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April 26, 2016 David Murray 0 comments

Blogs

The Jewish Intellectual Who Predicted America’s Social Collapse | Bruce Ashford, TGC
“The great American sociologist Philip Rieff (1922-2006) stands as one of the 20th century’s keenest intellectuals and cultural commentators. His work was stunning in its intellectual breadth and depth. Rieff did sociology on a grand scale-sociology as prophecy-diagnosing the ills of Western society and offering a prognosis and prescription for the future. Although he wasn’t a Christian, his work remains one of the greatest gifts-even if a complicated and challenging one-to Christians living today. ”

How the Psalms Speak to Our Emotions | Christina Fox
“…But the Psalms do more than just mirror our own heartaches. They aren’t simply there to provide catharsis or help us know that we aren’t the only ones who have suffered.I n fact, there is much more that we can learn from the Psalms, especially the Psalms of Lament, those dark, sad, and emotion laden Psalms many of us turn to when life is hard and the future seems dark and bleak.”

5 Reasons You Need the Westminster Shorter Catechism | Andrew Conway, TGC
Five reasons why the Shorter Catechism is worth engaging.

A Note to Ph.D. Students: Here’s What We Are Really Looking for in a Job Interview | Michael J. Kruger, Canon Fodder
We’ve just gone through this hiring process for our new PhD program at PRTS. This is great advice.

Responding to the Moral Whiplash | Erik Raymond, TGC
“As Christians we wake up, read the news, and yet again get whiplash. ‘What in the world is going on?’ And more importantly, ‘What do I do?’”

Feeding on Christ The Least Attended Church Gathering | Nicholas Batzig, Feeding on Christ
Four reasons why the prayer meeting is so neglected.

Kindle Deals

For your non-Kindle book buying needs please consider using Reformation Heritage Books in the USA and Reformed Book Services in Canada. Good value prices and shipping.

Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves by Adam Levin ($1.99)

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise ($0.99). I loved this book.

Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch ($2.99)

The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians by Sam Storms ($2.99)

The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives by Ravi Zacharias ($0.99)

Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentaries from Zondervan (whole series on sale, $4.99 each)

Video

4 Ways to Help your Teenagers Discover Their Identity In a Confused World | Tim Challies

Reformed “Spotlight”: Spiritual Abuse Resources

April 25, 2016 David Murray 3 comments

As part of the series on spiritual abuse I’m beginning to collect resources and make them available on this page. If you have any other recommendations you can either email them to me or leave a comment. You can find more recommended resources on a variety of subjects here.

Books

Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores by Diane Langberg.

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen.

Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free from Bad Church Experience by Ken Blue.

Exposing Spiritual Abuse by Mike Fehlauer.

Spiritual Abuse: Religion at Its Worst by June Hunt.

Spiritual Abuse Recovery: Dynamic Research on Finding a Place of Wholeness by Barbara M. Orlowski.

Faith That Hurts, Faith That Heals/Understanding the Fine Line Between Healthy Faith and Spiritual Abuse by Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton.

The following books are more about spiritual and emotional abuse in marriage, but many of the principles apply to abusive churches too.

The Emotionally Destructive Relationship: Seeing It, Stopping It, Surviving It by Leslie Vernick.

A Cry for Justice: How the Evil of Domestic Abuse Hides in Your Church by Jeff Crippen and Anna Wood.

Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t by Henry Cloud

The following are secular books but still many helpful observations.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft.

In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People by George K. Simon.

Rethinking Narcissism: The Bad-and Surprising Good-About Feeling Special by Dr. Craig Malkin.

The following are out of print but may still be purchased used.

Recovering from Churches that Abuse by Ronald Enroth (or download Free PDF)

Recovery from Spiritual Abuse by Juanita and Dale Ryan

Blogs

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April 25, 2016 David Murray 1 comment

Blogs

Saving the Self in the Age of the Selfie | The American Scholar
“We must learn to humanize digital life as actively as we’ve digitized human life—here’s how.”

Advice for Better Bible Memory | Desiring God
Five steps to better memorization.

Do Liberals Always Win? | Russell Moore
Review of Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections).

When Your Twenties are Darker Than Expected
Spiritual direction for those experiencing dark times in their twenties.

Kindle Books

For your non-Kindle book buying needs please consider using Reformation Heritage Books in the USA and Reformed Book Services in Canada. Good value prices and shipping.

Growing in Christ by J. I. Packer $3.99.

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn $2.99. I love this book — and the next one. If you are trying to get young people to read, these two books are a good start.

The Discipline of Discernment by Tim Challies $3.99.

Video

Fatherhood in 60 Seconds
Here’s a little Monday morning inspiration for Fathers everywhere.

The Humblest Conference I’ve Ever Attended

April 22, 2016 David Murray 0 comments

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Association of Biblical Counselors Conference in Texas. I’ve been to many conferences but this was the first one where the vast majority of attendees were counselors. And the overwhelming impression I had at the conference, and memory I still have, was that of humility. From the leaders of the conference, through the speakers, to the staff, the volunteers, and those attending, I was struck by the quietness, the meekness, and the gentleness that pervaded the whole conference.

As I asked myself why this should be so, I came up with three possible answers. First, counselors usually work in the background. They don’t take center stage, they don’t usually occupy pulpits and stages. They work away quietly, unseen, and largely unheralded in churches, counseling centers, health centers, etc. They don’t get the spotlight and they don’t seek the limelight. Nobody who wants to be a somebody chooses to be a counselor. By definition, the vast majority of their work is in private. That attracts the humble.

Second, counselors are dealing with the mess of humanity all day, every day. I was stunned by how much counseling was being done by every person I spoke to – often eight hours a day, five days a week, every week of life. Although I do a fair amount of counseling, I personally couldn’t survive that – it would drain every ounce of life out of me. Yet these men and women do that day in day out, dealing with some of the most painful and difficult situations imaginable. That down-in-the-dirt kind of work has a humbling and sanctifying effect.

Third, many (maybe most) counselors go into counseling because they’ve needed counseling and benefitted from it. One person after another told me of how much they had needed counseling at various points in their lives and that humbling experience of admitting their need, seeking help from others, and benefitting from wise spiritual and practical counsel was such a blessing to them that they wanted to do the same for others too. That process has humbled them and keeps them humble as they remember that they were once on the broken side of the conversation.

Whatever the causes of this humility, to witness it was a beautiful and memorable experience. Perhaps if more Christians and more pastors got involved in regular counseling, the fruit of humility would flourish more widely and more beautifully.

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April 22, 2016 David Murray 0 comments

Blogs

The Pastor’s Typical Week

Five Ways to Use Visual Theology

A Pastor’s Reading Plan

Can Your Theology Handle the Book of Lamentations

Five Reasons Why the New Calvinism is Worth Supporting

Drop the T from LGBT

How to Be More Productive

11 Quick Takeaways From House Hearing On Aborted Baby Parts Trafficking

Kindle Books

Stopping Words That Hurt: Positive Words in a World Gone Negative $0.99.

Building Your Volunteer Team: A 30-Day Change Project for Youth Ministry $2.99.

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved $0.99

New Book

Visual Theology by Tim Challies and Josh Byers. Judging from the reaction of my daughter — “That’s awesome” — I think this book could get teens reading again.

Videos

Premier Bible Binding

The Making of a Bible from Crossway on Vimeo.

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April 21, 2016 David Murray 0 comments

Blogs

A Letter to My Wife After Four Years of Seminary | Adam Parker, Bring the Books
“You have died to yourself for the sake of me, for the sake of our children, for the sake of the Lord’s call on our family and on our lives. You have a level of honesty and integrity that I hope to aspire to. In a matter of days I will be receiving my Master of Divinity degree, and we will prepare to go to the church where God would have us serve. But you deserve an award that is more prestigious, more honorable, and that conveys my gratitude.”

Free E-Book: “What Is Biblical Theology?” by James Hamilton | Crossway
“Written by James M. Hamilton Jr., author of God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, this book will help you understand Scripture’s unified message and find your place in the great story of redemption.”

Preaching and Preachers Podcast | Dr. Jason K. Allen
“Episode #1: On this episode of Preaching and Preachers, Dr. Timothy George and Dr. Christian George join me in discussing four great preachers throughout church history.”

I Promise… | Nick Batzig, The Christward Collective
“A few months ago, I had the privilege of meeting with a young couple in our congregation in order to choose vows for their wedding. We decided to look at some historic Protestant marriage vows. Ultimately, we ended up with a combination of the marriage vows in the Directory of Public Worship and the vows of the Christian Reformed Church–together with some personal additions. Here are the vows we decided on:”

Listen to the Little Guy Too | Jared C. Wilson, TGC
“We are obsessed with bigger, better, faster. We define success according to quantity and presentation. We reckon churches increasing in size as effective. And so our heroes are the big church guys. They speak at the conferences, they publish the books, they exert the influence. But the guys at the ‘little churches’ have just as much, if not more, to teach us about how to shepherd and how to disciple.”

A Mother’s Prayer | Marine Family Network
As the father of a Marine Corps recruit about to enter “The Crucible” this poem resonated deeply with me.

Kindle Deals

For your non-Kindle book buying needs please consider using Reformation Heritage Books in the USA and Reformed Book Services in Canada. Good value prices and shipping.

Pastors in the Classics: Timeless Lessons on Life and Ministry from World Literature by Leland Ryken, Philip Ryken, and Todd Wilson ($1.99)