by Stephen Rodgers

I’ve updated the original Strange Fire Conference post (again) with material that has become available since the original post went up.

The biblical teaching regarding the incarnation of Christ and the person of the Mediator is awe-inspiring. This doctrine amazes us not simply because it is mysterious and somewhat beyond human comprehension, but because there is a sense in which the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ is the greatest miracle in Scripture. In order to save us God had to become man. The Son assumed a genuine human nature in order to: perfectly obey God’s law (in order to fulfill the covenant of works), suffer and die on the cross as a vicarious atonement and rise again victorious over Satan, sin and death. Even now the God-man sits enthroned at the right had of God interacting and applying redemption to His people. It is a tremendous blessing to us that the Mediator will forever and ever be both God and man. For eternity we will be able to look at the scars in our Lord’s hands, feet and side. His glorified human body will be an eternal testimony to His supreme love; the love that caused Him to descend from the room of heaven to the filthy manger in Bethlehem and the painful road to Golgotha.

If you are not a Christian, then it is now time to behold the God-man with the eyes of faith. Believe in His person and His work of redemption. There is no other name given among men by which we can be saved (Ac. 4:12). There is only one mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5). Dear Christian, you know that there is no other greater motivation for obedience and good works than our love and adoration for Christ. Lord enable us to be continually faithful to our precious Lord and Savior—Immanuel. Amen. (Brian Schwertley)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Hello, everybody! It is with great joy that I get to partake in the weekly links for you this week. I hope that what is linked here will be of interest as well as draw the church closer to our Lord, all in the hopes of making God big (finish strong!). With that said, let’s get to it!

• CCEF (Christian Counseling & Education Foundation), the leading biblical counseling “think tank,” has just come out booklets that deal with a number of issues that we all go through. Each of them has selected articles that address a specific area, which are: anger, parenting, redeeming psychology, relationships, and suffering. Currently, the set is at a discount, but ends this weekend.
• Clint Archer, a South African native and graduate of The Master’s Seminary, reflects on his life and how Nelson Mandela had changed his view of race, leading him to learn how to love a terrorist.
• Justin Taylor recently interviewed Gerald Hiestand, co-author with Jay Thomas, about their recently released book, Sex, Dating, and Relationships, which covers the themes and main argument of the book. This interview is a good primer on how Christians should view this area, which will not only be helpful in clearing the haze, but a point of entry in bringing a Christian worldview to bear on the lives of non-Christians. No doubt they have their own ideas of dating and marriage, and clear, biblical thinking in relation to this can definitely dispel myths as well as create opportunities to share the Gospel. Don’t enter a discussion on this subject unprepared.
• Russell Moore addresses the nature of many Christmas songs and the lack of what is normally sung (to which I give a hearty amen). This sprung up in overhearing a conversation from a ‘grinch’ of sorts in “Rethinking Our Holly-Jolly Christmas Songs.”
• In their most recent podcast, “Mortification of Spin,” Carl Trueman and Todd Pruitt discuss with Christopher Bogosh, a Christian nurse who just came out with a new book entitled Compassionate Jesus: Rethinking the Christian’s Approach to Modern Medicine, end-of-life issues and challenging the modern medical worldview. Shout out to all LBC members who work in a hospital (doctors, nurses, etc.).
• The Master’s Seminary Journal is now being made available online only, and it looks like a feast of articles ready to be devoured. This new issue has to do with the Trinity, and the connection between the Triune God we worship and creation, inspiration, eschatology, and the early church witness prior to the Constantine. Many who disagree with God’s Triune nature (falsely) believe brought the doctrine into existence. Though not quite as many book reviews as Themelios puts out, TMSJ has 14 new reviews worth looking into. Check it out!
• Has America become too vulgar? Al Mohler would argue in the affirmative. Find out why.
• What is the relationship between Christians, sports, and manhood? Owen Strachan provides some insight for us.
• How can you increase in your love for God and others by using first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine)? Bill Smith gives some helpful words that will cause you to think even harder on our Passion statement.
• If you have known me for some time, you know I love sending articles that are worth reading and would like to begin linking to a weekly article that, like beef jerkey, take awhile to chew on. This week, since we’re ever coming closer to Christmas, a classic read on the incarnation is On the Incarnation by Athanasius, a 4th century bishop well-known for his unwavering defense of the deity of Christ against Arius (precursor to Jehovah’s Witnesses). You can read it online, in PDF, or even listen in MP3.

Make sure you have time in between reading to come to our Christmas Concert this Saturday! Don’t forget to come and worship God with us on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

by Stephen Rodgers

Happy Friday everyone! In accordance with the ancient pact, I’m here with a collection of free resources for you to peruse:

• The free audio book from Christianaudio is an odd one this month: Leadership Secrets of the Salvation Army.  I don’t know anything about it, but there it is.
• On the other hand, the free resource from Logos is Horatius Bonar’s How Then Shall I Go To God? That has a far more established pedigree, and is certainly worth your time (if you do the Logos thing).
• The free book from Ligonier is Keith Mathison’s A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture.  It sounds interesting, and I’d be especially interested in comparing it to Pothress’ book at some point (which is also free).
• The December issue of Tabletalk is on the subject of the Millennium. That should pair nicely with Pastor Patrick’s eschatology class, right?
• And hooray! Themelios 38.3 is out! I know I’m the only one who reads this monster, but what can I say? There’s a lot you can learn from five-dozen book reviews…

And here’s a couple of quick updates regarding resources I’ve mentioned before…

• CBMW has a new website, and you can finally find all the back issues easily.  That’s something to celebrate (long-time readers will remember my Wayback Machine hack, but fortunately that is no longer necessary).
• If you haven’t checked out Credo yet, be sure to take a gander at both the current issue and the archive.  They put out some really good stuff.

That’s it! See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

To be bursting with thanksgiving is a true witness of the Spirit within us. For the voice of thanksgiving speaks without ceasing of the goodness of God. It claims nothing. It sees no merit in man’s receiving but only in God’s giving. It marvels at his mercy. It is the language of joy because it need look no longer to its own resources.

The Christian rejoicing in this blessing of a thankful heart will have his eyes fixed upon the right person and the right place, Christ at God’s right hand. He cannot be taken up with himself without being immediately reminded that everything he possesses is the gift of God. (R. C. Lucas)

by Richard Shin

Thanksgiving has come and gone. With it, there were a number of notable Thanksgiving posts we want to highlight here on the Beacon.

• Joseph Scheumann from Desiring God shares five truths about Thanksgiving.
• Ligonier Ministries shares a couple sermons on Thanksgiving by R.C. Sproul.
• Joe Thorn shares how one with a thankful heart is is able to show it.
• Charles Barrett shares how our thanksgiving is based on the supremacy of Christ.

Here are a couple for Black Friday shopping.

• Jon Bloom gives Black Friday shoppers a few things to keep in mind when shopping for Black Friday.
• Tim Challies shares a number of Kindle deals for Black Friday shopping.
• Challies is also sharing a number of Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2013 Deals for Christians.

And here are a few more of your usual flare.

• Recently, there was a ruling by a federal judge that religious institutions’ giving a housing allowance to their employees unconstitutional. Jesse Johnson shares why this ruling is important.
• C. Michael Patton answers the question “Is God an Egotistical Maniac?” You may find his response extremely encouraging and consistent.
• Petar Nenadoy from the Gospel Coalition shares four truths about the Christmas story from the Gospel accounts.
• Derek Rishmawy teaches us the difference between inerrant text and inerrant interpretation.

Have a great weekend! Keep being thankful.

Coram Deo

by Stephen Rodgers

I’ve updated the original Strange Fire Conference post (again) with material that has become available since the original post went up.

by Stephen Rodgers

I just wanted to sneak this little reminder/update in as we head out of Flocks’ week and into the holiday season.

• Patrick’s sermon from last week…the “introduction” to the Peacemaker pledge can be found here.
• The earlier sermon from May 2013 that gets into the pledge in greater detail can be found here.
• Way back, veiled to our sight by the mists of time, we did a Sunday School series on Peacemaker as well.  There was a ton of information there: audio messages, class handouts, a blog series, etc. Links to all of it can be found here.

And now you know.

The office of the law is to show us the disease, in such a way as to show us, at the same time, no hope of cure: the office of the gospel is, to bring a remedy to those that were past hope. For as the law leaves a man to himself, it condemns him, of necessity, to death; while the gospel, bringing him to Christ, opens the gate of life. (John Calvin)

by Richard Shin

• Thabiti Anyabwile has a 2-parter on leaving the church. The first is for members and you can find it here. And then here‘s the pastor’s edition.
• How we save or spend our money is a very important topic we need to think through if we haven’t already. Tim Challies gives us four questions we can ask to guide our thought process.
• I have from time to time linked to Jeremy Walker’s articles on his personal evangelism series. He has finally completed it, and you can find it here. On the topic of evangelism, Mark Dever shares five things evangelism is often mistaken as.
• When I reference Joe Carter on the Beacon, it’s usually in reference to “9 Things You Didn’t Know…”. However, this time he writes for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission here on comforting those who are dying.
• Do you believe that God speaks to you? Daniel Hyde shares three purposes with which God speaks to us through His Word.
• For those of you who enjoy Steve Lawson, here is a great, impromptu presentation of the gospel message.

Enjoy!

Coram Deo

by Stephen Rodgers

I’ve updated the original Strange Fire Conference post (again) with material that has become available since the original post went up.

Satan accuses Christians day and night. It is not just that he will work on our conscience to make us feel as dirty, guilty, defeated, destroyed, weak, and ugly as he possibly can; it is something worse: his entire play in the past is to accuse us before God day and night, bringing charges against us that we know we can never answer before  the majesty of God’s holiness.

What can we say in response? Will our defense be, ‘Oh, I’m not that bad?’ You will never beat Satan that way. Never. What you must say is, ‘Satan, I’m even worse than you think, but God loves me anyway. He has accepted me because of the blood of the Lamb.’ (D. A. Carson)

by Richard Shin

• Crossway is celebrating 75 years and making the ESV Study Bible available for free on the web. If you haven’t taken advantage of this already, you need to get on this. And in case you’re confused, it’s the “web app” which you can activate and view with an account on crossway.org.
• Crossway also released a new web app called Reformation Creeds & Catechsims that enable you to view the different historic creeds and catechisms. You can activate this one for free.
• Tim Challies has a three-part series on the topic of modesty that is quite good.  You can find them here: part 1, part 2, and part 3.
• Jonathan Leeman shares a few thoughts on what high schoolers really want from college. Even if you’re not in high school, you may very well know one who is or have a kid that will be. So, perhaps worth a gander.
• The Employment Non-Dscrimination Act (ENDA) has been a hot topic as of late. Joe Carter shares a few questions and answers regarding this bill. Denny Burk also has a similar Q&A session with Andrew Walker, Director of Policy Studies with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, here.
• John Piper recently went to Ethiopia and came back with some lessons he learned, like “missions is not for wimpy women.” Since not many of us will go to Ethiopia (or similar) in our lifetime, this might be insightful for us.

Coram Deo

by Stephen Rodgers

It’s my turn to take a crack at the weekly links, which has a fairly predictable result: new monthly resources!

• The free Logos book of the month is The Works of Richard Sibbes Volume 1.
• Christianaudio.com is giving away In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.  I have to admit I don’t know the first thing about that book, so I can’t really recommend it.  Still, it’s there.
• Ligonier’s free book of the month however, I do recommend wholeheartedly. With verve.  Like. +1. My recommendation is over 9,000. Anyhow, it’s The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon, but Steve Lawson, so be sure to grab it for whatever ereader you use.
• The new Tabletalk is out as well, entitled To Enjoy Him Forever (the theme is theme is God’s presence with His people). You obviously don’t want to miss that.
• On top of that, there’s a new 9Marks eJournal out. It’s part 2 of the previous eJournal, on the topic of Evangelism.
• Last but not least, creation.com has a series of 60 10-minute audio programs (designed for radio programs, but available to you) that you can download.

That’s it! See you Sunday!

Pro Rege