Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 376
May 1, 2012
Sin, Circumstance, and Corrective Discipline
Church discipline has been a hot topic of late among certain circles. Some folks on one side of the aisle seem to view corrective discipline taken to its full extent (disfellowship) as unloving, and others (or so it could be argued) are almost too quick on the draw. As I’ve been reading Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesusby Jonathan Leeman, I’ve been extremely grateful (and impressed) at how well he handles the situational realities of corrective discipline.
In the boo...
Links I Like
Paul Tripp:
The longer you’re in pastoral ministry, the more you move from being an astronaut to an archaeologist. When you’re young, you’re excitedly launching to worlds unknown. You have all of the major decisions of life and ministry before you, and you can spend your time assessing your potential and considering opportunities. It’s a time of exploration and discovery. It’s a time to go where you’ve never been before and do what you’ve never done. It’s a time to b...
April 30, 2012
Commenting and Christian Conduct
One of the big takeaways I had from April’s Band of Bloggers event was this common thread throughout the discussion that Christians need to be consistent in their online conduct. One example given was Tim Challies sharing how a reader emailed him in a rather indignant fashion, telling him to stop writing about some topic or he’d quit reading, but his tone immediately changed once Tim responded. He’d forgotten that (as Nathan Bingham put is so well) there are people behind the pixels.
This is o...
Links I Like
C. Michael Patton:
While most of us will see ourselves more in one than the others (I find myself in 2), we need to be careful. Of course we need to recognize the dangers and listen to the critique of the others, but more than that, we need to be continually committed to finding balance. Our gifts and calling are going toclearly drive us to one more than the othersso I am not saying neglect one to brush up on the others. But I am saying that if you neglect th...
April 29, 2012
A Minister’s Prayer
O My Lord,
Let not my ministry be approved only by men,
or merely win the esteem and affections
of people;
But do the work of grace in their hearts,
call in thy elect,
seal and edify the regenerate ones,
and command eternal blessing on their souls.
Adapted from “A Minister’s Prayer,”Puritan Prayers & Devotions(Kindle Edition)
You just finished reading A Minister's Prayer! Consider leaving a comment!
April 28, 2012
The Best Attraction is the Gospel in its Purity
To try to win a soul for Christ by keeping that soul in ignorance of any truth, is contrary to the mind of the Spirit; and to endeavour to save men by mere claptrap, or excitement, or oratorical display, is as foolish as to hope to hold an angel with bird-lime, or lure a star with music. The best attraction is the gospel in its purity. The weapon with which the Lord conquers men is the truth as it is in Jesus. The gospel will be found equal to every emergency; an arrow which can pierce the ha...
Links I Like (Weekend Edition)
Tim Challies:
Here are seven ways that you can pray about your prayer life. These are seven items you can add to your prayer list as you consider your own prayer life or anotherperson’s.
When Church Planters Want to Drink Sweet Tea from a Garbage Can
JD Payne:
Missionaries do strange things.
These Kingdom servants do not know the phrase, “we’ve never done it that way before.” To them, everything is new. They are entering into the fields. They are starting with...
April 27, 2012
Book Review: Dallas and the Spitfire by Ted Kluck and Dallas Jahncke
These days, there’s a lot of emphasis being put on the need for one-to-one discipleship (and rightly so). Christians need to be encouraging one another in the faith and those with a more seasoned faith ought to be coming alongside newer or less mature believers to guide them into maturity. But how do we do it?
That’s the dilemma that Ted Kluck faces when he’s assigned by his church to disciple Dallas Jahncke,a recovering drug addict, ex-convict, and brand-new Christian who Kluck would take und...
Links I Like
Justin Buzzard:
Here’s what you need to know about your idol: That idol that you love, it doesn’t love you back. False gods don’t love you. Idols don’t keep their promises. Anything you worship and build your life on other than God will suck the life out of you and destroy you.
Stop Your Cheatin’ Ways
Kevin DeYoung:
I have a theory that I’ve made into an aphorism: you can borrow time, but you can’t steal it.
The saying is mainly about sleep. If you...
April 26, 2012
The Gospel and the Organized Heart
About a year ago, I received a copy of Staci Eastin’s book, The Organized Heart:A Woman’s Guide to Conquering Chaos, which I joyfully gave to my wife as a gift (which she appreciated because, a. she loves organization and b. she loves books almost as much as I do). She found the book so helpful she kindly reviewed it here in her first parachute vlog.
While at Together for the Gospel in April, 2012, Staci and I sat down to discuss the book. In our interview, we talk about her reasons for writin...
