Wisdom for the Weekend [5]

Here, then, is how we must come to God, whether to serve him or worship him or enjoy all that he is for us in Jesus:

Come, confessing your utter inability to do or offer anything that will empower God or enrich, enhance, or expand God.

Come, with heartfelt gratitude to God for the fact that whatever you own, whatever you are, whatever you have accomplished or hope to accomplish, is all from him, a gift of grace.

Come, declaring in your heart and aloud that if you serve, it is in the strength that God supplies (1 Pet. 4:10); if you give money, it is from the wealth that God has enabled you to earn; if it is praise of who he is, it is from the salvation and knowledge of God that he himself has provided for you in Christ Jesus.

Come, declaring the all-sufficiency of God in meeting your every need. Praise his love, because if here were not loving, you would be justly and eternally condemned. Praise his power, because if he were weak, you would have no hope that what he has promised he will fulfill. Praise his forgiving mercy, because apart from his gracious determination to wash you clean in the blood of Christ, you would still be in your sin and hopelessly lost. So, too, with every attribute, praise him!

Come, with an empty cup, happily pleading: "God, glorify yourself by filling it to overflowing!"

Come, with a weak and wandering heart, joyfully beseeching: "God, glorify yourself by strengthening me to do your will and remain faithful to your ways!"

Come, helpless, expectantly praying: "God, glorify yourself by delivering me from my enemies and my troubles!"

Come, with your sin, gratefully asking: "God, glorify yourself by setting me free from bondage to my flesh and breaking the grip of lust and envy and greed in my life!"

Come, with your hunger for pleasure and joy, desperately crying: "God, glorify yourself by filling me with the fullness of joy! God, glorify yourself by granting me pleasures that never end! God, glorify yourself by satisfying my heart with yourself! God, glorify yourself by enthralling me with your beauty . . . by overwhelming me with your majesty . . . by taking my breath away with fresh insights into your incomparable and infinite grandeur! God, glorify yourself by shining into my mind the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ!"

Sam Storms, Signs of the Spirit (HT: Justin Taylor)

ed: Wow. Just wow.

Mission Accomplished

In this photo, John Piper is illustrating what has happened to DG's website today... In a word:

Kaboom!!!

It's now 1:15am... That burning smell wafting through the air is smoldering remains of DG's online store servers. It seems that they have been absolutely slammed with traffic thanks to their $5 book offer.

With much patience, I finally managed to get our order in. I am now going to go to bed. If you want to order something, allow me to suggest that you get online first thing Thursday morning, quickly throw your books in the cart, and check out as fast as possible.

Books ordered? CHECK. Sleep? NEXT!

A bevvy of five buck books...

w00t!!!1! Next Wednesday and Thursday (June 27th and 28th) is a big book sale at Desiring God. You should buy some. I would too, but I'm broke...

Every book in [DG's store] will be $5 on June 27-28, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

No limits, so spread the word. (This sale is online only.)

ComicCon WWWednesday

Eva in the Box??

Recently, TomintheBox announced that they're adding staff writers. It looks like Eva's auditioning.

Most toddlers and preschoolers have trouble finding time to go potty. There’s church and blocks and friends and playdoh and snacking and playing in the sandbox. And then the crises hit! Time for potty seems an impossible luxury. As a pastor, Bill Hybels knows hundreds of children with schedules like this. Yet in his own life he has made the hard discovery that pottying doesn’t happen on the run. He decided he was too busy not to potty...

Too funny.

Wisdom for the Weekend [4]

Pinch me, will I not WWWednesday?

New iPodder fodder

Yesterday began on a tragic note... I awoke to find that my iPod synch had failed overnight. Worse, my iPod was frozen with an odd error on the screen and refused all efforts to be reset! I feared that my close buddied, iDluxe, was destined for the trash heap...

Or, perhaps more likely, destined to be disassembled by Gannon and I in a fit of mournfully-geeky glee.

Thankfully, the iPod's battery finally discharged and it appears to be fine. I've spoken soft, loving words of encouragement to it and I think it's planning to stick around for a little longer. In celebration of this happy day, I thought I'd pass along some info on the two new podcasts that have found their way into my listening rotation.

Crossway Community Church, Kenosha, WI
My first contact with Crossway was sitting in a workshop given by Mike Bullmore at LC07 this past April. After hearing Mike teach, I thought I'd like to eavesdrop in on him again. I've been jacked into Crossway's podcast ever since... The preaching is powerful, rigorously Biblical, and intensely practical (in the good way, not the saccharine way).

For those not in the know, Mike had previously taught preaching for 15 years at TEDS. I think that resume makes Mike a valuable listen for those of us in the young/aspiring set. The truth is that we all need to know 'the rules' and when to break them!

Crossway is in the midst of a 'book a week' style series through the minor prophets... You should tune in, and be blessed. Here's a podcast link!

Epiphany Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
Everyone who knows me will know that I have a fascination with urban/hip-hop culture. This amuses everyone since I'm probably the most rural-minded, cracker-white person you can imagine...

Anyway, I was checking out some tunes at Lampmode and peeked (peeped) at the list of churches where Lampmode artists fellowship. I wound up clicking the link for Epiphany Fellowship in North Philly. I spent a lot of time in/around Philly while I was in school, mostly playing at clubs or cutting teeth at a jam session. So, I know where this church is and some of the challenges they must be facing.

Everyone on the internet likes to 'blah blah' about the issue of contextualization. Well, here is an example of a church that is actually doing contextualization right. If you're a Vermont yankee, some of the language you hear in one of Epiphany's sermons might not make a ton of sense... However, you'll hear the same gospel being preached that is being proclaimed (I hope!) at your church. The language and illustrations are centered on life in the city, but the substance is eternal... This is what missional church planting should be.

Again, here is solidly biblical, gospel preaching (Eric and Duce, the two main preachers, have DTS creds) with an urban swagger. If you want to get in touch with a culture that's likely next door to you but seems miles away, this might be a great place to start building bridges.

Epiphany is in the midst of a series on John's Gospel... Again, tune in and get your weight up. For podcast: Check out this page, and click the appropriate link for your podcasting pleasure.

Wisdom for the Weekend [3]

Always buy... Right away.

If I have one regret from attending Sovereign Grace's Leadership Conference in April, it is this:

While walking around the first day, I noted to Tim and MLF that the bookstore had copies of Pierced for Our Trangressions (PFOT). This new book out of the UK was already being hailed as a fabulous defense of Christ's substitutionary atonement and being blasted by the other side. When I first read about it, the book was only available in the UK. However, Crossway had announced that they would be publishing the book in the states.

At LC, I kinda assumed that the book was now available on our side of the pond so I decided to wait to order it. Of course, CJ announces the next night that the copies in the bookstore were shipped in from 'across the pond' and the US edition wouldn't be out 'til fall. Needless to say, the bookstore was sold out before I could get there.

Lesson: If it's a book you want and you see it, always buy it right away. Grrrr.

Anyway, the PFOT is starting to generate some major buzz on the internet. Adrian Warnock has posted an interview with the authors which seems to have stirred up a bit of a storm in the comments. Adrian responds with deadly accuracy to the rumblings in a subsequent post.

On our side of the Atlantic, Sam Storms has posted a two-part review that goes into much more depth on the author's argument. Both parts (Part 1 and Part 2) are great reading for anyone wondering what the controversy is all about.

CJ, in promoting the book at LC, referred to PFOT as "our generations Cross of Christ". With that extreme compliment, the rest of us should be itching for November to get here. Buy early, buy often... They make great gifts.

Birth of the WWWednesday

Sammy, Dean, Frank, and a young Johnny Carson. CLASSIC. Especially watch Sammy and Dean @ the 1:44 mark.