John Newton on the Painful Process of Becoming Like Jesus

Just started reading John Newton’s letters again, and was struck by his spiritual insight.  In particular, Newton wrote three letters, describing the “manner of the Lord’s work in the hearts of his people”–basically describing the process of sanctification.  The second letter jumped out at me, primarily because Newton describes parts of my life so well!  Every Christian can relate at some level to the constant struggle with sin.  It seems that, sometimes, God gives us over to some sin, and Newton explains why.  I found his account quite compelling.

Luckily, Trinity Church (Myrtle Beach, SC), has put these three letters on-line!

John Newton on Christian Growth (Part 1) – Grace in the Blade

John Newton on Christian Growth (Part 2) – Grace in the Ear

John Newton on Christian Growth (Part 3) – The Full Corn in the Ear

Top Ten Myths of the Resurrection (Mike Licona)

Here are some links to videos from Dr. Mike Licona (which I promised my Greek 1 & Greek 2 students):

Top Ten Myths of the Resurrection (Myths 1-3)

The other videos can be found by scrolling through the Parchment & Pen blog from Credo House Ministries.

Your Church is Too Safe – Review

Your Church Is Too Safe: Why Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down by Mark Buchanan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mark Buchanan is fast becoming one of my favorite Christian authors.  His book, Spiritual Rhythm, was spiritual and pastoral prose of the highest order. Buchanan is clearly a gifted writer–honest, God-soaked and reveling in life, even in the dirt and filth of humanity.  But, Mark Buchanan knows a secret and he’s letting everyone in on it–the local Church is God’s plan for redeeming this dirty world!  This is the burden of his latest book, Your Church Is Too Safe. He urges us to come out of  our “Christian ghettos” and to assault the powers of darkness.  Buchanan is brutally honest about his struggles, his church’s struggles, and the weakness of so many churches. However, these pages also shine with stories of love, forgiveness, and transformation … vignettes of a marvelous drama unfolding in Pastor Mark’s church. Other churches are getting it as well, and are beginning to live dangerously. Read this book at your own risk! If you let the Biblical and practical wisdom of this book penetrate your defenses, you might find your life (and hopefully your church) turned upside down … which means it will actually be right-side up.

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(Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Zondervan book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.  You might question that, given how positive my reviews of recent Zondervan books have been.  Oh well.  Zondervan has just been publishing some remarkable books!  Kuddos to them.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.)