Articles Worth Reading

Cash for Clunkers Failure explained in the Wall Street Journal

Excellent idea - if you vote for any particular health care plan be willing to enroll in that plan

Great interview on the contributions of a capitalist

Gossip Comic

ASBO Jesus does it again!

6684 feet

Saturday I hiked with the Schlesinger brothers to the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Check out one of my pics from 6684 feet atop Mt. Mitchell.

Some things I pondered…

Experienced hikers are fun to be around (thanks Garrett)

Long hikes with higher altitudes require thoughtful preparation (food, hydration, clothing)

Nauseating obstacles are there to be overcome

Leading required thinking about others (pace, staying on the trail, rest)

Followers have the pleasure of watching how the leader climbs the trail (roots, rocks, branches)

Ascending the steep terrain was demanding on my mind, heart, and lungs. This made it challenging to enjoy the landscape.

Difficult hikes require some breaks in order to restore energy supplies

How does a person who hiked up 3500′ feet  for three hours appreciate the summit view any more than the person who rode a motorcycle, car, or bus to the summit?

Balance was needed ascending and descending (roots, rocks, branches, trees)

Some spots are always slippery.

While descending was more demanding on my leg muscles and joints, my mind, lungs, and heart got a break. The landscape was much easier to enjoy.

Aches and pains today remind me of the enjoyable hike with spectacular views

Very anxious to hike another mountain

Identity Crisis

ASBO Jesus offers another insightful thought. The crisis is happening at the micro levels as well.

Calvin’s Distinctives Part 3

Steve Lawson considers distinctions of Calvin that make him so influential in the book The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Over the next couple of days I want to record Lawson’s distinctions.

Crafting the Delivery

1. Familiar Words
2. Vivid Expressions
3. Provocative Questions
4. Simple Restatements
5. Limited Quotations
6. Unspoken Outline
7. Seamless Transitions
8. Focused Intensity

Applying the Truth

1. Pastoral Exhortation
2. Personal Examination
3. Loving Rebuke
4. Polemic Confrontation

Concluding the Exposition

1. Succinct Summation
2. Pressing Appeal
3. Climatic Prayer

Calvin’s Distinctives Part 2

Steve Lawson considers distinctions of Calvin that make him so influential in his book The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Over the next couple of days I want to record Lawson’s distinctions.

Launching the Sermon

1. Direct Beginning
2. Extemporaneous Delivery
3. Scriptural Context
4. State Theme

Expounding the Text

1. Specific Text
2. Exegetical Precision
3. Literal Interpretation
4. Cross-References
5. Persuasive Reasoning
6. Reasonable Deductions

Calvin’s Distinctives

Steve Lawson consider distinctions of Calvin that make him so influential in his book The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Over the next couple of days I want to record Lawson’s distinctions.

When Approaching the Pulpit

1. Biblical Authority
2. Divine Presence
3. Pulpit Priority
4. Sequential Exposition

Preparing the Preacher

1. Diligent Mind
2. Devoted Heart
3. Relentless Will

John Calvin’s Last Will

Steven Lawson shares Calvin’s last will and testament in his small book The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Calvin’s will was dictated to Theodore Beza April 25, 1564:

“In the name of God, I, John Calvin, servant of the Word of God in the church of Geneva, …thank God that He has shown not only mercy toward me, His poor creature, and…has suffered me in all sins and weaknesses, but what is much more, that He has made me a partaker of His grace to serve Him through my work…I confess to live and die in this faith which He has given me, inasmuch as I have no other hope or refuge than His predestination upon which my entire salvation is grounded. I embrace the grace which He has offered me in our Lord Jesus Christ and accept the merits of His suffering and dying, that through them all my sins are buried; and I humbly beg Him to wash me and cleanse me with the blood of our great Redeemer,…so that I, when I shall appear before His face may bear His likeness. Moreover, I declare that I endeavored to teach His Word undefiled and to expound Holy Scripture faithfully, according to the measure of grace which He has given me.”

Bible Translations

Pray for PRAISE

J.I. Packer offers  Horatius Bonar’s prayer for praise in his book Rediscovering Holiness. Peek below for thoughtful adoration.

Fill thou my life, O lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.

Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part;

Praise in the common things of life,
Its goings out and in;
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.

Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I be and weak.

So shalt thou, Lord, from me, e’en me,
Receive the glory due
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.

“The life of true holiness is rooted in the soil of awed adoration…No blend of zeal, passion, self-denial, discipline, orthodoxy, and effort adds up to holiness where praise is lacking.” J.I. Packer

Habakkuk’s Prayer of Awe