the Gospel Driven Life--Book and videos

This book is a sequel to Christless
Christianity, moving from “the crisis to
solutions, in the hope that we will see a new
reformation in the faith, practice, and witness
of contemporary Christianity.” Horton explains
his purpose in the opening words of the
introduction:  The goal of this book is to
reorient our faith and practice as Christians
and churches toward the gospel: that is, the
announcement of God’s victory over sin and death
in his Son, Jesus Christ. The first six chapters
explore that breaking news from heaven, while
the rest of the book focuses on the kind of
community that this gospel generates in our
world. It is not merely that there is a gospel
and then a community of people who believe it;
the gospel creates the kind of community that is
even now an imperfect preview of the kingdom’s
marriage feast that awaits us. You can read some
free sample material from the book here. The
book is also available from Amazon.

What is the Gospel Driven Life ? (Part 1 of 5)-Dr. Michael Horton from White Horse Inn

What is the Gospel Driven Life ? (Part 2 of 5)-Dr. Michael Horton from White Horse Inn

What is the Gospel Driven Life ? (Part 3 of 5)-Dr. Michael Horton from White Horse Inn

What is the Gospel Driven Life ? (Part 4 of 5)-Dr. Michael Horton from White Horse Inn

What is the Gospel Driven Life ? (Part 5 of 5)-Dr. Michael Horton from White Horse Inn

The Ressurection Did it All

Jesus’ resurrection really did change
everything. It changed the cross from a tragedy
into a triumph, and it changed the Roman Empire
into a Christian state. This was the most
powerful divine event in the history of
creation, and it ushered in a new age of the
Holy Spirit’s activity and power in saving and
transforming lives. When considering if
Christianity is true, it all boils down to
whether Jesus rose from the dead. The lives of
Christians today demonstrate that the
resurrection is still changing people… (Raised With Christ, pp 15)

Free PDF on Gospel Definitions

Gospel Definitions – PDF Format

By Trevin Wax on Sep 28, 2009 in Gospel Definitions | | Share (Twitter, Email, Facebook)

A couple weeks ago, I posted links to dozens of definitions of “the gospel” that have been collected on this blog. Several readers have asked for a PDF version of these Gospel Definitions, to make it easier to look over.
Here is a 29-page booklet that includes all of the “Gospel Definitions” I have found so far. I will be updating this document periodically.

© Copyright by Trevin Wax |

FREE Waterproof Bible!

After a one-week hiatus, we are back with
another edition of Free Stuff Fridays. This
week’s sponsor is Bardin & Marsee Publishing and
the prize they are offering is a mite unusual.
They have offered up six copies of The
Waterproof Bible. Now this is the kind of
product that might lead you to immediately roll
your eyes; but hang on for a moment. The
Waterproof Bible is simply a Bible that is,
well, waterproof. Available in the NIV and KJV,
it is regular-sized Bible but one that you can
take with you anywhere. The pages are very
difficult to tear and, as you’d expect, you can
drop it in the ocean and it will be just fine.
The copy they sent to me shipped already-wet
just to prove that this Bible truly is not going
to get soggy. m-waterproof.jpg Here is Bobby
Bardin’s story of how he came to see the need
for a waterproof Bible:  As a believer in Christ
and one that has always loved to be in God’s
creation exposed to the elements, I have often
desired to have my Bible by my side for reading
here and there. My exploring has led me to
mountain tops, river banks, sandy beaches, misty
valleys, and hot springs, and has caused me to
become soaked to the core while backpacking or
paddling. I hate to admit that my Bible has not
made it with me on many of these occasions for
the sake of protecting it and because I don’t
trust a plastic bag not to puncture. Michael and
I have been talking about how awesome it would
be to have a waterproof Bible for many years
now, and we have finally decided to produce it
ourselves. Now we can put an end to all the
worrying that we have done in the past about our
Bibles and take God’s Word wherever our
adventures lead.  To make this happen, Michael,
Anna (my wife), and I have formed Bardin &
Marsee Publishing, LLC to produce the world’s
first waterproof, rugged, and tear resistant
Bibles. We hope that you find heaps of enjoyment
reading God’s Word in all weather environments.
Bardin & Marsee have kindly offered up six
copies of the NIV Waterproof Bible for this
giveaway so there will be, of course, six
winners. Rules: You may only enter the draw
once. Simply fill out your name and email
address to enter the draw. As soon as the
winners have been chosen, all names and
addresses will be immediately and permanently
erased. Winners will be notified by email. The
giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

If God is Good--Book Review

Randy Alcorn writes this insightful review of the book 'If Giod is Good' about what Christians believe.

It seems a fair question, doesn’t it? If God is
truly good, as Christians insist, then how can
there be so much suffering in the world? Since
ancient times this question has led skeptics to
believe that God cannot, must not, exist. Even
today’s so-called New Atheists show how little
is really new when they use the existence of
suffering and evil as a linchpin of their
arguments against God’s existence. Quite simply,
they say, if suffering and evil exist, then God
must not. Yet though people have wrestled with
this question and allowed it to drive them from
the faith, many more have wrestled with it and
have come to the conclusion that God does exist
despite suffering. They have found that
suffering is God’s invitation to trust in him
and to hold out hope for a better world to come.
If God Is Good is the latest book from Randy
Alcorn’s who is probably best-known for his last
major release, Heaven, which has sold well over
a half million copies in hardcover. From my
experience, Alcorn primarily writes three types
of books: novels, very small books and very
large books. If God Is Good, like Heaven before
it, fits squarely in the final category.
Weighing in at 512 pages, this is a good-sized
hardcover that offers a thorough examination and
defense of faith in the midst of suffering and
evil. The topic Alcorn deals with in this book
is a particularly difficult one. Humility and
practicality, trademarks of his ministry, are
evident in the books earliest pages. “If I
thought I had no helpful perspectives on the
problem, it would be pointless for me to write
this book. If I imagined I had all the answers
neatly lined up, it would be pointless for you
to read it.” He seeks to get right to the bottom
of the subject and, as we learn, a sound
theology of suffering touches upon many
different areas. This leads him into theology
that is increasingly foundational, plunging into
deeper and deeper waters. He looks to the source
and nature of evil, human depravity (advocating
total spiritual inability), free will (arguing
for compatibilism), divine omniscience,
omnipotence and omnibenevolence, the existence
of Heaven and Hell, justification,
sanctification and so on. What area of the
Christian life remains untouched by this great
question of suffering? In what area of life or
theology is evil not an unfortunate
consideration? Throughout the book Alcorn’s
style is stridently didactic, bearing shades of
Heaven. But where Heaven depended heavily on
questions and answers, If God Is Good leans upon
bolded headings followed by explanations. The
style is unique in all the books I’ve read, but
quite effective. These are headings that cannot
be skipped over as they are integral to the flow
of the book. So choosing a page at random, we
see a heading of “Free Will in Heaven.”
Immediately below that is a bolded sentence
saying, “Free will in Heaven will not require
that we be capable of sinning or that humanity
may fall again.” There follows seven or eight
paragraphs of explanation and then another
bolded sentence to delineate the next few
paragraphs: “We will have true freedom in
Heaven, but a righteous freedom that never
sins.” And so it continues throughout. This
writing style fits well with the way I learn,
though I did discover to my chagrin that I tend
to skip over headings and often had to backtrack
to ensure that I was not missing important
content. As we would expect, Alcorn’s teaching
is interlaced with stories of grace through
suffering. Some of these come from the author’s
own life (consider reading this article if you
have never read of some of Alcorn’s own
suffering) while others come from family or
friends or strangers. More than supplementary
material, these examples show how God has acted
in grace toward his people as they have
suffered. Though the size of the book may warn
some away (then again, this has certainly not
proven the case with Heaven) the book is in no
way an academic treatise. To the contrary, it is
written with a general audience firmly in mind
and, because it never gets bogged down in
detail, anyone should be able to read and to
enjoy it. In fact, though the book does teach
some profoundly important theology and though it
is concerned with doctrine, it is always
pastoral in its tone. This is not theology for
the sake of theology, but theology that brings
true peace and comfort. Where firmness is
required, Alcorn provides firmness, but where
gentleness is best, he is gentle. Writing to
those who may see little need to read such a
book he says, “We shouldn’t wait until suffering
comes to start learning about how to face it any
more than we should wait to fall into the water
to start learning how to scuba dive.” To those
skeptics who are convinced that the existence of
suffering must mean the non-existence of God he
challenges, “This is one of the great paradoxes
of suffering. Those who don’t suffer much think
suffering should keep people from God, while
many who suffer a great deal turn to God, not
from him.” And for those who know suffering all
too well he encourages, “Our present sufferings
are a brief but important part of a larger plan
that one day will prove them all worthwhile.”
There can be a fine line between exhaustive and
exhausting. In the case of If God Is Good,
Alcorn has succeeded in writing a book that is
long and thorough but not at all tiresome. And
though this book enters quite a crowded field,
it offers a depth, a thoroughness, a pastoral
spirit that set it apart. I very much enjoyed
reading it and trust that you will too. I am
glad to give it my highest recommendation.

Keith Urban - God's Been Good To Me - Music Video

Prophets of the Lord Sustain Us Today

Chow says:

 I was driving down a lane in my station wagon
and the thought came to me about someone who
made a quite...quite original comment. But we'll
talk about later. I was distracted because I
thought to much of myself and my words and how
they went no-where apparently! I failed to
convince anyone of anything. I thought that was
refrigerator courtesy. I felt hanging on meat
hook in the fridge... I took to the Lord. I said
to him, "Perhaps it's a waste of time all this
proclaiming and preaching and telling and
looking up and explaining...?" And he said that
the commodity of the truth was not for everyone
and he reminded me in the best efforts, I will
never turn anyone to him unless he calls that
person. But he said, "You have to make the
commodity of the truth availiable to everyone as
a witness..." It suffice to tell the truth and
the truth will find his man of woman in the
multitudes! We turn to Isaiah 39:1-8, ["...1At
that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan,
king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to
Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been
sick, and was recovered. 2And Hezekiah was glad
of them, and shewed them the house of his
precious things, the silver, and the gold, and
the spices, and the precious ointment, and all
the house of his armour, and all that was found
in his treasures: there was nothing in his
house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah
shewed them not. 3Then came Isaiah the prophet
unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said
these men? and from whence came they unto thee?
And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far
country unto me, even from Babylon. 4Then said
he, What have they seen in thine house? And
Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house
have they seen: there is nothing among my
treasures that I have not shewed them. 5Then
said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the
LORD of hosts: 6Behold, the days come, that all
that is in thine house, and that which thy
fathers have laid up in store until this day,
shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be
left, saith the LORD. 7And of thy sons that
shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget,
shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs
in the palace of the king of Babylon. 8Then said
Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD
which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For
there shall be peace and truth in my days...]
There will be a time when those of the world
will take the treasure of the truth in this
store-house and take it to their palaces, their
homes and families and nations. And it will be
peaceful for us in our days and secure. And
while dinner is being served there will be
peace. But once the prophets or the Lord are
gone, there will be trouble and calamity and
screaming and moaning. The anti of antis will
rise and he will bring trouble to those who did
not get the message...A time of trouble like
there has never been or will be...

Unknown Prophets - Lord Please