Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

AUDIO: SPURGEON'S SERMON ON "PROVIDENCE AS SEEN IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER"

Most evangelicals acknowledge some familiarity with Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), the great English preacher of the 19th century.  The other day I came across a rendition of Spurgeon's sermon on Esther that I thought utterly superb.   The man did such a good job I thought Spurgeon must have sounded much like him.  Spurgeon's sermon was originally preached Nov. 1, 1874 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England.

The great 20th century German preacher, Lutheran theologian, and university professor, Helmut Thielicke, held Spurgeon up as a preacher to be emulated.  In his book Encounter with Spurgeon, he wrote:

In the midst of the theologically discredited nineteenth century there was a preacher who had at least six thousand people in his congregation every Sunday, whose sermons for many years were cabled to new York every Monday and reprinted in the leading newspapers of the country, and who occupied the same pulpit for almost forty years without any diminishment in the flowing abundance of his preaching and without ever repeating himself or preaching himself dry.  The fire he thus kindled, and turned into a beacon that shone across the seas and down through the generations, was no mere brush fire of sensationalism, but an inexhaustible blaze that glowed and burned on solid hearts and was fed by the wells of the eternal Word.  Here was the miracle of a bush that burned with fire and yet was not consumed (Exod. 3:2).  p. 1

PAUL BORTHWICK SPEAKS ON "SIMPLICITY"

I appreciate this talk Paul Borthwick gave recently to students at Gordon College.

 

After talking about Veggie Tales' Madame Blueberry, Borthwick develops his talk around four questions:  Am I controlled?  Am I covetous?  Am I choked?  Am I content?

OS GUINNESS - "TRUTH - WHY TRUTH MATTERS"

I greatly appreciate Os Guinness' emphasis on truth.   (This video may also be accessed at the Lausanne Congress website.)

Following is a transcript of much of Guinness' talk:

"THE BEST SERMON ON RELIGION AND POLITICS"

Well, that was the title Justin Taylor gave a recent blog post describing a sermon delivered by Pastor Mark Dever on September 19th at Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.  Dever's text was Mark 12:13-17 -  "Jesus Paid Taxes."   It's length was 70 minutes.  How many pastors today deliver 70 minute sermons, and in particular, one that could be described as "a biblical theology of Christians and the state, at once full of unction, intellectually challenging, and affecting the heart"?  Remarkable indeed. 

For those without 70 minutes to spare, Collin Hansen has provided an overvew.  David Crowe, a visitor that day, blogged "Capital Hill Baptist Church - Reflections From a Visit." I thought it noteworthy that 750 people jammed the church, and pre-teens were found - not doodling - but taking notes on the sermon!

What strikes me is the great value of the internet!  Not many clergy are capable of delivering such meaty messages, but because of the internet, a message such as this can be heard by anyone anywhere in the world.  What resources are at our disposal!  Are we making use of these resources?  I need to take much better advantage of them myself.  An iTunes podcast of Dever's sermon is available here.  

Some time ago I posted a video of Pastor Mark Dever offering a video tour of his library.  Click here.  You'll find it fascinating.

Speaking of Christianity and politics, the other day I happened to be at Barnes & Noble and there I thumbed through a copy of Wayne Grudem's just-published Politics - According to the Bible.  I found it quite intriguing.  I hope to browse more on a future visit.  Another recent publication that has caught my eye (which I haven't had a chance to browse yet), is  City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era by Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner with a foreward by Tim Keller.  Justin Taylor has posted blurbs and some principles from the book, plus Tim Keller's foreward.   In addition to the book's foreward, the preface in PDF format can be found here.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/09/24/want-to-raise-a-boy-who-reads/

GOLD MINE: C-SPAN OPENS ITS ARCHIVES TO THE INTERNET

This means, as Joe Carter points out, free online access to the more than 160,000 hours(!) of television footage.  Carter helpfully suggests:

Check out some of the videos of First Things‘ editors Richard John Neuhaus, Joseph Bottum, James Nuechterlein; FT contributors Mary Eberstadt, Alan Jacobs, and Yuval Levin; and FT board members Hadley Arkes, James Burtchaell, Eric Cohen, David Dalin, Midge Decter, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Suzanne Garment, Robert George, Mary Ann Glendon, Russell Hittinger, Glenn Loury, George Marsden, Wilfred M. McClay, Gilbert Meilaender, David Novak, Michael Novak, George Weigel, William Burleigh, and Peter Thiel.

Happy days are here again!

Since I am currently reading Alan Jacobs' The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis (as I  mentioned before), I enjoyed watching and listening to Jacobs discuss his book at the Cambridge Forum.  In his brief talk (followed by a Q&A), he mentioned the impact Lewis had on one of his students, Kenneth Tynan, who would go on to excel as a dramatist, a screenwriter, a critic, an essayist, a director, and a theatrical impresario, a man given to "pushing boundaries" (he was the director of the first all-nude musical, "Oh Calcutta!").  His "peacockish" (Jacobs' term) flamboyance might lead us to suppose his relationship with Lewis would be rocky, but it wasn't.  Tynan struggled

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS - AUDIO LINKS

I came across an  astonishing collection of links to great audio lectures and debates.  This is a website begging to be bookmarked and thoroughly explored.

Update 2/23/10 - Another Christian audio site with great links.  HT:

TIM KELLER'S SERMONS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE

At least many of them.  Click here.  (HT: Justin Taylor).  Keller is the author of The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism and has spoken at numerous universities throughout America and at Google headquarters.  I blogged about him previous ly here.

GETTING CAUGHT UP ON SOME POSTS AT "BETWEEN TWO WORLDS"

- Essentially no one in the Middle Ages believed the earth was flat.  Thomas Woods has a nice overview about the myth here.  A more in-depth look can be found in the book, Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians.

- Tozer Audio Sermons.

- Separation of Church and Sport?  - Erik Raymond and Kevin DeYoung (among others) respond to a USA Today editorial critiquing Florida quarterback Tim Tebow for believing Jesus is the only way to God.  

- John Piper was called to the ministry 30 years ago after six years of college teaching.  Click here for a fascinating and inspiring post.  Among other things, read what his father, an evangelist, told him to expect in the pastorate.

- The book Justin Taylor co-edited with John Piper, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, is now available. (You can read it online for free at DG.)  Click here to read the rave endorsements.

- Ravis Zacharias videos from the Henry Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School:

• Toward an Evangelical Understanding of Postmodernism and Mission
• Audience Q&A
• Interview
• Lessons from History: The Tale of the Story of Two Men

- How Faith glorifies God,  a 1999 John Piper sermon:

Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that

JONI EARECKSON TADA SPEAKS AT THE CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL (VIDEO)

It's hard to imagine a more courageous, inspiring person than quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada.  Forty-two years ago, at the age of 16, she dove into shallow water in the Chesapeake Bay, broke her spine, and has been in a wheelchair ever since.  The radiance and beauty of Christ shine through her.  Click here for a video of her talk broadcast from the Crystal Cathedral May 3, 2009.  Here is her website - Joni and Friends.

D.A. Carson's Lectures and Sermons Now Online

Dr. Don Carson, a prolific writer and outstanding Bible lecturer and preacher, currently serves as Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School,  Deerfield, Illinois.  Carson now has 443 of his sermons available online.  This is a boon to the serious Bible student.  The sermons can be accessed here by Scripture passsage, topic, or category.   (HT: Justin Taylor).

"DID JESUS CHRIST REALLY RISE FROM THE DEAD?" - LEE STROBEL AT THE CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL

I happened to watch the Hour of Power on 11/16/08 and heard Lee Strobel preach a fine sermon on "A Skeptic's Surprise," which turned out to be a brilliant brief four-point argument for the historical factuality of Christ's resurrection from the dead.  The text of his sermon can be found here, and the video here.  Information on Strobel can be found here, and his own website is at www.leestrobel.com.

Faith, History, and the Meaning of Jesus: the 2006 Veritas Lectures at UVa

I have a great deal of respect for The Center for Christian Study at the University of Virginia.  Some years ago I journeyed there to hear philosopher Peter Kreeft speak at a Veritas Forum.  Now I see that the Center for Christian Study hosted another Veritas Forum last fall featuring biblical scholar Donald Carson.  Carson gave two public lectures on the topic of Faith, History and the Meaning of Jesus.  Carson is the research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the author or editor of more than 45 books on Biblical studies and theology. His UVa lectures can be heard here.

The Study Center has other lectures available at its website, including Richard Winter speaking on "Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment";  Frederica Mathewes-Green on Freedom and the Real Meaning of Sex, Drew Trotter, Bob Dylan: His Music and Messages (3 lectures); Nicholas Wolterstorff - The Authority of Reason plus still more lectures.

REDEEMING REASON

Internet browsing turned up a fascinating website, Redeeming Reason.  It presents itself as "Intentional Christian Scholars in conversation with the Secular Mindset Today". 

A conference was held Nov. 3- 5, 2005  at the University of Chicago.  Speakers included Dallas Willard, Albert Alschuler, Philip Gleason, Susan Emmerich, Cornelius Plantinga, PaulGriffiths, Charles Emmerich, George Marsden, and Graham Walker    Best of all, the talks are available online here.   

From the website:  "One of our goals in this conference is to provide resources to students, academics and anyone interested in engaging the difficulties of reason, logic and the secular mindset in the face of Christianity." 

The 2006 conference will be held Nov. 9-11th.  Speakers include  Henry Schaeffer III, Alvin Plantinga, Ian Hutchinson, Ard Louis , Don York , Pat Reiff , John Suppe, Pattle Pun , Cal DeWitt , Alan Padgett

SERMONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT FROM NOTED O.T. SCHOLAR, DR. WALTER KAISER

I've written before of Prof. Gordon Fee's online lectures on Galatians.  Since then I've learned that Dr. Walter Kaiser, well-known evangelical Old Testament scholar [booklist here] and former President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, has a number of seminary chapel messages available online.  They are all the more valuable for being Biblical studies of such books as Daniel, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Exodus, Matthew, and Hebrews.  Other sermons of his are online also.