The whole of the tremendous debt was put upon his shoulders; the whole weight of the sins of all his people was placed upon him. Once he seemed to stagger under it: “Father, if it be possible.” But again he stood upright: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” The whole of the punishment of his people was distilled into one cup; no mortal lip might give it so much as a solitary sip. When he put it to his own lips, it was so bitter, he well nigh spurned it—”Let this cup pass from me.” But his love for his people was so strong, that he took the…
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Did Christ die for us or God?
In 1998, a Copernican Revolution was in the offing in my life. It began like a thunderbolt with a sermon from John Piper on Romans 3:25-26. I was studying theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, yet this message delivered at a collegiate conference was the most important thing I heard during my seminary career. It was the most powerful exposition of the innermost meaning of the cross that I had ever heard. As you meditate on the cross this Good Friday, I thought you might benefit from it too. Download here or listen below. [audio:http://cdn.desiringgod.org/audio/events/19980101.mp3]
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Can you defend the sexual revolution?
Anthony Esolen has a helpful article asserting the ideological bankruptcy of the sexual revolution. In essence, he argues that it undermines the common good to treat sex as if it were irrelevant to the flourishing of society. Here’s the first paragraph: “Why should two men who are sexually attracted to one another not be allowed to pretend that they are married? That we are even asking such a question is the result of our having accepted the premise of the sexual revolution, which is, essentially, that what people do with their bodies is their own business, so long as no one is harmed. By ‘no one’ we mean the people…
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Remembering the Doolittle Raiders
Sixty-nine years ago today, 80 American heroes took off from an aircraft carrier to strike a blow of retaliation for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. American bombers did not have the range for a round trip from the carriers they took off from. So the planes left on a one-way mission to bomb targets in Japan. James Doolittle wrote about the moment in his biography: “America had never seen darker days. Americans badly needed a morale boost. I hoped we could give them that by a retaliatory surprise attack against the enemy’s home islands launched from a carrier… We would not return to the Hornet. After bombing our targets, we…
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The Old Switcheroo
Thanks to Tim Challies for highlighting this video. It made me laugh out loud.
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Rob Bell on the Cover of TIME
TIME magazine’s cover story this week is about Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Here is John Meacham’s one line explanation of what the fuss is about: “[Bell] suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal — meaning that, as his book’s subtitle puts it, ‘every person who ever lived’ could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be.” Every year during Easter season, the news weeklies like to feature stories that tweak traditional Christian belief (for example, The Gospel of Judas, the tomb of Jesus, etc.). For these publications, Holy Week has become heresy week. I think it says something that Bell’s book has now…
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The Nigerian Witness
I flew to Chicago Tuesday morning to attend The Gospel Coalition conference, and I took a cab from the airport to my hotel. As I was sitting in the backseat formulating my strategy for sharing the gospel with my Nigerian driver, the driver starts singing. “What are you singing,” I asked. He replied, “I’m singing to my God. I must always sing to my God!” It turns out that this was his strategy for sharing the gospel with me! The rest of the trip was a delight. We talked about life, the gospel, and the nature of true Christianity. We prayed for each other, and then he gave one final…
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Bullhorn Guy
I had occasion earlier this week to go back and watch one of Rob Bell’s NOOMA videos from seven years ago. This one is titled “Bullhorn.” When I first saw this about six years ago, I didn’t know much about Bell. So I walked away with one question: Is Bell’s problem with the messenger (the Bullhorn Guy) or with the message? There was an ambiguity about it then. But I guess not so much now. Note that he even uses the phrase “love wins.”
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The Victory in My Disgrace
Is there anything more difficult in Christianity than loving your enemy and forgiving them? And yet Jesus is able to do in us what we would never do ourselves. I am grateful to God for this young woman’s powerful testimony. I think you will be too. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). (HT: Tim Challies)
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Don Miller: Who should run the church?
Donald Miller asks an interesting question at his website: “Should the Church be Led by Teachers and Scholars?” His contention is that unlike the original disciples who were fisherman and tradesman, the Christian church today has ceded its leadership to the academics. Churches today are basically schools that are run by teachers. As a result, we have a lot of arguing about doctrine in our churches and not enough doing Jesus’ commands. Miller writes: “Church divisions are almost exclusively academic divisions. The reason I don’t understand my Lutheran neighbor is because a couple academics got into a fight hundreds of years ago. And the rest of the church followed them…