“As the power elite is increasingly imposes godlessness on the general cultures, churches are more important than ever. Churches are God’s sleeper cells. Although some megachurches are prominent, most churches are pretty inconspicuous. The impact they have on the neighborhood usually eludes the apparatus of the surveillance state–leaving a moral, spiritual, and intellectual footprint rather than a digital footprint.

By the same token, Christians are God’s sleeper agents, like spies behind enemy lines. God has them embedded throughout the culture, in the public and private sector. Once, when I was at the hospital, by the bedside of an ailing relative, I got into a conversation with a nurse’s aid, who was a Christian. Not a glamorous job. But the kind of job you’d expect a Christian with a heart for service to take.

The power elite can try to stamp out the overtly public symbols of Christianity, but like a tree with a deep root system, what’s most influential about Christianity lies underground rather than above ground.” (Steve Hays, “Why Churches Matter More Than Ever”)

by Stephen Rodgers

As is our custom, it’s the first Friday of the month, so you get a post from me with links to a veritable pile of free resources so you can start your weekend right.

• There’s a new edition of Tabletalk out for the month of September on the subject of “The 13th Century.”
• Ligonier’s free ebook of the month is Anthony Carter’s Blood Work. You can get it in just about every format imaginable, so there’s no reason to let this great book slip past you.
• Pairing up nicely with that, is another free offering from Ligonier: RC Sprouls series on “The Atonement of Jesus.” Ligonier has seriously given us a lot to be thankful for this month!
• Themelios 38.2 is out, with a few articles of note and more book reviews than you can shake a stick at. I’m particularly looking forward to Ovey and Orr’s specific articles, but let me know if you think any of the others are diamonds in the rough as well.
• The free audio book of the month from Christianaudio.com is David Wilkerson’s The Cross and the Switchblade.
• And last but not least, Logos has not one by two free resources available right now! The first is an ESV audio Bible; the second is George Muller’s Jehovah Magnified.

That should be enough to keep you busy all weekend.  Enjoy!

Pro Rege

Themelios 38.2

http://christianaudio.com/the-cross-and-the-switchblade-david-wilkerson-and-john-elizabeth-sherrill-audiobook-download

https://www.logos.com/product/34146/esv-hear-the-word-audio-bible

https://www.logos.com/product/15056/jehovah-magnified-addresses

We must not be grieved, that we have nothing to trust upon besides Christ for our salvation; but rather we are to rejoice, that we need nothing else, and that we have a sure foundation to rely on, incomparably better than any other that can be imagined. (Walter Marshall)

by Richard Shin

Be encouraged!

• I did not know such a thing as Mommy Wars existed; it almost sounds like a bad reality TV show. Regardless, if this is something with which a mother struggles, she would be good to read this article.
• On the Ligonier website, Sinclair Ferguson shares four helpful principles when considering the exercise of Christian liberty. You can find them here. This is an excerpt from his book In Christ Alone, whose digital version you can find for free here (until the end of August, which is tomorrow!).
• This past week, America celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Al Mohler looks back on the setting and the effects of the speech here. Russell Moore also comments on what his speech can teach us today about preaching here.
• Timothy Beougher from 9Marks answers the question, “Must every Christian evangelize?” You can find the article here. Jonathan Leeman also asks and answers, “Is evangelism an individual sport or a team sport?” here.
• This is a good thought exercise. What would we do without the Gospel? You can find Marshall Segal’s article on this topic here.
• Joe Holland from the Christward Collective blog shares an article about our prejudices to eat with certain people. You can find it here.
• There are many articles and videos and sermons and [insert favorite medium here] about social justice these days. Matt Chandler, John Piper, and David Platt sit together and talk about social justice and the young evangelicals. If you have ten additional minutes, watch this.

Hope you were encouraged!

Coram Deo

 A man cannot apply himself seriously to repentance without knowing himself to belong to God. (John Calvin)

by Richard Shin

Enjoy!

• Last week, I linked you to three articles that Nathan Busenitz is penning on church history. This week, he finished it with this final post of the series.
• We don’t link to a lot of Christianity Today here, but this article on the reasons Jesus’ ascension matters is noteworthy.
• It’s rare, but Dr. Albert Mohler is blogging a series! The topic is expository preaching. Indeed, it is a weighty topic that deserves much attention. The first two are found here and here.
• Justin Taylor did an interview with Dr. Ligon Duncan, the newly elected chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary. You can read it here.
• Emma Thornett writes on the Matthias Media blog on lies that Satan says about singleness. Written in the voice of a lady for other single ladies, I can see this can be flipped around for the guys as well.
• Will you be a believer tomorrow morning? This is the question John Piper answers in this post on Desiring God.
• Paul Tautges paints a beautiful picture of what it means to be a church: a hospital for hurting souls.

Hope you enjoyed!

Coram Deo

The gospel does not say, ‘There is a Saviour, if you wish to be saved’; but, ‘Sir, you have no right to go to hell — you cannot go there without trampling on the Son of God. (John Duncan)

by Richard Shin

Have fun!

• William Carey’s An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversions of the Heathens audiobook is free on christianaudio.com.
• Denny Burk shares an his thoughts on linking the gender relations to the Holy Trinity.
• Do you ever worry? If so, Justin Taylor linked to a quote by David Powlison’s article on having a game plan for worrying. These are very practical steps to killing anxiety in your life.
• Tim Challies has an encouraging/rebuking post about how we judge sermons.
• We are constantly bombarded with distractions that divide our attention. Jon Bloom shares that “doing too many things is a debilitating weight that God doesn’t want you to carry in the race of faith.” Click here to read more. And on a similar note, Jemar Tisby shares how we as Christians can help protect each other from busyness.
• Michael Patton shares twelve myths about Arminianism. He also shares twelve myths about Calvinism.
• Nathan Busenitz is doing a four-part series on church history and twelve reasons you should care about it. He has done articles so far. You can find them here, here, and here.

Hope you had fun!

Coram Deo

by Stephen Rodgers

“We have already noted that this paradox [of being despised and feared at the same time] appeared also in the treatment of the early Church. It was important while it was still insignificant, and certainly while it was still impotent. It was important solely because it was intolerable; and in that sense it is true to say that it was intolerable because it was intolerant. It was resented, because, in its own still and almost secret way, it had declared war. It had risen out of the ground to wreck the heaven and earth of heathenism. It did not try to destroy all that creation of gold and marble; but it contemplated a world without it. It dared to look right through it as through the gold and marble had been glass. Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome with firebrands were slanderers; but they were at least far nearer to the nature of Christianity than those among the moderns who tell us that the Christians were a sort of ethical society, being martyred in a languid fashion for telling men they had a duty to their neighbors, and only mildly disliked because they were meek and mild.” (The Everlasting Man, GK Chesterton)

Howdy folks. Hopefully it went undetected by our readers, but I’m back from a month-long “vacation” from the Beacon. I’ve got the usual monthly suspects in terms of new resources, but I’d also like to alert you to a few changes and features that I’ve had time to work on as well.

FREE RESOURCES

• The free book of the month for Logos is DL Moody’s Heaven. If you’ve been meaning to check Logos out (or at least check out the free engine), you can head over to their downloads page to get your installer of choice.
• The free audio book (we used to call these books-on-tape back in my day…there were things called cassettes…nevermind) is John Stott’s Basic Christianity. This is an excellent overview of the Christian faith, and I highly recommend you pick it up for the low, low cost of free.
• The free ebook from Ligonier this month is Sinclair Ferguson’s In Christ Alone. That’s another one you’re going to want to definitely get your hands on.
• There’s a new edition of Tabletalk out as well, entitled “The Blessing of Discipline.”
• Jim Hamilton has a new essay entitled “Does the Bible Condone Slavery and Sexism?” Given how popular that objection is in our culture today, you’re going to want to be informed.
• I’m still evaluating the Faithlife Study Bible, but their free run is coming to an end, so I’d recommend grabbing it while you can. If you already have Logos (or a Logos account), you just log in using those credentials.

MOHLER RETURNS

• Al Mohler’s daily podcast reviewing news from a Christian point of view is back from its summer hiatus.  This is great to have as part of your daily routine.

BEACON UPDATES

• I’ve updated the Recommended Resources page, especially the software and study section; if you’ve exhausted all the resources there and still want more, then I’d suggest starting with something like Nate Busenitz’s recommendations for online theological resources.
• Our topical index of the 9Marks eJournal is up to date.
• Our chronological index of the Tabletalk archives is also up to date.
• Last but not least, I’ve made a few improvements to Stoogle. Most notably there is now a search refinement called “Counselize!” that queries a number of reputable biblical counseling sites. That might be useful for the folks at our church who are currently going through related programs of study.

See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

Have I a man here who declares that he is pardoned, and yet indulges in the sins which he pretends are forgiven? Sir, you have either deceived yourself, or else you are uttering what you know is untrue. He who is forgiven hates sin. We cannot be washed clean if we still persist in living up to our neck in filth. It cannot be possible that a man is pardoned while he still continues to wallow in abominable sin.

‘O yes,’ but he says, ‘I am no legalist; I believe the grace of God has made me clean, though I do go on in sin.’ Sir, it is clear you are no legalist, but I will tell you what else you are: you are no child of God, you are no Christian; for the Christian is a man who uniformly hates sin. There never was a believer who loved iniquity, such a strange thing as a pardoned sinner who still loved to be in rebellion against his God. (Charles Spurgeon)

by Richard Shin

• Does God act only so that He can glorify Himself? Christopher Morgan from The Gospel Coalition shares that this is not so. Yet, John Piper reminds us that that God loves us in a way that glorifies Himself.
• Rick Warren delivered his first sermon since he lost his son to a mental illness. Denny Burk posted a clip of the coverage on CNN. You can also watch and listen to the full 90-minute message here.
• Recently, the Presbyterian Church of USA decided to reject the song “In Christ Alone” due to this line: “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied.” Russell Moore comments on this move in The Washington Post here.
• Dr. Al Mohler shares a few thoughts on the comment the Pope made about homosexuality. Indeed, we must be careful.
• Justin Taylor shares snippets of John Frame’s book on The Doctrine of the Word of God on the doctrine of inerrancy.
• Speaking of Scripture, Dane Ortlund shares some clarifying truth on the trouble verse 1 Corinthians 7:12 where Paul says, “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord).”

That’s it for now. Hope you have a great weekend, everyone!

Coram Deo

Let us all seek to “abide in Christ” more thoroughly than we have hitherto. Christ is the true spring of life in every believer’s soul, the head on which every member depends, the corner stone of all real sanctification. Whenever I see a child of God becoming less holy than he was, I know the secret of it — he is clinging less firmly to Christ than he did. Our root must be right, if our fruit is to abound.

Brethren, let us strive after close union and communion with Christ. Let us go to Him oftener, speak with Him more frequently, trust Him more wholly, look to Him more constantly, lean upon Him more entirely. This is the way to go through the wilderness without fainting, and to run the race set before us with patience. Let us live the life of faith in the Son of God. He is the vine, and we are the branches; let all our strength be drawn from Him — separate from Him we can do nothing. He is the Sun of righteousness — let us seek our comfort in Him, and not in our own frames and feelings.  (J.C. Ryle)

by Richard Shin

• Tyndale House Cambridge released a free, new tool called “Scripture Tools for Every Person” (STEP). You can find out about it here, and actually access it here.
• I don’t know if you know, but Pastor Jim Kang of our sister church Lighthouse Bible Church of Eastbay has a blog here. He’s quite a prolific writer with lots of good content, so you should check it out.
• Tim Brister has a few thoughts about being ordinary Christians. Erik Raymond also has a few words on disciple-making as ordinary Christianity
• Thabiti Anyabwile has got to be one of the most brilliant minds when it comes to thinking about race as Christians. Here’s an article he wrote earlier this week on discussing the topic of “race” and “racism” within the church.
• Jonathan Pennington has an article on the Gospels being the “archway into the canon.”
• Paul Tautges has some tips on interpreting the book of Proverbs.
• Michael J. Kruger completed his series on Ten Basic Facts About the NT Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize. You would do well to read through them if you haven’t. Kruger also has an interview on how one can rely on the canon.
• And last but not least, Jesse Johnson has 10 principles for us to guide our giving.

Have a great weekend!

Coram Deo

Truly to grasp that the eternal God, our Maker and Judge, has out of inexpressible grace sent his Son to die the odious death of an abominated criminal in order that we might be forgiven and reconciled to him; that this wise plan was effected by sinful leaders who thought they were controlling events and who were operating out of selfish expediency, while in fact God was bringing about his own good, redemptive purposes; that our only hope of life in the presence of this holy and loving God lies in casting ourselves without reserve on his mercy, receiving in faith the gift of forgiveness purchased at inestimable cost — none of this is possible apart from the work of the Spirit. (D. A. Carson)

by Richard Shin

We got another great set for you guys. Enjoy!

• I remember listening to Thabiti Anyabwile’s sermon on racial categories through the T4G recordings and being powerfully moved. In the aftermath of the Zimmerman trial decision, it was good to be reminded of this through Jesse Johnson’s summary here.
• Does it rub against you the wrong way to think you labor for an eternal reward? Tim Challies has an article on this that hopefully helps you.
• BiblicalTraining.org has released an iOS app for their website. It has a lot of great material ready to be listened to straight from your Apple device. To get a preview of their offerings, check out their website here. It looks like they’re developing an Android version as well.
• Isaac Adams shares a story about the experience he underwent as a son of an elder who was excommunicated from the church. That’s all I’ll say; you just gotta go read it.
• Marc Cortez shares three mistakes Christians often make when talking about the sovereignty of God.
• In anticipation of Desiring God’s 2013 National Conference, many around the blogosphere are pumping out a lot of content on C.S. Lewis. They’re also doing a series of “small talks” at the conference. You can find Tim Keller and John Piper speak on Lewis here. You can find some audio clips of C.S. Lewis here. You can hear Lewis give the radio addresses that eventually became the book Mere Christianity.
• [Updated] Last but certainly not least, here’s a very encouraging article on three men who are keeping themselves accountable for their struggle with homosexuality. You want to read this.

Coram Deo

We never feel Christ to be a reality until we feel him to be a necessity. (Austin Phelps)

by Richard Shin

I think this is a terrific set of links. Have fun!

• Al Mohler writes an article on the great challenge of Christianity of our time: Islam. On that note, Zane Pratt has a list of ten things every Christian should know about Islam. And here‘s something that might help you out.
• Ryan Anderson has really taken center stage on the same-sex marriage debate. You can read another Op-Ed piece by him here.
• There is a project being started through Kickstarter on republishing 500 old Christian books. It’s a great idea, and you can still help contribute even if they’ve already met their goal. Check it out here.
• I’m personally a big fan of Calvinism; so you can imagine my excitement when I found out about John Piper’s course on the five points of TULIP. You can check it out here.
• “Sometimes it is less important to have the right answers than to have the right questions.” I find this remarkably true, and R.C. Sproul shares an example here.
• Michael Patton says that Christianity is the most falsifiable religion in the world. Why? Find out here.
• Crossway is coming out with a new type of Bible called the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible. If interested, you can pre-order it here.
• Indeed, thank you, ESPN.

Hope these was good for you guys. Have a good weekend!

Coram Deo

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” (GK Chesterton)

by Stephen Rodgers

Here’s another batch of resources to get you through the weekend:

• There’s a new edition of Tabletalk magazine out this month, entitled Out of the Abundance of the Heart.
• The free Logos book of the Month is The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Volume 5.  I’m sure there’s a few people who are excited about that, even if it’s a head-scratcher for most of us.
• The free audio book from christianaudio.com is Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow. I’m not very familiar with this one, but maybe it’s a fun surprise.
• A resource I am familiar with however, is Richard Phillips’ excellent book, What’s So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?  Ligonier is giving it away free in every format imaginable, so grab that before it’s gone.
• And given the Supreme Court’s decision from last week, here’s a list of resources that touch on the topic of counseling same-sex attraction.

That’s it for this week.  See you Sunday!