by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome to Friday! This week, we’re going to do something slightly different than usual. We’ll still have all our regular weekly links, but they’re all going to come from the same place. You see, Ligonier Ministries just had their national conference, and I thought you might be interested in the notes of what their speakers had to say. The conference started with a pre-conference dealing with the topic of new media and technology, before launching into their theme of “tough questions Christians have to face.” So, in the order that they appeared at the conference…

Pre-Conference Sessions
1. Ed Stetzer – The Brave New World of New Media
2. Burk Parsons – Taking Captive New Media for the Church
3. Al Mohler – The Hypersocialized Generation

2010 National Conference Sessions

4. John MacArthur – Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
5. Michael Horton – Is the Doctrine of Inerrancy Defensible?
6. John MacArthur – Does the Doctrine of the Divine Decrees Eliminate Human Will?
7. RC Sproul – What is Evil? And What is its Origin?
8. RC Sproul Jr. – Why Do Christians Still Sin? And Why Do I Still Sin?
9. Derek Thomas – How Do We Know Which Interpretation is Right?
10. Steve Lawson – Is the Bible Just Another Book?
11. Alistair Begg – Is the Exclusivity of Christ Unjust?
12. Q&A
13. Al Mohler – Why Does the Universe Look So Old?
14. Burk Parsons – Is Calvinism Good For the Church?
15. Derek Thomas – How Could God Command Holy War?
16. RC Sproul – Can We Enjoy Heaven Knowing of Loved Ones in Hell?

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

It’s Friday! And that means that we’re back with another edition of the Weekly Links.

• Well, this Sunday is Father’s Day, so I thought it might be appropriate to point your attention to this post by Scott Thomas on “Six Ways Fathers Pursue Christ in Their Fatherhood.” (WEB)
• We’ve all heard a parent say “delayed obedience is disobedience” at some point in our lives. Douglas Wilson writes about another kind of disobedience, “Stealth Disobedience.” You’ll need to read the article to find out exactly what that means…but it’s worth it. (WEB)
• If you read much, I’m sure you’ve stumbled across a lot of people and blogs throwing the word “missional” around willy-nilly. Sometimes I think that Acts 29 is one of the worst offenders in that regard, but at least they back it up with articles explaining what it means. (WEB)
• Last week I posted a link to an article dealing with Arian misogyny. This week, I’m back with another treasure from the same blog: marital heresies. In his two part article, Glen Scrivener discusses what sort of unity marriage out to model, how it can go wrong, and how that wrongness parallels well known historical heresies. Check out both of the articles here and here. (WEB)
• And last but not least, Mark Driscoll interviews Wayne and Margaret Grudem. You’ve read the book, now meet the man (and his wife). (VIDEO)

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by Stephen Rodgers

Hey, it’s Friday! And that means that we’re back with another roundup of some links you won’t want to miss.

• It seems these days that everyone is walking around with something that connects to Youtube…wouldn’t it be great if Youtube would read the Bible to you? Well, now it can! At least, the Gospel of John and the book Proverbs. (Youtube)
• I know a lot of folks at LBC are sports fans, so you’re probably aware of this situation. I didn’t have a clue about it, but I thought this was an excellent analysis of it from a Christan perspective. (WEB)
• So, the next time the JW’s knock on your door, keep this in mind. Be polite about it, but definitely bring it up. (By the way, this is not a particularly new heresy in case you were wondering). (WEB)
• Have you ever wondered why we memorize Scripture? John Piper has an answer for you. (WEB)
• Ok, I have a strange perspective; after all, my employer regularly asks me to play Facebook games at work. But most people aren’t in that position and this article where RC Sproul Jr. contemplates should Christians be on Facebook has some excellent food for thought. (WEB)
• And if you need something else good to listen to, you know that christianaudio.com gives away a free audio book every month right? This month, it’s Francis Chan’s The Forgotten God. Considering what the Singles Group spent the last six months studying, that’s very timely. (MP3)
• And last but not least, I know the apologetics class is over, but this article by Dan Phillips on reasons to leave God was just too good to not post. Too. Darn. Good. (WEB)

See you tomorrow for some words from Spurgeon, and then Sunday at church!

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by Stephen Rodgers

I was struck by how much good content has been coming out lately from seminars and publications lately, and in a departure from throwing 8-10 links at you from around the internet, thought you might enjoy something a little more tailored for a change:

• First off, David Powlison recently did a seminar on Biblical Counseling at John Piper’s Church. This is fairly introductory, so if you have any interest in the subject, this is an easy way to get started. (MP3)
• And speaking of heavy hitters in the Biblical Counseling movement…Paul Tripp (and his amazing mustache) recently did a 2-hour Q&A (also at John Piper’s church). Single’s Ministry: this is the same fellow who’s book Pastor John has been preaching out of lately, so check it out. (VIDEO)
• Also, the new Tabletalk Magazine for June is out. It’s on Calvinism. Free articles by RC Sproul, Al Mohler, Ed Stetzer and others. Enjoy! (And if you’re curious, they spilled the beans on what they’re planning for the next six months as well). (WEB)
• Announcements like this are always a little risky, but did you know that Pastor Patrick isn’t the only one teaching on the attributes of God? Grace Community Church (John MacArthur and the Elders) are doing it all summer long, and so far it’s been awesome. (Yours was great too Patrick!) (MP3)
• That reminds me, have you ever heard of the NEXT conference? If not, you might want to check it out. Anytime you get a lineup featuring Joshua Harris, Mark Dever, Kevin DeYoung, CJ Mahaney, DA Carson, and MORE…it’s worth paying attention. The 2010 conference was on Christian Fundamentals…definitely great stuff. (MP3)
• And speaking of fundamentals, I ran across these lately and thought I’d pass them along. It turns out that you can get the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms free from iTunes. Huh. Go iTunes. (If you can’t or won’t do iTunes, Jamin Hubbard has a version of the Shorter Catechism that he made for RTS students). (MP3)

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by Stephen Rodgers

Hey everyone! I hope that you’re having a good week, and I hope you’ll enjoy the following articles and resources as we head into the weekend.

• In case you really enjoyed the Michael Horton interviews we’ve been posting, and you’re jonesing for something more, we’ve got a couple of treats for you today. First up is an article by him entitled Renewing the Great Commission that I think will be a benefit to all of us, considering our own MVP. And if you’re the type of person (like I am) who likes to print out the long versions of articles, including footnotes, there’s a PDF just for you. (WEB and PDF)
• Speaking of the great commission, here’s some food for thought. Erik over at Irish Calvinist write about Why He Can Relate to Lazy International Ministries (and hates it). Convicted much? I know I was. (WEB)
• On the other hand, if you just want to know what Michael Horton’s Bible-time looks like, I have an article for you as well. (WEB)
• Moving on from Michael Horton, Justin Taylor has an article up discussing Alcohol, Liberty, and Legalism. I know that the topic has been discussed around the church before, and that article has some good points for your consideration. (WEB)
• Speaking of consideration, Ed Welch has an article over at the CCEF website on how counseling is practical theology, and counselors are practical theologians. This is another article that is relevant to all of our lives, so I’d suggest reading it carefully. (WEB)
• Hopefully, all of you know who John MacArthur and RC Sproul are. You might have some of their books, or even grew up in a church they preached at. Well, despite being great friends, they have different views on baptism. RC Sproul holds to the view of infant baptism; John MacArthur holds to the view of believer’s baptism. This discussion/debate is actually from the 1998 Ligonier National Conference, but is available for free now. (AUDIO)
• I guess that this is just the week for really good PDF files. Tim Keller wrote an article on The Centrality of the Gospel in which he compares and contrasts the gospel with moralism/religion and relativism/irreligion. This is another great article, so I’ll let you get to it. (PDF)
• In his contribution to this month’s Tabletalk, Kevin DeYoung wrote an article making a case for what he calls The Glory of Plodding. In it, he addresses the perception that many have that the church has become merely routine and we’re called to something more. His reaction may surprise you. (WEB)
• Speaking of good PDFs, a couple of weeks ago we did an article on Christian Journals. I knew that I hadn’t recommended all of them, but I shamefully forgot a very important one: The Westminster Theological Journal. This is a publication of WTS, and you can always find their latest issue online along with an archive of sample articles. They only make 2 articles from each issues freely available, but those are almost always great reads (for example, Letham’s article: Catholicity Global and Historical: Constantinople, Westminster, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century). (WEB and PDF)

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

“What? Weekly Links on a Monday?!” I know, it’s a shocker. An unexpected gift. Like Christmas in May, but without the months of annoying department-store music leading up to it. But here’s a few articles and videos we weren’t able to squeeze in the past few weeks that you don’t want to miss:

• First of all, if you missed any of the interview with Michael Horton, you can catch all the parts here. I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. (VIDEO)
• For anyone involved in the operations of the church, you might find the Security at Church blog interesting. Not everything is relevant to everyone, but there are some real insights into some areas that we could benefit from by thinking about a bit more. (BLOG)
• Over at the DG Blog, they have a great post up on the nuances of the road to Emmaus account in Luke 24:13-35. It’s entitled “The Eyes Jesus Opened First” and I think you’d really like it. (Yes…you!) (WEB)
• Over at the Aristophrenium, Adam tackles some common misinterpretations and confusion surrounding the often-quoted statement that “God is Love.” (WEB)
• And I saved this for last, because it is AWESOME. This is four and a half minutes of a fellow named Tony Carter. “Who’s Tony Carter?” you ask. Apparently he’s a pastor who is quite Gospel-centered in his preaching, AND illustrates his sermons with every book or play I had to read back in AP English. As someone with a degree in Literature, I am freaking out with joy. Check out “Every Time: Grace Wins” and then join me in searching out anything else he’s ever preached. (VIDEO)

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back! So let’s try something different this week. I have a few very-short-yet-thought-provoking devotional-esque posts for you this week. Each of these will probably take you less than a minute, and you’ll get a LOT more than a minute’s worth of thought out of them:

1. Joshua Harris starts us off with a post regarding the dangers of sin entitled “I Will Shake Myself Free.”
2. Tia Han has an excellent thought on walking in obedience.
3. Jared Wilson borrows from Anthony Carter who probably borrowed from Robert Louis Stevenson with a brief tale entitled “I Have Seen the Face of the Pilot, and He Smiled.”
4. Douglas Wilson comments on the ridiculousness of envying sin in his post “A Can Opener for the Peaches.”
5. And Jared Wilson (again) borrows from John Bunyen in “The Gospel Empowering its Own Implications Is Poetry.”

That’s a lot of wisdom crammed into very little time spent reading it. I trust that you’ll make up for all that time saved with diligent reflection.

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

Hey everyone! We’re back, and just like last week, we’re keeping it short. However, this is going to just be one of those weeks where everything is heavy on the text-side…no music or videos this time. But I think you’ll still really enjoy what we’ve got…

• You might have seen the news already, but a preacher was arrested in Great Britain recently. Apparently, according to their new law, merely saying “homosexuality is a sin” constitutes hate speech. Al Mohler has an article with the details.
• Don Whitney has a great article on six words that can open hearts. You should check it out.
• In case you missed it, a couple weeks ago we had a special edition of the Weekly Links that focused on Christian journals. So it might interest you to check out the latest edition of Tabletalk (on the topic of sanctification) as well as the highlights from the latest edition of the IXMarks eJournal (on the topic of deacons).
• For those of you who might be struggling or reflecting on their personal spiritual disciplines, here’s a tag-team of articles for you. The folks over at DG remind us that devotions aren’t magic, and Tim Challies has a good article up on how to pray badly.
• Did you know that Johnny Cash wrote a biography on the apostle Paul? Yeah…me neither. And I like both those guys. However, the best thing that came out of that project might just be this quote.
• For those of you looking to get some deals on Christian resources, you might want to make a habit of checking out Ligonier Ministries’ $5 Fridays. Each Friday, a bunch of resources that are normally quite a bit pricier will be offered for just $5 each.
• Ok, this article is a bit of a beast, but I found it quite enjoyable. David Hart laments that he simply can’t find intellectually-serious atheism among the self-styled New Atheists. If you just want to scan the cliff-notes version, you can do so here, but I do recommend the whole article.
• And just to wrap everything up, there’s something in this post for EVERYONE. I don’t want to spoil it for you. Let’s just say that it’s called “Jesus and Losers” and leave it at that. But it’s short, easy-to-read, and worth thinking about long after you’ve finished, so enjoy.

Pro Rege!

by Stephen Rodgers

Hey everyone! Welcome back to this edition of the weekly links. I feel like I’m slowly learning how to find the right number of articles to offer…not too few, but not too many. To that end, I’ve decided to try to limit the number of articles that show up here, so I can really focus on just bringing you the sort of material that would hopefully minister to the most people. So, without further ado…

• We’ve covered this several times already, but judging from the questions I get at church, we really can’t answer it enough. So, first up is an article over at Kevin DeYoung’s blog that asks Does Calvinism Discourage Evangelism? (WEB)
• Next up is an article from a blog I just found on Christian counseling. Ed Welch writes on How to Disarm an Angry Person. I think we’ve all been in situations where knowing the answer to that problem would have been very helpful. (WEB)
• Next up, for everyone who likes video, let’s catch up on the Michael Horton interviews. There are three short videos you haven’t seen yet: what is the greatest theological challenge facing the next generation of pastors, building a kingdom vs. receiving a kingdom, and the gospel-driven life. (VIDEO)
• Over at his blog, Greg Lucas reflects on his disabled son and asks how will my son be saved? He offers some great words of wisdom and comfort. (WEB)
• For all you book nerds out there (yes, sometimes I even talk to myself on this blog!) there are some new reviews over at the TGC Reviews site that you might want to check out. (WEB)
• And for everyone who needs some new, FREE Christian music, Mars Hill church has made their Good Friday music available, and Page CXVI has made their first album of hymns freely available. Enjoy! (MP3)
• Now, this is targeted more at pastors than members, but I think as members there are some good insights into how we can support our pastors. Over at the SBTS website, Garrett Wishall writes about seven sure-fire ways to blow up a church. (WEB)
• Matt and Lauren Chandler have posted another update as to how they’re doing. If you feel out of the loop on that, you can hit up this link to see any updates you might have missed. (VIDEO)
• And last but not least, Erik over at Irish Calvinist writes about how we can sometimes be so “biblical” that we forget to be Christian. I put this one last so that we could all reflect and ponder on his insight. (WEB)

See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

by Stephen Rodgers

Hey everyone! Welcome to a special edition of the weekly links. Since I’m travelling this week (volcano permitting), I thought you might like a week to catch up a little, but add a few really good resources to your Christian bookmarks.

This week, I’m going to focus on something you might not be terribly familiar with: Christian journals. Basically, these are like magazines on the internet. There’s a number of articles, usually centered around a theme, that come out on a scheduled basis. This week, we’ll look at a few that you might enjoy.

• First up is 9Marks eJournal. As you know, 9Marks is an organization that mostly revolves around Mark Dever and his folk. Every two months or so, they put out a new collection of articles on a particular topic. Right now the topic is “Deacons,” but previous issues include topics like “Missions,” “Young Pastors,” and others. There’s also an archive where you can browse past issues.
• Next up is Ligonier Ministries’ Tabletalk. Ligonier Ministries is the ministry of RC Sproul and friends, so you’ll see articles from other notable folks like Joel Beeke, Tim Challies, and John MacArthur. For example, April’s edition dealt with the topic of changes in culture and technology. They also have an archive where you can check out past issues. They make a number of articles available for free, but to get access to everything, they’d like you to subscribe for a nominal fee.
• Next up is TGC’s Themelios Journal, which has been running strong since 1975! DA Carson is the editor, so expect good stuff. It can be a little hard to navigate, but very useful for finding gems. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s the latest issue, a list of some of the highlights, and a sample book review by Kevin DeYoung.

Anyhow, those are definitely the top recommendations I have for you. If that’s still not enough for you, then you might want to check out the following as well:

• TCG’s Christ on Campus Initiative is new but promising. They don’t have a lot of articles up yet, but some are quite good.
• ICR’s Acts & Facts is an online journal dealing with scientific issues pertaining to the doctrine of creation.
• CREDENDAagenda is the journal of Douglas Wilson and friends. They have several new articles each week, along with an archive of past printed issues.

And remember, not every author shares all of the particular theological views that we do here at LBC (some might be old-earth creationists, some might be paedo-baptists, and so forth), but you can still read their articles, sharpen your thinking, and enjoy their contribution as you grow closer to God.

And if you know of any other great online journals that I didn’t mention, shoot me an email or find me at church and maybe we can do part two sometime!

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