Resources for Christian Formation
September 3, 2010
This Sunday we will wrap up our Christian Formation Sunday school class. Below are some books that have greatly aided me as I’ve developed my own thoughts about Christian formation and catechesis within the life of the church.
Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old Fashioned Way, by Gary Parrett and J.I. Packer.
The Family Worship Book, by Terry Johnson.
Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and Not Yet, by Jason Stellman.
With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship, by D.G. Hart and John Muether.
Risking the Truth: Handling Error in the Church, edited by Martin Downes.
Applied Redemption
March 23, 2010
As I have mentioned at the evening service (and I as recommended you read), I have been reading John Murray’s Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. Dr. Murray provides a terrific reminder of the greatness of the saving grace of repentance in the life of a believer [p. 116]:
Repentance reminds us that if the faith we profess is a faith that allows us to walk in the ways of this present evil world, in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, in the fellowship of the works of darkness, then our faith is but mockery and deception. True faith is suffused with penitence. And just as faith is not only a momentary act but an abiding attitude of trust and confidence directed to the Saviour, so repentance results in constant contrition.
Please take up and read. This brief book will greatly enhance your understanding of Christ’s work of redemption in your life and bring encouragement to you.
Chris Malamisuro
Ordinary Means Podcast: Interview with Jason Stellman
March 6, 2010
The latest “Ordinary Means” podcast is up – and this month it is a great interview with Jason Stellman, author of “Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and Not Yet.”
Listen to the interview here.
More Resources for Learning Reformed Catechisms
March 2, 2010
The White Horse Inn interviews Dr. Packer and Dr. Parrett (authors of the forth-coming book, Grounded in the Gospel) on the issue of the importance of catechesis in the local church. This is an important interview as it addresses the question of how the church equips its young people with the truths of biblical doctrine. Listen here.
During the interview, Dr. Packer challenges us to relearn the Bible through catechesis with these words:
We today in the evangelical community are far further out of sync with Christian discipling in the first century and the apostolic age than we have any idea. We claim to be Bible people, we talk a lot about the Bible, whereas they, in the first century, drilled people in Bible doctrine. We simply don’t do that…. We simply aren’t close enoough to Bible doctrine, Bible truth, even to the Bible text, to really have the right to call ourselves evangelical Bible people.
Also – yet another book to help us learn the Reformed Catechisms. In God’s School: Foundations for a Christian Life.
In his preface Dr. Marcel writes, “Our knowledge of salvation can never be more than the Word of God, or such as God has revealed in the Holy Scriptures.” Wow, a better motivation to study biblical doctrine cannot be imagined!
Corporate Worship: God Addresses, Undresses, and Redresses His People
February 16, 2010
I am always glad to read thoughtful, biblical critiques of our corporate worship ideals, particularly when I personally need correction, and when that correction motivates and intensifies my desire for corporate worship. Jason Stellman does just that in his book, Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and Not Yet (available in our church library).
Here’s an excerpt:
At the root of Western culture’s constant demand for new and improved worship experiences is not our unique inability to sit still for sixty minutes, but our fear of not being in control. Unlike “first-person shooter” games and surfing the Internet, corporate worship is an activity in which we are neither the initiators nor the primary actors. Instead, God addresses us with His gracious summons, undresses us with His holy law, and then redresses us in the righteous robes of His Son Jesus Christ. The entire affair culminates with a meal at His table of grace, where we are fed and nourished for our continued pilgrimage to glory. While God’s people do participate with responses of prayer and praise, these are just that – responses to God’s divine initiative rather than our own efforts to conjure up some feeling or experience to confirm what we already knew before we arrived (p. 6).
A Book on Parenting
October 1, 2009
Admittedly, I have never been too excited about the over-abundance of parenting books on the market. Perhaps simply because there are so many – perhaps because so few of them address my personal parenting concerns and challenges – I don’t know. However, after reading the review of Gospel-Powered Parenting, by William Farley (published by P & R Publishing Co.), at challies.com, I am finally persuaded to pick up and read.
I’ve not read the book yet, only the review, but to read the review is to catch a glimpse of a book that grounds our parenting in the power of the gospel. And, in a world in which moralistic therapeutic deism dominates the religious minds of our children, isn’t the gospel really what we need?
As a follow-up to his review, Tim Challies interviewed the author and that interview can be found here.
Happy Birthday John Calvin
July 10, 2009
I often miss birthdays, but here is one that is hard to miss. The Reformed world has been acknowledging and commemorating Calvin’s 500th birthday this year with a variety of publications and conferences, and today is his birthday.
John Calvin was born in France in 1509, and he became one of the most influential Reformers during the crucial years of the Protestant Reformation. Perhaps best known for his articulation of the doctrine of predestination, Calvin in fact contributed so much more to the life and theology of the Church. His writings on various topics, such as the believer’s union with Christ, sanctification, justification, the threefold mediatorial offices of Christ (Prophet, Priest and King), worship, the Holy Spirit, and the corruption of man, all combine to form a thoroughly God-exulting theology that has had enormous practical blessings for God’s people. While he is rightly celebrated as one of history’s great theologians, his pastoral ministry is of great significance as well. Calvin preached regularly (daily even) and his theology was always practiced, not in the ivory towers of a university setting, but in the daily life of the church.
There are many reasons John Calvin is important for the church today. Perhaps one of the greatest is found in the simple fact that he was a reformer. And, as history bears witness, as long as Christ’s church remains in its “militant” (not-yet-triumphant) stage, true reformation will always be one of our greatest needs. Like Calvin and the other Protestant reformers, may we be humble enough to recognize this, and bold enough to pursue it.
We are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal (John Calvin, Institutes, 3.7.1).
For further reading:
Beeke, Joel R. Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust, 2008.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. (Various versions and translations are available).
Lawson, Seven J. The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust, 2007.
Parsons, Burk, ed. John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine & Doxology. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust, 2008.