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Seeing Sin for What It Is
Series | Repentance
Augustine had a powerful and profound impact because he accurately identified the real problem, in his own heart and in the church. He knew the problem wasn’t low self-esteem or bad parents; the problem was sin. He also accurately understood the remedy to the problem was not more of the world, but more of God. He saw sin, not only as an offense to God, but as an obstacle between he and God.
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Industrial Grade Sandpaper
[L]iving in believing community is one of the central instruments that a loving God has given to us to prepare us for that great day. Living among fellow sinners, learning how to deal with it properly, is the principal form of industrial grade sandpaper that the Holy Spirit uses on us. But many pietists, including many educational perfectionists, withdraw from that treatment, shrinking from it, and all in the name of maintaining their smooth surfaces.
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A Long Way to the Top
The original. I don’t know why I love it so. Not the band. Not the bagpipes. Not the subject. But it works for me.
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Hard Fathers, Soft Sons
The father who has a son like this—a son who shames him—must do more than just experience the shame. He must own it. That means that he needs to see how he contributed to the creation of something that appears to be very much unlike him. But this is just a surface appearance. All these years, the father was being hard, not because this was the way he had to be in order to serve his family.
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Cross References and Context
Cross-references may be the most abused practice in Bible study.1 Sure, some are helpful. When a New Testament author quotes an Old Testament passage, it’s convenient to know the reference apart from reading all 37 books to find it. Likewise, when the same event is described in multiple places, sometimes those additional perspectives increase understanding.
However, not all cross-references are created equal. Just because a similar phrase or idea is found in two or more places does not necessarily mean that both places are related.
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Does the Shoe Fit
Does the Shoe Fit? ➔ Article by David Powlison on how responses to criticism reveal who we are.
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Voltron
I can’t really explain how I got from Sproul to Voltron but, man, did I love this cartoon as a kid.
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Church Conversation
SKH: You’re doing a great job (sitting still).
SKH: I really like cuddling with you, too.
Calvin: Yeah. Some guys don’t have a lot of hair. Why some guys don’t have a lot of hair?
—sitting in church last Sunday night with Calvin on my lap
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Equipped by the Word
The “man of God”…does not give fresh revelation himself, but rather is the man who has the compilation of that completed revelation in his hands. While he is not a prophet himself, he is the heir of the prophets. In other words, he is not limited by the cessation of the prophetic gift because, as it says here, he is “competent” or equipped for every good work. There is no task the minister will be called upon to perform that he is not equipped to perform through the Scriptures.
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What Comes Naturally
Granted, this comic is funny now, as a Christian parent. It would not be funny if I was 16 (per the comments here).
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Ox and Ass at Christ's Manger
Ox and Ass at Christ’s Manger ➔
The reason the ox and the ass are prominent in manger scenes is because of early Christian interpretation of Isaiah 1, and a theology of the way God in Christ overcame human rebellion through the incarnation.
We tend to hear a much squishier idea of God’s goodwill toward men at this time of year, one that ignores sin, rebellion, wrath, and a host of biblical truths that form the dark background against which Christmas joy makes sense: “In wrath remember mercy,” as Habbakuk says.
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fan•tod
noun – [fan-tod]
definition: usually, fantods. a state or attack of uneasiness or unreasonableness, extreme nervousness or restlessness.
synonyms: the willies; the fidgets
example usage:
In my previous post on this, I got a little into the theological weirdness that is pervasive in this Twilight business. This time, I would like to explain why this whole phenomenon gives me the pastoral fantods.
Doug Wilson, Twilight Review #6
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Prayer Seminar Material
All audio, notes, and presentation slides from the Devoted to Prayer seminar are now available for free to anyone interested.
There is maybe no more important characteristic of a godly man or woman than prayer. Regardless of vocation, regardless of culture, regardless of spiritual giftedness, a person who is godly, a person who lives according to the Bible, prays. Every believer who desires God’s work in their own heart and in the lives of others must appeal to God for it.
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Agassiz and the Fish
from Justin Taylor
It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch.
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It Is Well with My Soul
Written by Horatio G. Spafford, 1873.
Includes Psalm 146:1
See Wikipedia for the background.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
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How Firm a Foundation
Written by “Keen,” 1787.
Based on the text: Isaiah 43:1-7
Online by Fernando Ortega
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In every condition, – in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea, –