Blog
Edwards on the Gospel in the Old Testament
From his History of the Work of Redemption:
Some are ready to look on the Old Testament as being, as it were, out of date and as if we in these days of the gospel had but little to do with it; which is a very great mistake, arising from want of observing the nature and design of the Old Testament, which if it was observed it would appear full of the gospel of Christ, and would in an excellent manner illustrate and confirm the glorious doctrines and promises of the New Testament. Those parts of the Old Testament which are commonly looked upon as containing the least divine instruction are, as it were, as mines and treasures of gospel knowledge, and the reason why they are thought to contain so little is because persons do but superficially read them. The treasures that are hid underneath are not observed.--Jonathan Edwards, A History of the Work of Redemption, in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale edition, vol. 9, 290
Belief and the Human Brain
In the 1970s, Sam Shoeman was diagnosed with liver cancer and told he had only months to live. A few months after his death, the autopsy revealed the doctors were wrong. He had only one small tumor still contained within the liver--not a life-threatening stage of cancer. Sam Shoeman did not die from liver cancer; he died from believing he was dying of liver cancer. Our beliefs change us mentally, physically, and spiritually.--Timothy R. Jennings, The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life (InterVarsity, 2013), 11
Our brains are constantly in a state of flux; moment by moment new neurons are developing and new circuits are being laid down, new axons and dendrites are forming for the facilitating of new messages to the neurons. At the same time, unused connections are removed, dormant nerve tracks are pruned back and unused neurons are deleted. Incredibly, our beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, and even our diets change our bran structure, ultimately changing who we are.
Throughout this book we will explore the amazing ability of our brains to adapt, change, and rewire based on the choices we make, the beliefs we hold, and the God we worship--as different "God-concepts" affect the brain differently. My goal with this book is to reveal God in the clearest way possible, to demonstrate how our belief in God changes us, and to display his methods on a practical level.
Top Ten Ways to Make Your Preaching Clearer
Phil Campbell offers ten ways to make our preaching clearer (a la Col 4:2). Good stuff for all communicators--in an excellent book by the way. He expounds with a few paragraphs on each in the book.
1. The more you say, the less people will remember.--Phil Campbell and Gary Millar, Saving Eutychus (Matthias Media, 2013), 50-61
2. Make the 'big idea' shape everything you say.
3. Choose the shortest, most ordinary words you can.
4. Use short sentences.
5. Forget everything your English teacher taught you.
6. Am I repeating myself? [as in, we should be]
7. Translate narratives into the present tense.
8. The six-million-dollar secret of illustrating. [namely, don't illustrate complex ideas but simple ones]
9. People love to hear about people.
10. Work towards your key text.