The gospel and individualism

Here’s some stuff that I’ve found interesting recently.  Scot McKnight has a couple of lectures online that you really should check out.  They are about the gospel and individualism.  I hope that you find them as challenging as I did.

A happy life

Recently I picked up Hannah Whitall Smith’s The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life.  Here’s a couple of quotes that I found challenging.
“But is this all?  Had the Lord Jesus only this in His mind when He laid down His precious life to deliver you from your sore and cruel bondage to sin?  Did He [...]

A prayer for purity

Father, have mercy on us in our continual battle with lust.  Oh, how we love the victories You give.  Let us live there more and more.  Grant us the will to say no to every temptation.
Yes, Lord, grant us far more than to say no.  Help us fight.  Give us the will to make war [...]

This week

This week Shelley and I are going to North Platte, Nebraska for the Berean National Convention.  This should be a good time meeting with others in our fellowship.  A teacher from Moody is speaking.  I forgot his name at the moment, but he should be good.

wow

NT Wright plays guitar?

A prayer for today

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.  We have followed too much the desires and devices of our own hearts.  We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things [...]

The Compelling Power of Grace

The local Campus Crusade asked me to speak for them this week; so I decided to blog out what I wanted to share with them beforehand.
In Matthew 18, Jesus told his disciples a story about this king who had a servant who owed him an incredible amount of money.  And since the servant was hopeless [...]

Anxious about the Huskers

This weekend Nebraska plays the Trojans at USC. I’m nervous because this will be a good chance to see just how successful the Huskers’ rebuilding efforts actually are. I would be happy if we stayed within two touchdowns.

Prayer

Due to the influence of the chapter on prayer in Simply Christian, I recently have become interested in The Book of Common Prayer.  In my own independent Baptist background, no only did we not use any liturgical prayers, we were pretty suspicious that to do so might be what Jesus called “vain repetitions.”  However, now [...]

Reading

Recently I’ve been trying to read more fiction. Over the summer, I’ve picked up a couple of Stephen King novels, some Flannery O’Conner stories, and Graham Greene’s The Quiet American. Right now I’m working on Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. His novels wrestle with some deep life issues.
I’m reading some [...]