tohuvabohu

adjective – [riz-uh-buhl] definition: that which provokes laughter. synonyms: laughable, ridiculous, absurd, comical example usage: Someone with a Ron Paul bumpersticker parked outside the Medicare office is risible. Doug Wilson, The Sticky Mass of Federal Helps

σω•φρο•νέ•ω verb – [so-fro-neh-oh] definition: to be prudent, with a focus on self-control; to be in one’s right mind synonyms: be reasonable, sensible, serious, keep one’s head example usage: Τοὺς νεωτέρους ὡσαύτως παρακάλει σωφρονεῖν. (Titus 2:6) Used beside νήφω (“be sober,” that is, free from mental and spiritual drunkenness, from excess, passion, rashness) in 1 Peter 4:7.

Series | Repentance Augustine’s testimony is typical. He was born, lived in sin until God saved him at age 32, soon after was called to the ministry, and shepherded the same flock until he died. That said, he was no ordinary sinner, nor was he an ordinary pastor. The following provides a jet tour of his 75 years. As is the case for every Christian, God’s work in his life through people and providence is a cause for praising God’s grace.

Read More

[O]ur task, as a generation teaching the next one, is not to get students to conform to the standard. The task before us is getting them to love the standard. —Doug Wilson, NSA Convocation 2009

Enfield We are pilgrims on Earth and we long to be home We were exiled in birth and wandered alone Until Jesus the Lamb who was slain in our place Redeemed us and claimed us His own We have hope in the place where suffering ends All our tears wiped away and worship ascends Where our Savior now sits at the right hand of God Our Defender, Redeemer and Friend

Read More

William Williams, 1717-1791; trans. from the Welsh by Peter Williams and the author Music: John Hughes, 1873-1932 Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand. Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more; feed me till I want no more. Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing stream doth flow;

Read More

The lyrics to “Jesus Paid It All” were written by Elvina Hall in 1865. Being prompted by his wife, John T. Grape wrote the score. However it was Grape’s Pastor, Rev. George W. Schrek who believed the score and Hall’s words should be paired together. The song appeared in a hymnal for the first time in 1868. I hear the Savior say Thy strength indeed is small Child of weakness….

Read More

It’s been more than three months since my last post. Fantastic. The long absence moved one friend to ask via email if I had abandoned the Void. I did go on a Google Reader fast from May 13 to June 26. Little did I know that break from blog reading also would include a break from blog writing. I have done a few things since April 1st. Much of my time in April and May was spent preparing for June, because in June I spoke 25 times in 21 days starting June 5th with the Grace Academy high school graduation.

Read More

noun – [wast-rel] definition: poetic/literary a wasteful or good-for-nothing person; a deadbeat. example usage: The righteousness of Christ, outside themselves, imputed to them through faith alone, did not make wastrels of them but worshippers. John Piper, The Hidden Smile of God, 38

adjective – [res-tiv] definition: (of a person) unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, esp. because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom. example usage: Our creation in the image of God makes the human spirit restive in the middle of this substitute paradise we call the West. Indeed, as Augustine once observed, it is restless until it finds rest in God who made it. The story of the West, in many ways, is also the story of this restiveness.

Read More

Update - August 24 at 11:23AM: Read the following and thought it was good supplemental wisdom. Let me speak for everyone you have ever met, from a recent acquaintance to your closest relative: We can wait until you get home to see the photos from your vacation. You can share the funny anecdote about your kids after they’ve gone to bed. And nothing you’ve ever tweeted or shared is urgent enough for you do it while driving.

Read More

Six Lessons in Prayer Sorry, your browser is outdated and does not support the audio element. This highly-recommended message is by Alexander Strauch, originally preached during chapel at The Master’s Seminary on April 16, 2009. Strauch addresses the (pastoral) idol of hyper-busyness, and how that challenges the apostolic priorities in Acts 6:4: “We will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.” From Ephesians 6:18-19, Strauch admonishes pastors to:

Read More

Instant Constant Global Permanent Mentioned by Mark Driscoll in his 2009 Gospel Coalition message, as mentioned to him by Rick Warren.

adjective – [des-uhl-tawr-ee] definition: lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm It is true that some traditional churches are desultory, dispirited, boring, dull, lifeless, inept, small, disheartened, or otherwise dying. One does wonder, though, why such a dead dog keeps getting kicked, sometimes quite viciously, by the church marketers. David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant, 39

Since mankind, in general, is innately hopeless and helpless in reference to his own spiritual reformation or advancement, and since sinners suffer from hamartiological (sin) hangover, and since God’s Word is often associated with His power, especially in overcoming the problems of sin, and since “the Christian preacher…is a herald” of God’s powerful Word, THEN the most consistent, divinely attested way for making full proof of our ministry is through a life-long activity in genuine textual exposition from the whole counsel of God as we humbly submit ourselves and the results to the sovereign Spirit.

Read More

Q: What is thy only comfort in life and death? A: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yeah, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth to live unto him.

Read More

It focuses on me. It can be used for whatever I want.

I watched the Nightline Face-Off: Does Satan Exist? debate with great interest last week. Not only has Pastor Mark been a topic of conversation in the paths I’m walking, I had finished preaching Genesis 3:1-7 the previous Sunday. Satan was on my mind. The condensed version aired on ABC was almost useless, overhyped and overedited. As long as you can stomach multiple BlackBerry commercials, watching online is the way to go.

Read More

All material from the Rightly | Dividing seminar is now available for free to anyone interested. I summarized the goal of the seminar as follows in my original announcement here on the Void: Rightly | Dividing aims to move believers beyond personal Bible reading to Bible study. There are many useful Bible reading plans, and for that matter, much excellent material is available from good Bible teachers. But this seminar hopes to train people how to understand and depend on the Book, not only on teachers of the Book.

Read More

Series | Repentance Sandro Botticelli’s first major fresco commissioned in 1480: Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo may be the most important man in church history. German historian, Adolf Harnack, called him the greatest man “between Paul the apostle and Luther the Reformer, the Christian church has possessed” (quoted in Piper, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, 24).1 Of course, Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk for many years, and my personal hero, John Calvin, quoted Augustine no less than 342 times in the fifth and final edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Read More