Archive for December, 2009
Want 7 Books and 3 DVDs Free? Here’s How
Update 1.14.09: We’ve got us a winner, folks. Who was it? If you didn’t hear from me, then that means it wasn’t you.
Happy New Year’s Eve, folks…
And thank you for the last 365 days of rabid and roughshod fun!
To celebrate I’m giving away seven books and three DVDs.
To enter the drawing simply drop your name and email address in a little form…
Drawing closes midnight Thursday, January 7, 2010.
What books and DVDs am I giving away? Here’s a quick look.
Dug Down Deep
Josh Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl fame writes an intelligent narrative on classical Christian doctrines. [Note: This book isn't released until January 16, so if you win it, you'll be ahead of the crowd.]
The Mirage of Peace
Former Time magazine journalist for Jerusalem explains the rich social, political and religious history that makes the Middle East so volatile.
Hard to Believe
John MacArthur doing what he does best: shatter contemporary misconceptions about Christianity. This time what it actually means to follow Jesus. Adult diapers not included.
Darwin’s Dilemma
The same team who gave us The Privileged Planet and Unlocking the Mystery of Life are back. This time to demonstrate the bankruptcy of evolution in a documentary that travels around the world.
Open Their Eyes
Quintessential Piper articulates how our evangelistic efforts are actually embedded in the sovereign, persuasive power of God.
Herman Who? Hermeneutics Primer
Wretched Radio star and former comedian Todd Friel is an unlikely hermeneutics hero. But he manages quite well to save the day. His opening demonstration is a must-see.
Free Indeed
Sick of bondage to cigarettes? Sex? Lying? Richard Ganz–former psychologist turned pastor–will show you how to truly break free. Short, systematic chapters make this an easy read.
The Easter Answer
Small-town Wisconsin pastor Stephen Kingsley answers Dan Barker’s notorious “Easter Challenge.” Does he succeed? You decide.
Follow Me to Freedom
This is New Monastic prophet Shane Claiborne’s and African-American civil rights leader John Perkin’s out-of-the-box approach to church leadership. [Warning: I have not read this book.]
Unfashionable
Tullian Tchividjian insists Christians make a difference in the culture. Then he sells you on how to do it. [Note: Cover jacket is wrinkled. Some pages water-stained. I must've had a hole in my chin the day I read this book.]
Enter the drawing now that you know what books and DVDs I’m giving away.
By the way, there’s something you should probably know. The books. I’ve already read them. Yeah. You know what that means…
They are marked up, dog-eared and annotated with my rogue thoughts. In other words, they’ve got character.
Outside of that they’re in great shape. Honest.
One more thing. A handful of gracious people gave some of these items to me. People like Al Hartman. John Payne. Stephen Kingsley. Lynette Kittle. To you I say: Thank you for being so kind to me.
Now, what are you waiting for? Enter the drawing.
How to Read John Piper
Not to minimize the influence of other pastors, but John Piper single-handedly altered my vision from a man-centered gospel to a God-centered one…
And he did this by grabbing my jaw and whipping my head around.
How’d he do that when I never met the man?
That’s the beauty of the written word.
And the beauty of John Piper’s books are that they are easy to read, thought-provoking and…
Free. [Well, most are free.]
There is one problem with John Piper as a writer, though. He’s a madman. Prolific to a fault in the sense you will need to block off at least 42 days to read all 42 books. [That's if you read one book a day.]
Don’t have 42 days? You’re not alone. Fortunately you can get a bead on the man Piper and his theology in about four books. Here are the must-reads:
Desiring God
Hedonism is a dirty word. But not to Piper. Especially when our pleasure and it’s near-savage pursuit is found in God. In fact, Piper argues this is exactly what the Bible teaches as our duty: Maximum delight in glorifying God. He pulls it off, folks.
Finally Alive
A relentless, systematic explanation of what it means to be born again. It’s worth having a copy of this book for the commentary about classic biblical texts on regeneration alone.
God Is the Gospel
When we share the gospel with someone how do we present it? Do we focus on the person or God? And when you think of your own salvation and the gospel…does it motivate you to make much of yourself or God? Getting that answer right is crucial.
Don’t Waste Your Life
Work. Retirement. Health. Sickness. What do these opposing conditions of our lives have in common? They are all opportunities to glorify God. Sound unbelievable? Again, Piper pulls it off.
Disclaimer: I’ve not read all Piper’s books. Just eight. But it doesn’t take long before you see four common themes that run through his books. Here they are:
1. Delight in worshiping God is the highest pleasure we pursue. Desiring God
2. Dependence on Christ alone for salvation. Finally Alive
3. Determined aim to hold God far above all creation–including man. God Is the Gospel
4. Deliberate use of every sphere of our lives–including our suffering–to glorify God. Don’t Waste Your Life
So, what do you think? Am I dead on? Are you a Piper aficionado and find this list wanting? My interpretation lacking?
How many Piper books have you read?
Would you add any books to this list? Take any out? Let me know. I look forward to your thoughts.
Hell: What’s at Stake If We Neglect It?
Hell doesn’t get much press.
Blame it on the Enlightenment and its fear of all things supernatural.
To be fair, Enlightenment writers were reacting to a gross abundance of commentary on hell.
In fact, this environment forced Erasmus to remark that some Paris theologians wrote so well about hell that they evidently had been there themselves!
However, contemporary Christians have lost their backbone on this important biblical doctrine. That’s troubling for many reasons. Let me show you what I mean.
Hell: A Ghastly Nightmare
The doctrine of hell is a repulsive doctrine. In fact, it’s hard to believe someone just made it up. But the Bible says a lot about hell. Mostly in the words of Jesus himself.
First off, what is hell? The orthodox meaning is eternal punishment for those who reject God and His grace.
What does that punishment look like? Outer darkness. Weeping. Gnashing of teeth. Fire.
Fire, no doubt, is symbolic. But this shouldn’t comfort the lost because fire is symbolic of something much worse.
How much worse? We just don’t know.
We do know that hell will last forever and in addition to physical agony, occupants will experience unrelenting guilt and regret due to their decision to reject God’s offer of mercy in Christ.
Objections to Hell
As noted above, some people simply dismiss hell as superstition. These are your skeptics and atheists.
Then there are your evangelicals…
Some evangelicals–Unitarians, for example–believe in universalism–the idea that everyone will eventually be saved. But Jesus’ words are unmistakable: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46
Others believe in postmortem evangelism. These evangelicals insist the dead will be given another opportunity to repent after death. Again, the Bible doesn’t support this notion. Just the opposite: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
Finally, you have your annihilationists who believe that the wicked are exterminated at death. But annihilationists must hold this belief in the face of ample biblical reference to hell being eternal.
Now let me ask you: Why are so-called evangelicals busy reducing, revising and removing the biblical doctrine of hell when those who were evangelicals in the past would’ve ferociously resisted such ideas?
Here’s your answer: Hell is marked by so much awkwardness and embarrassment evangelicals are looking for anyway out of this doctrine.
The Logical Reason Behind Hell
Yes, hell is terrible. But NOT the least bit unfair. It is simply a gesture by God to honor those who reject him, his love and his offer of grace through Christ.
In essence, he gives them what they want: separation from God.
However, because of sin everyone deserves hell… including both those who accept God’s offer of rescue through Christ and those who reject it.
Yet hell is not a fate God wants people to experience:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
The Benefits of the Doctrine of Hell
Yes, even though hell is a horrifying doctrine, it does provide certain benefits.
One benefit is a sense of relief and gratitude for God’s mercy and forgiveness and promise of heaven. Mercy and forgiveness and heaven are meaningless if there is no depth…
We would certainly respond one way to a friend who kept us from stepping into a puddle. Quite another way to a friend who kept us from stepping off the edge of a cliff.
Another benefit involves our future and reminds us how important life decisions are here and now. The doctrine of hell motivates us to share the gospel when we know the outcome for those who reject Christ or remain in their sins is eternal physical agony.
Why We’ve Lost Our Backbone Over Hell
Yet, in spite of these benefits, contemporary Christians have lost their convictions about hell. There is at least one good reasons for this: Our view of the nature of God has changed.
In an attempt to shed any repulsive concepts attached to God, we redefine him to suit our preferences. Here are four ways we’ve done that.
1. We redefine God’s love so that it resembles sentimentalism and indulgence minus God’s hatred for sin. In turn, we love the sinner and ignore his sin.
2. Hell seems so excessive, so we limit God’s holiness. However, the traditional doctrine of hell argues that eternal punishment is a just penalty for an insult against the infinite holiness of God.
3. We limit God’s knowledge to suggest that he doesn’t stop decades of megadeath simply because he didn’t see it coming. This is the heresy of open theism.
4. We minimize God’s justice by arguing that it would be easier to persuade a skeptic to embrace a God without wrath and righteousness.
But what’s more important: That we properly market God to our culture? Or that we stand up for orthodoxy–no matter the cost?
What’s at Stake if We Neglect the Doctrine of Hell?
Here’s the deal: The Bible presents hell as a concrete reality. It’s existence is not up for Debate. Revision. Or vote. To do otherwise is to pervert the truth, reduce the sting of sin and minimize the threat of hell.
So WHAT if hell is scandalous or too out of step with the contemporary mind?
That won’t make it go away.
We must deal with it. As Christians, that means defending it’s classic treatment. If we don’t, what’s at stake? Our very concept of God and the gospel are diluted.
And where does this end? Our culture gets to define our model of God? To do so would be to feed on lies. And I don’t want that to happen. Do you?
Five Posts You Haven’t Seen–But Should
From advice to new Christians on what to do with old friends…
To a novel approach on how you can get people to support your non-profit…
Here’s a round up of my latest posts across the web.
Should a New Christian Cut Off Old Friends?
No matter how you’re salvation occurred, at some point you owe someone a frank conversation. Namely your friends. This is how it should go.
10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing
Want to inject a tangible and seductive element in your writing that growls “You better take notice of me”? Then read these books.
Dug Down Deep: A Review
Josh Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame is all grown up now. He’s entered the early stages of mid-life. And now he’s wondering what in the world he believed in the past–it certainly wasn’t sturdy or even safe.
Three Kings: What Your Sunday School Teacher Didn’t Tell You
Okay, if so much of what we know about the story of the “Three Kings” is wrong, what’s true? Well, here’s what’s true.
The Curious Secret to Getting People to Support You
Ever wonder how you could get more people to buy into–with actual dollars–your vision to change the world? It’s easy, actually. And quite odd the way it works.
By the way, I’m available to write guests posts. Email me if you’re interested.
It’s Christmas Morning. Why Am I So Angry Again?
The world so often sees my anger.
It so often sees my chronic frustration with contemporary Christian culture and it’s treatment of God’s holiness.
It so often sees my tyrannical, self-absorbed bent to highlight the faults of heathens, punks, posers and misfits.
Misfits, mind you, like me.
But do they ever sense my grief?
That quiet but habitual sorrow over sin’s devastating effects?
Do they ever hear about that low-grade, sad restlessness over the wreckage in another person’s life because they’re barreling down the road AWAY from God?
No. Not much.
What they usually hear is judgment. Mostly because I only wear one emotion on my sleeve: Anger.
Here’s the deal.
Yes. I have peace with God. I have a future hope based in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I nurse an unshakable joy for his second coming…
An unconquerable glee in my redemption and sanctification…
An awe at God’s mind-blowing fashion of stooping so low to redeem a rebellious people…
And an utter fascination at the majesty of his creation that extends billions of miles in all directions…
That allows me to say this: “I love you.”
Not in some flimsy, self-esteem enhancing way, but in a concrete, Christ-affirming manner that suggests this: ”You were made for much more.”
That is my motive.
And before you wring your hands over my emotional state during this celebration of Christ’s birth, know this: It’s Christmas morning and, yes, I’m a little angry. A little sad. A little pensive…
But those emotions are overpowered by a colossal sense of the bliss created by the cross that inevitably follows the birth of Christ…
And the fact that Christ was born for you so that he could die for you so that you could live a fruitful life in beautiful submission to our reigning king.
God bless you and Merry Christmas.
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