A true Theologian

But this was not so for Luther: the theologian was one who had been seized by the Word, gripped by the address of God, whose very identity was determined by the this prior address of God which then compelled and shaped any response he might care to give. This process was agonizing, existential, redefining at the most fundamental level the person's own self-understanding as the huge gulf that exists between Creator and creature in all of its terrifying glory comes home to the theologian and drives him again and again out of himself and to the cross where hangs the Incarnate God. A theologian -- a true theologian -- was one who, through agonizing struggle was driven again and again by the Spirit to wrestle with the text of scripture so as to discern its meaning, and then communicate that meaning in the power of the Spirit to others. As I hope to demonstrate in future posts, nobody who casually bandies around theological ideas, or who talks comfortably about doubt and temptation, is worthy of the title "true theologian" as Luther understood it.

Brian Chapel on Preaching

from Justin Taylor by Justin Taylor

Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary, recently delivered the Mullins Lectures on Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville (March 30-April 1, 2010).

Below are links that will take you to the video for these lectures.

• “Use for Useless Heroes” (from Judges 7)


• “Holiness in Heaven’s Plan” (from Colossians 3:1-5)


• “Hope’s Journey” (from Romans 15:4)

On the third one, Russell Moore tweeted, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a finer sermon in @SBTS chapel. Bryan Chapell was phenomenal.”

Here is the audio:

• “Use for Useless Heroes” (from Judges 7)


• “Holiness in Heaven’s Plan” (from Colossians 3:1-5)


• “Hope’s Journey” (from Romans 15:4)

Collection of quotes on Christ's ressurection and the New Creation

http://richardsibbes.com/_temporary/resurrection-recreation.pdf

DeYoung on the Church

Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are the co-authors of the book Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion (Moody, 2009). In 2009 Kevin spoke at a Family Camp for Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church on some of the themes of the book.

Right-click the links below to save the MP3s, or just stream the files.

The Church: Introduction

The Church: Missiological Objections

The Church: Personal Objections

The Church: Historical Objections

The Church: Theological Objections

The Church: Recovering a Sound Ecclesiology

Tabletalk

from Ligonier Ministries Blog

The December edition of Tabletalk
is out. This month's theme is "The Already and the Not Yet." The issue explores how the kingdom of God has been inaugurated but has not yet been consummated. Contributors
include R.C. Sproul, Robert Reymond, Burk Parsons, Keith Mathison, and Guy Richardson.

We do not post all of the feature articles or the daily devotionals from the issue, so you'll have to subscribe to get those. But for now, here are links to a few select columns and articles from this month:

"Pardoned and Glorified" by Burk Parsons

"Last Things First" by R.C. Sproul

"Our Blessed Struggle" by Dr. Guy Richardson

"The Big Picture" by Robert Reymond

"Holiness" by Keith A. Mathison

"Moving Toward the Goal of History" by R.C. Sproul Jr.

"Secular Eschatology" by Gene Edward Veith

David Platt the Gospel Demands Radical Generosity

from Justin Taylor by Justin Taylor

A convicting sermon here by David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL:

Popout

The Gospel Demands Radical Giving – David Platt from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

Acts 29 Boot Camp on Ambition

from Justin Taylor by Justin Taylor

Below are the MP3s of the sessions at the Acts20 church planting boot on ambition:

• Matt Chandler, Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition


• Kevin Cawley, Decoding Your City & Ambition


• Bob Thune, Discipleship & Ambition


• Russell Moore, Speaking Past Demons: Christian Preaching As Expository Exorcism


• Darrin Patrick, Leadership & Ambition


• Steve Timmis, The Church & Ambition


• Ed Stetzer, Church Planting & Ambition


• Dave Harvey, The Gospel & Ambition

If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, be on the lookout for Dave Harvey’s forthcoming book, Rescuing Ambition, due out this Spring from Crossway.