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  • Philippians 2:13
    For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. […]

Archive for Audio

Apr
30

Monergism Interview with Tim Keller

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There are several more recent interviews of Tim Keller available but I thought I would pass along this one that Monergism did with him last year.  At the time, his book The Reason for God was out and the interview was conducted in light of that book which is a winsome, reasoned defense of the Christian faith.  I actually have only read a small portion of the book (need to bump it up to the top of my reading list!) but am nearly done listening to the sermons he preached that gave form to the book.  I highly recommend the audio and a ton of people recommend the book.  I’ve benefited from his ministry and would encourage others to check him out.

Go to the interview

Several things stood out to me in the interview.

1) Keller’s answer to question #4:

When you field questions from skeptics what is the first thing you are looking for in their question?

I want to be able to understand it well enough that, when I articulate it back to them, they feel I have said it better and more persuasively than they could have.

I think we show much respect and care for the other person (1 Peter 3:15, see my previous post) when we are able to understand and effectively restate the question (insert “statement”, “argument” or “conviction”  as well).  Most people want to know that they are being heard and understood, especially when it comes to religi0us convictions.  He actually sets the bar pretty high in desiring to say it “better and more persuasively than they could have”.

2) The tone and overall nature of his answers.  The way he answers objections here (and in the book and audio) is one based on addressing the other person’s presuppositions.  This is an approach that is not often enough employed in my estimation when defending and sharing the gospel.

3) His answer to question #10.  Reminded me that I’ve been wanting to renew my subscription to Time and Newsweek!

4) He recommends John Frame’s books.  I haven’t read any of Frame’s books yet but his free seminary courses on audio and papers have been very helpful.  I’m very much an audio freak in case anyone was wondering.

Categories : Commentary, Resources
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Apr
21

The Problem of Evil and Suffering

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How could a good and loving God allow the evil and suffering we see in the world?  Has anyone ever asked you this question?  Have YOU ever asked this question?

Here are two resources that have been helpful to me recently.

The Bible on the Problem of Evil – John Frame

Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? (MP3) – Tim Keller
Study Guide (PDF)

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Mar
09

Let Your Kingdom Come

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And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:7-13

I love this song, just thought I would share.  It’s from an album called Valley of Vision, which is based on the book of the same name.  See the end of the post for the text of the prayer from the book.  The song comes from Sovereign Grace Ministries, who produce some wonderful God-honoring, theologically rich music.

Let Your Kingdom Come
Based on The Valley of Vision prayer “God’s Cause”

Words and Music by
Bob Kauflin
Verse 1
Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come

Chorus Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come

Verse 2
Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds
through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath

God’s Cause
Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

SOVEREIGN GOD,

Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;
Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to thy name in my sole desire.
I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it, and rejoice in it.
O that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightest have all glory from the intelligent world!
Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!
To the eye of reason everything respecting
the conversion of others is as dark as midnight,
But thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and it is to thy glory that men should be saved.
Lord, use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let thy kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!
O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitably in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.
O, answer thou my request!


Categories : Commentary, Resources
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Monergism.com has 105 classes in mp3 audio from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology class where he walked through his Systematic Theology book.  This is great stuff!!

For those that would rather not have to download 105 individual files feel free to let me know via the contact form and I would be happy to burn them all to a disk for you to save you the trouble.  It would actually be a DVD, so make sure your computer can read DVDs.

The following are links to the book and study guide, the audio link is above.

Categories : Resources
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Talk about the kindness of the Lord….

The book that we’re currently studying, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, was just made available for FREE in MP3 audiobook format at Christianaudio.com! They have a free audiobook each month and this is March’s…so don’t wait too long to download it.

Sign up for their newsletter and get notified of the “free audiobook of the month”.

NOTE:  There are many good resources on this site but please still use discernment (as always, right?).  I wouldn’t fully support everything here but a lot of it is good stuff.

Thanks to Anil Levi for pushing me to post this today…I got the newsletter  last night but might not have got to this for a day or two.

Categories : Resources
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Feb
23

Scripture Memorization Links

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Tim Challies is offering a unique way to memorize Scripture.  The method he’s using is the same that Pastor Juan and Todd Terry mentioned recently.

Of course, don’t forget about 1 Corinthians13.

Wouldn’t it be great if all of us men memorized this chapter?  I’ve been trying for a while to resume a regular system of Scripture memorization, so I’m excited about this.

Memorize Scripture with audio!
(Hat tip: Todd Terry)

Software
e-Sword, the free Bible software (Windows and Windows mobile), has a very nice memory tool built-in.

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This is the 2nd part in this series.  We’re reviewing the six practical ways Thabiti Anyabwile suggests for developing “expositional listening” in his book What is a Healthy Church Member? Read the introduction to this series here.

Expositional Listening defined: Listening for the meaning  of a passage of Scripture and accepting that meaning as the main idea to be grasped for our personal and corporate lives as Christians.

Tip #1 – Meditate on the Sermon Passage During Your Quite Time
Meditating on the sermon text before hearing it on Sunday is one practical way to foster expositional listening.  Several days before the sermon is preached determine the passage to be preached on and incorporate it into your devotions, outlining the passage and meditating on it.  Use your outline and notes to inform your prayer throughout the week and also as a listening aid when you actually hear the sermon on Sunday.

Encourage your pastor by letting him know you’ll be praying for his preparation while you yourself prepare to listen.

Thoughts
This is excellent counsel.  Read the above summary of the suggestion from the book again.  It’s short but there’s a lot there!  For some time now I’ve meditated on the sermon text in advance and can personally testify to the great blessing I’ve experienced as a result.  Since Pastor Juan preaches expositionally, we can often make a good guess as to what will be preached next.  If not, many times he will simply tell us on his blog.  As
Anyabwile suggests this is a wonderful way to remind ourselves to pray for Pastor Juan as he prepares each Sunday.

One idea I’m particularly excited about trying is outlining the passage in advance and using it as a listening aid during the sermon.  What a wonderful experience this could be!  We could sharpen our interpretive skills (comparing with what we hear preached) and provide a starting point for note-taking, having saturated our minds and hearts in the text before hearing it.  This could greatly enhance our listening and reception, Lord willing.

I would also add audio as a way (supplementing reading) to help prepare our hearts and minds to receive on Sundays.  As an iPod geek, I usually listen to the passages already preached in the book of the Bible we’re in (for review) and also the upcoming passage.

Men, what do you think?  Shall we put this first suggestion to work?

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Here’s an excellent talk by Donald Whitney from the 2003 Desiring God National Conference on Jonathan Edwards.

Download the mp3:
Pursuing a Passion for God Through Spiritual Disciplines: Learning from Jonathan Edwards

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