I just finished my 2008 Winterim class on the letter of James taught by Douglas Moo of Wheaton Graduate School. Although the class was very good, I won’t be doing an extended series on the class like I did last year. But I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate the one-year anniversary of last year’s Winterim by … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (16)
Tonight I read the second chapter of John Piper’s The Hidden Smile of God entitled “Insanity and Spiritual Songs in the Life of William Cowper.” There are some precious quotes from the chapter, some on poetry because Cowper and Piper are poets, some on despair because Cowper’s was chronic, and some on John Newton because he was … More Precious Lessons from John Piper, William Cowper, and John Newton
Sometimes you get tired of doing small things, seeing little fruit, and working hard in obscurity. Sometimes it’s just hard to be faithful. And sometimes God gives striking reminders of why we shouldn’t give up. In the December 2007 DesiringGod newsletter, Executive Director Jon Bloom tells the moving story of Olive and Arnie Nelson. Olive and … More Keep Doing the Small Things: “You Never Know What God Is Growing”
Sometimes you read a book or a portion of a book that penetrates the heart and reminds you of how wonderfully sharp the truth really is. I just finished reading one. I wouldn’t recommend buying it, partially because it’s out of print and extremely expensive and partially because it belongs to a specialized field. But for me and … More Wisdom from James, Richard Bauckham, and Soren Kierkegaard
The semester officially ended on Friday. Classes are finished, the dorm is mostly empty, and the students are headed home for the holidays. We’ll take a trip to Oklahoma where we’ll celebrate Christmas, Judah’s second birthday, and our fifth anniversary. Then we’ll return for what we hope will be a restful and productive several weeks of … More Christmas Break
Several weeks ago Southern California was all over the national news as wildfires swept through the area, driven by the relentless Santa Ana winds. More than 1,000,000 people were forced to evacuate and thousands of buildings and homes were damaged or destroyed. One TMC employee lost his home and everything in it. Here’s something he … More Knick-Knacks, Wildfires, Need, and Eternity
The past several weeks have been quite full, which is an echo of the past few months. I asked Cindi if she thought it was worth the time to give a personal update since I wasn’t planning on writing on a particular topic. She said it was, so here I am. On Friday I finished a … More Life in November
We expend so much energy dreaming about doing great things and so little energy doing the small things that God calls great.
Some may be wondering about the wildfires in Southern California and if Santa Clarita and TMC have been affected. The strong Santa Ana winds are driving numerous fires out of control as they often do in SoCal. As I write this on Sunday at 10:30pm PST, the closest fires to TMC and our extension-campus dorm are in Canyon … More Wildfires in Southern California
Raw Christianity was born one year ago today. There’s a lot I’d like to say about the title and purpose of the blog and the range and power of the phrase “Raw Christianity.” But words have been failing lately. So I’ll say it with some words from a year ago. Everything below is still an aim and not … More Raw Christianity: One Year Later
O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at Bethlehem . . . Who don’t love the world more than God, who don’t care if they make much money, who don’t care if they own a house, who don’t … More “A Prayer for Our Church” by John Piper
This past week has been a full and good one. Last Friday morning I boarded a flight from LAX to DFW, arriving after lunch and spending the afternoon with old TMC friends before leaving for a weekend camp with the junior high and high school students of Grace Bible Church in Grapevine. Although we were only there for 36 … More A Week in Texas
Here are some approximate quotes from John Hannah’s lecture on Jonathan Edwards’ 1757 work The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended. The technical term for the doctrine of sin is “hamartiology,” from the Greek word hamartia). If there’s one doctrine that we instinctively revile or at least ignore, it’s this one. It devastates our perceived … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (15)
I took a half-day away this morning, hoping to read through the four gospels. I was able to read three — Matthew, Mark, and John. For the past several years, Jesus has fascinated me. This fascination is increasing exponentially as I get older. His absolute boldness is awe-inspiring, and His undefeatable wisdom is mind-blowing. Time and … More Thinking About Jesus
Here are more loose, assorted quotes from John Hannah and his Winterim class that I took in January on the Life and Writings of Jonathan Edwards. These are from his lectures on three separate topics: (1) Edwards’ History of the Work of Redemption; (2) the “Communion Controversy” (which ended in Edwards’ dismissal from his pastorate); and … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (14)
(Before you read too far, it might be good to answer the question for yourself. It’s worth thinking about.) This was the question I asked at a recent student leadership meeting. There were various answers given, and all had fair (yet different) reasons for their answers. I don’t think the answer is simple, though I do think it’s … More Should Everyone Be Passionate About Missions?
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