Bradley On The Problem Of Smothered Sons

I found this article by Anthony Bradley to be very helpful about the problems that develop when mothers smother their sons because of problems they have with their husbands.

On Listening To Sermons: Modern American Evangelicals

The current stasis of my sermon listening history consists of a variety of American preachers mostly. These men are typically Reformed and expository, something that I typically look for, although I listen to William Willamon, a Methodist from time to time. I know, I need to repent: Forgive Calvin for I know not what I do! Nevertheless, I thought that I would include a brief list of American preachers I currently listen to on a somewhat regular basis.

Mark Driscoll is a regular on my iPod. I began listening to him because I wanted to hear a man who is being used of God to reach people in one of the most unchurched cities in America, Seattle. Driscoll is funny, clear, and he is by no means afraid to say what the text says regardless of the response to it. My wife commented that she admires that he preaches expository sermons in Seattle, from sometimes up to an hour and a half per sermon without loosing your attention. I agree. Regardless of what people think of him personally, Driscoll loves Jesus and preaches the Bible as faithful as he can.

Tom Nelson is a regular download for me. I knew of him from the Song of Songs conferences he does on marriage, but I never knew that he was a pastor until Brain Payne, my preaching professor, said he was one of his favorite preachers. I started listening to him when he began his series on Romans. They have been very helpful.

Tim Keller is a preacher I try to listen to as much as possible. He is preaching to people in the middle of New York City and people actually come. Keller's preaching has been an answer to prayer for me. Early on in my Christian life, I struggled with wanting to preach so that both believers and unbelievers would be affected by the message. But my problem was I didn't know how to do that. I really struggled with trying how to figure out how this could be done, or even, if it should be done. There were a lot of people in some circles who were saying, "Sunday is for preaching to the saved." I believed that to be true to some extent, but I still didn't know what to do about the presence of unbelievers in the congregation and their need to hear the gospel. By the grace of God, Keller has attempted to show that both saved and unbelievers can be preached to at the same time, because they both need to believe in the gospel.

Don Carson is a current favorite of mine. Although he is a New Testament scholar, he was once a pastor and he has a deep concern for pastoral things. I began reading his books right before I started going to Boyce. Carson was invited to give a series of lectures at Southern at the time and so I was able to listen to him at that time. I bought his sermon on Galatians 2 delivered at that time and I wore it out in my tape player in my truck. His insights are a tremendous help.

I could probably name many others at time this. I attempt to listen to sermons from all sorts of Bible-believing men and not just the popular conference speakers. In fact, I listen to sermons from some of my fellow students at Southern if I find them on-line. I am deeply grateful to God for what he is doing in the lives of these young men and I pray that it continues.

In conclusion, I listen to sermons because I need to. God meets his people in a special way through the preaching of the Word. I hope that those who have helped me may also help you.

On Listening To Sermons: The Scottish Reformation

I am probably a lot like you, if someone speaks with a British or Scottish accent, I immediately think that they are worth listening to. This is probably not true, but it is how I often operate. With that in mind, after the Piper influenced reformation in my sermon listening history, I came to experience a Scottish reformation of sorts.

I found out about the preaching ministry of Alistair Begg from someone I went to church with. They said something about this Scottish guy on the radio, and so I tuned in. Begg was expository, clear, passionate, and even witty at times. Corey and I, along with our now wives, were able to hear the man preach at his church in Cleveland. We were all on a trip in D. C. and we decided to take a long detour up to Cleveland to hear him preach. It was one of the best sermons I have ever heard. For one, it was out of Ecclesiastes, which is not a book you hear preached much. In addition to this, it was clear, powerful, and Begg appeared to be a very humble man, doing his service for the church and leaving the platform quietly. I have on my iPod, at this moment, numerous sermons by him, and with the exception of Piper, I have listened to no one else as much.

Eric Alexander is probably the other important Scot during this period. I heard Alexander while I was a student at Boyce College. He was invited by Dr. Mohler to preach in chapel. He preached on Acts 4:23-31 on the sovereignty of God. His preaching was very powerful and I eventually drove a hour and a half once to hear him preach again. I bought the sermons recorded during his time at Southern, but that was all the sermons I had from him. I was very happy when I found some more of his sermons at sermonaudio.com.

Recenly, Sinclair Furegson has been a regular on my iPod of late. What I love about this Scot, is that he preaches Christ from the Old Testament in a faithful way. I try to download all the sermons I can that he has preached on the Old Testament precisely for this reason. In addition to this, his sermons are grace-centered sermons. Furegson cannot be accused of making moral demands in his sermons apart from explaining what God has done first. He is quickly becoming a important model for me.

Francis Schaeffer On Evangelism And Boycotting Culture

I would recommend the entire post on the subject of what Christians are to do about the anti-Christian themes in the movie, "The Golden Compass." The post is balanced and wise. However, I wanted to highlight a quote from Francis Schaeffer about witnessing to people who express their disdain for the Christian faith within culture.

From the book, The God Who Is There:

These paintings, these poems, and these demonstrations which we have been talking about are the expression of men who are struggling with their appalling lostness. Dare we laugh at such things? Dare we feel superior when we view their tortured expressions in their art? Christians should stop laughing and take such men seriously. Then we shall have the right to speak again to our generation. These men are dying while they live; yet where is our compassion for them? There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.

On Listening To Sermons: The Reformation

As I have mentioned previously, sermon listening has been a vital source of spiritual nourishment for me. During the "middle ages" of my Christian experience, I listened to Reformed expositors. Most of the men that I discovered during that time, I still listen to today. However, a "reformation" of sorts came about around the end of my fourth year as a disciple of Jesus.


The reformation was sparked by the preaching of John Piper. It was a reformation for a couple of reasons. First, in my early years, I believed that preaching should be passionate, and even expressive at times. I mean, after all, a minister is preaching the Word of the Eternal God. However, during the "middle ages", I came to believe that to be a true expositor meant you should be monotone. This was not the fault of any of the faithful men that I listened to. It was my own fault, period. Why I came to believe this, is really beyond me.

In addition to this, during this period, I went through the "Ephesus syndrome", as I like to call it. That is, I had orthodoxy, but my heart was cold towards God. I had, like the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7, been able to snuff out false doctrine, but I left my first love, Jesus. Piper awakened me to this disease, and for that, I thank God for his ministry.

Now I know that emotion/passion is a tricky subject. Some people are by nature, a bit quiet. Some people by nature are a bit expressive. Just because someone is more expressive about his preaching, does not mean he is more faithful. In addition to this, just because someone is a bit more reserved in their expressions, does not mean that they are not passionate about God's Word. These types of debates were not the issue for me. I grew up in a more charismatic church, and I knew, from first hand experience, that outward expressions did not always reveal an inward disposition.

However, the discovery of Piper was still a reformation for me. As all of the bloggers on this site like to say, "That white boy can preach!" Piper is Reformed, and yet, he is expressive and passionate when he speaks. This is just how he is. But it was refreshing to me. When I began reading his book on preaching, he made it clear that he thought boring preaching was sinful. I needed to hear that when I did, I came to believe that boring preaching was godly.

I digested Piper's sermons for two big reasons: they were expository and there was a sense of gravity to his preaching. When I listened to him, and I still do today, I felt the weight of what he said. To be honest, I have listened to his sermons more so than probably anyone else. He came at an important time in my life and his preaching has shaped me immensely.

On Listening To Sermons: My Middle Ages

By the grace of God, I have been a Christian for nearly ten years. As I mentioned in a previous post, listening to sermons has helped to shape my Christian life. For the first three years after I became a Christian, I listened mostly to Herb Reavis and Martyn Lloyd Jones. During the "middle ages" of my journey, I began listening to others.

At some point around this time, I began preaching a bit myself. As I preached, people would tell me that I sounded like so and so. It may have been pride, vanity, or both, but I decided I didn't want to sound exactly like anyone, although I would never deny I was greatly influenced by certain people. As a result, I began listening to sermons by a hand full of people.

By a providential accident, I found the radio program of R. C. Sproul on a local radio station. Many of the radio broadcasts are sermons or teaching sessions that he does in his church. I cut much of my theological teeth on this man's instruction. I still download his podcast on a regular basis to listen to what he has to say. However, through his ministry, I was introduced to other preachers that have been a great source of instruction.

One such preacher was the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice. Boice was a Reformed expositor that I would listen to on-line. I remember listening to various sermons on the Psalms and being impressed by how he handled the text. He was a very clear preacher and one who was easy to follow. This is something that I still admire about him.

John MacArthur's sermons where also important during those middle years for me. MacArthur's slow pace through the text reminded me of Lloyd Jones, who he admits is a preaching hero for him. I became friends with my blog mate Corey around this time, who was also a student of MacArthur. For a period of time, I was able to listen to him on a local radio station and eventually on-line. To this day, I still listen MacArthur via podcasts.

The "middle ages" of my sermon listening experience were characterized typically by two criteria: Reformed and Expository. In addition to this, I would say that during this time, I began listening to a rotation of preachers. I was not listening to all the sermons I could by Boice or MacArthur or someone else, but I was listening to collection of them. Although I get on "kicks" from time to time, I still employ a rotation of ministers when I listen to sermons.

For the preacher, I would recommend a rotation of preachers. The reason is simple: God has given you abilities that others do not have. It is better to sound like yourself than to sound like someone else when you deliver a sermon. Learn what you can from the best in the discipline, but be yourself when speak to your people. Tim Keller once said, “When you listen and read one thinker, you become a clone… two thinkers, you become confused… ten thinkers, you’ll begin developing your own voice… two or three hundred thinkers, you become wise and develop your voice.”

On Listening To Sermons: My Early Preaching Fathers

I became a Christian went I was 19. After my conversion, I found a deep love for the Bible that could only be explained by the grace of God now found in my life. In addition to this, I felt as if I had wasted many years that could have been used for Bible study. As a result, I attempted to "make up for lost time" and so, I began listening to sermon tapes of the man who was my pastor at the time. Since I spent a lot of time in traveling from place to place, I would listen to one of his sermons wherever I was going.

This has been a habit that I have not been able to break since those days. Early on, I listened typically to as many sermons as I could by which ever minister I was particularly into at the time. It is probably sick, I know, but I go through periods where I develop a "crush" on certain preachers.

Early on, I listened to a lot of topical preaching. I did not know there was another type of preaching until I heard a Southern Baptist pastor, named Dr. Herb Reavis. Dr. Reavis was an expository preacher. I heard him preach verse by verse, from one passage, at a revival and I was hooked. By that time, I knew I was called to ministry and my church had confirmed that call. After hearing him, I knew that I wanted to preach like that. The pastor of the church where I attended began getting his sermon tapes, and after he was done, he would pass them on to me. I listened as Dr. Reavis preached through 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Judges, Luke, most of 2 Peter and Genesis. I am deeply grateful to God for this man's ministry of expository preaching.

After this, I began listening to other expository preachers, mostly those that Dr. Reavis recommended. In the course of time, I found the sermons of my preaching hero, Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones. A new crush had developed. Lloyd Jones' preaching was deeply theological. The discovery of this man's preaching was more important than I realized at the time. During that period of my Christian life, I began reading Neoorthodox theologians, which, as a fairly new believer, I was not discerning enough to know what I was getting into. God used Lloyd Jones' preaching to provide me with the foundations upon which my theology began to grow.

Those first few years of my Christian experience were deeply shaped by the preaching of those two men. At that time, I developed a love for the expository sermon, that thankfully, hasn't left me. Although I never heard Lloyd Jones in person, he died when I was three, I have been able to listen to him because of many unnamed people who have preserved his preaching ministry through audio recordings. Also, although I have only heard Herb Reavis in person four times, through listening to his tapes, I was able to walk with him and his church through large portions of the Scriptures.

In conclusion, I would recommend this form of "Bible in-take" as Don Whitney calls it. Obviously, listening to sermons on CD, MP3, or on-line should not replace hearing good preaching at your local church. Nevertheless, whether you preach, teach, or neither, listening to additional sermons can be a source of grace in your life.

A New Song For Your Hymnals

HT: RJD

Mohler On The Cost of Conviction

I have greatly benefited from the sermons Dr. Al Mohler gave at a conference about his election as president of SBTS and the events that followed. You can download the sermons for free by clicking on the links below.

The Cost of Conviction Part I

The Cost of Conviction Part II

Steve Lawson On A New Reformation

One minister I have been listening to a fair amount lately has been Dr. Steve Lawson. He is the pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, AL. He is a fine expositor and a clear communicator. Recently, he has written a couple of books: one on John Calvin as an expositor and the other on the Doctrines of Grace. He is passionate about the recovery of the Doctrines of Grace, expository preaching, and church reformation. I found an article he wrote on church reformation to be very stimulating, I hope you do as well.