Interesting and sad videos on North Korea:

NK:PUSH from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.

North Korea from Acts1v8 on Vimeo. (HT: John)

Here is more to motivate for missions:

This is quite impressive:

(HT: Z

John Piper models for us how to make a biblical apology as well as inform us about why he does not own a television.

The SBC Annual Convention was held earlier this week.  Here are a few of the reflections:  iMonk, Tom Ascol (from Founders), Owen Strachan, Peter Lumpkins, James Galyon, Timmy Brister, Micah Fries, and Wade Burleson

It is also worth mentioning this article by the iMonk: Why Mark Driscoll Shouldn’t Bug Ya

Kevin DeYoung reminds us that its not enough to believe in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture; we also need to like it.

David Powlison on Literature; Tony’s link is more extensive—check it out.

Check this out from Paul Washer:

That’s it for this week…all those SBC articles will keep you busy—that and reading everything about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.

Having spent much time with teenagers I found this article intriguing: Study Links Teen Depression to Bed Times.

This was an interesting read.  Dr. Mohler considers the need for children to have silence.

I really like Jared Wilson.  If you are not familiar with him you need to be.  I especially appreciated Jared’s take on the Culture War.

I am excited about this series by Bruce Ashford: On Disciplined Reading.  Check out Part one and part two.

Tony Reinke tells us why he rarely uses Revelation in his devotional time, but also reveals why he is going to start.  My take on the book of Revelation is also quite simple; Jesus wins.  You can read Tony’s excellent thought’s here. 

Being such a superstar I could really relate to this by John Piper: “Hero Worship and Holy Emulation”.  Actually, I can relate because I am not a “superstar” but one that can be tempted towards hero worship.  Kevin DeYoung also weighs in. 

I am unfamiliar with Gary Lamb.  Apparently he confessed to having an affair with his assistant.  In light of this Jared Wilson offers some solid thoughts on pastoral falls. 

Here is where you can get media from Advance09. 

Colin Adams provides us with 8 common problems in evangelism and offers some solutions. 

This is powerful:  (HT: DG)

This is powerful: The Gospel and Personal Criticism.

Absolutely HUGE updates to TheResurgence. Be sure to check them all out.

Timmy Brister points out the truth behind the Christian Index’s statement: Denominations do not fulfill the Great Commission. Timmy asks some good questions in response.

Abraham Piper’s excellent blog 22 Words has been redesigned.

John Piper is now tweeting. Find out why.

This is the Carl Trueman article about Blog Attackers that CJ referenced in the first link.

I really appreciated this article by Don Dunavant (a guest post at Between the Times). He compares the downfall of GM with a few alarming trends in the SBC.

Helpful article for us young preachers. James McDonald offers advice on Common Mistakes Young Preachers Make:

If I comprised a list of the Top 10 people within the history of the church that I could hang out with and be mentored by John Newton would probably be in the Top 5. Here is one of the reasons why: The Peril of Pastorla Popularity and Pride

One of my favorite Shane and Shane songs:

(HT: Justin C.)

Today my wife and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary!!!

Very passionate plea from John Piper to President Obama concerning abortion:

Kevin DeYoung shares why he is a Calvinist.

Dr. Moore writes an amazing article about the devil’s voting record.  (HT: JT)

Thabiti points out a bleak statistic that 60% of baptisms within the SBC are “re-baptisms”.

Gregg Harris writes a letter to parents.

That does it…these videos should keep you busy.

This guy is everything I dream to be as a youth pastor.

(HT: CPC)

Audio is now available from the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors Conference. 

This was really helpful for me.  In the past couple of months the Lord has changed the way I think about blogging.  Tony Reinke helps to confirm that by his message at the Band of Bloggers gathering:  How can bloggers steward the teaching of the young, old, and dead?

Dan Phillips makes an excellent point with this one: Porn and paper pastors.  This article is not about pornography or pastors that struggle with pornography.  This article is about those that follow “paper pastors” instead of the one’s that God has given them.

Last week I linked to Kevin DeYoung’s series on high places.  A couple days ago he put up his final one, Part 5: Prayerlessness. 

Scot Sterner gives great counsel on “What to do with criticism”.  (HT: Z)

The video for LeCrae’s Don’t Waste Your Life is now available:

(HT: JT)

NFL Draft is this weekend.  I am going to be really sad when the Browns trade Brady Quinn, Braylon Edwards, and who knows who else to get a host of rookies that will be traded in two more years for another host of rookies.  Still wondering why I was happy when the Browns signed Mangini as their coach. 

I thought this was a pretty good summary by John Samson on the 5 Big Myths About Calvinism.  I’m sure an Arminian could easily write 5 Myths about Arminians as well.  But articles like these are beneficial to keep us from discussing around the issues and burning straw men in the process. 

What we’ve seen in our churches is now proven in statistics:  The SBC is continuing to decline says Ed Stetzer.

Thoughtful article by C. Michael Patton on The Forgotten Pulpit.  (And he means pulpit literally).

Alongside The Gospel Coalition, D.A. Carson and John Piper had an evening session about The pastor as Scholar and The Scholar as Pastor.  Thankfully Andy Naselli live-blogged it here.

If you get a chance watch Piper’s message from The Gospel Coalition:

John MacArthur confronts explicit teaching on Song of Solomon. (AKA Mark Driscoll) Read part 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The more I read the writings of Kevin DeYoung the more I appreciate him. He has begun a series (that is almost finished) on our high places. In these he is focusing on our idolatrous blind spots. Read The lack of Psalm singing, Worldliness in entertainment, The idol of youth, and Our lack of church discipline. Part 5 should be up some time within the next day or so.

Did Christ Have Gray Hair? Turns out your answer is more important than you think…

Great words from Dr. Moore: The Devil is a Boring Preacher: The High Stakes of Dull Sermons. Here is an excerpt: “If lost people don’t like your message because they’re hostile to the gospel, you’re in good company. But if you’re boring the people of God with the Word of God, something has gone seriously awry. It may be that you preach just like the devil, and that you don’t even know it.”

It sure is sad that Piper is defiling himself by having such conferences as this: Advance ‘09. UPDATE: I apologize for not being initially clear--I'm being silly by saying Piper is defiling himself by having such a conference as this. I think Advance '09 will be awesome. I even would love to attend--but will probably not be able to. So, sorry if anyone misunderstood and thinks I'm hating on the Advance conference.

Nathan White wonders why we have “altars”…I’ve wondered the same thing.

JT points us to an interview with Paul Tripp about marriage.

This is powerful:

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

HT: Jared

What Happened to the 12 Apostles as Proof of Easter; a great article by C. Michael Patton.

What is the significance of the shedding of blood in the atonement? RC Sproul answers.

Tim Challies hits this one out of the park: Evil as Entertainment. Combine this with Steve Camp’s “disclaimer” and you have a really excellent article.

Joe Thorn’s “Note to Self” was a good note for me too.

Sometimes I read the sermons from Geoff Thomas for my own sermon preparation. I was very excited to find this by Colin Adams: Preaching on Preaching.

“World” has a broad range of meanings. John Samson outlines the meaning of “world”. UPDATE: I should mention that he outlines the meaning of the word "world" in the Gospel of John, not the entire NT.

I have not gotten a chance to read this yet but it looks interesting. Michael Patton gives us a primer on Ghosts, or The Christian View of the Supernatural.

Tim Chester continues his discussion of Creating Communities of Grace.

I really like John Piper’s take on his visit to a main-line Protestant church; read it here.

Jay Adams asks, "Is All Help Truly Help?”

Alvin Reid continues his discussion of Towards a Great Commission Resurgence. This time he tackles Convergent Evangelism.

Tonight you can watch the Mars Hill Good Friday service live.

Didn’t know there was a third one of these…if you haven’t seen first 2 you should……but don’t think less of me after you do.

C.J. Mahaney has an article on Ordinary Pastors.

In January James MacDonald named Brian McLaren as a false teacher, here. Now he is explaining why naming false teachers is biblical.

Jon Bloom gives helpful advice for skeptics in our lives.

Trevin Wax writes a very interesting article: Screwtape on the SBC.

John Piper asks Does God Lead Us Into Temptation?

Tim Chester compares communities of grace with communities of performance. Excellent article, you need to be sure to read this one.

Also, perhaps one of the best SBC articles for the year was recently written by Alvin Reid: We Have Reached a Tipping Point.

Mounce discusses John 15:2-3

JT links to an audio series by Paul Tripp on Survivor Skills. Haven't gotten to listen yet but I'm sure they are great.

Pastors what do you think of this dare? (HT: Milton)

INLOW needs to recruit this guy:

(HT:Kim)

Please tell me this is not serious, look at what Greg Gilbert has posted, without comment. UPDATE: For some reason they took down the link at 9Marks. Here is what he had linked to.

Abraham Piper points us to the Tim Keller Wiki page.

So, maybe it's a good thing that I haven't gotten into Facebook. According to this guy, Facebook makes people dumber. (HT: Richard)

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Tom Schreiner this week. I was overjoyed to come back and find that his sermons are available online. (HT: JT)

Jonathan Leeman offers two tips for promoting kingdom mindedness when preaching.

Part 4 of CJ's interview with Powlison.

Can ei me mean but in John 3:13. See Mounce's answer.

Phil Johnson continues his discussion on "The Pornification of the Pulpit"

R. Scott Clark has some advice for young preachers. (HT: Milton)

See Driscoll on Nightline debating the existence of Satan.

Here is a very faithful witness to the redeeming power of Jesus:
(HT: Denny)

This could get ugly: Mark Dever makes comments about infant baptism....Michael Bird responds, calling his statements out of line. R. Scott Clark returns the favor; although saying not offended he says NOT practicing infant baptism is a sin. This has the potential to get really ugly because it calls into question the sincerity of Together for the Gospel. There are others that have responded as well. One of those responding is Rick Phillips. I think he helps us to see with clarity the real issue. Stay tuned. I also must mention that Dever has responded with a clarification.

There are more blog posts from Stetzer interviewing Andy Stanley on Communication. I will only link to part 5 you can do the rest of the work.

Another solid article from Finn and Reid on Calvinism and the SBC.

James McDonald writes a letter to a dying church.

Part 2 and Part 3 of CJ's interivew with David Powlison.

Timmy Brister offers 20 books that promote life-change. Can't believe he left off How People Change.

Last week I linked to the Time magazine article on The New Calvinism being #3 in new ideas changing the world. Thabiti is not nearly as optimistic as some. I should also mention that in a few places Driscoll got drilled for his take on the movement. But what else is new.

Trevin Wax offers advice on reading when you're broke.

John Piper tells us to Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller.

The new 9marks E-Journal is now online. JT summarizes it.

Dan Wallace corrects a common misunderstanding on textual variants. Pastors and those often involved with apologetics read this.

That will do for now....have to watch some March Madness.

First of all don't forget to vote for Borrowed Light at the SBC Blog Madness.

Haven't listened to these yet but Tony tells us about a free album of hymns put to indie rock.

C.J. Mahaney introduces us to David Powlison. (As a side note I have only recently stumbled across Powlison's material--and have been tremendously blessed. Expect a review of Seeing with New Eyes in the near future). Also in regards to Powlison check out this discussion with Justin Taylor about homosexuality.

It is unbelievable that Time has listed The New Calvinism as #3 on it's 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now. I like Driscoll's take on it here and here. JT also points us to an article from 1947.

Jared lists 10 people in church that you should not trust.

I wonder if this one will get as many comments: Part 3 of Stetzer's inteview with Andy Stanley.

Everyone, even if they had to create a blog just to link to it, has linked to this article by Michael Spencer (iMonk): The Coming Evangelical Collapse.

Phil Johnson on Preachin' Dirty. If my students read that title they would be cracking up since a few months ago (actually while shooting our fan movie) I got my pants very dirty. They enjoyed my rap song--"gonna catch me preachin' dirty". It's funny because I am very white and had actually never heard the song. Read the article it has nothing to do with preaching with dirty pants on.

Last week I linked to Piper's discussion about wrasslin' girls. Dan Phillips has some interesting points here; he's for it, well sort of.

Can an elder be divorced? Mounce weighs in.

I know that you have already heard about the murder of Pastor Fred Winters. As a follow up I really like these suggestions by Mark Driscoll concerning church safety.

Alex and Brett Harris are writing another book and they need our help.

This is convicting: Prayerlessness is a sign of self-sufficiency.

I really like Ray LaMontagne's music. I thought he did a great job on SNL:

Hunter Beaumont (on the Resurgence blog) thinks that "AND" might be the most important theological word. Read why he thanks that, here.

Ed Stetzer posts a discussion with Andy Stanley on communication. Be sure to read part one and part two. Jared Wilson interacts. Be sure to read what Jared has to say I think it is important.

John Piper confronts pansy dads that let their sons wrestle girls. Great interaction with a hot topic--this is about much more than wrestling.

CJ Mahaney interviews Jerry Bridges. Good stuff here.

Jay Adams discusses the emotions of God...or well, lack theirof. I have a question about this. If what Adams is saying is true--then can we really talk about God being happy and joyous?

Wow, you have to read this. It is the Eulogy that Erik Raymond's 13 year old, Bryce, wrote for him. (Note it was a school project the Irish Calvinist is still alive and well). All I can say is this 13 year old gets the gospel. Wow!

James MacDonald preaches a very needed message. I think some of those "discernment" blogs need to forward this around. I'm sure that he'll get "flamed" for this one...but great stuff: The Gift of Discernment Used in the Flesh

Hopefully I did not miss Part 2, but Alvin Reid and Nathan Finn have written a piece together about Calvinism and the SBC.

Even though this is a tad embarassing here is a video that I worked on with a few of our students last Fall. And it really is true--until I was married I really thought Bing Crosby was a black guy:

CJ Mahaney wants us to meet Ligon Duncan. Read part 1, 2, and 3.

Excellent article by Timmy Brister: The Gospel Our Greatest Common Denominator. Be sure to read this one.

Along those same lines here are some great thoughts by Nathan Finn: The Conservative Resurgence and Great Commission Resurgence.

Be sure to read this excellent quote by McCheyne.

Russell Moore has written another thoughtful piece on adoption: Adoption as Cosmic and Missional.

It is officially free agency in the NFL. To track the activity go to nfl.com. To watch a team doing nothing go to Cleveland Browns.com

I have seen a few more links to Shane and Shane recently. I really hope more people begin listening to them--you'll be blessed by this:


(HT: Jared)

This will certainly prove to be controversial: What will we be in the SBC? by Tom Ascol.

Taylor Buzzard gives us a helpful Algebra equation to mark our time left with our children under our care: x/18=y. According to this formula I already have spent 10% of time with Isaiah under our care. Read the article.

Both Nathan Finn and Alvin Reid write open letters to SBC Calvinists and Non-Calvinists. Read Finn's to the Non-Calvinists and Reid's to the Calvinist.

CJ Mahaney interviews Thabiti. Check out Part 1 and 2.

I love this question by Abraham Piper: How would the Bible be different if you'd been it's editor?

Great article by Matt Chandler on Legalism. He also has good thoughts on Seminary.

Bill Mounce considers Ephesians 4:29 and blogging.

Michael McKinley gives 95 Theses (give or take 85) on Christian humor.

Showing his continuing maturity Joshua Harris lets us know what he has learned since writing I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

This raises an interesting question......should a pastor wear a speedo?

(HT: Tim Ellsworth)

I've decided to make this a weekly feature rather than daily. It wasn't daily much anymore anyways.

Is anyone else getting sick of this? Baptist Press trashes Driscoll. Numerous people have already responded. I think Alvin Reid might have done about the best.

Carl Trueman has a great piece on technology and a great quote about Facebook: “…the church should show this generation of text and web addicts where real friendship and community lie, not with some bunch of self-created avatars on Facebook but with the person next to them in the pew on Sunday, with the person next door, with the person they can see, hear, touch and, of course, to whom they can talk, and who is created not in webworld but by the mighty Creator.” (HT: Tony)

Great quote here by Jared Wilson: Why, God?

It seems a little extreme but I agree. Russell Moore discusses cellphones, children, and the gospel. I would absolutely love for our teenagers to STOP TEXTING EVERY 2 MINUTES!!!

Kevin DeYoung, author of Why We're Not Emergent, has started blogging. He starts out with an excellent series of posts on having a theological core without being crusty. Then offers 6 questions for the potentially crusty, and then another 6 questions. Great articles, be sure to read these.

Bill Mounce tells us what to do with metaphors in Bible translation.

Be sure to read the article that goes with the HT:
(HT: DeYoung)

Perhaps you've noticed the change in title. Instead of doing a "Today in Blogworld" we will now be moving to a "This Week". If something is pressing then I will provide a link throughout the week. As of now, we will be posting all of our links on Friday or Saturday of every week.

Michael Patton charts four views of God's sovereignty? Where are you on the chart? I am in between meticulous sovereignty and providential sovereignty. I'm probably a little to the right of John Piper.

Pulpit Magazine offers us a series on ministry to children. They consider When to Baptize Your Children, Proverbs and Parenting, Evangelizing Your Children Part 1 and 2.

Jared hits the nail on the head with his post on The New Legalism

Erin Sutherland continues the New Attitude series on applying the gospel to every day life. She discusses The Gospel and Relationships (for Girls)

Phil Johnson's final entry on Acts 17: Paul and Charitableness

Many bloggers went to the Together 4 the Gospel Conference (Hence, the small number of links). I was not one of them. I could link to all of their notes, but instead I will only point you to the audio for all the sermons. This should keep you busy.

This is also from T4G:
(HT:Challies)