Christian News from Around the World (7/9)

Youth Ministry and Performance Preaching - To mobilize this generation, the great and magnificent calling of every youth leader is to amaze their young people with God.


Dealing with Fear and Anxiety - Anxious and fearful people can easily slip into taking Scripture as a pill. Take one passage twice a day for two weeks and your symptoms will be gone. When the pill doesn’t work we have two choices.

Accuser and the Advocate - There is an Accuser. There is also an Advocate.

Farewell, NIV - This year many Christian schools finally dropped the NIV, and replaced it with something else.

Take some time to listen to this song, meaningfully crafted and worded.

"God can shape us in any way he pleases. He raised Moses in a palace in order to use him in a desert; he raised Joseph in a desert in order to use him in a palace." Ravi Zacharias

Snippets of News From Around the World (7/9)

Infographic: Why Is The Internet Ruled By Kittens & Bacon - Hope this answers the question.


A 300-Year-Old House Transformed Into A Minimalist Modern Home - Located in the ancient port city of Jaffa, Israel, the recently renovated property is a beautiful mix of the old and the new—known for their minimalist approach, the architectural firm has managed to keep the historical feel of the house without turning it into a time capsule.


Leonardo da Vinci: Facts & Biography - Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps most noted as an artist, was also an architect, inventor and chronicler of science, among other outlets for his talents.

Have Your Picture Taken With Hong Kong's (Smog-Free) Skyline - The novel solution appears after China's "Airpocalypse" in January and highlights, as the International Business Times points out, the "rapidly deteriorating air quality" in the country that has "stuck like smog on the minds of global travelers"

World’s Most Beautiful Trees Photography - Many beautiful trees :)

Kindle Deal (6/9)

Some kindle deals for today.

Twelve Ordinary Men ($2.24)

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Jesus chose ordinary men - fisherman, tax collectors, political zealots - and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from utter uselessness. MacArthur draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original twelve disciples for today's modern disciple - you.

A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life ($9.99) [yes, it's a bit expensive, but considering that it's about 1000+ pages in length, and usually retails at $20/30+. It's still a good deal to get.]

A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life offers a groundbreaking treatment of the Puritans’ teaching on most major Reformed doctrines, particularly those doctrines in which the Puritans made significant contributions. Since the late 1950s, nearly 150 Puritan authors and 700 Puritan titles have been reprinted and catalogued by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson in their 2006 collection of mini-biographies and book reviews, titled, Meet the Puritans. However, no work until now has gathered together the threads of their teaching into a unified tapestry of systematic theology.

A Puritan Theology, by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones, attempts to do that. The book addresses Puritan teachings on all six loci of theology, covering fifty areas of doctrine. The book explores Puritan teachings on biblical interpretation, God, predestination, providence, angels, sin, the covenants, the gospel, Christ, preparation for conversion, regeneration, coming to Christ, justification, adoption, church government, the Sabbath, preaching, baptism, heaven, hell, and many other topics. It ends with eight chapters that explore Puritan “theology in practice.” Some chapters highlight the work of a specific theologian such as William Perkins, William Ames, John Owen, Stephen Charnock, or Thomas Goodwin on a specific topic. Other chapters survey various authors on a particular subject. The goal of A Puritan Theology is to increase knowledge in the mind and godliness in the soul. It was written for theologians, historians, pastors, and educated laymen who seek to learn more about Puritan theology.

Christian News from Around the World (6/9)

Buying shares in God’s company - When 19 year-old Mark Zuckerberg approached his friend Joe Green to become a business partner of a nascent social networking company called TheFaceBook, Green declined.


Lead by Influence, not by Command - Command-and-control may work in certain scenarios, but for churches, that style of leadership generally doesn’t work.


Informal Mentoring - The greatest impact I have made as a teacher and a minister has been not through preaching to crowds or teaching classes, as vital as those are. It has been those individuals who have walked with me beyond the classroom or small group in normal, everyday life, talking about ministry and theology to be sure, but talking as well about living life for Christ.


Two Ways to Live (A review) - Heard of this evangelism tool? Click to the review to see how well this tool is.


The Merciless Permanence of the Internet - The internet is a place of merciless permanence, meaning that what goes online stays online, whether you want it to or not.

Seeing God in your Work - If you’re like me, you’ve often heard the saying that “work is a curse” as result of the fall in the Garden of Eden. That statement couldn’t be further from the truth.

"The longest journey in the life of one's

belief is from the head to the heart"

Quoted by Ravi Zacharias, in Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows

Snippets of News From Around the World (6/9)

What 1,000 Tiny, Fracking-Caused Earthquakes Can Do to a Home - What's fracking you might ask? Well read on.

Do Octopuses Feel Pain? - How much pain and distress can these relatively short-lived invertebrates experience?

An Artistic Collaboration With a 4-Year Old - When Mica Angela Hendricks, a professional illustrator, bought a new sketchbook, her young daughter ditched her own art supplies and wanted to contribute to her mothers work. The result is a charming combination of grown up perfection and youthful imagination.

10 Fascinating Skybridges - See what's on no. 1!

When three bookstores have a fight..... over twitter - See what happens....

Funniest reviews on Amazon - Some are really funny.

New 'Social Camera' That Makes It Easy To Take Pictures At Any Occasion - TheQ is a camera designed for easy shareability with friends, through social networks. With TheQ, your every photograph you snap can be easily edited with filters, touched-up and then shared on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr wirelessly.

Snippets of Christian News From Around the World (5/9)

Drafted: Why Chris Norman Said No to the NFL - A well-worthed 11-minute story of Michigan State linebacker Chris Norman.

Pray for the Forgotten Church in Syria - Why not pray for the church in Syria now?

The Preacher at his best - When is the Pastor at his best?

The Value of Knowing How God Saved You - I will venture to say that most Christians don’t know how God saved them. I don’t mean how God paid for their sins, but how he brought them to faith. That means many Christians miss out on the benefits of knowing this.


Stephen Charnock - This is a good write up on the puritan, Stephen Charnock.


Overcoming Objections to Evangelism - Our churches love to see conversions and hear the testimonies. But why don’t they want to share the gospel?

"People sometimes have the illusion that success is the tangible result from a plan or effort put to work, or some material gain accomplished through genius or expertise. I would answer that those things could bring the right kind of enjoyment, but only if you are undergirded by what is true and of ultimate value. Otherwise, if you are merely a pragmatist, success and possessions bring only the wrong kind of enjoyment."

 Ravi Zacharias

Snippets of News from Around the World (5/9)

Boy genius - Diagnosed with severe autism as a child, Barnett is now 15 and one of the world’s most promising physicists

Speed Bump - How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?

Period Table - What Would Happen If Every Element On The Periodic Table Came Into Contact Simultaneously?

KitKat - The next version of Android will be called KitKat, as in the Nestle chocolate wafers, and comes with a contest to win Android and Google Play swag.


The Perfect Nap - For a quick boost of alertness, experts say a 10-to-20-minute power nap is adequate for getting back to work in a pinch. For cognitive memory processing, however, a 60-minute nap may do more good...


POW Who Returned to Captivity - Capt Campbell wrote a letter to the German emperor begging to be allowed to go and see his mother, which the Kaiser allowed - as long as Capt Campbell gave his word that he would return.

The Life of A. W. Pink - Snippet (2)

Sharing some excellent writings by Pink:

Will do up a review on this book once I'm done with the book, about 100+ more pages to go.
Will also be posting some links to free A. W. Pink's books too in a few weeks time, so stay tune for some freebies on him.

If you haven't seen the first part, you can view it here.



Writing about Christian living:

The best of God's children (if there be any best!) are frequently affected with fits of unbelief and chillings of love. Today they find themselves earnestly proposing and resolving to do those things which are good, but tomorrow discover their zeal has somewhat abated, so uncertain and inconstant are their affection. Now hopeful, anon despondent, now singing God's praises, anon their harps upon the willows; now walking obediently in the path of the Divine precepts, anon straying in the path of the meadow. None differ so much from them as they often differ from themselves! Some will glorify God in one condition, but dishonour him in another. They may conduct themselves becomingly while God keeps them low, and then become fretful against him when they are exalted. On the contrary, others who tread softly in time of prosperity are filled with murmuring when the cold winds of adversity smite them. (Murray, 2004, p. 203)

Kindle Deals (5/9)

Theology in Community Series is have a great sale this week. They're currently going for $3.99 each and are only till 10 Sept, so do let them soon while you can.

Suffering and the Goodness of God (Theology in Community)
Suffering and the Goodness of God presents biblical truths concerning suffering and challenges believers to promote justice and to emulate God's grace as they minister to others. Famine. Sickness. Terrorist Attacks. Natural disasters. Each day horrific scenes of suffering are streamed before us through television, the Internet, and newspapers. Believers are taught that God is good, and they believe this truth. Yet when they are faced with suffering and hardships, the one question believers most often asked is, Why? Suffering and the Goodness of God brings insight to many contemporary concerns of suffering by outlining Old and New Testament truths and tackling difficult questions concerning God's sovereignty, human freedom, and the nature of evil. Suffering and the Goodness of God offers believers biblical truths concerning suffering and then challenges them to promote justice in the harsh, unsure world around them and to emulate God's grace as they minister to those who are suffering.


The Glory of God (Theology in Community)
Few topics are more crucial or central to the doctrine and daily life of a Christian than the glory of God. Despite its importance, however, few exhaustive books have been written on the subject. Andreas Köstenberger, Tremper Longman, Richard Gaffin, and other evangelical scholars and theologians have now collaborated to fill the void and help the church teach and protect this precious doctrine.

The Glory of God is the second volume in the Theology in Community series, which uses sound biblical doctrine to carefully examine important theological issues. While substantial in theological content, books in this series are widely accessible and coherent. In this volume, Köstenberger, Longman, Gaffin, and others guide readers through the glory of God in the Old and New Testaments and Johannine and Pauline literature. The doctrine is traced in historical theology, applied in pastoral theology, and fully delineated in a concluding systematic theology.

College seniors, pastors, seminarians, and educated laypersons will find this book enormously useful in their personal studies and ministries.

Snippets of Christian News from Around the World (4/9)

Must Every Christian Evangelize? - Does the Bible require every Christian to evangelize? How we answer this question will radically impact the shape of pastoral ministry and daily discipleship, so it’s imperative to answer it correctly.


The Forest and the Trees: An Aid in OT Interpretation - Now, we need to be sure that we interpret each passage on its own terms, according to its context, always in search of the intent of the original author. But keeping this grand narrative of redemptive history in mind and locating at what point in the story of redemption that a particular passage finds itself, can often help us understand why some more obscure (or at least, seemingly-removed) passages are in the Bible.

Preparing for the pulpit - How do you prepare for your preaching?


William Carey and Andrew Fuller - William Carey turned the tide of history with a simple, pleading question he posed to Andrew Fuller, his like-minded friend and fellow member of the Baptist fraternal of ministers who met at Nottingham in 1792.