Considering Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics Part 1

I started to see this book pop up on people’s blogs a few years ago.  The title, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation by Graeme Goldsworthy, intrigued me.  So, using a gift certificate, I bought the book.  Recently, excited to begin reading, a friend wondered aloud why we need to read another [...]

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Considering My Gospel Siblings

I’m reading my brother-in-law’s copy of A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent.  It should be read slowly as I’m discovering.  That way you can meditate on the greatness of the gospel and its connection to our lives today.  Vincent reminds us that the gospel is for Christians- we never outgrow our need for the [...]

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Considering David Wayne

David Wayne, aka the Jolly Blogger,  is my friend.  We spent some time together at RTS Orlando.  But we got to know each other much better when we both served different churches in Winter Haven.  I was often a beneficiary of he and Lynnette’s hospitality.  They even put up with my dog, except for when [...]

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Considering Money and Missions

As part of his chapter on Worldliness in Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges talks about money and how Christians use it.  First, let’s see his definition of worldliness.
“Worldliness means accepting the values, mores, and practices of the nice, but unbelieving, society around us without discerning whether or not thos values, mores, and practices are biblical.”
Pretty good [...]

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Considering Respectable Sins

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges is long overdue.  Jerry has done us a service by addressing this topic, and particularly in a way that points us to Christ in the process.  It is not a book filled with condemnation, but one that seeks to convict us while reminding us of [...]

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Considering Learning from Mistakes

The Red Sox learned from one of their earlier mistakes.  Dice-K has done well in his 2 years with the Red Sox.  But not as well as perhaps anticipated.  The difference in balls (Japanese teams often use a smaller ball) and Dice-K’s relatively small hands meant that he had trouble gripping the ball for certain [...]

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Considering Teixeira Hold ‘Em

Mark Teixeira is like the anti-Manny.  Money Ramirez just wants to hit, be adored on the field and ignored off the field.  He forfeited 2 one-year team options for $20 million a piece in the hopes for one last big contract.  He’s not known for his fielding, nor his community involvement.
Teixeira is a 2-time Gold [...]

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Considering Law and Liberty

My sister-in-law commented that she’s been enjoying my study questions on the Westminster Confession of Faith.  It’s been awhile since I put some material up here.  So today I’m covering the Law of God and Christian Liberty.  Some good things to consider (the same caveats apply- I’m not arguing with anyone: if I misrepresented a position [...]

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Considering Love Walked Among Us

I finished reading Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus by Paul Miller just before heading off to New York for a week.  Paul is the son of C. John (Jack) Miller, and has a ministry, See Jesus,  that offers 2 helpful small group programs.  The Person of Jesus is based on this [...]

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Considering My Flight Home

I was off to the airport a bit early this morning thanks to the 5 inches (and counting) of snow that fell overnight and into the morning.  I had a 12:30 flight home.  The snow made slow going, which was not helped by the driver’s incessent need to look around and see damage from last [...]

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Considering Advent Conspiracy

consider….

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Considering Mas

Sounds like the forces of agnosticism and atheism are growing here in America (and elsewhere) to make Christmas a non-Christian event.
What would happen if you took the Christ out of Christmas?  You’d have Mas, which in Spanish means “more”, which is exactly what Roberto Duran didn’t want when he uttered “no mas”.
This would be exactly [...]

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Considering an Interesting Thought

Never trust those early morning thoughts, but I had one this morning.  I wonder how many of the churches that rejected my application are still searching for a pastor.
So, I characterized them, as best I could, according to how long they have been without a pastor.
1 year or less: 6
1-2 years: 4
2+ years: 1
So, 5 [...]

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Considering the Yankees’ Big Offers

One of my good friends was IMing me on Facebook the other day.  We talked about ministry and moved into a common passion- baseball.  He asked if my Sox had bought up the good players yet.  He kiddingly expressed a common sentitment- that we are the Yankees Jr.
Since the new owners took over the Red [...]

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Considering Our Flight to NY

Everything seemed to get off to a good start.  We went to bed at a reasonable hour, mostly packed and oatmeal soaking for a quick breakfast for the kids.  We’d be getting them up a little early, not way before the crack of dawn like on other trips, to get on the road to the [...]

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Considering Helping Search Committees

I’ve talked to plenty of Pastoral Search Committees and members.  They quickly weary of listening to sermons and poring over 50+ applications, resumes and data forms hoping to find the right guy.  Yes, God is in control- but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t give us over to our own foolishness at times (see Romans 1:21ff).
Short [...]

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Considering Calvin and the Free Offer of the Gospel

One of the controversies that has sadly plagued those who embrace Calvin as one of the more astute and faithful theologians concerns the “free offer of the gospel.”  Some followers of Calvin, a minority of them, reject the free offer of the gospel.  They believe, erroneously, that the gospel is only to be offered to [...]

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Considering Love

Though my sermons for Advent seem to be more about the Resurrection than the Incarnation (though the former requires the latter), I’ve been doing some reading on the Incarnation.  Paul Miller’s Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus is a very good book.  I’m not done yet, but I’m getting there.  I’ll do [...]

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Considering Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

This morning we were talking about Psalm 16 in preparation for Sunday’s sermon.  One guy thought it reminded him of guys he knows grabbing themselves by the collar and preaching the gospel to themselves when facing temptation.  In Psalm 16, David is reminding himself of God and His benefits because he’s in danger of forgetting [...]

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Pedroia Strikes it Big

The little big man for the Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia, has now seen the payoff for all the hard work and stellar play.  The Red Sox have locked him up for 6 years.  He’ll get $40.5 million over that time frame.  The Red Sox get a hard-working, inspiring sparkplug who puts up some pretty significant [...]

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