blog of dan

Church Planter

dan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:35:49 +0000

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:00:58 +0000

Only a few links this week, so I’ve put a bonus video below…

NEXT Webzines: April – Summer 2010

dan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:08:54 +0000

Here are the latest three NEXT webzines on the doctrines of Christ’s Work Accomplished, Church, and the NEXT Conference Application Guide. Click on the covers to check them out!

God’s plan has always been for the world to be full of people displaying His glory and character

dan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:47:26 +0000

God’s plan has always been for the world to be full of people displaying His glory and character.

Adam and Eve were made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) to display His glory and character. They were given the command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28), and as they did, “the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Just as there is no part of the sea where there is no water, his plan was that God’s glory, His character would be found everywhere on this earth.

The problem was that Adam and Eve failed to display God’s character. Before they got going on filling the earth with other people who displayed His glory, they sinned, and God’s image was corrupted.

But God’s plan to display His glory through gathering a people who would display His character was not over. He chose to bless Abraham, making some wonderful promises, including a big family (a people, the nation of Israel), who He rescued from slavery in Israel, and gave them the law which revealed His character and the command. God said: “I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45).

Israel was called to represent God, display His glory and character, so that as they obeyed God’s law, people saw what kind of God they followed. So if you wanted to know what God is like, you looked at the people of Israel. God wanted all the peoples of the world to look at the nation Israel so that they would come to know Israel’s God: “See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).

Like Adam and Eve, Israel failed to display God’s character, so God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3), who represented God perfectly, He succeeded where Adam and Eve, and Israel failed and through His death restored the true image of God by gathering a people who would come to Him in repentance and faith, and He changes them so that they become more and more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Through the church, “the manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10-11) is being made known. The church is a display of God’s glory in a messed up world and as they show His character, it is anticipated that this will lead to opportunities to share the gospel and conversions so that on the day Jesus returns others are found to be glorifying God (1 Peter 2:12).

On that day God’s people will perfectly display His glory. When Jesus “appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2), and then the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. The New Jerusalem will shine with the glory of God (Revelation 21:10-11), because all the people inhabiting the city will perfectly display God’s glory.

The Gospel Song

dan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:00:46 +0000

For Your Joy (John Piper)

dan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:00:08 +0000

God wants you to be happy. Not just happy now, happy forever. But where is this happiness found? In For Your Joy, John Piper shows from the Bible that this happiness, this joy is found when we are satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus.

This means that the question “Who do you say Jesus is?” is the most important question you can ask and answer. ‘For Your Joy’, a short booklet (under 50 pages) looks at some of the most common and important questions about Jesus:

Why did Jesus have to die?
How can God love me?
What if I don’t love God?
How can I love a God who allows so much evil?
Why is it all about God?
What does all this mean for me?
What should I do?

As Piper answers each of these questions, he explains gospel like a number of good evangelistic tracts, booklets, books out there do. But what I appreciated about this booklet was that instead of the focus being on how Jesus has saved us from hell and given us eternal life through His death and resurrection, it was on the joy this salvation brings.

The truth that Christ has done everything needed to give us supreme joy and happiness forever is something that isn’t emphasised enough. It was great to be reminded of this, and I’m sure this booklet would be a blessing to other Christians for this reason.

But this booklet is primarily designed to be given away to unbelievers, and in a world where there is much sadness, the focus on where joy and happiness can be found is certainly a message they need to hear. For Your Joy is a good resource to give away but probably to a more academic unbeliever.

For Your Joy will be available to buy in the UK shortly (link coming soon). In the meantime it is available HERE.

What is the Bible Basically About?

dan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:41:48 +0000

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:57:45 +0000

Here are some links from the last two weeks worth checking out…

3 Family Days Out

dan — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:57:58 +0000

Just got back from a few days away with the family on the Kent coast (thanks Erik for the guest posts!) While there we went on three different trips which each would make a good family day out if you live or on holiday in the Surrey/Kent/East Sussex area of England.

3 Family Days Out

Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway: The world’s smallest public railway

Port Lympne Wild Animal Park

Dover Castle (with Secret Wartime Tunnels tour)

GUEST POST: The Fruits of Your Public Worship

dan — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:00:44 +0000

From JC Ryle Quotes:

The Fruits of Your Public Worship

“The best public worship is that which produces the best private Christianity. The best Church services for the congregation are those which make its individual members most holy at home and alone. If we want to know whether our own public worship is doing us good, let us try it by these tests. Does it stimulate our conscience? Does it send us to Christ? Does it add to our knowledge? Does it sanctify our life? If it does, we may depend on it; it is worship of which we have no cause to be ashamed.”

(J.C. Ryle, Knots Untied, “Worship” [Cambridge, England: James Clarke & Co., 1977], 234)

GUEST POST: Never Be Ashamed of Christ!

dan — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:00:59 +0000

From JC Ryle Quotes:

Never Be Ashamed of Christ!

“Live a courageous life. Confess Christ before men. Whatever station you occupy, in that station confess Christ. Why should you be ashamed of Him? He was not ashamed of you on the cross. He is ready to confess you now before His Father in heaven. Why should you be ashamed of Him? Be bold. Be very bold. The good soldier is not ashamed of his uniform. The true believer ought never be ashamed of Christ.”

(J.C. Ryle, Warnings to the Churches, “The True Church”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1967], 27, 28)

GUEST POST: Christ’s Demonstration of Salvation

dan — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:00:16 +0000

From JC Ryle Quotes:

Christ’s Demonstration of Salvation

“There is one great work which the Lord Jesus Christ has done and finished completely. That work is the work of atonement, sacrifice, and substitution. He saw us ruined by the fall, a world of poor, lost, shipwrecked sinners. He did not sit in heaven pitying us from a distance. He did not stand upon the shore and see the wreck, and behold poor drowning sinners struggling in vain to get to shore. He plunged into the waters Himself. He came off to the wreck, and took part with us in our weakness and infirmity, becoming a man to save our souls.”

(J.C. Ryle, Old Paths, “Christ’s Power to Save”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 439, 440)

GUEST POST: The Habit of Private Prayer

dan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:00:32 +0000

From JC Ryle Quotes:

The Habit of Private Prayer

“What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.”

(J.C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2002], 15)

GUEST POST: Practice Your Bible Reading

dan — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:00:11 +0000

From JC Ryle Quotes:

Practice Your Bible Reading

“It is poor work to read the Bible from mere curiosity, and for speculative purposes, in order to fill your head and store your mind with opinions, while you do not allow the book to influence your heart and life. That Bible is read best which is practiced most.”

(J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, “Bible Reading”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 132)

On Holiday… Guest Blogger

dan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:37:18 +0000

This week I’m on holiday, so no blog posts from me (next week there will be a double edition of ‘Latest Links’). But for the first time there will be a guest blogger…

Erik Kowalker who blogs at JC Ryle Quotes has selected 5 of his favourite Ryle quotes from the last year and these will be posted each day this week (Monday to Friday).

No Related Post

Judges 16 Sermon

dan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:52:01 +0000

Judges 16 (15th August 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘What were you thinking?’
Download MP3

Download audio file (Judges16.mp3)

***

A mirror showing us what we are like:

a) A man who didn’t want to be different (Judges 16:16-19)
b) A man of faith (Hebrews 11:32-34; Judges 16:28)

The danger of not being different:

1. God will discipline His rebellious people (v21)

2. God will destroy His enemies (v30)

“O Sovereign Lord… Remember Me”

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:30:43 +0000

Some great links this week…

Christ Returneth

dan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:55:14 +0000

We closed our evening service with a great hymn about the return of Christ by H. L. Turner called Christ Returneth:

It may be at morn, when the day is awaking,
When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking
That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory
To receive from the world “His own.”

Refrain

O Lord Jesus, how long, how long
Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.

It may be at midday, it may be at twilight,
It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight
Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory,
When Jesus receives “His own.”

Refrain

While its hosts cry Hosanna, from heaven descending,
With glorified saints and the angels attending,
With grace on His brow, like a halo of glory,
Will Jesus receive “His own.”

Refrain

Oh, joy! oh, delight! should we go without dying,
No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no crying.
Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory,
When Jesus receives “His own.”

Refrain

Judges 15 Sermon

dan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:39:48 +0000

Judges 15 (8th August 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘Kill Philistines – Part 2′
Download MP3

Download audio file (Judges15.mp3)

***

Don’t be a Philistine

1. A thug out for revenge

A Cycle of Revenge

Samson wronged (v1-2)
Samson gets revenge (v3-5)
Samson wronged (v6)
Samson gets revenge (v7-8)
Samson wronged (v9-13)
Samson get revenge (v14-17)

2. A God whose salvation is unstoppable

Even when God’s people reject His Saviour

Even when the enemies seem great

Samson would not be THE Saviour of Israel

He needed saving (v18-19)
He didn’t save Israel (v20)

Summer Study (2)

dan — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:24:35 +0000

I’m going to spend a couple of days each week in August studying two subjects. The first topic was ‘Corporate Worship’ [my reading list is HERE].

The second subject is ‘The Ten Commandments’. In the autumn term I’m hoping to do a series looking at how God wants us to live.

Here’s my reading list:

John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life
Brian Edwards, The Ten Commandments for today
Phil Ryken, Written in Stone: The Ten Commandments and Today’s Moral Crisis
J. I. Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments
Al Mohler, Words from the Fire
Peter Masters, God’s Rules for Holiness: Unlocking the Ten Commandments
J John, Ten: Living the Ten Commandments in the 21st Century

Summer Study (1)

dan — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:00:04 +0000

With a quieter schedule in August, I’m going to take a couple of days out each week to do some study. There are two subjects I’m going to look at.

The first topic is ‘Corporate Worship’. I looked at this topic for a sermon I gave on ‘The Sunday Gathering’ but want to delve further into it in order to serve Banstead Community Church better when I lead. I will blog my progress…

Here’s my reading list (inc. MP3s/Videos):

Bryan Chapell, Christ Centered Worship
Don Carson (ed.), Worship by the Book
T. David Gordon, Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns
Vaughan Roberts, True Worship
John Piper, Gravity and Gladness: The Pursuit of God in Corporate Worship
Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters
Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship: Playground, Battleground, or Holy Ground?
John Blanchard & Dan Lucarini, Can we rock the Gospel?
Paul S. Jones, What is Worship Music?
Robert Dickie, What the Bible teaches about Worship
Peter Masters, Worship in the Melting Pot
Mark Dever, The Deliberate Church (Section 2)
Stuart Olyott, Reading the Bible and Praying in Public

Plus the following blog posts:

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:00:14 +0000

Enjoy the start of August with these links…

Judges 14 Sermon

dan — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:51:58 +0000

Judges 14 (1st August 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘Is he really a Saviour?’
Download MP3

Download audio file (Judges14.mp3)

***

Samson is…

1. A Shocking Choice for a Saviour

He breaks God’s Word (v1-3)
He ignores his Nazirite vow (v8-10)
He plays silly games with God’s enemies (v12-14)
He appears to be a cold blooded killer (v19)

2. God’s Shocking Choice for a Saviour

God’s Spirit empowers Samson (v6, 19)
God uses Samson’s sin for His good purpose (v4)

God is a God who works all things out for the saving of many lives and the good of His people (Acts 2:23-24; Romans 8:28)

John Piper at 300 Leaders

dan — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:52:29 +0000

Back in June I went to hear John Piper speak at 300 Leaders (a leadership conference organised by Jubilee Church). Videos of the sessions are below, and worth a watch:

Session 1: Working for your Joy

Session 2: Q & A

Judges 13:8-9 Kids Talk

dan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:23:18 +0000

Prayer is Amazing
Passage: Judges 13:8-9
Talk Notes
Visual Aids (powerpoint)

***

People do incredible things!

As I thought about some of the incredible things people do… here are some that came to mind:

Things people have made (like the pyramids which we built 1000s of years ago in an age where there were no cranes, cement mixers and high visibility jackets).
Adventures people have completed (like climbing Mount Everest, sailing around the world, swimming the English Channel).
Strength people have showed (like World Strongest Man, or stories of people lifting 5000 pound cars off people trapped underneath).
Creativity people have thought of (like the Barbecue Table which is genius!)

The story of Samson is full of amazing things that Samson did like killing a lion with his bare hands or how in his death he destroy the Philistine temple with one final display of strength.

But in Judges 13, which tells the story of Samson’s birth, we read about something incredible that Samson’s father did, and it’s something everyone can do. It’s something that is easy to miss and there is a danger that we might not be amazed by it.

“Then Manoah prayed to the Lord… God heard Manoah” (Judges 13:8-9).

Prayer is an amazing thing that people can do. Do you find prayer amazing?

Do you find it amazing that you can talk to the God who has created everything, who is all powerful, all knowing, kind, loving, just, holy, everywhere?

Do you find it amazing that God listens to our prayers? That he stoops down to hear us?

As you pray, do you really believe that God is listening? Do you really believe that God will answer?

In amongst all the incredible things that happen in the story of Samson is this reminder about prayer. It is an amazing thing to be able to speak to God and know that He is listening.

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:50:57 +0000

We enter the summer season with these links…

Judges 13 Sermon

dan — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:35:06 +0000

Judges 13 (25th July 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘A Saviour is Born’
Download MP3

Download audio file (Judges13.mp3)

***

The nativity story that points us to a greater nativity story.

Two things we learn about God…

1. The God who saves people who don’t want to be saved (v1)

The pattern: Rebellion ? Retribution ? Request ? Rescue ? Rest

Judges 13: Rebellion ? Retribution ? … ? …

Into this situation God appears to a nameless, childless woman.

2. The God who saves with a baby (v2-25)

The right response to news from God about a Saviour is belief.

This baby is special.

The commands that God gives are to be obeyed.

Don’t waste your life (Ephesians 2:10, 5:15-16)

Summer Preaching

dan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:22:22 +0000

What I’m preaching on at Banstead Community Church on Sunday mornings in July/August:

Series: A saviour who is not the Saviour

25th July – Judges 13
1st August – Judges 14
8th August – Judges 15
15th August – Judges 16

[After hearing Rupert Bentley-Taylor preach on these chapters at EMA... I'm looking forward to studying them some more].

Training the Next Generation to Hope in God

dan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:00:38 +0000

Another way God is shown to be great!

dan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:00:05 +0000

The Barbecue Table (made by Cole Henley).

Praise the God who created the people who came up with this! What a great God He must be!

And if you have a spare £1900 (small) or £2200 (large) they are available to buy HERE.

No Related Post

On the Quiet Time…

dan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:00:53 +0000

I found this post from Tim Keller helpful. Here are three quotes I’ve noted down…

“There are three kinds of prayer I try to find time for every day – meditation (or contemplation), petition, and repentance. I concentrate on the first two every morning and do the last one in the evening.”

“Meditation is actually a middle ground or blend of Bible reading and prayer. I like to use Luther’s contemplative method that he outlines in his famous letter on prayer that he wrote to his barber. The basic method is this – to take a Scriptural truth and ask three questions of it. How does this show me something about God to praise? How does this show me something about myself to confess? How does this show me something I need to ask God for? Adoration, confession, and supplication.”

“I try as often as possible to take five minutes in the middle of the day to take a spiritual inventory, either by remembering the more spiritually radioactive ideas from my morning devotion, or by a quick look at my most besetting sins and idols. I do that to see whether so far that day I’ve given in to bad attitudes such as pride, coldness and hardness of heart, anxiety, and unkindness. If I see myself going wrong, the mid-day prayer can catch it.”

5 dangers facing overchurched kids

dan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:00:49 +0000

A great post from Tony Kummer on overchurched kids.

He notes 5 dangers facing overchurched kids:

1. Familiar Stories Lose Their Power: When kids hear the same Bible stories year-after-year they can become a little boring. Even worse – these stories are often told without imagination or any listener interaction. Most over-churched kids have heard the same 100+ Bible stories since they were in the Toddler Sunday School. They no longer connect with the characters or feel moved by the plot resolution. Once I was told by a seminary professor, “ It is a sin to make the Bible boring.” I’m starting to think he was right.

2. Knowledge Can Promote Pride: Something happens inside of us when we become the expert. Children feel that same sense of superiority when they have more religious knowledge than their peers. Too often over-churched kids build their identity around that achievement, even when it doesn’t involve a growing relationship with Christ.

3. They Have Learned to Pretend Pray: A real struggle for grown-ups is connecting with God through prayer. Too often it becomes routine and dry. Most younger children learn prayer as an act of imitation. Many don’t even realize that something cosmic is happening when we address our words to God. They don’t feel the presence of God or even expect that they should.

4. They Don’t Feel Their Lostness: Many over-churched kids don’t know what life is like without the comforts of faith. Their brain say ‘forgiveness’ before their heart feels ‘I’m sorry.’ Because they know about grace, they have never really struggled much with guilt.

5. The Ugly Side of Church: Kids who hang around Christians know the yucky side of the church. They hear the complaining. They know Jesus didn’t fix daddy’s temper yet. They know that church is not always the safest place in their lives. Beyond all this they notice when adults are being fake or doing religious role play.

Telling the Gospel Story

dan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:56:23 +0000

Over the last three Sunday mornings at Banstead Community Church, I’ve been preaching a series called ‘Telling the Gospel Story’.

This hasn’t been a series on evangelism, although the things I’ve been preaching about should be evangelistic.

It’s been a series looking at what we do when we gather as a church each Sunday. What I’ve tried to show is that the focus of everything we do when we gather should be to tell the gospel.

Here are links to the audio and outlines of the three sermons I preached:

The Lord’s Supper

dan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:40:40 +0000

Telling the Gospel Story – Part 3 (18th July 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘The Lord’s Supper’
Download MP3

Download audio file (LordsSupper.mp3)

***

The Lord’s Supper is a sign and a seal

The Lord’s Supper is commanded by Jesus

How does the Lord’s Supper tells the gospel story?

The Lord’s Supper is a time for…

1. Remembering

a) His death in the past
b) His return in the future

2. Examining

a) Our relationship with God
b) Our relationship with each other

3. Participating

a) Affirming our faith in Jesus
b) Affirming our unity as believers

4. Proclaiming

Baptism

dan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:36:02 +0000

Telling the Gospel Story – Part 2 (11th July 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘Baptism’
Download MP3

Download audio file (Baptism.mp3)

***

Baptism is commanded by Jesus (Matthew 28:19)

Baptism is a sign and a seal

a) Of forgiveness (Acts 2:38, 22:16)
b) Of new life (Romans 6:3-4)
c) Of a new identity (1 Corinthians 12:13)
d) Of obedience (John 14:15)

How baptism tells the gospel story?

1. By WHO we baptise

2. By HOW we baptise

3. By WHAT we say when we baptise

4. By WHEN we baptise

The Sunday Gathering

dan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:31:55 +0000

Telling the Gospel Story – Part 1 (4th July 2010, Banstead Community Church)

‘The Sunday Gathering’
Download MP3

Download audio file (Gatherings.mp3)

***

Why should we tell the gospel when we gather?

a) Without the gospel there would be no church (Titus 2:14)
b) In response to the gospel the church gathers to worship (Romans 12:1)
c) To witness to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:23-25)
d) To encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25)

How do we tell the gospel when we gather?

1. Reading the gospel (1 Timothy 4:13)

2. Preaching the gospel (Romans 10:14)

3. Praying the gospel (1 Timothy 2:1)

4. Singing the gospel (Colossians 3:16)

5. Seeing the gospel

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:00:12 +0000

Check these out…

The God who…REIGNS: Further Reading

dan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:56:10 +0000

Further reading on the topic of the God who reigns:

Edward Donnoley, Heaven and Hell
John Blanchard, Whatever happened to Hell?
Christopher Morgan & Robert Peterson, What is Hell?
Randy Alcorn, Heaven
Graham Beynon. Last Things First
John Dickson & Greg Clarke, 666 and all that

Singing about ‘The God who…REIGNS’

dan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:53:26 +0000

Two songs (one old, one new) to fix our hearts on ‘The God who…REIGNS’.

The God who…REIGNS

dan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:47:28 +0000

The God who is the King

There will be a day when His reign will be acknowledged by all.

After that day…

1. God will REIGN over His enemies in Hell

Hell should only be spoken of with tears.

Hell is spoken of the most by Jesus.

Hell is what Jesus experienced.

What is hell like?

Hell is punishment
Hell is destruction
Hell is exclusion
Hell is a place of suffering
Hell is eternal
Hell will be full of people unable to repent

2. God will REIGN over His people in Heaven

What is heaven like?

It’s a new creation!
It’s a new city!
It’s a new relationship!
It’s a place where God’s face will be seen!

The wrong question: Would a loving God really send good people to hell?

The right question: How can those who deserve hell go to heaven?

Books to look out for… (4)

dan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:00:31 +0000

Here are some books to look out for in coming months from David Woollin at EP Books:

Get a grip (Anthony Selvaggio) Encouragement from the lives of Old Testament Saints

It’s not about the music – a journey into the heart of worship (Dan Lucarini) The follow up to ‘Why I left the contemporary Christian music movement’ (now in its twenty-first printing)

Stronger than the sword (Faith Cook) Historical fiction set during the time of John Bunyan

The Lord of glory – day by day devotions with your children (Jim Cromarty) A very important book encouraging families to spend time studying God’s word together. This edition focuses on the person and work of Christ.

The New Perspective (William Barcley with Ligon Duncan)

Books to look out for… (3)

dan — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:00:14 +0000

Here are some books to look out for in coming months from Anthony Gosling at Christian Focus:

The way of the righteous in the muck of life (Dale Ralph Davis)

Iron Sharpens Iron (Orlando Saer)

Timeless Stories (Vance Christie)

Work of the pastor (William Still)

Towards Spiritual maturity (William Still)

Books to look out for… (2)

dan — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:56:08 +0000

Here are some books to look out for in coming months from David Berkeley at The Good Book Company:

Beginning with God 2 (I reviewed earlier this year Beginning with God 1)…

Little Black Books on The Bible and Suffering and Evil (already available are Little Black Books on Sex and Predestination).

Books to look out for… (1)

dan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:10:54 +0000

Here are some books to look out for in coming months from Jonathan Carswell at 10ofthose.com:

A new series of pastoral books called ‘Help! Living in a Fallen World’…

Tim Keller’s new book ‘Generous Justice’

And for Christmas a short booklet called ‘Naughty or nice’ which will be ideal for carol services.

Summer Reading…

dan — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:05:44 +0000

The summer holidays are coming… looking for a book to read… check out these selections below from some the best places that publish and sell Christian books…

Three books recommended by Jonathan Carswell at 10ofthose.com:

Three books recommended by David Berkeley at The Good Book Company:

Three books recommended by Anthony Gosling at Christian Focus:

Three books recommended by David Woollin at EP Books:

I also asked each of them if there were any books coming out in the autumn that they were excited about… I’ll post their answers over the coming days…

CY

dan — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:16:48 +0000

The CY course is the youth edition of the Christianity Explored Course and is a great resource for teaching young people about who Jesus is, why He came and what it means to follow Him.

With the release of SOUL (a 7-episode evangelistic DVD – see my review HERE), a new and expanded verse of CY has been released.

Some of the noticeable changes and improvements from the previous version are:

There are now two versions of the course: CY nano for 11-14s and CY for 15+.
The SOUL DVD has replaced the Christianity Explored DVD.
There is a new handbook for the CY course (CY nano uses the previous one).
The illustrations/ideas/activities have increased and been updated.

Both versions of the course follow the same format. Each session begins with a group activity (ice breaker/activity to focus on the theme), before the participants look at some questions using the handbook. Following this the talk is given either live or using the SOUL DVD (included in the handbook is a summary of the main points of the talk). The session finishes with some application questions which are found in the workbook.

I liked the previous edition already, and this version is even better. Here are 8 reasons why I would recommend this course to youth pastors/workers, school workers etc:

It clearly and faithfully presents the gospel, including being strong on ‘sin’ and ‘the cost of following Jesus’.
If your church already does Christianity Explored with adults, CY is a perfect complement to use with your young people.
It gets young people looking in the Bible and encourages them to find the answers for themselves.
There are lots of good ideas – more than you’ll ever use when running the course (so note down what ones you don’t use for a later date when you’re stuck for ideas!)
The leader’s guide has lots of useful notes on a number of practical issues such as how to run the course, and the why and how of evangelism.
Visually both the handbooks look good.
The option of a live talk or DVD means that it can be used in a variety of settings.
The website has lots of useful downloads – extra ideas (if there weren’t already enough in the book), talk outlines, powerpoints etc.

The CY material (Leader’s guide, Handbooks, SOUL DVD) is available to buy HERE.

Latest Links

dan — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:00:20 +0000

A good selection of links to check out this week…

You Alone Can Rescue

dan — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:15:34 +0000

The God who…RETURNS: Further Reading

dan — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:00:06 +0000

Further reading on the topic of the God who returns:

WJ Grier, The Momentous Event
Graham Beynon, Last Things First
David Jackman, Teaching the Christian Hope

Singing about ‘The God who…RETURNS’

dan — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:16:54 +0000

Two songs (one old, one new) to fix our hearts on ‘The God who…RETURNS’.

blog of dan

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