A La Carte (October 17)
Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals are all about Francis Schaeffer.
(Yesterday on the blog: What You Can Take With You Into Eternity)
The Case For Kids
Kevin DeYoung makes the case for kids. “The most significant thing happening in the world may very well be a thing that is not happening: Men and women are not having children. The biblical logic has been reversed, and the barren womb has said ‘Enough!’ (Prov. 30:16). The paradigmatic affliction of the Old Testament is now the great desire of nations. If Rachel wanted children more than life itself (Gen. 30:1), our generation seems to have concluded that nothing gets in the way of life more than children.”
Spirit of Light
“The Reformers placed tremendous stress on the gifts of the Spirit to the whole body of Christ. John Calvin himself has rightly been described by B.B. Warfield as ‘the theologian of the Holy Spirit.’ Yet Reformed Christians always have been given a ‘bad press’ for their views on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” But this should not be!
What Is Eastern Orthodoxy? A Reformed Perspective and Response
This article explains some of the key distinctions between Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
Are There Many Ways to God? Most “Evangelicals” Say Yes. (Video)
This video from Ligonier explains.
The Birth of Narnia and Why Tolkien Hated It
Here’s why Tolkien hated Narnia. “His criticism went beyond evaluation and suggestion to the level of insult.”
How Is the Trinity Vital for My Christian Life?
Danny Hyde explains why understanding the Trinity is vital for a healthy Christian life.
Flashback: What I Want From the News
It’s gotten so I almost hate the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but I’ve lost confidence that there’s as much as a single organization out there communicating it in a trustworthy way.
It is not hard to deceive ministers, relatives and friends. But it is impossible to deceive Christ. —J.C. Ryle
You Might also like
-
The Harder Our Earth, the Sweeter Our Heaven
The man who lives in the Swiss Alps is probably not terribly impressed when he visits North America and strolls through the Adirondacks or the Smokies. The woman who has spent her life snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef is probably not too enthusiastic about snorkeling off the East Coast of Canada. The person who has grown up on the beaches of Maui is probably not going to break the bank to vacation on the beaches of Lake Superior. There is nothing wrong with the Adirondacks or the Smokies, nothing wrong with the East Coast of Canada or the beaches of the Great Lakes. It’s just that they are not nearly as good, not nearly as impressive, not nearly as awe-inspiring as the alternatives.
It does us good at times to ponder heaven, to ponder the future God has promised to those who love him. He has promised that we will be with him forever in a new heaven and a new earth—a re-creation of this world in which all sin and sorrow, all pain and danger will have been removed. Here we will live out the purpose for which God created us—to spread out over the earth and enjoy it with him and for him.
As we make the pilgrimage from here to there, as we endure this long journey, we expect that it will be difficult. We expect that we will experience the consequences that have come with mankind’s fall into sin. We expect that we will endure sickness, bereavement, persecution, chastisements, and so many other forms of suffering. This is all inevitable in a world like this one.
While we do not wish to suffer, we must be confident that God always has purposes in it. And one of these purposes is undoubtedly to prepare us for what is to come, to shift our hearts from earth to heaven, from what is temporal to what is eternal. The sorrows here prepare us for the glories there. And this makes me wonder: wouldn’t it be the ones who suffer most on earth who are best prepared to enjoy heaven? Wouldn’t it be the ones who were deprived of so much here who will be most satisfied there?
Just think of the wonder of a stroll in the garden for those who were long confined to the sick room, a hike in the mountains for those who spent their lives in a wheelchair, a place in God’s mansion for those who lived in nothing more than a hut.
Imagine the music of the heavenly choir to those who ears were deaf, the splendor of the New Jerusalem to those whose eyes were blind, the joy of crying out praise to those whose lips were mute.
Imagine never hearing a sound for your entire earthly existence only to have the heavenly choir as the first notes to ever reach your ear. Imagine never seeing anything on this side of the grave, only to have the face of Jesus be the first sight that ever meets your eye. Imagine never being able to form a word here only to have your tongue loosened in Christ’s presence so the first words you ever speak are an expression of love to him.
Surely it’s not the man who lived in fine palaces who will be most amazed by the streets of gold, but the man who lived in poverty. Surely it’s not the woman who enjoyed fine dining every day of her life who will be most satisfied by the heavenly feasts, but the woman who lived in deprivation. Surely it’s not the person who traveled to the four corners of the earth who will be most satisfied to explore the wonders of God’s creation, but the person who was unable to leave his hometown, or perhaps unable to leave his bed.
Those who were lonely in this world will marvel at the joy of fellowship, those who were abused in this world will be satisfied to experience perfect safety, those who were estranged in this world will rejoice to know full acceptance. The one who had so many loved ones taken from her arms will be most satisfied to know that pain and death and sorrow and sighing shall be no more.
We know that heaven will be a wonder for all who are admitted, a place of perfect peace and perfect satisfaction for all who enter its gates. But surely heaven will be a greater wonder still for those whose joys were fewest, whose sorrows were deepest, whose earth was most distant from heaven. -
Why R.C. Whispered Instead of Shouted
It was still the early days of what came to be known as the New Calvinism or the Reformed Resurgence. The Together for the Gospel Conference had been formed in 2006 and now, in 2008, was gathering for the second time. The four founders were joined again by guests John Piper, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul (and, for the first time, Thabiti Anyabwile). R.C. Sproul led the conference’s fifth session and spoke on “The Curse Motif of the Atonement.” He preached one of those sermons that is still being discussed long after the event and even long after his death.
The conference summarizes Sproul’s sermon in this way: “Drawing deeply upon the imagery of the Old Testament, RC Sproul richly meditates on the implications of what Jesus suffered on the cross and what he saved us from. Bearing the weight of the curse is either placed upon individuals or freely upon the Holy One who took it from us. Jesus became cursed, so that [we] could be counted righteous in Him.”
I was there that day and, like so many others, found myself completely transfixed by this sermon. I had listened to plenty of Sproul prior to this time and had read some of his most noteworthy books like The Holiness of God. Yet even though the man and the message were familiar, I still sat in rapt attention, both recoiling at the horror of what I was hearing and worshiping at the beauty.
The crescendo of the whole message came in the final two minutes. Sproul was contemplating what happened between the Father and the Son when all of our sin was placed upon Jesus and when he faced the Father’s wrath. He explained it like this: “It was as if there was a cry from heaven—excuse my language but I can be no more accurate to say—it was as if Jesus heard the words ‘God damn you.’ Because that’s what it meant to be cursed, to be damned, to be under the anathema, of the Father.”
In the years since, I have often contemplated what made this message so powerful. And in watching and rewatching it, I am convinced that it was a combination of substance and style—of preaching that accounted not only for what was said, but also for how. Part of what made the message so powerful, and what made this crescendo so powerful, is that R.C. whispered instead of shouted.
I have often been struck by the intensity with which many preachers deliver their sermons. Many preachers are aware of the importance of preaching and humbled by the fact that it falls to them to convey deep truths to an expectant people. It is no small thing to stand in a pulpit and preach the Word. Aware of this fact, preachers seem to bring messages that are intense from beginning to end. That intensity is often expressed in volume. If we were to create a little graphic showing the vocal range of a preacher with a whisper at the bottom, a normal speaking voice in the middle, and a shout at the top, many preachers would deliver the majority of their sermons entirely in the top half of the graphic—occasionally in a normal speaking voice, but mostly at an elevated volume. When they need to pack an extra punch, they get louder and perhaps even shout. But they only ever employ the top half of their vocal range.
I’m struck that Sproul took the opposite approach. Throughout this message, he delivers many of the most important lines in the lower part of his vocal range, and often at a bare whisper. He leans toward the audience and the audience responds by leaning toward him, straining to hear. He slows the tempo and lowers his voice to speak many of his most important lines. (See also this clip from 40:00 – around 41:30)
This is a powerful rhetorical technique that few preachers use at all and few use more effectively than Sproul. It is dramatic without being melodramatic, performative without being manipulative. It complements powerful truths with skillful technique. It’s compelling and potent. And, for many preachers, completely untried. It’s my conviction that most preachers would have shouted these lines rather than whispered them. And it’s equally my conviction that this would have proven less effective.
And so I guess my encouragement to those who preach is to draw some lessons from Sproul. He has long been commended as not only the Reformed world’s best teacher in his day but also as one of its master communicators. And I’m convinced that a key part of his skill was his delivery, and particularly, his willingness to employ not only a part of his vocal range, but the whole of it. He put great care into not only the content of his messages, but also the delivery. He had mastered not only the art of preparing a sermon, but also the craft of delivering it. We’d all do well to learn from him.
(Further to this sermon, see “How R.C. Sproul Blessed the Church by Preaching the Curse” in my Great Sermon Series.) -
A La Carte (August 20)
Grace and peace to you today, my friends.
There are just two Kindle deals this morning.
Logos users will find some good deals in the Back to School sale.
Afghanistan, the Pulpit, and the Myth of Progress
“If we’re to truly remember the world’s tragedies in our ministries, what we need to retrieve isn’t simply what our Christian forebears taught in their ministries. We need to also retrieve their sense of the world which lay behind their ministries – a sense that the world is unstable, violent, and harsh.”
Weakness May Be Your Greatest Strength
This is good and helpful: “It’s easy for us to see our strengths as assets. But most of us naturally consider our weaknesses as liabilities — deficiencies to minimize or cover up. But God, in his providence, gives us our weaknesses just as he gives us our strengths.”
Pain Will Not Have the Last Word
Sarah Walton says, “No one lives this life untouched. We all experience the brokenness and frailty of this world in one way or another. Whether we face daily disappointments, an aging body, a life-altering illness, abuse, broken relationships, or loss, the pain we experience becomes woven into the fabric of our lives. It changes us, sometimes leaving us with scars or a limp.”
“I’ll See You in Court!”
Jesse Johnson digs into the biblical prohibition about suing other Christians. “The business had workman’s comp insurance, but the insurance company was requiring that the injured worker’s personal insurance company file a claim in court in order to compel payment. The bottom line: in order to get covered, a believer (or his insurance company) would have to sue another believer (or his insurance company).”
Bethel, Jesus, and Dove Dung
Lionel Windsor shows just how awful some of the teaching is that’s emerging from Bethel. “Before I read the book, I was hoping to find something positive to be able to say. Anything. But I could find nothing. In short, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I found this book extremely disturbing (especially one part of it).”
How Difficult was the Book of Revelation’s Journey into the Canon?
Despite the uniqueness of the book of Revelation compared to the rest of the NT, its acceptance into the canon was not particularly tempestuous, as Michael Kruger shows here.
In the Quiet
Melissa reflects on the quiet in her home now that the kids have returned to school.
Flashback: Two Gifts You Give To Others in Your Sanctification
Your sanctification is a gift to others. Your continual growth in holiness is not something you emphasize merely for your own benefit or your own assurance, but something you pursue for the benefit of others.God never made a soul so small that the whole world will satisfy it. —William Hendriksen