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.

Sam Storms' Best Books Now at WTS

About a month ago, I had a good conversation with an employee of WTS Books. Among other things, I suggested that they get a few books in their inventory. They listened and have delivered! Dr. Sam Storms' best 2 books are now available for purchase through the best bookstore under the sun.

Pleasures Evermore: The Life-changing Power of Enjoying God (34% off)

One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God (31 % off)

More Precious Than Gold

Sam Storms' new book, More Precious than Gold: 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms, is now available.
Anything by Sam Storms is worth reading, especially when he is meditating on the Word.

New From Sam Storms

Dr. Storms' new book is now available. To The One Who Conquers contains 50 meditations on the seven letters of Revelation 2-3. I expect this to be a refreshing look at the glory of Christ revealed in this often misunderstood portion of God's Word.

We'll be studying Revelation on Wednesday nights at Christ Baptist so expect some reflections in the next few months.

Counsel for Churches

Wow. An amazing Sunday at Christ Baptist with Dr. Sam Storms. In order to utilize him fully, I asked him to teach our Bible Study class before our regular service. I am so glad I did. He brought a word of counsel from Acts 20:17-38 to us. It was powerfully encouraging to a young church plant. I urge you to get and listen to the audio. Here were his points from Acts 20 as I wrote them down:

1. Cultivate a love for the gospel so deep and passionate that you value its proclaimation above your own life (20:24).
2. Never let anything get in the way of your committment to people (20:18, 20, 25, 31 - Paul lived among the people).
3. Do not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God (20:20-21, 26). Sam gave 3 consequences of shrinking from declaring the whole counsel.
4. Avail yourself of the power of God's Word (20:32).
5. Meditate often on God's great love for the church (20:28). He purchased the church with the blood of His Own.

By the way, the message from Jude 24-25 was great as well ("Celebrating the God Who is Able"). The audio is available here.

The Hope of Glory

I got a copy of Sam Storms' new book today at the conference. It is called The Hope of Glory and contains 100 meditations on Colossians. You can use it as a devotional or as a commentary on Colossians.

WTS books has it for 34% off.

Life in the Spirit - session 3

In session 3, Dr. Storms opened up the can of worms. He preached from 1 Cor. 14:1 about earnestly desiring spiritual gifts. He had 4 observations:

1. It is not enough to simply be open to spiritual gifts. Paul says to earnestly desire them. Dr. Storms described the various views on the gifts of the Spirit. He said it is sin to belive the miraculous gifts are still available and yet not pursue their practice. Paul commands us to pursue them.

2. All spiritual gifts (even the miraculous) are intended by God for the common good and mutual edification of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 14:26; 14:3; 12:7). The miraculous gifts are not designed primarily for the attestation of the gospel (the cessationist argument). They are given for the building up of the church.

3. There is no necessary inconsistency between exercising gifts for edification of others and being edified oneself. Self-edification is not wrong unless it is an end in itself.

4. There is no necessary inconsistency between the final authority of the Bible and the spontanious revelations of prophecy. Teaching the Word is more authoritative than prophecy.

Life in the Spirit - session 2

In the second session, Dr. Storms' spoke on how Jesus is our great example of living life dependent on the Spirit. Dr. Storms argued that Jesus did not do His miracles by virtue of His diety, rather by virture of His humanity relying on the Spirit. He said, "Jesus resisted the temptations as a human in reliance on the Holy Spirit, not as God in His omnipotence." Thus, Jesus is the primary example of our dependence on the Spirit.

He argued from Phil. 2 that Jesus relinquished the use of His divine powers.

Dr. Storms walked through the life of Jesus and pointed to dozens of texts that refer to Jesus in dependence on the Spirit (John 3:34; Luke 4:1-2; 14; 18; Mark 1:10; etc.).

Life in the Spirit - session 1

It was a joy to introduce Dr. Sam Storms tonight and hear him preach from 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22. We hope to have the audio available as soon as possible. Here are my brief notes from the talk:

Sam listed 5 things we can do to the Spirit negatively:

1. Grieve the Spirit.

2. Resist the Spirit.

3. Quench the Spirit.

4. Blaspheme the Spirit (only non-believers).

5. Insult the Spirit (only non-believers).

Sam urged us not to be part of the bucket brigade throwing water on (i.e. quenching) the Spirit.

He went on to list 7 ways in which we quench the Spirit (please note that these are not the exact words Sam used; these are my shorthand for what I heard; get the audio for the exact wording):

1. We quench the Spirit when we diminish His personality or when we speak of Him as an abstract force. The Scriptures present the Spirit as a person with a mind, feelings, a will, and other designations of personhood. Most people think of the Spirit as just a fuzzy grey blob.

2. We quench the Spirit when we neglect or overlook or deny some feature of His ministry. Some Christians believe you shouldn't even talk about the Holy Spirit. They base this on the Spirit's primary role of glorifying Jesus (John 16). However, just because that is the Spirit's primary role does not mean it is the Spirit's only role.

3. We quench the Spirit when we supress or legislate the gifts He gives. Cessationism is quenching the Spirit. We need all of the gifts of the Spirit and not just a select few.

4. We quench the Spirit when we create an immovable and sanctimonious (spelling?) structure in our corporate gatherings. We pray for the Spirit to come but do not want Him to mess things up. We want things to be neat, tidy, and sophisticated. There has never been a "neat" revival in all of history.

5. We quench the Spirit when we make other people hesitant and fearful about following the Spirit's leading. We can quench the Spirit in someone else's life.

6. We quench the Spirit when we publicly verbalize our caution and hesitation. We preach for 5 mins about a particular gift and 25 mins on the dangers of that particular gift.

7. We quench the Spirit when we are skiddish about the gift of prophecy. Sam showed the progression of thought in 1 Thess. 5:19-22 and urged us to have Biblically informed discernment.

Some other nuggets:

1. We are often fearful of yeilding to the Spirit. Sam encouraged us that the safest place in the world is under the Spirit's control.

2. Sam interpreted the "spiritual songs" of Col. 3:16 as previously unrecorded vocalizations of our passions.

3. Many people are hesitant about the miraculous gifts because of their misuse. Sam made the point that we don't throw out the gift of teaching because someone misinterpreted a text one time. Misuses should not be an excuse for quenching the Spirit.

4. Sam answered one question about the use of prophecy in the local church by pointing to small groups as the best place for the use of spiritual gifts.

Sam is going to speak more directly about spiritual gifts tomorrow. Going to bed now...

Sam Storms Conference

Dr. Sam Storms will be in the Rocky Mount/Wilson area this weekend. If you are in the area, I hope you can join us. Here is the schedule again:

Friday evening: 7-9pm at Mt. Herman Missionary Baptist Church

Saturday morning: 8:30-11am at Mt Herman (Breakfast provided)

Sunday morning: 9am - Dr. Storms will be teaching our Bible Study hour at Christ Baptist Church.

10:15am - Dr. Storms will be preaching at Christ Baptist Church.

Please let me know if you need directions or any other information. By the way: No cost to attend any of these sessions.

Please pray for Dr. Storms and our churches this weekend.

Dr. Sam Storms

In anticipation of our weekend with Dr. Sam Storms, here are some resources:

1. Enjoying God Ministries' website. Sam has a ton of online articles, a blog, and all of his resources for sale.
2. The largest list of available Sam Storms' MP3's. Listen till you find yourself sickened by your sinfulness and enthralled by the beauty of Christ (Then, listen to a second message)!!
3. Dr. Storms' newest books: Chosen for Life and Signs of the Spirit.
4. Dr. Storms' best books: One Thing and Pleasures Evermore (in my humble opinion).
5. John Piper on Sam Storms: Good Theology, Bad Advice.

Life in the Spirit with Dr. Sam Stroms

If you live in North Carolina, here is your invitation to join us for a weekend with Dr. Sam Storms.

Dr. Storms has been one of my favorite authors and preachers for about 7 years now. His ability to communicate the beauty of God is second to none. His sermons and his sentences have a way of drawing me into the throne room of God.

Needless to say, I am super excited that he is coming to NC and will preach at Christ Baptist Church. Here are the details:

Life in the Spirit: Overcoming our Fears and Deepening our Trust

Friday, February 15

7-9pm, Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church

Saturday, February 16

8:30-11am, Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church

Sunday, February 17

9am, Sam will be teaching during our Bible Study hour at Christ Baptist.

10:15am, Sam will be preaching during our worship gathering at Christ Baptist.

Be looking for a future post with Sam Storms resource recommendations!

Signs of the Spirit

I love Sam Storms. Everything I have ever read by him is excellent. He is a fantastic communicator and a passionate lover of Christ.

One of his newer books, Signs of the Spirit, is very unique. It is an "interpretation" of Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections. It is not an abridgment. It is not a critique. It is not a response. It is an interpretation. Basically, Storms communicates what Edwards wrote in his (Storms') own words.

If you have ever tried to read Jonathan Edwards and not been able to follow him, I would encourage you to begin with Signs of the Spirit and then maybe going back to Edwards.

WTS Inventory Reduction Sale

Piper, Storms, Dever, etc. WTS is reducing their inventory by selling some books for super cheap (up to 60% off).
I highly recommend Sam Storms' new book, "Chosen For Life."
I don't recommend the DVD on infant baptism (Although I'm sure it is well done and informative).

Joy's Eternal Increase

One of my all-time favorite sermons is now available to watch on video. Dr. Sam Storms talks about Jonathan Edwards' view of Heaven. Breathtaking!