Mark Vroegop is pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, and he’s also author of the book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.
Mark has a sermon series on Lamentations called Dark Clouds Deep Mercy.
Sparrow Falls Ministry
Sparrow Falls is a ministry I recently started to provide biblical teaching and encouragement around the subject of suffering, brokenness, and pain. The Sparrow Falls podcast is at the heart of the ministry, which will include teaching, author interviews, and interviews with people who have experienced suffering. Ecclesiastes says it’s better to visit a house or mourning than a house of feasting, and this ministry intends to be a small taste of that.
Luther: In Real Time
Ligonier Ministries produced a wonderful podcast series called Luther: In Real Time. It’s a series of short 10-minute episodes that Follows Luther’s footsteps in his conflict with the Catholic Church and Pope Leo X. This is the story of Luther’s part in the Protestant Reformation.
The series is written by Douglas Bond and presented by Barry Cooper.
See more about this podcast series at Ligonier — Luther in Real Time >>>
For the Church Institute
MidWestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College have pulled their resources together to offer free online seminary-level courses for individuals and churches. It’s called the For the Church Institute, or FTC Institute for short.
The Institute is “a platform designed to provide accessible theological training to equip, encourage, and edify the local church and beyond.” Their motto is “Where theological education meets the local church.”
FTC Institute >>>
The Master’s Seminary Courses Online
The Master’s Seminary has been posting full seminary level courses online. This is a treasure of in depth resources for professional level clergy as well as the laity who want to develop in depth skills and biblical understanding.
Here are some of the courses that have been posted.
- Fundamentals of Expository Preaching
- Mechanics of Expository Preaching
- Theology
- Historical Theology
- Pastoral Counseling
- Apologetics and Evangelism
- Hermeneutics
- Marriage and Family Counseling
- Pastoral Leadership
- Old Testament Studies
- New Testament Studies
- Biblical Hebrew
- Issues in Christian Ethics
- Biblical Manhood & Womanhood
…and there are many other courses on particular books of the Bible.
The Master’s Seminary Courses on Youtube >>>
Here is an introduction to The Master’s Seminary
Ligonier Conference 2020, Right Now Counts Forever
Ligonier’s National Conference is available on YouTube. The conference title is “Right Now Counts Forever.”
With our glorious future in view, Christians do not have less of a stake in the present, but infinitely more. As R.C. Sproul so often reminded us, right now counts forever. On March 18–20, 2021, Ligonier Ministries hosted its 2021 National Conference, celebrating fifty years since the ministry’s founding. Sinclair Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, Joel Kim, Steven Lawson, John MacArthur, Stephen Nichols, Burk Parsons, and Derek Thomas considered the eternal significance of our everyday lives, equipping us to better serve the Lord, love our neighbors, and make Christ known.
From their website:
John MacArthur on the Benefits of Suffering for Christ
The world today is not the same world many of us grew up in. The coming years will likely see big falling away from the church as “Christians” won by a false gospel of prosperity and self-fulfillment will begin to abandon those churches promises and prophecies have been shown empty. The falling away will also be fueled by a rise of persecution against Christians in Western society.
In this message John MacArthur addresses the alien gospel that has taken hold of much of the church, and he clarifies what the true gospel of the Bible teaches. He warns us that our Western society is moving toward a greater intolerance, even hostility, toward those who hold biblical convictions. The Equality Act will lay the ground work for this. But we need not be discouraged or fearful, rather we should be excited that God has placed us here for such a time as this.
MacArthur directs us to the example of the Apostle Paul and the persistent sufferings he endured while faithfully serving Christ, serving the church, and advancing the Gospel. By Paul’s example, he encourages Christians, and particularly pastors and leaders, to have the courage to stand for biblical truth in this world of growing hostility.
Update on Jailed Pastor James Coates
Josh Buice on the G3 Podcast talks with wife of pastor James Coates who was arrested and jailed for holding church services in Edmonton, Alberta. There’s a lot of misinformation about Coates and this situation floating around. Whatever your position on whether this is persecution or merely civil disobedience, this is a valuable podcast to listen to.
Before his arrest Coates preached a sermon about his convictions on government overreach versus the God’s command to not forsake the gathering of the church.
By What Standard? Critical Race Theory and the SBC
In 2019 the Southern Baptist Convention voted to adopt Proposition 9 on Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. The proposition was brought to the convention and rushed through with little time for debate. Not only was this brought to the vote in a sketchy manner, it was really disingenuous given how challenging the subject matter is. How many of those voting members in that massive auditorium would even be able to define the terms Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality in any meaningful way? Without a healthy debate this was an emotional vote, not an informed vote.
By What Standard? is a documentary produced by Founders Ministries to reflect on this SBC vote and to provide the material that should have been considered and debated. Tom Ascol, Rod Martin, Josh Buice, Thomas Nettles, Voddie Baucham, Al Mohler, Summer White Jaeger, and others weigh in on the issues that are fracturing the Southern Baptist Convention.
It’s important for Christians to be informed about what Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality is so that we can understand what’s happening in our culture, address racial injustices in a Christian manner, and maintain the integrity of the Gospel and God’s Word.
You can also watch By What Standard? at the Founders website >>>
Dick Lucas Resources at St. Helens
St. Helen’s has built out a new resource library for their excellent sermons and other content. If you’re familiar with St. Helen’s Bishopsgate you’ll know they are known for excellence in their preaching and teaching. Behind this ethos is Dick Lucas who began preaching there is 1961. Dick has been one of my favorite preachers for quite some time, and I’m very excited to see this new resource library.
Faith by Hearing 