The Gospel Coalition

My new favorite song. (Yes, I know it's been out a while. Just now catching up.)



How could I stand here
And watch the sun rise
Follow the mountains
Where they touch the sky
Ponder the vastness
And the depths of the sea
And think for a moment
The point of it all was to make much of me?

Cause I'm just a whisper
And You are the thunder and

I want to make much of You, Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You

And how can I kneel here
And think of...

Stick with your work.

Do not flinch because the lion roars.
Do not stop to stone the devil's dogs.
Do not fool away your time chasing the devil's rabbits.

Do your work.

Let liars lie.
Let sectarians quarrel.
Let critics malign.
Let enemies accuse.
Let the devil do his worst.

But see to it nothing hinders you from fulfilling with joy the work God has given you.

He has not commanded you to be admired or esteemed.
He has never bidden you defend your character.
He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood (about yourself)
which Satan's or God's servants may start to peddle,
or to track down every rumor that threatens your reputation.
If you do these things, you will do nothing else.
You will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep at your work.
Let your aim be as steady as a star.
You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered,
wounded and rejected, misunderstood, or assigned impure motives;
You may be abused by foes,...

Mike Wittmer has been posting some hilarious bloopers he's come across in papers from his students. Click here, here, and here for all them. I've posted a few of my favorites below:

"Before the tree, Adam enjoyed sex without knowing that Eve was naked."

Adam was one dumb guy.

In 1059 Anselm made his way to the Benedictine abbey of Bec in Normandy.  The following year Anselm entered the abbey.

He shouldn't have waited so long to knock.

"The power of Christ could not be overcome by Satin's power of death."

That 800 thread count is a killer.

"The issue of baptism is as old as itself."

I had no idea.

"Mary was conceived through the Holy Spirit, which caused her to be pregnant with Jesus."

In this spectacular variation on the immaculate conception, Mary was pregnant before she was born.

"Bernard wrote for a wider audience than Anselm---who wrote only for rational people."

Who did Bernard write for, morons?

"Capitalization has led...

Links for your weekend reading:

1. Ten Attributes of a Humble Leader

2. What Is Better? (Must Read!)

3. President Obama, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Future of Evangelical Response

4. Three Things J.D. Greear Learned Through the Process (of passing Amendment 1)

5. Have You Misplaced Your Fear?

6. What Sermon Prep Really Looks Like

7. The Challenge of Christian...

Sunday School.

Small groups.

Home community groups.

How we weigh the strengths and weaknesses of these models depends on what their primary purpose is.

• The traditional Sunday school model seeks to use the hour before or after a worship service for adult education, which results in an interactive Bible study or topical teaching series.


• The small group model puts a priority on fellowship within the body, which results in accountability and an emphasis on Bible application.


• The community group model elevates missional engagement of one's neighborhood, which results in an open and outward-focused atmosphere.

If the main goal of the group is to invite outsiders to meet the Christians in their neighborhood, then Sunday school and small groups are clearly deficient. Meanwhile, if the primary purpose is Bible study and application, then community groups are off-base. The way we analyze these models depends on what we think is most important to accomplish.

I'm convinced that the purpose for...

Perhaps because of President Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage yesterday, this post of mine from last fall has jumped to the top of my page views again. "How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go"

Just once, I'd like to see a TV interview go more like this:

Host: You are a Christian pastor, and you say you believe the Bible, which means you are supposed to love all people.

Pastor: That's right.

Host: But it appears to me that you and your church take a rather unloving position when it comes to gay people. Are homosexuals welcome to come to your church?

How to Win the Public on Homosexuality:

Political strategy and tactics alone don't explain such a pronounced shift in public sentiment, especially among younger generations of Americans. Indeed, regaining the ground Christians have lost on homosexuality will require widespread repentance, painful self-examination, and new resolve to pursue self-denying holiness. Most of all,

...

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient.

- James 5:7-8

I struggle with the sin of impatience. I want things done now. I want things done fast. I want fast results. Patience is a virtue, and I'm afraid I am often lacking it!

The most difficult aspect of patience for the laborer in God's kingdom is that we want to see discipleship results. Walking with people can be a long and arduous journey. We get frustrated at the slowness of our own sanctification, and sometimes wonder if our efforts for others are in vain.

In James' letter of challenge and encouragement to the Jewish believers in Jesus who were scattered in foreign lands, he encouraged his readers

...

Leo Tolstoy: Youth Group President?

Tolstoy pursued perfection in his own strength and energy apart from the grace of God. He constantly lived under guilt and shame, and he died a miserable vagrant. He never enjoyed the Christian life because he missed the essence of Christianity.

Here's Why Google and FaceBook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years:

Social companies born since 2010 have a very different view of the world.  These companies - and Instagram is the most topical example at the moment - view the mobile smartphone as the primary (and oftentimes exclusive) platform for their application.  They don't even think of launching via a web site.  They assume, over time, people will use their mobile applications almost entirely instead of websites.

We will never have Web 3.0, because the Web's dead.

Tom's Targum - Robert Gundry reviews N.T. Wright's translation of the New Testament

So KNT's similar

...

Recent polls show younger evangelicals leaning to the left of their parents and grandparents, politically at least. Bloggers and authors have discussed and debated the meaning of the shift and its possible causes.
...

Leadership Training Doesn't Work:

At best classes convey concepts, but those same concepts are available in books around the world. Small group leaders don't come from small group leader classes, campus pastors don't come from campus pastor classes and worship leaders don't come from worship leader classes. Classes don't harm leaders, they just don't produce leaders.

Book covers are important. Take a minute to help Matt Chandler, Eric Geiger, and Josh Patterson choose the cover to their forthcoming book, Creature of the Word.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not merely one thing among a plethora of things in the life of a church. Rather, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the basis of the church's existence. It is a means by which God creates and sustains the church's life. Thus, the church is solely a "creature of the word", or it is no church at all.

John...