Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 396
December 17, 2011
What a Precious Counselor is Christ
"…and His name shall be called . . . Counselor…" Isa. 9:6
And if there is one on earth to whose difficulties, perplexities, and anxieties Christ is prepared to give counsel and help, it is he who, through sin, and doubt, and darkness, is working and struggling to find his way to Himself. To such an one He says, "Poor soul! do you inquire after me? Am I the object of your desire, your search, your love? Are you perplexed with doubts, trembling with fears, struggling with difficulties, and yet...
December 16, 2011
Kindle Deals for the Christian Reader
Here are a few great deals I've found for Christian books for your Kindle—If you see any that I've missed, let me know in the comments!
New Additions:
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul—Free
Money, Possessions & Eternity by Randy Alcorn—Free
The Strategy of Satan by Warren W. Wiersbe—Free
Cruciform Press Titles (until Dec. 20):
Sexual Detox by Tim Challies - $0.99 Awaiting a Savior by Aaron Armstrong - $2.99Grieving, Hope and Solace by Albert Martin - $2.99 Smooth Stones by Joe Coffey - $2.99 But...Book Review: Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by ND Wilson
Have you ever tried to use your sense of smell to describe how a fresh bowl of fruit looks? What about sight to describe the sound of a two-year-old happily playing in her room? If so, you understand a little more about the challenge N.D. Wilson faced in writing Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World. In this delightfully peculiar book, Wilson attempts to recapture a sense of wonder at the world that God has spoken into being and does so with intriguing and...
December 15, 2011
No Advocate of Undogmatic Religion
Paul was no advocate of an undogmatic religion; he was interested above everything else in the objective and universal truth of his message. . . . Paul was not interested merely in the ethical principles of Jesus; he was not interested merely in general principles of religion or of ethics. On the contrary, he was interested in the redeeming work of Christ and its effect upon us. His primary interest was in Christian doctrine, and Christian doctrine not merely in its presuppositions but at...
December 14, 2011
My Favorite Books of 2011
That season has come around once again, where top ten (or in this case, eleven) lists abound! As you know, reading is one the few hobbies I have, and as of this writing, I've read 105 books.1 Going through that many books in a year led to some interesting challenges as I considered which were my top picks. 2011's reading saw a couple of abysmal reads, at least one that was rank heresy, a few "meh" titles, and a surprisingly large amount that ranged from good to great in terms of quality and c...
December 13, 2011
Book Review: Welcome to the Story by Stephen J. Nichols
Reading the Bible can be a tricky thing if you don't always know what you're looking for. In Welcome to the Story, Stephen J. Nichols surveys the grand storyline of the Bible and offers insights for getting the most out of our reading of Scripture.
Nichols breaks down the the big story of Scripture into four acts—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration—and carefully teases out a few helpful implications of each of the important truths. Most helpful when discussing creation is Nichols'...
December 12, 2011
Jesus, The Bible and You
Throughout history, the church has rarely seen an attack on the inerrancy, inspiration and authority of the Bible of the magnitude of modern debates—debates which really only gained academic credibility in the last two centuries and popular consensus within the last generation. And make no mistake, the attack against inerrancy is inextricably linked to inspiration—certainly in the way we have traditionally responded to our critical scholars. By proving the words of the Bible are accurate, we ...
December 11, 2011
Around the Interweb
What's Next for New York Churches
John Starke, who pastors a church affected by the New York City's recent decision to no longer allow churches to meet in public schools, shares about the situation:
Surely New York's ban reflects the intolerance of a tolerant society, as D. A. Carson has said somewhere. "It's ironic," one Brooklyn city official commented at Thursday's press conference, "that the Klu Klux Klan can meet freely in public schools, but churches, who were the backbone of the civil...
December 10, 2011
The Wonder of the Universe
"His name shall be called Wonderful…" Isa 9:6
God has implanted in the human heart a love of the wonderful. And not only has He inspired the sentiment, but in countless forms He has met it. He has clothed the universe with the wonderful. Turn the eye where we may, it lights upon some object of wonder, which, but for the blinding and stupifying power of sin, would awaken the exclamation from every lip, "How great is His beauty! how great is His power!" In sending His beloved Son into the...
December 9, 2011
A Biblical Battle Plan for Faithful Street Ministry
Artur Pawlowski. Street Church. Are these names ringing a bell? Depending on your theological convictions, they may be actually sounding an alarm. Many Canadian Christians already know about brother Artur's "evangelistic escapades" in Calgary, Alberta, over the past six years—actions which have lead to his repeated injunctions, fines, and arrests. A recent National Post article gave him national (and international) attention as he voiced his frustration over the treatment he's received from p...
