“A Personal Liturgy of Confession” (David Powlison)

David Powlison with another always insight article, this time on the subject of confession of sin to God. He walks us through a liturgy of confession.

“How Could God Command Genocide in the Old Testament?” (Justin Taylor)

That’s an important question. Here’s Justin Taylor’s explanation of what he sees in Scripture.

“Churches Torched in Egypt” (Christian Today)

Read this article and pray for Christians suffering under persecution in Egypt.

“Top 10 Reasons Our Kids Leave Church” (Marc)

Every godly Christian wants to see the next generation embrace the gospel. Mark at 5solas helps us think through where the church can grow in its ministry to young people.

“Lecrae Raps the Gospel in One Minute“ (Desiring God)

Listen to this great summary of what the gospel is in the form of a rap you will like if you are breathing.

“Three Kinds of Accusation” (Doug Wilson)

Some helpful reflections on how our liberation from guilt, shame, and fear in the gospel transforms our relationships.

“Generic Prayer Request Generator” (Zach Nielsen)

Just in case you need some help with prayer.

“How To Stop Church-Killing Gossip“ (Justin Taylor)

Why are we enticed to gossip and why is it so damaging?

“Piper, Carson, and Keller on Sustaining the Covenant of Marital Love“ (Collin Hansen)

A short video trying to answer: “What sustains the marital bond and affections over the long haul?”

This is the first of two posts introducing you to this year’s speakers for Clarus. First up is Timothy Lane.

Before some details on his background, here’s a video to more personally acquaint you with Tim’s care for people, his clarity of insight into human relationships, and the centrality of the Word in his understanding of how we grow together.

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

If you didn’t catch it, here’s a great quote from the last part of this video:

“The Bible is a two edged sword. It enables and even pushes you to admit how deeply self centered you are, and that’s one of the reasons [people] don’t like the Bible. And at the same time is shows you a God who is committed to rescue you from your own self-centeredness.That right there is what is utterly unique about the Christian message.”

Timothy Lane is a choice speaker for our theme, One-Anothering the Word. He is President and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) and has been counseling for more than 25 years. He has previous experience in both campus and pastoral ministry, including serving at Clemson Presbyterian Church in Clemson, South Carolina for ten years before coming to CCEF.

Tim is an Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and teaches at other seminaries throughout the country.

Tim co-authored the books How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making with Paul Tripp. He has also the author of several mini-books including Conflict: A Redemptive Opportunity, Family Feuds, Temptation: Fighting the Urge, Sex Before Marriage, andFreedom from Guilt. Tim writes regularly for the CCEF Blog and CCEF’s Journal of Biblical Counseling. Many of these resources are available at the Resource Center.

Tim lives in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania with his wife, Barbara. They have two children in college and two in high school.

For more information, or to register for Clarus, visit clarusabq.com.

One of our purposes on this blog is to point out some of the better resources around the web in a given week. The Link List is a new way of getting that done. Here’s the first installment!

“Advice For Parenting Young Kids” (Steve McCoy)

A pastor from Illinois and father of four shares some wise counsel for parents of young children.

“Do You Know Your Neighbors’ Names?” (Justin Taylor)

Are you eager to do something big and evangelistic? Here’s an idea.

“How’s Your Bible Reading Going?” (Ryan Kelly)

Why is it hard for me to read my Bible? Ryan Kelly offers a few suggestions for why we struggle with Bible reading and offers help for pursuing God through his Word.

“What is Church Membership?” (9Marks Ministries)

DSC’s Membership Class, Knowing Christ, Knowing the Church, began this past week. Be in prayer for those taking the class, and consider the wisdom of God’s plan to redeem people to himself for a people for his name.

“Confessions from a New Mom’s Devotional Life” (Sharon Miller)

A new mom reflects on how the pressures of parenting impact how she approaches Bible reading.

“Happy 100th Birthday, Mrs. Parks,” Justin Taylor

Here’s a nice write up by Justin Taylor about the story of Civil Rights heroine, Rosa Parks.

One of Paul Tripp’s many books is a book about words: War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles. For as much as we use words, we don’t think about how we use them nearly enough. But, as James reminds us, the tongue is a restless evil (3:8), yet God has given it to us that we might bless him with it and give grace to others.

Here’s a short video of Paul Tripp speaking about how we can use our words to speak truth in love.

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

Paul Tripp is speaking at Desert Springs Church at Clarus, from March 8-10. Visit the Clarus site to learn more about Paul Tripp and to register.

Last night, Ryan preached a sermon from Ezekiel 16 titled, “God’s Initiative and Persistency in Love and Mercy.”

If Ezekiel 16 peaked your interest last night, here’s another idea: read an old sermon on the same text by Charles Spurgeon, titled, “Ezekiel’s Deserted Infant.”

Here’s a link to Spurgeon’s sermon, and here’s his outline:

I. At the outset, I shall direct your contemplations to a survey of the misery of man’s estate.

1. At the very first glance, we remark, here is an early ruin.
2. The next very apparent teaching of the text is utter inability.
3. Apparent, too, is yet a third misfortune—we are utterly friendless.
4. Furthermore, our text very clearly reveals to us that we are by nature in a sad state of exposure.
5. It seems that this child, besides being in this exposed state, was loathsome.
6. We close this fearful description by observing the certain ruin to which this infant was exposed, as setting forth the sure destruction of every man if Divine Grace prevents not.

II. We are now to search for motives for God’s grace.

1. One of the first would be, necessity.
2. In this case, there was nothing in the birth of this child, in its original parentage, that could move the passerby.
3. Nor was there anything in this child’s beauty, for it was loathsome.
4. Furthermore, as we have found no motive yet, either in necessity or the child’s birth or beauty, so we find none in any entreaties that were uttered by this child.
5. Yet, further, Brothers and Sisters—it does not appear that the pity of the passerby was shown upon this child because of any future service which was expected of it.

III. But now, we turn to consider the mandate of his mercy.

1. This fiat of God is majestic.
2. This fiat is manifold as well as majestic.
3. It is, moreover, spiritual life.
4. It is an irresistible voice.