Awestruck by the Sovereign LORD

I had long thought that it would be wonderful if the videos from the Together for the Gospel conference held in 2006 could be obtained. The audio has been available by Sovereign Grace Ministries for free here . Ligonier Ministries has made the videos available for viewing here or for purchase here .

In an era in which false conversions are common and truth is obfuscated or denied, John Blanchard has provided an amazingly clear text to help you examine if you are truly a regenerate Christian. The Bible is often seen as an antiquated text of checklists of to-do’s. In Blessed: The Beatitudes for Today , Blanchard expounds the opening section (called the Beatitudes) of the Sermon on the Mount , showing that the character of a Christian flows from a relationship with the Sovereign Lord. He notes that the Beatitudes as a whole is an evidence (singular) of one’s right relationship with God and not a checklist of things to do to get right with God. I have been challenged by Blanchard to lean upon Christ, to desire to look more like Him, and to herald the glory of the gospel. May God grant me more books to read like this one! I doubt that I have read such a simple, yet deep, text . One of the blurbs on the back of the book states, “John Blanchard’s fertile mined, wide reading and clar...

This coming weekend my church is holding a seminar to help people live with an evangelistic mindset. Evangelism is an amazing grace that God has given us. In it, we let the overflow of joy that we have for God extend outward to proclaim His goodness to others that they may know the same joy. It is a privelige! I commend this sermon by John Blanchard to you for your encouragement. In it, he relays this humbling exhortation from Richard Baxter: Oh, if you have the hearts of Christians, or of men in you, let them yearn towards your poor, ignorant, ungodly neighbours. Alas! There is but a step betwixt them and death and hell….Have you hearts of rock, that you cannot pity men in such a case as this? If you believe not the word of God, and the danger of sinners, why are you Christians yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not bestir you to the helping of others? Do you not care who is damned, so you be saved?

“ There are no stupid questions. ” When teachers state this at the beginning of the semester, they are usually trying to create a certain type of learning environment. We want students to ask the hard questions . We want them to become passionate about learning. Asking questions is vital to learning! It is an exhilarating rush to ask a question, study diligently, and see the solution appear. It is like a boat on a voyage through uncharted waters. It crosses over the immeasurable distances, and through the fog, something happens: LAND! Here is an interesting thought: What if you were never allowed to get on the boat? Interestingly, a culture that purports free thought may have stifled it. Our academic institutions are to challenge us, but do they? Sure, they may say there are no stupid questions, but what happens when you ask it? Can you even ask the question? Expelled: No Intelligent Design Allowed features Ben Stein probing this question in the context of the Darwin vs. Intelligent ...

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (ESV) When we sit down to eat (especially in America), we find ourselves at a table with large portions. We can go to a buffet style restaurant and choose from many different salad toppings, entrees, and side items. We can go up as often as we would like, eating much…too much. We can start out well, eating a small salad with a low-fat dressing. Then we get to the main course, and the options begin to weigh on us,...