7 Theses on Christian Hedonism

In chapter 4 of For the Fame of God's Name, Sam Storms sumarizes Christian Hedonism with 7 theses:

1. All People Desire Happiness.
2. God Places No Restraints on the Depths of Delight in Himself That He Commands us to Pursue.
3. Even Self-Denial Is a Hedonistic Choice.
4. God is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him.
5. Christian Hedonism Insists that We Be Deadly Serious about Joy.
6. The Foundation of Our Delight in God Is God's Delight in Himself.
7. God's Passion for His Glory Is the Consummate Expression of Love for His People.

The Hyphen Master

Chapter 1 of For the Fame of God's Name contains a long and thoughtful prayer of thanksgiving for the life and ministry of John Piper. Here is my favorite sentence:

"I praise you for a pastor who prays and labors for a generation of Christ-exalting, God-glorifying, Bible-saturated, truth-driven, doctrinally grounded, faith-filled, God-centered, mission-minded, soul-winning, justice-pursuing, God-fearing, Christ-treasuring, joyfully self-forgetting, passion-spreading, spiritually fruitful servants who are devoted to spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ."

Preacher: There is no Substitute for Hard Work

"Good sermon preparation always involves hard, prayerful work on the text--the work of translating and thinking and reflecting and turning up other passages and asking the hard questions and wrestling to understand what God wants to say. If you're afraid of hard work, then you shouldn't be preaching regularly."

Phillip Jensen, The Archer and the Arrow, p. 59.

Operation World

The new edition of Operation World is now available.

This is one of the few "must-owns" for every Christian. We must take seriously our call to know and love and pray for and reach the nations for Christ. I know of no other resourse as useful as this one in helping us know and pray for God's world.

My Sin Affects the Whole Church

A challenging thought from Bonhoeffer's Life Together:

“There is no sin in thought, word, or deep, no matter how personal or secret, that does not inflict injury upon the whole fellowship” (p. 89).

Marriage Matters

This looks like a good new book on Marriage.

New Pillar Commentary

As I've said many times before, The Pillar NT Commentary Series is my favorite. It is one of the few commentary series that combines detailed Bible explanation with robust passion for the Savior.

The volume on 1 Corinthians is coming very soon. Details here.

Day Off: Zoo Bears

We took over 300 pictures of our family day at the zoo. But, these 2 tell the whole story:

10 Exhortations to the Chilean Miners

I don't expect that any of the 33 miners who have been trapped for about 70 days will ever read my blog. However, if I had the opportunity to address them as they wait to be rescued, here is some of what I'd say:

1. Jesus can rescue you from a pit much deeper than this mine. Jesus rescues from the Father's wrath.
2. Do not trust in Mary or any other human "saint." Only Jesus saves.
3. You are not promised tomorrow. This "second chance" at life will soon end.
4. Don't waste your world-wide fame. Use it for the fame of Jesus.
5. Don't waste the riches that will be coming your way. Use it for the fame of Jesus.
6. The joy of being rescued is nothing compared to the joy of being adopted.
7. Express your gratefulness.
8. This world will always let you down. This won't be the last time you need help.
9. Love your family.
10. Don't waste your rescue.

Love the Title of this New/Old Book

Am absolutely encouraged and challenged by just the title of this new book I just got in the mail: A Habitual Sight of Him: The Christ-Centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin.

I desperately want my life to be characterized by a habitual gaze on Christ.

Encouraged

I received some specific and helpful encouragement after Sunday's sermon. I am a blessed pastor with people who love me and love to hear God's Word proclaimed.

And, the most meaningful encouragement came from my 5 year old daughter in the form of this picture she drew of me preaching (Christ Baptist folks will immediately recognize the stage and red curtain behind me). When I asked her why I had a rainbow over my head, she replied, "Because you are the best preacher."

And, no, I don't preach from a yellow Bible (just in case you wondered).

One book for Piper and another by Piper

For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper is now available at WTS Books (35% off).

Also, the sale on Piper's newest book, Think, is very good.

God Loves a Generous Heart

My favorite song on the new Sovereign Grace kids CD is called "A Generous Heart." The point of the song is that God loves a generous heart because that's a heart like His own heart.

Well, I was reminded of this song this morning by this incredible story. You just don't hear stuff like this very much. It deserves to be celebrated.

Baseball Playoffs

2 baseball posts in a row. A first for the blog!

Here is our Childers' Family Baseball Picks for the playoffs. We each picked one team from each league. Whoever's team wins the World Series gets a $10 gift card to Target. Noah is super excited that he could get 2 new cars with that (and he picked the Yankees!). My mom and I used to do this every year. The prize was always breakfast in bed for a week.

I picked the Phillies in the first round and got stuck with the Twins as my AL pick.

Fenway Park and Faith in God

My excellent wife bought me tickets to see the Red Sox and Yankees play at Fenway Park for my birthday and our anniversary. 10 years ago, we tried to get into Fenway but were unsuccessful. Jeanna worked hard to get these tickets and we both eagerly anticipated actually getting into Fenway to see a game this time. So, on Friday night, we were among the first to arrive at Fenway ready to see Big Papi tee off on Andy Pettite.

It started raining in Boston around 1pm on Friday and maintained a steady drizzle throughout the afternoon. The weather lady said it should stop raining by the evening. So, we had no doubt that we would see some baseball even if a little later than the official 7:10 start time. Well, 7:10 rolled around and the scoreboard said, "Due to the inclement weather, tonight's game has been delayed." No big deal. We were in Boston with no kids and nothing else to do but wait it out. So, we, along with tens of thousands of others found a dry place under the stadium to wait it out.

Around 9:15pm it stopped raining. The umpires, coaches, and grounds crew surveyed the field and determined it was time to play ball. We sat in our wet seats and watched the tarp get removed from the field. The pitcher and catcher emerged from the club house and started warming up. The announcer declared that the game would begin at 10pm. The pregame presentation was presented.

When 10pm rolled around, the tarp was back on the field and we were snuggled together (ponchos on) under the umbrella. It was now raining much harder than at any time during the day. Many left. Not us. We waited. No way was I going to leave if a baseball was going to be thrown that night.

At 10:30pm, with no hope of a game being played, we made the decision to leave. An incredibly disappointing decision knowing that the game would be rescheduled for long after we had returned to NC. And there are no refunds for games that are rescheduled.


Here were just a few of the thoughts graciously given to me by God:
-God sends the rain on the just and unjust.
-Rain obeys king Jesus.
-We were not the only ones who traveled from out of town to be at that game. I've positive others had reason to be disappointed as well.
-I've got the best wife in the world.
-Hey, at least we actually got into the park this time (picture evidence above). Maybe next time we'll actually get to see a game? Baby steps.
-This was a loud reminder to me that this world is not my home. Nothing can be trusted in this life.
-Disappointed heart: Hope in God. He will never fail you.

By the way, we got to bless some friends who are planting a church in the Boston area with the tickets. Glad they got to enjoy the rescheduled game Saturday night.

Essays in Honor of John Piper

Wow. Here is a book I'm super excited about: For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. Just take a look at the list of contributors.