A Gem!

"The resurrection is the Father's "Amen" to the Son's "It is finished"!" - S Lewis Johnson.

The World of Mac!

Now my Mac is operational again, I feel like I can post this picture! What a loser!

Stand.

The Desiring God National Conference this year was called STAND. All of the audio and video are available online from the Desiring God website (www.desiringgod.org). Tonight, I got round to start listening to the sessions. I didn't begin with the first, but went to listen to the second which was a question and answer session with John Piper and John Macarthur (2 men who have impacted my life greatly!) It was quite a humorous session in general, but there was so much awesome stuff that came out through their answers; their desires that they had been better dads to their kids and husbands to their wives, the influence of their dads on them, the desire to not give up in ministry, how to keep going through tough times etc. One thing sttod out in particular for me though; John Piper giving one of the reasons for the theme of the conference being STAND, the perseverance of the saints, and the answer came through Piper recounting his own experience of going through a season of depression and being downcast that lasted a couple of years:

"I have spent, goodness knows, how much effort developing a theology of suffering. This conference exists to answer that question. I want to last; I want to stand; I want to get through the discouraging times; I want to help you not be fickle, wishy-washy, drop-out, trade your life away, swap wives, leave jobs, trade churches. I just don't want you to be that way, so I make a conference."- Piper.

I enjoyed this thought, and it energised me. One, to know that other people endure discouraging times, which I seem to be enduring at present. And two, that there is an answer in holding on to our theology of God's sovereignty in the midst of evil and trouble, and that He is still on His throne!

New Contact Details.

For anyone who has any suggestions to make about the blog, or has any questions about the stuff that is written here, please feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below.

Also, for anyone who has any questions, or suggestions, about or for "Worship 247", then, likewise, contact me at the addres below.

simon@worhip247.org

Thanks.

A Much Needed Letter!

I love books! I love to sit down with a good book, a good cup of coffee, and read and be taught. I put quite a high value on a good book, especially when it comes to teaching us things about God and the things of God. We have to be so careful because it is so easy for all of us to get things so so wrong, and if we are thinking wrong then we will be living wrong because of it! Everything we read, just like everything we watch and listen to, impacts us for good or for bad. Now all I'm saying here is that we have to take care in choosing what to read and take care when reading it!

Quite a while back I bought a book called "What Love Is This" by Dave Hunt. The content of the book can easily be summed up by the sub-title, "Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God". Now, my purpose in this post is not to argue for or against "Calvinism", it's about the book. Dave Hunt writes from a staunch Anti-Calvinism position, and he does it incredibly badly! The people for whom he speaks, on behalf of, should cringe at how bad the book is written and how poor a job it does in articulating that particular position. The reason why I am writing this post is because, over recent days, it has come up as a book that has helped to shape people's thinking. Now, what I am not doing here is picking at people, or claiming to be the all-knowing one, I just want to sound an alarm that if you want a book to read on this topic, to help explain the positions, then this is not the one- it will mislead all who read it in their understanding of the subject because the simple facts are wrong!

The letter, that the title of this post mentions, is by a man called James White. James White is a well known apologist, who has responded to Dave Hunt's book by an open letter that he sent to the author. I found the letter only today so my thoughts have not been shaped or formed by this man's letter. I do encourage you all to read it though, if you have read Dave Hunt's book or are just interested.

I would recommend James White and Dave Hunt's book "Debating Calvinism". Ultimately though, if you want something to read on the subject, I say read the Bible- go to Romans or Ephesians to begin! I'm not here to sway your views, just to warn you about the errors in the book and, if you do read it, take care!

The letter is here.

Coffee anyone?

The City Hospital currently have one on order for me, haha! I wish!!

Steve who...?

To most people, the name Steve Lawson means very little. If we were to ask those of our friends who read alot and listen to alot of sermons, even to them, he is relatively unheard of. I want to publicly say that this is an absolute shame! I have been greatly blessed by the ministry of Steve Lawson. He is one of the most active voices heralding for a return to expository preaching in our pulpits today. Expository wha?- a clear presentation and proclamation of God's Truth, letting the Bible speak for itself! But, not only is he active in heralding for this return, he is also active in this ministry himself. He reads the Word, then explains the Word. He is a man who is absolutely convinced of the authority and power of God's Word, and a man who is set on fire by it! Absolutely awesome stuff!

Why the post? His website has been overhauled and is now online again. This is good news because there are loads of free sermons and articles for us to benefit from. Let me be clear, my promotion of this man is not my Corinthian way of saying ""I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."" (1 Cor 1v12), it is me saying that God has revealed Himself to this man and he has one heck of a burden to proclaim Him. The messages will truly be of benefit, not just because it's Steve Lawson, but solely because he unashamedly preaches the truth and the messages are God-glorifying and Christ-centred, leading us again to where we need to be, at the cross! Enjoy New Reformation Ministries!

A New Effort...

Well... this blog has existed for some time. I have been so inconsistent with updates due to laziness, lack of discipline and lack of things to say. However, over the last while, I have been enjoying looking through quite a few different blogs and websites, and being taught and refreshed by the things that I have read. So, I thought why not use this blog in an attempt to gather together all of those things for other people to see, and also to introduce some new people to all 4 of you through interviews.

So, from now on, this will be a new sustained effort to accomplish just that. Over the next few days, the page will be updated with all the good links that you will need and the posts beginning to be added.

This venture is not my way of telling the world that I have it all together and that I am the fount of all knowledge. It is my way of saying I have so much to learn, and that God is using so many different sites and teachers to show me,

1. how much I really do still need to learn
2. how great He really is
3. that we should tell of His greatness and His glory and His truth to others so that we can all rejoice in the great and true and gracious God that we have.

So make yourself at home. Please add your comments and discuss what is being put up! Enjoy the journey of learning! If you have any suggestions for interviews or improvements, then please e-mail them to me and I will consider them all! Thanks, and don't be strangers.