Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was one of the finest Bible expositors of the 20th Century. His books and recordings continue to bless the church and be an inspiration to preachers around the world though he died almost 30 years ago in 1981.

Terry Virgo recently blogged some personal memories of listening to the Doctor preach at Westminster Chapel. Everyone I’ve ever spoken with who had the privilege of hearing him in person has similar impressions to speak of. I encourage you CLICK HERE and read Terry Virgo’s post, and then maybe get some of MLJ’s recordings to listen for yourself, and every preacher should read his classic book “Preaching and Preachers“. (His 2 volume biography by Iain Murray is excellent also.)   Enjoy, Phil

Each Sunday we post a short classic piece from someone signally used by God down through the history of the church. Today we look to a classic sermon preached by Dwight L. Moody (1837-1889).

Qualifications for Soul Winning

by Dwight L. Moody

God had no children too weak, but a great many too strong to make use of. God stands in no need of our strength or wisdom, but of our ignorance, of our weakness; let us but give these to Him, and He can make use of us in winning souls.

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3.

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This video has been around for a while, but it’s well-worth posting it again here for anyone who hasn’t seen it. It’s an extraordinary challenge to Christians. This young man has uncommon clarity – he understands what a life consistent with a profession of faith in Christ must mean. Watch it:

Why don’t so many Christians get it so plainly?

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by Al Van Geersdaele   

What’s in a day?  Have you ever really thought about it?  What did we do with the time we were given by the Lord yesterday?  We all were allocated the same amount; 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds, and in that time we needed to take care of sleeping, working, eating, shopping, etc.  Oh yeah, and 150,000 people will have to take care of dying today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, well, you get the idea.  That boils down to about 104 per minute!   

What can WE do about it?  It is a shocking reality that most of those who went off into eternity yesterday went down the broad road to destruction.  We can’t stop the onward march of souls that perish, but we can do something about where they go to spend eternity when they perish.  We can follow the example of one the great evangelists in American history …   

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When I start talking about a ship called the R.M.S. Carpathia, a lot of people look at me blankly. “The Car.. what?”

Never heard of it.

On the other hand, if I say “Titanic” there is immediate recognition.  Probably the most famous, or infamous, ship in history. What if I told you that the story of the Titanic can never be fully told without talking about the Carpathia?

Come back with me to that fateful night when the Titanic, the ship that had been claimed “unsinkable”, went down in the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. April 14th, 1912 …

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This October, we’re challenging everyone at our church (First Assembly of God, Brookfield, CT.) to come on a thrilling, fulfilling, adventurous, dangerous, liberating campaign.  If you’re not a part of First Assembly, keep reading anyway because we challenge YOU to join us as well.  If you’re the leader of a church or other Christian group, why not bring your people along.

What’s it all about?

Every Christian knows that we have been commissioned by Jesus to go and preach the gospel as the main calling and priority of our lives (Matthew 28:18-20).  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit specifically to empower us for this one task (Acts 1:8).  And yet the percentage of professing Christians who actually share their faith on a regular basis is pitifully low.

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After a lengthy break we return to Dead Guy University. Sundays I post a short classic piece from someone signally used by God down through the history of the church. Today we’ll look to Oswald J. Smith (1889-1986).  

What follows is actually an extract from a longer, quite famous sermon Smith preached called “The Madhouse of the Universe”. It is a stunning read; an evangelistic sermon on the subject of hell. The imagery is vivid and compelling. If you enjoy the following insert, you can download the entire sermon from my download page.

Who Are the Insane?

by Oswald J. Smith

Now who are the insane? That is the important question; and I want to make four suggestions, if I may, so that you can decide whether or not you are insane:

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A lot of news coverage has been given to a church in Gainsville, Florida, that plans to publicly burn copies of the Qur’an on September 11th. The church’s leader, Pastor Terry Jones (Dove World Outreach Center), continues to defend this action against widespread criticism, saying that it will “send a message to radical Islam”.

Let’s put this in perspective for a moment, it was falsely reported that this is a “megachurch” when in reality Sunday morning attendance seems to be somewhere around 30 members. The truth is it’s a small independent church. 30 people should not be seen as being in any way reflecting the voice of 650 million Evangelical Christians worldwide. Again one has to question the media’s choices as to what is newsworthy.

Before I suggest why burning copies of the Qur’an is such a bad idea, let me make clear that this is not about Christians recognizing, or giving credence to, the Qur’an.

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On October 9th and 10th, Dr. Ravi Zacharias will be speaking at the annual Jonathan Edwards Forum in Wethersfield, CT, on the topic of “Christ, Christianity, and the Culture of our Time.” The sessions begin at 7:00 PM at the First Church of Christ.

This is a great opportunity for local friends to hear Dr. Zacharias. We’re planning on taking a group from our church down on the Saturday evening. Admission is free, but space is limited, so I’d like to call ahead and make sure we’ll be able to get seats.  If you’re interested in joining us, leave a comment here or give me a call / email.

Folks who were with us for Study Hall on Wednesday nights earlier this year will remember the excellent series “Deliver Us from Evil” which featured the teaching of Dr. Zacharias.

Phil

I’ve been reading Francis Chan’s book “Crazy Love”. In the opening chapter he directs readers to watch this short video on the web. Absolutely amazing.

Understand this – God created this Universe. He holds it in the palm of His hand.

As I watched the video I was reminded of some words of Charles Spurgeon. When he was just 21 years old he opened a sermon on the Immutability of God with the following words …

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This Sunday, May 30th, at our 10.45am service, First Assembly will be hosting a very special event for Memorial Day. We invite all veterans and current members of any branch of the military and also public service forces (Police, Fire, EMS, etc) to join us as our honored guests.

Our Special Guest speaker for the morning, Col. Joseph Batluck (US Army, Ret.), spoke to the News Times last week and said, “I am going to be calling the people to service as Americans, as patriots, and in service of God.”

Our own Bill Kanych will also be speaking. Bill is a Yonkers, NY, Rescue Firefighter who was injured in the line of duty late last year when he and two fellow firefighters had to leap from the third storey of a burning building. One of his partners was tragically killed, and the other also badly injured. Bill’s story is of God’s great faithfulness through a harrowing time.

I want to encourage all the First Assembly church family to do 3 things this week:

1. Pray for this event, especially for those who will be speaking and participating in other ways.

2. Invite a friend. (Offer to pick them up and bring them!) All are warmly welcome, and we will be especially acknowledging all who have served in the various services.

3. Come early and get to service ahead of time and be seated before 10.45am. The service will start with a great opening that you don’t want to miss.

See you there!

Phil

Iranian President Ahmadinejad told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ that his country will “definitely continue on its path” with its nuclear program despite Israeli threats of military force. “They’re finished. The Zionist regime is finished. They can’t even manage Gaza, so they want to get into a conflict with us?” he said.

The reckless contempt the Iranian President shows toward Israel seems to grow by the day. If recent regional history teaches us anything it is that an Arab leader (Sadam Hussein the most recent example) has been very willing to employ a strategy of trying to provoke Israel into a military strike knowing that such action in turn would unite the Arab world against them. The agenda of radical Islam is the annihilation of Israel.

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World news services are carrying reports that a joint team of Chinese and Turkish explorers have discovered, successfully excavated and ventured inside a large wooden structure at an elevation of more than 4,000m on Mount Ararat.

Every few years we’ve heard about different groups setting off on expeditions to try and find Noah’s Ark, but these latest reports are quite extraordinary.  Working from previous reports and stories, this team have been at work for 2 years, and claim to have not only found the structure, but have photographs and video from inside it.

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I became acquainted with Martin Murphy recently through a couple of online exchanges, including comments he left right here on this blog. Martin has more than 20 years experience as a pastor and teacher, and holds degrees in Bible and Divinity from Columbia and Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife live in South Alabama.

Not every competent pastor or seminary graduate can write. Martin can!

I bought a copy of his new book “The Essence of Christian Doctrine”, and as I started to leaf through it I was immediately struck by it’s style. It does not pretend to be a magnum opus on systematic theology. (We probably have enough of those.)  It is clearly written for a more popular audience, bringing a good summary of sound Christian doctrine in a thoroughly engaging and readable style.

This book would be a great introduction to theological reading for any young person, and it would make an excellent small group Bible Study curriculum. The seasoned pastor will find immensely helpful material here in preparing to preach doctrine in terms that a whole congregation can grasp quickly.

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