What did the Old Testament sacrifices do?

How were people saved before Jesus died for sins?

Free ebook alert!

Just in time for Easter! Amazon is offering Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace (Kindle edition) for free for a limited time. I'm actually reading this book right now (in print, as you might have guessed if you follow this blog), and really enjoying the fresh approach to Christian apologetics.

The similarities between J. Warner Wallace and Lee Strobel are strong (former atheists using their professional expertise to examine the claims of Christianity) but I dare to say I enjoy Wallace's writing and approach even better than Strobel's. There just seems to be less of an agenda behind the writing of a cold-case homicide detective than that of an investigative reporter (at some point, Strobel's feigned skepticism just started to feel too forced).

Get Cold-Case Christianity for free on Amazon!

"Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity."

---

Related Posts:
For more free reading, go get Raised? Doubting the Resurrection by Dodson & Watson

It's good news!

Imagine with me, if you will, that you're a rookie news reporter and tonight is your first (and probably only) shot at anchoring the evening news. Normally you'd be thrilled at the opportunity but there's just one problem: all the news is bad.

I mean, really bad.

War looms on multiple fronts as both your neighboring countries aim all their military firepower at your tiny nation. Many (including some of your own family) sit behind enemy lines as prisoners of war. The lives that aren't risked in battle are equally in jeopardy as a mysterious virus sweeps the country taking more lives every day. National debt is soaring along with the personal debt of everyone you know (yourself included). Loans are defaulting and banks are now resorting to old-school tactics and sending thugs to "collect". And the only hope—the one man looked to by the nation to lead them out of this crisis—has suddenly and unexpectedly died. 

As you make a last minute review of your notes, however, the studio doors burst open.

"It's over!" the intruder shouts. "The war is over!" He excitedly explains how one of your neighboring countries called for peace, then turned their guns on your nation's other adversary, sending them into a full retreat and freeing the POWs in the process. But before he could even finish, the door flies wide again.

"They found a cure! A cure to that epidemic that's been killing everybody!"

"And ALL the debts are getting paid off!" shouted two more people in close succession. "The national debt has been paid and in response the banks are making a one-time pardon on all credit card debt!"

Once more the studio doors slam against the wall as they're thrown open.

"You'll never believe this, but he's alive!" the last intruder shouts. "The details are fuzzy, but..."

"We go live in TEN SECONDS, everyone!" your producer shouts.

As you clear your throat and prepare for the signal of the camera man—barely keeping a ridiculous grin from spreading across your face—your co-host leans over and whispers:

"Share the good news. Use words if necessary."

Ridiculous, right? Peace with one enemy. Victory over the other. Prisoners set free. The sick are healed. Debts are paid. Your savior is alive. And you're asked to restrain your tongue? Nobody would say something like that.

And yet...

We hear it all the time. "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." I suppose I understand the sentiment behind it. The news should be so transforming, so life-changing, that our very lives and conduct reflect the effects of the good news without a word being spoken. But the thing that is transforming and life-changing is the good news, not our good lives. Good news must be shared, proclaimed.

As Paul said in Romans:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? (10:14)

 With Easter less than a week away, who are you sharing the good news with?

Did Jesus really rise from the dead? (Bonus: Free eBook!)Did Jesus really rise from the dead? (Bonus: Free eBook!)

There are many challenges that get leveled at Christianity, but none of them hits at the heart of the faith like this one: "Did Jesus really rise from the dead?". Even Paul admitted as much in 1 Corinthians 15 saying, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain".

So if you or someone you know is wrestling with this very question, let me point you to a couple things that came across my Google Reader this week (I know, it's going away, I'm sad too):

Aaron Armstrong addresses three of the most popular challenges in blog form:

Some things are harder to believe than others. Believing that Jesus was a bona fide historical figure… few, if any, seriously doubt there really was a Jesus of Nazareth who preached a message of repentance and reconciliation with God and was later crucified (even if many attempt to redefine the purpose of these events).

Then, there’s the resurrection…

For a lot of people, this is far more difficult an idea to swallow, particularly those of us who were raised on a steady diet of empirical naturalism.
The idea that Jesus was crucified—we can accept that. But that He rose again? That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Surely it had to have been made up.

Three alternatives to the resurrection

Because we don’t have a category for the supernatural, we look for alternative explanations—and there are a LOT of alternatives floating around regarding the resurrection of Jesus. Yet, there’s a lot of consistency between them, with the majority being variations on one of three options:
(...)

Jonathan K. Dodson and Brad Watson address the larger question in book form:

If you doubt the resurrection, I’m glad. Anything worth believing has to be worth questioning, but don’t let your questions slip away unanswered. Don’t reduce your doubts to a state of unsettled cynicism. Wrestle with your doubts. Find answers.

If you call yourself a believer and a skeptic, don’t settle for pat proofs, emotional experiences, or duty-driven religion. Keep asking questions. Those who haven’t questioned their faith can easily become doctrinaire, even detached from the everyday struggle of faith. Whether you are a skeptic, believer, or somewhere in between, press into your faith or push into your doubt. Question your faith and question your doubts. Determine good reasons for believing or not believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If he really did defeat death, it changes everything. Doubt well and you can walk away from skepticism, cynicism, or blind faith into perceptive belief, intellectual security, and deeper commitment. You can know that you have honestly questioned the resurrection.
(...)

Download Raised? Doubting the Resurrection by Jonathan K. Dodson & Brad Watson for free!
Kindle (.mobi)  |  iBooks (.epub)   |   PDF

Book Review: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper

Just at the beginning of the month, I came on staff at my church full time. And let me tell you, the pressure in a mere two weeks (largely that I have placed on myself) to step up my game has surprised me. The drive to be professional, polished, prepared, proficient—the performance trap had swallowed me whole. So the arrival of John Piper's revised edition of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals could not have come at a better time. These were challenges and questions that I needed to consider as I evaluated the tendencies of my own heart. As Piper asks in his new preface:

• Is there professional praying? 
• Is there professional trusting in God's promises? 
• Is there professional weeping over souls? 
• Is there professional musing on the depths of revelation? 
• Is there professional rejoicing over truth? 
• Is there professional treasuring the riches of Christ? 
• Is there professional walking by the Spirit? 
• Is there professional exercise of spiritual gifts? 
• Is there professional courage in the face of persecution? 

The beauty in Piper's plea is that it relieves us of the burden of oppressive professionalism—and calls us to humble, Spirit-empowered ministry in one sweeping movement.

 But this book isn't just a caution against the slick and skillful specialist/pastor ideal. Within this book lies the heartbeat of Piper's ministry and writing in seed-form. The themes and passions of John Piper's pastoral life are here as well. With chapter titles like "God Loves His Glory", "Live and Preach Justification by Faith", "Consider Christian Hedonism", "Give Them Passion for Missions", and "Sever the Root of Racism", I cannot help but think of books like Desiring God, Finally Alive, and Bloodlines. In deed, this book is as much as anything else a survey of Piper's teaching and writing over the years, and that is by no means a criticism.

But speaking of criticisms, if I have one of the book it is that Piper has given himself a fine line to try to walk between what he is calling us away from and what he is calling us to. While the high bar of professionalism in the ministry has it's pitfalls, it is not the only high bar that pastors may set for themselves. In back to back chapters he challenges us to become students of the original Hebrew and Greek texts and of Christian biographies. This is not to say that I don't think either of these things are greatly beneficial! But if our aim is to deconstruct the professionalist tendencies of the pastorate, we must be careful not to merely trade one elite class of preacher for another.

While Brothers, We Are Not Professionals may not be Piper's most seminal work, it is quite possibly his most comprehensive. Thus I would say this book is not only a must read for pastors, but it is a great place to start for anyone who would like an overview of mosof Piper's other writings. The chapters are rarely longer than six or seven pages; short enough read and meditate on (or cram in between meetings). But the weight and gravity of the challenges here will take a lifetime apply. And lest your own bent towards performance is already despairing at that thought, let Piper's prayer correct:

"Banish professionalism from our midst, Oh God, and in its place put passionate prayer, poverty of spirit, hunger for God, rigorous study of holy things, white-hot devotion to Jesus Christ, utter indifference to all material gain, and unremitting labor to rescue the perishing, perfect the saints, and glorify our sovereign Lord. In Jesus' great and powerful name. Amen."

Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Recommended for: Pastors and those looking for a survey of Piper's works

Huge Bestseller Book Sale at WTSBooks

For just a week (until 1/15) WTSBooks is offering all of their 2012 bestsellers at 50% off retail. While I'm certain that every title it excellent, the following would certainly be my highlights of the list:

• When Helping Hurts - Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert
• Dangerous Calling - Paul David Tripp
• The Meaning of Marriage - Timothy Keller
• The Hole In Our Holiness - Kevin DeYoung

 Here's the complete list: