Large Love: Why We Are Adopting A Child

Over at our adoption blog, I've posted a few of the reasons we are pursuing adoption as a family (and a great Piper clip).

Our Adoption Blog

Faithful readers of my blog,
I'm excited to announce that my wife and I have started the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.  I'd love to have you follow us and support us on this journey.  I'm sure I'll be posting some updates here but the main place to stay updated will be at our Adoption Blog.  Please bookmark or subscribe to that blog to stay in the loop.

I thank God for you.

The Gospel Story Bible

The Gospel Story Bible is 67% today and tomorrow.  You can preview the entire book here.

45% Off ESV Bibles

WTS has every ESV Bible for 45% for one week. A new Bible makes a great Christmas gift.

Orphans as evidence that the world is not as its supposed to be

My wife and I are planning to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Here's why:

A Plan for Giving Generously

Kevin DeYoung has a gently challenging article on some steps to grow in our generosity. Here is the post in its entirety:

P – Pray for a generous heart.  Make people a priority over prosperity.  Don’t think: “How much do I have to give away in order to be obedient?”  Ask: “Give me opportunities to sow.”

L – Lifestyle cap.  As we earn more, we should give more. If you are wealthier than you used to be, have you done more to increase your standard of living or your standard of giving?

A – Accountability.  Set goals and find someone you can trust who won’t be threatened by talking frankly about finances. Sex and money–we don’t talk about them nearly as much as Jesus did.

N – No less than a tithe. Whether the Old Testament requirement is a binding prescription or not, I find it hard to imagine that Western Christians who have seen the glory of God in the face of Christ and enjoy great prosperity, would want to give less than was required of the poorest Israelite.  Statistics consistently show that Protestants give less than 3% of their income to their churches. A tithe, for most churchgoers, would be a huge step in the right direction.

What is the Unforgivable Sin?

As I studied to preach on Mark 3:20-30, I gathered a few of the best definitions of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

• ESV Study Bible: It is attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God – flagrant, willful, decisive judgment that the Spirit’s testimony about Jesus is satanic.
• Wayne Grudem: It is unusually malicious, willful rejection and slander against the Holy Spirit’s work attesting to Christ, and attributing that work to Satan.
• Dan Doriani: Blasphemy against the Spirit is the sober, clear-minded, deliberate rejection of Jesus—as a very agent of evil—despite full knowledge of his work and in the face of the Spirit’s full testimony of him.
• Kent Hughes: “It is the ongoing, continual rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit to the Divinity and Saviorhood of Christ.”

Here is the way I tried to simplify it in my sermon:

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a clear, deliberate, malicious repudiation of Jesus Christ by someone who should know better.

You can listen to my sermon here.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

I really enjoyed Tullian Tchividjian's new book on the gospel: Jesus + Nothing = Everything. That's a statement I've meditated on often and I found Tullian's book to be a fantastic treatise on it. This is a book full of illustrations and metaphors to help us battle legalism and preach the gospel to ourselves daily. If you are looking for an easy to read book to help you go deeper into the gospel, I'd highly recommend it.