January 2011
1 post
3 tags
The Heart Maker
If I found a key on the road, and discovered it fit and opened a particular lock at my house, I would assume most likely that the key was made by the lock maker. And if I find set of teachings set out in pre-modern oriental society that has proven itself of such universal validity that it has fascinated and satisfied millions of people in every century, including the best minds in history and the...
September 2010
1 post
4 tags
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At...”
– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
August 2010
1 post
4 tags
“Abram, like Noah, marks a new beginning as well as a return to God’s original plan of blessing ‘all people on earth’ (cf. 1:28). Notable is the frequent mention of God’s ‘blessing’ throughout the narratives of Abram and his descendents (12:1-3; 13:15-16; 15:5, 18; et al.). He is represented as a new Adam and his seed as a second Adam, a new humanity. Those who ‘bless’ him, God will bless; those...
July 2010
2 posts
4 tags
“Biblical theology forms an organic whole. This means not only that one can...”
– D.A. Carson from here
4 tags
“Thou hast made summer and winter,
day and night;
each of these revolutions...”
– The Valley of Vision, 384
June 2010
8 posts
3 tags
Why a GCR begins with me
From Dr. Black’s convention report:
So, how was Orlando? Expensive. The seminary very graciously put me up in the Hilton. Not cheap. However, I noticed a nearby Days Inn whose rooms went for half the price. That’s where I spent my second night. Felt good to be able to save the school some money. Besides, little David had something Goliath lacked: An internet terminal in the lobby...
5 tags
A GCR Prayer
With tomorrow’s imminent 8 hour drive down to Orlando for the Southern Baptist Convention, a Great Commission Resurgence prayer:
Lord, we are a means to an end and that end is your glory.
We pray not just for a passed motion but rather a new movement,
that is not the end of lobbying but the beginning of new behavior,
and a call not to “others,” but first to myself to to make...
4 tags
This is your brain on computers (via...
A fascinating article from the New York Times on the price of being “hooked on gadgets.”
Excerpt:
Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets. He forgets things like dinner plans, and he has trouble focusing on his family.
His wife, Brenda, complains, “It seems like he can no longer be fully in the moment.”
This is your brain on...
3 tags
The Gospel frees us to share the Gospel
From Justin Taylor:
Tim Keller, Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, p. 201 (my italics):
The gospel produces a constellation of traits in us:
We are compelled to share the gospel out of love.
We are freed from the fear of being ridiculed or hurt by others, since we already have the favor of God by grace.
There is a humility in our dealings with others, because we know we are saved...
3 tags
Application for my life in the midst of...
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:25-34) -
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of...
5 tags
I just signed up for the @Baptist21 Panel in...
Details here
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May 2010
8 posts
He who is successful with the crowds is the one...
Paul, Romans 16:1-16 -
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give...
4 tags
An Appropriate End to my Seminary Career
Dr. Black was the faculty marshall for SEBTS' graduation and his hand was the last I shook before receiving my degree. Here is a snapshot of our 10 second conversation before walking on stage:
Dr. Black: So what are you doing with yourself before moving to Denver at the end of the year?
Me: Trying to figure out how in the world to plant a church.
Dr. Black: Just read your Bible, Bryan.
This was an appropriate end to my time at Southeastern, which gave me a love for the Bible, and taught me that in order to plant a church in the city, it requires us to be more faithful to Scripture than ever.
RT @Acts29: Making Disciples Informally →
4 tags
How the gospel calls us not to be Pharisees about...
Romans 15:1-7
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through...
“Woe to the friend who comes around your house, hangs out, and expects to have a...”
– Kevin DeYoung, Why We Love the Church, 19
1 tag
Why I decided to "Tumblr"
I don’t have time to “blog” but 140 characters doesn’t ever seem to be enough.