Posts by Todd Pruitt

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A Bitter Anniversary: Roe v. Wade at 38

Todd Pruitt
Jan 22, 2011
Justin Taylor has some excellent, albeit disturbing posts concerning abortion: This is Abortion The abortion industry thrives on remaining in the dark, behind closed and (usually) sanitized doors. The following video is very graphic, but it depicts the reality that is happening in our neighborhoods...

"Truth stands up to the storms of experience"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
Michael Horton on his outstanding book A Place for Weakness : [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv8uXj_oefo] I reviewed A Place for Weakness for the the Gospel Coalition. Check it out HERE .

A Theology for Pilgrims

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
Michael Horton's long anticipated systematic theology is now available. Very stoked! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rZV9XhFRLY]

Connecting the dots

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
Well, it will not be surprising if the national media conveniently neglects the unholy and very clear nexus between pro-choice politicians, local bureaucrats, and monsters like Kermit Gosnell. Michelle Malkin writes: In the City of Brotherly Love, hundreds of babies were murdered by a scissors-...

COS This Week

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
Check out the weekly newsletter for Church of the Saviour HERE .

Understanding Roe v. Wade

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
When you get a chance, take time to read Francis Beckwith's excellent explanation of Roe v. Wade and America's abortions laws.

Abortion and Pastoral Responsibility

Todd Pruitt
Jan 21, 2011
If you lack the conviction or the courage to stand up and say to your church, who you are accountable to lead, “It is wrong to kill unborn babies, God hates it and God will judge it,” then you should not be a pastor. If you don’t have the guts to say “These are children—we must stop killing them”...

Answering Ehrman

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar who rejects most of the New Testament, is, ironically enough, a graduate of both Moody and Wheaton. He is also the go-to guy for the media when they are looking for a "Christian" to bash Christianity. Ehrman's books sell well and many nice church-going folks...

"Abortion is About God"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
For the excellent book For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper , Justin Taylor composed a chapter on the great work John Piper has done in properly framing abortion as a theological as well as ethical issue. Taylor writes: Evangelicalism—in the Reformed camp or elsewhere—is not...

"How's the embryo?"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
James Lankford (R-OK) is a friend from my youth ministry days in Oklahoma. James is an intelligent and passionate man. I am very glad that he is a representing his state in the US House of Representatives. May his voice be multiplied! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CdTnKWury0]

Al Mohler on the "deadly logic of abortion"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
Al Mohler addresses two of the most recent (but not uncommon) horrors coming out of the abortion industry. The bottom line is that once the legality of abortion is accepted, it is difficult to provide a reason why any abortion for any reason ought not be provided. Abortion also makes arguments...

Tenth Anniversary of a great hymn...

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mPrqltkJyw]

New Sermon Series...

Todd Pruitt
Jan 20, 2011
From beginning to end the Bible tells one story, God’s Great Story . It is the story of God’s glorious work of redeeming a people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This story includes creation, human sin, the fall of all creation, God’s covenant with his people, the...

"House of Horrors" in West Philly

Todd Pruitt
Jan 19, 2011
Abortion is an unmitigated evil. What is more, it is self-evidently wrong. We simply "can't not know" that abortion is wrong. It is a monumental wrong. It is not like other wrongs. It is the slaughter of the most vulnerable among us. And now a genuine house of horrors has been discovered in my own...

Sunday's Sermons

Todd Pruitt
Jan 18, 2011
On Sunday morning we were blessed to have Michael Oh in the COS pulpit. He preached an outstanding message entitled "The Individual's Suffering and the Salvation of the World." It was taken from Psalm 22. On Sunday evening I preached a message entitled "Evil, Disaster, and the Justice of God." It...

The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

Todd Pruitt
Jan 18, 2011
Moody Press recently commissioned Carl Trueman to write an ebook which is entitled The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind . Carl was kind enough to allow me to read an advance copy some months ago. I read it again this weekend. I know I get excited about books. But this one really is a must. I'm...

The Moral Incoherance of Abortion

Todd Pruitt
Jan 17, 2011
From John Piper: 1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion). 2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed. 3. Babies can...

The pastor and notoriety...

Todd Pruitt
Jan 17, 2011
"Notoriety can be gained at once by just being singular, and setting up to know better than those around you. Everybody will talk about you at once, and you can impress yourself upon their memories by saying something very cutting and impudent, and as nearly blasphemous as you dare to make it. But...

Real Shame VS. Shameless Profiteering

Todd Pruitt
Jan 14, 2011
Perhaps you have heard the news that Ted Haggard is going to have his own reality show on TLC . I know. Just when you think someone's willingness to abase himself and his family can't be any greater... Over at Ref21 Carl Trueman helpfully points out the difference between genuine shame and the...

What price relevance?

Todd Pruitt
Jan 13, 2011
By now, you've no doubt heard about the troubles afflicting the Crystal Cathedral. It is not everyday that a mega-church files for bankruptcy after all. Therefore it's worth noting; not because of the sad details but because of the irony. The decline of the Crystal Cathedral is ironic because of...

On not allowing "a divine foot in the door"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 13, 2011
Harvard’s Richard Lowentin quoted in the Jan. 9, 1997, New York Review of Books : We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to ful"ll many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the...

Ex Nihilo

Todd Pruitt
Jan 13, 2011
"Theistic evolution is a biblical and theological disaster." So writes Dr. Al Mohler in the latest edition of magazine of Southern Seminary. The theme of the current edition is "Ex Nihilo," or "out of nothing." Check it out and pay special attention to the following articles: The New Shape of the...

Tough questions about how I raise my kids...

Todd Pruitt
Jan 12, 2011
This morning I read a report on the tragic suicide of Bill Zeller, the 27-year-old son of fundamentalist preacher George Zellar. Bill was a Ph.D candidate at Princeton University and a well known internet programmer. In his suicide letter, Zeller reveals for the first time that he was the victim of...

Paul Tripp on Parenting

Todd Pruitt
Jan 11, 2011
WTS Bookstore has a great deal on an excellent resource by Paul Tripp. The DVD series, Getting to the Heart of Parenting is now only 14.99 (75% off!).

The "E" Word

Todd Pruitt
Jan 11, 2011
Kevin DeYoung has an excellent post on the importance of moral language in the face of such events as Saturday's mass murder in Tuscon. I have no doubt Loughner is messed up, crazy, off his rocker, and out to lunch. It seems that he’s needed help for a long time. But why jump to conclude that this...

R.C. Sproul on Abortion...

Todd Pruitt
Jan 11, 2011
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/18468741 w=400&h=225] R.C. Sproul Discusses the Issue of Abortion from Ligonier on Vimeo .

"The Thermopylae of Christendom"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 11, 2011
"The pulpit is the Thermopylae of Christendom: there the fight will be lost or won. "To us ministers the maintenance of our power in the pulpit should be our great concern, we must occupy that spiritual watch-tower with our hearts and minds awake and in full vigor. It will not avail us to be...

"A Murky Landscape"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 10, 2011
Ross Douthat offers wise commentary on the mysterious motives of the Tuscon shooter. Along the way he gives a timely rebuke to those who seek to assign blame for political advantage. But chances are that Loughner’s motives will prove as irreducibly complex as those of most of his predecessors in...

Sunday's Sermon

Todd Pruitt
Jan 10, 2011
This week's message was entitled "Our International Anthem" and was taken from Psalm 96. You can listen to or download it HERE .

Q & A with D.A. Carson

Todd Pruitt
Jan 8, 2011
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/17351126 w=400&h=225] Gospel Coalition Q & A from Realityla on Vimeo .

David Wells in Tabletalk

Todd Pruitt
Jan 8, 2011
David Wells, author of the indispensable No Place for Truth was interviewed for the most recent edition of Tabletalk Magazine . It is worth reading. The first question posed to Dr. Wells was, "Besides the Bible, what has been the most influential book you have read this past year?" Now, when a man...

Disgrace

Todd Pruitt
Jan 7, 2011
So much for abortion being "safe, legal, and rare." My question for the pro-choicers, like the misinformed Planned Parenthood spokesperson featured on the news report, is why not be happy about this news? Isn't this simply a sign of women exercising their "reproductive rights"? During President...

On Being a Target of Criticism

Todd Pruitt
Jan 7, 2011
Carl Trueman has an excellent piece over at Ref21 about being the frequent target of email criticisms. For me, the season also brought the usual Christmas accusation by email from somebody with time on their hands that I am a false teacher. Now, the world is full of people whom I regard as false...

Remembering the saving acts of God

Todd Pruitt
Jan 6, 2011
"Worship is a memorial or remembrace of the saving acts of God on which the covenant relationship is based" - Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures , Vol. II, p. 232.

Westminster Preaching Conference

Todd Pruitt
Jan 6, 2011
In October, Westminster Seminary hosted their annual Preaching Conference . The keynote speaker was Dr. Dennis Johnson of Westminster Seminary California. Dr. Johnson (B.A., Westmont College; M.Div. and Th.M., Westminster Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) has taught at...

Understanding the Bible and Ministry

Todd Pruitt
Jan 6, 2011
Mark Dever interviews New Testament scholar Bruce Winter concerning issues such as cultural contextualization in ministry, the importance of historical background for interpreting Scripture, and bad contemporary ideas of leadership. Check it out HERE . HT: Justin Taylor

Q & A with R.C.

Todd Pruitt
Jan 6, 2011
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/18023976 w=400&h=225] Ask R.C. Live (Nov. 30, 2010) from Ligonier on Vimeo .

What price credibility?

Todd Pruitt
Jan 5, 2011
Dr. Darrel Falk is celebrating the impact of Biologos on the evangelical church. Indeed, he has declared the "dawning of a new day." At the same time he laments the continuing influence of men like Al Mohler and John MacArthur. Dr. Falk will understand, I trust, that there are many of us who do not...

The British are Coming

Todd Pruitt
Jan 5, 2011
So it's official. Tenth Presbyterian has a new Senior Minister. Liam Goligher was an excellent choice and I look forward to meeting him. My problem with the whole thing is that there will now be one more British accent on Sundays in the Philadelphia area. That means preachers like me are just going...

"Nothing but a bunch of cells can be her"

Todd Pruitt
Jan 3, 2011
Ross Douthat has posted a thoughtful article on America's paradoxical attitude toward the unborn. "This is the paradox of America’s unborn. No life is so desperately sought after, so hungrily desired, so carefully nurtured. And yet no life is so legally unprotected, and so frequently destroyed." I...

Tenth Presbyterian endorses Liam Goligher

Todd Pruitt
Jan 3, 2011
The Pastoral Selection Committee of Tenth Presbyterian Church here in Philadelphia has put forward Liam Goligher to serve as the next Senior Ministier. To my mind, this is an excellent selection. Dr. Goligher is an outstanding preacher and writer. I have personally benefited from his ministry. His...

"The Legalism of Tolerance"

Todd Pruitt
Dec 30, 2010
Derek Webb likes to stir it up every now and again. His favorite targets of disdain are those rascally conservative Christians. Recently he's made a few headlines by offering his troublingly thoughts on homosexuality. Along with his seeming agnosticism on that particular perversion, however, is an...

More "Best Books"

Todd Pruitt
Dec 30, 2010
Sam Storms has posted his favorite books of 2010 HERE . On his list is one that could easily have made mine but I neglected to list it. It is Tom Schreiner's outstanding 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law . He also lists a volume that has been on my wish list for a while - God's...

My Top Reads for 2010

Todd Pruitt
Dec 26, 2010
The following are the books published in 2010 that I enjoyed most. I am limiting the list to those books from Christian publishing houses. The Heresy of Orthodoxy by Kostenberger & Kruger The authors carefully and effectively dismantle the arguments of Bart Ehrman and a generation of liberal...

Domesticated Transcendence

Todd Pruitt
Dec 24, 2010
From Michael Gerson writing in The Washington Post : Christmas has become a kind of alternative religion, offering watered-down versions of profound theological doctrines. Its miracles are found on 34th Street, not in Bethlehem. The visitation of Gabriel has become the visitation of Clarence,...

How "mere" can Christianity be before it ceases to be Christian?

Todd Pruitt
Dec 24, 2010
Carl Trueman calls attention to a very interesting article in The Spectator . Bruce Anderson, an atheist, makes some insightful claims about Christianity which suggest that he understands the Christian faith far more than theological liberals. Anderson writes: "We unbelievers are entitled to regard...

Can you explain the Gospel?

Todd Pruitt
Dec 24, 2010
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/12425590 w=400&h=225] What is the Gospel? from Southern Seminary on Vimeo .

Will a Christian deny the virgin birth of Jesus?

Todd Pruitt
Dec 24, 2010
Writing for The New York Times , Nicholas Kristof once pointed to belief in the virgin birth of Jesus as evidence of that conservative Christians are a bit dim. There are even so-called evangelicals who cast doubt on the importance of belief in virgin birth (more correctly virgin conception) of...

There's a sermon illustration in this somewhere...

Todd Pruitt
Dec 22, 2010
Read about a woman who cannot experience fear.

"The heart wants what the heart wants"...

Todd Pruitt
Dec 21, 2010
So said Woody Allen as he sought to justify his sexual relationship with his step-daughter. In one sense it is easy to dismiss Allen's behavior as isolated albeit disgusting. But now David Espstein, a political scientist from Columbia University, has been charged with incest for carrying on a...