Justin Taylor's Blog, page 209

Cultivating Private Prayer as a Pastor

Joel Beeke:

You can also listen to the audio or read the notes here.

An outline:

Prayerful praying requires:

(1) Taking hold of yourself by:

Remembering the value of prayer.

Maintaining the priority of prayer.

Praying with sincerity.

Cultivating a life of continual prayer.

Working toward organization in intercessory prayer.

Reading the Bible for prayer.

Keeping a biblical balance in your prayers.

(2) Taking hold of God by:

Pleading God’s promises in prayer.

Clinging to this glorious Trinity in prayer.

Believe that God answers prayer.

We Cannot Hold the Gospel Hostage to Our Shortcomings

Duane Litfin, writing in Christianity Today:

Some today will claim that there is no true evangelism without “embodied action.” In fact, according to one critic, “Unless [Christ's] disciples are following the Great Commandment, it is fruitless to engage in the Great Commission.” According to this view, the gospel is without its own potency. Its “fruitfulness” depends upon us. But this is not the testimony of the New Testament.

According to Paul—whose itinerant ministry met few of the “embodied action” criteria—the power of the gospel does not reside in us; it resides in the Spirit’s application of the message itself. . . .

Few would deny that the holistic mission of the church is the best possible platform for our verbal witness, and that our jaded generation will be more inclined to give us a hearing if we are living it out. (Indeed, the longest section of my new book, Word versus Deed, is devoted to the crucial role of our deeds.)

But this does not permit us to hold the gospel hostage to our shortcomings.

When has the church been all it should be?

When, short of glory, will the church ever be all that God wills for it?

The church has been messy from the beginning, falling far short of living out the Great Commandment. Yet despite our failures, the gospel itself remains marvelously potent, the very “power of God unto salvation” to those who believe.

The gospel’s inherent power does not fluctuate with the strengths or weaknesses of its messengers.

This truth is humbling, but also immensely liberating. In the end, my inability to answer objections, my lack of training or experience, even failures in my own faithfulness in living it out do not nullify the gospel’s power. Its potency is due to the working of God’s Spirit.

Even when we are at our best, the gospel is powerful in spite of us, not because of us. Thanks be to God.

You can read the whole thing here. This is adapted from his book, Word Versus Deed: Resetting the Scales to a Biblical Balance (Crossway, 2012).

Piper and Meyer Talk Succession for the First Time

Collin Hansen at the Gospel Coalition writes:

In this interview with Justin Taylor, Meyer and Piper talk together in public about the Bethlehem succession for the first time, just days after more than 99 percent of the church supported Meyer’s candidacy. Piper and Meyer explain why they avoided public talk about their impressions from the Lord about the transition and how they sought strong affirmation from leaders and members without wielding a strong arm over the decision. Meyer also explains how he changed his mind about leading Bethlehem when God promised more of himself in the process. Finally, Piper and Meyer close with counsel for leaders in transition from God’s Word and their experience.

You can watch the video below:

The interview was recorded on May 22, 2012, on the campus of Southern Seminary.

Don’t (Always) Judge a Book by Its (Back) Cover

I feel some obligation to link to this review of G. R. Evans’s The Roots of the Reformation given that I implicitly commended it in a previous post.

After cataloging numerous factual errors on a single read, Carl Trueman issues a caveat emptor (hence my mea culpa).

Here is his conclusion:

I really wanted to like this book. Teaching Reformation church history is my primary task and one of the great joys of my life. I am consequently always looking for good textbooks in this area. Given G. R. Evans solid record as a fine scholar this looked very much as if it was going to be just such a book, especially given the stated emphasis on the long view, rooting the Reformation in medieval history.

Sadly, the multitude of factual mistakes it contains render it a complete classroom liability.  Pace the stellar jacket commendations from some of the most learned Reformation scholars alive, I cannot recommend it other than as a salutary lesson in what happens when one writes too quickly and too confidently outside of one’s own field of expertise.  As a teacher, I cannot use this book because it does not do that which I require of a textbook: provide a reliable guide to names, dates and events. I also fear that in the hands of the rising generation of evangelicals who have a zeal for the reformation without much knowledge of what it really represented, this book will do about as much theological good as putting a brush and a pot of red paint in the hands of a two year old: the results are going to be very messy indeed. I hope that if IVP consider a second edition, they will at least require substantial rewriting of the last 250 pages and possibly have another medievalist cast their eye over first 250.

In short, this is a very curious book: curious for the fact that a fine scholar such as Professor Evans would produce such a seriously flawed piece of work; and curious for the fact that highly respected scholars have given it their imprimaturs in the form of glowing jacket commendations. Sadly, in line with the old proverb, you cannot judge this book by its cover.

J.I. Packer’s 11th Birthday Present: The Tale of the Bicycle and the Typewriter

The “dent” in J. I. Packer’s head is the result of a childhood accident.

In September of 1933, at the age of seven, he had “a violent collision with a truck, a bread van.” The result—damage to the frontal lobe of his brain with a chunk of his skull missing—was a three-week stay in the hospital, followed by six months of recuperation away from school. From that time until he went off to Oxford, he had to wear a protective aluminum plate over his injury and to abstain from all sports. Already a loner, Packer withdrew into solitary activities like reading and writing.

Alister McGrath picks up the story:

Every schoolboy of the period longer for the day when he would own a bicycle of his own. Usually around the age of eleven, at the point when a schoolboy would enter senior school, parents would mark their son’s ‘coming of age’ by giving him a bicycle as a birthday present.

Packer dropped heavy hints that he expected to receive a cycle, like all his friends.

However, his parents knew that they could not yet allow their son to have a bicycle. If he were to have any kind of accident, the earlier injury could lead to something much more serious, and potentially fatal. But what could they give their son instead?

On the morning of his eleventh birthday, in 1937, Packer wandered down from his bedroom to see what present awaited him. The family had a tradition of placing birthday presents in dining room of the house. He expected to find a bicycle. Instead, he found an old Oliver typewriter, which seemed to him to weigh half a ton. Although it was old, in was nevertheless in excellent condition.

It was not what Packer had asked for; nevertheless, it proved to be what he needed.

Surprise gave way to delight, as he realized what he could do with this unexpected gift. It was not more than a minute before he had put paper into the machine and started to type. It proved to be his best present and the most treasured possession of his boyhood.

—Alister McGrath, J. I. Packer: A Biography (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), p. 6, my emphasis.

To this day, Packer continues to type all of his manuscripts and correspondence on an old-fashioned typewriter. He has never used a computer.

I’m thankful for a God who does not always give us what we want, but always provides what we ultimately need.

Summer Road Trips: Dramatized Audiobooks for the Family

One of the best-kept secrets for Christian families, it seems to me, is the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre dramas. They have taken a number of classic books and adapted them for audio. With an internationally acclaimed cast of actors, cinema-quality sound effects, and full orchestration, this is notable exception to the complaint that evangelicals produce inferior art.

I’ve included information below on each of the CD sets, along with an audio sample (where available) and the publisher’s description. Happy listening!

The Chronicles of Narnia

Between the lamppost and Cair Paravel on the eastern sea lies Narnia, a mystical land where animals hold the power of speech . . . woodland creatures conspire with men . . . dark forces, bent on conquest, gather at the world’s rim to wage war against the realm’s rightful king . . . and the great lion Aslan is the only hope. Into this enchanted world comes a group of unlikely travelers. These ordinary boys and girls, when faced with peril, learn extraordinary lessons in courage, self-sacrifice, friendship, and honor.

These classic stories have enchanted millions around the world. Radio Theatre brings them to life in this dramatized audio production. Recorded in London with an all-star cast of England’s brightest talent from the stage and screen, an original orchestral score, and cinema-quality digital sound design, this innovative recording provides hours of entertainment for the entire family. The Chronicles of Narnia includes The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; and The Last Battle.

Note: there are 19 CDs and this includes all seven books. I’d recommend getting this one, which is about 1/3 the price of this one. I think the only difference is that with the latter, each audiobook is in its own hard plastic case, whereas with the former they are just in paper CD pockets.

The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place is the story of two spinster daughters, Corrie and Betsie, unlikely heroes who became the center of a major underground operation to hide Jewish refugees from the occupying Germans. Even when betrayed and sent away to the dreaded Ravensbruck concentration camp, they manage to create another Hiding Place for those around them. This innovative audio drama closely follows the account of Corrie Ten Boom and features a moving musical score.

3 CDs

Les Misérables

The story that has thrilled millions comes to life in a brand new way in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s Les Miserables. This audio drama beautifully portrays the redeeming power of forgiveness through the story of Jean Valjean, an embittered convict whose life is changed by a single act of kindness. Recorded in London with some of England’s finest actors, it will mesmerize adults and families alike.

3 CDs

At Home in Mitford

Combining the stellar script-adaptation skills of award-winning writer Paul McCusker with the best-selling novel by Jan Karon, Radio Theatre’s At Home in Mitford will leave listeners longing for more. Set in the charming village of Mitford, this book will delight listeners as it draws them into the life of Father Tim, an Episcopal rector who finds himself running on empty and longing for change. His bachelor existence is changed and enriched by a lovable cast of characters, including a stray dog, a lonely boy, and a comely neighbor.

6 CDs

Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom

With faith comes a price. What are you willing to pay? That’s the question explored in Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom. Chronicling the life of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this provocative Peabody award-winning dramatization shares the story of one man’s battle against the evils of Nazism, a decadent culture, and compromising church—something that’s not so foreign to society today. Challenging and compelling, it’s entertainment with a message!

3 CDs

At the Back of the North Wind

In this Radio Theatre audio drama adaptation of George MacDonald’s classic story, a beautiful woman known as the North Wind blows through a small village in Victorian London, and everyday lives are mysteriously enveloped by a power and a glory. Along the way, she visits a poor stable boy named Diamond and takes him with her on her journeys. At the Back of the North Wind explores the place of death in our lives, social injustice, and our deep need for love and forgiveness.

C. S. Lewis, author of the classic Chronicles of Narnia series, said of MacDonald, “What he does best is fantasy—fantasy that hovers between the allegorical and the mythopoeic. And this, in my opinion, he does better than any man. MacDonald is the greatest genius of this kind whom I know.”

2 CDs

Father Gilbert Mysteries: Collector’s Edition

When Louis Gilbert turned in his detective badge to become an Anglican priest, he thought his days of solving difficult mysteries were over. Now, as the vicar of an ancient church in a small English village, Gilbert finds himself as the center of one strange mystery after another. And he brings to each one his unique combination of streetwise smarts and spiritual intuition.

All nine Father Gilbert Mysteries are offered in this special 10-CD collection, providing over 10 hours of audio entertainment.

(Note: Due to themes and scenes of mature nature, these audio drams are recommended for listeners age 15 and older.)

Silas Marner

Edward Woodward . . . and Jenny Agutter are just two of the experienced cast that lends its talents to this enchanting audio-play adaptation of the famous story by George Eliot. Betrayed by his best friend and maliciously accused of being a thief, Silas Marner loses everything—his fiancee, his friends, his reputation, and—worst of all—his faith in God and his fellow man. When a beautiful, golden-haired child enters his life—a girl he loves as if she were his own daughter—his life is amazingly changed for the better.

2 CDs

Anne of Green Gables

This captivating new radio drama production based on the beloved book by Lucy M. Montgomery allows listeners to personally experience the world and characters presented in Anne of Green Gables in a whole new way! Anne of Green Gables is the story of a little girl’s feisty spirit and strong determination that win over the hearts of the people of Avonlea, the love and commitment of family, and a poor orphan growing up into a distinguished young woman.

3 CDs

Amazing Grace

The Radio Theatre production of Amazing Grace provides a prequel view to events featured in Amazing Grace, the movie. It offers listeners a more in-depth and personal story of each of the main characters—William Wilberforce (an evangelical Christian politician), John Newton (author of “Amazing Grace”), and Olaudah Equiano (slave turned quaker merchant)—three men instrumental in overthrowing the slave trade. The original Radio Theatre drama will bring out the essential spiritual elements in each story and show how the efforts of each man turned the tide of public opinion.

6 CDs

Note: Amazon doesn’t seem to be carrying this one right now. CBD says they can ship it by the end of June.

Ben Hur

An unforgettable account of betrayal, revenge, redemption, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s production of Ben-Hur tells the tale of a nobleman who fell from Roman favor and was sentenced to live as a slave—all at the hands of his childhood friend, Messala. Once nearly brothers, any hope of reconciliation is dashed after Messala is seriously injured during a vicious chariot race won by the vindictive Ben-Hur. But what makes this adaptation of Lew Wallace’s best-selling story unforgettable is the changed man Ben-Hur becomes after seeing Christ on the cross. Recorded in London with film-style sound, this action-packed production shares that compassion is the true path to redemption.”

2 CDs

A Christmas Carol

Experience Charles Dickens’s beloved story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future in a 90-minute full-cast drama production. Since 1996, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre has produced innovative audio entertainment for families and individuals. These dramas feature cinema-quality sound design and original music scores.

2 CDs; 90 minutes

 

The Screwtape Letters

In his enduringly popular masterpiece The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis re-imagines Hell as a gruesome bureaucracy. With spiritual insight and wry wit, Lewis suggests that demons, laboring in a vast enterprise, have horribly recognizable human attributes: competition, greed, and totalitarian punishment. Avoiding their own painful torture as well as a desire to dominate are what drive demons to torment their “patients.”

The style and unique dark humor of The Screwtape Letters are retained in this full-cast dramatization, as is the original setting of London during World War II. The story is carried by the senior demon Screwtape played magnificently by award-winning actor Andy Serkis (“Gollum” in Lord of the Rings) as he shares correspondence to his apprentice demon Wormwood. All 31 letters lead into dramatic scenes, set in either Hell or the real world with humans—aka “the patient,” as the demons say—along with his circle of friends and family. This Radio Theatre release also stars Geoffrey Palmer (Tomorrow Never Dies), Laura Michelle Kelly (Sweeney Todd), Eileen Page (The Secret Garden), and other world-class actors.

Includes 10 new songs inspired by the classic book, four behind-the-scenes video documentary featurettes, and a 5.1 surround sound mix. Four CDs, approx. 4 hours total.

Here’s a “behind the scenes” video:

The Legend of Squanto

Discover the incredible story of one of American history’s least known, yet most compelling, figures as it unfolds in The Legend of Squanto. This Focus on the Family radio theatre drama is more than just a tale about an honest man who triumphed over tragedy. It is also a tribute to honor, integrity, and the God-given ability to look beyond the color of one’s skin . . . and into the heart.

2 CDs

You can preview the entire audiobook below:

Billy Budd, Sailor

Listeners will be captivated by this moving tale of good versus evil through the life of winsome young sailor Billy Budd. Aboard a 1700s British warship, virtuous Billy is unfairly accused of treason by the villainous Master of Arms—a cold-blooded superior officer intent on Billy’s destruction. Adapted from Herman Melville’s famous novel and presented by Focus on the Family’s Peabody Award-winning Radio Theatre team, Billy Budd will remind listeners of another man, perfectly just, who suffered and died a criminal’s death.

1 CD

The Secret Garden

One of the best-loved stories of all time, The Secret Garden is presented in high-quality and entertaining Radio Theatre drama. This classic tale, enriched with Biblical values, reflects themes such as helping others and believing in people. Mary, a young orphaned girl, meets her bedridden cousin, Colin. She discovers an enchanting secret place, separate from the outside world. It is in this place that Colin and Mary learn lessons about overcoming obstacles. By putting their faith in God and others, their lives are forever altered. This story will captivate audiences of all ages.

2 CDs

Oliver Twist

(coming in November 2012)

Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre’s edition of Charles Dickens’ classic story, Oliver Twist. Oliver is born in a workhouse about 70 miles from London, England in the early 1800s. He is brought up at a “child farm” in the country until the parish officials running the child farm decide it’s time for him to start working, and send him back to the workhouse. When Oliver commits the unpardonable offense of asking for more food, the parish officials offer five pounds to anyone who’s willing to take him on as an apprentice. Oliver is sent off with a coffin-maker whose wife mistreats him. Oliver finally runs away to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger and Fagin. Fagin trains kids to be pickpockets, and then sells off what they steal. Oliver goes through many trials and hardships, but finally gets his happy ending.

Recorded in London with an award-winning cast, Oliver Twist will steal your heart and take you back in time as the characters are brought to life in this audio drama.

5 CDs + 1 DVD (I assume the DVD is just a “making of” feature, though I’m not sure)

The Life of Jesus

In first century Palestine, the physician Luke is on a mission to save the life of his friend Paul. His task: chronicling the life of a carpenter’s son from Nazareth named Jesus. Luke searches for firsthand witnesses to the miracles and controversies surrounding the man they call “the Christ.” Luke’s travels take him through violent roads, and he encounters his own miracles along the way. Be an eyewitness to Luke’s quest for the truth in this Radio Theatre production featuring England’s finest actors and cinema-quality sound design.

9 CDs

Little Women

Combining the stellar script adaptation skills of award-winning writers Paul McCusker and Philip Glassborrow with the beloved novel by Louisa May Alcott, Radio Theatre’s Little Women will captivate listeners with its poignant story and top-notch cast. Through trial, illness, poverty, disappointment, and sacrifice, four sisters place family above all else, reinforcing the qualities of honesty, contentment, and joy.

Note: We’ve enjoyed this one as a family; it is currently out of print, but I’ve included it in case you want to get a used copy.

Poythress on Inerrancy and Worldview

John Frame says, “The book gets deeper into the question of inerrancy than any other book I know.”

Wayne Grudem writes, “I can think of no one in the world better qualified to write a defense of biblical inerrancy than my lifelong friend Vern Poythress. This book is no ordinary defense of inerrancy that merely focuses on proposed solutions to several difficult verses (though it does examine some of them). Rather, it is a wide-ranging analysis that exposes the faulty intellectual assumptions that underlie challenges to the Bible from every major academic discipline in the modern university world. I think every Christian student at every secular university should read and absorb the arguments in this book. It is profoundly wise, insightful, and clearly written, and it will surely strengthen every reader’s confidence in the trustworthiness of the Bible as the very words of God.”

They are referring to Poythress’s new book, Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible (Crossway, 2012). WTS is selling the book for 50% off.

The book is divided into several areas of challenge to our believe in the total truth of Scripture, including challenges from history, language, sociology and anthropology, psychology, biblical “problems,” and corrupt spirituality.

You can get a feel for the book from its sample material. Online for free are the preface and introduction, along with the first four chapters:

Part 1: Two Common Religious Difficulties

(1) How Can Only One Religion Be Right?

(2) Are Moral Rules a Straitjacket?

Part 2: Challenges from Science and Materialism

(3) Worldviews and Materialism

(4) Modern Science

 

Why Are So Many Guys Addicted to Internet Porn and Video Games?

The new ebook The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It is a secular argument by psychologist Philip G. Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan that “an addiction to video games and online porn have created a generation of shy, socially awkward, emotionally removed, and risk-adverse young men who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school, and employment.”

At the DG blog, Russell Moore explores this from a Christian perspective.

But porn and video games both are built on novelty, on the quest for newer and different experiences. That’s why you rarely find a man addicted to a single pornographic image. He’s entrapped in an ever-expanding kaleidoscope.

There’s a key difference between porn and gaming.

Pornography can’t be consumed in moderation because it is, by definition, immoral.

A video game can be a harmless diversion along the lines of a low-stakes athletic competition.

But the compulsive form of gaming shares a key element with porn: both are meant to simulate something, something for which men long.

Pornography promises orgasm without intimacy.

Video warfare promises adrenaline without danger.

The arousal that makes these so attractive is ultimately spiritual to the core.

He goes on to look at Satan’s strategy as upending God’s original intention:

Satan isn’t a creator but a plagiarist. His power is parasitic, latching on to good impulses and directing them toward his own purpose.

God intends a man to feel the wildness of sexuality, in the self-giving union with his wife.

And a man is meant to, when necessary, fight for his family, his people, for the weak and vulnerable who are being oppressed.

The drive to the ecstasy of just love and to the valor of just war are gospel matters.

The sexual union pictures the cosmic mystery of the union of Christ and his church.

The call to fight is grounded in a God who protects his people, a Shepherd Christ who grabs his sheep from the jaws of the wolves.

He also looks at the ways in which these addictions “foster the seemingly opposite vices of passivity and hyper-aggression.”

The porn addict becomes a lecherous loser, with one-flesh union supplanted by masturbatory isolation.

The video game addict becomes a pugilistic coward, with other-protecting courage supplanted by aggression with no chance of losing one’s life.

In both cases, one seeks the sensation of being a real lover or a real fighter, but venting one’s reproductive or adrenal glands over pixilated images, not flesh and blood for which one is responsible.

You can read the whole thing here.

Adoption Conferences This Fall

Together for Adoption —a wonderful organization doing great work—has two national conferences coming this fall. They provide a great opportunity to think through adoption from a theological and practical standpoint.

The National Conference is September 14-15, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Theme: God’s Story of Adoption for a Broken World

Speakers include:

Noel Piper
Tony Carter
Reddit Andrews
Leonce Crump
Tony Merida

Their conference for pastors and adoption/orphan care ministry leaders will be held at Southern Seminary on October 4-5, 2012.

Theme: Our Triune God & the Pastor: A Theology of Adoption for the Church.

Speakers include:

Sinclair Ferguson
Michael Horton
Fred Sanders
Robert Smith Jr.

The Gospel of Paul and the Gospel of the Kingdom

Tim Keller has recommended an essay by Simon Gathercole: “The Gospel of Paul and the Gospel of the Kingdom,” in God’s Power to Save, ed. Chris Green (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2006), pp. 138-154. Inter-Varsity Press has granted permission for me to post the full article.

“The concern in this chapter is with the extent to which Paul’s gospel is the same as, or represents a radical departure from, that of the Gospel writers and the other apostles.”

Gathercole identifies three central aspects of the gospel message—”the core of the euangelion according to Paul”—found in the Pauline epistles:

(1) who Jesus is, with particular reference to his identity as royal Messiah and son of God;

(2) his work of atonement and justification accomplished in the cross and resurrection, and

(3) Jesus’ work of new creation and of rescue from the power of sin.

The gospel according to Paul, Gathercole writes, “is simultaneously an affirmation of who Jesus is as well as of what he has done.” Gathercole defines the gospel in the Paul materials as “God’s account of his saving activity in Jesus the Messiah, in which, by Jesus’ death and resurrection, he atones for sin and brings new creation.”

He then turns to the synoptic material and works through these three themes of

(1) Messiahship

(2) Jesus’ death for the many

(3) The conquest of the demonic realm and the reign of God

You can read the whole thing here.