content imported into Logos 4 “remembers” that it was imported such that consecutive imports can be run in Logos 4, without adverse effects. Changes to imported content in Logos 4 will clear the link between Logos 4 and LDLS3, so if you edit an imported item in Logos 4, and then re-import, you will see the original item from LDLS3 along with the edited item in Logos 4.This is intentional in order to recover an original note without over writing the new content.

If you no longer want to use some of your user-created content from LDLS3, but want other parts, like your extensive Prayer Lists, there are commands for a more targeted import.

Additional Commands:

Import Notes
Imports only notes from LDLS3

Import Highlighting
Imports only highlighting from LDLS3

Import Favorites
Imports only favorites from LDLS3

Import Prayer Lists
Imports only prayers lists from LDLS3

Import delete (All|Notes|Highlighting|Favorites|Prayer Lists)
Deletes all imported content of the specified type

If you were on the fence about upgrading to Logos 4 because you couldn't transfer your Notes, Highlighting, Favorites, or Prayer Lists, now is a great time to upgrade to Logos 4. Logos 4 is now better than ever, and you can be sure we're already working to add additional features.

You should follow us on Twitter here.

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a return to basics: may 10-12

We are pleased to extend an invitation to join for our eleventh annual Basics Conference. As we meet this year, we look forward to God using our time together to encourage us in our work for the Gospel.

a practical look at preaching

In his introduction to the “Priority of Preaching,” Christopher Ash describes how he left a large pastors’ conference feeling like a dog with his tail between his legs. The conference speakers all seemed to be handsome, successful, and strategic and far removed from the ordinary pastor in an ordinary place preaching regularly to ordinary people.

I suspect that many of us can identify with Christopher’s reaction. Our plan hope for this year’s conference is to encourage one another in the essentials of pastoral ministry and particularly to get help with our preaching.

I have invited two very good friends and mentors to join us here at Parkside in May. Sinclair Ferguson is a fellow Scotsman and needs no introduction. John Shearer is well known and loved in his native Scotland and in other parts of the world but will be a new name to many. These men embody the kind of Bible-based, Christ-centered, Spirit-endued ministry that we are seeking to uphold in this conference. I look forward to seeing you in May.

Warmly Yours,
Alistair Begg

conference speakers

Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years. He served eight years in Scotland at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. more>

Sinclair Ferguson is the Senior Minister at First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina. In addition, Dr. Ferguson is Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. more>

John Shearer is the Senior Minister at Musselburgh Baptist Church in Scotland. He has pastored churches in Northern Ireland and Scotland and has been involved in a pioneering work in the Republic of Ireland. more>

schedule

Arrival and registration begins at 12:00pm on Monday, May 10. There are seminars scheduled at 3:00pm with our first conference session at 4:30pm. The conference concludes at 12:30pm on Wednesday, May 12. more>

hotels & transportation

We have blocked rooms at three local hotels. Please reserve directly with them but ask for the Parkside Church conference rate. more>

register

Basics is for men: pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and Christian workers or those training for such roles. To the extent that we value male friendship, support and camaraderie, we do not encourage wives to attend. Our brief but meaningful gathering is meant to equip, inspire, and strengthen us in a demanding work.

The conference fee is $140 and $65 for current students. To register online please visit www.parksidechurch.com/basics.

resources

For resources from last year’s conferences please visit http://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/basics-2009/

Note: This is a sponsored post (click here to learn about sponsored posts)