Posts by Todd Pruitt

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On Easter Sunday I preached part 12 in our current series through Philippians. It is entitled "God Highly Exalted Him" and can be listened to or downloaded HERE .
On the resurrection of Jesus: The Resurrection Of The Son Of God by N.T. Wright The Resurrection Of Jesus by Michael Licona The Meaning Of The Resurrection by Paul Beasley-Murray Scandalous by D.A. Carson Lifted: Experiencing The Resurrected Life by Sam Allberry
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ms-gxEOtLA]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Xzvun5ae0] How To Read The Bible Through The Jesus Lens by Michael Williams
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On Sunday I preached part 11 in our current series through Philippians. It is entitled "He Humbled Himself" and can be downloaded or listened to HERE .
Soldier of Christ, if thou enlisteth, thou wilt have to do hard battle. There is no bed of down for thee; there it no riding to heaven in a chariot; the rough way must be trodden; mountains must be climbed, rivers must be forded, dragons must be fought, giants must be slain, difficulties must be...
The White Horse Inn has posted two excellent articles on youth ministry by Michael Horton: Generation Me and Youth Ministry ( Part One & Part Two ). Please take time to read them. There is much wisdom not only about how we minister to youth but about our understanding of the church. We have...
Earl Scruggs, the greatest bluegrass muscian of all time died yesterday at the age of 88. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drHCosJWH0Q&w=461&h=342]
The following, while in no way exhaustive, is a list of outstanding books dealing with the crucifixion of Jesus and its implications for those who believe. One of the characteristics of each of these books is their faithfulness to the Scriptures. These are not whimsical musings or speculation...
I know that God's children are not long without tribulation. As long as the wheat is on the threshin-floor, it must expect to feel the flail. Perhaps you have had a bereavement, or you may have had losses in business, or crosses in your family, or you have been sorely afflicted in your own body,...
The Brokenhearted Evangelist by Jeremy Walker With a “gutless orthodoxy,” Christians today quickly affirm biblical truth regarding evangelism and mission, but, author Jeremy Walker reminds us, “we cannot pretend that we know and believe the truth about men, souls, heaven, hell, and salvation unless...
The other day I posted a link to some helpful words by Brian Croft on the dangers of measuring ministry success numerically. Over at the excellent site Credo , Tom Fillinger offers a much needed "theological metric for ministry." There is a discernable pathology in the theology of the American...
There are at least seven immutable laws governing a church's use of fonts. Stray from these laws and face the consequences.
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Recently, Dr. Anthony Bradley gave an interview with Trevin Wax that is worth checking out: Trevin Wax: What should the role of the black church be in addressing the social pathologies that continue to plague many black communities? Anthony Bradley: Since slavery, the black church has served as a...
Hear the words of Jesus: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” (Mark 14:34) and let them draw you closer to him. Have you always wanted to be closer to Jesus? I know you wouldn’t have chosen this method to get there. We wish we could get closer to Jesus by saying a prayer,...
Having grown up and served as a youth pastor in "mega-churches" I know a thing or two about counting people. I have attended more church growth seminars and read more church growth books than I care to remember. Please understand. The church ought to care a great deal about reaching people. When it...
On Sunday I preached part 10 in our current series through Philippians. It is entitled "Have This Mind" and can be listened to or downloaded HERE .
Thanks to Carl Trueman for pointing out a great new website by Dr. Michael Kruger . The purpose of the site is to explore the reliability of the New Testament canon and other related biblical and theological issues. Take some time to check it out.
From a message by John Piper on the life and ministry of Charles Simeon In April, 1831, Charles Simeon was 71 years old. He had been the pastor of Trinity Church, Cambridge, England, for 49 years. He was asked one afternoon by his friend, Joseph Gurney, how he had surmounted persecution and...
Aaron Armstrong has written a helpful post on whether or not we should publicly name false teachers. The only thing I would push back against is in this two-fold conclusion where he writes, "So, is it appropriate for Christians to name names? Yes, if it is to the benefit of our congregations and...
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your...
Mike Cosper explains why Mad Men may be so successful.
From Phil Johnson's message at the Shepherd's Conference: We're often told by gurus of church-growth and guardians of postmodern values in the evangelical community that we mustn't erect "boundaries." I gather from the way such comments are often bandied about that the word boundaries is supposed...
Christians get depressed. The causes are varied. But God is always purposeful which means our depression is not meaningless. Depression should not be wasted. As a teenager I was morose and deeply depressed. I wrote morose things and believed that if the world knew the real me I would be even more...
“The cross is itself in the first instance the attack of God on the old sinner and the sinner’s theology. The cross is the doing of God to us. But that same cross itself, and only the cross, at the same time opens a new and unheard-of possibility over against the sinner’s old self and its theology...
David French has written an article for National Review Online which examines the diminishing influence of evangelicals upon the wider culture. He sums up his thesis with three reasons behind this decline: 1. We are more focused on meeting the material needs of the poor than their spiritual needs...
"The most potent expression of fearing man is pragmatism. It occurs when the lust for church growth trumps the fear of God. It is the willingness to let 'whatever works' determine our agenda. The bad news is usually the first casualty. As we have seen, [the gospel] is inherently offensive. It...
When the definitive history of 20th century evangelicalism is finally written it may well point to pragmatism as the defining characteristic. Results mattered more than truth. Experience mattered more than faithfulness. Ref21 has posted an article by James Torrens on the self-defeating reality of...
In the style of Lewis' Screwtape, Jared Wilson offers the following uncomfortably accurate account of the spiritual battle in which every pastor finds himself: Dearest Grubnat, my poppet, my pigsnie, The reports of your progress warm my blackened heart. When you were assigned to one of the Enemy’s...
Al Mohler recently interviewed Don Carson on his new book The Intolerance of Tolerance . It is a fascinating discussion on a timely topic. Check it out HERE .
WTSBooks is running a special on Paul Tripp's outstanding book and DVD series on marriage: What Did You Expect? [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/32466539 w=400&h=225] What Did You Expect? Promo from Crossway on Vimeo .
"What is the nature of petitionary prayer? It is in essence rebellion - rebellion against the world in its fallenness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal...Petitionary prayer only flourishes where there is a two-fold belief: first, that God's name is...
From a letter by John Newton to a young man considering a call into the ordained ministry You have, doubtless, often anticipated in your own mind the nature of the service to which you are now called, and made it the subject of much consideration and prayer. But a distant view of the ministry is...
Great stuff HERE on how to speak the truth into the lives of people we care about.
It belongs to the very essence of the type of Christianity propagated by the Reformation that the believer should feel himself continuously unworthy of the grace by which he lives. At the center of this type of Christianity lies the contrast of sin and grace; and about this center everything else...
From Paul McCain : "Here is a beautiful YouTube video of the reading of the Nicene Creed which dates back over a 1,000 years in the the Christian church. This recitation was done at Trinity Lutheran Church, Klein, TX during the March 4, 2012 church services by three members of Trinity as part of...
We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more...
From an article entitled The God-Centered Gospel by Michael Horton in the latest edition of Tabletalk Magazine : It’s terrific to see so many younger Christians excited about being “God-centered.” However, Islam and Orthodox Judaism claim to be “Godcentered,” too. The Christian faith is...
The newest edition of the 9 Marks Journal is dedicated to the doctrine and implications of conversion. There are some excellent articles here folks. Check it out. The Beauty of Conversion by Jared Wilson To many, the Christian doctrine of conversion appears anything but beautiful. They say it’s...
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Excellent post from Jared Wilson: That voice in your head that keeps rehearsing the disappointments and flaws of your church is not from the Lord. It is the accuser, helping you get to the “I have no need of you” forbidden in 1 Corinthians 12:21. We may have legitimate concerns about our church’s...
I am launching a new feature at 1517 called "The Constant Reader." The goal will be to offer book reviews, recommendations, as well as words of caution concerning problematic books. One of God's good gifts to me as a pastor is the responsibility to study and read. It is a discipline I love and take...
I have been convinced for some time that there are seasons in ministry. I am not suggesting that ministry is cyclical or subject to anything other than the ultimate sovereignty of God. However, in God's wise providence, it seems that the work of ministry moves through seasons of tilling, seasons of...
The March 2012 issue of CREDO Magazine is now online. CREDO is an excellent website and online magazine of theological and devotional reflection. Highly recommended. The latest issue of the magazine is dedicated to the church's mission to make disciples.
Iaian Murray's excellent book Revival and Revivalism traces the history of American evangelicalism from 1750-1858 with special emphasis on the birth of revivalism and the troubling practices that ensued. This history matters because it truly helps to explain how specific doctrines and practices...
On losing the sense of God's holiness in the church: When prayers become the equivalent of "Yo, how you doin'?!" then something has gone awry. Public prayers should lead people into the presence of God, and that should be a humbling, if not crushing experience. When was the last time a pulpit...
The church ought to welcome its children into its corporate worship gatherings. Of course it is a sign of our times that this has to be said. Not long ago, holding separate worship services for children, youth, singles, etc would have been unthinkable. Age segregated worship services have not been...
On Sunday I preached part 9 in our current series through Philippians. It is entitled "To Believe And To Suffer" and can be listened to or downloaded HERE .