Charles Spurgeon:

But here is the joy, here is the peace of Christians, that our salvation is a finished one! We have not a farthing to pay to complete the ransom of our souls. We have not a stitch to set to finish the robe of our salvation. We have not an act to perform, a prayer to offer, a tear to weep, a thought to think in order to finish the work of our redemption! I know that all these things shall be worked in us and, that by the Spirit of God we shall be made to do them — but all that shall not be with any view to the completion of our salvation — that was finished in the Person of the bleeding Lamb of Calvary! . . .

Either Christ completed all that was necessary for your …

Continue Reading →

Pastor John talks about an end-of-year practice that's helped him take a step back to assess his life and ministry:

Watch the entire End-of-Year Video Update.

How eager Jesus was to restore broken fellowship with his apostles after the resurrection! Surely this is a sign of how eager he is to restore us when we have drifted (or bolted) away.

All the apostles had forsaken him. In the garden, at his most sorrowful hour, "They all left him and fled” (Mark 14:50).

Now he was raised. What would he say to those who had abandoned him? Three healing things:

1. To Mary at the tomb: “Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

   “Brothers!” “Your Father!” “Your God!” I am going now. You will come later. We are, and we will be, together. I forgive you. Our Father forgives you. 

2. …

Continue Reading →

Pastor John on the heart of Christian Hedonism, from Psalm 16:11:

Watch the entire End-of-Year Video Update.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” (Galatians 4:4).

Jesus, you came in "the fullness of time."

But how many of your children living during the ripening years wondered at your tarrying? A thousand years stretched between Abraham and David. Then another thousand passed between David’s golden age and the moment when time was full.

How many were the wars, rumors of wars, slaughters, disasters, diseases, and famines? How many brilliant leaders, scholars, and innovators blazed across their regional skies and disappeared? How many parents wept and prayed over their broken children as time was being fulfilled? How many longing eyes closed in death loving your…

Continue Reading →

The KINGDOM Bible Reading Plan is another option to consider as you think about reading through the Bible in 2012. Compiled by Bethlehem professor Jason DeRouchie, this plan offers five distinctives:

1. Proportionate weight is given to the Old and New Testaments in view of their relative length, the Old receiving three readings per day and the New getting one reading per day.
2. The Old Testament readings follow the arrangement of Jesus’ Bible (Luke 24:44––Law, Prophets, Writings), with one reading coming from each portion per day.
3. In a single year, one reads through Psalms twice and all other biblical books once; the second reading of Psalms (highlighted in gray) supplements the readings through …

Continue Reading →

Have we overreacted to the man deficiency of our day?

Everyone, church or culture, can vouch for the absence of men and the adultolescense phenomenon. And yet, this masculinity anemia can force an unhealthy perception of what manhood is.

In this three-minute video, Darrin Patrick talks about the need to move beyond mere "physical engagement equals manliness" to emotional strength and spiritual fortitude:

Darrin's topic at the 2012 Conference for Pastors is on how to build men for the mission of the local church.

Register before 11:59pm (CST) tomorrow night, December 30, for the early-bird rate of $130. We also have a group discount of $100 (per person) when you bring five or mo…

Continue Reading →

At Bethlehem we close prayer week with a focus on the value of reading and memorizing Scripture in the new year. I preach on the value of God’s word and the importance of reading and memorizing the Scripture every day.

Justin Taylor has pulled together a list of possible ways to read the Bible in this new year.

I encourage everyone to take the closing days of the year to plan how you are going to read the Bible in the new year. Don’t leave it to chance. One of the main reasons we don’t read God’s word is that we don’t plan to.

This past year I used the McCheyne reading plan, reading it with the Olive Tree Software on the iPad. McCheyne takes you through the whole Bible once, a…

Continue Reading →

Darrin Patrick invites you to make an investment in your ministry by joining us in Minneapolis from January 30 to February 1 for our 2012 Conference for Pastors:

Darrin's topic at the conference is on how to be and build men for the mission of the local church. Register before December 30 for the early-bird rate of just $130. We also have a group discount of $100 (per person) when you bring five or more guys from your church.

Back in 1723 Jonathan Edwards chartered a list of resolutions for his life. 70 of them. And he read them once a week.

Matt Perman writes:

[Edwards] shows us that a well lived life doesn't just happen; it requires intentionality. And intentionality manifests itself in certain "mechanisms" that help us maintain our intentionality. Edwards' resolutions are one example of such a "mechanism."

So Edwards is a good example not just of a life that is lived well, but also of the "practical side" of how to actually build that intentionality into our lives, rather than just letting it remain a vague wish that never takes deep root and makes a real difference.

Refusing to be vague, Matt has org…

Continue Reading →