The Church: Not Another Interest Group

How can evangelicals best influence the United States of America?

I submit that there is a better answer than the one that would be given by either Chris Matthews or Rush Limbaugh.

The greatest influence evangelical Christians can have upon American society and politics will not come by lobbying Washington, getting out the vote, or doing anything overtly political. The greatest influence evangelical Christians can have upon American society and politics will come through investing themselves in a local church where the gospel is proclaimed, where the Scriptures are faithfully taught, where people understand what regeneration is, and where church discipline draws a clear line between those who live as though they have been born again and those who do not (and when people don’t repent of sin, they live as though they are unregenerate).

At the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2006, I presented a paper entitled “The Church Militant and Her Warfare: We Are Not Another Interest Group.” That piece has now appeared in the latest issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.

My article can be accessed here, and the table of contents of the current issue, on the theme of “Church and State” can be accessed here.

Dr. Russell D. Moore writes:

The SBJT, edited by Southern Baptist theologian Stephen J. Wellum, is an excellent resource for pastors and church leaders. . . . You can (and should!) subscribe here.

You can read Dr. Moore’s essay here.

Danny Akin Tells the Story of Lottie Moon

If you haven’t heard it already, don’t wait any longer. Go download Danny Akin’s presentation of Lottie Moon’s life, which he preached in chapel at SEBTS on December 4, 2007.

May the Lord send out workers into the harvest!

Free Christian Audio Book of the Month: Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections

If you have never read Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections, here’s your chance to download the audio book for free. The folks at ChristianAudio write:

Use the coupon code: NOV2007 to receive the download format of Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections for free.  Simply add the download format of this product to your cart and enter the coupon code when prompted.

The Religious Affections is quite possibly one of the most important books ever written by America’s greatest theologian. Among the questions asked is, “What is the nature of true religion?” “What are the signs of a true revival?” and “How is the heart changed?” Edwards used his pulpit and his leadership of the Great Awakening to pen one of the most challenging and inquisitive books ever written.

Our Price: $0.00
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Local Church Seminar Audio Available

Baptist Church of the Redeemer recently hosted a seminar on The Local Church: God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship.

Thanks to the labors of some good brothers, the audio is available for the two sessions:

Session I: What Is The Church?

Session II: How Does the Church Militant Wage Her War?

Redeemer Institute Seminar on Saturday

This Saturday, November 10, from 9am to Noon, Baptist Church of the Redeemer will be hosting a Redeemer Institute Seminar on The Local Church: God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship.

Hope to see you there!

Pierced for Our Transgressions

It finally made it across the Atlantic.

Some time back there was, in Jonathan Leeman’s phrase, “quite a hullabaloo over the gospel.” That hullabaloo was largely occasioned by N. T. Wright’s response to Pierced for Our Transgressions, which has finally made it across the water and is now available from Crossway Books.

N. T. Wright may not like the book, but the significant scholars who provide 10 pages of endorsements attest to its quality and importance. If the significance of a doctrine can be measured by those endorsing a book defending that doctrine, this book on Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution is one of the most important books to be published in a long time.

The book has its own website,  where you can find links to ancient texts, sermons on the topic, and some great music.

Pierced for Our Transgressions unfolds the heart of the gospel. Those who love the gospel will praise God for this book.

Communion with the Triune God, ed. Kapic and Taylor: Another Suggestion for Pastors

When Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor’s edition of Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation came out, I suggested that pastors go through this slowly with others they serve with at church. The three of us doing this at Redeemer are still working through Overcoming Sin and Temptation (note the word slowly!–sometimes slower is better), but the book we’ll work through next is already out.

When we finish Overcoming Sin and Temptation, our plan is to charge forward into Communion with the Triune God by John Owen, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor.

I hope you’ll consider joining us on this journey of discipleship with John Owen. Thanks to Kapic and Taylor, we can all be discipled by the prince of the puritans!

Free Christian Audio Book: The Life of David Brainard

 From ChristianAudio.com:

Free Audiobook of the Month America’s greatest Theologian, Jonathan Edwards, had a heart for missions. And Edwards deeply respected David Brainerd, who gave his life for missions to Native Americans. The Life of David Brainerd is an inspiring tale of one of the most notable missionaries in American history.

Use the coupon code OCT2007 to receive the Download Format of The Life of David Brainerd

for free in the month of October.

Our Price: $0.00
List Price: $25.98

Great Sermons on 1 and 2 Timothy

My fellow elder Travis Cardwell has been preaching a great series of sermons on 1 and 2 Timothy. The brother broke his arm on Saturday, but that didn’t stop him from bringing the word in the power of the Spirit on Sunday.

As we heard this past Sunday, even though Paul was in prison, the word was not bound (2 Tim 2:9), and even if Travis has broken bones, the word can’t be broken (John 10:35)!

You can download the sermon, “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth,” here.

The Local Church: God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship

Dear Brother or Sister in Christ,

Is there a relationship between your local church and discipleship? I’m not asking about the discipleship program at your local church, I’m asking if God might mean for the church to be the discipleship program.

Is there a relationship between your local church and evangelism? Again, I’m not asking about the evangelism program(s) at your local church, I’m asking if God might mean for the church to be the evangelism program.

Is there a relationship between your local church and world missions? No surprise here: I’m not asking about how your church participates in missionary endeavors, rather, I’m asking if God might intend to reach those who have never heard through the planting of healthy churches on the mission field.

We would like to invite you to a Saturday morning seminar on “The Local Church: God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship.”

Jesus said that he would build his church, and we believe that the “program” he gave his disciples to use in their efforts to fulfill the great commission is The Local Church. If you are interested in thinking further about what this means for local church ministry, we invite you to join us on Saturday, November 10, 2007. Please see the attached flyer for details on when and where the seminar will be held (and how long it will last—we know you’re busy!).

We want maximum glory for God here in Houston, and we pray he will use us in hallowing his name and winning new worshipers for him. There is more work to be done in this city than any of our churches can individually accomplish. We want to come alongside you and join you in the pursuit of local church health. Just as great teammates make individual players better, so also our individual churches will be improved as church health spreads. What is good for the gospel is good for our local church. Each local church will thrive as other local churches flourish.

Would you prayerfully consider coming to this seminar to think with us about local church health?

That she might be without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,

Jim

Dr. Jim Hamilton
Preaching Elder,
Baptist Church of the Redeemer
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

 

For the glory of God, Baptist Church of the Redeemer seeks to obey Christ in the great commission task of making disciples by the power of the Spirit.

Redeemer

Institute Seminar

The Local Church:

God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship

Dr. Jim Hamilton
Asst. Prof. of Biblical Studies, SWBTS Houston
Elder, Baptist Church of the Redeemer

9:00 to 10:20am
1) What Is the Church?
Whose idea was the church?
Who do we let into the church?
Who should lead? (What is an elder, anyway?)
Who should serve? (Just what is a deacon?)
Who should be excluded? Why? (What does regenerate church membership mean?)
Does the church have any stated roles? (What is congregationalism?)
Where do we go for answers to these questions?
Can the church decide these issues for itself? (Does the Bible have anything to say?)
When is a church “apostate”? What keeps a church from being “apostate”?

10:30 to 11:50am
2) How Does the Church Militant Wage Her War?
Does Jesus care about any of this “church” stuff?
Did Jesus do “expository preaching”?
What if the leadership doesn’t teach the Bible? (Can formative discipline happen?)
What if the leadership won’t confront sin? (Can corrective discipline happen?)
What does it mean for the church to be God’s discipleship program?
What does it mean for the church to be God’s evangelism program?
Does this have anything to do with missions?
How should the church influence the culture? (Are we just another interest group?)
What difference does the church’s corporate witness make?

Date: Saturday, November 10, from 9am to noon
Place: FBC MC

For details, please see www.bcredeemer.org
Contact: Travis Cardwell (832) 655-2515, travis@bcredeemer.org