This item was originally posted in March, 2006. (Wow! That reminds me---The GeoChristian is two years old this week!) It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have new readers at The GeoChristian, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my favorite blog entries. As a teacher, I've seen a …
Category: Christianity
Christ-centered Christianity, from beginning to end (Part 3 — Jerry Bridges)
THE GOSPEL IS FOR BELIEVERS Jerry Bridges has a great book on Christ-centered, gospel-centered Christianity entitled The Discipline of Grace. I haven't completed my list of "top ten Christian books" but this one will probably be on it. Bridges wrote an article for Modern Reformation magazine called Gospel-Driven Sanctification. Here are a few quotes from …
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Christ-centered Christianity, from beginning to end (Part 2 — Me-centered or Christ-centered)
Warning: I'm not a big fan of The Purpose Driven Life. I'd rather have a forgiveness-driven life, or a cross-centered life. Warren's book starts out well: "It's not about you," but then is mostly about you. Chris Rosebrough at Extreme Theology has been contrasting Christ-centered theology with me-centered theology. Rosebrough puts much of the church …
Christ-centered Christianity, from beginning to end (Part 1)
The Gospel isn't just for beginners. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV) Are you so foolish? After beginning …
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Christ and the wrath of God
Lightning is a picture of God's wrath. We hear it said, "Don't do that or God might strike you down with lightning." Sinners deserve God's wrath; to be struck with lightning. Gene Edward Veith has a picture on his Cranach blog that pictures God's wrath being poured out on Christ on our behalf: Christ took …
White Horse Inn 2008
The White Horse Inn weekly radio program has begun a year-long series on "Christless Christianity." I listened to the program on Joel Osteen, author of the best-selling "Christian" book Your Best Life Now last night and just cringed at the distortions of the gospel that he proclaims. If you want Christ-centered Christianity that focuses rightly …
Getting the gospel right
I say it over and over in many different contexts: The gospel is all about what God has done for us in Christ, not about what we do for him. Michael Spencer (the Internet Monk) has a great post: Losing the Treasure of a Christ-Centered Assurance of Salvation. He writes in response to a Christianity …
Bible Reading in 2008
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 ESV) They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11 ESV) In 2007 I used a reading schedule designed to get me through the Bible in a year. …
Denominations in the U.S.
This item was originally posted in December 2006. It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have new readers of The GeoChristian, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my favorite blog entries. The Map Gallery of Religion in the United States has maps showing the distribution of various religious …
Following Jesus
From the introduction to The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: When the Bible speaks of following Jesus, it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. If they follow Jesus, men escape from the hard yoke …
Unicorns, the Bible, and education
This item was originally posted in November, 2006. It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have new readers of The GeoChristian, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my favorite blog entries. This entry about "unicorns in the Bible" points out the silliness of some arguments against the reliability …
The Thirteen Critical Problems Facing Contemporary Evangelicalism
Michael Spencer (the Internet Monk) recently posted The Thirteen Critical Problems Facing Contemporary Evangelicalism. I think I agree with him (at least to some extent) on every single point. Here they are: THE THIRTEEN CRITICAL PROBLEMS FACING CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALISM. Vast evidence of a growing doctrinal deterioration on the essentials and implications of the Gospel. The …
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Happy Reformation Day
I wish you a happy Reformation Day! I get excited about Reformation Day because I love the gospel, which had been obscured in the 1500s by the practices and doctrines of the Roman Catholic church. Today in each of my science classes at Bucharest Christian Academy, I took a few minutes to draw out from …
The Great Exchange
Consider the following quote from Martin Luther with supporting verses from the Scriptures: Learn Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him and, despairing of yourself, say, "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and have given me what is yours. …
Modern Reformation
I love the cover on the current issue of Modern Reformation, which is published by the same people who give us the White Horse Inn: All of our efforts to deal with our sin are like using a band-aid to cover a rottenness that goes to the core. Grace and peace P.S. What is worse …
White Horse Inn
The one Christian radio program that I regularly listen to from the United States is White Horse Inn. The description of the program from their web site is: The White Horse Inn is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger and Ken Jones. On the air since 1990, …
Knowing God – Chapter 9
Chapter 9 of Knowing God by J.I. Packer is "God Only Wise." Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. In God boundless wisdom and endless power are united, and this makes him utterly worthy of our fullest trust. …
Knowing God – Chapter 8 Quotes
We took a break from going through Knowing God by J.I. Packer at the dinner table, but now we are back into it. Chapter 8 is "The Majesty of God." Here are a few good quotes: How may we form a right idea of God's greatness? The Bible teaches us two steps that we must …
Marketing Christian Books
One of my goals when we returned to the States back in 2005 for our "home assignment" was to not go into a regular Christian bookstore. By "regular Christian bookstore" I'm referring to the typical strip-mall bookstore in which you can find a hundred copies of whatever the latest fad book is but cannot buy …
Bibles in Other Languages — Not Available
The New Testament has been translated into over 1500 languages, but if someone from Bangladesh or Somalia moves in next door to you, good luck trying to get a copy for them. In fact, many of these translations are not even available on the internet. It turns out that cooperation between various Bible societies is …
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