Peter Hitchens, brother of the popular anti-theist Christopher Hitchens, has a book coming out in May that serves as a response to Christopher and the movement of new atheists. It is called The Rage Against God. Below is a taste of what you will find in the book. It could prove to be a helpful perspective from someone who is related to one of the key figures of the new atheism.
Christianity Today posted an article on Monday highlighting the resurgence of theological teaching and preaching in churches today. Theology and careful exposition of the Scriptures are desperately needed in churches of our age. Too many preachers have abandoned exposition for mere proof texts. All the while, passages are taken out of context in order to support topics based on pop psychology. People need the words of God more than the stories of man.
It is an encouragement to hear of many churches who are feeding people both the milk and meat of the Scriptures. People are waiting to go deeper no matter where they are at currently. A proper understanding of the purpose of theology helps us to see that theology leads to a deeper affection for God and people. It leads to a greater concern for living out what is known to be true by means such as service and social justice.
The goal for pastors is to feed the sheep. If theology is omitted from the foundations and practices of the church, the sheep will go hungry. One the primary and most loving ways we can protect and serve our brothers and sisters is to teach them the depths of the riches of God’s Word.
Erik Kowalker at J.C. Ryle Quotes is giving away a copy of Meet the Puritans by 
Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson in a drawing tomorrow. You can enter by putting your social media addiction to good use and signing up to receive updates from the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or email. Just head over and see all the different ways you can enter for a chance to win. And may the best Jeff Lash win…
Amazon now has the second album from Deas Vail on sale for $1.99. If you like Mae or Edison Glass, you’ll like Deas Vail. And if you don’t know who any of those bands are then just download it anyway and try something new. You can’t really go wrong for $1.99.
I’m not going to lie, Daughtry is a guilty pleasure for me. With a few exceptions, I’m not usually too fond of pop charting songs and albums. However, I like Daughtry for reasons that I can’t really articulate. So…Amazon has them (or should it just be him) listed as the download deal of the day. For $3.99, it’s worth a spin. So click below and start jammin’.
How can you be sure that you are saved? Maybe you have asked or been asked that question. Many people will point back to a stroll down the church aisle or a prayer that they once prayed. However, Scripture does not counsel us to place our trust and hope in such experiences. Thabiti Anyabwile has written an excellent post showing us how Scripture addresses this question. He concludes with this:
If we lack assurance, one remedy is being with and loving God’s people. It’s another argument for the centrality of the local church and the necessity of our meaningful involvement in her. As Mark Dever sometimes puts it, “The local church is like an assurance of salvation co-op.” I think he stole that from the Bible.
Do you lack the assurance of salvation? Here’s one remedy: Join a church. Love the people. Receive assurance.
You can read the whole post here.
Kindle has come to the Blackberry. This is a brilliant app though I have yet to test it. But the idea excites me already. However, I will say that reading books on a Blackberry is not the most enticing option. The screen on most Blackberry phones, aside from the Storm, is pretty small. But this app might be a handy feature for people who travel or need something to read on the fly. You can download the app for free over at Amazon.
Here’s a modern day, animated parable that should cause us to think about the functions of the church and the role of the Holy Spirit.
The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.
On Sunday, our Sunday School class looked at Malachi 3:6-18 and God’s unchanging love. It is only fitting that we discussed love on Valentine’s Day. Naturally we could have gone to 1 Corinthians 13 to talk about the many attributes of love. However, this passage gives us something a little different to think about in light of the current holiday. Malachi takes us away from thinking about our own acts of love and brings us to the heart of God’s unchanging love as expressed toward Israel. Israel had turned her back on God time and again. Yet despite Israel’s history of disobedience God had remained the same. His love for them did not change. His promise to them did not change. In fact, God’s unchanging nature is the only reason why they were not destroyed. There is a dual consistency between God and Israel. While Israel was consistently disobedient, God was consistently loving and merciful. God’s consistent love and promise overcame their shortcomings. He simply says to them, “Return to me and I will return to you.” So we see that God’s love is unchanging despite our actions.
God follows this statement of his unchanging love by bringing two charges against Israel. It is a strange way to follow such a merciful act. Why tell Israel that they will be shown mercy and then follow that up by charging them with their sin? In order for the Israelites to return to God, they must be aware of their sin so that they might turn away from it. Repentance is needed in order to reestablish that close relationship that Israel experienced in previous generations. Israel has not honored God for the provisions that have been received (i.e. Israel has not tithed) nor has trusted in the words of God to take care of them. Their faith has dwindled because of the prosperity of non-believing people. But again, despite Israel’s lack of faith and negligence in worship, God never abandons them. He disciplines his children by sending them into exile but then delivers them as an act of love. This exile occurs in order to open the eyes of his people to the sins they have committed against Yahweh. Even God’s discipline is an act of love.
So this week, think about the love of Christ that has been lavishly poured out on you. When you start to lament your situation or find yourself extremely discouraged, remember what Christ has done on the cross so that you might have new, eternal life. It came at a great cost. But that just goes to show you how great the Father’s love is for us.
I’ll leave you with this quote from Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer (one of my favorite authors).
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.
For the next 48 hours, you can purchase a copy of Tim Witmer’s new book, The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church, for $5.00 at Westminster Bookstore. Tim Witmer is currently Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he is Coordinator of the Practical Theology Department, Director of Mentored Ministry and Master of Divinity Programs. He is also the Minister of Preaching at Crossroads Community Church (PCA) in Upper Darby, PA.
Below is a video from Tim concerning the aspect of shepherding in pastoral ministry.
