If I didn't put you to sleep with the title...I will be gone for the next few days to the MBC's Annual Meeting. I will provide some thoughts on it when I return. I won't be blogging for the next few days because my laptop is broken. Hope all is well.

UPDATE: The Annual Meeting was pretty uneventful. Others have better commentaries on the meeting than I do. As for me I'd rather listen to paint dry.

The latest 9Marks E-journal is now available. The topic is Counseling and the Local Church

How Does a Pastor Redeem the Time?: CJ interviews Jeff Purswell

Nathan White provides for us more quotes from Obadiah Sedgwick's Christ Counsel to His Languishing Church. (Man, I have got to get this book).

Timmy Brister provides the links to the Total Church Conference. (If you check these out before next week, drop me an e-mail and let me know what you think).

You can get a free copy of Sproul's Chosen By God by going here.

Are our churches filled with nominal Christians? (HT: Transforming Sermons)

What constitutes suffering for Christ? CJ and Lig Duncan Interview Piper.

Bob Kauflin tells us 10 Ways to Write Bad Worship Songs.

This Piper quote is going on my wall as soon as I get my laptop back. "If it is true, preach it with authority. If it is precious, preach it with passion." Read the rest.

You can't tell me you've never wanted to do this:

(HT: Douglas Wilson)

I will be giving away a free ESV Study Bible to anyone who goes here....buys three...and then gives me two. And what is better than all of those other offers this one will not expire. Anytime you buy three and give me two I will give you a free ESV Study Bible. Simple as that.

Or if you don't like my offer you can go to Abraham Piper's blog and and try to win one the hard way. My way is much easier though.

Some of my Reformed-minded readers may be wondering how the ESV Study Bible stands on issues such as monergestic regeneration. John Hendryx gives an outline and comes to this conclusion: the notes from editors of the ESVSB unambiguously affirm divine monergism in regeneration.

The Ligonier Pastor's Conference is providing free bilingual audio. (HT: Founders)

Sad news today. Christian aid worker Gayle Williams was gunned down in Kabul. (HT: Tullian)

Folks that admire the writing of John Piper will be happy to hear of these recent DG additions. Also resources are availabe from the recent Fall Conference on Job.

Mondays with Mounce: Translating the Imperfect.

J.I. Packer is a one-point Calvinist. Before you choke on your meal read the article first. (HT: Buzzard)

I am not a fan of Howard Stern (in fact very much opposed) but this is enlightening:

(HT: Brent)

Russell Moore reminds us that Jesus Didn't Die for a Campus Ministry. (HT: Trevin Wax)

Ligonier Ministries highlights some of RC Sproul's great children's books.

Michael Spencer has some funny suggestions for the newest study bible. (HT: Abraham Piper)

This Timmy Brister responds to Steve Lemke thing is getting pretty interesting.

Nathan Finn provides Abraham Booth's advice for pastoral ministry.

Great stuff from CJ Mahaney interviewing Piper: Pornography, the Hearth, and Sermon Prep.

Michael McKinley offers suggestions on Developing a God-Centered Church when Most Attendees are New Believers

Newsweek features a sad but true article: The Pornification of a Generation

I had no clue that McCain (0r at least his writers) had such a great sense of humor. This is 9 minutes long but it's pretty funny. It's good to see Senator Marx Obama having such a good laugh too. (HT: DJP)

I sure did not think that I would be reporting this today. The Browns marched all over the defending champion Giants! Go Brownies.

Why Not Destroy the Devil Now? John Piper answers.

JT is calling his blog readers to fast for the sake of the defenseless

The blogworld seems to be pretty dead today--I guess everybody is reading their ESV Study Bible. (I'm doing sermon prep without a new Study Bible). Ray Ortlund Jr. Steve Camp. Tim Challies. Tony Reinke. And I'm sure there are many reading their ESV's today that are not blogging on it.

Admirers of Jonathan Edwards will appreciate this; in correspondence with the launch of the JE 2.0 website high-res images of Edwards manuscripts have been released. (HT: Tony)

My wife absolutely loves this skit. I also find it quite hilarious:

I posted this at the new Reforming Youth Ministry site as well:

In his classic work on Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, “Do not think in terms of bargains and rights in the Kingdom of God. That is absolutely fatal. There is nothing so wrong as the spirit which argues that because I do this, or because I have done that, I have the right to expect something else in return”. (129)

In this context Lloyd-Jones is addressing those that believe, “if we pray for certain things, we are bound to have them, for instance if we pray all night for revival we must have revival”. In our day the church is inundated with such philosophy. Peruse the shelves of your local Christian bookstore and you will find countless titles that promise and “If-then” fix-all in your relationship with God. And yes, those of us that are Reformed-minded are not immune to this. Who of us has not been tempted to think that if we have good doctrine and solid Bible teaching then God will honor His Word and souls will get saved?

If my previous post is read through the lens of “bargains and rights” then it will be grossly misunderstood. Reading through such a lens one would come to the conclusion that if we have biblical student ministry then we will inevitably produce solid twenty-somethings. If you read through such a lens you might get fired up by the statistics and go on a quest to make the student ministry at your church more biblical. And that would certainly be a good thing. However, this is what could happen:

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to drastically dwindle. If you are still looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” then you will quickly assume “well, that didn’t work” and will abandon the biblical approach for something else that “gets results”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” you will inevitably conclude—in a spiritual sounding way of course—that God blessed you because you followed these steps. Pride will begin creeping in as you start getting book deals and have people asking “how do you do ministry”.

How then should you read the last post and everything else that is forthcoming? Read it with a goal of faithfulness. Rather than having a “bargains and rights” mentality have an “even if you don’t” mentality. In Daniel 3 we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are faced with the option of being faithful to God alone in worship and risk their lives or preserve their lives and become guilty of idolatry; they chose faithfulness. Their words in verses 16-18 is a reflection of an “even if you don’t” mentality. This is their response to King Nebuchadnezzar’s threat of throwing them in the fiery furnace:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Did you notice that? We expect that God will deliver us. We have faith that God will reward our faithfulness by a miraculous display of his power. God will protect us. And then you see the “even if not” mentality shine through. If I can be allowed to paraphrase, “King, even if God, for His good pleasure, decides not to preserve us we are still going to be faithful to Him and not you.” Regardless of results we must be faithful. What does an “even if you don’t” mentality look like? This is what could happen:

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to dwindle. However, because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality you press on in faithfulness to God. You may never have high attendance or have any of the typical marks of successful ministry. Your ministry may have the fruit of Isaiah (see chapter 6) instead of the fruit of Jonah. Yet, you will also get the reward of Isaiah instead of Jonah—“well done good and faithful servant”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality your “success” results not in pride but in humble awe that God would shine His mercy upon you. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego people start asking about your God instead of about your opinion (3:28).

What will it be? Will you have an “even if you don’t” mentality or will you view ministry through the lens of “rights and bargains”?