Faith by Hearing
Sanctifying the MP3 RevolutionArchive for By History
The Life and Ministry of C. H. Spurgeon
Phil Johnson gave a series of excellent addresses on the life and ministry of Charles Spurgeon. Johnson has become something of a Spurgeon expert while running the fabulous Spurgeon archive, and he has given us a tremendous gift in this series of messages. Johnson looks at various aspects of Spurgeon’s life, such as his conversion, his marriage, his gout, his theology, his ministry and his battles. Very interesting and edifying. Don’t miss these gems.
Phil delivered these messages in 2006 at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Rio Rico, Arizona.
The End of Secularism
Hunter Baker’s new book The End of Secularism is being hailed as a the sequel to Richard John Neuhaus’s classic, The Naked Public Square. Hunter Baker is interviewed on Moody’s Prime Time America.
Interview with Hunter Baker >>>
Justin Taylor has more information on this book on his blog Between Two Worlds.
Al Mohler on the Future of the Southern Baptist Convention
Al Mohler recently gave an address to the Southern Baptist Convention. The purpose of the message was to call the SBC to take action in how it must restructure itself for the future, or find itself obsolete. And the guidance for that restructuring must be to return to Biblical principles.
Mohler begins by narrating a lengthy history of the formation of the SBC, it’s initial purposes, and how it developed over the years to become the institution it is today. Being an life long SBC guy myself, Mohler’s reflection of his own young years in the SBC was somewhat like a trip down memory lane. And now that I’m older, in hindsight I see the motivation behind some of the madness I observed (remember the RA’s and Training Union?).
Mohler explains how the business model of General Motors influenced the structure of the SBC. He also compares the SBC to the philosophy of the mall in America, and how the decline of the mall and decline of GM both signal the imminent decline of the SBC if it does not rise to the challenge and make the necessary changes.
Fascinating address and urgent call to arms.
Remembering John Calvin Conference
The Andrew Fuller Center hosted a mini-conference in commemoration of John Calvin’s 500th birthday. This is one of many conferences this year that focus on John Calvin and his significant contribution to the church. This is John Calvin the real man, not John Calvin the straw man of popular criticism. How many other preachers in history have seen the attention that John Calvin is currently receiving? Sure, there is a danger of hero worship. But most of this attention is humbly provided and focused on the needs of the church today. Yes, the church can greatly benefit from appreciating the contribution of Calvin.
Martin Luther and the German Reformation
Carl Trueman spoke at the 2007 Reformation Heritage Conference at Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Georgia.
I must say I learned some big things about Luther, particularly regarding his view on transubstantiation in the Lord’s Supper. Trueman does a good job of putting it into context and then explaining how Luther was able to embrace this error.
If you have any interest in Luther or the circumstances surrounding the Reformation you will want to give these your attention.
American Reformation Heritage
Darryl Hart builds a case for rethinking our ecclesiology. Currently we have 3 kinds of churches: doctrinal, cultural, and pietists. Hart argues for a 4th category which he calls confessional. These were delivered in 2005 at the Reformation Heritage Conference.
Session One: “Where Are We Now?: An Evaluation of Reformed Christianity in America” Click Here
Session Two: “The Appeal & Disappointment of Evangelicalism: Is Reformed Christianity Evangelical?” Click Here
Session Three: “Putting the Reformation back in Reformed Christianity” Click Here
Foxes Book of Martyrs
Christian audio has this classic work available for free download for the month of May. Use the code MAY2009 during checkout to get this classic for free.
Sinclair Ferguson on the Puritans
Sinclair Ferguson delivered this lecture at the dedication to the opening of the Puritan Resource Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Ferguson has spent his life drinking from Puritan writings, and this message overflows with valuable observations that help us today.
The difference between a Puritan church and an evangelical, is that if you would ask the average evangelical how they would characterize their church they would say that we preach the Word of God from the pulpit. But for the Puritan, that doesn’t go far enough. The Puritan would demand that preaching would give a platform for the Word of God to go into the hearts and lives of the people. “There is a crying need for clear, discriminating, fundamental, simple yet profound, heart-searching, heart-warming, heart-illuminating preaching. What we don’t need today are more famous preachers. What we need today are more godly, educated, resident preachers.”
Further, Ferguson observes that what drove the Puritans was the glory of a triune God, and they work that out in the life of the believer. He also says that we can be so absorbed in our own experience, pursuing our own godliness so that we are frustrated in that pursuit because we have ignored the One who gives us godliness.
Fascinating lecture.
Puritan Theology
James O’Brien is pastor of Reedy River Presbyterian Church and an avid reader of the Puritans. He joins the Christ The Center team to talk about the Puritans and how we should read them. This is another one of those discussions where you will want pen and paper in hand to write down authors (many I’ve never heard of before), titles, websites and addresses. The Puritans were certainly a unique movement in the history of the church, and they have left an overwhelming wealth of material that we can benefit from. Discussions like this help one to navigate the Puritan sea.
Some of the discussion tackles the difficult aspect of some Puritan writing which often leaves true Christians in doubt of their salvation. O’Brien argues that much of this must be read with the audience in view, which was culturally religious and culturally pious, lacking true conversion.
Google Books and Archive.com carry a wealth of these Puritan books in digitized form, and they have both been added to the links on the Faith By Hearing site if you wish to check them out.
The Sony e-Reader would be a great tool for Puritan lovers as Google Books has recently made a deal with Sony to open up their archives of 600,000 books to the Sony e-Reader, and Google will soon have 1.5 million titles available. Kindle currently has under 300,000 titles. The difference is that Kindle carries newer books. Google’s titles are all old, public domain works, which is perfect for Church History and theology lovers. With Google Books you could have hundreds of Puritan books for your e-Reader, which has created the same easy-on-the-eyes screen that Amazon Kindle has. And the new Sony PRS-700 has touchscreen technology.
The Church Fathers
Michael Haykin, professor of church history at Southern Theological Baptist Seminary, joins the Christ the Center team to discuss the very unfamiliar subject of the Church Fathers. If you enjoy patristic studies you won’t want to miss this.
