Christian Behavior (in Print)

John Bunyan's classic, Christian Behavior, has been updated in modern English and, though it will remain available as a free e-Book, is now available as a printed publication… a traditional paperback book. This 98-page book is available for only $7.77 through CreateSpace.com, a division of Amazon.com. Click on the book cover to the left or CLICK HERE to order the book... or you can check it out on the Christian Behavior weblog by CLICKING HERE.

Now Available in Print

Fullness of the Time, though it will remain available as a free e-Book, is now available as a printed publication… a traditional paperback book. This 194-page book is available for only $12.95 through CreateSpace.com, a division of Amazon.com. Click on the book cover to the left or CLICK HERE to order the book... or you can check it out on the Fullness of the Time weblog by CLICKING HERE.

Available in Print

Essential Spurgeon for Today’s Reformed Pastor, though it will remain available as a free e-Book, is now available as a printed publication… a traditional paperback book. This 232-page book is available for only $12.95 through CreateSpace.com, a division of Amazon.com. Click on the book cover to the left or CLICK HERE to order the book... or you can check it out on the Essential Spurgeon weblog by CLICKING HERE. This is an improvement upon the May 2009 offering of this resource through I-Proclaim.com, with a reduction in cost greater than 50% of its previous list price.

Available in Print

Although its separate components, Charles Spurgeon's A Puritan Catechism, Robert Murray McCheyne's Daily Bread, and the 1689 London Baptist Confession, will remain available as free e-Books on our SermonAudio site, A Puritan Family Devotional is now available as a paperback book. CLICK HERE or on the book cover to the left to purchase the 84-page paperback for only $7.77 through CreateSpace.com. You can also CLICK HERE to go to A Puritan Family Devotional weblog.

My Personal Devotion

"What is man that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor... O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:4-5, 9).

The greatest, most dreadful horror is to know God's holiness and not weep over our depravity; yet, even greater still, is to not weep over my depravity, my own sinfulness in the light of His glory and grace. Thank you, Lord, that I may weep, and still serve You. Thank you, Lord, that my tears fill this earthen vessel that houses this soul You have redeemed for Thyself and Thine own good pleasure. Thank you, Lord, for the blessedness of brokenness.

Summer Book Review

Trusting God:

Even When Life Hurts

Author: Jerry Bridges
Publisher: NAVPress
Copyright: 1988, 2008
Format: Paperback, 240 pgs.
ISBN: 1600063055
ISBN-13: 9781600063053

Anyone who has read the best-selling The Pursuit of Holiness will recognize the very familiar, plain-English style and sense of Jerry Bridges. In the 20th Anniversary paperback edition of Trusting God, Dr. Bridges takes the very deep and extremely important doctrine of God’s sovereignty and lays it out clearly, simply, and not only well within the grasp of the newest convert to Christ, but also presents it logically and thoughtfully so that the most mature theologian can appreciate this work and glean many great things from it.

In his Preface to the treatise, he writes, “The purpose of this book is twofold: First, I desire to glorify God by acknowledging His sovereignty and His goodness. Second, I desire to encourage God’s people by demonstrating from Scripture that God is in control of their lives, that He does indeed love them, and that He works out all the circumstances of their lives for their ultimate good” (pg. 9). In this, Jerry Bridges accomplishes his goals most triumphantly.

Trusting God is categorized as Christian Living or Spiritual Growth for the very good reason that its approach to the circumstances daily faced by the individual believer is both practical and personal. Yet, the truths that Dr. Bridges presents concerning the attributes of God, especially in His sovereign goodness, would make this book equally at home on the shelf in the Theology section.

Those whose theology tends toward an emphasis upon the free will of man will most certainly gain a better understanding of how Reformed thinkers generally view the blessedness of God’s sovereignty; and those of us whose theology stands firmly on the doctrines of grace will find a very compassionate presentation of this doctrine, which by God’s grace, may temper us away from a tendency to approach God’s sovereignty like the proverbial bull in a china shop, just because we see the urgent need to proclaim this truth in American pulpits today.

The doctrine of God’s sovereign grace is so neglected today that this book is a must-read for those who have never read it; and it is also a must-reread for those who have already read it too many years ago. Trusting God, and the sovereignty of God this book proclaims, is more culturally relevant today than it was twenty years ago during its first publication. Therefore, I highly commend the reading of Trusting God to anyone that has a desire to worship God more deeply and commune with Him more intimately.

The Sovereign Work of God

“The wind bloweth where it listeth…” (John 3:8).

“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

On Thursday evening, August 20th, I had very good reason to repent before God (and repent, I did). I attended a pastor’s fellowship held in Pulaski, Tennessee for the Sovereign Grace Baptist churches in the region (we have them about every other month), and I was telling a brother during our lunch break how God had ministered in our village of Scammon Bay, Alaska by my merely preaching Christ, and Him crucified. When I got home to Anniston that night after a three-hour drive, I wept before my God and Savior as I realized how full of myself I must have sounded; how full of filthy flesh I must have appeared to others, and especially before my Master; how pitifully prideful and haughty I must have been… to imply by my zeal and to suggest in my speech that God saved souls in bush Alaska because I had the wherewithal not to stoop to programs, methods, and gimmicks, but instead preached Christ, and Him crucified.

Now, we should preach Christ, and Him crucified. We should teach sound doctrine and make clear presentations rooted in good, God-glorifying Biblical truth. We should study carefully to plow straight furrows with the Word of God unto the hearing of all those souls that would receive the Lord’s truth. Yet, it is a sin to think that because I did so, God is obligated to add to the church, grow the flock, or do any other “amazing” thing. That we have the privilege to preach His Son incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again is an honor and privilege that none of us deserves, and yet, are allowed to do so by God’s amazing grace. In fact, it is also by His incredible mercy that we have that privilege because we are merely pathetic beings after all, wretched beings made a little lower than the angels, and our handling of the glory of His infinite truth is weak and feeble at best, for “…not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26).

We should also pray. We should earnestly seek the blessed favor of our Lord so that we may be nourished by His presence, encouraged by His abounding grace, strengthened by His enduring mercy, and uplifted by His infinite love. Yet, it is sheer folly to think that because I prayed earnestly that He would bring revival because I prayed so diligently; that I worshipped Him so earnestly; that the sincerity of my supplications, the piety of my petitions, or the thoroughness of my thanksgivings placed our sovereign and almighty God under any kind of obligation to act or respond apart from the counsel of His own will and blessedness of His good pleasure.

We should endeavor to be obedient to God’s Word and walk according to all the graces He lavishes upon us; yet, our zeal should not be without knowledge, and specifically, knowledge of just who it is we worship and serve.

We should ever keep in mind that it is all God’s work; it is His church; it is His glory; and what a blessed privilege it is to submit to His eternal will, plans, and purposes.

It is not in how much we labor for the Lord or in what specific way we labor before Him that marks our Christianity; but it is in our trust in Him and our faithfulness to Him in whatever He calls us to do, according to the truth of His Word.

Pastors: whether you minister to a small handful of souls on Sunday or several thousand souls throughout the week, you are responsible for the care, feeding, and nurture of every single one of them before God. What a tremendous responsibility for the care of just one soul! Lean upon Christ by the power of His Spirit and the Word of His truth. It requires the same spiritual power for few or many and we must trust the Lord implicitly for the results in either case. Faithfulness in the one instance is no different than faithfulness in the other.

Saints: in whatever you are called, and wherever He has placed you, rejoice that it is by God’s grace that you are there. Take comfort in the truth that He is in control of every circumstance for He is a sovereign God; and that He is working out every detail of your life, and of those around you, in order to conform you to the image of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.