Michael Reeves: Notes from Shepherds’ Conference 2017

 

John 1:1-3 

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 1:1–3.

Dr. Michael Reeves gave a phenomenal message today at Shepherds’ Conference 2017. Some of the key exhilarating truths that lifted my soul were the titles of Christ: the eternal Word and the eternal Son.  The Word shows the position of Christ.  He is ontologically equal with the Father.  The Son shows the unique relationship He has with the Father.  As for the Word, He created the world.  This is Christ’s world. Secular thinking is acidic to this thinking. The heavens can’t help but to exalt Christ because they are His craftsmanship. Instead of having wandering minds, our mind is harnessed when we depend upon God.

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Review: Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature: An Exegetical Handbook

Richard Taylor. Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature: An Exegetical Handbook.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, July 27^th, 2016. 208 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This book is part of the Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis series published by Kregel Publications.  Previously I have enjoyed the work on interpreting Old Testament historical books by Robert Chisholm very much and was looking forward to this volume largely because of it.  I was also excited for this volume since apocalytpic literary forms is one of the hardest to interpret in the Old Testament and as a preacher it would be helpful to think through critically and be equipped in handling passages of Scripture like the book of Daniel.

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Most Awkward Moment in Oscar’s History And Why I Appreciate the Truth of God’s Word

I’m not a guy that would watch the Oscars and personally I could care less since most of Hollywood elites seems to be in la-la land.  The host this year was also Jimmy Kimmel which I personally think is an example of a fool with jokes that’s not funny, cheap laughs and too frequently down right mean. But my phone last night got an usually rare news notification concerning the most awkward moment in Oscar’s history which as many of you know, was about the mistake in the announcement of who got the award of Best Picture.

Seeing this made me think about how I’m grateful that the Bible is without error or mistake.  It is God’s Word and is always true.  The Bible is inerrant.  If you want to learn more check out the Inerrancy Summit Seminar Sessions Audios and also my Series of posts responding to attack on Biblical Inerrancy.

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Brother Walter’s Writings (E-Books)

This Monday will be the International Symposium for the The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) which is involved with training Pastors and Bible teachers overseas.  Every year they have the International Symposium the Monday before the week of Shepherd’s Conference and there’s believers from several dozen countries present.

One of the tables will feature works and ministry of Brother Walter.

We are hosting the Word Document to his E-Books on our blog.  There’s three titles: Christian Epistemology, Humanism, and Doctrine of Grace.  I have also included in this post the table of contents so people could have a better idea of what’s in these E-books.

If you are dropping by from the International Symposium drop us a comment!

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Free: Christian Apologetics Manual on Islam by Cornelius

 

If you are looking for a resource on Christian apologetics concerning Islam we are now hosting a manual on Islam written by a Christian name Cornelius.

It is 220 pages long.

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The Gospel In Arabic by Paul Washer

Every I’m going to try to post Gospel presentation in various languages.  I see that there are hits on our blog from many countries and this would be an opportunity to preach the Gospel.

Here’s the Gospel presentation in Arabic by Paul Washer.  There’s six videos in this series.

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Bible Contradiction? What did the Centurion call Jesus when he died?

Today’s post will tackle another question that the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: What did the Centurion call Jesus when he died?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

The Son of God.

When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)

Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

A righteous man.

Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
(Luke 23:47)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Jeff Durbin: Does Atheistic Morality Make Sense?

Jeff Durbin is a pastor in Arizona who is also a Christian who engages actively in evangelism and apologetics.

Here he takes on the question “Does Atheistic Morality Make Sense?”

Here’s a taste of Presuppositional apologetics.

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Presuppositional Apologetics’ Round Up: Third Week of February 2017

Here are the links related to Presuppositional apologetics gathered between February 15th-21st, 2017.

1.) Christian Philosophy And Presuppositions Examine Buddhism – New Book

2.) Cornelius Van Til quote: Knowledge by Authority

3.) Discussion Guide: The Ultimate Proof of Creation Chapter 3

4.) Van Til’s enduring value

5.) Christian Worldview Apologetics: an overview 

6.) What Are Worldviews? Why Do Worldviews Matter? How Does One Change Worldviews?

What’s more certain: God or my hands?

7.) Logical Beliefs Ministries Podcast 0061: The Naturalistic Fallacy and an attack on Presuppositional Apologetics

 

Missed the last round up?  Check out the re-blogged post from a friend OR that of Another REBLOG HERE

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Bad Theology Doesn’t Matter, So Long as there are Miracles?

Last December I posted a review of audio book by Eric Metaxas titled Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life among other audio book reviews here.  I have also posted my review on Amazon and yesterday I got an email of the following comment concerning my criticism that Metaxas could have been more theologically discerning.  Here’s the comment left on my Amazon review:

Keep in mind that the Bible supports the idea that people with bad theology can still do miracles. The Apostle Paul talks of people who do miracles for their own glory yet Christ is still preached so he is ok with it. (Phil 1:15-18)

So it doesn’t matter if people with bad theology do miracles… so long as the Name is glorified.

Is it true that “it doesn’t matter if people with bad theology do miracles?”

Here’s my response:

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Review: Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 1: Rise of the Batmen

 

Sometimes even Pastors need a break from heavy theological reading…hence this review.

If you enjoyed this review you also might want to check out my Review and Christian Reflections of my favorite works on Batman.

James Tynion IV.  Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 1: Rise of the Batmen. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, February 14^th, 2017. 128 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

From what little I know about DC Comics I believe their “Detective Comics” series is the longest series in comic book history and that’s largely due to the character Batman.  This is volume one of Detective Comics as part of DC Comics’ relaunched called “Rebirth” that started in 2016.  I’m still quite the rookie when it comes to Batman and this is the first Batman I read in the Detective Comics series and thus far I’m enjoying it.

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Is Justification by Faith Taught in the Old Testament? Part I: Abraham was Justified by Faith

Is Justification by Faith Taught in the Old Testament?

Justification is the act of God declaring a sinner righteous before Him.

But first why is this question important:

This question is important if one believes in the continuity between the Old and the New Testament.

This question is also important if one believes that Christianity has its root in the Jewish Scripture.

Moreover if you love the truth that God has justified sinners by faith, you will appreciate that this was always God’s intention.

This is also helpful for Jewish evangelism and apologetics to the Jews.

It is useful for doctrinal apologetics of Christianity.

I have found Paul in Romans 4 to be quite insightful of his argument from the Old Testament in which he argues and defends the thesis that the doctrine of justification by faith has Old Testament roots.

For this post we will look at Abraham in Genesis.  Specifically we will look at Paul’s argument concerning Abraham and you will notice in Romans 4 that Paul’s argument was faithful to the context of Genesis.

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Review: Rough Riders by Mark Lee Gardner

Mark Lee Gardner.  Rough Riders. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, May 10^th, 2016. 336 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This was quite a fun read.  The author Mark Gardner gives us a fast paced account of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous Army volunteer unit nicknamed the Rough Riders that fought during the Spanish American War.  The book was not just only about Teddy Roosevelt; it was also about the men who comprised the unit.

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Discussion Guide: The Ultimate Proof of Creation Chapter 3

As I’m going over this with a group of guys from my church I thought the following questions might be helpful for individuals and small groups to facilitate discussions and learning based upon the apologetics’ book “Ultimate Proof of Creation” by Jason Lisle.  It is a book that teaches Presuppositional apologetics that engages apologetics at the level of worldview.  Cornelius Van Til was instrumental in beginning this form of apologetics and others have developed and applied it.

For discussion questions for previous chapters click on the following:

Introduction and Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The questions in this post will be for chapter 3 of the book.

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President’s Day Weekend Review: Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

I haven’t been able to post weekend book reviews of Nonfictions in a while so here is one!  Why is this posted?  Because Pastors need a break from heavy theological readings too.

James M. McPherson.  Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief. New York, NY: The Penguin Press, October 7^th, 2008. 329 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

The author James McPherson is a distinguished Civil War historian and author of books on the topic of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.  In this book he narrows his focus to Abraham Lincoln as the military leader of the Union in terms of the Constitutionally given role of Commander in Chief.  In the beginning of the book McPherson made the point that while there are many books about Abraham Lincoln as a politician and there are many books on the military dimension of the Civil War yet surprisingly there’s not that much discussion of Lincoln as the Civilian commander of the military.  Certainly this book makes an important contribution.

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