Some people say they don't like Bible reading plans. I can understand why, considering the danger of "falling in love with a plan" or the fear of "failing to execute a plan." Yet those or other poor excuses are not reasons to not plan.
The purpose of plans is not to enslave us but to serve us in achieving worthwhile goals. Our plans are adjustable guides within the framework of God's sovereign plan.
Here's one simple reason we should plan: God planned. History is the unfolding of God's plan of the ages, the history of redemption. We should never fall in love with our plans, but we should fall in love with God's plan and endeavor to know God and his plan more fully, which are revealed in the Bible by his Spirit, and we should join God in executing his plan by his grace and for his glory.
Justin Taylor has the best post on Bible reading plans. Let me know if you can find a better one. But above all, plan to get into God's Word this year and get God's Word into you and other people.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Charles Simeon: Be Bible Christians, not systems Christians
Justin Taylor shared information about a video of John Stott speaking about the life and work of Charles Simeon (September 24, 1759 – November 13, 1836), a faithful pastor of God's people and preacher of God's Word.For good biographical introductions to Simeon, consider the following by John Piper:
- Brothers, We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering: Meditations on the Life of Charles Simeon (audio and text file)
- The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce (downloadable PDF book)
To read for free or purchase Simeon's 21-volume commentary collection, Horae Homileticae, visit the following sites:
- Internet Archive (files available in several formats)
- Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae Commentary (Logos Bible Software)
Logos: These 21 volumes, featuring Simeon’s collected sermons, represent the fruit of his fifty-four years of preaching. Published originally in 1832 for the benefit of younger pastors seeking practical improvement at the task of sermon creation, Horae Homileticae reflects the rich source of Biblical understanding of its author, a towering figure in the history of evangelical theology.
These expository outlines (or “skeletons”) are not a verse-by-verse explanation of the English Bible. Rather, they are a chapter-by-chapter study with explanations of the most important and instructive verses in each chapter. Simeon’s aim with this commentary is “Instruction relative to the Composition of Sermons.” To this end, his exposition of the Scriptures is designed to maintain a focus on the more general aspects of a passage over and above possible treatments of particulars. His test for a sermon, as he teaches in Horae Homileticae, is threefold: does it humble the sinner, exalt the Saviour and promote holiness?
Opposing all human systems of divinity, Simeon’s commentary is also marked by an avoidance of any possible systemization of God’s Word and entanglement with theological controversies. A self-described “moderate Calvinist” or, more plainly, a “Biblical Christian,” Simeon believed that the Bible should speak for itself. “Be Bible Christians, not systems Christians” was his maxim; "My endeavor is to bring out of Scripture what is there, and not to thrust in what I think might be there. I have a great jealousy on this head; never to speak more or less than I believe to be the mind of the Spirit in the passage I am expounding." With Horae Homileticae this conviction is soundly applied.
[emphasis mine]
He led them forth by the right way
Bagster's Daily Light - January 3 - Morning
He led them forth by the right way.
He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 1
"He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the LORD alone guided him, no foreign god was with him. 2
even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. 3
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 4
And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 5
that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. 6
Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? 7
______________
1 Psa 107:7;
2 Deut 32:10-12;
3 Isa 46:4;
4 Psa 23:3,4;
5 Isa 58:11;
6 Psa 48:14;
7 Job 36:22
He led them forth by the right way.
He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 1
"He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the LORD alone guided him, no foreign god was with him. 2
even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. 3
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 4
And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 5
that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. 6
Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? 7
______________
1 Psa 107:7;
2 Deut 32:10-12;
3 Isa 46:4;
4 Psa 23:3,4;
5 Isa 58:11;
6 Psa 48:14;
7 Job 36:22
Let my prayer be set before thee as incense
Bagster's Daily Light - January 2 - Evening
Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 1
"You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. 2
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 3
and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 4
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 5
pray without ceasing, 6
______________
1 Psa 141:2;
2 Ex 30:1,6-8;
3 Heb 7:25;
4 Rev 8:4;
5 1Pet 2:5;
6 1Th 5:17
Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 1
"You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. 2
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 3
and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 4
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 5
pray without ceasing, 6
______________
1 Psa 141:2;
2 Ex 30:1,6-8;
3 Heb 7:25;
4 Rev 8:4;
5 1Pet 2:5;
6 1Th 5:17
Sing unto the LORD a new song
Bagster's Daily Light - January 2 - Morning
Sing unto the LORD a new song.
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. 1
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 2
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. 3
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." 4
Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 5
And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 6
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 7
______________
1 Is 42:10;
2 Psa 81:1,2;
3 Psa 40:3;
4 Josh 1:9;
5 Neh 8:10;
6 Acts 28:15;
7 Rom 13:11-14
Sing unto the LORD a new song.
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. 1
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 2
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. 3
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." 4
Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 5
And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 6
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 7
______________
1 Is 42:10;
2 Psa 81:1,2;
3 Psa 40:3;
4 Josh 1:9;
5 Neh 8:10;
6 Acts 28:15;
7 Rom 13:11-14
The LORD, ... he will not fail thee
Bagster's Daily Light - January 1 - Saturday Evening
The LORD, ... he will not fail thee.
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." 1
And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 2
I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. 3
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. 4
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 5
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 6
______________
1 Deut 31:8;
2 Ex 33:15;
3 Jer 10:23;
4 Psa 37:23,24;
5 Psa 73:23,24;
6 Rom 8:38,39
The LORD, ... he will not fail thee.
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." 1
And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 2
I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. 3
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. 4
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 5
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 6
______________
1 Deut 31:8;
2 Ex 33:15;
3 Jer 10:23;
4 Psa 37:23,24;
5 Psa 73:23,24;
6 Rom 8:38,39
I press toward the mark for the prize
Bagster's Daily Light - January 1 - Morning
I press toward the mark for the prize ...
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 1
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 2
which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 3
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 4
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 5
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 6
______________
1 Phil 3:13,14;
2 John 17:24;
3 2Ti 1:12;
4 Phil 1:6;
5 1Cor 9:24,25;
6 Heb 12:1,2
I press toward the mark for the prize ...
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 1
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 2
which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 3
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 4
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 5
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 6
______________
1 Phil 3:13,14;
2 John 17:24;
3 2Ti 1:12;
4 Phil 1:6;
5 1Cor 9:24,25;
6 Heb 12:1,2
Monday, November 1, 2010
One year later: An interview with Matt Chandler
Justin Taylor asks Matt Chandler a few questions about the last year since he was diagnosed with cancer with the aim for readers to "pray for our dear brother."
Here's a list of the questions:
- If you could go back and have a conversation with yourself on the evening of November 24, 2009, what would you have said to prepare Matt Chandler for the year ahead?
- What role has your theology played in sustaining you throughout this year?
- It sounds like the Lord not only prepared you personally for suffering, but also enabled you to prepare the people at your church by teaching them about the theology of suffering?
- What about the role of your friends in helping you during this painful time?
- For those who are walking with others who are suffering, what are some of the dumb things to avoid doing and saying?
- What do you wish people understood more about how to relate to those who suffer?
- How can we be praying for you and your family?
Read Chandler's answers and learn how he would like God's people to pray for him.
How members can serve the church on Sunday morning
Colin Marshall on ways "ordinary church members can serve the church on Sunday mornings":
Before the Service
- Read the passage in advance
- Pray for the gathering
- Greet newcomers (act like you are the host)
- Think strategically about who you should sit with
- Arrive Early
- Sing with gusto (even if you can’t sing)
- Help with logistics (if there’s a problem, help fix it)
- Don’t be distracted
- Listen carefully
- Be aware of your facial expressions (you may affect others and discourage preachers)
- Connect newcomers with others
- Get newcomers information
- Start a conversation about the sermon
- Ask someone how they became a Christian
- Stay late
(HT: The 9Marks.org Blog)
The doctrine of the Trinity in a nutshell
Michael Patton:
For a "breakdown" of the basic definition, read the rest of Patton's article.
The doctrine of Trinity is a foundational cardinal truth in Christianity. All three major Christian traditions, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, throughout the history of the Church have been united on this doctrine. A denial of it constitutes a serious departure from the Christian faith and a rejection of the clear biblical witness to God as he has introduced himself to us. Sadly, many have gone astray from the faith because of their refusal to accept these truths.
Basic Definition: Christians worship one God who eternally exists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all of whom are fully God, all of whom are equal.
For a "breakdown" of the basic definition, read the rest of Patton's article.
The nature of saving faith
“The nature of saving faith demands more than facts as a ground — not less, but more. . . . [S]aving faith is not mere receiving of facts. It is the receiving of Christ as the one who died for us and rose again, and is infinitely glorious, and wondrously beautiful, and supremely valuable. Therefore, the ground of such faith must be the spiritual sight of such glory and beauty and value.” - John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 73
(HT: Of First Importance)
(HT: Of First Importance)
Treasuring him in and above all things
“The main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things. He created the world so that through it and above it we might treasure him.” - John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 15.
(HT: Of First Importance)
(HT: Of First Importance)
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