As usual, Ray Ortlund says a lot with very little prose. From a post today at "Christ is Deeper Still":

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans.  About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.  I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

John Wesley, Journals (London, 1836), page 43. Italics original.

I have heard some scoff at this account. “Pietistic” was the word used, as if that settled it. I’m not big on man-made labels one way or the other. But what God gave Wesley that evening I revere...

Nicholas Batzig has an excellent charge to gospel ministers in the latest issue of Tabletalk magazine. Here's how he opens his article, "The Fine Line":

Every Christian is to have a conscience singularly informed by the Word of God, but it is utterly indispensable for the minister of the gospel. Ministers are called to take a stand for truth before those who oppose the Word of God in the world; but they also face the unique challenge of taking a stand for truth before those who oppose biblical teaching within the church. In a day of widespread individualism, heightened biblical illiteracy, and diminishing respect for gospel ministry, ministers are faced with the daunting task of taking a firm but loving stand in matters of faith and practice.

Read the whole thing ...

Over at the "For the Love of God" blog, D.A. Carson takes up Psalm 139. He's concerned that our God is too small:

There is a perverseness to human thoughts about God that would be risible if it were not so tragic. We find ways to make him small. A marvelous antidote is Psalm 139. It paints an exalted picture of God, yet does so in stunningly personal ways, as befits a psalm.

What are the "stunningly personal ways" the psalmist displays an exalted God? Carson details four:

1. God sees and knows everything (139:1-6).


2. God is omnipresent, and therefore inescapable (139:7-12).


3. God is Creator and providential Ruler (139:13-18).


4. God is utterly holy (139:19-24).

For helpful commentary on each of these points, see the whole post ...

We are greatly encouraged to feature a new article by TGC Council member and pastor of Willingdon Church (in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) John Neufeld. In "Suffering and Glory," Neufeld uses Romans 8:18-25 to lift our eyes heavenward as a means of seeing our suffering in the light of eternity. Here's how Neufeld opens:

Living in this world means suffering. But for the believer suffering and glory belong together. In describing our suffering, Paul is holding a scale before us. Not a bathroom scale, but an ancient scale; one that balanced one weight against the other. On the one side, Paul places all the suffering that Christians will endure on this side of eternity. On the other side of the scale, Paul places our future glory. What does our suffering weigh? How does this compare

...

Disturbing statistic of the moment:

An explosion in social networking activity has also triggered an avalanche of narcissism, especially on college campuses. A 2009 poll of 1,068 college students in the US conducted by researchers at San Diego State University found that 57 per cent believe that their generation uses social networking sites for self-promotion and attention seeking, while 40 per cent agreed with the statement that “being self-promoting, narcissistic, overconfident, and attention-seeking is helpful for succeeding in a competitive world.”

[From Evgeny Morozov, "Losing Our Minds to the Web," Prospect magazine, June 22, 2010.]

Given this explosion in social networking activity, how can the church be more effective in reaching college-age students with the...

Commenting on Joshua 2:8-11, D.A. Carson has a good word about the implications of God's sovereignty for revival in our day:

Not for a moment am I suggesting that God does not normally work through means that follow the regularities of the structures God himself has created. But it is vital to insist that God is not ever limited to such regularities. Above all, the Bible repeatedly speaks of times when, on the one hand, he sends confusion or fear on whole nations, or, on the other, he so transforms people by writing his Law on their heart that they long to please him. We are dealing with a God who is not limited by the machinations of the media. He is quite capable of so intruding that in judgment or grace he sovereignly controls what people think.

As early as the Song of Moses and Miriam, God is praised

...

USA Today opinion writer Tom Krattenmaker has an interesting article on evangelism in America. In "How to Sell Christianity? Ask an Atheist," Krattenmaker profiles Seattle pastor Jim Henderson. Due to his conversations with atheists, Henderson is done with evangelistic formulas -- especially the old "bait and switch" outreach programs. Instead, what he calls for is the radical notion of actually getting to know non-believers and letting one's witness flow out of genuine relationships. Krattenmaker approves: "Henderson and his fellow travelers are right in urging would-be evangelists simply to get to know people, become their friends and let the spiritual chips fall where they may." Call it the no formula, formula.

So, how does one sell Christianity? You...

The annual General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America begins this week in Nashville, TN. Jason Helopoulos has a helpful guest post over at Kevin DeYoung's blog outlining why he loves this annual gathering and suggests how we can pray for the PCA. Here's how he closes:

The PCA has grown rather quickly over the past 37 years. It is not the same, small, southern denomination it was at its inception. And this has created great opportunities and problems. The PCA is trying to figure out what it will look like going forward. This year’s assembly will have a great deal to say about that. And I will be on the floor with my little voting card and heart bowed in prayer praying that this branch of the Lord’s Church would honor Him and continue to uphold the banner of Christ for

...

Tullian Tchividjian (shameless plug alert: TGC blogger at "On Earth as it is in Heaven") preached recently at the Advance the Church conference in Durham, NC. Here's the video to his message titled, "The Gospel Unchanging: Contextualization Without Compromise."



For other messages from the conference by J.D. Greear, Matt Carter, Tyler Jones, Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, Jerome Gay, and David Platt, go ...

We are grateful to our friends at The Center for Gospel Culture not only for their ministry as a whole, but for a recent interview series they did with D.A. Carson. Here are three short-form videos covering the following three issues:

1. The Fate of Biblical Theology


2. Controversies on Justification


3. The Evangelical Movement

...