LINK: "The Bible Is Better Than Being There"

Tyler Kenney from Desiring God wrote an interesting article about why having the Bible is better than being a firsthand witness to the historical biblical events. Just like the incarnation of Christ, it’s amazing to be reminded that the Bible is the message of God “made flesh.”

LINK: Archaeology and the Bible

Albert Mohler writes a good article about the role of archaeology in the life of a Christian. In it he reminds us that archaeology—like all of man's attempt to reconstruct history—depends heavily on a scholar's presuppositions (i.e. the beliefs that guides interpretation). Therefore, accurate interpretation of historical events based on archaeological evidences are often murky at best. And although there are many findings from archaeology that support Christianity, the Bible always remains our final authority. Al Mohler writes:

Authentic Christianity is based upon the inscripturated revelation of God -- the Bible -- as our authority. In the end, archaeology cannot prove or disprove the biblical text. Nothing can be found, or not found, that should shake our faith in the total truthfulness and trustworthiness of the Word of God. Archaeology can expand our knowledge and understanding, but cannot establish the authority for our faith.

LINK: "How to Build a Commentary Library"

Tim Challies wrote a fantastic article about how to start a good collection of Bible commentaries... This is awesome! For me, the most difficult part of building a commentary library is knowing where even to begin. I'm soooooo excited! Also, the comments that folks left on the blog seem quite helpful!

LINK: "God is Not Dead Yet"

In light of the third edition of Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig, Christianity Today has posted an article titled "God is Not Dead Yet" which briefly summarizes the current state of theism in academia and reviews some classical arguments for the existence of God. By the way, I highly recommend the book Reasonable Faith and Dr. Craig's website. I have the second edition, but plan on getting this third edition soon!

(Now, if only I actually had time to read anything else outside of seminary... sigh...)

LINK: "Knowledge Increases Mystery"

Knowing God helps us with our worship of God. But there are some people who feel that knowledge decreases God's mystery...

Pastor John Piper recently posted a blog called "Knowledge Increases Mystery." Here he gives reasons why knowledge does not reduce our wonder of God. Rather, it reveals that our "mystery" and wonder were not big enough...

How Music "Works" in Worship

Bob Kauflin is the director of worship for Sovereign Grace Ministries. He formerly served as a pastor and as a songwriter, speaker, and arranger for the Christian acappella music group GLAD. The following is an interview between of Bob with Tim Smith. Here is the description that Bob gave of this interview on his website www.worshipmatters.com:

This is the third clip from a longer video in which Tim Smith, worship pastor from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, asked me various questions related to worship. In this portion, Tim asked me about the relationship between music and worship. In it I talk about some of the factors that have made music such a volatile issue in the church today, and different ways that Christians view music. Just scratching the surface here…If you want to dig deeper, I’d highly recommend you read Harold Best’s Music Through the Eyes of Faith. I read it in the mid-90’s and haven’t found anything as insightful, helpful, and biblically faithful.

A link to the entire interview can be found by clicking here (this version has much better resolution but may require a faster computer to play).



Bob also gives eight messages called Foundations for Worship at the Sovereign Grace Ministry website (which are all free for download). Here are the titles of his eight messages:

1. Worship: What Really Matters
2. Building a Worshiping Community
3. The Worship Leader's Role
4. Why Do We Sing?
5. Leading and Feeding Your Team
6. Heart Attitudes for the Worship Team
7. Worship Leading and the Prophetic Gifts
8. Closing the Gap: Pastors and Worship Leaders

I have not personally listened to these messages yet (but I plan to). What strikes me from listening to his interview is Bob's strong emphasis on applying Scriptural truth to corporate worship...

Free Christian Classics for Download

I am always in search of good books to read. But some of the best books have been out of print for a long time. That's when I discovered the Christian Classic Ethereal Library. This site has amassed a hugh library of public domain Christian classics for free download (a donation is suggested)! Some all-time favorites include, The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyun, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards, and The Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine. The site requires a free (and simple) online registration before you can download PDF and Word files. However, text files are available for immediate download. Lots of good stuff! Enjoy!