Blogroll

The Blogroll is a collection of blogs that are often of interest and help to SI readers. SharperIron does not create the content of these blogs and the views expressed in them are those of their respective writers.

The Quest (about) Mike Augsburger - 9/2/10 1:36pm

By Donald A. Shirk

Perhaps you are different than me, but when I became a believer I did not get zapped with a spiritual gift I never had before. I realize good and godly people hold different views on the acquisition of spiritual gifts. In this area I identify more with what Paul said about the reason for His effectiveness in ministry through the utilization of his spiritual skill set. He humbly yet frankly stated it was due to his “laboring more abundantly” (1 Cor. 15:10). What does this mean and what does this look like?

Emeth Aletheia (about) Joe Fleener - 9/2/10 7:30am

Christianity and Words: Part 4 – Justin Taylor "> - Annotated If God is a God of words, and if Jesus and his gospel are inseparable, then how should we—those who seek to follow him—use our words?The book of Proverbs is an excellent place to start, giving pithy statements about what

Religious Affections (about) Scott Aniol - 9/2/10 7:00am

We’re trying to clear out some of our inventory, so we’re offering pretty significant discounts on several helpful worship resources. Get ‘em while they last!

Measuring the Music: Another Look at the Contemporary Christian Music Debate by John Makujina
$6.50

The Beauty of Holiness: A Guide to Biblical Worship by Michael Barrett
$7.50

Institute for Nouthetic Studies Blog (about) Jay Adams - 9/2/10 12:00am

Revived once more, the old Higher Life view of “abiding” in Christ has raised its head. Essentially, what it says is that if you “abide” (never exactly defined, but some sort of spiritual super-state of existence), then you will automatically receive all the blessings of sanctification instead of working for them by the power of the Spirit. A careful reading of the passage (esp., John 15:6) show that all who don’t abide (lit., “remain”—the passage is talking about eternal security—perseverance of the saints) will be sent to hell (thrown into the fire). If one does abide, he is urged to obey (notice how often the word “commandments” occurs in the passage).

Emeth Aletheia (about) Joe Fleener - 9/1/10 7:33pm

Beginning with Moses - Preaching - Arguing for Expository Preaching "> - Annotated In his book "The Contemporary Christian", John Stott describes the preacher's task as follows: "To preach is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God's voice is heard

My Two Cents (about) Chris - 9/1/10 4:31pm

Today Tim Challies posted an interview he and David Murray did with my brother Jeff regarding his Bible Conference ministry in Uganda and elsewhere (which I mentioned in this post). You can read Tim’s introduction and find a link to the 22-minute interview here.

Jeff so needs a European brogue.

paleoevangelical (about) Ben - 9/1/10 3:54pm

CT reports on the Washington, DC Beck-scapades and his evangelical courtesans. Beck says:"We can disagree on politics," Beck said. "These men and women here don't agree on fundamentals. They don't agree on everything that every church teaches. What they do agree on is God is the answer."Um, yeah, but what if false gods offer the wrong answers? It's just astonishingly ironic to me that people who claim to be horrified at our cultural moral relativism so naïvely embrace religious pluralism under the guise of changing culture.

Pensées (about) Bob Bixby - 9/1/10 2:57pm

Following is a brief paper by Dr. David Burgraff of the Shepherd’s Theological Seminary that contributes to the discussion of social responbility for Christians. It was presented as a workshop at the 2006 Leadership Conference in Lansdale, PA. This paper is particularly interesting because the author, a confirmed dispensationalist, addresses the hesitation of dispensationalists to engage in social work. It is posted here with permission of the author. I believe this is probably the only place you will find this paper online.

Naselli's Theology Blog (about) Andy Naselli - 9/1/10 10:00am

I attempt to answer that question in the latest 9Marks eJournal: Hell: Remembering the Awful Reality [PDF | HTML].

Emeth Aletheia (about) Joe Fleener - 9/1/10 7:30am

untitled "> - Annotated Actually, I would put it at the top of my list for a book to use with a new believer or someone who is showing real interest in Christianity – perhaps even one’s teen children.

Religious Affections (about) Scott Aniol - 9/1/10 6:58am

When Martin Luther (1483—1546) sparked a Reformation of the Church by nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the Church door at Wittenberg in 1517, he challenged the Roman Church’s doctrine and practice, but never its musical forms. The musical forms of the Reformation continued to follow in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The most significant change Luther made for hymnody was in insisting that singing be brought back to the congregation in their language—he wanted the hymns to be text-driven. So Luther advocated the writing of new texts in the vernacular and tunes that fit those texts, composed using the Church’s traditional musical forms. This lead Luther to write and encourage rich doctrinal hymnody like his classic work, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”:

Institute for Nouthetic Studies Blog (about) Jay Adams - 9/1/10 12:00am

A modern marketing technique is to target the sort of people that your church wants to reach. The young, upper middle class is a common group, for instance. Hardly hear of anyone targeting the feeble and decrepit, however (unless they’re the moneyed sort)!

Is this targeting a biblical strategy?

Consider Paul’s words,

I am a debtor both to Greeks and Barbarians, to the educated and to the ignorant.
                                                                           Romans 1:14

Sounds like if you asked him to do so, he’d go on to mention just about every other sort of person. And, as we shall see, that’s just what he did. Can’t see the apostle targeting a certain group—can you?

Emeth Aletheia (about) Joe Fleener - 8/31/10 9:13pm

A friend recently loaned me a copy of Stephen Smallman’s new book The Walk. I am nearly finished with it and would certainly recommend it. Actually, I would put it at the top of my list for a book to use with a new believer or someone who is showing real interest in Christianity – perhaps even one’s teen children. Smallman clearly roots the Christian life from beginning

paleoevangelical (about) Ben - 8/31/10 8:40pm

Here's the second installment on the books (other than Scripture) that have influenced me most—not necessarily my top recommendations, but in God's kind providence, the ones that shaped my understanding of the gospel, Scripture, and following Christ more than any others . . .

Emeth Aletheia (about) Joe Fleener - 8/31/10 7:33pm

Augustine of Hippo by Keith Mathison | Ligonier Ministries Blog "> - Annotated St. Augustine was born in A.D. 354 in the town of Thagaste in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother.  From these inauspicious beginnings, he would eventually become one of the most

paleoevangelical (about) Ben - 8/31/10 7:18pm

Naselli's Theology Blog (about) Andy Naselli - 8/31/10 10:54am

I just listened to “Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World,” a D.Min. course that Tim Keller and Ed Clowney co-taught at RTS about a decade ago. It’s 22.4 hours long, and it’s stimulating, especially the Q&A and the lectures by Keller.

Systematic Theology Matters (about) Mark Snoeberger - 8/31/10 8:35am

In the past month I've been asked a peculiar question some three times: "Did God die when Jesus died on the cross?" Why this question is peaking right now is elusive to me (and maybe it's just a coincidence), but it is apparently a point of some debate, and worthy of reflection. It also seems to be a good occasion for highlighting the inadequacy of biblical theology in addressing such thorny questions.