Category Archives: Mp3s

Suffering in the Spirit: Death, Adoption, and Groaning

How can Christians have confidence in the truth of the gospel when their present situation is so different than what the Bible says they have been given in Christ? In this sermon we see the connection between the believer’s present suffering and future glory. The Holy Spirit, Paul tells us, connects us with our future resurrection even in our present struggle with sin, the curse, and death.
The text for the sermon is Romans 8:10-27. It was delivered by me at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Cleveland,TN on June 26, 2011. The previous message can be found here.

062611amsermon

Third Millennium Ministries & Free Seminary Curriculum

The Primeval History

Today I was browsing Richard Pratt’s ministry web site, Third Millennium Ministries, and came upon a wondful discovery! They have recently redesigned their minsitry web site and now they are offering all of their seminary video curriculum for FREE DOWNLOAD!

It is great news and I highly recommend that you consider downloading at least one of their video series to see how good their curriculum really is. Above, you will notice that I have posted the picture of one of their video series that I am currently going through in conjunction with a seminary class at Reformed Theological Seminary (where I attend). It is very good and if you are interested in learning more about the Old Testament, I would encourage you to start there with this video series.

Here are the links to the mp3 audio of the Primeval History video series for your listening pleasure:

Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?

Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?

Stan Guthrie moderates a Christian Book Expo panel with Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Douglas Wilson, Christopher Hitchens, and Jim Denison.

The New Atheists usually make two charges against Christianity: (1) that it is untrue and (2) that it is harmful. A panel of apologetics experts responds to an atheist critic with evidence from Scripture, science, and history about why the faith is both reasonable and good for the world. Christianity Today’s Stan Guthrie moderated this panel on March 21, 2009 for the Christian Book Expo in Dallas.

Go to the link above to watch the video recording of the event. Here is a link to download the audio in mp3. This is a really good discussion panel and everyone did a great job, even Christopher Hitchens. I can only pray and hope that one day God will save Christopher so that his name will finally be fulfilled.

N.T. Wright and the Problem of Hell

The more one listens to N.T. Wright give lectures on the topic of his new book and his strong desire to see the world put to rights by God in Jesus, the more you notice that even though much of what he says is true… he’s leaving one important topic out on purpose! In Wright’s recent Harvard lectures, found here, Bishop Wright clearly avoids talking about the topic of hell for a more positive picture of God putting the world to rights and bringing about justice through the work of Christians (along and others) in the here and now. [NOTE: I encourage everyone to listen to these free lectures in mp3 and consider the good things Bishop Wright has to say, but I want to point out that everyone needs to listen with discernment and not embrace all of Wright’s narrative.]

To be honest, this is probably the most disturbing item of disagreement that I have with the British New Testament scholar. I’m very concerned that his lecturing is going to help many people become more universalistic in their thinking and less explicit about worshipping Jesus as the one and only Saviour and Lord. Now, Bishop Wright always tells people that he is the world’s one, true Lord and Saviour, but that still does not help it when people in a postmodern culture reinterpret things so easily!

But the point of this post was to point out some good comments from another Christian pastor and writer, Doug Wilson. I encourage you to read his post here and consider what he has to say about N.T. Wright and others who seemingly marginalize the doctrine of Hell away to nothing. Below is an excerpt:

N.T. Wright at Harvard

In his otherwise admirable book on evil, N.T. Wright makes the drastic mistake of leaving the subject of Hell entirely alone. But no matter how many helpful things you say, if you leave the really huge question out, then all you are really displaying is a real loss of proportion. “Well, other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”

The questions that swirl around the issues of violence, pacifism, and the redistribution of mammon are all questions that tend to be summed up by those advocating their causes under this rubric as questions of “justice.” “No justice, no peace” the bumpersticker puts it. This is particularly the bent of the Christian left — the Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, Greg Boyd contingent. This is the myopic view of the Obama evangelicals, all singing that blues standard, “Lie to me!”

And they persist in acting as though you can define justice by taking an evangelical Christian and making him watch CNN for long enough. And lest anybody misunderstand me, I am not saying this because I think we ought to be learning from Fox News instead. No. We are to define justice exegetically (what does justice mean throughout the pages of Scripture?) and theologically (what are the ultimate displays of God’s justice?). We have done quite a bit of the former, and it is time for us to consider the latter.

[Continue Reading…]

Audio: Total Church Conference 2008

The Audio for The Total Church North America Conference 2008 is now available. Tim Chester and Steve Timmis recently published a book – “Total Church” – with Re:Lit. This conference is the result of the ideas presented in the book.

Main Sessions

Breakout Sessions

[HT: Mike]

Conference on the Gospel and Children

From June 2008, at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC:

  • The Gospel for Children – Part 1 (William Mackenzie)
  • The Gospel for Children – Part 2 (Carine Mackenzie)
  • Let the Children Come (Sinclair Ferguson)
  • The Church and Children – Part 1 (William Mackenzie)
  • The Church and Children – Part 2 (Carine Mackenzie)
  • Question & Discussion Session
  • Christian Parenting – Part 1 (William Mackenzie)
  • Christian Parenting – Part 2 (Carine Mackenzie)
  • Can Our Children Survive the World? (William Mackenzie)

[HT: JT]