Blogs

Preaching Points: The Long and Short of Sermons | Preaching.com
“How long should a sermon be? As a preaching professor and a pastor, I’ve asked and been asked that question a hundred times. Today, after 35 years in ministry, I have a definitive answer: You can preach as long as you hold their attention.”

The 8-Point Social-Media Apostasy of Alan Jacobs | Justin Taylor
“Eight points that cut against the grain of so much thinking today on social media:”

Five Ways Leaders Lose Credibility | Eric Geiger
“Credibility is essential in leadership. Here are five common ways leaders lose their credibility:”

John Bunyan’s Practical Christology | Place for Truth
“Although Christian is the protagonist of Bunyan’s allegory, Christ is undoubtedly the central figure.  Jesus is not only the Wicket Gate, but He is the Lord of the Hill, who was the topic of Christian’s discussion with the Virtues at Interpreter’s House, and He had preceded Christian and Faithful through Vanity Fair.  In fact, Christ is referred to more than eighty times in the work.” And here’s a follow up post,  John Bunyan: The Power of Simplicity and Story

Homeschooling: taking inventory for 2016
“Mid-winter always seems to be a time when homeschooling families find themselves in the doldrums, often second-guessing their curriculum choices, if not their homeschooling decision, and thumbing through the pages of their fresh new calendars, wishing for summer! If this is you, maybe its time to take inventory and do some pre-spring cleaning in your lesson planner! Here are a few thoughts to jump-start the process:”

Pyromaniacs: Small and static versus larger and growing: opening thoughts
Dan Phillips asks: “Is a small church inherently virtuous and godly? Is a large church intrinsically venomous and worldly?”

New Book

For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America by Sean Michael Lewis.

Kindle Books

Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships by John Maxwell $3.03.

Church History in Plain Language: Fourth Edition $4.99 (315,000 copies sold).

Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life by Ruth Soukup $1.99. ($1.99 might save you $199).

A Year with C. S. Lewis $1.99.

Video

Freedom Fighter: The Story of Ted Cruz
His voice sandpapers my soul, and he scores low on likability, but this video put Ted Cruz in a new light for me.

I think that was the longest blog vacation I’ve ever taken.

Did I miss it?

Yes, I enjoy writing. I especially enjoy the challenge of coming up with something helpful that will serve the church each week day.

But I took the break for a few reasons. First, I was vacationing in Florida with my family for  a couple of weeks and I wanted to dedicate more undistracted time to them.

Second, I wanted to pause, take a step back, and think longer-term about how I can make the blog more useful, where I can make the most useful contribution to my readers lives.

Third, I wanted to read. I felt I’d been doing too much outputting and wanted to do more inputting so that I could do better outputting. What did I read? I tried to read a book a day and got through the following list over the past 14 days, some of which were re-reads, by reading about an hour early morning, an hour on the beach, and an hour in the evening.

And if you’re sharp, you should be able to see a connection between all three reasons!

Books:

• The Friendship Factor: How to Get Closer to the People You Care for
• Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure
• Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress, and Lead by Example
• 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life
• The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough. A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body
• Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
• Addicted to Busy: Recovery for the Rushed Soul
• Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
• Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results
• Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul
• Survive or Thrive: 6 Relationships Every Pastor Needs (PastorServe Series)
• Beating Burnout: A 30 Day Guide to Hope and Health
• On the Brink: Grace for the Burned-Out Pastor
• Play It Away: A Workaholic’s Cure for Anxiety
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Blogs

Getting Through Grief Together | TGC
“The Guthries offer companionship and biblical insight to the grieving through Respite Retreats that they host for couples who have faced the death of child, through the GriefShare video series, and through books such as Holding on to Hope and Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow.”

Why I Sing Psalms | Rosaria Butterfield
“Singing the Psalms grants you the intimacy of a suffering daughter with the Father who has loved you from before the world’s foundations. This relationship comes through the Savior brother who is praying and singing as He intercedes for you right this very moment. ”

8 Ways to Ruin Your Life in Your 20’s | Clare DeGraaf
“No one ever plans to ruin their life. Nobody makes that a goal, or a New Year’s resolution, or an integral part of their 5-year plan. Kids don’t sit around and dream about growing up to be an alcoholic; students don’t go to class to learn how to be bankrupt; brides and grooms don’t go to the altar expecting their marriage to fail. Nobody ever plans for it, but it does happen. It happens far too often. And it happens because of the choices we make, even though that is not a result that anyone would ever willingly choose.”

You’re So Vain: The Pastor’s Sin
“When I look back on 2015, the greatest thing I think the LORD has shown me this year are how relevant the seven deadly sins are to my life and ministry.  Today we are coming to the last one, and it is the one that I have saved for the last because it is the one I struggle with the most.”

Ten Check Up Questions for the New Year | Kevin DeYoung
“Several years ago, in our pastors group, we decided to be more precise in how we want to be held accountable. So we each set off to write a series of questions.  My ten questions are below.”

How Abusers Use (Mis-use) Matthew 18 to Escape Church Discipline | A Cry For Justice
“Church leaders, church members, and others who have been allied to the abuser, heap abuse upon abuse when they deny the victim justice by citing Matthew 18, as if it were the only passage in the Bible that speaks to church discipline. And abusers love it so. “You don’t know that. You can’t prove that. So you need to just stop saying such things.”"

The Expense of Posting: Be a Wise Blogger | Biblical Counseling Coalition
“So, again, here is my challenge. Blogger beware! Your Lord is reading your blog. Let your writing be well pleasing to Him. In so doing, you lower the risk of his judgment and the judgment of others.”

Oregon bakers pay fine after state seizes their bank accounts | World Mag
“The Kleins, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, had asked the state to postpone collecting the fine while they continued the appeal process. But just weeks before Christmas, the state labor commissioner who brought the case against them seized their bank accounts.”

New Book

Confessing the Impassible God: The Biblical, Classical, & Confessional Doctrine of Divine Impassibility

Kindle Books

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle $3.99

What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done $2.99.

Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture $3.99.

The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World $2.99

Video

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

Thanks for your enthusiastic response to the Kids Bible Reading Plans. As I’m going to be taking blog vacation for the next week or so, here are answers to some of the questions I’ve received about the plans.

1. What age group are they for?

I’ve used them with 7 to 14 year-olds. But I know others have used them with younger ages too. As long as the kids can write, they can use them. Although some of the questions are easy for teens, the point of the questions is not really to challenge the intellect but to get the kids to pause and think about what they are reading. Also, it helps parents keep the kids accountable when they can see if they’ve written out their answers.

2. What Bible version do you use?

The plans can be used with any Bible version. The Bible is not quoted in the plans and the questions have been written so that kids can answer them whatever version they are using. Some days, they have to write out Bible verses from their readings, but again they can just use the Bible version of their choice.

3. How long does it take?

My kids, and others I know who used them, found that it takes about 5 minutes a day.

4. Should I start with Genesis or Matthew?

You can start with either. My kids used the Old Testament plan in the morning and the New Testament plan in the evening before they went to bed. Others I know have alternated, finishing an Old Testament book and then moving on to a New Testament book.

5. What are the Prayer Points for?

At the top of each week’s page, there are some spaces for children to write in specific things to pray about that week. I hope this will help them to think about their prayers more and vary them more. It also enables them to write any matters from prayer that arise from their Bible reading.

6. Will they be available for bulk purchase for Christian bookshops, churches, and schools?

At the moment the books are only available via Amazon because I am using the self-publishing print-on-demand arm of Amazon, Createspace. That allows me to make them available without having to order thousands of copies from printers – although it also means that the price is higher than I’d like at this point. But, in the New Year, I hope to have stock available so that bulk purchases can be made at significant discounts. Keep tuned and I’ll let you know when that becomes available.

7. Do you have a website?

It’s coming very soon at KidsBibleReading.com. There will be a blog there with regular articles on how to help your kids profit from reading the Bible.

8. Will there be a Kindle version?

No, because these are workbooks that the children write in.

9. Does it include Bible memorization?

Every other day, the kids have to write out a selected Bible verse from the readings. In many cases, these verses are suitable for memorization. So, memorization is not required, but it can easily be accommodated.

10. What do parents have to do?

You can do a lot or nothing – it all depends on what you want out of it. What we do is use 10-15 minutes on a Sunday to review the previous week. We get the kids together, with their books, and I go through the questions asking them in turn to read their answers from the books. I try to use opportunities to expand upon the material and to apply it to their hearts and lives. I also give opportunities for them to ask any extra questions they have. It’s often a blessed time of family fellowship around the Word.

11. What do you do about the Genesis passages like Lot offering his daughters to the men of Sodom, or the rape of Dinah?

There are a handful of Old Testament passages like these which the plans simply skip over. It’s not that they are any less inspired or any less Bible. But we wanted to leave it to parents’ discretion when and how to introduce these passages to their children.

12. Is there a daily devotional?

No. It is pure Bible!

13. Will you have more than Genesis and Matthew plans?

Looks like it. As the initial response has far exceeded my expectations, I will be proceeding with Exodus and Mark within the next few months, in plenty of time for those who want to work through the series. As long as the demand is there, we’ll just keep going with Old and New Testament in tandem.

Any other questions, just leave them below and I’ll answer them upon my return. Amazon link here.

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is planning to open a PhD program within the next year and we’re looking for new faculty to teach and manage the program. The initial two posts are summarized below, with faculty openings for a Biblical Studies PhD and other posts to follow in the near future.

Professor of Historical Theology

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) to offer the MDiv, MA, and ThM degrees. The seminary has petitioned ATS to offer a PhD degree as well. A detailed proposal of the PhD program has been submitted to ATS for approval. Essential to the program is the addition to the PRTS faculty of an individual qualified in the discipline of Historical Theology. A position description is available here. Direct any inquiries and submissions of CVs to Dr. Michael Barrett, Vice President for Academic Affairs (michael.barrett@prts.edu).

Director of Doctoral Program

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) to offer the MDiv, MA, and ThM degrees. The seminary has petitioned ATS to offer a PhD degree as well. A detailed proposal of the PhD program has been submitted to ATS for approval. Essential to the program is the addition to the PRTS faculty of an individual qualified to be the Director of the Doctoral Program. A position description is available here. Direct any inquiries and submissions of CVs to Dr. Michael Barrett, Vice President for Academic Affairs (michael.barrett@prts.edu).

If you are in or near New York, why not get along to The Foundations Conference next week. It’s been organized by SermonAudio.com and speakers include Joel Beeke, Steve Lawson, and Conrad Mbewe. More details here.