Kevin DeYoung's Blog, page 203

A Mighty Fortress

Today is September 11. Let it be a day where Americans give thanks for liberty and pray for their country.

Let it also be a day where we remember that while God has not promised America will last forever, he has promised his people an everlasting kingdom. Our God is a mighty fortress for all who trust in him.

How to Preach Like a Liberal

James W. Thompson in Preaching Like Paul: Homiletical Wisdom for Today on Harry Emerson Fosdick's approach to preaching and what's wrong with it:

Harry Emerson Fosdick, who became a model for many preachers earlier in this century, described his method of preaching as the "project method." Fosdick began with the questions of people in his congregation and attempted to provide answers from scripture. In his famous article "What's the Matter with Preaching?" Fosdick wrote: "Start with a life...

Burning the Koran and Shooting Yourself in the Foot

There's probably nothing new I need to add on this whole Koran burning business, but once a blog post starts forming in my head it's hard to keep it in.

No doubt, you know by now that Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach in Gainesville, Florida is planning to burn the Muslim holy book on September 11 to protest Islam. I'm not going to take the time to provide all the links, but if you google "Koran burning" you'll quickly discover that everybody and their brother has condemned this event and

Book Sale

Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service (www.cvbbs.com), which specializes in Reformed and Puritan works, is having their 'Annual Customer Appreciation Sale' today and tomorrow (September 8 and 9). All sorts of different publishers are included at highly discounted prices (EP, Crossway, RHB, Baker, Shepherd Press, Christian Focus, Hendrickson, Day One, P&R, Joshua Press, etc). I'm told the discounts will be around 35-40% off the retail price. May be worth checking out.

David Platt Gets Some Love from the New York Times

I often read David Brooks in the NY Times anyway. Today I was especially intrigued when I saw the title of his Op-Ed piece: The Gospel of Wealth. I was even more intrigued, and pleasantly surprised, to see him spotlight SBC Pastor David Platt.

Less Than Meets the Eye

To spot bad arguments you often need a lot of facts. But sometimes you just need a little commonsense. When it comes to discerning truth from error, good arguments from bad, a little bit of logic goes a long way.

All of us can make strong sounding arguments that, upon closer inspection, are much less than meets the eye. We employ rhetorical strategies that look impressive (and often work) but contain hidden assumptions and flimsy reasoning. Here are six common arguments (or approaches to...

Monday Morning Humor

In case I needed more evidence that television influences children, I found one of my sons face down to the bathroom vent yesterday screaming, "Rhino is Beawesome!"

And if this doesn't inspire you for the week ahead I don't what will?

Very Annoying

I mean no disrespect to the folks at Bethlehem Baptist or the other brothers and sisters in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but I have to confess I find the Minnesota Twins exceedingly annoying. Do you guys ever lose? I mean the White Sox post their first sweep at Fenway since 1991, and this was after sweeping the Indians in Cleveland, and what does it get us? One lousy game! Plus your best pitcher's mustache has a fan page.

I know there's a lot of KC love out there. Here's hoping your Royals can...

The Blessing of a Loving But Unimpressed Spouse

Roger Parrot (President of Belhaven University):

There are few who can accurately self-evaluate. In repeated studies, most people rate themselves much higher than their true skills. And thus, leaders need at least one person who will shoot absolutely straight with them and be both their best friend and best critic. Remarkably, among the statesmen I've enjoyed working with, that person is nearly always their spouse. (The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders, 44)

On Writing Well

Have you ever wished you could listen to three guys talking for an hour about writing well? We all have I'm sure. Well, now your wishing is over.

John Starke from The Gospel Coalition recently interviewed Justin Taylor, Collin Hansen, and me about writing. You can listen to the conversation here. You'll also find several book recommendations at the link.