Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 367
June 19, 2012
Links I Like
Barnabas Piper:
Legalism is wrong. It is laying a burden on people that they cannot bear and demanding a standard of living that God does not demand in order to be guiltless. It is an obstacle in being free to follow Christ wholly and happily.
But here’s my question? At what point have we fallen into the trap of becoming legalists about legalism?
That Awkward Moment When We Speak theGospel
Ken Currie:
For the time being, it seems the greatest threat to gospel-telling in such...
June 18, 2012
“Wasted” Lives and Christian Calling
From our earliest years, we’re encouraged to pursue success—to find it in our hobbies, sports, education and, eventually, careers.
When I finished college, I had aspirations of being a successful and well paid graphic designer. (Don’t laugh—they didn’t tell us there was an abundance of designers and a dearth of job prospects.) Though I had a rough start to my career (long story), I eventually did start doing pretty well for myself.
Then I became a Christian. And Jesus told me to give it all up...
Links I Like
Bob Kellemen:
Should every pastor be a counselor?No.Does that answer surprise you, especially coming from me?What should every pastor be?An equipper.
ThePage that Changed My Life
Tony Reinke on Octavius Winslow’sThe Precious Things of God:
From start to finish, the book is soaked with profound points because it is a book devoted to all the things that God finds precious. Think of it as something of a precursor to Piper’sThe Pleasures of God.
Of all the pages in t...
June 17, 2012
Come and Take Entire Possession of Us
Lord, let Him see a reward for His sufferings, in all of us being repentant for sin, and trusting in God, and confessing His name. We fear there are among us this morning some who still indulge in the sins which brought Christ to death, some that still are trusting in their own righteousness and so are despising His; because if their’s will suffice, then His were superfluous. O God, we beseech Thee, bring men away from all their false trusts to rest in the great sacrifice of Thy dear Son. Let...
June 16, 2012
Prayer: What Breath is to the Body
A habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A person may preach from false motives. A person may write books, and make fine speeches, and seem diligent in good works — and yet be a Judas Iscariot! But a person seldom goes into their closet and pours out their soul before God in secret, unless they are in earnest.
I know that much may go on in a person’s mind before they are brought to pray. They may have many convictions, desires, wishes, feelings, inten...
June 15, 2012
Parenting to the Glory of God
A couple months back, I had the chance to sit down with fellow Cruciform Press author Tad Thompson to talk about his book,Intentional Parenting: Family Discipleship by Design. In this interview we discuss Tad’s reasons for writing the book, how the gospel applies to parenting and how he hopes readers will be encouraged:
Can't see the video in your RSS reader or email? Click Here!
Intentional Parentingis available through CruciformPress.com, Amazon and several of your favorite Christian book sel...
Links I Like
R.C. Sproul:
In the 1980s . . . there was a New Testament professor at one of the largest seminaries in America who had abandoned the doctrine and was teaching his students that no one could believe in the inerrancy of sacredScripturebecause there is a clear mistake inMark 4:30-32. He would tell his students, “Jesus said that the mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds, but botanists have discovered seeds that are more minute than the mustard seed.” This...
June 14, 2012
What is the Opposite of Excellence?
In his new book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael Hyatt offers five reasons why we settle for less than excellence:
We run out of time
We don’t have sufficient resources
We have insufficient experience
We acquiesce to the committee
We are afraid
All of these are serious and no doubt we’ve all experienced them all.
Who hasn’t faced compromise in the face of a looming deadline? Who hasn’t struggled to “just get it done” when the resources are short? Who hasn’t sighed and determined to “...
Links I Like
Lionel Windsor:
Something similar happens when it comes to the Bible and polygamy. Sure, the narrators never pause to say, “Oh by the way, please, don’t be a polygamist.” But why should they? The stories make the point all by themselves. As Peter Jensen–one of the interviewees in the TV segment I linked to above–pointed out, stories about polygamy in the Bible, time after time, result in disaster.
TheOne Indispensable Rule for Using Social Media
Kevin DeYoung:...
June 13, 2012
Do You Cherish Your Supernatural Redemption?
The grotto of Gethsemane, where it is believed that Jesus was arrested following Judas' betrayal. Photo by Gary Hardman
During our small group gathering this week, we discussed Christian fellowship—that we are a family bound together through the supernatural working of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As our discussion centered around considering others ahead of ourselves, of counting one another as more significant, being in one in spirit and in purpose—all the things that are connected with...
