Kevin DeYoung on Governor Mark Sanford

Kevin DeYoung has a great post entitled, What We Can Learn from the Latest Political Sex Scandal. He writes as his first point:

The best of men are men at best. I don’t know if politicians are always (or often) the best of men, but they certainly are among the most powerful. We look to them for leadership. We want them to voice our ideas and ideals. We want them to be strong, yet humble, personal, yet unaffected by the common stuff of life. We expect a lot from our leaders. They rarely deliver. They often fail miserably. Both parties have had their share of sex scandals in recent years. Neither one has a monopoly on holiness. I don’t think many of our politicians have even passed GO. And I’m sure there is plenty of infidelity we don’t even hear about, not to mention the back room deals, lies, slander, pride, and greed that take place all the time. Some trust in presidents and some in governors, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Follow the link above to read the whole post.

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Challies' Take

Tim Challies offers these comments regarding Jackson's death:

Michael Jackson was in so many ways a product of this sick celebrity culture (that he helped create) that will never rest satisfied until it has both created and then destroyed the newest celebrity. We want our celebrities to start strong and finish weak, to begin with a bang and then fizzle, pop and sputter, all for our enjoyment and entertainment (Susan Boyle stands as the most recent example of this). Jackson gave us so much to talk about, so much to enjoy. More than any other celebrity he embodied the "vanities" of Ecclesiastes. He was at one time known for what he did so well and then was known for being a freak; he was at one time fantastically wealthy and then utterly broke; he was once loved and then despised. He had it all and yet, it seemed, he had nothing. All of it was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Read more here.

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Justin Taylor on Michael Jackson's Death

He writes:

It is hard to think of a sadder public figure in recent years. A black man who never found his identity as one created in God's image, and who never experienced the identity of being conformed to the image of Christ. Black and white, male and female, rich and bankrupt, genius and punchline, private and public, innocent and deceptive--everything seemed to be jumbled up.

The one thing that comes to mind about Jackson is how bad he was at hiding his brokenness. Even while living in a literal fantasy and, it was obvious to everyone that this was a person- enormously gifted--desperately seeking a mask to cover, in futility, who he was.

May God use even this to increase our compassion and ministry to the lost, broken, and confused.

Read his whole post, as well as an update by Andrew Sullivan here.

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Why John Piper Doesn't Have Television

John Piper has a great post on why he doesn't have a television and rarely goes to movies. He writes:

It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

One more smaller concern with TV (besides its addictive tendencies, trivialization of life, and deadening effects): It takes time. I have so many things I want to accomplish in this one short life. Don’t waste your life is not a catchphrase for me; it’s a cliff I walk beside every day with trembling.

TV consumes more and more time for those who get used to watching it. You start to feel like it belongs. You wonder how you could get along without it. I am jealous for my evenings. There are so many things in life I want to accomplish. I simply could not do what I do if I watched television. So we have never had a TV in 40 years of marriage (except in Germany, to help learn the language). I don’t regret it.

Read his full reasoning here.

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Kevin DeYoung on Liking What the Bible Teaches

Kevin DeYoung has a powerful post on our attitude towards God's Holy Word. He writes:

This also means that we should do away with the pseudo-spiritual language of "I don't like what the Bible says about this, but I still believe it." Poppycock. While I suppose, all things considered, its better that someone embrace complementarianism kicking and screaming rather than not at all, why are you kicking and screaming at God's word in the first place? I understand that we may all have periods of struggle where we wrestle to fully understand and embrace some element of biblical teaching. But as an indefinite attitude, begrudging acceptance is not a good option. Don't we trust that God is good? Is not the law of the Lord our delight?

Read the whole thing here.

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Optimistic Outlook of the SBC

I have been deeply encouraged by the work of leaders such as Albert Mohler, Danny Akin and Mark Dever this year at the SBC. They are fighting for the future of the convention to be Gospel centered and focused on fulfilling the Great Commission. Michael Spencer writes a summary of what has been occurring at the SBC. Spencer's sixth point is especially encouraging, where he writes:

The patient teaching of the Gospel and church-centered theology by the Founders Ministries and 9Marks has paid off in more fruit than can be put in a basket. Hundreds and hundreds of young people, hungry to hear how to build a Gospel centered, God honoring, missionary focused church. It is astonishing. It may not be revival, but it is a solid outcome that will make a huge difference for a small number of churches.

Praise God for these men and their fight to stand firm and give hope for the future. Read the rest of Spencer's post here. Visit the Great Commission Resurgence for more information regarding the motion that has been a huge step forward at this years convention.

HT: JT

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Why We Love The Church

Here is a great sample from Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck's new book Why We Love The Church. I am very excited about this book and look VERY forward to reading it. Their last book, Why We're Not Emergent, was one of the best books I've ever read and perhaps the best book I've read on the subject of the Emergent Church. Kevin's blog shares this excerpt from one of Ted's chapters:

Church isn’t a magic pill that you take, that punches your ticket for heaven. Nor is it a glorified social/country club you attend to be around people who talk/think/look/act like you do. It’s a place to go each week to hear the Word of God spoken, taught, and affirmed. It’s a place to sing praises to our God, even if those songs do sometimes feel a bit awkward. It’s a place to serve others. It’s a place to be challenged. Sometimes you’ll feel uncomfortable with those challenges, because sometimes your life will need to change. This has been the case with me.

Read the whole excerpt Kevin offers here.

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C.J. Mahaney on Personal Criticism

C.J. Mahaney has a great post regarding personal criticism and how the Gospel calls us to respond when criticized. He writes:

Far too often, my initial impulse has been to dismiss the criticism and defend myself, not realizing that this response is simply an evidence of pride.

Luther’s words directly confront my temptation to a prideful response, because he reminds me that, even if the criticisms are inaccurate or exaggerated, there remain in my heart many other sins that go unnoticed by my critics. And had my critics been aware of these other sins, they surely would have put them to use in their cause

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Have You Checked Your Mirror Lately?

Tim Challies writes regarding the importance of reading "the mirror" that is God's Word and furthermore the importance of doing so at the onset of your day. In his post he writes:

There have been other times that I've read the Bible, but have not allowed it to penetrate or to take hold. I've been just the person James warns about who "looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." I have looked quickly, glanced briefly, but have not looked long enough to allow the Scripture to reflect back to me my sin and God's standard of holiness. I have gone merrily on my way having already forgotten to be both a hearer and a doer.

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Who Is Your Jesus?

Kevin DeYoung has a great post entitled "Who Do You Say That I Am?" adapted from his message entitled "Christ's Life" at the NEXT Conference. In the post he describes the many different ways our culture views Jesus (which I find both incredibly sad and somewhat humorous at the same time). He concludes by saying this:

This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father’s Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins–more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.

I encourage you to read the whole post. Trust me, it's very much worth your time.

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Summer Reading List

Summer always brings a lot of excitement, joy, relaxation, free time and READING! Especially for college students, summer is always the most opportune time to catch up on reading or read for leisure instead of books that are required for class. The following is a list of books I plan to read this summer with a brief explanation of why I am reading them now. I encourage you to click on the title and check out more information regarding the books. Hopefully this will encourage you to pick up a book or two as well, and who knows...maybe one off my list will catch your eye!

Stand: A Call to the Endurance of the Saints by John Piper and Justin Taylor. This book, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor is based off the Desiring God Conference in 2007 and gives readers a case for biblical perseverance in ministry. I'm reading this book at this point to gain a biblical view of how to stand strong persevere in the ministry that awaits me.

The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World by David F. Wells. This is a book that my dad has been imploring for me to read for months and months now. Finally, it has reached the top of my list! My dad has used this book for illustrations in countless sermons and according to him, Wells does a phenomenal job in calling readers to stand firm in the Gospel and what is Biblical.

What Is A Healthy Church? by Mark Dever. This small book has been acclaimed as one of the best books on the church and how the church should function. I have wanted to read one of Dever's books for a long time and have heard that this is one of his best.

What Is A Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile. I love hearing Thabiti speak and have yet to read his book. I received this book as a gift from my father for preaching last summer and feel that it would be great to read this alongside What Is A Healthy Church?

Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers by T. David Gordon. I have been looking forward to reading this book ever since reviews started popping up on Justin Taylor and Tim Challies' blogs. Considering my field of study and the career God is calling me to, this book is a must read in my opinion and I have heard nothing but great things about it. I ordered it the other day and am looking very forward to its arrival so that I can break it open and read!

This is my list as of now. If it changes or I finish these books and have time for one or two more, I'll post later as well as provide updates on my progress. Enjoy your summer and catching up on some reading!

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Westminster Bookstore

I am a part of a "Blog Partners Program" with Westminster Bookstore. They are a great resource for great books at a great price. I encourage you to go to their website and browse their website and see what all they have to offer!

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The Idol of Self Glory

John Bloom has a great post at Desiring God entitled Exposing the Idol of Self Glory. In it he writes:

In other words, they loved their positions and reputations more than they loved the truth—more than they loved God. So they "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature (themselves) rather than the creator" (Romans 1:25).

We must remember that we do the same thing every time we distort or deny the truth for the sake of our own reputations. Self-glory is revealed to be an idol in our heart when the Lord presents us with an opportunity to glorify him by speaking the truth about our convictions or our sins, yet we are unwilling to do it for fear of what someone else will think of us.

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Twittering in Church

Joshua Harris and John Piper both have great posts regarding using twitter and other forms of social media while in church. Harris writes in his post:

God's word preached is so important, so precious, I don't want anything to distract me from hearing it. What if those two minutes in which I'm distracted are the two minutes my soul needs the most?

Read the rest of his post here and Piper's complimentary post here.

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Kevin DeYoung: Defining Discourse Down

Kevin DeYoung has a great article entitled Defining Discourse Down. I read it a few weeks back and was deeply challenged. In it he shares a powerful quote by A.W. Tozer which says:

The kingdom of God, has suffered a great deal of harm from fighters--men who would rather fight than pray; but the kingdom of God has also been done great harm by men who would rather be nice than right.

I encourage you all to go read the whole thing and hopefully be challenged as I have.

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New GirlTalk Website

One of the best blogs/tools for women to use on the internet today is GirlTalk from Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters. I recommend that every girl/women make it a practice to read this blog and the many good insights they have to give. They just launched a new layout/website which you can access here.

HT: JT

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DeYoung on Leviticus

Kevin DeYoung has a great series of posts from a sermon from Leviticus regarding sexual sin. The following are the links to the four parts:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Free ESV Study Bible Giveaway!

James Grant is giving away a free ESV Study Bible. The deadline is this Friday and you can go here to enter.

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