February 2007

Viability of Babies in the Womb is Now 22 Weeks

February 28, 2007

The definition of when “life” enters a baby who is in the womb is a challenge for anyone who believes that it is at a different point from conception or at least implantation. The common alternative view is that it is when a baby is “viable”. The following story reveals the moving goalposts of this. [...]

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Jesus Tomb Found? I Think Not!

February 28, 2007

I will let Tim Challies fill you in on all the excitement about the so-called “Jesus Tomb,” as he has a good post with some helpful links. Perhaps the most helpful page I have found comes from Pulpit Magazine on “Jesus’ Tomb,” but Ben Witherington on the “Tomb of Jesus” and Michael Spencer’s post which [...]

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SERMON – Reviving Prayer – 1 Kings 17:1 to 2 Kings 2:14

February 27, 2007

The following is a full set of notes, including background information and quotes I used whilst preparing my sermon entitled, “Reviving Prayer,” which was preached at Jubilee Church on the 25th of February 2006. Much of this material was never designed to form part of the sermon — instead it is, if you like, part [...]

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T4G Article 4 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Expository Preaching

February 26, 2007

Most Mondays I take the time to raid my electronic version of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ materials, which is produced by Logos Bible Software. Today’s quote comes from a biography of the Doctor and includes several quotes from his writings that build a clear picture of the Doctor’s view of expository preaching. The passage begins with [...]

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Pierced for Our Transgressions – The Atonement Revisited

February 25, 2007

I just had my third e-mail in as many days about Pierced For Our Transgressions — a forthcoming book on penal substitution. Regular readers will know that I have frequently posted on the atonement in the past. This book is aimed at addressing the debate over Steve Chalke’s allegation of “cosmic child abuse.” You may [...]

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Apologetics Lives Again . . .

February 23, 2007

I haven’t seen details of an event like this for a long time. In an attempt to Engage with Culture, the UCCF is hosting what they are calling a “MAJOR DEBATE” with Professor Lewis Wolpert and a leading non-Christian professor chaired by John Humphrys. This is taking place at 7.30 p.m., Tuesday February 27th, Central [...]

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T4G Article 4 – John Piper on Expository Preaching

February 23, 2007

This post is part of a series on the Together for the Gospel Statement. Links to previous posts on Articles 1-3 can be found in the introduction to my post, “The Place of Truth.” Article 4 We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical [...]

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AUDIO – What is the Bible?

February 23, 2007

Our view of the Bible is fundamental to everything else we believe, as I have been explaining in my Together for the Gospel series. Last autumn I spoke at Jubilee Church on the doctine of Scripture in a series of talks on more theological issues. The audio has now become available to download here (you [...]

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Should We be Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future?

February 22, 2007

Mark Dever over at Together for the Gospel has written about how we should expect persecution. He may well be right. As I read his post, however, and also a few of his buddy, Al Mohler’s, cultural observations, I wonder if I detect a more general note of pessimism about the future of the church. [...]

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Blogging the Together for the Gospel Statement – The Place of Truth

February 21, 2007

It’s been awhile since I last did this, but I intend to revive the series now. For more information about Together for the Gospel, please see my Conference Round Up Post. If you haven’t already done so, I would encourage you to read the statement in full — it is available as either a pdf [...]

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REMOTE BLOGGING – The Resolved Conference

February 21, 2007

Tim Challies gets to live-blog more and more conferences. Soon it seems he will just live at a conference permanently. I have only ever done this with one conference — Together On A Mission 06. Live-blogging is simply sharing notes and reflections of the sessions. I have made it something of a tradition that I [...]

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Intelligent Design by a Caring Maker?

February 20, 2007

Phillip E. Johnson—not to be confused with the Pyromaniac—said the following yesterday at The Royal Institute of Philosophy: “. . . my personal view is that I identify the designer of life with the God of the Bible, although intelligent design theory as such does not entail that. Scientific materialists fiercely resist consideration of the [...]

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Church of England Proposal to Unite with Catholics Under the Pope

February 19, 2007

If today was April 1st, I would be sure this was a hoax. An article in today’s Times suggests that the Anglican Communion may sweep hundreds of years of history (and the little matter of the Reformation) under the carpet and go back to Rome. Quite how they propose to take a union that is [...]

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John Lanferman on Elijah

February 19, 2007

God moves in a mysterious way. I was thinking about revival and found a talk by John Lanferman on revival. I liked that talk, so I decided to listen to another talk by John Lanferman, which turned out to be on Elijah. Interestingly, I have been thinking about Elijah this week as well! I found [...]

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LLOYD-JONES MONDAY – Revival and the Sovereign Power of God

February 19, 2007

Most Mondays I take the time to raid my electronic version of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ materials, which is produced by Logos Bible Software. Today’s quote centers on the way revival demonstrates God’s sovereign power: “A revival, by definition, is the mighty act of God and it is a sovereign act of God It is as [...]

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BLOGSPOTTING – 2007 Round-up

February 18, 2007

It’s been awhile, so I thought it would be a nice idea to do a blogspotting post today. Blogspotting was initiated by Phil Johnson and ruthlessly copied by me and others. It is simply a way for me to thank all of you for linking to this blog. Links are the lifeblood of the Internet, [...]

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Blogging John Calvin’s Institutes

February 17, 2007

I plan to make my way slowly through Calvin’s Institutes. Many years ago I read through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. It did me much good. Calvin was the Grudem of his day, so after much careful thought, I’ve decided to make an attempt at reading through the Institutes. It may take me a very long [...]

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Spurgeon on the Extent of Salvation – Will More be Saved than Lost?

February 17, 2007

There is no doubt that of all the doctrines of Calvinism, the so-called limited atonement is the most misunderstood and controversial. Sadly, many interpret this as indicating that salvation itself is “limited” and that few will be saved. Spurgeon clearly didn’t think so as this extract from one of his sermons will show. Incidentally, this [...]

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Somebody Who Can Save Anybody

February 17, 2007

I’ve been browsing through some old sermon notes for a new project I’m working on. I came across the following quote from some song lyrics, which really struck me again and could be a motto over our lives. I used this in a sermon on Romans 10, for which the sermon notes and audio are [...]

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Getting to Know John Lanferman – Leader of Newfrontiers USA

February 16, 2007

UPDATE – I had the pleasure of interviewing John Lanferman at the newfrontiers TOAM conference. OK, if the truth be told, I have never met John Lanferman, nor have I exchanged e-mails with him. I have, however, listened to a couple of messages he preached just recently at a newfrontiers Canada conference. The mp3s from [...]

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