Bobspotted Blogroll: August 25, 2007

Before we jump in to the blog posts I’ve been spotting lately, let me remind you of Bob’s Blog Finds. In my sidebar you’ll notice that I show the last 10 posts I’ve shared from my blog reading. The posts I share there don’t always make it to these blogroll posts, but they are worth a read. You can subscribe to my blog finds, or view them all in one static webpage. Then again, you can just wait for my sporadic blogroll posts!

Oh, one more thing.  We still need 5 more guys for a fantasy football league.  The league is open to anyone who reads and enjoys this blog.  So please, join us for some football!

CALVINISM & ESCHATOLOGY

• Simple & excellent treatment of Jn. 6:63-65 showing Jesus taught regeneration precedes faith from John Hendryx of Reformation Theology.
• David Cloud’s comments on Calvinism answered by Gordan of the Reformed Mafia (see here for the previous posts in this series).
• Are Self Respecting Calvinists Really PreMillennialists?? Kim Riddlebarger responds to John MacArthur’s conference message, four months later

PERSEVERANCE, WARNINGS & THE GOSPEL

• The Cross and Obedience. Tony Reinke of The Shepherd’s Scrapbook writes on how the grace and obedience work together in daily life. Excellent.
• Essential reading on the warning passages from Expository Thoughts. Seriously this really explains why God would bother with the serious warning passages in Scripture, even though the elect are eternally secure. This is especially good in light of our man-centered Christianity series, where my next post will center on perseverance.
• Speaking of that series, you may be interested in two excellent posts on the relationship between the Gospel and the Kingdom (part 1 & part 2). The following posts by Nahtan Mihelis are thought provoking and reveal how shallow our understanding of the gospel really is in today’s culture.
• Living the gospel with your family always is difficult, but Tony at The Shepherd’s Scrapbook points out an excellent post on encouraging your kids. Its good reading.

BOOKS, READING & REVIEWS

• Free Online Books by John Piper. Desiring God’s blog points out that almost 30books are available to read online.
• Bob Kauflin has some excellent thoughts on reading.
• Brother Hank at LawN Gospel provides several excerpts from a wonderful book, Preaching & Biblical Theology by Edmund Clowney. These are worth a quick read.
• Great book review on a book I’d love to get (anyone want to send a free copy my way??): The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety: John Flavel’s Doctrine of Mystical Union with Christ by J. Stephen Yuille (review by Tony Reike of The Shepherds’s Scrapbook).
• The KJV Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? by James White — a book review by Ichabod. This is a good book, and a good summary.
• Alex Chediak reviews Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper. This is the book on missions, I list some of the many endorsements over on my missions blog.

ONLINE GOODIES

• Sovereign Grace Ministries has followed the lead of Desiring God, and now offers all their mp3 messages online for free download. Adrian Warnock, gives links to the many well known speakers included. Andy Naselli rounds up the links to all the messages and panel discussions from last years Together For the Gospel conference.
• Desiring God has several new conference videos available online (not to mention all the audio from their conference messages from the past several years).
• The ESV Bible Blog tells us about a great new online resource, BibleMap.Org.
• Vitamin Z tells us how to download a free Roby Seay Band album.
• Speaking of music, Christianity Today reviews Keith & Kristyn Getty’s new CD, In Christ Alone. (HT: Tim Challies)

COMICS & MOVIES & STUFF

• Koozy has a great political comic.
• What can Calvin & Hobbes teach us about the seriousness of Christianity? Read and find out (this is really good and touches on how marketing can cheapen the message of the gospel)!
• There is a new movie coming on the persecution of Intelligent Design theory.
• Dan Cruver of Eucatastrophe encourages us all to worship while we watch some great new DVDs of the beauty of God’s earth.
• Rick Phillips of Reformation 21 pointed me to a 2 part video tribute to CJ Mahaney’s testimony of grace and faithfulness. To view the videos, you can simply scroll down until you see videos in my sidebar. The 2 parts should be listed there. You can easily watch them right here.

LEGALISM & LIBERALISM

• Scott Kay continues his important series exploring the legalistic mindset.
• Meanwhile, C. Michael Patton shows why he is grateful for liberal Bible scholars. No, really, you should read his post, he makes some great points.

PRAYER

• The Big Orange Truck is back with a convicting post on fervency in prayer.

EVOLUTION

• Triablogue has a phenomenal post on the ever changing facts of evolution.

MOTHER TERESA

• There is some news about Mother Teresa and her inner struggles of doubt. The gut reaction for most conservative Christians, since they know Mother Teresa was most likely not trusting Jesus alone for salvation [HT: Pulpit Live], is to gloat about how confident we can be in Christ.
• I agree true Christianity does give a fullness of faith, but the Psalms teach us we will have our share of dark nights of the soul. Michael Spencer, the IMonk, courageously addresses this aspect of faith in light of Teresa.
• Ruth Tucker of Parchment & Pen reflecting on the impact this book will have due to the fame of Teresa writes:

“This book will reveal that there is a deep Christian spirituality that includes doubt and darkness and unbelief. There were times when Mother Teresa was tormented. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can come to terms with the belief and unbelief that coexists in our lives and know that we are not alone. Our prayer is simple: Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

SPORTS & MISCELLANY

• Vitamin Z wonders why there is such a hype over Michael Vick’s abuse of dogs. Not that abusing dogs is okay, but that often it is a bigger deal than killing humans, or aborting babies.
• Lastly, we must through out a belated Happy Birthday to Governor Mike Huckabee. His birthday was yesterday.